37: Dynasty battles, the Hidden Dragon List!

At the end of the official road, the silhouette of Luoyun Town turned into a small dot in the morning light before finally disappearing from sight.

The four of them walked at a leisurely pace along the ancient road, heading toward the vast lands of the Eastern Barrens.

"Revered Master, where are we going?"

Wang Duojin carried his bundle on his shoulder as he followed behind Chu Xuanjin. The abacus at his waist let out a soft clacking sound as he moved.

"Traveling."

Chu Xuanjin uttered only two words.

"Traveling needs a direction," Wang Duojin persisted. "I've calculated it. Heading east, the Spiritual Qi of the ley lines is more abundant, with many Sects established there; the business opportunities are limitless. Heading north, Yao Beasts run rampant, and there are many Heaven And Earth Treasures; risks and rewards coexist."

"Then we shall go west." Chu Xuanjin's answer caused Wang Duojin's abacus to stop for a moment.

"The west?" Wang Duojin scratched his head. "I've calculated that too. The west is a place of treacherous mountains and evil waters, full of Mortal kingdoms. The Spiritual Qi is pitifully thin, and there isn't even a decent market. What are we going there for?"

"To seek the Dao."

This time, the one who answered was Ye Chenfeng, who was walking at the very front.

The qingshuang sword in his hand reflected a cold light under the morning sun.

Wang Duojin curled his lip and didn't ask further.

He knew that sometimes, what his Eldest Senior Brother and Revered Master thought about wasn't the same thing his abacus calculated.

One month later, in the Black Wind Mountain Range.

"Roar!"

A Pangolin Yao Beast, its body as large as a small hill and covered in earthy yellow scales, suddenly lunged out from underground. It opened its bloody maw and bit toward Ye Chenfeng, who was at the front of the group.

Demonic Qi surged to the sky; it was impressively at the Middle Stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

"Eldest Senior Brother, watch out!" Wang Duojin cried out in alarm, instinctively preparing to set up a Formation.

Ye Chenfeng, however, didn't even lift an eyelid.

The qingshuang sword in his hand didn't even leave its scabbard.

He simply held his fingers together like a sword and made a casual forward swipe toward the Yao Beast's bloody maw.

*Ssh.*

An invisible Sword Qi, fast to the extreme, burst forth from his fingertips.

That Sword Qi had no light and no sound, yet it seemed to carry some sort of terrifying Law that sliced through space.

The Pangolin Yao Beast's massive body suddenly froze in mid-air.

In the next instant, a smooth cut quietly appeared from its head to its tail.

The corpse, split into two, crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

[Ding! Personal Disciple Ye Chenfeng has broken through to the Middle Stage of the Nascent Soul realm!]

[Cultivation Synchronization triggered! Rewarding Host: Void Refinement Stage Insight x1! Proficiency in Divine Ability "Great Void Sword Qi" has increased!]

In Chu Xuanjin's mind, the System notification sounded right on time.

He felt the barrier in his Sea of Consciousness leading to the Middle Stage of Void Refinement thin by another fraction.

"Not bad," he spoke. "The Void Sword Qi has taken shape. But your sword is still too straight."

Ye Chenfeng withdrew his hand and bowed. "This Disciple accepts your teaching."

Two months later, they reached the banks of the Canglan River.

The river was a hundred miles wide with a rapid current. Many water demons haunted the river, making it impossible for ordinary boats to cross.

Wang Duojin was holding a compass, looking at a map with a troubled face.

"Revered Master, to cross this river, we can only go to the ferry crossing three hundred miles downstream. There are tower ships from great Sects there that can ensure safety. But it will take an extra seven or eight days."

Su Linger walked to the riverbank. Looking at the churning river water, she reached out her fair, delicate hand.

She closed her eyes, and the Supreme Ice Soul Divine Canon within her body began to circulate slowly.

An aura of pure, absolute cold emanated from her.

*Crack— Crack—*

Starting from the riverbank beneath her feet, a layer of thick, solid ice spread frantically toward the opposite bank at a speed visible to the naked eye!

The rapid current and the violent water demons were all frozen solid before this absolute cold.

In just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

An ice bridge, spanning a hundred miles across the river, crystal clear and smooth as a mirror, had been formed.

[Ding! Personal Disciple Su Linger has broken through to the Foundation Establishment Stage!]

[Cultivation Synchronization triggered! Rewarding Host: Void Refinement Stage Insight x1! Proficiency in Divine Ability "Nine Nether Profound Ice Realm" has increased!]

Chu Xuanjin's Sea of Consciousness felt another wave of warmth.

That Bottleneck began to show cracks.

"Second Senior Sister is mighty!" Wang Duojin watched in dazed awe. He ran onto the ice bridge and stomped his foot hard, finding it as hard as iron.

Su Linger opened her eyes and looked at her handiwork, a faint smile appearing on her face.

"The ice bridge is complete, but your Dao has lost its fluidity," Chu Xuanjin's voice drifted over.

Su Linger's smile froze, and she looked at her Revered Master in confusion.

Chu Xuanjin pointed at the ice bridge.

"Look, this bridge, though it spans the chasm, also severs the river's vitality. True ice techniques are like walking on thin ice or treading upon waves, not this kind of arrogant blockage."

Su Linger fell into deep thought.

Three months later, the group had ventured deep into the western region of the Eastern Barrens.

In this place, there were no longer high-and-mighty immortal cultivation Sects. Instead, there were heavily fortified Mortal cities and Mortal kingdoms clad in armor, brimming with Evil Qi.

They passed by a city currently embroiled in battle.

Beneath the city walls, the armies of two Mortal Dynasties were locked in a slaughter.

Blades flashed and blood flew amidst earth-shaking battle cries.

The figures of Cultivators occasionally flickered within the military Formations, but they served only as sharp blades, not as the Dominators of the battlefield.

"Revered Master, this place is very strange."

Wang Duojin stood on a distant hillside, his brow furrowed as he watched the battlefield that resembled a meat grinder.

"When Mortals fight, why do Cultivators only provide support? Wouldn't any random Golden Core Cultivator be able to sway the tide of battle?"

"Look at the sky above those two military Formations," Chu Xuanjin said.

Wang Duojin focused his gaze.

He saw that above each army, a blood-colored Dragon, condensed from the Evil Qi of military souls and the Luck of the Dynasty, was coiled.

Though those Dragons were formless, they emitted a terrifying pressure that would make even a Golden Core Cultivator's heart tremble.

Any Cultivator who attempted to fly into the sky or perform large-scale spells would be instantly locked onto and crushed by the power of the blood Dragon's Luck.

"This is... Dragon Qi?" Wang Duojin's abacus began to spin frantically.

"Dynastic hegemony is a struggle for territory, for population, and even more so for this invisible Luck," Chu Xuanjin explained. "In this place, individual power is suppressed by the Dynasty's Luck. Unless your cultivation is powerful enough to ignore the Luck of an entire nation."

Wang Duojin seemed to half-understand.

At that moment, one side's Formation collapsed.

Thousands of defeated soldiers fled toward the mountain forest where they were located, like a receding tide.

Behind them, an elite cavalry unit was in hot pursuit.

"Revered Master, should we..."

Wang Duojin hadn't finished his sentence.

Chu Xuanjin shook his head.

"No need."

He simply raised his hand and gave a light wave toward the forest.

The trees, stones, and weeds in the forest seemed to come alive in an instant.

Their positions underwent imperceptible changes.

The defeated soldiers who rushed into the forest actually emerged from the other side completely unharmed.

The pursuing cavalry, however, were like headless flies, spinning in circles within the forest, unable to find their way out, and were eventually forced to retreat in frustration.

[Ding! Personal Disciple Wang Duojin observed the Dynastic Luck and, combining it with his own learning, gained an Epiphany in the Dao of Formations, breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage!]

[Cultivation Synchronization triggered! Rewarding Host: Void Refinement Stage Insight x1! Proficiency in Divine Ability "Myriad Transformation Formation Heart" has increased!]

*Boom!*

Three powerful insights converged in Chu Xuanjin's Sea of Consciousness, finally turning into a torrent that broke through everything!

The Void Refinement Stage Bottleneck that had troubled him for months shattered instantly before this power!

A terrifying pressure, far exceeding anything before, flashed through his body.

He felt his connection with this world become closer than ever before.

With a single Divine Thought, he could perceive every blade of grass and every tree within ten thousand miles.

Middle Stage of Void Refinement!

"Let's go."

Chu Xuanjin stood up and looked at the city that appeared exceptionally majestic under the setting sun.

"We shall rest our feet in the capital of this Great Zhao Dynasty."

...Zhao Kingdom, the capital, Tianjing.

At the city gates, inspections were extremely strict.

All who entered the city, whether Mortal or Cultivator, had to pass the inspection of a water mirror.

"Name and origin."

An officer clad in heavy armor, whose cultivation had reached the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment, stopped Chu Xuanjin and his group of four.

"Traveling Loose Cultivators," Chu Xuanjin answered calmly.

The officer glanced at the four of them and then at the water mirror.

The surface of the water mirror was calm, without a single ripple.

He waved his hand, signaling them to pass.

Walking through the bustling streets of Tianjing City, Wang Duojin marveled at the sights.

"Revered Master, the methods of this Dynasty are truly extraordinary. That water mirror can actually detect a Cultivator's Killing Intent and Karma; it's more effective than a Sect's mountain gate Formation."

"It's just that every field has its own specialization."

Chu Xuanjin led the three of them into a restaurant called "Tianxia Tower."

This building was nine stories high, with carved beams and painted rafters, looking quite grand; it was the most famous place to spend money in Tianjing City.

"Honored guests, please come in!"

A middle-aged man who looked like a manager stepped forward with a face full of smiles.

Seeing that Chu Xuanjin and the others had extraordinary temperaments, he led them directly to a private room on the top floor.

"Revered Master, I've calculated it. This place has good Feng Shui and is a hub for information; it's the gathering point of Luck in Tianjing City," Wang Duojin whispered.

Chu Xuanjin nodded and took a seat by the window.

Outside the window, the bustling scenery of half of Tianjing City was in full view.

The glazed tiles of the imperial palace shimmered with golden light under the setting sun.

"Have you heard? The hidden dragon ranking is about to be updated again!"

From the adjacent private room came a burst of irrepressible, excited discussion.

"I wonder what rank our Great Zhao's Prince will reach this time?"

"His Highness the Prince is a natural talent. At only twenty years old, he is already at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core realm. He will surely break into the top ten this time!"

"Top ten? Difficult! The Eastern Barrens is so vast; which of those Saints and Goddesses from the top Sects isn't a Prodigy? Not to mention those monsters from the Central Continent Sacred Domain!"

"True. The hidden dragon ranking covers the top Prodigies under thirty years old across the entire Azure Cloud Continent. Those who can make the list are already one in ten thousand. For our Prince to enter the top thirty would already be a blessing from the heavens."

Chu Xuanjin picked up his teacup, a flash of interest appearing in his eyes.

The hidden dragon ranking?

This was indeed a good place to look for promising talents.

With a thought, he opened his System panel.

His long-unseen attributes clearly appeared before his eyes.

[Host: Chu Xuanjin]

[Cultivation: Middle Stage of Void Refinement]

[Cultivation Technique: God-grade "Dao"]

[Divine Ability: Heavenly Dao Dharma Eye, One Sword Opens the Heavenly Gate, Freezing Three Thousand Miles, Sowing Beans to Create Soldiers, Great Void Sword Qi, Nine Nether Profound Ice Realm, Myriad Transformation Formation Heart]

[Sect: Myriad Dao Divine Sect]

[Personal Disciples: Ye Chenfeng (Middle Stage of Nascent Soul), Su Linger (Early Stage of Foundation Establishment), Wang Duojin (Early Stage of Foundation Establishment)]

[Affiliated Sect: Qingyun Sword Sect]