Infinite Potential System

While the Artifact Spirit was concerned with William's future well-being, William was staring at the sky with a wide smile. He brought the Sword of Shifting Sands out of his Space Ring along with the Mana Gathering Staff and held them at the ready while channeling the surrounding Earth Mana.

Only a Golden Core Tribulation? I beat you back when I was refining pills! He continued staring at the sky in defiance.

The Tribulations William faced in the Five Elements Sect were only barely in the Golden Core Realm, but his strength had improved countless times since then. William wasn't afraid at all!

The first Heavenly Lightning Bolt brewed, striking down at incredible speed with strength at the early stages of the Golden Core Realm. Since it was targeting William, his S-Rank bonus effect of the Reflexes Talent activated, slowing down time by fifty percent, but he didn't really need it.

William was already forming a defensive wall of earth above him before the bonus effect even activated, stopping the Heavenly Lightning in its tracks.

Not even a crack formed on the tough ceiling made of earth, an incredible difference compared to the last time William defended against a Heavenly Tribulation.

William was tempted to provoke the Heavenly Tribulation again, but there wasn't really anything to gain from it. He looked back at Sir Reynolds, whose expression had become calm. The Artifact Spirit already knew of William's combat strength, so the result of the first Lightning wasn't surprising.

"Sir Reynolds, you and Master are the only powerful ones in this Ruin, right?"

"Yes, that would be correct." the Spirit responded.

"In that case, I don't need to hold back!" William's eyes turned fierce as he unleashed the effects of his Earth Domain, filling the air with floating dust particles that carried incredible strength.

During his last meeting with Riyald, William learned that he could adjust the properties of the Mana in his Domain to fit his needs.

This meant that if he wanted to use the Fire Domain, he didn't need to raise the heat if he didn't want to. The Mana Particles of the Fire Element were completely under his control and he could conjure flames with incredible heat, or no heat at all!

The same idea applied to William's Earth Domain. Instead of just encasing himself or others in a solid brick made of earth, William could control the dust in the air for either offensive or defensive purposes.

If he wanted the dust to be tough, he could pack them together and protect himself. If he wanted them to be sharp, he could shape them into a giant Earth Spike that would pierce the enemy without fail if they entered his range.

With the former option, not only could he have the same amount of defensive ability, but William didn't need to obstruct his line of sight. It was the ultimate defense!

Thinking that last line reminded William of an animated character that controlled sand the same way he was doing now.

Will smiled with glee. This was fun!

The second Heavenly Lightning came crashing down, but William controlled the dust to form a shield above his head that deflected the Lightning into the distance.

Before the third Lightning Bolt could form, William shaped the dust particles into a giant drill and began to rotate it. He controlled the Earth Mana Particles to move upwards as fast as possible, launching the drill into the sky directly in the path of the third Lightning Bolt.

The Lightning was split down the middle while the drill continued to drive upwards, piercing through the clouds and dispersing the Heavenly Tribulation.

-Survived a Heavenly Tribulation: +10 PP

-Defeated a Heavenly Tribulation: +25 PP

The number of Potential Points William earned weren't as interesting as they were before, considering William could earn more than that amount from the Potential Farms in a single day now.

William was still surprised, however, when he saw the additional reward for defeating the Heavenly Tribulation. An additional twenty-five Potential Points was more than welcome.

So a Heavenly Tribulation doesn't need to be endured. It can also be defeated...

The sky became sunny again as William's Tribulation fully dispersed. Instead of being showered with energy from above, waves of Spirit Qi seeped through the ground and coiled around William's legs as they climbed up his body.

William's pores opened up automatically, allowing the Spirit Qi to enter his body with some difficulty due to the Hard Skin Talent.

His body was overwhelmed with a sense of strength like nothing he had even experienced before. He closed his eyes to better sense the feeling, then released a punch in a certain direction towards the blue forest.

A blast of wind rushed forward along with William's fist, pulverizing a tree that was nearly a kilometer away from his current position.

Is this the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm, or have I entered Soul Formation? William wondered.

The System answered his question for him without any cost.

-Your combat power has been in the Soul Formation Realm since Qi Refinement 8.

Wow, really? This entire time?

-Yes, but you're too stupid to notice it.

Was that really necessary, System?

-Yes.

The System went eerily silent, so much so that William's link with the System was distorted slightly.

William gave up on trying to reason with the System, whose bad attitude had arrived out of the blue. He looked at Sir Reynolds, who was in a state of shock from witnessing William's method of surviving the Heavenly Tribulation.

"I'm ready to go when you are, Sir Reynolds." William said.

The Artifact Spirit nodded, but there was a bit of inexplicable fear in his voice, "I'll take you back, but I hope you don't try something like that again."

William was confused, "Try what?"

"Dispersing a Heavenly Tribulation."

"What's wrong with that?"

The Artifact Spirit pressed his hand to his face with a long sigh, "You're too young and inexperienced. I should have Master explain this to you. Come along."

Sir Reynolds crushed another Portal Stone that he had asked for during the Tribulation, leading the pair back to the residence under the Gravitas Ruins. Their exit point was directly in the laboratory, where Riyald was currently inspecting the gears of an Array-powered miniature steam engine.

The duo's sudden appearance jolted Riyald from his work, causing him to drop a small wrench that he was holding in his right hand.

"You fuck! What did I say about sneaking up on me, Reynolds?" his expression was angry as he looked at Sir Reynolds. When he spied William close behind the Artifact Spirit, his expression softened, "How did it go, Disciple William?"

He leaned over to pick up the wrench from the ground while waiting for William's response.

"It is done," William said with a soft bow. "Sir Reynolds sent me here to ask you about dispersing Heavenly Tribulations."

Riyald dropped the wrench for a second time. His hands became shaky as he carefully looked at William's condition. He tapped on an Array located on his robes, wetting his chapped lips with a simulated Water Element.

"My dear Disciple...don't tell me you dispersed a Heavenly Tribulation..."