Given his status in the Ten Thousand Beast Sect, taking Li Shiming as a disciple would make Li Shimingâs growth process much smoother, and he would encounter fewer petty troubles.
"Grandmaster Hu, I wonder if casting an anti-lightning skill on my spiritual pet would affect its tribulation?" Li Shiming asked worriedly, looking at the gathering thunderclouds in the sky, with Grandmaster Hu by his side.
Though one shouldnât interfere with a spiritual petâs tribulation, he wasnât sure if casting such a state would count as interference.
In any case, during the Heavenly Tribulation from Second Grade to Third Grade, casting an anti-lightning skill didnât have any effect. He just had no research on the Heaven and Earth Rules for advancing from Third Grade to Fourth Grade.
"I forgot youâre a Thunder Cultivator, no problem, you can cast the anti-lightning state on your spiritual pet!" Grandmaster Hu chuckled as he responded.
At this point, he was quite clear that Li Shimingâs background was not prominent; otherwise, he wouldnât even know such a basic fact.
This was crucial, though Li Shiming could join the Ten Thousand Beast Sect midway, they must have investigated his background. However, since Grandmaster Hu intended to accept him as a disciple, he paid even more attention to this aspect.
Without a large faction backing, it meant that Li Shimingâs previous sect couldnât compare to the Ten Thousand Beast Sect, and he wouldnât have a very strong master.
Even if Li Shiming had some sentimental attachment to his previous sect, it wouldnât affect his feelings for the Ten Thousand Beast Sect.
Li Shiming cast the âYuqing Thunder Scriptureâ anti-lightning spell, bestowing the anti-lightning state on the Illusion Spirit Jiao.
This time, Grandmaster Hu showed an unexpected look again, as he sensed the flavor of Heavenly Thunder in Li Shimingâs thunder magic.
Reaching a level where thunder magic exudes the taste of Heavenly Thunder requires going through numerous Heavenly Tribulations.
He couldnât help but think of an idea he once discussed with old friends: that if a Thunder Cultivator experienced over a hundred tribulations of the same realm, they might transform their thunder skill into Heavenly Thunder.
But this was always just a hypothesis, utterly unreachable.
Not to mention how difficult it is for a cultivator to survive a Heavenly Tribulation, even ignoring how to survive one, merely experiencing over a hundred tribulations is an unattainable challenge.
While a spiritual petâs tribulation could allow its owner to experience it together, doing so would greatly increase the intensity of the Heavenly Tribulation on the spiritual pet, significantly increasing its risk of demise.
Moreover, while the spiritual pet could increase the ownerâs count of tribulations, itâs impossible to contract over a hundred spiritual pets.
A cultivator couldnât possibly bear such a number of spiritual pets; nurturing over a hundred to the level where they need to pass a tribulation would require resources so immense that it wouldnât be proportional to the benefits.
At this moment, the Illusion Spirit Jiao roared continuously at the thunderclouds in the sky.
During one day in the Ten Thousand Beasts Cave Heaven, Li Shiming supplemented the Illusion Spirit Jiao with a lot of Third Grade Spiritual Beast Essence Enhancement Pill, accumulating some energy within its body.
Its formidable bloodline made its body much stronger than ordinary Fourth Grade spirit beasts, and having already passed through more than half of its weakened period, it was in optimal condition to face the Heavenly Tribulation.
With a "boom," a bolt of Heavenly Thunder descended.
Watching the Heavenly Thunder, Li Shiming couldnât help but feel relieved.
This bolt of Heavenly Thunder seemed imposing, but to him, it really was nothing; the Heavenly Thunders he faced during his tribulation were at least ten times stronger than this one.
When the Heavenly Thunder struck the Illusion Spirit Jiao, a flash of lightning flickered on its body, vaguely showing the thunder and lightning runes of âYuqing Thunder Scripture.â
Ordinary thunder and lightning runes can enhance resistance to Heavenly Thunder. Whatâs more, Li Shimingâs Heavenly Thunder and lightning runes are capable of specifically enhancing defense against Heavenly Thunder.
The weakened Heavenly Thunder struck the Illusion Spirit Jiao, but instead of retreating, it advanced, issuing a defiant and loud dragon roar at the sky.
A dragon is a proud creature, and under the Heavenly Tribulation, the Illusion Spirit Jiao displayed the splendor of a Five-clawed Dragon.
Amidst the Heavenly Thunder, it continued to roar upwards, following the thunder towards the thunderclouds.
The second bolt of Heavenly Thunder, almost as if provoked, arrived without much delay.
The Heavenly Thunder struck the Illusion Spirit Jiaoâs body again, covering it with countless bolts of electricity as if cloaked in lightning.
The second Heavenly Thunder slowed its ascent towards the thunderclouds, but it didnât stop its upward flight.
Its strength was such that it feared not the Heavenly Thunder; at least this level of Heavenly Thunder posed no threat to a Five-clawed Dragon.
As for a Five-clawed Dragon perishing from a Fourth-grade Heavenly Tribulation? If that were the case, the Dragon Clan would have gone extinct long ago.
When the third bolt of Heavenly Thunder descended, the Illusion Spirit Jiao had reached below the thunderclouds. This thunderbolt was the most powerful of the three, and being so close, it struck heavily on the Illusion Spirit Jiao without any transition.
The Illusion Spirit Jiao clawed at the thundercloud, and the thunderbolt struck it, the pain driving it into a frenzy.
With one claw aglow with lightning, it left a long crack in the middle of the thundercloud.
With the three bolts of Heavenly Thunder done, the Heavenly Tribulation concluded as well, with the thundercloud dispersing along with the crack.
The Illusion Spirit Jiao seemed to feel victorious, having defeated the thundercloud. It roared in excitement, rolling freely in the air.
Within its body, the Heaven and Earth Rulesâ reward manifested, causing its Demon Core to change once more, further strengthening its aura.
"This is the Five-clawed Dragon; in the Ten Thousand Beasts Cave Heaven, not even a Four-clawed Dragon could be nurtured, but today Iâve finally seen the might of a Five-clawed Dragon!" Grandmaster Hu praised with a smile.
Though the Heavenly Thunder seemed trivial to him, a Five-clawed Dragon was undergoing a tribulation.
To turn a tribulation into a battle and confront the Heavenly Tribulation bravely, completely ignoring the power of Heavenly Thunder throughout the process, probably only such top-tier spirit beasts as a Five-clawed Dragon could do that.
The chick, seeing the thunderclouds disappear, found the Illusion Spirit Jiaoâs aerial rolling fun, flew up too, and stood on the Illusion Spirit Jiaoâs body, hopping around.
The Illusion Spirit Jiao maintained a length of fifteen meters, with its gold color more intense, appearing somewhat dazzling.
This dazzling gold might allow the Illusion Spirit Jiao to be discovered from a great distance.
Luckily, the Illusion Spirit Jiao had the invisibility talent, and it would not reveal its form normally, so this dazzling gold hardly affected it.
"Congratulations, a Fourth-grade Five-clawed Dragon, and there should be few Nascent Soul Early Stage practitioners who can defeat it!" Grandmaster Hu said to Li Shiming with a smile.
In his realm, he could naturally sense the formidable nature of the Illusion Spirit Jiao.
The Illusion Spirit Jiaoâs means of attack were undeterminable, but its defense was visibly apparent.
The Illusion Spirit Jiao possessed strong defensive power against energy, coupled with the Dragon Clanâs inherent physical defenses, leaving it with few defensive weaknesses.
In battle, the Illusion Spirit Jiao could withstand enemy spells head-on, using its Dragon Clan speed to charge the opponent.
Additionally, the Illusion Spirit Jiao could serve as a shield, blocking attacks for Li Shiming, the Thunder Cultivator, allowing him to cast thunder skills without any concern.
This was the tactic Grandmaster Hu thought of. Itâs unparalleled not only because of the Thunder Cultivator and Five-clawed Dragonâs synergy but even the Five-clawed Dragon alone would rarely be matched by practitioners of the same rank.
"Thanks to your protection, Grandmaster Hu!" Li Shiming bowed and thanked Grandmaster Hu.
Even though Grandmaster Hu didnât say it, bringing him to Tribulation Mountain and watching the Illusion Spirit Jiaoâs tribulation alongside him carried a clear protective intention.
This man was a Great Cultivator, one of the top existences in the entire Ten Thousand Beast Sect.
"Li Shizhen, I wish to take you as a disciple, what do you think?" Grandmaster Hu raised Li Shiming up and asked earnestly.
Now that the Illusion Spirit Jiao had succeeded in its tribulation, at least guaranteeing it could become a late-stage Fourth Grade spirit pet, Li Shiming was qualified to become his disciple, and he hesitated no more.
Li Shiming was momentarily stunned, quickly calculating in his mind.
He wasnât opposed to becoming a disciple; in a large sect like the Ten Thousand Beast Sect, having no background made it difficult to make it.
His current background was the Feng lineage, but itâs hard to say how much support Feng lineage could genuinely offer. He worked diligently to showcase his alchemy skills just to amass more leverage.