Heaven, Earth, Me

In the sky, Change'er spoke with Tai Yang. "She has grown beyond our expectations."

Tai Yang looked at the eight Tribulation Soldiers getting ready and commented. "Her strength is borrowed. She is using the [Celestial Pearl] to boost her compatibility with the Celestial Energy. She won't have it for the next wave at the pace she is going. This is the last wave with it."

Change'er added. "You are not giving her enough credit. She is from a middle-level world; worse, she has been training in a newborn world for the last few years. Yet, she is as strong as she is."

Tai Yang sighed. "Change'er, there are plenty of geniuses all around the heavens that make her look like an average cultivator. She is strong, plenty strong for her level. But in the overall scheme of things, she is lacking."

Change'er disagreed. "It is the truth that those Juniors from peak sects receive incredible treasures and cultivation environments, making them stronger than most. Still, Yasenia has reached her current level completely by herself. While she has had a bit of help from that young death demigoddess and the red-haired woman, her resources are like comparing mud to celestial water." Change'er continued with a sharp tone. "Don't answer emotionally. We must be objective so that we can predict her strength better the next time."

Tai Yang crossed his arms and sighed. "Does it even matter?" His eyes moved toward Mirrory, and Mirrory moved her cold gaze at him. "She is a problem."

Change'er looked over and frowned. "Yasenia was honestly lucky to find her."

Tai Yang nodded. "Thankfully, she wasn't the one that gained that inheritance or her presence would be much more than a problem."

Change'er said with a cold face as Yasenia and the eight Tribulation Soldiers began their fight. "The end result is immutable, regardless of who she is. And for her words…" Change'er sneered. "Heh. Ramblings of the dead. What does she mean by 'Your actions will be punished'? Who can even punish us?"

Tai Yang laughed. "How about a Saint?"

Change'er rolled her eyes. "Why not say the Main Heaven WIll?"

As they spoke, they suddenly felt a tremendous energy wave coming from Yasenia, making their relaxed faces tense. "What is she doing?"

Meanwhile, below, Yasenia was about to face the next wave. She could feel the connection with the Celestial Pearl becoming fainter and her harmonizing with the Celestial Energy slowly going back down to normal. 'If I fight like I have done, I'll be done by the time I face 16 Heavenly Lightning Soldiers.'

Yasenia saw the 4 Sun Soldiers approaching frontally with the Moon Soldiers behind them. They were lined up to use a sequence of interchanging attacks. The tactic was not complex, as the Sun Soldiers would probably gather her attention and try to destabilize her defense while the Moon Soldiers would use those openings to sneak in swift attacks.

However, Yasenia didn't have time to play with them. Her [Celestial Pearl]'s energy would run out before that. 'Let's quickly deal with them so that I can weaken the next wave before its energy runs out.'

Yasenia stepped forward, her left foot landing on the ground with a sonorous sound, and her sword went from behind in a massive arc that carried the strength of her entire body. "[Draconic Dawn]!"

A golden and silver arc of energy shot in a massive arc left the Tribulation Soldiers with no other option but to block.

BANG!

The power behind the attack was enough to halt their advance for a second, but Yasenia was not done. Draconic Dawn was powerful, but its primary use was not the attacking part but its ability to convert all her accumulated Moon Energy into Sun Energy.

Yasenia's aura exploded with scorching temperatures as she used her previous motion to take a step forward with her right foot. Then, she raised the sword skywards.

The next instant, a golden Sun was born in the middle of the Tribulation Plaza. The heat emitted by the dragoness's sword was high enough to be felt from faraway places. Wherever the light emitted by her sword reached, the temperatures rose.

Then, she chanted with a voice that felt like it had the weight of a mountain. "[Draconic Noon]."

ROAR!

As her sword descended, the entire world was bathed by golden light, and a titanic golden dragon-like beam rushed forward with a rumbling roar.

The massive golden beam was not just a frontal attack; from the skies beyond the Tribulation Clouds, a titanic circular beam descended in a pincer attack.

The eight Tribulation Soldiers gathered their own strength, and their bodies burst with terrifying lightning.

RUMBLE!

The thunderous sound of their energies exploded as they fought back the terrifyingly devastating attack that clashed against the deep and penetrating dragon roar, creating a mix of sounds that made the world tremble.

The attacks and soldiers clashed, and for an instant, everything was white.

The explosion swallowed everything in white light, blinding everyone.

Then, the collision's effect occurred. A nova of energies expanded and swallowed the skies of the Tribulation Plaza, the massive attack's shockwave reaching the protective barrier and pushing against it.

With energies swirling like an inferno filled with golden flames, the entire Tribulation Plaza had been devastated by the fully powered Draconic Noon.

Yasenia felt the energy inside her drop by a significant amount, but she didn't mind as much. She was still unsure if her attack managed to defeat all of them, but she was sure she got at least more than half.

After a few moments, the clouds blocking the view cleared, revealing the aftermath.

Where the eight Tribulation Soldiers stood, only two remained. Yet, their bodies were crumbling and weakening, clearly having received tremendous damage. The dragoness tapped the ground and flew towards the still soldiers, her face wary.

After all, why would these two stop mid-air? They were creatures made for fighting and killing her, so it should be clear that they would charge at her regardless of injury right when they were able to.

Using Pegasus Gallop and combining it with Sun Charge, Yasenia streaked through the air like a shooting star, and her sword impacted against the Sun Soldier.

BOOM!

Its body crumbled quickly, but Yasenia didn't stop to think. Instead, she promptly swiveled and approached the Moon Soldier.

Without a sign of resistance, her sword struck true again, making it explode like the other.

This confused her greatly. 'What happened to those two? Too much damage? But they are made of pure Heavenly Lightning and the Moon and Sun God's energies. They shouldn't have movement handicaps when they lose limbs- wait.'

Yasenia looked at the two Gods with a thoughtful gaze. 'Did their energy change something else other than strength? Was the tradeoff for strength a more human-like response? Or, perhaps the internal structure is more fragile as a combination of energies and wounds actually affect their combat power?'

Yasenia's gaze turned toward the remaining 17 Soldiers. 'Now, I will probably face 16 of them, and after that, I will face that one.'

Her gaze landed on a massive dragon-like Heavenly Lightning Soldier holding two long swords. The one the two gods targeted looked like a bipedal dragon with powerful wings, armor, and a long tail behind it.

The blueish color swirling on the golden and silvery surface also gave Yasenia a bad feeling, alerting her senses to its potential danger.

However, she refocused on the sixteen soldiers who had already prepared and raised their swords. 'My [Celestial Pearl]'s energy is almost empty; I have around 20 more seconds until it runs out. I should go all out, and as it finishes, I should use [Celestial Dragon Body]. For the rest, let's plan as I fight.'

The sixteen soldiers, eight of each kind, approached her but didn't do it head-on. Instead, the eight Sun Soldiers surrounded her in a circle as they landed on the ground around her. Above her, the Moon Soldiers also hovered, ready to attack.

The dragoness didn't have the luxury to wait and see what they were doing, so she used [Ursa's Grasp] and [Pegasus Gallop] with beautiful combined footwork. Her speed increased tremendously as her bodily strength was multiplied.

Becoming a blue shadow, she reappeared in front of a Sun Soldier. The creature quickly reacted, dropping its sword with the intention of bisecting her from head to toe.

The dragoness's rising slash met with the Sun Soldier's descending one, but the result was different from the first time she clashed. Using clever swordplay and having been accustomed to their strength, Yasenia managed to cushion the blow without losing her stance and crumbling the Sun Soldier's one.

Before it could react, the dragoness's tail flashed like a spear, piercing through its chest and exploding with moon energies.

BOOM!

A massive hole appeared in its chest as the body slowly started disintegrating.

While Yasenia finished off that Sun Soldier, the rest had charged at her in an orderly manner. 'I've realized, but… the more of them there are, the better teamwork they can show. Moreover, it is not a linear increase.'

As they approached, her thoughts flashed with how to counterattack and tackle this battle. 'My intents are constantly working and giving me information. Thanks to my Celestial Intent Level 5, I could use the Celestial Pearl's accumulated energy much more efficiently. My War and Monarch intents are also constantly helping. My enhancing skills are all used, except the combined ones. Right now, I should use Moon energy instead of Sun energy and play on the defensive.'

Yasenia rationalized. 'This battle with the sixteen will be much harsher, so I will need to slowly cut down their numbers until I'm comfortable enough to go on the offensive. Using injury for injury is not a good tactic yet, but I might have to resort to that if I can't land any decisive blows.'

Her spiritual sense, war intent, and innate senses worked on analyzing the enemy's battle tactics as they approached. Thanks to her extremely powerful soul, these thoughts and actions were done in less than an instant, which allowed her to think quickly and create plans in time frames that otherwise would feel like the blink of an eye.

Activating [Firmament Battle Dance] to increase her coordination and speed, Yasenia also changed the shape of her sword to a slimmer one, but not smaller.

The two-meter-long sword was now two palms on the widest side instead of being as broad as her waist.

Then, a melee of quickly exchanging attacks started. The symphony of the attacks created metallic sounds that echoed all around the place. Yasenia moved between the 15 creatures with incredible sword tactics and footwork, receiving very light injuries that healed almost right away thanks to her regeneration.

The time of the [Celestial Pearl] soon was about to come to an end.