The Dragon and the Science Man

The mockery on the young Prodigy's face froze instantly.

She continued, each word carrying immense weight. "We are all mortals."

"It is precisely because we are mortals that we need to come together to possess greater power!"

As she spoke, Feng Qingjue slowly raised her hand, pointing towards the Unseen above, her gaze sharp as a sword. "People say that mortals cannot ascend to heaven."

"But why are they born to sit high in the heavens, looking down upon all living beings? While we are destined to be frogs at the bottom of a well?"

"One day, I will ascend to the Immortal Court —so that the gaze of the heavens will no longer be able to ignore us Mortal World."

The young Prodigy scoffed, his tone laced with a cynical sneer, "In the end, all you want is to ascend to heaven. Once you're in heaven, you'll forget everything you're saying now."

"They're nothing but people who crave immortality and yearn for eternity! Why bother with such high-sounding words!"

"What good is immortality to me? It's just another cage." Feng Qingjue withdrew her gaze, looked at him, her eyes deep. "I want to reach the peak first, to see with my own eyes the view from the highest point, and see if it's worth my immortality."

"Otherwise," her voice suddenly turned cold, carrying an undeniable will, "Even if I lived as long as heaven and earth, the thought that there are still people above me, looking down on me like ants... I would never have peace!"

The young Prodigy trembled violently, staring blankly at her.

These remarks completely overturned his understanding.

Others pursue immortality for eternal existence, but Feng Qingjue placed immortality after "reaching the summit"! What pride and resentment this reflects!

"I... don't believe it..." His rebuttal sounded weak and feeble.

"You will believe me." Feng Qingjue more, but slowly stretched out a hand and held it in front of him.

"If what I say now is even slightly different from what I do in the future, not only you, but anyone behind me may come with a sword—"

"I will gladly accept my fate and have no complaints."

Feng Qingjue did not use any force to oppress him; he simply waited quietly.

Those phoenix eyes held an ambition that could encompass the Star Sea, and a captivating, almost arrogant, confidence.

The wind and snow howled between the two.

After a long while, the arrogance and doubt in the young Prodigy's eyes gradually faded, transforming into a complex light carrying a hint of hope.

He released the sword from his hand, letting it plunge into the ice and snow, and then he lowered his head, which he had never bowed to anyone before.

"Remember what you said today."

Feng Qingjue's lips finally curved into a very faint smile, like a snow lotus blooming for the first time on an icy plain.

"Certainly."

She stood up, her dark imperial robes fluttering in the wind and snow.

"If I can express this ambition to you today, I can proclaim this sentiment to the world tomorrow."

"If I break this oath—"

Her voice pierced the wind and snow, reaching the young man's ears and touching the hearts of all the Prodigy who watched silently in the distance.

"What I just said is the reason for my execution."

At the same moment that Feng Qingjue subdued another Prodigy.

Far away in the Luotian Realm.

Within a vast fiery domain.

Here, the magma is like a sea, churning and boiling, its scorching heat distorting and warping the sky.

However, in the very center of this desolate place, a figure was bathing in a torrent of golden lava.

He was a boy who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, with long, black hair and a tall, straight figure.

His eyes were closed, and every pore on his body seemed to breathe, each breath causing the entire sea of lava to rise and fall.

Even more astonishingly, it seemed as if an eternal divine furnace was burning within his body, emanating a terrifying Qi and Blood that made the void tremble.

Great Sun Burning Heaven Sacred Body - Gu Tianye!

"Boom--!"

Suddenly, he opened his eyes, and a terrifying vision flashed across them: the sun and moon rising and falling, and the Milky Way collapsing.

He casually threw a punch forward, without using any Spiritual Power. Pure Blood Qi transformed into a golden dragon, roaring and instantly drying up the lava sea several miles ahead, revealing the scorched earth!

"Such power at the very beginning of your Sacred Body! Tianye Gege is indeed destined by Heaven!" A clear and melodious voice rang out, filled with undisguised admiration.

Not far away, several stunningly beautiful women with different appearances stood in mid-air, each enveloped in Divine Light, clearly not ordinary cultivators.

The one who spoke just now was one of the girls dressed in red, whose gaze toward Gu Tianye was filled with admiration.

Gu Tianye withdrew his fist and stood up, seemingly unsurprised by his own strength.

His expression was calm, exuding an invincible confidence that seemed to emanate from his very bones.

"The Invincible Path begins here."

His words were simple, yet they seemed to be stating a future that was bound to come true.

Just then, a streak of light pierced through the heatwave above the fiery domain and landed precisely in the hand of one of the women in blue.

She scanned the area with her Divine Sense, and a look of astonishment immediately appeared on her beautiful face.

"The Tongtian Family will be hosting Prodigy Gathering, with the first-place prize being...! Nine-Turn Divine Pill, Quasi-Emperor Cultivation Method, and... the Qin Clan Secret Technique, the Wanjie Thunder Furnace!"

"Oh?" Gu Tianye raised an eyebrow, a hint of interest curving his lips. "The secret techniques that the Qin Clan previously revealed are all exceptionally powerful; they're quite interesting."

Unlike the others, he wasn't shocked; instead, he seemed to have heard something interesting.

"Tianye, such a grand gathering, with so many heroes converging, I'm afraid..." Another woman in white, with a cool and aloof demeanor, softly reminded him, a hint of worry in her eyes.

"Master, you're overthinking it." Gu Tianye chuckled, his gaze seemingly piercing through the endless void, seeing the impending moment of great change. "You always say I'm Prodigy, so how can I back down?"

"With the secret technique in hand, my strength has reached a new level, and I'll be much more confident in accepting that woman's challenge in the future."

His fighting spirit slowly rose, stirring up the winds and clouds in all directions.

"This grand event, I Gu Tianye— "

"We must win!"

Just as Gu Tianye made his decision within the fiery domain.

The Hundred Flowers Spirit Realm.

Inside a boudoir in a quiet little courtyard.

The afternoon sun shone through the carved wooden window, casting dappled shadows on the desk covered with rice paper.

In one corner of the desk, however, were a few objects that seemed out of place in this scholarly environment: several strange creations with cold, hard lines and a metallic sheen.

A slender hand, with well-proportioned bones and flesh, is picking up one of the items with an engineer's precision that is quite different from its appearance.

It was a compact pistol.

Yes, it is indeed a pistol.

Each component fits together perfectly, revealing the rational beauty of industrial creation.

The owner of this hand was a young woman who looked to be around sixteen years old, with beautiful features and a gentle demeanor.

But at this moment, her eyes were focused, her brows were slightly furrowed, and her movements as she examined the firearms were alarmingly skilled.

The body in this body is currently dominated by a soul from another world— Ge Zixuan.

"Eldest Brother Ge..." A soft, slightly timid female voice echoed in his heart, like a pebble thrown into a lake, creating ripples. "Do we... really need to bring so much stuff? I heard that the grand event hosted by the Tongtian Family has very strict rules."

Ge Zixuan ejected the magazine from the pistol, and after confirming that it was full of Spirit Bullet, he swiftly pushed it back in with a "click," his movements fluid and precise.

He responded inwardly, his tone carrying the caution of someone hardened by life's harsh realities. "Rules are rules, but people are flexible. Su Yatou, remember, always have an extra card up your sleeve; it's an extra chance to survive."

"The conflict is open and aggressive inside the meeting hall, but who knows what might happen outside?"

"Besides, that's Nine-Turn Pill, don't you want it?"