Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

Before the lightning stroke could touch him, Hal had surrounded himself thickly with Devil energy which acted as a shield and reduced the damage received.

"Grrr" Hal growled and his eyes turned wild with a level of seriousness and anger that he had never shown thus far.

Nothing had ever forced him this far and it annoyed him immensely.

After surviving the lightning strike with even smaller amounts of injuries as opposed to the other more effective strike, the healing/regenerative abilities of his bloodline finally caught up with the damage, and Hal\'s eyes widened even more than before.

He stopped his descent with a sudden and flamboyant spread of his Devil wings and after an impressive evasive maneuver that allowed him to avoid getting hit once again, he began to charge up at the tribulation.

His plans had not changed.

He was still targeting the very heart of the tribulation for the delivery of his decisive strike.

*Crackle*

*Crackle*

*Kraka boom!*

The tribulation returned Hal\'s aggressive energy in doubles and triples as it continued its attempt to strike him down.

In fact, at its heart which Hal was targeting as was evident by his wild and focused eyes, multiple lightning strikes converged to form a gigantic and oppressive strike that Hal was sure he would not survive if he was hit.

And when it was released, it moved at a speed that Hal\'s fast reflexes were useless against...

*KRAKABOOOOMMMM!!!*

It hit!

But Hal had never even made to evade because he was done charging up the combined might of the loyalty of his forces.

Congealing it into a large nightmarish black pentagram that really released immense energy that rivaled even that of the tribulation, Hal flew up.

Slowly nearing the heart of the tribulation.

It became a contest between the combined might of Hal and his forces against his bloodline tribulation and the victor became clear in a second.

No matter how much harder the tribulation tried to fight back, it was way out of its element.

Backing that combined might resultant of the loyalty all members of his forces towards for him, was the sovereign Dao, and together, they were a magnificent combination, against which, the tribulation had no hope of triumph.

*BANGG!!!*

*BOOOMMMMM!!!!!*

The result was a spectacular and gigantic explosion that rocked the location Hal was at to its core.

Hal used the energy gotten from the displaced clumps of lightning to refine his physique to make it even sturdier than it already was, so that his body, while he was still at the comic Aurora realm and not making use of his Devil form, was comparable to Pagoda grade Artifacts.

As the clouds cleared and Grimoire stopped shielding the environment from all senses, Hal returned to the ground and reverted to his human form.

His clothes were torn up and charred and he was still sporting injuries but he knew it was only a matter of time before it all healed up.

He opened the portal into the Harem space where he crossed his legs and refined the energy he had received from the tribulation.

With it, he easily crossed the mid-stage of the Cosmic Aurora realm and into the late stage but his progress did not stop there, and only when he crossed into the peak-stage of the Cosmic Aurora realm was the energy used up.

Considering he had not cultivated for a year and had been focused on the comprehension of his Dao, the fact that just refining the energy that he had received from the dismantling of his tribulation had made him advance two cultivation stages in a realm where advancement was difficult and took time, was beyond impressive.

He could not help but consider the tribulation as more of a boon than a punishment despite the difficulty involved in destroying or defeating it.

Hal spent ten hours in the Harem space, refining the energy, and only when he was done did he begin to review his body and the changes he had undergone.

The discovery of his Dao was an important milestone that had affected practically every aspect of his life and he had a feeling that it was others who would notice it even more than he did.

The change in his Devil form was also a concerning fact.

Ordinarily, having a Divine bloodline was a criterion for Godhood and so having the Primeval Devil bloodline that was by default, Divine, had been considered a boon.

But now, the fact that he was showing signs of individuality was telling Hal that it would be a setback rather than a boon.

He was not the only one noticing this as well.

Within his soul world, Nihasa had noted this detail and as she passed it on to her true self in her Domain, there was visible anger in the Primeval Devil Queen\'s eyes.

All that she had done thus far was to retain control over Hal and through him, gain control over his connection to the Primordial principle of Order.

Her generals who she had sealed within him as well as her will that she had placed inside him were all for this reason.

The lightning that had set him on the path of transmigration had been the first hiccup but she had been sure she would be able to salvage her plans and at first, things were looking that way.

Despite the tool he had at his disposal(she felt sure he had a tool) and had made his transmigration possible and in turn destroyed her reincarnation ring, she had been confident in the eventual success of her plans.

But him comprehending the Dao of Sovereignty had ruined things as much as it possibly could...

Now, she could not make use of her failsafe and was essentially forced to watch on from the sidelines for the perfect moment to strike (so to speak).

That said, despite the better control he had upon himself by comprehending his Dao, Hal was still incapable of purging her influence on him so the two were essentially at a stalemate...

"For now" Hal said with a sly smile.

...

One hour (normal time) later, Hal excited the Harem space and brought out his golden chariot carriage which he brought Sassy out of the Harem space to steer.

Their destination was the closest city to the location of the tomb where he would make use of a Teleportation circle to go directly to the Doxon Duchy capital.

Upon arriving at the city hours later, even more time than it had to take them to go from the city to the tomb a year ago because they were taking their time and were in no rush, Hal returned the carriage into his Inventory before he approached the Teleportation circle building.

Sassy was back in the Harem space mostly because, cheap as Hal was, he would always take the cheaper option and it was cheaper to teleport him than it was to transport both he and his familiar.

He noticed that the eyes of one of the attending Runemasters widened upon seeing him before walking hurriedly out of the room and for a minute, Hal thought of confronting him but eventually let it go.

Even if it was a plot for his death, he was not too worried.

In fact, he was on a bit of a high and would welcome some altercation from anyone willing to attack him in the Doxon Duchy capital.

The usual procedures were met and soon, Hal was moving through the void and all the while, being guided by the coordinates imputed in the circle.

When he arrived above a teleportation circle in a teleportation building in the Doxon Duchy capital, almost one day later (as that was how long traveling with the circle took), there were three waiting for him outside the building....