Defiance of the Fall

Zac's greed-induced confidence came under attack as the tribulation clouds grew stronger without end. They soon surpassed the levels Zac faced when stepping into Late Hegemony and showed no signs of stopping. There being no hint of the Four Desolates wouldn't matter when the amount of lightning approached the levels of a Middle Monarch's attack.

"You're expecting too much of me," Zac warned.

Roan didn't answer. The Earth Child was going through a mysterious transformation while absorbing the immense amounts of faith stored underground. It was this process that had called down Heaven's Judgment. The tribulation appeared related to the Law of Impermanence. Roan was becoming something more than human, similar to how Alea was transitioning into a true Tool Spirit.

It wasn't exactly the same, though. Rather than becoming an undying spirit, Roan was becoming an incarnation of the Fertile Earth. Zac suspected he was getting some of the blame because of the unique location. He was the only real person in the realm, while the rest were replications of long-dead cultivators.

Zac released his breath just as he was about to give up on his plan to act as Roan's lightning rod. While the tribulations grew stronger, they grew more unfocused. Heaven's attention was being spread out as Roan's essence harmonized with the soil. Fusing with the lands had its advantages. The Fertile Earth was hiding its champion from the heavens.

By the time the clouds stopped growing, none of the lightning targeted Roan. The part focused on Zac was roughly at the level of when he formed his Earthly Daos. Zac was already back on Team Greed. So long as the tribulation didn't reach the calamitous levels of his Core breakthroughs, Zac was confident in surviving—even with Tam's body.

Getting a free serving of Tribulation Lightning could even be considered a windfall. The premature tribulation during Zac's core formation became the sword that brought Kator to his knees. That came at the cost of losing out on a round of purification. [Void Heart] had released its refined lightning during the breakthrough when Zac was barely holding on. He'd only dragged a few slivers into his yet-reassembled core before expelling the rest from his body.

The real problem was the Technocrats. The incoming vessels had stopped at a safe distance the moment the Heavens descended, even masking their aura to avoid getting implicated. Zac wouldn't just sit still while they plotted from a distance. He rushed out but immediately stopped in his tracks with a curse.

The Heavens noticed Roan if Zac moved too far away. And while Roan's aura of faith was rapidly growing, he was still a mortal without any cultivation. Taking even the weakest bolt was asking too much. Hell, any errant streak of lightning could reduce Roan to ash. It looked like he'd have to do without his specialty of turning tribulations into a weapon.