Chapter 210: Jiang Li’s Battle to Break Through the Tribulation Stage

“Holy Maiden.” The elders and disciples greeted respectfully upon seeing Holy Maiden Jingxin.
In terms of cultivation and reputation, Holy Maiden Jingxin had long qualified to become Sect Leader. In practice, all matters big and small in the Pure Land of the Mortal World were handled by her.
The only thing separating her and the current Sect Leader was the title itself.

When it didn’t involve Jiang Li, Holy Maiden Jingxin was a perfectly composed and steady helmswoman.

“What’s this…” Holy Maiden Jingxin looked at the expanded peach tree barrier, utterly confused. She had never seen the immortal tree use such a technique.
Through layers of soft pink petals, she faintly glimpsed Jiang Li and the Grandmaster inside.

“Human Sovereign Jiang wished to spar with the Grandmaster. Their combat power is far too overwhelming, so the immortal tree expanded its barrier to protect the rest of us,” the elder explained.
This elder was a mature beauty, weathered by time, with a beauty mark at the corner of her lips—every expression carried a unique charm. Outside, she would have many admirers.
But within the Pure Land of the Mortal World, she was merely average.

As they spoke, the barrier faded, revealing two figures.

“Your body and soul aren’t fully integrated yet. Try not to fight again until they are,” Jiang Li advised.
The battle hadn’t lasted long, nor was the intensity that high, but the Mortal World Celestial was already panting for breath—clearly abnormal.

“Oh.” The Mortal World Celestial pouted, understanding Jiang Li meant well.

“If you want to go out and play, I can accompany you,” Jiang Li offered.

“No, I want to get used to my body quickly,” the Celestial declined.

Jiang Li could only sigh in regret. It wasn’t that he really wanted to go out with her—he just wanted to use her as an excuse so he could go out and play.

“Looks like you’re still stronger than Grandmaster,” Holy Maiden Jingxin said with a smile, handing the Celestial a gourd filled with soul-calming spring water. From their expressions, it wasn’t hard to tell who won.

The Celestial tilted her head back and gulped it down, utterly lacking feminine restraint.

Jiang Li’s mouth twitched. “You don’t teach her etiquette?”
The Celestial was like a blank slate—she only learned what others taught her. If no one taught her, she’d run wild.
Sometimes Jiang Li found it jarring to see someone with such a mature body acting so childishly.

“She won’t learn,” Holy Maiden Jingxin had earnestly tried to teach the Grandmaster—but she simply refused to learn. What could she do?
She couldn’t exactly accuse her Grandmaster of defying the sect and smack her hand, could she?
“She’ll mature eventually,” Jingxin could only console herself that way.

“How about we spar too?” Holy Maiden Jingxin suggested, hoping to close the distance between them.

Jiang Li gave her a sideways glance, wondering how her spiritual platform could be so unclear—did she really not understand her own limits?

Seeing that Jiang Li didn’t refuse, Jingxin took it as silent consent and brought out her Twelve-Petaled Azure Lotus.
Worth noting, this was her life-bound magical treasure—connected directly to her mind. It wouldn’t be affected by the Mortal World Celestial’s beauty. Otherwise, sentient treasures that saw the Celestial would lose control.

Back when the Yin-Yang Heaven Seal enlightened the world’s spirit treasures, there were many such treasures in the Pure Land.
When they saw the Celestial’s beauty, they all went out of control—trying to serve her, possess her.

Luckily, she woke up at that time and suppressed them all before things escalated.

The Twelve-Petaled Azure Lotus bloomed, emitting a deep blue glow—able to dissolve all things silently and completely.
This gentle power hid great danger. One misstep, and the enemy would fall.
But that applied only to Fusion Stage opponents.

Jiang Li twisted his right hand, using the Dao of Yin and Yang to transform the dissolving light into a purifying one—stimulating growth and completely harmless.
It was a Dao he had just learned from the Mortal World Celestial.

“That move of yours is very strong among Fusion Stage cultivators. Even Zhang Konghu might not withstand it.”

Jiang Li could tell Holy Maiden Jingxin had reached the peak of the Fusion Stage, and had enormous potential.
She was just one life-and-death trial away from breaking through—becoming a Tribulation Stage cultivator.
The question was, what would be her opportunity? When and where would it appear?
Or maybe… it would never come.

Breaking through the Tribulation Stage required not only talent—but luck.

“Still not enough. I’m not even at the level you were at in the Fusion Stage.” Jingxin wasn’t satisfied. She craved strength, craved to become Tribulation Stage, to ascend, to reach Mahayana.
If Jiang Li were to go to the Celestial Realm, she wanted to be able to follow.

“You were able to fight two Tribulation Stage opponents back when you were in the Fusion Stage!” Jingxin didn’t think she had reached her own limits yet. At most, she could exchange ten or so moves with a Tribulation Stage cultivator—nothing close to Jiang Li’s feats.

“You can’t compare yourself to me,” Jiang Li replied honestly.
“At that time, I was carrying the will of the people. Only then did I barely have the qualifications to fight two Tribulation Stage cultivators. If I hadn’t broken through to the Tribulation Stage midway, I definitely would’ve lost.”

Back then, after the former Human Sovereign passed, Jiang Li hadn’t yet ascended to the throne.
The Martial Emperor of the Martial Kingdom and the Sect Master of the Qing Heaven Sect had a deep grudge.
Their hatred finally erupted—resulting in a no-holds-barred battle to the death.

The Martial Emperor, backed by his nation’s fortune, temporarily reached the Tribulation Stage.
The Qing Heaven Sect Master was already at the Tribulation Stage. That meant two Tribulation cultivators were fighting in the Nine Provinces.
You can imagine how many people died—saying the rivers ran red wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

A mother clutching her child’s arm in anguish.
A child pushing the corpse of his mother.
A young girl crying in the empty street: “Grandpa, where are you…”

That battle brought separation, death, and tragedy to humanity.

To reduce the casualties, Jiang Li—still only at the Fusion Stage—tried to hold the two off until other Tribulation cultivators arrived.
He was forced to ascend the throne in haste, wielding the unfamiliar power of the people’s will—faith energy.
But since he hadn’t completed the proper ceremony, the power of faith wasn’t stable. Jiang Li was nearly torn apart from the inside.

According to witnesses, his entire body had turned red and swollen. His veins were visible under his skin, on the verge of explosion.
People wept and begged him to retreat—they didn’t mind dying, but the Human Sovereign, who hadn’t even grown yet, must not fall here. It wasn’t worth it.

The Human Sovereign’s fate was to battle the Outer World Demons, not die in some internal strife.
People were willing to be killed by those two bastards—they just didn’t want to see Jiang Li die here.

Jiang Li ignored them and fought with his life. But he was still no match and was pushed to the brink.
It was in that desperate moment that he broke through to the Tribulation Stage—reversing the tide.

The Qing Heaven Sect Master, realizing he was losing, turned to demonic means and performed a blood sacrifice on the entire Qing Heaven Sect to empower himself.
That ancient sect vanished overnight—leaving only piles of disciples’ clothing behind.

Even so, he still lost to Jiang Li.
Both enemies were ultimately slain.

That battle aside, even in a normal state, Jiang Li at peak Fusion Stage could fight a Tribulation Stage opponent for a hundred rounds.
He was stronger than Jingxin.

But Jiang Li’s strength didn’t come from raw magic power.
He was strong in tactics, in his understanding and application of spells, in his adaptability.

For example, Jiang Li could create new techniques mid-battle as needed.
Even Bai Hongtu had exclaimed, “You really are my brother!”

That kind of thing can’t be taught. It can only be realized through enlightenment.