Death Valley.
Ink-black storm clouds coiled like giant serpents, while torrential rain blotted out the sky. Two figures arrived through the downpour, with evil wind everywhere, making the shadows trailing behind them sway unsteadily.
"Forty-nine days..."
Muye let out a deep sigh, his face carrying a few more traces of weariness. Looking at Zhao Xuanzhen beside him, he said, "Fighting to the limit every day is a harsh test for both body and spirit. The forty-ninth day is the limit for a Second Awakening. Any longer, and it will damage a Soul Master's foundation.
"So today is the final chance. Succeed... or die trying!"
"Mm."
Zhao Xuanzhen nodded lightly and descended into the ghostly black gorge. Soul Power slowly surged around him as three Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings rose one after another, appearing exceptionally solemn beneath the storm.
Muye clenched his fists tightly, unable to understand it no matter how much he thought about it. True Self was the pinnacle of Original Martial Souls. A Second Awakening should have been completed in around twenty days, and certainly no later than thirty.
By the thirtieth day, gloom had already gathered in Muye's heart. By the forty-ninth, even a generation's Ben Ti Sect Master had become so nervous that sweat poured from his palms.
Second Awakening was the foundation of an Original Martial Soul's superiority over ordinary Martial Souls. Muye did not dare imagine what would happen if the legendary God-level Original Martial Soul could not undergo a Second Awakening. Would the Body Sect's beliefs collapse completely?
"Xuanzhen."
As if he had made some decision, Muye's gaze gradually sharpened. "Today's extreme training will be different from before. Your enemy will no longer be wave after wave of weak undead, but the last remaining monster in Death Valley.
"I will undo the seal left by our ancestors and awaken an Undead King far beyond the limits of a Soul Elder."
Most Body Sect disciples undergoing a Second Awakening were Third Ring Soul Elders or Four Ring Soul Ancestors. Every Ben Ti Disciple's life was incomparably precious, and the Body Sect did not allow dangers beyond their limits to exist in Death Valley. They periodically acted to eliminate such monsters.
Only one undead was an exception. Its bloodline had been exceptionally noble in life, and the ancestors of Ben Ti could not bear to kill it lightly. Thus, they sealed it away and left behind Sect Training.
If the Body Sect ever produced a monstrous genius whose limits could not be forced out by ordinary pressure, then release this undead and let it become the last piece of the touchstone for the Second Awakening of Ben Ti's descendants!
Streams of dark-gold light shot into the core of Death Valley. Using a secret technique of the Body Sect, Muye broke the seal, and the sleeping monster began to awaken!
"Roar—"
A hoarse roar came from afar. A hurricane swept through Death Valley as countless dead branches, carried by the torrential rain, and sand and stone formed a black vortex. Soul fire lit up an eerie dark green within the pitch-black world!
Undead Creatures craved the aura of life. Having caught the enticing Life Energy, a pair of broad bone wings spread open, and the king rose from the earth, unveiling its mysterious visage!
A dragon-shaped creature. Jet-black bones formed an indestructible body, its skull vicious and terrifying. Two clusters of green flame danced in its hollow eye sockets. Its dragon claws were covered in bony protrusions, with three spear-like Bone Spikes growing backward from each joint.
The king of Death Valley, the Evil Spirit Bone Dragon!
The Evil Spirit Bone Dragon raised its head and let out a dragon roar. Wind and rain seemed to be subjects of the Dragon Clan, shredding the clouds with its roar. The king's bellow spread through Death Valley, and fear arose in the hearts of the Undead Creatures. One by one, they trembled and prostrated themselves, not daring to come any closer.
Its bone wings suddenly beat, and the Evil Spirit Bone Dragon descended like a black meteor. Even from a hundred meters away, Zhao Xuanzhen still felt as if his face were being sliced apart by the fierce wind!
The First and Third Soul Rings lit up simultaneously!
His black hair turned a glazed pale white, and Zhao Xuanzhen's entire body took on the translucent luster of jade. Black and white two-colored currents converged into a rotating Taiji Diagram. The Third Soul Skill, The Way of Wuji, enhanced him, layered with the advanced version of the first soul skill, Qi Follows the Heart—Qi Dong Shan He!
With Zhao Xuanzhen's heaven-defying combat stats, a full-force Qi Dong Shan He could easily kill ninety-nine percent of Soul Masters of the same rank across Douluo Continent. Yet a human-like glint of mockery appeared in the Evil Spirit Bone Dragon's green beast eyes.
Its pair of forelimb dragon claws slashed out. The gale struck like an exploding blast, circular black ripples churning the rainwater as it brutally suppressed Qi Dong Shan He with even more overwhelming power!
"Boom!!!"
The earth cracked beneath the collision of the two skills, while grass and trees were pulverized into flying ash in an instant. Zhao Xuanzhen's eyes turned dark blue, and thick walls of earth rose around him!
"Evil Wind, Evil Water..."
The earthen walls shattered under the unbearable strain. A trickle of blood ran from the corner of Zhao Xuanzhen's mouth, and the dark blue chill pierced to the bone. He had identified the Evil Spirit Bone Dragon's attributes: mutated Wind Element and Water Element!
Based on the bloodline they possessed in life, Bone Dragons had different attributes. The Bone Dragon King under the Holy Spirit Cult Leader ten thousand years ago had possessed both wind and fire attributes. The Evil Spirit Bone Dragon before Zhao Xuanzhen controlled wind and water, and on a stormy night, it would only become more difficult to deal with. The environmental boost was practically a domain!
Muye watched Zhao Xuanzhen and the Evil Spirit Bone Dragon from afar. After forty-nine days of high-frequency combat and repeatedly observing True Self's three Soul Skills, Taijiquan, and Earthly Dao Technique, he knew Zhao Xuanzhen's limits all too well.
Put into numbers, the Evil Spirit Bone Dragon's combat value was fully three times Zhao Xuanzhen's. The gap between them was utterly crushing. Other than a Second Awakening of his Martial Soul, Zhao Xuanzhen had no path to survival!
"Roar—"
The Evil Spirit Bone Dragon opened its giant mouth in a savage grin. A human's Soul Skills could not shake it. Having regained freedom after countless centuries, it would savor the thrill of hunting life to its heart's content!
The giant dragon beat its bone wings and circled continuously through the air. The grating sound of sharp bones filled the heavens, and its draconic body cast a jagged shadow. The Evil Spirit Bone Dragon longed to see fear on the human's face, just as a hunter admired its prey's struggle before delivering a fatal strike.
Zhao Xuanzhen disappointed the Evil Spirit Bone Dragon. He showed no awareness of being prey, standing immovable like a towering mountain range. He raised his head and stared directly at the dragon, while a trace of gold flickered within the depths of his dark-blue eyes.
The air pressure seemed to grow heavier. The Evil Spirit Bone Dragon understood that it was absolutely not an illusion; it was truly happening. Dark blue intermingled with golden radiance, and deep killing intent surfaced in the human's dignified eyes.
A dangerous premonition rose within the Evil Spirit Bone Dragon. It decided to stop playing the hunter's game. Its dragon tail descended like a long whip, and Divine Dragon's Tail Whip was so fast and powerful that it even left afterimages amid the storm!
The next instant, the three black Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings beneath Zhao Xuanzhen's feet flashed. An incomparably brilliant golden light lit up, and mysterious golden patterns appeared over his exposed skin, resembling veins of liquid gold flowing beneath the surface.
A golden phantom rose from the earth. Tall and slender, with refined features, it was precisely Zhao Xuanzhen himself. Its pupils became two vortices of molten gold as a wave of force swept outward. Its hair flew like blazing flames, and the roar of its heartbeat crushed the curtain of rain.
"Golden-Grade Second Awakening!"
The dazzling golden phantom reflected in his eyes, and Muye's blood surged with excitement. Hard work had not failed him. On the final day of forty-nine days, True Self had undergone its Second Awakening!
Second Awakenings were divided into four levels: Black Iron, Bronze, Silver Grade, and Gold Grade.
Once an Original Martial Soul underwent a Second Awakening, it experienced an instant qualitative leap, like a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast breaking through its limits and becoming a ferocious beast that roamed the world.
Most Original Martial Souls only achieved Black Iron-grade Second Awakenings. Bronze-grade was already considered excellent.
Silver Grade formed the backbone and would only appear in important body parts. Upon using a Silver Grade Second Awakening, a Ben Ti Soul Master's combat power would rise by an entire level!
The Body Sect had once believed that the strongest Innate Second Awakening was Silver Grade. Gold Grade could only be achieved through Third Awakening by successive Ben Ti Sect Masters cultivating the Secrets of Ben Ti, increasing their overall abilities by as much as threefold!
Muye had once speculated that True Self might break through the fixed understanding of its predecessors and achieve an Innate Gold Grade Second Awakening. But Zhao Xuanzhen's prolonged silence over forty-eight days had left him afraid to dream of it. He had silently prayed that any awakening at all would be enough!
Now, witnessing an Innate Gold Grade Second Awakening, Muye was so excited he nearly danced with joy!
On the battlefield of Death Valley, Zhao Xuanzhen loosely clenched his right fist and unleashed the Taiji Yang Hand with utmost ferocity. The Golden-Grade Second Awakening phantom moved in sync, an aura of sovereign majesty spreading outward. The Evil Spirit Bone Dragon's Divine Dragon's Tail Whip came to an abrupt stop, and the entire dragon spun as it flew a hundred meters away, snapping huge swaths of grotesque trees in half!
A thunderclap exploded at precisely the right moment. Thunder boomed between heaven and earth, while lightning dyed the sky a blazing white.
The Second Battle between man and dragon began.
The Evil Spirit Bone Dragon shook its muddled head, and its soul fire flared violently. Zhao Xuanzhen had completely enraged this Undead King.
Evil Wind and Evil Water, the Evil Spirit Bone Dragon's two most prized attributes, erupted. Violent winds rose, the air turning frenzied as shattered leaves and mud were swept into an ink-black Water Tornado. It became a giant mouth that devoured heaven and earth, and the entire world could hear the Bone Dragon's furious roar!
His clothes snapped in the wind as Zhao Xuanzhen's golden eyes remained cold and stern. The Earth Vein Brown Vein Mad Dragon turned over, and the rock walls became several times thicker than before, easily blocking the Wind Blades. Broken stones collided with the roaring evil water, exploding into clusters of blazing red sparks.
True Self's Golden-Grade Second Awakening was an all-around enhancement, erasing the enormous gap between Zhao Xuanzhen and the Evil Spirit Bone Dragon. Man and dragon now stood on the same level!
Witnessing the human use a cheat to match it, the Evil Spirit Bone Dragon found it difficult to accept the cruel reality. With a beat of its bone wings, violent winds rolled towering waters toward Zhao Xuanzhen. The water was not rain falling from the sky, but a thick, foul Black Mire that corroded through the earth!
"Xun Word, Tempest.
"Kan Word, Frost."
The Wind and Water Elements defected on the spot. The Black Mire froze in midair as frost spread across it, transforming it into a tide of ice crystals that surged back toward its master.
The Evil Spirit Bone Dragon's soul fire abruptly flickered. The Soul Skill it had painstakingly released after expending so much power had been turned against it in a single second!?
When both sides' stats were close, the battle came down to mechanics. Even the Silver Dragon King would suffer a loss against this. How could an Evil Spirit Bone Dragon controlling only two attributes possibly be a match for Bagua Qimen!
It let out an enraged howl as its dragon tail swept around. The Evil Spirit Bone Dragon's terrifying brute strength, enough to shake mountain ranges, crushed the ice tide into powder. The hurricane raised by its wings uprooted the grotesque trees growing throughout Death Valley.
Panting heavily, the Evil Spirit Bone Dragon stared at Zhao Xuanzhen like a furiously impotent husband. Its vertical pupils reflected the golden phantom opposite it.
"Zhen Word, Thunderbolt."
Thunderstorms resounded over Death Valley. Branching Thunderbolts spread gold and white across the black sky. Under the illumination of lightning representing the righteous energy of the world, the Undead Creatures fled in terror. Even the Evil Spirit Bone Dragon could not help retreating, a trace of cowardice arising in its heart for the first time.
Lightning churned as electric serpents danced among the clouds. A bolt of thunder suddenly struck down, condensing into a Thunder Spear in Zhao Xuanzhen's palm. Bagua Zhen Word runes coiled around the shaft, and lightning illuminated his cold profile, stern as a stone carving.
The Evil Spirit Bone Dragon sensed the danger of annihilation. It frantically beat its wings as Evil Wind and Evil Water fused into a black curtain that covered the sky. Countless skeletal Ghost Faces lurked within, baring their fangs and claws as they pounced toward Zhao Xuanzhen.
At that moment, Death Valley seemed split in two. One half churned with the filthy black curtain summoned by the Bone Dragon, while the other was illuminated by Zhao Xuanzhen's Second Awakening phantom into a flowing sea of brilliant gold.
Blazing golden light erupted around Zhao Xuanzhen as Bagua Qimen's Earth Plate surged outward. The black curtain of Evil Wind and Evil Water halted, suspended between heaven and earth with a strangely layered beauty.
The Thunder Spear Tip pierced everything in its path, tearing through the Evil Wind. The evil water evaporated into nothingness, and it finally nailed itself precisely into the Bone Dragon's brow. Its bones shattered inch by inch, and its dragon roar was shrill and miserable, echoing through the nine heavens.
A shaft of moonlight pierced the gap in the clouds, illuminating the resplendent golden figure. Beneath his feet, the black dragon bones turned to dust and vanished into the night with the wind.
"Good! Good! Good!"
Muye descended to the ground and shouted "good" three times in succession. There had been no movement for forty-eight days, only for Gold Grade to awaken on the final day. After experiencing such an enormous emotional swing, the Old Comrade was truly excited.
This was the only Innate Gold Grade Second Awakening in the Body Sect's ten-thousand-year history!
And Original Martial Souls still had Third Awakening. Muye simply did not dare imagine how powerful True Self would become after its Third Awakening!
In contrast to Muye's ecstatic delight after the clouds parted, Zhao Xuanzhen appeared far calmer. Since he had been in a weakened state for the first thirty days, the extreme training had not fully stimulated the potential of his Original Martial Soul. Though it was outwardly the forty-ninth day, it was actually little different from the nineteenth.
No one knew himself better than Zhao Xuanzhen. He had noticed the abnormal changes in the True Self Martial Soul long ago, and today's Second Awakening had merely followed its natural course.
"Xiao Hong."
"I'm here."
Muye called out loudly, and a red mecha appeared. It stood around six meters tall, its fine dark-gold patterns exquisite and magnificent. Its streamlined form looked like a work of art.
Red, God-level Mecha.
"Today is a good day. I'll reward you with a ride in This Sect Master's red-grade mecha!" Muye chuckled as he opened the cockpit and beckoned Zhao Xuanzhen to join him.
After the two took their seats, the red-grade mecha fired a beam of light from its back and carried them toward Heaven Dou City.
Muye activated autopilot mode and said leisurely, "Your Golden Awakening was really difficult. It only succeeded on the forty-ninth day.
"Fine, good things take time. When future generations record your glorious life, Zhao Xuanzhen, they must also write that the current Ben Ti Sect Master, Muye, put in tremendous effort for True Self's Second Awakening. At least sixty percent of the credit belongs to me!"
Glancing at the credit-seeking Muye, Zhao Xuanzhen teased, "I think there's a problem with that. For True Self's Second Awakening, Senior gets thirty percent of the credit, Na'er and Gu Yue get ten percent each, and the remaining half must naturally be due to my own perseverance and hard work."
Muye choked at once and turned to Zhao Xuanzhen. "Is that reasonable?"
"Very reasonable."
Zhao Xuanzhen looked utterly certain. Yes, without the landlord, there would be no game!
Before you continue