Body Transformation Realm

Shock, rage, and extreme fear. Shiro's heart was filled with countless emotions as he stared at the phenomenon he had witnessed countless times in the upper heavens.

'How…?'

Shiro thought as he got up, all signs of the ease he felt had vanished, leaving only him and the tribulation in his mind's eye.

How did he do it? How had he manage to trigger a heavenly tribulation which should only happen when one reaches the higher planes? It was as if the heavens themselves were attempting to limit his growth.

Shiro focused his enhanced senses on the sky, oblivious to his surroundings as he prepared for his ordeal. He had no weapon, no one to help him in this endeavor, and he had been left to his fate.

Was he going to perish? Especially when he wasn't even close to exacting his vengeance? What kind of fate was this?

His heart was filled with rage, frustration, and resentment as he stared deeply at the lightning that had been storing energy.

*Crackle* *Crackle* *Crackle*

The heavens roared once more as if ready to destroy everything beneath the sky. Fear gripped many people prompting every cultivator within a thousand miles to flee the area. They hadn't even come into contact with the lightning, but they instinctively knew that anything struck by that light would surely perish.

Shiro faced this seemingly impossible odd, preparing all of his Ki in a defensive stance while using the Ki to erect multiple barriers, Shiro stood up and exclaimed;

"Come!"

As if it had heard him, the sky glowed with light as it used all of its strength to push the lightning down at Shiro. Within an instant, the lightning had vanished from the sky and appeared directly above Shiro as if mocking him.

*Crackle* *Boom!*

Shiro couldn't even react as all of the barriers he had erected were shattered to bits. Shiro looked up, perplexed.

How could it be so powerful? Wasn't the heavenly tribulation supposed to be a test to see if one was worthy of entering the next realm? Why did this one appear to be out to kill him?

Shiro's mind was filled with numerous thoughts as he tried his hardest to resist the tribulation.

Impossible! That was Shiro's first thought as the tribulation began tearing pieces of his flesh away.

How was he supposed to get through this? Was it even conceivable?

As if it were a revelation, Shiro suddenly remembered one of the properties of the black fire ore. It could absorb energy and use it to modify itself, which was how, despite being in a swampy area, it was able to retain its fiery properties.

Shiro's mind was ignited by this revelation, a spark of hope!

'I'll get through this!'

Shiro thought as he reached into his core with Ki and began extracting the Black fire ore properties that were stored there in order to parry the tribulation strike. Although some of the lightning still struck him, Shiro was able to absorb the majority of the shock by storing the black fire for it to process the tribulation.

Everything took a long time to explain, but only ten seconds had passed. To Shiro, those ten seconds felt like an eternity.

Shiro quickly assessed his own body, realizing that all of the injuries accumulated during the tribulation was being healed at an incredible rate. As his cultivation finally stabilized at the body transformation realm, the energy in his body gradually calmed down solidifying his status as a body transformation cultivator.

Sigh-

Finally, Shiro's mind calmed down as he used his senses to ascertain that he was away from immediate danger. This was the first time in a very long while that Shiro felt his life was in serious danger.

Now calm, Shiro began paying attention to the tribulation energy running rampant in his core. He had used the black fire to temporarily absorb it, but it still needed time to modify it to become a part of his core. One day he would be able to manifest both energies, but that could only happen after he gets back his ability to cultivate energy.

Having nothing else to do, Shiro used his senses to navigate his way back to the black fire ore vein. He needed to continue absorbing them as they would act to boost his power later on. After collecting enough black fire ore, Shiro began making his way out of the forest he was reincarnated in, he had nothing else to do here and Shiro felt that it had been long since he last interacted with humans.

'I guess this is it'

Shiro thought, he began moving into the forest, gathering items he thought were necessary. Because it had been so long since he had been to a village, he was really starting to feel a bit anxious.

Shiro hurried back to the river where he had left the phoenix soul flower to dry after gathering everything he required because he was afraid that someone might arrive there before him and receive the rewards of his effort.

Taking full use of his cultivation Shiro ran quickly to the location where he had stored the phoenix soul flower.

'Please let it still be there'

Shiro mentally pleaded as he heightened his senses even more, expanding them via his Ki to reach further.

Shiro acted in desperation, but unbeknownst to him, he had attained a degree of ability that no one else could at his current level. Shiro had learned one of the fundamental martial arts principles, Martial Awareness, without even realizing it.

Shiro strained his senses to the limit after awakening Martial Awareness, expanding the range of the technique to the limit, covering a whopping twelve kilometer area.

'Still not enough,'

Shiro thought as he realized that he still couldn't see the river. Giving up on using his senses, Shiro increased his speed and steered towards the river, hoping against all odds that he wouldn't be late.

*Whoosh*

Shiro had travelled over fourteen kilometers in an instant, tearing through the limits of what his cultivation could handle.

Despite the fact that the river was only a few meters away, Shiro's speed increased until his body couldn't handle the pressure any longer, slowly accumulating injuries as the air pressure began tearing up his skin.

Shiro was close to the water and could feel it, but his heart wouldn't stop beating until he was certain it was still there; without it, his chances of regaining his cultivation were nearly nil; he couldn't give up now, even if his body was giving up on him.

Shiro busted through the leaves, blood all over his body, as he came into direct view with the flower paste.

Joy! Shiro's only emotion at the moment was happiness; he was in time, he had made it, but he wasn't alone; out of caution, Shiro had activated Martial Awareness only to discover that there was someone else there.

Who could it possibly be? Who had arrived before him?

Shiro was taken aback, and in an instant, he shifted from joyful to a combative stance as he prepared to confront the visitor.