New Account's First Draw, Seeking Blessings (Super Chapter to Thank the Alliance Leader)

Just as Gu Bai was shaken by his disciple's towering ambition and stood momentarily stunned, a sudden scolding came from not far away.

"Where did this wild brat come from, daring to spout nonsense on such an occasion!"

Immediately, someone chimed in.

"Heh, just look at the elder beside that kid—tattered clothes, a body full of ruin. In all of Wu Prefecture, you'd be hard-pressed to find another... True Person Gu Bai, it's been a long time since we last met."

As he spoke, a middle-aged Daoist stepped forward with a cupped-fist salute. He wore a blue Daoist robe woven with gold and inlaid with jade, his beard and hair black as if dyed, thick brows slanting into his temples, eyes bright as stars—his bearing and appearance were truly extraordinary.

Seeing this man, Gu Bai furrowed his brow slightly, sighed, and bowed slightly in return. "Greetings, True Person Liu Xi..."

At this moment, Liu Xi's companions also turned their gazes over, each showing varying degrees of surprise.

"Is that Gu Bai?!"

"Wasn't he said to be at the Nascent Soul Realm? How does he look..."

Liu Xi said in a clear voice, "True Person Gu Bai was exceptionally gifted in his youth and did once cultivate to the Nascent Soul Realm. Unfortunately, he later suffered a severe injury that damaged his Dao foundation. Since then, his divine abilities have faded, his qi and blood have withered, and he is now like a flickering candle in the wind..."

Having said this, Liu Xi wore a clearly gloating smile as he looked at Gu Bai. "Heh, after our last parting, I thought I'd never have the chance to see you again. Who'd have thought that though your Immortal Path is ruined, your skill at dragging out a miserable existence has only improved... You haven't secretly been practicing some heretical arts, have you?"

Gu Bai softly muttered, "True Person Liu jokes," and prepared to step aside and leave.

But Liu Xi refused to let go. With a flash, he blocked Gu Bai's path and asked again, "What about those two disciples you taught before? Why not bring them along to show everyone? Could it be you're hiding beauties in a golden house and can't bear to part with them? Hahaha!"

This last remark bordered on lewdness. Even Gu Bai, who had been intent on enduring, couldn't help but change his expression... But in the end, he suppressed his anger, sighed faintly, and stepped aside again, absolutely refusing to argue with Liu Xi.

Liu Xi frowned and wanted to block him again, but was pulled back by someone beside him, who signaled that today was a festive occasion and not to stir up trouble... So he could only grit his teeth, spit to the side, and let Gu Bai go.

Gu Bai breathed a sigh of relief inwardly and looked down at his disciple Wu Ming with a wry smile.

Being humiliated by Liu Xi in public didn't bother him much; it was only when his two disciples were insulted that anger had stirred. Now, he was merely afraid that his newly accepted disciple, with his fiery temperament, wouldn't be able to endure such commonplace injustices.

Yet he saw Wu Ming sizing him up with a suspicious look, hesitating to speak several times before finally blurting out a question.

"Master, did you used to be better than him?"

Gu Bai's vision went dark at these words, and he nearly lost control of his breath. Though he didn't understand the exact meaning, he knew Wu Ming wasn't saying anything good... And with similar insight, more than a few among the surrounding guests caught on, and stifled laughs broke out.

Gu Bai quickly pulled Wu Ming along and hurried away before the remark reached the ears of the offended party. Only after walking some distance did he, half exasperated and half amused, admonish, "Don't talk nonsense! Getting the Human Dao Seal today is what matters—don't stir up any trouble!"

Wu Ming nodded. "Don't worry, Master. Let's grab the event reward first, then fall out with him later."

"You... forget it. Youthful vigor is only natural. The path of cultivation is about breaking through the barrier of ignorance and leaping out of the well to see the truth. The Human Emperor Scroll is the first hurdle of cultivation, and achieving the first level isn't hard. But to gain multiple Human Dao Seals on the first attempt requires exceptional talent and pure bloodline."

At this point, Gu Bai took the opportunity to explain the Human Emperor Scroll to Wu Ming in detail, to keep him from dwelling on Liu Xi.

The so-called Human Emperor Scroll was hailed as the source of all immortal veins. Anyone who wished to cultivate immortality had to master this scroll first. Conversely, if one stepped onto the Immortal Path and studied Immortal Arts without cultivating the Human Emperor Scroll, no matter how high their achievement, they would be deemed heretical and unacceptable to the Sanqing Immortal Alliance.

With this contrast, Wu Ming roughly understood: the Human Emperor Scroll could be seen as something intangible—like an employee handbook or corporate culture... Of course, in Qiongzhou, it had very real significance. Most cultivators here were Desolate People with impure bloodlines, and the racial tensions left by the Barbarian Rebellion five hundred years ago made the promotion of this human-exalting scroll all the more necessary.

Gu Bai first nodded at Wu Ming's understanding, then corrected him with a wry smile. "The Human Emperor Scroll itself contains no divine power or might. Compared to ordinary techniques, it does have an intangible side. But how could the Heavenly Book deduced by Celestial Master Sanqing with the power of the Immortal Mansion be useless? Meditating on and cultivating this scroll to condense the Human Dao Seal can indeed bring one closer to the origin of the Immortal Path, making breathing, condensation, martial practice, and technique training all twice as effective with half the effort. However..."

Before he could finish, a familiar voice cut in abruptly.

"However, for a mere non-human to cultivate the Way of Humanity is already exceedingly difficult. To dream of contending with the children of noble families is nothing but wishful thinking!"

It was Liu Xi again, but his expression was even more gloomy and vicious than before. Especially when he looked at Wu Ming, it was as if he wanted to devour him alive. He had clearly heard Wu Ming's strange remark but couldn't directly descend to tear a child apart in public, so he first came to make snide remarks to vent his hatred.

Yet Liu Xi's words, brewed with intense indignation, only left Wu Ming, seasoned by countless online battles, feeling baffled and oddly amused—like taking 1 HP of damage... And the look he gave Liu Xi carried a trace of pity.

That pity was like a penetrating critical hit with bonus damage, instantly burning away what little rationality Liu Xi had left. He stepped forward and barked, "What are you looking at, you little bastard!?"

Wu Ming was about to fire back when Gu Bai quickly shielded him. The old man sighed. "True Person Liu, why torment a child?"

This sigh, subtly infused with a sliver of heaven and earth's vital energy, drew widespread attention, much like Kong Zhang's earlier throat-clearing.

Liu Xi was about to flare up again but was firmly pulled back by his companions.

"Today is a joyous occasion for our family—don't steal the spotlight and ruin things! Can't any grudges wait until later?!"

Gritting his teeth, Liu Xi was eventually dragged back into the crowd, but his gaze never left the master and disciple of the Gujian Sect.

On the other side, Gu Bai was also troubled. Being targeted by this petty Liu Family member made him want to simply leave and come back after a few days when the heat died down. But he couldn't bear to dampen his disciple's eager and ambitious spirit... Besides, the old man was also curious: just how many layers of the Human Dao Seal could this strange disciple from Wuyang Village condense on his first attempt at enlightenment?

So he gritted his teeth and stayed put, letting all kinds of gazes sweep over him as he focused on briefing Wu Ming on the important matters.

"Back to the point. The Human Emperor Scroll is the Sanqing Immortal Sect's doctrine exalting humanity alone. When meditating on it, the closer your mental image is to humanity, the more efficient the cultivation... That's why disciples from prestigious families now wait until their temperament and cognition are mature before formally studying the Human Emperor Scroll to step onto the Immortal Path. Of course, bloodline does play a role in this!"

Wu Ming suddenly understood: what Liu Xi said wasn't wrong. For Desolate People to cultivate the Human Emperor Scroll, their efficiency was naturally discounted. And the Sanqing Immortal Sect's forceful promotion of the scroll in the border prefectures had a clear purpose: to attain the Great Dao, one must gradually transform from Desolate Person to human—both in ideology and bloodline.

No wonder that guy was baring his fangs. Not only was victory in his grasp, but his entire family's vanity was staked on this—how could he tolerate provocation? If a Cantonese man went to the Hunan-Jiangxi region and shouted, "The food here is bland and tasteless," he'd probably get the locals' blood boiling too.

But this only fueled Wu Ming's fighting spirit.

"Master, are there any tricks to meditating on the Human Emperor Scroll?"

Gu Bai hesitated for a moment before saying, "When meditating on the Human Emperor Scroll, it's best not to have preconceived notions. Especially the first attempt will determine the future chapters. If it's not a heartfelt realization and acceptance, it will inevitably create obstacles later... But since you want to compete for the top prize today, you'll have to be a bit impatient. You're clever by nature, so I won't lecture you too much. Just remember one thing: focus on the present and let your imagination run wild."

No sooner had he spoken than cheers erupted from afar. Kong Zhang had stepped onto the platform again and announced loudly, "Heh, the Zhang Family Young Lady truly lives up to her reputation as a disciple of Luohuang Mountain! On her first attempt at enlightenment, she memorized four hundred characters of the Heavenly Book and gained four layers of the Human Dao Seal! It seems the ownership of the Ranxiang Workshop Dharma Sword is still up for grabs! Hahaha!"

Amid the laughter, a girl in red was invited onto the platform by Kong Zhang. She was tall, with a soft and beautiful appearance and a shy demeanor. Standing on the stage, she said nothing, only bowing awkwardly to the applauding elders below... After a moment, she fled in embarrassment, drawing another round of laughter.

After the girl in red, several more children from noble families were invited onto the platform by Kong Zhang, who loudly announced their results—mostly memorizing over three hundred characters, equivalent to three layers of the Human Dao Seal. Judging by the guests' reactions, this was already quite impressive.

By now, Wu Ming had a rough idea: meditating on the Human Emperor Scroll essentially meant memorizing the Heavenly Book. Memorizing a hundred characters earned one layer of the Human Dao Seal, and then everyone competed on how many seals they had—the most seals won.

And today, with all the talents of the great families gathered, it was clearly a setup to glorify the yet-to-appear Third Young Master Liu, with results of three or four layers serving as a supporting cast... It reminded one of the splendid sight of five blacks surrounding one white.

As he thought this, he heard the crowd suddenly stir again, clearly another expert about to take the stage and show off. Wu Ming quickly pulled his master along, taking advantage of the crowd's focus on the stage to circle around to the tower gate. He barely managed to push through a few people, finally revealing a long table.

Behind the table sat two Daoists, dressed similarly to Kong Zhang but with even plainer ornaments. On the table were a basin of clear water, a brush and ink, a blue-bound book, and an open registration ledger. The ledger already bore many names and their respective results.

This was precisely the examination point for newcomers in Dinghuang Prefecture.

Taking advantage of the sparse crowd, Wu Ming picked up the brush and wrote his name neatly in the ledger. Then, following Gu Bai's guidance, he dipped his finger into the basin of clear water—this was the Heart-Cleansing Blood Test.

Five hundred years ago, right after the Desolate Barbarian Rebellion ended, if a Desolate person in Qiongzhou wanted to cultivate, they first had to bathe their body in a proper Spirit Pool. Only after repeated confirmation of sufficiently pure human bloodline could they comprehend the Human Emperor Scroll, and only then formally begin cultivation on the Immortal Path. But centuries passed, and as Qiongzhou's situation stabilized and the people's hearts submitted, many procedures grew increasingly simplified, until almost no one paid them any mind.

Wu Ming was clearly not the protagonist of the day. After testing his blood in the water, the Daoists behind the table couldn't even be bothered to examine the result closely. They simply nodded to indicate he could proceed to flip through the Human Emperor Scroll. But just as Wu Ming's hand touched the blue book's cover, the crowd behind him suddenly erupted in clamor, and the two lazy Daoists behind the table hastily stood up.

Wu Ming turned around and saw a young man in white robes standing behind him, about fifteen or sixteen years old, already bearing an imposing and extraordinary aura, handsome and refined beyond compare. His clothes were luxurious and elegant, adorned with immortal radiance and treasures, prompting Wu Ming to silently sigh: What a five-star male card!

If he bared his chest, he'd be limited-five material!

And his identity was self-evident: today's protagonist of Dinghuang Prefecture, the star around which all revolved—Third Young Master Liu of the Liu family, Liu Qi!

Liu Sanlang saw Wu Ming ahead and only nodded with a light smile as a greeting. His demeanor was friendly and casual, with no hint of urging. He even took half a step back and gestured for Wu Ming to go first.

But while Third Young Master Liu had good breeding, those who orbited him like moons couldn't pass up the chance to curry favor. From among the guests on the periphery, someone immediately started shouting.

"Where's this wild brat from? Get lost!"

"A good dog doesn't block the way, you hear!?"

Seeing the crowd's agitation, the two supervising Daoists from Dinghuang Prefecture were quick-witted. They didn't bother driving Wu Ming away themselves but instead called over two White-Robed Attendants waiting nearby, clearly low-level grunt workers of the prefecture, to handle Wu Ming. Meanwhile, they moved to the other end of the table, took out another blue-bound book, placed it on the table... and turned to Third Young Master Liu with extremely enthusiastic professional smiles.

"Third Young Master, please come this way."

Liu Sanlang cupped his hands in reply: "Many thanks for the two Daoists' kind consideration. This Humble One will not stand on ceremony and will step forward to make a fool of himself."

With that, he paid Wu Ming no further heed, stepped forward a few paces to the book, took a deep breath, adjusted his entire state, and solemnly opened the first page of the Human Emperor Scroll. In an instant, his gaze grew distant, and he was immersed in it.

Wu Ming watched curiously from the side but was interrupted by a sharp shout.

"Hey, what are you looking at?! Don't you want to comprehend it!?"

A grunt-level White-Robed Attendant, extremely impatient, reached out and shoved Wu Ming, pulling his attention back to the table.

Wu Ming didn't take it to heart. He stopped looking at Liu Sanlang, gathered his focus, and opened the Human Emperor Scroll before him.

What met his eyes was a page of about a hundred characters, stating its core thesis: All myriad methods of heaven and earth return to the Immortal Path, and the Immortal Path is the Human Path. Thus, heaven and earth give birth to the myriad things, and the myriad things revere the Human Emperor... The viewpoint was concise and clear, with nothing particularly special.

With some doubt, Wu Ming turned to the second page. This page began discussing the origin of chaos, the separation of heaven and earth, a sage dividing yin and yang, ordering the myriad things, and thus the various great paths could be completed... This established a historical view centered on the sages.

The third page described how, after the Nine Provinces first took shape, the sage separated out spiritual nature, opened the cycle of life and death, and only then did the teeming masses and billions of races come into being... This gave all living beings under heaven a common ancestor.

The fourth page spoke of the masses' ignorance, how amid the proliferation of civilization they established various heretical and evil paths, causing the Nine Provinces to fall into endless chaos and the Great Path to be covered in dust. Only the human race struggled to hold on in the chaotic age... This set an extremely derogatory tone for the era of a hundred races coexisting in ancient times.

Reaching the fifth page, Wu Ming temporarily stopped flipping further. Because at that moment, he suddenly realized he couldn't remember what the first page had specifically written!

This feeling was extremely subtle. A clear outline still lingered in his mind, the main content and central ideas of the first page were still fresh in his memory, and the afterimage of the first page practically remained on his retina... But he couldn't recall a single specific character!

He couldn't even be sure whether the first character was "Heaven" or "Supreme"!

This greatly astonished him.

Although he wasn't the kind of prodigy with a photographic memory, he had undergone rigorous exam training and had an excellent memory. Normally, he could memorize eighty to ninety percent of a hundred-character poem after one read. Having only roughly flipped through five pages, he had already forgotten the first page's content completely...

This Human Emperor Scroll really had some tricks to it. No wonder his master had advised him to focus only on what was before him.

Thinking this, Wu Ming flipped back to the first page. Instead of scanning it all at once, he savored it character by character, sentence by sentence, imprinting it into his mind in the most direct way. For every sentence he recorded, he silently recited it, until he finished the hundred-plus characters of the first page. Then he looked back... only to find he had once again forgotten the first sentence.

After two consecutive memory failures, Wu Ming wasn't discouraged. Instead, he grew even more excited. In his eyes, the Human Emperor Scroll was no longer a simple memorization task but a puzzle full of profound meaning.

And solving puzzles—he was also very good at that.

First, cultivating the Human Emperor Scroll was indeed memorization—this was easy to judge from Kong Zhang's commendation.

Second, the method of memorization was definitely not rote learning; this he had already proven through two memory failures.

Third, his memory itself wasn't broken, because he could still recite many poems from before his transmigration. Once back on the mountain, he could use them to tease his senior sister... So the conclusion could only be: when memorizing the Human Emperor Scroll, his memory encountered some obstruction.

Fourth, as an ideological weapon used by the Sanqing Immortal Sect to educate Qiongzhou, the Human Emperor Scroll had a real assessment function.

...Synthesizing the above points, a guess gradually formed in Wu Ming's mind.

The prerequisite for memory is recognition.

The words in the Human Emperor Scroll seemed plain and unadorned, but beyond the text, they concealed a crucial secret: as long as the viewer didn't recognize them, they could never remember them, let alone speak them.

The Human Dao Seal wasn't so easy to obtain.

In his two attempts at memorization, he had neither affirmed nor denied the content of the Human Emperor Scroll, treating it only as a story. Naturally, he couldn't remember a single word.

Therefore, the comprehender must absolutely not treat the Human Emperor Scroll as an ethereal tale but as solid history, recognizing it with genuine sincerity.

But if one already knew the Human Emperor Scroll was an ideological weapon used by humans to educate the Desolate People, how could a Desolate person genuinely recognize it?

"Heh, no wonder Master didn't think much of me, and even when giving hints, only said to focus on what's before me... This hurdle is truly a clever trap for those naturally sharp-witted."

He paused, and a smile crept onto Wu Ming's face.

"Fortunately, I'm not only good at being sharp-witted—I'm also good at brainwashing myself."

For someone who had spent years immersed in virtual worlds, neglecting sleep and food, placing an illusory world above reality had long been a passive skill he took for granted!

He had felt his heart race for beautiful girls in virtual worlds, knowing full well that the exquisite character designs, the romantic plotlines, and the beautiful illustrations were most likely the work of a group of same-sex otakus—yet he still treated them as spiritual sustenance, chewing them over and over again...

Now, immersing oneself in a mythological tale—what difficulty could there be in that?

Perhaps, for the Desolate People who have been oppressed for centuries, for those with unique cultural traditions and religious customs, or for those whose bloodline causes them to perceive and understand heaven and earth differently from humans, forcibly changing their cognition to cater to the Human Emperor Scroll and revere the Human Dao would be an ordeal of a thousand difficulties and ten thousand hardships...

But as a Blue Star transmigrator who had eaten crispy-skinned dog, white-cut dog, Huajiang dog, dry-pot dog, and steamed dog, placing humanity above all else was simply a matter of common sense, as natural as the sky being above the earth!

The moment this realization struck, Wu Ming felt a cool sensation flow through his mind, and an invisible shackle shattered silently. In the next instant, the Heavenly Book text that had been utterly impossible to grasp suddenly became clear and legible!

Focus on the present... let imagination run wild.

Silently, Wu Ming followed the text on the Human Emperor Scroll, gradually forming images in his mind to depict the beginning of chaos and the scene of the sage creating the world.

At the same time, the youth silently recited the original text. Surrounded by countless images, his thoughts flowed with unparalleled smoothness and clarity. In the blink of an eye, he recited over a hundred characters like water spilling over silver, flawlessly memorizing the entire first page!

And with the completion of the first page, the cool sensation in his mind grew clearer and more solid, as if transitioning from formless to tangible, gaining a hint of "substance."

This faint, barely perceptible substance was the Human Dao Seal.

The next moment, a few rather disdainful and unwilling clicks of tongues reached his ears.

"Tch, that little mongrel actually cultivated it..."

Heh, so it seems the progress of the Human Dao Seal is public knowledge—he had only just succeeded, and already everyone knew. Was this disclosure two-way or one-way? What was the level of attainment among the aristocratic cultivators gathered here to celebrate? And his master, Gu Bai—how many layers of the Human Dao Seal did he have?

All sorts of scattered thoughts flickered through Wu Ming's mind for only a moment, and then he immersed himself back in the blue-covered book... The second page, the third page—before he knew it, Wu Ming had mentally constructed an entire creation scroll of the Nine Provinces, and in one breath, he had recited the first four pages, totaling four hundred and sixty-one characters.

By this point, the incredible gasps and even furious curses around him had become incessant.

"Four, four layers? How can there be four layers?!"

"Damn it, cheating! That little mongrel must be cheating!"

"...Is it even possible to cheat while comprehending the Human Emperor Scroll?"

"Who cares if it's possible?! How could a mongrel like that achieve four layers?!"

"Hard to say, though. That Wasted Daoist Gu Bai's first two disciples are said to have achieved four layers of the Human Dao Seal on their first attempt. The eldest disciple even offended the Liu family back then..."

"Doesn't that just prove his entire Gujian Sect is dirty?!"

The noise persisted for a long time, but Wu Ming merely smiled it off. His mind remained as clear as ever, still hungry for more.

So he reached out, flipped to the fifth page, and challenged the fifth layer of the Human Emperor Scroll... Then, he felt a dull thud in his heart, his qi and blood stagnated, and his vision suddenly went dark.

It was as if he had slammed headfirst into an invisible, colorless, yet solid wall.

Wu Ming took a deep breath, steadied his breathing, and let the redness in his vision gradually fade. Then he fixed his gaze on the Human Emperor Scroll again, only to see a twisted scene. Centered on the scroll's pages, everything around seemed to be sucked into a vast whirlpool, tossing and tumbling in giant waves. Every glance made him dizzy and nauseous, his qi and blood surging.

It felt as if every limb, every inch of his flesh was struggling and resisting, absolutely refusing to reconcile with the Human Emperor Scroll! Absolutely refusing to let that twisted, whitewashed history carve itself into his mind as a tableau!

Somehow, a realization dawned in Wu Ming's heart.

This was what his master had spoken of: bloodline also has its influence. No matter how much this body's owner longed to submit to the righteous path and revere humanity alone, deep in his bloodline, the Desolate Race's blood that had flowed for tens of thousands of years still let out an unwilling roar!

The Desolate Person's body was resisting civilization, rejecting human cognition with all its might!

Yet even so, Wu Ming persisted, plucking words from the twisted vortex one by one, another and another... like piecing together a puzzle, gradually forming sentences, then silently reciting them in his mind.

After who knows how long, Wu Ming finally pieced together the first sentence.

"...At the height of chaos, a sacred spirit took pity, commanded the Immortal Mansion to descend, and restored the righteous path..."

The moment the sentence took shape, Wu Ming felt a chill run through his entire body, as if his blood refused to flow, and all his strength drained away. He nearly collapsed on the spot.

But Wu Ming paid it no mind. He closed his eyes tightly and silently recited the next words in his mind, one by one.

"...The Immortal Ancestor received the mandate to establish the Three Pure Ones, and the Immortal Path began to flourish!"

Bang!

His heart gave an unprecedented violent thump, as if struck by a heavy fist... Several blood vessels burst on his head, and blood seeped from all seven orifices.

At this moment, Wu Ming had truly reached his limit, and this limit was a hair's breadth away from the fifth layer's peak!

The four hundred and ninety-ninth character of the Heavenly Book was now firmly etched in his memory!

The murmurs around him gradually grew distorted and blurred. But Wu Ming could still hear them clearly!

"...The fifth layer?! He's about to achieve the fifth layer?! Damn, is that for real?!"

"He's almost breaking the bloodline bottleneck through sheer brute force—this kid's potential is truly remarkable..."

Even among the guests who had come to support the Liu family, quite a few were moved at this moment, letting out involuntary words of praise.

Still, there was no shortage of sarcastic remarks.

"Close to five layers, but still not five layers! A mongrel like this, even if he risks his life, can only tie with Young Lady Zhang when she's not going all out, barely fit to be a stepping stone for Third Young Master Liu."

"In the end, he's just a Desolate brat. Want to break through the fifth layer... purify his filthy blood for another thousand years first!"

At the same time, a burst of loud cheers erupted not far away.

"503 characters, five layers of the Human Dao Seal, achieved!!"

"Congratulations, Third Young Master! With talent like this, you're no less than the eldest young master back in the day!"

"Heh, it seems the ownership of the Ranxiang Workshop Dharma Sword, though a bit tortuous, will still fall into Third Young Master's hands!"

"Prefect Kong, no need to wait any longer. All the aristocratic youths have comprehended it today, and no one can match Third Young Master. Just award it directly!"

In a daze, Wu Ming felt only a flicker of surprise... then quickly understood and let it go.

That made sense—since Liu Sanlang was the star of the day, arriving full of ambition, he naturally had to have a performance that outshone everyone else. If even the Zhang family girl, who was just a warm-up act, could memorize four hundred characters, then Liu Sanlang reaching the fifth level was hardly surprising.

And a score of five hundred and three characters at the fifth level was indeed enough to look down on the crowd.

The five hundredth character of the Human Emperor Scroll was clearly an extremely difficult bottleneck to break through. Even Liu Sanlang himself might not have been entirely confident before this trip... Now that he had succeeded in one go, the congratulations pouring in from all sides were truly heartfelt!

Unfortunately, today was simply not Liu Sanlang's lucky day. This star-studded celebration was destined to come to an abrupt halt.

Staring at the twisted, spinning Human Emperor Scroll before him, Wu Ming took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes, no longer trying to forcibly squeeze more out of his own body.

A youth from Wuyang Village, after all, could never match a son of a noble family in an unfair contest.

Fortunately, Wu Ming was no longer just a simple youth from Wuyang Village. He was now an expert at breaking through difficulties and pushing past limits—a first-clear specialist. And behind this specialist stood an old man whose cultivation had once reached the Nascent Soul realm.

Focus on the present. Push imagination to its extreme.

These simple eight-character maxims held the key to breaking through the boundaries of bloodline.

Push imagination to its extreme... And the extreme of imagination lay not in the scroll's splendor, but in deduction.

Wu Ming closed his eyes. In his mind, the scroll depicting the ancient Nine Provinces gradually came to life. The plants, trees, fish, and insects on the scroll seemed to awaken, beginning to reproduce and thrive on their own... In an instant, the scroll, frozen in time, gained the momentum to move forward.

Yes, the five hundredth character—since he couldn't see it, couldn't recognize it... then he would deduce it himself!

The Human Emperor Scroll was originally deduced by Celestial Master Sanqing. If predecessors could deduce it, then successors could do the same! And now, with the preceding four hundred and ninety-nine characters as a foundation, deducing just a single character forward was a trivial matter.

Everything should have been perfectly logical!

And the moment Wu Ming witnessed the scroll's myriad beings come to life and made his resolve, his mind shook violently.

Then, on the scroll, a faint pattern slowly emerged—the five hundredth character of the Human Emperor Scroll, the one rejected by the bloodline of the Desolate People.

A left stroke, a right stroke, supporting each other—it was the character for "human"!

And when this character clearly appeared, the cool sensation coiled in his mind suddenly condensed, doubling in intensity, transforming into a crystal-like jewel!

The jewel floated directly above the Nine Provinces Scroll, its light shining like a blazing sun over the scroll, causing all things to bow in reverence.

The fifth level of the Human Emperor Scroll was thus achieved!

But the moment he succeeded, Wu Ming felt another pang of heart palpitations, his temples throbbing with pain, and stars dancing before his eyes... Clearly, this breakthrough of his bloodline bottleneck through insight had once again severely overdrawn him.

However, this trial could not end here. After all, the current top of the leaderboard was Liu Sanlang with five hundred and three characters.

Wu Ming took a deep breath, roughly estimating his limits... Before his rationality completely collapsed from overdraw, he should be able to squeeze out about ten more characters of progress.

That meant, in the end, he could surpass Liu Sanlang by a margin of seven characters.

But such an advantage was not enough to rely on. As a Desolate Person fighting on foreign ground, if he couldn't establish an absolute advantage... then he had no advantage at all.

However, achieving an absolute advantage over Liu Sanlang, a noble scion with a fifth-level Human Dao Seal, was truly beyond Wu Ming's current capabilities.

After clearly realizing this, Wu Ming felt both a hint of regret and a sense of relief.

"Wu Ke's first-clear runs, after all, have their limits."

"So next..."

"It's time for the first gacha!"

"Regional escape strategy reward: six hundred Spirit Crystals. Gujian Sect entry strategy reward: one thousand Spirit Crystals. Total: one thousand six hundred... System, pull for me!"

Thanks to Meng Shu for the alliance leader's tip! Thanks to Qingqiu Lichou for the tip! Thanks to Yuluo Lingluan for the tip!