RUMBLE! 

The deafening sound of thunder echoed in the massive room while powerful lightning serpents roiled in the clouds. 

Unlike the heavenly tribulation of the Spiritual Path, not only were the clouds darker, but they also poured a mountainous pressure that would make an average cultivator fall flat on their face. 

This made Yasenia curious. Why did that happen? Of course, she knew that the way of advancement and training was different, but the exaggerated reaction was not normal. 'Maybe this is not normal?'

Yasenia felt that she was not wrong. She had seen other tribulations. After all, there were thousands of body cultivators in her sect, and thanks to her resources, quite a few had broken through. Each time, she saw the cultivators sitting cross-legged and literally tanking the lightning bolts. 

Because of this, there were actually 12 deaths during these last years because of the Heavenly Tribulations. People were obliterated to the point that not even their corpses remained, just a blackened, charred crater. 

From these situations, she learned that Heavenly Tribulations would actually not stop after the death of the cultivators, and they would continue to strike anything in the area that had a hint of aura. From what she learned from Tatyana, the heavens would strike as such to eliminate chances of anyone who survived with just their soul to avoid dealing with the Heavenly Tribulation.

There were techniques that got rid of the body and left just the soul behind, after all. 

Yasenia was quite speechless when she learned. In this situation, although fair, the Heavens were ruthless. 

There was another problem, or better said, peculiarity, that happened with Yasenia's usual tribulation, other than them being strong enough to make any other creature despair. 

Attentive, the dragoness looked around, and to her surprise, she didn't see the Sun and Moon Gods. This made her thoughtful. 'Strange. Do they only appear for my highest-ranked tribulation? Or do they only appear for my spiritual path cultivation? If it is the latter, I can increase my Body Cultivation to much higher realms than the spiritual one and then face them when I'm much stronger.'

While the dragoness thought that, she knew it was a gamble. Even if it were the truth, what if the Moon and Sun Gods got stronger with her own overall strength? What if that was not the case, and they appeared in the highest tribulation?

In either of those scenarios, Yasenia's fate would be sealed. 

Therefore, she couldn't gamble. So, she would probably never try. Once her Body Cultivation caught up with her Beast and Spiritual cultivation, she would advance all of them simultaneously, or at least wait until all the paths reached the limits of the realm before breaking through all of them at once. 

Moreover, Yasenia's objective was to get stronger without shortcuts so that her foundation would always be as solid as possible. If the step forward she could take were not a perfect one, the dragoness would not take it until she could perfect it. 

She believed that, as long as she did her best on her cultivation path, she would be able to overcome her future challenges and reach higher realms. 

'I'll never bend my knee to a Fated tomorrow. If I'm truly Fated to die under my tribulations, I'll become stronger than Fate can ever predict and push through!'

That was her belief, and were she to fall to the Tribulations, then she would never regret it. Yasenia was sure that she was doing her utmost best to resist. If her "best" was "not enough," then that was that. She would welcome death with a smile on her face. 

RUMBLE!

The Heavenly Tribulation above her roared as if trying to make itself known. 

Yasenia looked at it and saw four lightning serpents moving, each of them bearing tremendous amounts of pressure and strength.

If any creature faced this as their first tribulation, no cultivators would exist throughout the universe. Even Yasenia, back when she met her first tribulation, would fail. 

It was clear that this kind of tribulation was targeting her, personally, not her cultivation base. However, Yasenia was unafraid. 

Her lips arched in a sneer. 'If you want to deal with me with just this, you are far too naïve.' 

With the sound of air being ripped to shreds, the first lightning bolt fell from the sky.

Yasenia looked at it coldly, and then she tensed all her muscles. The strain was piercing, as it felt like her muscles would snap, but even under this kind of extraordinary pressure, her right foot lifted and then fell.

Bang!

The soil below her cracked, and a spider web appeared, splitting all the stone in a large radius as if this step held the weight of a mountain. 

The ones observing her from outside the cultivation cave opened their eyes in stunned silence. 'Did Yasenia just… move?' 

Inside, the dragoness's arm bulged, showing perfectly streamlined muscles that pushed wider her usually soft-looking arm. Then, her entire body, starting from the ankle and up to the shoulder, twisted under unbearable pressure.

"SCRAM!" 

Yasenia punched upward and perfectly met with the lighting bolt. 

BOOM!

Yasenia's arm was thrown back, the skin on her knuckles completely red, showing that she had been burned, as small arcs of electricity moved across her body. However, the lightning above her head exploded like a glass structure being pressed at the weak point, filling the entire room with glowing particles.

Angered, the Heavens threw another lightning bolt at her, thicker than the previous one.

RUUUMBLE! 

The air vibrated with the sound of the powerful lightning bolt descending, but Yasenia's face remained unchanged as she crouched and then pushed her entire body upward, swinging her left arm.

The usually soft-looking body tensed beyond normal, marking the perfectly muscular body that normally hid under the layer of soft fatty tissue.

Then, like a cannon firing, her left arm shot upward and met with the second lightning bolt. 

BOOM!

Another loud explosion followed, creating strong gales inside the room.

The aftermath showed Yasenia's left arm covered in red-like streaks, showing where the powerful lightning coursed through, burning her tissue.

An involuntary twitch happened here and there because of the electric charge, but the dragoness's face remained unfazed, her enchanting golden eyes locked on the remaining two serpents above like two placid golden lakes.

Just after, Yasenia's pupils constricted for a second, and her lips arched, her seductive, deep voice asking aloud. "Impatient?"

RUMBLE!

Yasenia saw not one, but the remaining two lightning bolts started to move. 

The strength of each of them was far more potent than the second bolt. Even Yasenia would not remain unharmed if she met with them directly. 

Moreover, as soon as they started moving, the pressure falling on her tripled.

BOOM!

Yasenia's powerful legs bent, as even raising her arms felt strenuous. However, even then, while straining her neck's muscles, Yasenia kept looking up. 

Those two reptilian eyes had nothing but deep and unfaltering calmness while looking at what some would call their doom.

When the lightning was about to fall, Yasenia spoke. "I said that if you want to deal with me, you are far too naïve."

RUMBLE!

For a third time, the sound of air exploding and thunder roaring spread around the room. Then, the two lightning serpents fell from the sky. 

The people outside tensed because the pressure they released was big enough to be felt by their side. Honestly, comparing their tribulations with Yasenia's was like comparing a spark with natural lightning. 

Moreover, they knew that, while facing the cultivation for Body Cultivation, using spiritual arts was extremely difficult. It was not impossible, but the cost was not efficient enough, and the skills would also become slightly restricted in power. 

However, While Yasenia had not been able to break through, that didn't mean she didn't know any Body Cultivation Techniques. 

The manual, similar to her Spiritual Cultivation technique, came with its own techniques. 

Yasenia's energy moved as her body performed an upward punch.

BOOM!

A deep and ancient aura spread from her, clashing against Haeven's suppression, creating a visible dome above herself. 

It felt like a small umbrella fighting against an unending downpour. Moreover, even before the lightning bolts had fallen halfway, the wide umbrella had been shrunk in half.

However, this small breather was enough for the dragoness to move and chant the whole name of her skill. 

"[Celestial Cosmos Immortal Body Cultivation Art: Nascent Star Burst]."

The friction of her tendons and muscles created star-attributed energy that gathered from the tip of her toes and tail, filling her entire body with energy and gathering it toward Yasenia's arms.

A soft glow spread from her fist as her punch ripped through the air and collided with them. "Burst!"

BOOM! 

The lightning bolts exploded into particles while the shockwave flew upward and blew a hole in the tribulation cloud. 

Then, the clouds dispersed, leaving a perfectly unharmed woman in the center of the room. 

The girls and maids outside had their mouths dropped open, not believing what they just saw. 

Valeria commented, with admiration in her eyes. "My, really worthy."

Mirrory nodded, and she looked at the indifferent Tatyana for a second. Then, she looked down, and her lips twitched. 'Yasenia… Good luck tonight, you'll need it.'

Evelyn stuttered, incredulous. "Did she just overcome the Heavenly Tribulation's pressure and punch a hole in the clouds?"

Mirrory nodded. "Yes, she did. Of course, it was only possible because of the passive body strengthening of her Beast and Spiritual cultivation. However, the feat is incredible. You might not have felt it, but I could feel a hint of coordination between the three paths when she performed that punch. Her comprehension abilities are, as always, off the charts. The title genius does not get wasted on her, that's for sure."

The girls were speechless. They have all felt what kind of pressure the Heavens emitted, and at most, they could take a step or move their body slightly. Attacking like Yasenia just did was outright unthinkable. Moreover, the pressure Yasenia's tribulation emitted was far from anything they had felt until now.

They couldn't help but smile wryly. 'Our dragoness continues to be a lovely monster.'

Inside her cultivation room, Yasenia closed her eyes as energy spread around her body. 

Unlike the times when she broke through in the spiritual path, the energy didn't envelop her being and improved her body. Instead, from within her body, going even deeper, from within her cells, energy sank deeply and nourished them, nurturing her body on a fundamental level. 

It was a sensation similar to shedding one's skin to become stronger. 

Although the enhancement provided by the first level was negligible, Yasenia could guess in what direction Body Cultivation would strengthen her. Many ideas flashed in her clever mind, but she placed them aside for now. 

First, she needed to lay a foundation, and then she could start experimenting. As with everything, the basics were the things that needed to be strengthened the most so that she could then build upward with confidence. 

Spiritual Cultivation focused on the meridians, dantian, etc. As a core. However, they were auxiliary tools to feed the body during Body Cultivation. 

The real strength of a Body Cultivator was their ability to refine their bodies as if they were a weapon, strengthening not only the core but also the whole being. 

'No wonder the Heavens locks the body cultivator in place. These lightning bolts are the hammer to temper the body.'

The dragoness got thoughtful. 'Maybe receiving them is more beneficial than blocking them.'

Still, as she thought of that, she could feel pure streams of energy flowing into her from the destroyed Tribulation lightning bolts and nourishing her body. 

The dragoness tilted her head, confused. 'Is this normal? Or is it a reward for resisting and fighting back the tribulation?'

Not having any more clues, she shook her head and decided to ask the seniors and her lovers later. 

Even if her speculations were correct, she wouldn't know until she verified it. There was no reason to mull over it. 

Following her small rest, Yasenia stood up and continued cultivating. 'I need to strengthen my Body Cultivation with the energy I managed to absorb during this event.'

Her tail was an excellent tool to absorb energy, and it had done her job during this time. Sadly, it was just too heavy to use as an attack during the tribulation, leaving her with no other option than to use it as a supporting limb.