True Dragon

"Something's wrong!"

"That aura... it wasn't a Soul Demon?!"

As his Soul Seal Perception spread, Jiang Chen clearly caught that peculiar fluctuation.

His earlier feeling had been right.

That peculiar fluctuation did resemble the perception of a Soul Seal.

But it was entirely different from the eerie chill of a Soul Demon.

In other words, the fluctuation might have come from some other fiend or evil spirit.

"I can't risk it!"

Jiang Chen withdrew his Soul Seal and left with an untroubled expression, as though nothing had happened.

Whether or not that fluctuation came from a Soul Demon, he couldn't show anything unusual. Otherwise, it might notice him.

He had no desire to become its target.

Meanwhile, in an inn along the street...

A gray-haired old man and a plainly dressed young man sat cross-legged in meditation.

A small bronze cauldron stood before each of them.

Wisps of gray mist rose from the cauldrons and dispersed into the air on the breeze.

Bzzz!

Suddenly, the small cauldron before the old man trembled.

His eyes flew open. His hands formed seals in quick succession, and a thread of black energy seeped from between his brows and merged into the cauldron.

"Found it?!"

The young man opened his eyes at the sound, unable to hide his delight.

A reaction from the Soul Cauldron meant the Soul Demon was hiding somewhere in the city.

Once the Soul Cauldron imprinted its aura, the Soul Demon would have nowhere to run.

But just then, the trembling cauldron abruptly fell still.

"Strange."

The gray-haired old man stopped forming seals, surprise showing in his eyes.

"Senior Brother, why did the Soul Cauldron stop reacting?"

The young man frowned.

Ordinarily, once the Soul Cauldron sensed a fluctuation, it could track it like a maggot clinging to bone until it left an imprint.

So why had it suddenly fallen still?

"The Soul Demon's fluctuation vanished."

The gray-haired old man narrowed his eyes.

Before he could leave an imprint, the Soul Demon's fluctuation had disappeared completely. It had left no trace at all, not even one the Soul Cauldron could follow.

"How? That Soul Demon is only a defective specimen. It hasn't awakened its intelligence yet. It shouldn't be able to shake off the Soul Cauldron."

The young man was baffled.

"That Soul Demon isn't simple. It may have awakened a special talent. Otherwise, it couldn't have escaped its seal."

The gray-haired old man spoke slowly.

"What do we do now?"

The young man looked to him.

"No hurry. It needs to devour highly spiritual souls to replenish its Origin Source. We only have to wait for it to strike again."

The gray-haired old man remained calm.

As long as they knew the Soul Demon was hiding in Prefecture City, the matter would be easy to handle.

"I'll take the east and south of the city. You take the west and north. Bury the Soul Severing Talismans so it can't possess someone and escape."

With that, the gray-haired old man made his arrangements. They would catch the turtle in the jar.

"Got it!"

The young man nodded.

After gathering their things, the two went their separate ways.

At the Jiang Clan residence...

Jiang Chen and the others returned home safely.

"Chen'er, nothing happened on the way, did it?"

Jiang Sihai and Lin Shuyun were already waiting.

From their expressions, they had clearly heard about the martial hall disciples disappearing one after another.

"Don't worry, Mother. The city hasn't descended into chaos."

Jiang Chen smiled to reassure her.

"Chen'er, go wash up first. Then come to my study."

Jiang Sihai's tone was serious.

"All right!"

Jiang Chen returned to his quarters, enjoyed a long bath, then went to the study.

"Father, has something happened at home?"

Jiang Chen went straight to the point.

If his father wanted to speak in the study, it had to be important. Most likely, it concerned the clan's resources.

"The clan sent a message asking me to take you to the Ancestral Residence tomorrow."

Sure enough, Jiang Sihai revealed what the clan was doing.

"Looks like the clan means to make us pay for Jiang Xuan's sake."

Jiang Chen guessed their intentions.

Jiang Xuan might have Medium Bone Aptitude, but if he wanted to enter the True Martial Realm and place well in the Martial Exam at year's end, he would need a great deal of resources.

Naturally, the clan wouldn't leave their family's resources alone.

"After Jiang Xuan returned from the martial hall a few days ago, he began preparing to break through to the True Martial Realm. From what I've heard most recently, his chances are very good."

Jiang Sihai told him what he knew.

Last time, Jiang Sihai had used Jiang Chen's breakthrough to the Second Qi and Blood Gate as grounds not only to refuse to hand over resources, but also to demand that the Ancestral Residence allocate them according to clan rules.

The Ancestral Residence hadn't allocated any resources, of course, but it had agreed that his family needn't hand any over.

Both sides could live with that outcome.

Who would have thought that, so soon afterward, Jiang Xuan would be ready to challenge the True Martial Realm?

Perfecting the Three Qi and Blood Gates and entering the True Martial Realm might seem only a hair's breadth apart, but the difference was as vast as heaven and earth.

Take the White Ape Martial Hall, for instance.

Someone at the Three Qi and Blood Gates was merely an elite disciple, while someone in the True Martial Realm might be promoted to a personal disciple.

Naturally, the clan would give Jiang Xuan its full support.

When that happened, their family's resources would inevitably be drawn in.

"Father, don't worry. Even if Jiang Xuan does enter the True Martial Realm, our family won't have to hand over its resources."

Jiang Chen smiled.

Whether Jiang Xuan could break through remained to be seen.

But as long as Jiang Chen had enough resources, he could perfect the Three Qi and Blood Gates in a little over a month. After that, entering the True Martial Realm would be all but certain.

There was no way he would let his family hand over their money.

The Three Qi and Blood Gates alone cost six thousand taels of silver a month. Once he entered the True Martial Realm, he would need even more.

He barely had enough for himself. How could he hand any over?

Not only would he refuse to pay, he intended to make the Ancestral Residence allocate resources to him.

Didn't those old fellows at the Ancestral Residence love invoking clan rules and duty?

This time, he would let them lift a stone only to drop it on their own feet.

"Chen'er, are you about to break through to the Three Qi and Blood Gates?"

Seeing Jiang Chen's confidence, Jiang Sihai's eyes lit up.

The Second Qi and Blood Gate carried nowhere near enough weight against Jiang Xuan's attempt to enter the True Martial Realm. But the Three Qi and Blood Gates would be another matter.

From the Standing Post Technique to the Three Qi and Blood Gates in under two months.

With talent like that, even Jiang Xuan couldn't compare.

Jiang Sihai would have every reason to bargain with the clan.

"I'm not about to break through. I already have."

As Jiang Chen spoke, Blood Qi surged within him and a powerful aura swept outward.

"The Three Qi and Blood Gates..."

Feeling the immense Blood Qi radiating from Jiang Chen, Jiang Sihai stood frozen in shock.

Surely not?

How long had it been since Jiang Chen last came home for money?

Half a month at most, surely?

And in that short time, Jiang Chen had entered the Three Qi and Blood Gates?

Was it really that easy to break through?

If he remembered correctly, Jiang Xuan had struggled for quite a while before breaking through.

If even Jiang Xuan, with his Medium Bone Aptitude, had found it that difficult, Jiang Chen, with Ordinary Bone Aptitude, should have had a harder time.

How had it turned out the other way around?

"Chen'er, that Aperture Breaking Pill you bought at the Ghost Market... it didn't contain any forbidden drugs, did it?"

Only after a long while did Jiang Sihai recover enough to ask.

He couldn't help it. Jiang Chen's cultivation speed was almost uncanny.

Never mind Ordinary Bone Aptitude—even someone with Medium Bone Aptitude shouldn't be this fast.

"Father, what are you thinking? If I'd taken forbidden drugs, how could the martial hall have made me an Inner Courtyard disciple?"

Jiang Chen took out his Inner Courtyard Token.

"The White Ape Martial Hall's Inner Courtyard Token?!"

Jiang Sihai took the token and examined it, his face flushing with excitement.

He had seen this kind of token on Jiang Xuan before.

Only those who became elite disciples of the White Ape Martial Hall received an Inner Courtyard Token.

Who could have imagined that Jiang Chen, once so lazy and seemingly hopeless, possessed such astonishing potential?

He had entered the Three Qi and Blood Gates in under two months.

Entering the True Martial Realm would hardly be difficult for him. One day, he might even have a chance to join the True Sun Sect.

A true dragon had risen from their family!