The cultivators outside the Dragon Palace had gone mad.
High-grade talismans and every kind of deadly poison were brought out. Inside the divine hall, the Divine Dragon Statue came alive once more. Its previously lazy posture changed into one with its body arched and head raised, gaining several degrees of sharp qi—but that was all. Every so often, it raised a claw to shake or strike, dissolving the ear-splitting bombardments. Most of the time, it remained motionless.
Lightning flashed, thunder roared, fire burned, axes hewed, and blades hacked for several hours. By the time the cultivators' hot blood had cooled, the bright moon hung high overhead.
The mountains and forests returned to silence, while vast stretches of woodland around the Dragon Palace had been reduced to dust.
Without anyone noticing, dark clouds drifted over and covered the moon. The pale mountain rain swept away the suffocating heat. Miraculously, the ruined trees grew back at a visible rate, flourishing again. In perhaps three to five days, insects, birds, and beasts would migrate back.
Life in the Dragon Palace continued as usual. After the evening lessons ended, most of the lights went out. After the downpour came a drizzle.
Fat Tiger stood guard outside the window and allowed no one near the bedroom. Whenever he grew hungry, he took a few scraps left over from his boss's pill refining and swallowed them.
It was comfortable, certainly, but he always felt as though something was missing.
For some reason, he missed the Paper Umbrella Secret Realm a little.
He suddenly shuddered, raised his palm-leaf-fan-sized tiger paw, and smacked his own head hard. He couldn't entertain that thought!
He recalled the sword-bearing person's message at the end of the trial. Once he ascended to the Immortal Realm in the future, that person would continue