Dragon Flood Dragon Phantom, Cultivation Efficiency Soars!

All that could be said was that great clans did have their own ways. Young Master Jiang Yue's predictions about Zhong Ming's actions had mostly been correct.

The Meaning Comprehension Trait that had arisen from reading did more than merely allow Zhong Ming to observe the Dragon Flood Resonance.

Years of reading had also broadened Zhong Ming's mind and given him unique insights.

As he prepared to cultivate beside the stream, Zhong Ming suddenly realized something.

"Does the Dragon Creek Breathing Technique truly have anything to do only with streams and springheads?"

Had he not witnessed the Dragon Flood Resonance, Zhong Ming might not have given it much thought.

But having seen it, he felt that what his Senior Disciple Sister had said was not entirely correct.

"Senior Disciple Sister may be concealing something, or perhaps some other reason kept her from saying everything. But in any case, the Dragon Creek Breathing Technique should not take streams as its foundation. Its core should be dragons. That dragon may be a true dragon, or it may be the lay of the earth veins, mountains, and rivers."

"So, the best way for me to cultivate is not to remain beside a springhead and watch the flow of streams and rivers, but to look down from above and observe the overall veins of Dragon Stream Mountain..."

With that thought, he began wandering around Dragon Stream Mountain, searching for a place where he could make out the course of its earth veins.

Such a place was not easy to find. He wandered for more than an hour without finding a spot that satisfied him.

What Zhong Ming had not expected was that before he found the place he wanted, a man and a woman intercepted him halfway.

"Brother Zhong, you're confused."

The moment they met, the youth named Lu Mingfeng spoke to Zhong Ming with an expression of heartfelt anguish.

His attitude and words left Zhong Ming bewildered.

"What do you mean?"

Lu Mingfeng did not leave Zhong Ming guessing for long. He quickly explained why Zhong Ming was supposedly "confused."

"You shouldn't have let such a good opportunity as Young Master Jiang Yue's invitation slip away."

After him, the rather pretty young woman also chimed in.

"Exactly. Leaving aside how cultivating beside the springhead can make your cultivation faster, you shouldn't have rejected Young Master Jiang Yue's goodwill in the first place... If you build a good relationship with Young Master Jiang Yue, then even if you fail to earn a Class B rating, Young Master Jiang Yue can still lend you a hand. You won't have to immediately enter the Demon Suppressing Division and fight demons and monsters..."

The two spoke at length, but their overall meaning was that Zhong Ming should not miss this opportunity... This was an opportunity that could save his life.

To make Zhong Ming understand the gravity of the matter, they even told him the casualty rate of the Demon Suppressing Division.

"My uncle serves in the Demon Suppressing Division. Brother Zhong, do you know how high the casualty rate there is?"

"Those who enter the Demon Suppressing Division with Class C or Class D ratings have a thirty percent casualty rate in the first month!"

"Twenty percent in the second month."

"Only after staying in the Demon Suppressing Division for three months do our casualty rates begin to look better. But over the course of a year, if three out of ten survive, that is already considered quite good!"

"On the other hand, those with Grade A and Grade B ratings have cultivated for a long time and possess great strength. Their chance of dying in their first year is only one in ten!"

"Those who follow them can remain in the sect to cultivate, and they receive the support of those with Grade A and Grade B ratings. Their casualty rate is only twenty to thirty percent as well."

With the same rating, becoming the follower of a powerhouse truly did allow one to live longer.

Yet from Lu Mingfeng's words, Zhong Ming also understood why the Seven Mysteries Sect allowed those with Grade A and Grade B ratings to recruit followers.

This is an insurance policy prepared for those geniuses. The sect is allowing its elite disciples to use those with Class C and Class D ratings as shields...

At this moment, Zhong Ming truly felt the cultivation world's preferential treatment of geniuses, and even more deeply felt the sect's hostility toward ordinary cultivators.

It also strengthened his resolve.

No matter what, I must obtain a Class B rating in the Hundred Day Assessment.

Only then can I count as a cultivator, rather than cannon fodder.

While Zhong Ming was reflecting, Lu Mingfeng continued impressing upon him the notion that he had been wrong.

Afterward, the two said that they were willing to accompany him to apologize to Jiang Yue.

Hearing this, Zhong Ming finally understood their intentions completely.

"You want to become Jiang Yue's followers, don't you? Persuading me to go over was merely an excuse to get close to Jiang Yue."

"Uh..."

Zhong Ming's blunt words made Lu Mingfeng smile awkwardly, unsure how to respond.

Zhong Ming did not care about that. He merely shook his head and said calmly, "Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't think I did anything wrong. Nor do I have any intention of becoming anyone's follower. So, goodbye."

"If you want to follow Jiang Yue, you can go yourselves."

With that, Zhong Ming continued searching for the spot he wanted.

Listening to his words and watching his departing back, Lu Mingfeng and Xia He both wore stunned expressions.

Xia He said, "He actually refused? Why? Didn't we tell him about the Demon Suppressing Division's casualty rate? Is he not afraid of death?"

Xia He could not understand, but from Zhong Ming's attitude, Lu Mingfeng guessed at some of the reason.

"If I'm not mistaken, Zhong Ming still hasn't given up hope... He thinks he can advance to early Qi Condensation within Eighteen Days. It is because he harbors such thoughts that he rejected Young Master Jiang Yue's goodwill."

Before he had even finished speaking, Lu Mingfeng said irritably, "Arrogant, foolish, and incapable of gauging his own strength. Who does he think he is? We Commoner Disciples aren't guaranteed a Class B rating even with a Second-Class Spiritual Root. With a Third-grade Spiritual Root, it takes a vast amount of resources."

"A Third-grade Spiritual Root from a poor family—what gives him such confidence?"

Lu Mingfeng thought Zhong Ming was foolish, and Xia He likewise did not believe Zhong Ming could succeed.

"So, should we wait until Zhong Ming has lost hope before trying to persuade him?"

Lu Mingfeng said, "By then, it'll already be too late. Countless people want to attach themselves to Young Master Jiang Yue. That young master being willing to give Zhong Ming one chance is already a heaven-sent favor. There's no way he'll keep giving him chances."

"Sigh. In a few days, Zhong Ming will realize exactly what he missed."

Since they did not think Zhong Ming could be rated Class B, Lu Mingfeng believed that Zhong Ming would regret it.

Zhong Ming knew nothing of all this, nor did he have the mind to care.

After shaking off the two of them, he continued wandering around Dragon Stream Peak.

Another half hour later, he finally found a spot halfway up the mountain that greatly satisfied him.

From here, Zhong Ming could take in the entire stream at a glance. At the same time, combined with the peculiar terrain, he somehow felt that the flowing stream resembled a flood dragon lying dormant.

"This is the ambiance I wanted..."

Murmuring this, Zhong Ming first opened his eyes and took in the full course of the mountains and stream.

Then he closed his eyes and began circulating the Dragon Creek Breathing Technique.

"Rushhh..."

Unlike before, the stream Zhong Ming visualized this time was no longer vague and empty, but the complete stream flowing through Dragon Stream Peak.

More importantly, as the stream flowed, Zhong Ming immediately began visualizing it in the form of a dragon flood.

"Roar..."

To Zhong Ming's surprise, this visualization actually stirred the incomplete Dragon Flood Resonance.

Its tremor made the Dragon Creek he visualized no longer mere form without substance. It gained bones, and even a faint trace of divine intent.

That divine intent also brought immense changes to Zhong Ming's cultivation this time.

"Roar..."

At that moment, he felt as though the phantom of a flood dragon, tossing its head and whipping its tail, was coursing through his body.

Though the flood dragon's form was illusory, it was tyrannical to the extreme.

When the "stream" had circulated through Zhong Ming's body before, it encountered all manner of obstructions. To the flood dragon's phantom, however, such obstacles simply did not exist.

"Bang!"

With an overbearing posture, it smashed all those "layer upon layer of obstructions" to pieces.

What delighted Zhong Ming even more was that the flood dragon phantom carried an overbearing, commanding will of its own.

That will firmly seized hold of the spiritual energy Zhong Ming drew into his body with every breath.

During his previous cultivation session, Zhong Ming had made the stream circulate through his body once. In the end, most of the spiritual energy had dissipated and vanished; only one or two parts out of ten had rushed into his Qi Sea Acupoint to nourish it.

But now, because of the flood dragon phantom's tyranny, a full seventy percent of the spiritual energy was swept along by it into Zhong Ming's Qi Sea Acupoint, nourishing that acupoint.

This scene utterly stunned Zhong Ming.

"Gasp... There's actually a five- to sevenfold increase? Is visualizing the stream as a flood dragon really this effective?"

The moment that thought arose, Zhong Ming shook his head and cast it aside.

"No. The fundamental reason this cultivation session was so effective is my incomplete Flood Dragon True Intent."

"Its existence gave the flood dragon I visualized bones and spirit. That is why this cultivation session's effects are so powerful."

"...Activating Intent Reading back then was the right choice!"