116 The Third Strike

High above Xing Lei was breathing hard, every inch of his body ached like the time Destorianaxe had batted him into a wall. His fingers curled and uncurled, the trusty weight of his spear was gone, his trusty companion for years could only help him one last time before being shattered by the heavens wrath. He sighed softly uttering a good bye to it, he could do nothing else at this point, the heavens weren't finished, the first major tribulation was always three strikes of increasing power and the third was coming.

He looked to the clouds and straightened himself, his bones creaked as his body groaned in protest. Aside from some charred scales he was sore and tired, the first two bolts had stampeded through his body and left it battered. For all his tempering and cultivation the heavens really could care less. These strikes were part physical and dangerously so! Yet the true battle of the tribulation was of the soul, these bolts struck his dao heart and if he faltered for even a breath, he would cease to exist.

Clenching his fists Xing Lei stood defiant of the angry heavens, his eyes watching for the final test. The first he had struck with disdain, but the fractured bones in his hand told him he was treating the virgin tribulation of this world too lightly. Thus the second bolt tasted his spear. His trusty companion, wounded as it had been, had faced the wrath of heaven boldly with its master, ultimately while he survived, his companion went ahead in his place.

Now Xing Lei stood bare before the final strike, he had other weapons in his ring but none were tied to him as closely as a spear and equally what other spears he had were low of quality, they were akin to using farmers to block elite soldiers, they would be washed away by the superior power in the blink of an eye so better to let them exist on. No, now he would face the hardest part if the tribulation with himself. Staring to the skies he roared fir all to hear...

"Well?! Come on! Strike me down if you can that is!"

His voice carried across the wind despite being so high above those on the ground, yet his challenge reached their ears. Osilliaice watched evenly, while she kept calm on the surface her heart was frantic, her mind whirled trying to think of some way to help yet the spiritual pressure crushing the area barely allowed her casual discourse with Kah and Destorianaxe, more likely had she tried to intervene, she too would be pressed down before heavens might.

Kah watched in stunned silence, the pressure hammered down upon his body nearly crushing him. This is what they cultivated towards?! This was madness! Insanity of the highest order! How many needed to go through this baptism of lightning? How far was he from this fate? As it stood he wouldn't survive even the first bolt let alone the second. Now a third was coming? True, utter, madness!

Destorianaxe pinned to the ground nearby was of like mind. Dragons were strong, perhaps strongest in existence when it came to mortal existence, yet beneath mere clouds and lightning she had been pinned to the earth barely able to raise her head and ask a question. She wanted to tear into those clouds and rend apart whatever sorcerer had thus humiliated her and struck at Xing Lei, yet she was powerless before the pressure that felt like she was beneath her mountain, trying to lift it upon her shoulders.

Everyone who could however, was looking to the skies. The storm clouds rolled and shook, if anything, their density seemed to increase and spread further. Previously no thunder accompanied these bolts but now claps of thunder rang out continuously, the sound akin to a blacksmith beating a sword into form. The God like hammering told the tale that many smaller bolts were being layered together, the heavens were forging a killing blade to truly strike down the impetuous kobold.

Xing Lei stood alone in the skies, no wings kept him aloft, merely spiritual power gave him a platform dividing the heavens from the suppressed forces below upon the earth. While the third bolt formed, he took his time steadying his resolve, calming his labored breathing and ever watching for the third strike. Yet still the hammering thunder continued. Was it truly a third bolt if it prepared so much? Even he was starting to feel a cold sweat upon his back.

Was the heavens preparing an apex bolt? Would thus one in the first true tribulation be equal to the bolt that had eradicated his old life? Xing Lei shook his head and knelt down, steadying his mind and breathing, the kobold dismissed such fears. They were heart demons which would ultimately consume him if he let such worries dictate his receiving the third bolt. In truth it mattered not what came, he just had to survive. For his family, for himself, for the apex!

Exhaling slowly he sat up, back straight, his eyes on the sky and waited.

The heavens did not keep him waiting long.

The third bolt tore through the sky like a mountain. Destorianaxe heard the screams of her people and thrashed hard, if such a bolt touched the ground, say nothing of Xing Lei, but the domain itself would be blasted to ash! She had to intercept that bolt! As long as it struck her, her people would survive! Yet the pressure did not allow her to even lift her wings let alone her body. No the one to relieve thus bolt, some yards in width was a meager small kneeling kobold.

When the bolt struck Xing Lei his spiritual platform shattered. Like a meteorite he was thrown to the ground beneath this immense divine spear of power. The people screamed, terror stricken. Destorianaxe clenched her jaws waiting for all their ends but time ticked on. Shifting her gaze she no longer could see Xing Lei, rather all she could see was that lightning spear stabbed into a hill further out, earth torn from the ground was flung 8nto the sky but by all accounts no one was dead... but what of Xing Lei?

The kobold was buried inside yonder hill. Still he knelt, his knees planted on the firm stone beneath the soil, yet thus immense boulder was cracking, the bolt had turned the upper part of his robe to ash, the scales of his back had been blasted open, the leathery flesh rent asunder as the bolt twisted against the exposed bones of his back and spine. His organs twitched in pain as the lightning hammered his back, his bones shone in the exposed brilliance resisting the third strikes attempt to skewer his beating heart.

Blood flowed freely from his torn back, he knelt in a growing pool of crimson that began to rise higher in the slender hole. Still he resisted. Xing Lei lifted his head, the lightning tire higher on his back, splitting the scales and flesh of his head exposing the glittering tempered skull that protected his brain. He looked up, his face peeling away under the continued assault by the third strike. The baptism of divine wrath had shorn the face from him yet he looked into the light denying it the right to bow his head.

His torn body shuddered as a leg shifted, placing a foot firmly in the slick pool of blood. The kobold's body rose, denying the overwhelming violence that was threatening to cripple him. He had knelt to gather his reserves but if the heavens thought it could keep him down, they were dead wrong! Boney jaw opening an inhuman roar escaped his lungs, screaming in defiance of the might, pain and humiliation if the third bolt. He was a cultivator!

He would bow to the ancestors. He would bow to his family.

Bow before the heavens?

They could kill him first! For he was a cultivator! To try and beat him down with a sneaky strike made him rage all the more! The blood swirled around his legs forming grisly blades of power that cut at the surrounding earth. The hill around him was torn apart, the watchers gasped seeing the ruin of Xing Lei, his almost skeletal frame standing in the lightning unbowed. Barely any flesh remained upon his skeleton and organs.

Osilliaice gasped, her eyes widened as the ruined kobold struck against the bolt with a fleshless fist... and the lightning was blown back! Each time it tried to reclaim him, Xing Lei struck out with a guttural roar of protest, he was a cultivator! He would be the apex! Nothing, not even this would stop his advance! The watchers gasped as flesh crawled up from the soles of his feet, slowly muscle and tendon gripped his lower limbs and were once again covered in flesh and scale.

His body slowly regenerated before their eyes, his organs hidden behind muscled chest, his skull once more carrying the typical fringe. His eyes hardened as he leapt off the ground bashing the bolt back upwards until he reached the height he had originally held his ground, yet the lightning continued to snake backwards, it was retreating! Osilliaice covered her mouth watching her mate finish his breakthrough, standing naked in the sky above all and roaring in defiance of that powerful storm.

Slowly the spiritual pressure dispersed and with it the dark clouds above, Destorianaxe was the first to her feet and frowned to herself watching. Part of her wanted to chase the clouds, yet deep down she wondered if she could survive what Xing Lei just went through? After all, the third bolt had shorn every stitch of flesh from his body making him look like some undead ghoul more so than a living being. Just how had he survived such a level of bodily destruction?

Looking to Kah who was shakily returning to his feet she growled lightly, "Contain the watchers general, make sure the populace is okay."

Xing Kah gave a shaky salute to the Mistress before staggering off towards the edge of town to police the growing throng if watchers. Destorianaxe moved beside Osilliaice watching as the reformed kobold slowly floated to the earth near by. Both hurried towards him as he lightly touched down and looked to them. Destorianaxe frowned and turned, her tail sailing in to see just what shape he was in, but her measuring strike caught naught but air as the kobold in question slumped to the ground.

Osilliaice cast a glare at Destorianaxe, the first the dragon could swear she had ever displayed her way! Still the dragon shifted to her dragoness form and rubbed the back of her head. She was not one to apologize even if she agreed her attempted swat, so soon against Xing Lei, had been a touch overbearing. Still, as Osilliaice cradled the unconscious Xing Lei, Destorianaxe loomed over, her eyes raking the kobold's form. Little had changed outwardly, yet there was a distinct sense of power in his smaller frame.

"Will he be alright?"

Osilliaice shook her head lifting her mates limp form carrying him with her as she moved beside the dragoness, "I know not Mistress, he's spoken little of the next level, and perhaps I now know why. It makes everything we've experienced thus far seem so trivial, like all our struggles thus far was the wee wavings of younglings."

Together they walked looking with concern at the fallen kobold, Destorianaxe broke the silence again, "Will you all go through that?"

Osilliaice shook her head glancing to the skies, "My mate is very powerful, while we may go through similar i doubt it will be as bad. I have a feeling the lightning was special for him. We can only wait for him to awaken and enlighten us."

"By the way Mistress, why were you two fighting in the skies to begin with?"

Destorianaxe felt the scales of her face turn warm, how could she talk about Xing Lei spanking her? She'd carry that to her grave if possible! Her people would never look at her the same way again if they found out that Xing Lei had so humiliated her... coughing softly she shook her head, "He helped me break out of a recent depression, his method was unorthodox and riled me."

Glancing aside she decided to let go of her anger, after all, the criminal in question was being princess carried back into town, her reputation was safe, but by the time he awoke he'd have paid her humiliation back with the humiliation of being princess carried through town by his mate. Smiling inwardly the dragon would take the victory over him however she could at this point!