The multicolored bloodline in his chest ignited, and with a deafening sound, it...detonated!

Of course not in the literal sense, or that would’ve already killed Emperal.

It was more like a Verth explosion; an intangible but raw energy ripped through the air and went straight to the sky.

Emperal once again coughed. He tried to move his hands, but they weren’t responding. Through sheer will, he managed to move his left hand.

Searching his pockets, his fingers brushed past a smooth surface. Pulling it slowly, he found the two shiny pills.

The wolf immediately got alerted when it saw this, but its paws...they were shaking. It let out a confused whimper when it felt this. An intense premonition washed over its body as it felt the Verth around those pills.

Emperal ignored the wolf and popped the healing pill in his mouth, "At least don’t let my consciousness die."

He muttered before his gaze fell high above the sky; the clouds were moving. They were moving in a circular pattern and gathering around...something horrifying to say the least.

The clouds continued to move around in circles, occasionally sparking small bolts here and there.

The clear night sky that had been open and star-filled moments ago was now starting to close.

"So...the tribulation that the dragon talked about is finally happening, huh?"

Emperal watched it with burning curiosity, unaware of how dangerous a situation he was in.

Closing his eyes, he popped the pill in his mouth, and a profound sense of warmth washed over his entire body. The effects of the pill were almost immediate, a flood of energy so clean that for a moment Emperal was stunned.

"What the...which grade of pill did Vraelyn give me? T-This—this is not a normal pill."

The four two-inch gashes across his chest and abdomen began to knit at a speed that should’ve honestly taken days, if not weeks, to heal.

The broken ribs across his body ground back into alignment with myriad sensations.

And finally...in mere seconds, Emperal was in pristine condition.

"...Goodness."

Looking ahead, he saw that the wolf had stopped moving. Its face had become unnaturally pale, and it was pushed back at the clearing’s edge. Its four paws remained planted on the ground while it stood absolutely still.

The intoxicated look from earlier was gone, replaced by genuine...fear.

But Emperal ignored the wolf for now; he had far more dangerous things that required his attention.

The clouds had stopped moving; they hung in a perfect circle. These weren’t your average everyday sunny clouds; they were dense, dark, and wrong in many ways. The entire forest border had gone completely silent.

A bead of sweat dripped down his chin, "Is this already starting? Dammit, I don’t have a single high-grade artifact on me for protection!"

His worries weren’t unfounded because in the next moment...the first bolt descended!

It ripped through space and arrived. A column of pure white and transparent Verth light that connected the sky to the earth in space...in a single heartbeat, it connected directly to him!

Just him...

The pain...was beyond his ability to process it as mere pain. He couldn’t even register it properly.

"...Argghh!!!!"

A feral cry tore from his throat as his entire body turned deep red from burning! Smoke filled the entire area as Emperal began to writhe in pain.

"M-My Verth...it’s burning!!"

It was as if a higher being’s nature was being forced upon him, his channels and threads.

Every Verth vein he had painstakingly built began to open as his Verth Seeker cultivation screamed under the load and held.

But miraculously, his wounds. As soon as they were opened, they were being forced closed and healed. It was the pill energy; he had absorbed only a few percentages of the medicinal properties inside it.

His eyes rolled back from the pain; he was barely holding on to his consciousness and...life. The only thing keeping him alive was the pill he had earlier. With sheer will, he managed to get up and sit cross-legged.

For a moment, he was genuinely scared, because the damn tribulation had even affected his Spirit Root!

But unbeknownst to him, the tribulation lightning spread throughout his body, and together with the pill’s effects, they were strengthening his body to a terrifying degree.

But, in the middle of all this, his eyes couldn’t help but wander towards the wolf. Following his gaze, he saw the wolf still standing there and shivering like a baby.

Seeing this, the corner of his lips curled up. "Hmph! where is your previous smugness, wolf?"

Although the wolf wasn’t far, it wasn’t exactly near him either. It was at least twenty-five to thirty meters away from Emperal.

Gathering the remaining Verth in his legs, Emperal leaped with all his might!

Awoooo?????!!!!

The wolf was horrified when it saw Emperal’s actions!

He landed approximately a foot away from the wolf with all the grace of a man who had just been struck by lightning and decided to fulfill his petty vengeance.

The wolf tried to scrabble, but its speed was cut by more than half, its massive body that had thrown Emperal into the tree twice...was actively trying to get the hell away from Emperal.

Sizzling sounds echoed throughout the clearing as intense smoke came out of Emperal’s body. His colour was still the same burning red.

"After giving me so much trouble, you dare run from me, Emperal? Hah!"

The second bolt descended!

It was indifferent, its goal was Emperal. It also didn’t care about the Verth Wielding Stage Two beast. It arrived with the same intent...Destruction.

CRACK!!! 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

BOOM!!

The impact drove Emperal straight into the ground...half of his body burned into a crisp. Just before losing his consciousness, he popped the pill in his mouth and dropped lifelessly onto the ground.

But surprisingly, the Crimson Maw wolf too lay on the ground. Its fur was entirely burned, and it was almost on the verge of...dying.

Cough Cough

"Cough...Cough, what a rude little fucker. How dare you die? I’m still not done with your body."

Emperal’s body twitched, ever so slightly. The moment his consciousness returned, he coughed up another mouthful of blood.

Looking at the wolf’s body, a maddened grin spread across his face. With his right hand, he dragged himself towards the wolf.

His entire body was shaking and trembling at a frequency it had not previously been designed for. The second bolt had been a bit different from the past one. But, yes, the world wasn’t just black; it had its own set of rainbows.

The lightning had stirred his Elven bloodline!