The Opening

The Royal Capital, not far from Asking the Dao Mountain.

Inside a pavilion with soaring eaves and upturned corners, carved with dragons and phoenixes.

Yan Kaigui was hosting Lin Buzhi and Qi Liang at a lavish banquet.

Because Qi Liang held himself to strict standards, abstaining from wine and women, there were no singing girls or dancers at the banquet. Yet every drink and dish served was a rare delicacy from the farthest corners of the land.

This table alone cost over a thousand taels of silver.

Enough to cover a family of four's expenses for hundreds of years.

"According to the latest news, Li Xian apparently asked too high a price. His investment negotiations with the Tai Xu Sword Palace, Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, and Sacred Martial Tower fell through."

The one speaking was Yan Kaigui, heir apparent to the King of Yue.

"He's grown arrogant on the favor he's been shown."

Lin Buzhi smiled. "Then there's no problem."

"In that case, I'll leave this matter to you two."

Yan Kaigui said, "Once it's done, our Yueyang Prince's Residence will prepare another generous gift for you."

"You're too kind, Heir Apparent Yan."

Lin Buzhi once again responded mildly.

A generous gift from the Yueyang Prince's Residence?

In principle, he would hardly concern himself with a Commandery Prince.

But Yan Kaigui was different.

He held a Dragon Gate Token and had connections with an Immortal Seedling. Naturally, Lin Buzhi had to show him some respect when he made a request.

He might rank among the top ten on the Hidden Dragon Ranking, but...

Barring anything unexpected, Dragon Gate Tokens were essentially awarded in the order of the Hidden Dragon Ranking.

His chances of successfully Leaping Over the Dragon Gate were, at most, only ten or twenty percent.

Nothing like Yan Kaigui, who had ascended to the heavens in a single step through an Immortal Seedling's favor.

"Marquis Qi..."

Yan Kaigui turned his gaze to Qi Liang again. "My younger sister, Yan Ruxue, was listed in the Imperial Clan Register. By killing her, Li Xian dealt a blow to our royal family's dignity..."

"If I run into him, I'll take care of him while I'm at it."

Qi Liang cut him off directly.

"With your assurance, Marquis, I can rest easy."

As Yan Kaigui spoke, he raised his fine tea. "Then allow me to congratulate you both in advance. May you leap over the Dragon Gate like fish, rise upon the wind, and roam the Nine Heavens."

"So this is blood and qi?"

In the courtyard on Asking the Dao Mountain.

Li Xian extended his hand, and a faint, visible layer of bloody light appeared above his palm.

With an impervious body, an internal cycle formed on its own. Blood and qi circulated without end, allowing them to accumulate day after day until they reached fullness and overflowed, whereupon the practitioner could control and harness them.

The Blood Refining Technique turned this passive process into an active one.

It actively condensed blood and qi, refining essence into qi.

This process...

Was naturally quite difficult.

But thanks to his own talent, Li Xian gained something every time he refined his blood. After half a month of consolidation, followed by step-by-step attempts with Blood-Nourishing Pills, he finally achieved blood and qi mastery on this tenth day.

For others, thoroughly stabilizing their blood and qi force after achieving mastery still required some time.

But for Li Xian...

It did not matter whether he had stumbled into success by accident.

Nor did it matter whether he had struck incredible luck.

As long as he mastered his blood and qi once, he could fix that state in place, never regressing.

Even if he mastered his blood and qi through some unorthodox method, he could still retain its effects and gradually optimize away any drawbacks that method might cause, until it was entirely sound and upright, with no flaw anyone could find.

"Blood and qi force."

Li Xian clenched his fist hard.

"This... is a little like the astral force mentioned in some ancient texts on Blue Star."

He recalled the descriptions of astral force found in a handful of supreme inheritances.

Then he compared them with the various mysteries in the Blood Refining Technique, such as condensing blood into arrows and refining blood into astral force...

The astral force he had practiced for a time in his previous life, yet never achieved because of insufficient blood and qi, gradually merged with the refining blood into astral force described in the Blood Refining Technique...

The next second, Li Xian suddenly sprang up. Core force erupted as he refined blood into astral force, and the blood and qi he had just mastered surged out with his punch, blasting toward a tree six meters ahead whose trunk was thick enough to encircle with both arms.

Bang!

The trunk shook violently!

Wood chips flew!

Countless leaves rustled down as the tree shook, scattering throughout the courtyard.

A clearly visible fist imprint had actually been left on the solid trunk!?

But that was not the point!

The point was that Li Xian's fist had been at least an inch away from the tree itself!

Across an inch of empty air, the force erupting from his punch had actually left a fist imprint in the trunk!

Such a feat had already exceeded ordinary understanding. It could be called supernatural power.

"Astral force!"

A trace of fervor flashed through Li Xian's eyes.

To think that astral force, which simply could not be cultivated on Blue Star... was actually real!

No!

It was not impossible to cultivate!

The conditions simply had not allowed it!

On ancient Blue Star, who knew how many medicinal herbs hundreds or thousands of years old lay hidden in deep mountains and ancient forests?

If a Core Force Grandmaster measured the world with his footsteps, crossing mountains and rivers, and had fortune on his side, digging up thousand-year treasure herbs one after another to forge an extraordinary physique and nurture unprecedented blood and qi force, he might well have cultivated astral force just as Li Xian had now.

It was just that, in his era, the environment had suffered severe damage. Never mind thousand-year treasure herbs-even centennial medicinal herbs had become synonymous with luxury.

Unless the resources of the entire world were mobilized to bestow every treasure herb upon one person, perhaps offering hope of transforming their physique and ultimately refining blood into astral force, otherwise...

Such legends would eventually be submerged in the river of history as the years passed.

"My ability to cultivate astral force was entirely thanks to the Blood-Nourishing Pills. Without their powerful nourishing effects, even with the Blood Refining Technique and an uninterrupted supply of Blood Spirit Powder, reaching this level would still require steady accumulation. It would take years of effort."

At this thought, Li Xian looked forward to that entirely new world even more.

If the Blood-Nourishing Pills that came from that world could let him cultivate astral force, something akin to myth and legend on Blue Star, what about higher-grade pills?

Just how powerful would their effects be!?

Even without pills, what about thousand-year treasure herbs, three-thousand-year spirit herbs, or ten-thousand-year immortal herbs?

How much would consuming a single one strengthen his body?

"So I don't need to worry at all about the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique or the Limit-Breaking State putting too much strain on my body! Nor do I need to worry about whether further research into higher forms of the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique and the Limit-Breaking State will make my body explode and kill me!"

He held his right hand out level and clenched his fist tightly. "As long as I leap over the Dragon Gate and reach that world, there will be plenty of heavenly materials and earthly treasures to transform my body, letting me transcend the ordinary and enter the realm of sages!"

Time passed.

At last, the day of the Dragon Gate Convention's official opening arrived.

On this day, Asking the Dao Mountain, quiet for so long, finally came alive.

The Dragon Gate Convention, held once every five years, seemed to awaken the entire mountain from its slumber.

Countless members of the Rising Dragon Pavilion, who ordinarily lurked in who knew what obscure corners, hurried in from every direction, appearing one after another.

And with two hours still remaining before noon, when the Dragon Gate Convention would be declared officially open, the pavilion master and four tower masters of the Rising Dragon Pavilion had already gathered.

Under the eyes of Zhong Lingxiu and the other three tower masters, Pavilion Master Shen Chenzhou took out a crystal.

As he activated it, radiant light flowed within. Soon, the light settled, displaying a special passage of text.

"How could a flood dragon be a creature confined to a pond? Without wind and rain together, it cannot unleash its wild might."

"Hmm?"

Surprise crossed Shen Chenzhou's face. "To think this session would use this format."

"How can a flood dragon rise upon the wind and soar through the Nine Heavens without weathering wind and rain?"

One tower master sighed with feeling. "With this format... everyone who wishes to leap over the Dragon Gate must face challenges from all others! Only by overpowering every rival and enduring raging winds and torrential rain can they gain the chance to transform from flood dragon to true dragon! This is the Dragon Gate Battle of the greatest worth!"

Seeing this theme, Zhong Lingxiu seemed to think of something and inwardly felt regret.

With this format, which tested absolute strength...

The role of luck was reduced to a minimum.

After studying it for a while, Shen Chenzhou collected himself as well. "Since the format is out, let's announce it together."

He turned to another tower master. "This time, there are six Dragon Gate Tokens. Apart from the one that already has an owner, the other five will be contested by the hundred and eighteen registered participants. Activate the Five-Element Platform! Anyone who believes they can claim a Dragon Gate Token may take one and defend their arena!"

"Understood."

The tower master nodded.

"Let's go."

Shen Chenzhou said, "Together, we shall officially open this session of Leaping Over the Dragon Gate!"

(End of chapter)