The massive black cocoon endured beneath the lightning tribulation for three full days, not a single shred of the tribulation's power going to waste.
All the great powers of the entire Imperial Capital were observing this spectacle!
The members of the Li family were no exception.
Meanwhile, within the ancient tree in the Heavenly Light Sect, a gratified smile graced the face of the Heavenly Light Ancestor. "A fine disciple indeed," he murmured.
Although he rarely emerged from the ancient tree, the actions of every single person within the Heavenly Light Sect could not escape his notice.
From the very moment Li Yaotie had first appeared in the Heavenly Light Sect, he had already taken notice of this peculiar fellow.
He had watched as Li Yaotie first entered the Heavenly Light Sect, how he had knelt in a stupor in his room for half a month, clutching a single storage ring and weeping his heart out. Yet, after that half-month had passed, he had witnessed Li Yaotie get back to his feet, and he had seen the unwavering resolve return to the man's eyes.
And then... he had watched as Li Yaotie began the work of a menial laborer.
At first, he could clearly sense the rage emanating from Li Yaotie. But then, slowly, Li Yaotie began to grow accustomed to a life of being treated as an inferior, disguising himself as the most ordinary of existences.
And yet, this child would spend every single day secretly studying the techniques of the Heavenly Light Sect. Whenever he was alone, Li Yaotie would meticulously deduce and practice the principles of the "unorthodox paths" he had managed to learn.
Never before had the Heavenly Light Ancestor seen a child with such unwavering determination. In Li Yaotie, he saw a shadow of his former self.
Even back then, the desire to take him on as a disciple had begun to stir in his heart. But it was still not quite enough!
For decades, in his eyes, Li Yaotie had been like a piece of crude ironware, its rough edges being ground away bit by bit.
The entire Heavenly Light Sect became the nurturing ground where this fine jade was tempered, a place that allowed this piece of iron, which possessed the potential for greatness, to absorb the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth.
And with that series of explosions, Li Yaotie had not disappointed him.
That crude piece of iron had finally revealed its brilliant, sharp edge.
It was at that very moment that the Heavenly Light Ancestor knew: he had finally found the "gold" that was worthy of inheriting his sacred lineage!
...
VMMMMMM—!
Three days had passed. All of the spying observers were now gazing with solemn gravity at the peak of the Mountain.
CRACK, CRACK, CRACK!
They could all see it clearly: the black cocoon had already absorbed all the power of the lightning tribulation.
The arrays upon its surface were growing dim, and from within, a restrained and withdrawn aura began to emanate.
Crack after crack started to appear across the cocoon's surface.
As the black cocoon shattered and fell away, the naked form of Li Yaotie was revealed, floating in the air. Astonishingly, he did not emit even the slightest hint of an aura!
During the tribulation, his limbs had all been a metallic silver, yet the Li Yaotie of this moment had, to their surprise, once again regained a body of pure flesh and blood.
The musculature of his body was not bulky like that of a bodybuilder, but instead resembled a perfect work of art, as if sculpted by Heaven and Earth themselves!
"Tianshuang... my children..."
If this had been the Li Yaotie of the past, he would have, at the very least, let out a wild roar and boasted a little before his clansmen. Yet the Li Yaotie of today merely frowned, his gaze falling upon the storage ring in his hand, the very one that had contained him after he had been sent to the Heavenly Light Sect.
His voice was steady and composed, but a flicker of deep sorrow passed through his eyes. "I will live on," he vowed softly, "and I will live well."
Then, without lingering for even a moment, he shot off in the direction of the Heavenly Light Sect.
His speed was terrifyingly fast, comparable to even the swiftest of spirit shuttles!
With this single display of movement, all the great powers of the Azure Dynasty knew that the rankings of the Nascent Divinity List were about to be shaken up.
"You scoundrels! You bastards!"
Within the Lai Residence, Lai Teng, who had been meditating cross-legged within a secret chamber, abruptly retracted the Nascent Soul he had sent out to scout.
He shot to his feet, a cold sweat instantly breaking out and streaming down his back.
"How can he be this strong?!" he stammered in disbelief. "He has only just broken through to the Nascent Soul realm! How is it possible for him to be this strong?!!"
He still had not forgotten Li Kuanghua, the one who had battled him on that day.
She was already an opponent capable of rivaling him; if Li Kuanghua were to fight with her full, desperate power, she could even drag him down into mutual destruction.
And yet, from what his Nascent Soul had just scouted, he was certain of one thing: Li Yaotie, despite having only just broken through to the Nascent Soul realm, was already capable of contending with him!
This was true even for the him of today, one who, after absorbing the power from the deaths of numerous avatars, now possessed the strength to vie for the very top rank on the Nascent Divinity List.
And it was not just him; all across the world, the other avatars of Venerable Tian Xing all had their brows tightly knitted in consternation.
They were all beginning to think that perhaps that long-ago invasion of Merit City had not been such a good thing after all.
...
After completing his breakthrough, Li Yaotie returned to the Heavenly Light Sect.
After first bowing respectfully towards the ancient tree where the Heavenly Light Ancestor was in seclusion, he immediately returned to his own chambers, and from there, his spirit immediately returned to the Ancestor Space.
At this moment, every member of the Li family was eagerly awaiting news from Li Yaotie.
Amidst the joyful congratulations of his clansmen, Li Yaotie knelt and kowtowed before Li Wei.
"Old Ancestor," he exclaimed, "this child has successfully broken through to the Nascent Soul realm!"
[Your descendant, Li Yaotie, has used the power of the lightning tribulation to fuse with various types of ore and forging materials. His numerous previous traits have been integrated. New Trait Acquired: Unorthodox Tool Body.]
[His body, having been tempered by heavenly thunder and earthly fire, has been thoroughly reforged into a living artifact. It now possesses the speed, strength, and hardness of the most powerful supreme-grade Spirit Artifacts. His body can serve as an array foundation, allowing him to become a living formation. It can transform into a puppet, causing his combat power to multiply exponentially...]
The information detailing the "Unorthodox Tool Body" trait scrolled on at great length in the event log, leaving Li Wei utterly dazzled as he read!
The other members of the Li family were simply overjoyed that Li Yaotie had successfully overcome the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation; for the most part, they could only sense the presence of his spirit soul and did not truly comprehend the full extent of how powerful he had now become.
Only Li Wei knew with perfect clarity.
Li Yaotie was now, in the truest sense of the word, a living weapon!
Every single part of his body now possessed the might and resilience of a supreme-grade Spirit Artifact. And an ordinary cultivator at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm, even if they were to exhaust all their strength, would find it impossible to completely destroy even a common supreme-grade Spirit Artifact.
And not only that; Li Yaotie's new trait allowed his body to house array formations, it allowed him to become a living puppet...
He was already proficient in the unorthodox arts, and his own strength would now continue to grow in tandem with every new unorthodox art he learned in the future.
"Peak Nascent Soul... The moment he broke through, he was already at the very peak of the Nascent Soul realm."
"As long as he has the confidence to temper his own body to the level of a Divinity Transformation expert, and as long as he cultivates his unorthodox arts to the fifth rank, he can then summon the Divinity Transformation tribulation at will!"
He watched as Li Yaotie laughed joyfully with his fellow clansmen. A keen glint appeared in Li Wei's eyes.
He felt a joy that came from the very bottom of his heart.
Venerable Tian Xing was a monster, it was true. But the Li family... they had a monster of their own now!
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