Chapter 33: Chapter 15: Transformation
Phantom had no time to react. As everyone watched in stunned silence, he took a direct hit from a bolt of lightning.
His already pitch-black fur was instantly turned to charcoal.
"Phantom!" Lin Yu cried out in alarm, and his surrounding subjects screamed in terror as well.
Lin Yu was about to run over and check on Phantom’s body.
"My Lord, don’t go!"
Chenxi, who was beside him, grabbed his arm.
"Why not?" Lin Yu struggled, trying to pull free from Chenxi’s hand, but the difference in their strength was too great. He couldn’t break away.
"My Lord, the tribulation cloud is still there. Phantom probably isn’t dead," Chenxi said, pointing to the cloud above Phantom’s head.
The tribulation cloud was now much smaller than it had been initially, but bolts of lightning could still be seen churning within it.
It seemed to be waiting for Phantom to prepare himself before unleashing another bolt.
Or perhaps it was waiting to confirm whether Phantom was dead, which was why it lingered.
As the tribulation cloud shrank, Lin Yu could sense more clearly that the consciousness behind it felt identical to his Territory Core.
’So, the World Tree’s core is the Celestial Dao of my territory?’
"Phantom, wake up! Snap out of it! Get into the cage next to you!"
"Phantom! Wake up!..."
"AWOOO—"
"GRR~ GRR~"
...
While Lin Yu was lost in thought, Chenxi and the crowd of subjects began shouting, trying to get Phantom to wake up and crawl into the Faraday Cage.
Finally, Phantom’s charcoal-like body twitched.
"Phantom, you can do it!"
"Come on!"
"AWOOO—"
...
Everyone noticed the slight movement, and their shouts grew even more fervent.
Amid the chorus of shouts, Phantom’s hazy consciousness cleared slightly. Hearing the voices around him, he tried to command his body to crawl into the cage beside him.
But his body felt unexpectedly heavy, as if it weren’t his own.
Fortunately, his constitution was strong. Through sheer effort, his body began to inch forward.
As he moved, flakes of black ash—his carbonized hide—crumbled off his body. Despite such grievous injuries, not a single drop of blood was shed. It was clear that when the celestial lightning struck, his very blood had been turned to ash, leaving almost nothing behind.
The tribulation cloud in the sky waited quietly as Phantom crawled into the cage, the lightning within its depths held in check.
Finally, after two minutes, Phantom crawled into the nearby cage and curled up inside.
’This is it,’ he thought through his hazy consciousness. ’My life as a wolf is over. Even if the Master’s Faraday Cage protects me from the next bolt, these injuries will kill me soon enough. I’ll just leave it to fate!’
"CRACKLE—"
The third bolt of celestial lightning descended. As everyone watched with a mixture of hope, nervousness, and fear, it struck the Faraday Cage.
The cage erupted in a blinding flash of light. Inside, Phantom lay motionless on the wooden plank, looking so lonely and helpless.
Five seconds later, the intense light on the Faraday Cage faded. Phantom remained inside, in the exact same position, completely unchanged.
"It worked!" Lin Yu exclaimed, happily pulling Chenxi into a hug and planting a firm kiss on her pretty cheek.
Chenxi’s eyes widened in surprise, her face flushing slightly as she let Lin Yu hold her and cheer.
"My Lord, I don’t think the Celestial Tribulation is over yet."
Just then, Chenxi glanced at the tribulation cloud in the sky and, startled, quickly pushed Lin Yu away.
"Huh?" Lin Yu looked up at the tribulation cloud and gasped in surprise as well.
But then, on second thought, he said, "It’s fine. Since the Faraday Cage works, any more celestial lightning should be useless against it."
The words had barely left his mouth when another bolt of lightning, this one green, shot out from the tribulation cloud toward Phantom.
At the same time, the tribulation cloud, having spent its last bit of power, vanished without a trace.
Compared to the previous three, this bolt of lightning seemed exceptionally slow, taking a full five seconds to reach the Faraday Cage.
As everyone watched, the lightning passed effortlessly through the cage, completely unaffected, and struck Phantom.
Seeing this, and with the tribulation cloud now gone, Lin Yu, Chenxi, Phantom’s mate and pups, and all the other subjects rushed toward him.
By the time they reached the cage, the fourth bolt of celestial lightning had already vanished.
Lin Yu ducked into the cage and gently touched Phantom’s body. Black, carbonized ash flaked off at his touch.
"Phantom..."
"My Lord, will Phantom be alright?" Chenxi asked from the side.
"He’ll be fine!"
Just as the tribulation cloud dissipated, Lin Yu had received a message from the Celestial Dao behind it—it was indeed the World Tree. For that reason, Lin Yu wasn’t too worried about Phantom’s condition.
Still, Phantom looked to be in truly dire shape. He was already a piece of black charcoal—so thoroughly burnt that he probably wouldn’t even need to be cremated. Lin Yu couldn’t help but feel a bit uncertain, worried that the World Tree, conducting a Celestial Tribulation for the first time, might not have gauged the intensity correctly.
Just then, Phantom’s closed eyes fluttered open.
Chenxi saw this and shouted happily, "My Lord, Phantom’s awake!"
"Huh? You’re not dead?"
"Ahem! Master, I feel much better now. I don’t think I’m going to die," Phantom said, his voice strained.
"No, that’s not what I meant... I was just..." Lin Yu scratched his head awkwardly, quickly changing the subject. "Anyway, how are you feeling?"
"I feel great. My body is itchy, like my wounds are healing." Phantom’s spirits were clearly and rapidly improving.
"And I have this strange feeling... I feel like I can... like I can..." As he spoke, a clear light emanated from Phantom’s body.
When the light faded, the Phantom they knew was gone. In his place stood a handsome, well-built man.
"Phantom?" Lin Yu called out hesitantly.
"Yes, Master?"
"Whoa, you took human form!"
"I’ve transformed? My body... my body??"
Phantom looked down at his own body and jumped in surprise.
"Don’t panic. A demon should be able to switch between their human and original forms. Why don’t you try it?" Lin Yu said reassuringly.
Hearing this, Phantom calmed himself and focused inward. Three minutes later, another flash of cyan light appeared, and Phantom’s wolf form returned.
His wolf form was now noticeably larger and more muscular than before.
"Master, I feel so much stronger. I could take on ten of my pre-tribulation self now."
[Name]: Phantom
[Race]: Wolf Demon
[Grade]: Legendary (Gold)
(PS: Became a demon, grade increased from Excellent -> Epic. As the first demon in the territory, received the World Tree’s blessing, grade increased from Epic -> Legendary.)
[Level]: 14
[Attack]: 54,080
[Magic Power]: 46,800
[Speed]: 57,200
[Defense]: 39,520
[Health]: 108,160
[Skill]: Wind Control
[Talents]: Demon, Wind Element Demon Core, Shapeshift
[Wind Control]: Control the wind elements both within your body and in the natural world. The wind elements will react and change according to the user’s imagination.
Currently Available Abilities: Ride the Wind, Wind Blade, Wind Wall...
[Demon]: All base attributes +100.
[Wind Element Demon Core]: All wind-type skill power +100%, duration +100%, cost -50%, cooldown -> none (can be cast infinitely as long as there is enough energy).
[Shapeshift]: Freely switch between human and original forms.
His stats and skills were absolutely ridiculous. A mastery-level skill, just like Chenxi’s, meant Phantom would only gain more abilities and grow stronger over time.
"Well done, Phantom! You could do more than just take on ten of your past self—you could probably handle a hundred, even a thousand of them now, no problem."
"You’re now without a doubt the territory’s number one warrior!"
After seeing Phantom’s stats, Lin Yu couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
’Looks like choosing the ’Demon’ path was the right call,’ Lin Yu thought. ’Undergoing the tribulation to become a demon guarantees a grade increase. On top of that, all base attributes get a +100 boost. After the multiplication from a high-quality Hero Template, the final stats are just unbelievable.’
"It’s all thanks to you, Master. If you hadn’t had me build that Faraday Cage, I never would have survived the Celestial Tribulation."
"Hahaha, that was your own willpower, Phantom. You were almost blasted to cinders, but you still forced yourself to crawl into that cage. I doubt any other beast could have done that."
After the two exchanged a round of mutual praise, the group excitedly carried the somewhat melted Faraday Cage back to the center of the forest to share the wonderful news with the rest of their people.
...
