Tie Nse looked at the struggling Ed with a serious expression.

“Boy, this heavenly tribulation if anything, should have happened if you succeed in breaking through. It seems the heavens are not taking any chances,” he said to the contemplating Ed, whose situation was getting worse. His skin had started to die and peel off, landing in the pool of his blood. This was a pitiful scene. Tie Nse sighed and moved the rock to open the cave with a wave of his hand.

“I will hold back the lightning. But when you wake, you must be the one to face it. Better hurry up and break through boy,” he said, glancing back at Ed's pitiful form, then closing back the cave.

Tie Nse looked up at the thunder clouds and his eyes shrunk. It was spread several kilometres across the sky. This kind of lightning would not be sent just for Ed right? Was there already thunder loudly signalling the lightning brewing before it arrived? Tie Nse analysed what was coming by the strength of the thunder ahead in wonder. He soon confirmed that this was not some coincidence of weather meeting heavenly lightning. This was sent just for Ed.

His clothes fluttered as he took to the sky. He could see the clouds gearing for their first strike so he blocked the way. He floated just above the cave at the peak of the mountain and raised his hands to block the incoming strike. As he felt the lightning approach, his eyes turned serious. This was dangerous!

He had no intention of taking this lightening. Even though it could not hurt him, talk more kill him, the heavens could go on for as long as possible and he was not sure how long it would take for Ed to break through. With the level of the incoming bolt, it would eventually tire him. With a change of mind, he created a shield around the mountain.

The bolt struck and did not reach its goal. The hastily made shield had cracked. Seeing the cloud gear up for another strike, Tie Nse laid down a formation. His hands moved swiftly as he made signs in the air.

“Lion Turtle shield!” he activated it just as the second bolt descended. The bolt could not crack the shield this time. Seeing as it could not reach its goal, the clouds darkened the sky further. Bolts descended over and over, each strike more powerful than the last.

This caused Tie Nse to frown. What kind of Heavenly tribulation was this? It upped its power? This did not seem like a natural spiritual occurrence when someone went against the heavens. This looked like a heavenly being was sitting down on his throne and sending bolts to kill his disciple.

Tie Nse was now angered. A little more power and it would crack his shield. Consciousness? Heavenly tribulation with a consciousness? He had never heard of this before. Yet again, he had never heard of someone who could absorb all the variations of spirit energy, yet he was inside that cave below. He started to perspire. This boy broke the rules. That means that he should not expect things to go according to the rules. If this was so, was he not out of his league? Wouldn't this lightning for a spirit-picking kid be able to kill him?

He returned to the door of the closed cave and sat in lotus fashion. He sent spirit essence from his core into the formation to strengthen the shield. Seeing that the shield got stronger, the strength of the heavenly lightning tripled. It crackled in the sky descending bolt after bolt upon one spot. Its power was climbing, causing Tie Nse to pale. At this stage, it could kill him. What was going on? Was it not going to stop till the boy was dead?

It was only a matter of time. Tie Nse had exhausted his spirit essence and was now burning his life flame. If even one of these bolts passes though, he would be fried. Preparing for the worst, he used some of his last strength to protect his body.

The shield cracked at one strike and Tie Nse let go of the formation and protected himself. Even if he could save the boy, even if the boy could break through in time, he would have to come out and face the lightning at some point. Tie Nse did not think Ed would survive this. He felt regret sip into his heart as he thought about how stupid he was to think he could hold off the tribulation. He should have saved his energy and sent Ed away. This boy that had not even had the opportunity to gain power, had not even gotten the opportunity to reach the pinnacle of strength and feel what it's like to soar the skies. He felt he would have loved to see that day.

He swallowed as the bolt landed on the mountain and penetrated into the cave. In a blink of an eye, the cave was gone. Tie Nse looked at the clouds with a sigh but paused when he saw the clouds gearing for a more powerful strike. Does that mean it did not succeed in killing Ed? He swallowed a bunch of pills to regain his strength fast so that he could leave with Ed.

The dust cleared enough for him to see Ed still sitting in a lotus fashion. The clothes on his body seemed to have been burnt away by the lightning leaving him stark naked. He did not look as though he was dying. Even though he was still pale, his skin was no more drying and flaking off. The clouds rumbled and crackled, signalling another bolt descending. Tie Nse's strength had not returned as he tried to regain energy fast. His eyes shrunk as the bolt hit Ed.

Ed's body was like a hungry baby. It absorbed the lightning that touched it. Ed seemed a little bit healthier than before he was struck. The sight caused Tie Nse to break out in mad laughter. Terrifying Boy!

“Haha! That's a good boy! If you want to be abnormal, might as well take it to the extreme!” Tie Nse laughed madly.

As though provoked by Tie Nse's mad laughter, the sky darkened further. It was as though night descended instantly. Another bolt dropped. This time, it was stronger and thicker than ever. Still, Ed absorbed it all greedily. This strike caused his complexion to get rosier. He looked healthy and shiny like a newborn.

Tie Nse could see that Ed was using this thunder to consolidate his breakthrough. As if the heavens could see that it was only helping Ed get stronger, it started to retreat. The sky started to clear and the light started to return. But Ed was not done! His eyes abruptly opened and he looked up at the retreating clouds. He sent his energy into it. As his energy touched the clouds, he forced them back together and absorbed all the lightning created from the forceful bonding.

His body was like a vortex that stole all the thunder and lightning from the sky. Tie Nse paused as he saw this and his eyes turned weird. Ya, boy, aren't you taking it too far?

After a while, Ed could no more hold onto the clouds. As soon as he let go, the clouds retreated so fast, that one would not even believe they had been there.

“People try to run from heavenly tribulation, not steal the bolts, boy. The kind of enemies you are making, this master will one day die in his sleep, killed for being associated with you. It's all good and all, but they might not even grant me access into heaven to enjoy my afterlife!” Tie Nse said as he looked at Ed with a weird expression. If only Tie Nse knew that he might not even have the grace to die.