A Wider World!
Li Daochen was still weak, but he managed to clamber to his feet.
Then.
Li Daochen shouted, "Ancestor, I'm useful! Don't eat me!"
"Let's hear it." The Yellow Dragon Ancestor was intrigued, though his eyes were utterly lifeless.
He could tell that Li Daochen had come here on purpose, though he had lured the Jade Water Flood Dragon over and given him a fine meal.
But the Yellow Dragon Ancestor didn't like being used!
So if Li Daochen couldn't give him a satisfactory reason, he would have to die too.
Li Daochen stood up and straightened his disheveled robes before speaking. "I'm a prodigy!"
The Yellow Dragon Ancestor nearly burst out laughing.
He had lived for countless years. What sort of prodigy hadn't he seen?
"That's it?" he asked, losing patience.
But.
Li Daochen abruptly threw a punch.
Boom!
He unleashed the Great Sun White Dragon Sacred Fist, and dragon might shook the surroundings!
"I comprehended a top-tier divine ability while in the Spirit Foundation Realm!" Li Daochen said.
The Yellow Dragon Ancestor: "..."
All right, even by his standards, this divine ability was terrifying!
And comprehending a divine ability in the Spirit Foundation Realm did make him a prodigy!
Then!
Spiritual Qi surged through Li Daochen like a ceaseless torrent of rivers.
"At the peak of the Spirit Foundation Realm, I've nearly opened the maximum of 365 acupoints! And in the Blood Refining Realm, I forced open the Heaven and Earth Shackles to break through!" Li Daochen added.
This time, even the Yellow Dragon Ancestor was shocked.
A cultivator who had opened 365 acupoints in the Spirit Foundation Realm? One probably couldn't find even two in an Upper Profound Sect!
And drawing the Heaven and Earth Shackles to seal his realm while still in the Blood Refining Realm meant that Li Daochen's talent and physique were both exceptional!
"What physique do you have?" the Yellow Dragon Ancestor couldn't help asking.
"I possess the Holy Dragon Bone, and I'm transforming toward a Sacred Dragon Physique!" Li Daochen said.
"The youngster from the Battle Sect?" the Yellow Dragon Ancestor asked.
"Yes."
The Yellow Dragon Ancestor fell silent.
The youngster before him really was a prodigy!
Though attaining a sacred physique was difficult, even a half-baked Sacred Dragon Physique was on par with a top-tier King Physique!
"But what does that have to do with me?" the Yellow Dragon Ancestor asked, staring coldly at Li Daochen.
Li Daochen remained calm. "In the Thousand Sect Grand Competition three months from now, I'll not only help you slaughter my way through the Jade Heaven Sect's people, but also help the Yellow Dragon Sect take first place among the thousand sects! Will you spare my life in return, Ancestor?"
The Thousand Sect Grand Competition was held once every ten years by all the Upper and Lower Profound Sects in eastern Mystic Dragon Province, bringing together every prodigy in the region!
The Yellow Dragon Sect was a Lower Profound Sect and not particularly powerful. It had never ranked well in previous years.
That was why Li Daochen made this promise.
"In other words, I'm supposed to spare your life and help you enter the Yellow Dragon Sect too?" The Yellow Dragon Ancestor laughed in exasperation.
Li Daochen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "First place among the hundred sects comes with a spot to cultivate at the Saint Sect in the central region."
The Yellow Dragon Ancestor's heart stirred at once. That was a Saint Sect! He was too old now, or he would have longed for it too.
Of course, almost none of those who had gone to the Saint Sect over the years had made anything of themselves. After all, the central region was where all the prodigies of Mystic Dragon Province gathered, and standing out was difficult.
But that couldn't stop people from longing for such a sacred land of cultivation!
And the resources awarded for first place were staggering. It wasn't impossible that the Yellow Dragon Sect could use them to rise to an Upper Profound Sect!
"I admit I'm tempted. But the prodigies in the east are powerful too. What you've shown me so far isn't enough," the Yellow Dragon Ancestor said.
But the next moment.
Boom!
Li Daochen revealed the Azure Emperor Demon-Planting Lotus!
"What about now?" Li Daochen asked. "I'll definitely reach the Divine Bridge Realm in three months. Who will be able to fight me then?"
The Yellow Dragon Ancestor: "..."
A Fleshly Body Phenomenon?
And a Fleshly Body Phenomenon that manifested a Great Emperor?
Physical manifestations of this kind were absolutely among the very best!
And being among the very best meant unmatched combat strength!
At that moment, the Yellow Dragon Ancestor truly began to believe that the boy had a chance of taking first place in the Thousand Sect Grand Competition.
And so.
The Yellow Dragon Ancestor said, "Very good. Actually, I was lying when I said I'd eat you earlier. After all, you're scrawny as a bean sprout. Besides, I saw at a glance that you were extraordinary and had long since decided to bring you into the Yellow Dragon Sect."
Li Daochen: "..."
"From today onward, you're a true disciple of the Yellow Dragon Sect, by my special approval." The Yellow Dragon Ancestor's eyes flashed, and a yellow dragon token appeared, engraved with the words "true disciple."
Generally, disciples of Lower Profound Sects were divided into outer disciples, inner disciples, and true disciples!
True disciples... held the most esteemed status among the disciples. They weren't necessarily the strongest, but they were certainly the most talented!
And the next moment.
A mark was placed between Li Daochen's brows, bearing a faint image of the Yellow Dragon Ancestor.
"Ancestor, I won't run away," Li Daochen said.
"Nonsense! I did that so I could always know where you are, in case you run into danger!" the Yellow Dragon Ancestor scolded.
Li Daochen: "..."
"Go on. Head to the Yellow Dragon Sect within ten days. I'll send word back!" The Yellow Dragon Ancestor was sending him away.
Li Daochen nodded, turned, and left.
This little thing... The Yellow Dragon Ancestor smiled and then closed his eyes, though a glimmer of anticipation flashed in them.
He had been away from the Yellow Dragon Sect for many years, but he had never stopped keeping an eye on it. Naturally, he hoped it would grow ever more prosperous.
The Yellow Dragon Ancestor couldn't be bothered with ordinary prodigies.
But.
Li Daochen was no ordinary prodigy!
After walking out of the canyon.
Li Daochen let out a long breath.
He had finally survived!
Ever since setting out for the Supreme Qian Sect, Li Daochen had laid plans at every turn and calculated every step down to the last detail. Nothing had gone wrong along the way, either.
But.
A single mistake would have put his life in danger.
"Still, fortune favors those who brave danger. I hit it big this time!"
Sensing his current strength and the Dragon Transformation Emperor Scripture within him, Li Daochen was very satisfied.
As for what came next, he would check on the situation at the Supreme Qian Sect and return to the Battle Sect once more. Then it would be time to head to the Yellow Dragon Sect and prepare for the Thousand Sect Grand Competition.
Meanwhile.
At the Jade Water Sect.
The deaths of several top cultivators had plunged the Jade Water Sect into mourning.
With too few Divine Bridge Realm cultivators, they were certain to fall to the status of a Lower Spirit Sect in the future.
"Sigh..." Many disciples were thinking they might as well leave the Jade Water Sect.
Suddenly.
The sky darkened.
Many people froze and instinctively looked up, only to gasp.
The sky hadn't darkened at all. An azure flood dragon had blotted out the sky and the sun.
But before long, the flood dragon vanished.
A stern blue-haired old man appeared beside the great lake.
He was none other than the patriarch of the Jade Heaven Sect!
"My child is dead. Why hasn't that damned old clod of dirt kicked the bucket yet?" the Jade Heaven Patriarch said coldly. Though his son had died, he showed little grief.
The next moment.
He fished Yang Chen out of the great lake, and surprise and delight appeared in his lifeless eyes instead.
"This boy really does possess a Great Emperor's bloodline, and a top-tier one at that! He even came back to life after dying, and his body has transformed too. Could he be that Great Emperor's descendant?" The Jade Heaven Patriarch was overjoyed.
A day later.
The crystalline dragon scales gradually receded, revealing Yang Chen's body.
Though the Dragon Transformation Emperor Scripture had been taken from him, Yang Chen's physique seemed to have grown even stronger!
He opened his eyes. For an instant he was bewildered, but then his expression turned completely grim.
Yang Chen remembered that Li Daochen had not only beaten him to death, but also taken the Dragon Transformation Emperor Scripture.
"Boy, come with me," the Jade Heaven Patriarch said.
"You're the patriarch?"
"I'm the father of the patriarch you speak of, but you can just call me Patriarch," the Jade Heaven Patriarch said.
Yang Chen fell silent, knowing this was someone he could not defy.
But Yang Chen still said, "I want revenge."
"Foolish!" the Jade Heaven Patriarch scolded. "Come with me, and you'll see a wider world. Then you'll understand how childish the struggles between these little Spirit Sects are. Next, I'll take you to cultivate at a Lower Profound Sect, and I'll also take you to the Thousand Sect Grand Competition..."
"Now that you've rebuilt yourself after breaking, you're certain to make a name for yourself at the Thousand Sect Grand Competition! When you return with boundless might, won't the enemies in these little Spirit Sects be yours to crush as you please?"
"Broaden your horizons. Don't fixate on this little place!"
Though the patriarch was scolding him, Yang Chen felt a surge of excitement.
That was right. He could venture into a wider world, then return with heaven-overturning might!
When that happened, wouldn't crushing Li Daochen to death be as easy as turning over his hand?
"Patriarch, I'll go with you!" Yang Chen cried at once, full of anticipation.