"Say that number again," Bladedance said with a strange look on her face.
"324?" Alex asked. "What about it?"
"How many times do you think you will get a chance to go through Immortal Tribulation?" she asked him.
"36," Alex said. "I have yet to go through a single one, so I have 36 chances before the tribulations start becoming unbeatable for me, right?"
"I see. No wonder you think you have a chance."
Alex felt strange at that moment, as if he had missed something quite obvious. But he couldnât think of anything, so he could only wait for his master to speak up.
"The Heavens arenât so kind as to let you go through 36 different tribulations," she said. "You wonât even get a chance to go through maybe 4."
"Huh?" Alex was confused. "What do you mean? Donât I get 36 chances at Immortal Tribulation?"
"Yes, but each tribulation is 10 thousand years apart," Bladedance said. "When you start forcing the tribulation to come down on you sooner and sooner, the Heavens will start to realize that you are strong and that you can handle it. At that point, it will simply skip up to the level of strength where you couldnât possibly handle it."
"That was what happened to me. I missed 6 tribulations, and yet just a single one came down for me. A single strong one. You ask for it too many times, and it will start skipping realms for you too. After that, there is no going back. That will have been your last Immortal Tribulation and the next one will be stronger."
Alex took in a deep breath, somewhat frowning at what he had been told. "So I wonât get the chance like I think I would. There wonât be 324 different lightning bolts for me to analyze."
"No," Bladedance said. "Not when you want to do it back to back. Itâs just not possible."
Only now did Alex realize the issue with his thought process. "If I wonât even get as many times, then I canât imagine it being possible."
"Hence why I said itâs practically impossible," Bladedance remarked. "It isnât impossible because it canât be done. But if you want to be practical about your Creation, then you shouldnât do it."
Alex nodded. "I think I have a technique that allows me to replicate auras so I can form my Creations on my own even if I am no longer present near where the aura is. Could I maybe use it to learn the barest aura from the lightning and then try? Even if I donât get 324 chances, if I could just learn the aura from 10 of them, I should be able to do something, right?"
Bladedance cocked her head to the side, falling into a deep thought. "That is a powerful technique that I donât think Iâve heard anyone use before. If the technique does work as you say it does, then maybe it can work. Maybe. I canât say anything confidently since weâre in strange waters with this idea of yours."
Alexâs eyes perked up. At least, it was no longer âpractically impossibleâ from what he inferred through his masterâs words.
"Then I should give it a try when I break through to the next realm," Alex said.
Bladedance didnât nod or shake her head. She simply remained frozen, her gaze unfocused, her mind in thought. After a moment, she asked a question. "Do you want to form tribulation lightning as your Creation to use it as perhaps a tool, or to use it instead as an offensive Creation?"
Alex paused for a moment. "I donât see how I could use tribulation lightning as a tool," he said. "Shouldnât it have to be an offensive Creation?"
"Thatâs the fundamental issue with your idea then, isnât it?" Bladedance asked. "Because tribulation lightning isnât necessarily a good offensive technique. After all, it allows the one attacked to use its aura to heal themselves and get stronger if you canât defeat them in a single strike."
Bladedanceâs words caused Alex to frown. "Yes, I think youâre right," he said. "But tribulations are so dangerous that I thought it was better if I made it my Creation."
"In that case, tribulation lightning isnât even the worst, is it?" Bladedance asked. "Heavenly Judgment is far stronger and harsher than tribulation lightning. It also doesnât leave behind any aura that could be later used to heal your enemies."
Alexâs eyes lit up before dimming again. "Where would I even find Heavenly Judgment?" he asked.
"Nowhere," Bladedance said. "So it might be better to stop thinking about turning tribulation lightning into your Creation right now. I donât want to dissuade you from trying it, but do consider it thoroughly if you really do want to make one. With the amount of miracles Iâve seen happen around you, I wouldnât be surprised if you do succeed. But the true question isnât if you can, but if you should. Think about it."
Alex took in a deep breath and gave a small nod.
Truth was, he really hadnât thought much about it. Tribulations were so feared that he mistakenly conflated that with the fear of the lightning bolts themselves. In truth, the lightning bolts were never the main danger. It was the bombardment of them one after the other, and that came from the Heavens.
Heavenly Judgment would perhaps be a better option since the lightning bolts were meant to punish and kill, but there was no feasible way to get that.
If he tried to get one for himself, he could die. If he tried to get it from someone elseâs Heavenly Judgment, then he would have to face a Heavenly Judgment for interfering, in which case also, he could die.
âSo annoying,â he thought with a sigh.
It seemed he might have to give up on the idea itself. Or at least, not go through with it until he had thought everything through.
âI have time,â Alex thought. âIâm sure I can think of something useful.â