Improved Aptitude!

At that moment, the Zhang Family Courtyard had already dissolved into utter chaos.

The young disciples practicing swordplay at the Training Ground suddenly felt the air around them grow viscous. Every breath they drew felt like swallowing a tiny sip of spiritual liquid.

"What's going on? Why has the concentration of Spiritual Energy suddenly increased?"

"Oh my heavens! My bottleneck... it's loosening!"

A collateral-branch disciple who had been stuck at the Third Layer of Qi Refining for two years merely stood there, dumbfounded, and took a couple of breaths. A soft pop sounded inside him, and he actually broke through on the spot!

This wasn't an isolated case.

"I broke through too!"

"I feel like I'm about to advance too!"

Delighted shouts rose one after another, ringing throughout the Zhang Family.

Meanwhile, in the Family Head's study...

Zhang Yunshan was looking glumly at the account book in his hands. Because of the Demonic Path's blockade, the family's income for this quarter had fallen by another thirty percent.

Just as he was fretting, a golden ripple of Spiritual Energy swept through the study.

"What is this..."

Zhang Yunshan abruptly raised his head, feeling the pure Spiritual Energy surge from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head, along with a Dragon Roar that shook his soul.

Under the wash of this immense power, his Golden Core, which had been stuck at Mid Golden Core for over a hundred years without budging...

began to spin violently.

A century of accumulation, a century of arduous cultivation—now, bolstered by that Golden Dragon of Destiny, it had finally erupted.

Crack.

It was as if a lock had been opened.

Zhang Yunshan felt his whole body grow light, as an unprecedentedly powerful force filled him from head to toe.

The study's roof was directly blown away by the raging spiritual pressure. Zhang Yunshan slowly rose into the air, golden light swirling around him. His aura was several times stronger than before.

"Ha ha ha ha! Late Golden Core Stage! I, Zhang Yunshan, have finally broken through!"

His long howl rolled like thunder, echoing for a hundred miles in every direction.

At the cliff's edge on Back Mountain, Zhang Chen watched his father, brimming with confidence in the sky, and the corners of his mouth curled into a smile.

"Chen'er..."

Behind him, Zhang Tianzheng had completely lost his composure.

He looked at the earth-shaking changes before him, at his cheering clansmen, and finally at his eighteen-year-old great-grandson.

"Th-this was all because of you?"

"Yes."

Zhang Chen turned around and smiled. "And this is only the beginning."

Zhang Tianzheng took a deep breath, struggling to calm his surging emotions.

He knew the Zhang Family was about to undergo a sea change. No—it was about to soar!

A quarter of an hour later.

The family bell rang out nine times once more across the square before the Zhang Family's Assembly Hall.

All the elders, stewards, and disciples gathered there, including the Family Head, Zhang Yunshan, who had just broken through and was still in a state of intense excitement.

Zhang Tianzheng hovered in midair, with Dao Seeking Peak behind him, still showering the land with Spirit Rain.

He looked over the faces below, each brimming with life and hope, and spoke in a voice that rang across the entire square:

"Heaven bless the Zhang Family!"

"Today, our Spiritual Vein has advanced and our Family Head has broken through. This is a joyous occasion of the greatest magnitude!"

"But do you know where this blessing came from?"

The crowd looked at one another. Though they had their suspicions, none dared be certain.

Zhang Tianzheng pointed toward Zhang Chen, standing at the top of the steps, his tone utterly solemn:

"All of this is because my grandson, Zhang Chen, is the chosen one! He awakened an Ancient Bloodline and drew the Golden Dragon of Destiny into his body. That is how our Zhang Family has been reborn today!"

A commotion swept through the crowd.

The entire crowd erupted.

Countless eyes turned toward Zhang Chen in unison.

They were filled with shock, admiration, and fervor.

The label of "waste young master" that had once clung to him was torn to shreds at that moment.

In its place came the halo of "family auspice" and "chosen one."

"By my decree!"

Zhang Tianzheng's voice rang like a great bell, each word deliberate:

"From this day forth, Zhang Chen's status shall be equal to the Family Head's! He may take any resources he wishes from the Family Treasury, without needing to report it!"

"To see Zhang Chen is to see me! Anyone who shows him disrespect will be expelled from the family!"

"We obey the Ancestor's decree!"

"We pay our respects to Young Master Chen!"

Thousands of clansmen dropped to their knees in unison, their voices shaking the heavens.

Lin Qingxue stood to one side of the crowd...

At that moment, she was bathing in the dense Spirit Rain.

She could feel the stubborn Cold Poison inside her ease a little under the nourishment of this life-filled Spiritual Energy.

She raised her head and looked at her Husband on the platform, his white robes fluttering as he received the adoration of thousands.

Sunlight fell upon him, gilding him with a golden glow.

At that moment, he seemed like a true immortal.

Lin Qingxue gently pressed a hand to her chest.

Her heartbeat was far too fast.

She had once thought that marrying Zhang Chen was a helpless choice, the final mockery fate had dealt her.

But now she understood.

This wasn't a desperate, wretched refuge after her downfall.

After seeing all she had suffered, the heavens had specially sent her an astonishing opportunity.

"Husband..."

She called to him softly in her heart, the corners of her eyes twitching slightly.

Though the Spirit Rain on Dao Seeking Peak had stopped, the aura that nourished all things seemed to have seeped into every inch of the East Mountain Islands.

Ever since the Golden Dragon of Destiny had entered the Zhang Family and its Spiritual Vein had advanced to the third tier, the entire Zhang Family Courtyard had been swept up in an almost frenzied atmosphere of cultivation.