Going through tribulation

There was a strange atmosphere at the river. The further he went, the more territorial beasts became.

The beasts would growl at him.

It seemed as if the beasts were cautious of outsiders.

"Are they aware of the situation in the forest?"

He was able to travel further without any trouble because he could fly.

He flew further while paying attention to the beasts on the land.

A few moments later, he was able to reach his temporary home where he had cultivated back then.

He was safe for now. So, he resumed his cultivation.

He would absorb Qi from the environment and send it to his crystals. Likewise, he would also check the system shop every week.

Time started passing quietly. Hours became days, days became weeks, weeks became months and months became years.

Slowly his crystals were getting filled up. In the second year, two of his crystals were filled to the brim. However, his first crystal was not even half full.

Two more years later, he was able to fill his first crystal too.

Now, the only thing left was to go through the tribulation.

He was ready to undergo tribulation after a day of rest.

Grim flew away from the upper region of the river. He didn't want to attract the attention of other beasts while he was going through tribulation.

He arrived at the lower region of the river. There were only low-level beasts in the vicinity. So, he decided to go through the tribulation.

[Tribulation occurs when one tries to break through to the upper realm. During the mutation realm, one has to undergo tribulation mixed with basic elements (earth, water, air, fire). They have to face lightning that are mixed with one basic elements 9 times before they progress to another element.]

He started absorbing Qi from the environment. In a few minutes, a cloud started forming above him. The cloud then turned black and lightning started forming in the cloud.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

He could hear the lightning rumbling in the sky.

Boom!

A bolt of lightning came down towards him.

"Earth shield" He formed a shield around himself. It was able to dissipate the lightning.

Boom!

A bolt of lightning came towards him again. However, the bolt of lightning was different this time.

The bolt of lightning contained an 'earth' element. It had made the impact heavier.

Immediately, he used 'contract' to strengthen him by 20 times, and he used an 'earth shield' to cover himself entirely.

He used the move repeatedly nine times, and he was able to withstand the first tribulation.

The next was the 'water' element.

He made his 'earth shield' wider, so the water wouldn't gather near him.

He was able to pass the tribulation. Then it was the turn of the 'air' element.

He was able to pass the tribulation easily.

The final tribulation would have a 'fire' element.

Normally, the temperature of a lightning bolt can reach up to, 27760 °C (50000 °F). However, this bolt of lightning was mixed with the element of fire. So, it had doubled the temperature.

Just when he was getting ready to face the tribulation, he heard roars.

He looked in the direction of the noise, and he was able to view a group of water serpents heading his way.