Chapter 138: An Aura Resembling the Blood Soul Seal

"Ha, a lucky strike! I completely forgot about using the earth to ground the lightning!"

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Wang Luo let out a silent sigh of relief. He had truly experienced the terror of the lightning tribulation; the gap between the seventh rank and the peak of the sixth rank was indeed massive. Had he not felt a small portion of the electricity channeling into the ground after hitting his earth pillar, and suddenly recalled how skyscrapers in his past life used lightning rods to divert strikes into the earth, he would have been in serious trouble. By quickly increasing his mana output to maintain the pillar, he had barely scraped by; otherwise, even if he survived, he would have been left peeled and battered.

"Chelsea, what do you mean by that?"

Now that the danger had passed, Xilili was immediately incensed. That sudden scarlet lightning bolt had terrified her, and she had momentarily forgotten the joke Wang Luo had played earlier.

Hearing Xilili’s roar, the group fell into a collective silence. With varying expressions, they all looked toward Chelsea, who was still undergoing the tribulation. If he had done this on purpose, it was no longer a trivial matter—it was a life-or-death issue.

"I didn't do it on purpose!"

Glancing at Xilili, Chelsea fixed his gaze on Wang Luo. Looking at that once-familiar face, he felt a faint, lingering ache in his heart, but it was overshadowed by a sense of release. His tone was unusually calm.

"I know, Teacher Chelsea. Continue with your tribulation. The following strikes will only grow stronger; be careful!"

Holding back Xilili, who seemed ready to say more, Wang Luo smiled faintly. His eyes imperceptibly flickered toward Elijah, who stood at the front of the crowd and had remained completely motionless. Wang Luo had managed to block the scarlet lightning spilling into other areas, but he had failed to cover that specific spot.

"Hmm!"

Nodding slightly, Chelsea gave Wang Luo a deep look, then smiled briefly at Anweier. No longer distracted, he focused his mind on the tribulation. He had witnessed the power of the lightning and had no desire to end up as disheveled as Hanrode.

Rumble...

The fifth lightning strike finally descended. Chelsea swung his sword to meet it. He had just dispersed the bolt and barely had a chance to catch his breath when the sixth strike followed immediately.

*Zzzzt...*

Against Chelsea’s unwilling gaze, the scarlet lightning stubbornly jumped onto his body. His handsome face was instantly charred black, and smoke actually began to billow from his mouth.

"Hahaha!"

Seeing this, Xilili burst into laughter, joined by the eccentric girl, both throwing aside their composure as they clearly held a grudge. Although the rest of the group didn't laugh out loud, the suppressed amusement in their eyes was evident. Meanwhile, some began to plan ahead, worrying about their own appearances once it was their turn to face the tribulation.

Rumble...

A moment later, three scarlet electric serpents tore through the sky, shooting toward Chelsea. He swung his sword, which glowed with a rich blue light. In an instant, three phantom blue serpents emerged to meet the incoming scarlet ones.

*Pfft...*

A sound like a breaking wind suddenly echoed. The three electric serpents easily shattered the blue ones and lunged at Chelsea again. This time, Chelsea seized the opportunity to condense three more blue serpents, which charged forward fearlessly.

"Explode!"

*Bang!*

The moment they collided, the blue serpents exploded without warning. The scarlet serpents let out an unwilling hiss before dissipating.

*Crackle, crackle...*

The scattered scarlet lightning, like birds returning to their nests, surged into Chelsea’s body. The Dou Qi he had previously exhausted was instantly restored, and even showed signs of improvement. His eyes shimmered with a piercing light.

"This...?"

Seeing this, Wang Luo’s brows knitted together. Although he had heard that the final three lightning strikes were a form of fortune—something he hadn't seen when Hanrode faced his tribulation—witnessing Chelsea’s ordeal firsthand confirmed that these three bolts were indeed a blessing.

But why did something feel wrong? It felt as if something akin to the Blood Soul Seal was slowly seeping into the body along with the lightning...

Ignoring the doubts in his mind, the tribulation continued. Six more electric serpents descended. Chelsea unleashed consecutive blue serpents, triggering explosion after explosion, and finally managed to resist them. Wang Luo noticed that the sensation resembling the Blood Soul Seal had become even clearer.

Rumble...

Nine ferocious, blood-red electric serpents emerged in unison. They reared their heads, letting out a roar that echoed with thunder as they crashed down. Everyone’s vision was engulfed in a sea of red, making it impossible to see what was happening to Chelsea.

"That's it, it's definitely it. It's just like the feeling of the Blood Soul Seal. Even though it isn't as overbearing or complex, it can still leave a seal upon a person’s soul!"

Straining his eyes to peer through the glare, Wang Luo watched the spot where Chelsea stood. Tears streamed down his face, yet he could see nothing. The sensation of the Blood Soul Seal was now vivid, and in that moment, Wang Luo felt a sudden, profound fear of the scarlet lightning tribulation that everyone so desperately craved.

"Did the lightning tribulation that Mom and Dad faced also contain the aura of something like the Blood Soul Seal?"

Suddenly, Wang Luo thought of his lion parents. On the day they faced their tribulation, his strength had been too low to see anything clearly—only a golden vortex. But now he knew they must have faced a lightning tribulation as well.

Holding the Blood Soul Seal himself, Wang Luo understood the terror of such things better than anyone. Once a Blood Soul Seal was accepted, unless one’s soul was annihilated and the physical body burned to ashes, one could never escape its shackles. It was tyrannical, forcibly merging with one’s soul and body until the two were inseparable. It was a power that defied the heavens.

"Seventh rank!"

Regarding the seventh rank, Wang Luo felt the resistance growing even stronger. The secret hidden within the scarlet lightning was like a viper lurking in the darkness, ready to deliver a fatal strike at any moment, weighing heavily on him.

Rumble...

The scarlet light faded away. Chelsea appeared in the crowd’s view, looking like a piece of charcoal. The spectacle everyone had been anticipating didn't quite happen, leaving them feeling a bit disappointed.

"Hehe!"

Grinning to reveal his snow-white teeth, Chelsea walked toward Anweier. Little did he know that this expression, paired with his pitch-black face, held no charm at all—it was actually quite terrifying.

"Ah! A ghost!"

Xilili feigned the terror of a young girl, diving into Kairo’s arms, which left Kairo feeling incredibly awkward. Hearing this, Chelsea suddenly remembered Hanrode’s appearance from before. With a flash of blue light, Chelsea sprinted away and vanished, leaving the ground in ruins.

"Let’s go! Let's go back and cultivate properly. The Illusion Realm advancement is about to begin!"

"Yes, indeed. It is better to retire and weave a net than to stand by the water and covet the fish."

...

As the students saw the lightning vanish, they began to return in twos and threes to cultivate. Just as someone had said, it was better to prepare than to simply wish; a hundred birds in the forest were not as good as one in the hand. No matter how rich or endless the elemental energy of the world might be, if it wasn't refined and absorbed into the body, it wasn't truly one's own.