The Innkeeper

Chapter 1231  Too fast

To be clear, while Lex unleashed all his power, this attack was far from the strongest attack he could unleash. He had not even used any of his numerous affinities, nor had he used any Glyphs or arrays to empower this attack, nor had he used Domination, or even considered using Laws.

What he unleashed was simply the physical strength of his body, as well as his sword intent. Combined, his attack manifested in a bright white light that clashed against the electric beast, hundreds of times larger than Lex.

The attack and the lightning bolt, for a moment, forced each other to a standstill where they met, and the world around Lex suffered from its devastation. Everyone near Lex died, and those watching from afar felt like they had been struck by a mighty blow even though they were quite far.

Save the platform where Lex stood, which was preserved through Lexʼs own power, the ground all around him was shattered completely into fine dust. Time seemed to pause, or maybe it just felt like that because all sound in existence vanished.

Then Lexʼs sword strike, which had paused against the claw of the lightning beast, sliced through it.

The once dark zone of the trial was suddenly filled with blinding, pure white light, and absolute silence. The storms raged, and formed into devastating hurricanes not of wind but of pure energy. The ground erupted in a thousand different places, and a deep ocean of lava buried deep underground found cracks to escape through, resulting in countless volcanic eruptions.

The wild energies of the realm, instead of being depleted by the massive tribulation, were aggravated. Like the dense rains of monsoon, lightning beat at the ground, or rather specifically at the erupting volcanoes, like water falling from the clouds.

Yet all of this devastation happened in silence, for the air itself had been blown away by Lexʼs strike.

Yet it was only enough to begin the process. Most of his body still had not suffered the burns of lightning. Yet the clouds above him, though still dense, remained suspiciously empty of lightning all around him.

When the light faded, the figure of Lex was revealed, standing tall upon his platform, looking up at the sky where the tribulation clouds themselves had been parted. His body, at a glance, seemed unharmed still. But those with keen eyesight would notice that his right hand, which gripped the unmarred Naraka, was charred, as if burnt to a crisp.

Orange embers could be seen burning at the edges of his hand, fading in color as they cooled. He had finally been harmed, yet Lex only smirked. He could feel his hand being completely reborn.

Rather than saying that this final lightning strike was strong enough to hurt Lex, it would be more accurate to say that it was finally strong enough to begin the process of converting his body into an immortal one.

Yet it was only enough to begin the process. Most of his body still had not suffered the burns of lightning. Yet the clouds above him, though still dense, remained suspiciously empty of lightning all around him.

He had suffered nine strikes, so then the next part would be the Fire tribulation, which was largely unseen.

Even Lex did not see it, but he could feel something rapidly approaching him. It was not a material thing, with physical form. Instead, it was like sword intent, which was shapeless and formless. But what this intent was, Lex could not exactly distinguish.

When it touched him, Lex felt something deep within his body beginning to burn. It was not like the burning of fire, but as if his body was reacting to something poorly. It started with an itchy sensation that spread to his entire being, and then it became more intense until he felt like it was actually harming him.

Black smoke began to slowly stream out of his nose and mouth, and then ears.

Lex chuckled, and then blew a smoke ring. His fire tribulation had begun, and though it did not cause as much of a ruckus as his lightning one, it was most certainly just as serious. More importantly, there was absolutely nothing Lex could do to increase his chances of survival.

During the lightning tribulation, he could at least weaken the lightning before it struck his body, but with the fire tribulation he just had to hope that his body was strong enough. Since that was the criteria, though, Lex was not concerned at all.

Freed from the first step of his tribulation, he turned to look towards the frowning Wyvern in the distance. Jeffrey had truly not expected Lex to survive that tribulation. It was genuinely strong enough to directly kill even third or fourth level Earth immortals, yet Lex took it head on.

His plan had failed, but all was not lost. The environment in the trial had changed drastically, and it looked like he was standing on the site of armageddon. With how chaotic the environment was, it would be much easier to kill the others. He just had to be extra careful not to get himself hurt. But first…

Jeffery turned to look towards Lex, and was startled to see Lex standing just a few feet from him, his skin starting to crack as black smoke escaped from within.

”You asked me a few questions, I believe,” Lex said, his voice incredibly hoarse. ”About how I feel. Why donʼt I answer that for you now?”

”Hah!” Jeffery snorted. ”Are you really threatening me in the midst of your tribulation? You should be running and hiding, not…”

The Wyvernsʼ words were cut short when the cold, silver blade of Naraka cut through his neck, faster than the Wyvern could follow. The head slowly slid off from the neck.

Now if he were a mortal, that would have killed him. But the annoying thing about immortals was how difficult it was to actually kill them.

The Wyvernʼs body turned to mist, as if it had been a mirage all along, and some distance away it reformed, the Wyvern looking at Lex with genuine shock and concern.

Lex had not even passed his tribulation yet. He had not achieved an immortal body yet. How could he be so fast?

The answer was simple. This was merely the strength he had, when he unsealed his power. Lex appeared in front of the Wyvern again, faster than it could comprehend. All it saw was a white flash of his sword intent as Lex cut off its neck once more.