Beggar Cultivation System

Klown's sclera turned as black as the void. His strength increased, each punch and kick causing the air to explode.

His fist slammed into a water barrier, shattering it upon impact. Appearing in front of the Great Serpent Headmaster, his face twisted into a confident, mocking smile. "Two lions can't live on the same mountain, Axton! You know that!"

Axton conjured a translucent sword, blocking the fatso's kick. Shockwaves erupted with them at the center.

"We coexist peacefully, following the will of the treaty. We don't want power, nor do we want this city. All we seek is Enlightenment. You're thinking too far ahead, Klown," Axton said coldly.

"Enlightenment?" Hearing the word, the Mayor's face flushed red with anger. "That's bullsh*t! Power! Strength! That's all that matters in this world! You think I'll believe your lies?! No one dares to take me seriously because of you and your cultivation schools that exist only to take what's mine!"

"And what exactly is yours?" Axton raised an eyebrow as their bodies blurred, reappearing several meters away after exchanging dozens of moves in just a second.

He began to understand where the Mayor was coming from. Klown likely felt his position diminishing into nothing when compared to the Cultivation Schools.

"People! To rule everyone and everything!" Klown's body became enveloped in red smoke. He materialized behind the Great Serpent Headmaster, red whips forming in his hands. With a swing, the whips coiled tightly around Axton, but it was only a clone that exploded into a cloud of mist.

"That's your sole reason for doing all this?" Ten versions of Axton surrounded the Mayor, their voices echoing. Axton could feel the insatiable desire radiating from Klown, and he knew that kind of hunger was one of the hardest things to destroy—especially when a body had been corrupted to its limits. "Or do you crave power simply because you want to consume everything?"

"Why do I have to tell you everything?" Klown smirked, his gaze sweeping over them. "I'm not that cold-hearted. I'll only eat those I find delicious and discard the useless ones. Why not join me, Axton? With my Master, we can rule everything and indulge in all our desires without restraint!"

A chuckle echoed as the real Axton flew forward.

"Siding with someone who's summoning a Demon? Only your kind would do that," Axton said, his body releasing a deep blue haze. With a surge of Qi, the Great Serpent projection emerged from his body, followed by his clones.

Seeing this, the Mayor retaliated, a massive flytrap forming around him, oozing poisonous smoke.

Klown wielded the power of the Seven, and when combined with his strength equivalent to a 1st-Step Core Creation cultivator, he stood toe-to-toe with the Great Serpent Headmaster.

"That's the only mercy I'll give you," Klown growled, as his forehead split open to reveal a third eye with a blood-red pupil.

The atmosphere grew heavier than before, as if time itself had stopped.

But just as they were about to clash again and settle their battle, a deafening thunderclap echoed through the sky, forcing them to look upward simultaneously.

That's when they saw the beggar being struck by a lightning bolt.

Axton's eyes narrowed, realization and horror dawning on him. "Don't tell me… he angered the Heavens?"

Meanwhile, the Mayor burst into laughter. "Hahaha! It seems even the Heavens are on my side!"

But his laughter abruptly stopped when the beggar plunged through the red smoke and remained beneath it.

"I don't think so," Axton said with a chuckle.

"No! Holst, stop him!" Klown shouted at his butler, who was still busy fighting the Sword and Shield Headmaster.

He saw Holst flying past Elmo, even destroying his shadowy projection. But as the butler neared the beggar, another lightning bolt struck, evaporating a large portion of the red cloud and sending Holst flying from the aftermath.

They had lost count of how many times the butler had been flung around, though it was quite satisfying to watch—not to the Mayor, however.

"Useless!" Klown roared. Ignoring his opponent, he flew toward the red cloud, pouring his own red energy into it to hasten its recovery. Meanwhile, the brewing lightning intensified, growing stronger with each moment.

The red cloud was integral to the summoning ritual, supplying energy to the symbols surrounding the city. If it was destroyed, the ritual would fail, and Klown would never be able to meet his master!

But would Axton let him proceed?

Water blades streaked after the Mayor, their speed immense, quickly catching up to Klown.

They tore through his Astral Projection, punching holes in it and cutting into the Mayor's body.

Klown gritted his teeth, enduring the assault as blood coated his body. Before he knew it, he reached the beggar. He didn't waste time attacking Apollo; instead, with a wave of his hand, he shrouded the beggar in red smoke, making him vanish from the spot.

The Mayor then conjured a massive symbol barrier, covering the hundreds-of-meters-wide red cloud.

At that moment, lightning came crashing down, striking the barrier with a deafening roar!

The barrier cracked instantly, the lightning forcing its way to the red cloud, which had barely recovered.

A huge hole exploded in the cloud, larger than the previous one, almost obliterating it entirely. The attack didn't stop there—it surged toward the Mayor, who hastily erected another barrier to shield himself.

But his power wasn't enough to withstand the Lightning Tribulation.

"Ah, f*ck," Klown cursed as his body was consumed by the intense light.

---

When the beggar came to his senses, he realized he was already standing on the ground.

He looked up just in time to see the Mayor engulfed in lightning.

Apollo's face twisted as he imagined the pain Klown must be enduring.

He compared the current lightning to a Lightning Tribulation and concluded its strength was nearly half as powerful.

"That must be painful," the beggar muttered.

The Mayor vanished from the sky, and a mushroom cloud rose from the ground a few meters away from Apollo. Your journey continues at My Virtual Library Empire

"Our savior!" Holst's shout echoed as he flew toward where Klown had fallen.

The beggar spread his senses and discovered Holst was still alive—barely.

The Headmasters landed beside him, with Elmo patting his shoulder. "You did a great job."

"A dangerously great job," Axton remarked, glancing at the spot where the Mayor had fallen before turning his gaze to the still-angry sky. "But the tribulation isn't over yet."

"My bad. I thought I'd only summon normal lightning," Apollo said with a shrug.

"It's borderline Tribulation. As long as we leave it alone and it doesn't find a target, we should be fine," Axton explained.