Infinite Potential System

Asking if she's a boy or girl annoyed her? How unreasonable are these people? William complained inwardly as he prepared for the first incoming Heavenly Lightning Bolt.

While its strength was in the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, William wasn't too worried about its effects, only hoping to avoid as much damage as possible and prevent himself from aging any more than needed.

A flash of red light blinded everyone present as the first Heavenly Lightning Bolt dropped from the sky, crashing against a dome of Earth that was erected at the very last second.

The Earth Dome held strong, easily able to withstand the Heavens' first test without issue. William already had the strength to deal with a Tribulation Transcendence Tribulation given his SS-Rank Earth Element. With the support of the Earth Boosting Pills, however, this effect was further strengthened, preventing his Dome from even taking a small amount of damage.

Any other Core Formation Cultivator would have been obliterated by now, completely unable to defend against the Superior Tribulation, but William was perfectly fine. If anything, he was calm, having already prepared thoroughly for the Superior Tribulation.

Seeing that its first attack was ineffective, the Heavens prepared a second Lightning Bolt that directly reached the fourth stage, but it was useless. William's Earth Dome was too strong, even able to deal with a single attack from peak Tribulation Transcendence Cultivators.

How could a mere fourth level Tribulation Lightning cause serious damage? Only a few cracks were formed on the tough Earth Dome, pieces of loose soil falling from above and landing on William's face.

The third Lightning Bolt came down immediately after, finally destroying the Earth Dome that William erected. Of course, the Lightning couldn't get far before reaching a second Earth Dome, which was raised well before the first was destroyed.

William had been preparing the second Earth Dome since the start of the Heavenly Tribulation, ready to cast it immediately after the first Spell gave way. He repeated this process for the fourth, fifth, and eventually sixth Heavenly Lightning Bolts, which each increased by a stage in strength, respectively.

The seventh Lightning Bolt was at the ninth stage of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, which was also the last strike that increased by an entire Realm compared to the last. Even with the Earth Boosting Pills, William's Earth Domes were only able to survive a single strike from the ninth stage Tribulation Lightning, shattering to pieces before the second could even form.

This seems to be about the limit of my current Earth Element. It probably won't hold against the next Lightning by itself. William thought.

But this was why he had prepared multiple Tier 4 Pills of different types, since he wasn't expecting to have an easy time dealing with a Superior Tribulation. William's Hard Skin activated first to defend against the remainder of the seventh Lightning Bolt, with strength at the peak of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm itself.

The remnants couldn't even scratch William's skin, so he was once again left unharmed by the Heavenly Tribulation, which made the golden-eyed girl up above incredibly angry.

How is this asshole still uninjured? The Tribulation is almost over! I could sense that his talent was immense, but I didn't expect him to go this far. I need to test him more!

She waved her finger in a circle while pointing downward, similar to how a child would play with the water in a bathtub when it was draining to make a small whirlpool. As if heeding the girl's commands, the red Tribulation Clouds swirled in the same pattern, condensing further and further as its strength reached the very peak of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm.

The golden eyes in the sky appeared once again, but this time they seemed indifferent. They blinked once, which seemed to trigger another change in the Tribulation as it turned a darker shade of red.

"I've combined the power of the eighth and ninth Tribulation Bolts into one. If you can defend against them both, I'll give you a suitable reward." the golden-eyed girl said simply, as if it didn't matter much to her whether William lived or died.

If he lived, then so be it. She would be true to her word and grant him a singular gift— one that would make a mortal like him drool. If he died, however, this William would become just another forgotten memory of a genius that had potential but pushed his luck too far.

It would be a shame, really, to see a talent like William go, but she had seen plenty. Not only that, but he was meddling in the plans of someone that wouldn't take the humiliation sitting. It was likely that, even if she did grant William a suitable gift, he probably wouldn't live long enough to fully utilize it.

Hearing the girl's words, William's expression hardened and he became serious. Now wasn't the time to joke around with all-powerful beings that could snap his neck with a flick of their wrist. Now, loot was on the line!

The Domain of Earth opened, one that the Heavens had already seen before, followed by the Domain of Ice that was much weaker but stacked on top of it without an issue. Both Domains cast the most powerful Dome Spell that William could muster, catching Sir Reynolds off guard once again with the sudden spike in William's aura.

He's still hiding his strength? Insane!

The two defensive Elemental Spells blurred together and formed identical Domes that soon became one. It was an Earth Dome layered on both sides with ice— cold enough to add layers of defense but warm enough to keep the Spell from becoming brittle.

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The golden-eyed girl raised an eyebrow upon seeing the enhanced effects of the Domains that William previously cast in one of his more recent battles. It seemed that the boy had consumed a few Pills that enhanced their effects, hence why the combined eighth and ninth Tribulation Lightning wouldn't stand a chance.

Then let's go a little bit further! I'll raise his reward as compensation, I just want to see him get hurt. That's what he deserves for speaking so casually to someone like myself!

Her finger wagged back and forth, causing the dark-red Tribulation clouds to condense slightly more, which raised the power of the final Tribulation Lightning Bolt to the first level of the Ascension Realm.

William almost couldn't perceive what had changed. If not for the Cultivation Talent displaying the level of the incoming threat, he wouldn't have noticed that the Tribulation Lightning had grown even stronger than before!

The Ascension Realm... how strong will it be?

William didn't have to ponder long, as the sky was once again lit up, blinding all parties as the powerful Lightning Bolt tore through space itself on its way to William's position. The second layer of space was torn open, which the Lightning Bolt passed through and used to jump to William's position even faster than expected.

He tried to layer two more Earth and Ice Domes on top of one another, but the ambient Mana was disturbed and he was only able to condense one more identical Spell, which the Ascension Realm Heavenly Lightning Bolt tore through at a rapid pace.

One second... two seconds... three seconds...

The Heavenly Lightning continued to tunnel through William's layered Spells that he continued to pour Mana into. By the fifth second, the Heavenly Lightning Bolt found a weakness and tore through the Spell like paper, rushing at William's body with incredible speed.

Only a quarter of its original strength was remaining, but he was forced to activate the Life Domain to heal himself just a single second after the Tribulation Lightning touched the skin of his arm. His arm was completely numbed by the effects of the Heavenly Tribulation Lightning, and fell off but his Life Domain grew it back just in time for it to be destroyed a second time.

His Regeneration Talent tried to kick in at that moment, but William suppressed the Talent to only take away a year of his lifespan, something he had learned to do over time.

-Your Regeneration Talent has triggered a side effect: +1 Age

The final Tribulation Bolt was eventually dispersed, after almost five minutes of back and forth between William's Talents and the Heavenly Tribulation. It was a tough battle for both parties, but William was now about to become a Golden Core Cultivator, which was yet another step closer to Ascending.

The golden-eyed girl knew William would pass the tribulation the moment his Life Domain opened, but she didn't expect him to take so little damage. He still lost an arm, albeit temporarily, so she accepted it as a win in her books even though she was now obligated to provide William with a suitable reward.

"Good job, young Cultivator. I will now present to you your gift, but don't get too comfortable. The Superior Tribulations will only become stronger over time, and your chances of surviving aren't looking very good." the golden-eyed girl said.