Qianyuan Hall.
The rain poured down in sheets as the heavens thundered.
The Dragon Gate stood wide open, and a golden carp swam among the gods.
Emperor Yong’an stood upon the surface of a lake behind the grand hall. His eyebrows, hair, and temples were all white, giving him an ancient appearance. Yet his aura was incomparably powerful. His wide, red, dragon-patterned sleeves fluttered in the wind, and his tall, nine-tasseled crown was battered by the rain. The aura emanating from him was far more formidable than that of any Grandmaster in the Imperial Palace.
SPIT!
Suddenly, Emperor Yong’an spat out a mouthful of blood. He stared at the Dragon Gate in the sky, his aged eyes filled with extre unwillingness.
His aura instantly withered.
But in the next second, an imnse, illusory Red-Eyed Golden Dragon abruptly appeared above the Dragon Wall. Ethereal golden threads of mist seed to erge from it, pouring an endless stream into his body.
This golden mist was incomparably brilliant and dazzling, like the most nourishing Spirit dicine in the world, and it instantly restored Emperor Yong’an’s flesh body to its original state.
"As long as I can attain eternal life, all this National Fortune can be replenished."
Emperor Yong’an looked up at the sky, intending to try again.
In the three hundred years since the founding of Great Yan, not a single Emperor besides the Grand Ancestor had ever broken through to the Dragon Gate Realm. He had to be the first.
The next mont, he leaped up, soaring toward the Dragon Gate, needing only to pass through it.
But suddenly, a bolt of Celestial Thunder streaked across the sky, releasing a terrifying divine might. The lightning transford into a Thunder Dragon, twisting and coiling down from the Celestial Gate, flickering in and out of sight as it fell. It was as if the Celestial Dao itself was obstructing his cheating.
Emperor Yong’an’s newly restored body was once again shattered to pieces. His Acupoints slowly circulated, trying to nourish his flesh body, but arcs of electricity crackled across his skin, preventing him from healing.
This ti, not even the Red-Eyed Golden Dragon could save him. It let out a series of mournful cries as its illusory form dimd considerably.
Emperor Yong’an’s face was pale, his aura weakened to the extre. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth and his hands trembled as he watched the Dragon Gate gradually dissipate, the vision of the golden dragon-carp dissolving into specks of light.
His fate was sealed; ti waits for no man.
His fourth Dragon Tribulation had ended in failure after all.
He had failed again...
A vicious, ruthless glint flashed in Emperor Yong’an’s eyes, his expression turning grim and unpredictable.
A manic frenzy suddenly surged within him.
An intense Demonic Qi instantly flared up, dyeing him completely black.
Demonic Thoughts erupted. In a single thought, one could beco a god or a demon, good or evil.
In this world, all Cultivators—be they Martial Artists, Qi Cultivators, Buddhist Cultivators, or Confucian Cultivators—were susceptible to Heart Demons.
At that very mont, a one-ard Sword Cultivator appeared instantly at Emperor Yong’an’s side. He extended two fingers from his remaining arm.
And touched them to Emperor Yong’an’s brow.
The touch was like a divine intervention.
A wave of energy surged, and sleeves billowed. The entire lake, along with all the rain falling from the sky, was swept away by a mysterious force.
In an instant, as if Demon Fiends were being exorcised, all the corrupting energy receded. Emperor Yong’an returned to normal, his expression calm as he spoke:
"Left Tributor, We have failed again."
"Your Majesty, this is the Celestial Mandate. The will of heaven cannot be defied."
The one-ard Sword Cultivator replied as he instantly transported them both off the lake’s surface.
"The Holy Emperor’s lifespan is short," the one-ard Sword Cultivator suggested. "It would be best to na a successor as soon as possible."
"Alas," Emperor Yong’an sighed, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes. "Unless it is absolutely necessary, who would want to take that final step?"
’If it truly ca to that, I’ll have no choice but to resort to my final plan.’
...
Only after the Dragon Gate above the Imperial Palace had vanished did the Cultivators of the Three Academies appear one by one.
There was the Dust Brush Taoist, riding a green ox with a Tai Chi Mirror at his waist; the handso Kasaya Mage, holding a Purple Gold Alms Bowl; and the Cyan-robed Scholar with his graying temples...
The Blind Daoist was the first to erge, appearing between heaven and earth with a large basket on his back.
He casually tossed the basket from his back. In an instant, all the rain within a thousand-mile radius was drawn away by an incomparably terrifying suction force.
Though the Blind Daoist’s body was frail, it contained terrifying power. With his hands behind his hunched back, he squinted at the sky, his righteousness awe-inspiring. "I alone shall bear the backlash of the Celestial Dao, accumulated over Great Yan’s three hundred years."
But soon, his expression changed.
He discovered that the thunderclouds in the sky had not dispersed and still pulsed with lingering might!
Apparently, the Celestial Dao had heard his boast.
BOOM!
Just as the thunderclouds were about to descend with their brilliant, overwhelming might, a beam of sword light shot up from the Imperial Palace’s Dragon Wall. The faint figure of a one-ard swordsman could be seen swinging his blade at the heavens.
The strike was as epheral and stunningly beautiful as a night-blooming cereus.
It illuminated the entire Imperial Capital. Everyone looked up to see daylight burst forth; for a mont, it was as if the sun had appeared in the sky.
The dense, dark clouds seed to scatter completely.
The sky cleared.
With that single sword strike, the rain in the Imperial Capital stopped, the dark clouds vanished completely, and the long-unseen peach blossoms leisurely began to bloom.
...
「The Sixty-Eighth Year of Yong’an, early spring.」
Although the great rains in the Imperial Capital had ceased, seven states and thirteen counties—half of Great Yan—remained subrged. Floodwaters poured down, creating a widespread disaster.
The common people were displaced and holess. In years of great disaster, evil spirits were sure to cause chaos.
Demon Daoists erged from nowhere, bewitching the people with Evil Techniques. Ard with strange and wicked scriptures, they swept up the displaced refugees into a massive rebellion that instantly engulfed three states and four counties.
The Thunder Pool Daoist Academy, the Vajra Departnt Institute, the Drumming Institute, the Bright Lamp Bureau, and the Great Yan Guard all dispatched Martial Cultivators to suppress the rebel armies and execute the Demon Daoists.
But while the scourge of Demon Fiends was easy to eliminate, the Heart Demons of n were not.
In many places, the common people, desperate to escape the floods, began hiring Daoists to perform rituals and worshiping at Daoist Temples.
The Golden Body Temple, Wenchang Pavilion, and City God Temple were the official sites designated by the Great Yan Dynasty for the Buddhist, Confucian, and Daoist faiths to gather incense offerings. The City God Temples, in particular, saw a massive surge in worship, and their Incense Power grew substantially.
However, the Confucian Family and Buddhism had little expertise concerning wind and rain. Their followers dwindled, their incense offerings waned, and they grew frantic with anxiety.
「Great Yan Imperial Palace—Qingzhu Hall.」
With the heavy rain gone, Lu Mingyuan had also returned to the hall, paying little attention to the events unfolding in the world outside Great Yan.
Instead, he was in the courtyard, single-mindedly practicing his martial arts. The sound of his swinging saber was incessant, shattered rock chips littered the ground, and the grating clang of tal on stone was piercing. It was clear his application of Saber Astral Qi was already quite mature.
[Life Chart Trait {Sinking Heart} triggered. Entering a state of deep physical and ntal imrsion. Saber Technique {Celestial Spirit Hidden Dragon} has been learned.]
’Sinking Heart finally triggered,’ Lu Mingyuan thought. ’I suppose I’ve finally reached the Beginner level with Celestial Spirit Hidden Dragon.’
Lu Mingyuan opened his status panel to take a look.
[Cultivation Technique: Blood Glutton Celestial Fall Scripture - Abnormal Eating Chapter (Sixth Floor: 588/15,000)]
[Techniques: Mountain Shaking Fist (Great Success), Fiery Fire Saber Technique (Perfection), Desolate Dragon Elephant Force (Fourth Floor: 500/4,000), Celestial Spirit Hidden Dragon (Skilled: 10/1,000)]
After Breaking Realm, cultivating Desolate Dragon Elephant Force had beco effortless, and he had easily reached the Fourth Floor. His strength was now imnse; a single punch from him could shake a small mountain.
He had also overco the greatest hurdle, Celestial Spirit Hidden Dragon. Relying on this trump card, he should have no problem fighting a Grandmaster from a higher realm.
[Luminous Green Fate Grid - Martial Fool: Refinent Level increased to 55%.]
Over the past seven days, he had frequently triggered Martial Spirit and Sinking Heart, increasing the Martial Fool Fate Grid’s Refinent Level by another ten percent.
’It’s ti to go ask that old drunkard for so more Saber Techniques,’ Lu Mingyuan mused.
For the Fifth Realm, Furnace Building, one needed to store enough Primordial Qi in the Acupoints. This was the way to reach the Grandmaster Realm, and indeed, to beco a Grandmaster.
The Sixth Realm and Seventh Realm required imnse accumulation, making them very difficult to break through in a short ti.
’I might as well use this ti to learn a few more Cultivation Techniques. Before, I was biting off more than I could chew, but now the timing is perfect. I have plenty of energy to spare.’
"But before that, I might as well get sothing to eat."
Lu Mingyuan stretched.
Nearby, Zi Yun and Hong Wan, who had been waiting for so ti, both stepped forward.
"Your Highness, are you hungry? We will fetch sothing from the Imperial Kitchen right away."
"No need. I’m not eating in the hall today, nor am I eating anything from the palace."
Hearing this, Zi Yun and Hong Wan exchanged a confused glance.
"Your Highness, if you’re not eating in the hall, where will you eat?"
Lu Mingyuan walked out of Qingzhu Hall and pointed next door.
He arrived at a nearby palace hall and knocked on the door.
"Sister-in-law, it’s ! Open up."
...
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