Pioneer of the New World

Bai Ze: "Do you know what that tree forming beside Lu Chen is?"

"Could it be that tree born from chaos?"

Kui Niu pointed at the tree on the screen.

"That's right. That tree—a colossal tree that reached the heavens, growing when heaven and earth were first born."

"Lu Chen is not our hope. That colossal tree is our hope."

After thinking for a moment, Bai Ze continued, "Do you remember that mark? I said it was both a shackle and a blessing. That is because the Bai Ze clan bears the mark of the present world."

"What! You have the blessing of the present world? Ah... actually, I should have understood long ago."

The Golden Giant Dragon suddenly spoke as he looked at Bai Ze.

"The blessing of the present world—you Golden Giant Dragons should have it as well. Then you should understand what that blessing means."

Bai Ze sat upright and looked at the Golden Giant Dragon before him.

"Heh, the blessing of the present world? To us now, it should be called a shackle."

The Golden Giant Dragon manifested a fifth dragon claw.

The image of a colossal tree reaching the heavens emerged in its palm.

"Without the support of that colossal tree, the blessing has become exceedingly scarce by my generation. Without an immense stroke of fortune, I will never be able to break through my current realm."

Kui Niu stepped forward, and the mark of the Azure Emperor Divine Tree emerged between his brows.

"What use is this mark? I can feel its influence on me, but I cannot use it."

Bai Ze said, "That is because Lu Chen's Small World has not yet taken shape. Our Bai Ze clan was among the first wave of demon beasts born from the blood of the Phoenix Ancestor, which is why we bear the blessing mark of the present world."

"This blessing mark is a pass to enter the Small World, but it also means that our life and death will be completely controlled by Lu Chen."

Kui Niu asked, "Then what exactly is the blessing you speak of?"

The Golden Giant Dragon said, "Once Lu Chen's Small World takes shape, we will receive its protection. Even if the Darkness Riot is not resolved, we can still enter Lu Chen's Small World and survive there."

"As pioneers of the new world, we will also possess special abilities, such as my fifth claw and Bai Ze's knowledge of the past and future."

Red Fox said, "If that is the case, then must we make Lu Chen's Small World take shape as quickly as possible?"

"Yes, but making a human grow quickly is incomparably difficult, especially in this age of thin bloodlines."

"We need to prepare a method for Lu Chen to rapidly raise his cultivation."

Bai Ze let out a deep sigh and voiced the only difficulty in his heart.

"I can handle that. The innate divine ability of my clan can gather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth."

A young man stepped out from behind the crowd and manifested his true form.

His true form was a Source Gathering Spirit Shell, born with the ability to gather spiritual energy.

The two halves of the Source Gathering Spirit Shell's shell gently fanned.

The spiritual energy on the third floor of Beast King's Mansion began gathering between the shells.

Bai Ze said, "Good. Now that cultivation is taken care of, we must also let him face life and death and undergo trials. Before he reaches the brink of life and death, none of us may step in to help him."

"This concerns the fate of our demon beast clan. We absolutely cannot let anyone else discover it."

"Yes, we understand."

Everyone below the platform rose and answered.

Bai Ze said, "Go and improve your cultivation now. We must raise our strength to the peak of this world and prepare for the coming Darkness Riot."

The people seated in the chairs had already reached a common goal.

They transformed into their true forms, left their seats, and began handling the areas each of them excelled at.

Fourth floor of Beast King's Mansion.

Lu Chen stood at the stairway entrance, somewhat puzzled as he looked at the silent fourth floor.

The spiritual energy on the fourth floor was incomparably dense, yet there were only five rooms.

The five rooms were scattered around the area.

They formed the configuration of five stars surrounding the moon, enclosing the stairs leading to the fifth floor at the center.

The doors bore five symbols in order: gold, wood, water, fire, and earth.

Lu Chen awakened Wind Dragon. "Wind Dragon, why are there no demon beasts on this floor?"

"Hmm? We've already reached the fourth floor?"

Wind Dragon's aura seeped out. "There are no demon beasts on this floor. Just go inside. This was where I used to live—the rooms belonging to the five chiefs I told you about."

"Go to my room first. I need pills to recover. The first room on the left is my residence."

Lu Chen gripped the Primal Chaos Greatsword and walked toward the wooden door.

Bang...

Just as Lu Chen reached the doorway, a gust of breeze swept past, and the door swung open.

"This room is huge."

Lu Chen let out a cry of surprise as he looked inside.

He had seen this kind of spatial treasure back in Fengtian Prefecture.

From the outside, it spanned only a few meters, but the internal space had expanded thousands of times over.

"This is merely one application of spatial power, nothing worth mentioning."

"Let's go to the pill room first. I need a large quantity of pills to recover my strength."

As he spoke, Wind Dragon pulled Lu Chen into the pill room.

At the center of the room stood an enormous pill cauldron a zhang high, flames still flickering within it.

Eight medicine racks had been arranged around the outer edge of the cauldron.

Eight beams of spiritual power connected the cauldron and the medicine racks, surrounding the cauldron in the formation of the Eight Trigrams.

As Lu Chen approached a medicine rack, the fragrance of spirit pills wafted over.

Body Tempering Pills, Heaven Restoration Pills, Blood Rage Pills, Calamity Evasion Pills, Spirit Transformation Pills...

Looking at the thousands of different pills on the racks, Lu Chen grinned.

"Wind Dragon, these pills..."

"You can use all of them. But the pills inside the cauldron are meant for breaking through realms, so I cannot give those to you for now."

Seeing Lu Chen's grin stretch all the way to his ears, Wind Dragon hurriedly cut him off and gave him all the pills.

"Ha ha ha, that wasn't what I meant. But since you've put it that way, I won't stand on ceremony. I'll take them."

Hearing that Wind Dragon was giving him all the pills, Lu Chen's smile became even wilder.

"Ha ha ha!"

"This is all money! Once we find Grandpa, we can sell these pills and buy a few more plots of land."

Lu Chen stepped forward and began searching for the pills he needed.

"Ah..."

Wind Dragon watched Lu Chen and sighed.

After spending this time together, he had long since learned about Lu Chen's past.

Yet precisely because of that, Wind Dragon found Lu Chen's state of mind even harder to understand.

The young man before him was only eighteen. Though his heart was filled with sorrow and helplessness, he always had to appear strong and whole before others.

Perhaps Lu Chen wanted to preserve the image his grandfather had last seen, hoping that after finding his grandfather, they could return to the days they once had.

"Wind Dragon, do you think I can really find Grandpa? So many days have passed, and there still isn't the slightest news."

Lu Chen looked at the various pills on the shelves as tears slowly streamed down his face.

"Grandpa said that if I still could not cultivate by the time I turned eighteen, he would use the money he had saved his whole life to buy some land and farm with me."

"But now I can cultivate, and I can afford to buy land too. But Grandpa..."

"Ah..."

Seeing Lu Chen's tears, Wind Dragon sighed again.

"Little Lu, your future is beyond measure. You will definitely find Grandpa, and then we can farm together."

Wind Dragon controlled the Primal Chaos Greatsword and gently patted Lu Chen's shoulder.

"What matters most now is raising your cultivation and preparing to rescue Grandpa."

Lu Chen lifted his head, grasped the Primal Chaos Greatsword with both hands, and gently stroked it.

He understood what Wind Dragon meant.

"Wind Dragon, it's wonderful to have you with me at a time like this."

"I have to raise my cultivation quickly. I believe Grandpa is still waiting for me."

Lu Chen wiped away his tears, gripped the Primal Chaos Greatsword in his right hand, and flicked the blade backward in a flourish.

"I, Lu Chen of Qingtian Workshop, will definitely become a powerful cultivator. I will definitely save Grandpa."

"I said it. Even if the Heavenly Dao comes, it won't change anything."

With a backhand slash, Lu Chen chopped the table and chairs before him into pieces.

"Little Lu, let's begin."

Seeing that Lu Chen had calmed down, Wind Dragon urged him to find the pills and prepare to restore his spiritual power.

"First find Heaven Restoration Pills, Wind Spirit Pills, and Willow Wood Pills."

Wind Dragon guided Lu Chen in finding all the pills he needed.

"Absorb the medicinal power of the pills, then pour all of it into the Primal Chaos Greatsword."

Lu Chen sat down cross-legged on the spot and swallowed all the pills in one gulp.

The medicinal power of the pills dissolved within Lu Chen's body.

"You fool! You ate too many! Hurry and guide them with spiritual energy!"

"Pills are meant to be eaten one at a time. Who swallows them all in one mouthful like you? Not only is it wasteful, but one careless mistake could make your body explode and kill you."

Seeing Lu Chen swallow every pill without knowing their weight, Wind Dragon cried out anxiously.

Dense white mist continuously seeped from the pores of Lu Chen's skin.

"Ah! Then what should I do?"

It was Lu Chen's first time seeing so many pills. He had assumed it was like taking medicine when sick—just swallow them all in one gulp and be done with it.

"The medicinal power of these pills is relatively mild. Your meridians are dozens of times wider than those of ordinary people, so they will not harm you for the moment."

"But quickly guide them with spiritual energy. Pour all the blocked medicinal power into the Primal Chaos Greatsword. I can digest it all inside."

Lu Chen listened to Wind Dragon's explanation.

Spiritual energy surged from his Heavenly Pool, carrying the medicinal power clogging his meridians bit by bit into the Primal Chaos Greatsword.

"Wind Dragon, hurry up. I can feel more and more medicinal power filling my meridians."

Lu Chen's hair was blown upward by spiritual energy.

A dense burst of white medicinal power shot from the Baihui acupoint atop his head.

The medicinal power fused into Lu Chen's skin and muscles.

In an instant, it swelled Lu Chen into an enormous fat man.

"Almost, almost! Speed up the transfer of the medicinal power."

Wind Dragon's voice came from within the Primal Chaos Greatsword.

A vast amount of medicinal power flowed into the Primal Chaos Greatsword.

Wind Dragon's body gradually became filled out by the medicinal power.

Roar...

A dragon's roar rang out from the Primal Chaos Greatsword.

"Little Lu, speed up again! I can feel the critical point approaching."

There was a trace of urgency in Wind Dragon's voice.

"Get ready. I'm going to transfer all the medicinal power in."

Lu Chen's body had been swollen into a massive sphere by the medicinal power.

His limbs, head, skin—every place with an opening was emitting thick medicinal mist.

Hearing Wind Dragon's voice, Lu Chen sent all the medicinal power, spiritual energy, and blood in his meridians into the Primal Chaos Greatsword in one rush.

Bang...

Roar...

Wind Dragon's phantom was flung out of the Primal Chaos Greatsword.