May Everyone Be Like a Dragon!

A moment later, Ye Tianming swallowed the Divine Flint Spirit Liquid. His eyes flew wide, and his features twisted. It felt as though a stream of molten lava had entered his body, burning his internal organs until they were about to melt into blood.

Beside him, Mu Guanchen said, "Don't be afraid. The Divine Flint Spirit Liquid will enter your blood and every part of your body, forming a protective film over them to shield your flesh. But the process is a little painful. The more conscious you remain, the better the effect, so you'll have to endure it."

Ye Tianming clenched his teeth. At first, the burning pain was confined to his throat and the inside of his body, but it soon spread through his limbs and every part of him, as though it meant to reduce him to ashes.

The pain was worse than death.

But he gritted his teeth and endured. He knew the Divine Flint Spirit Liquid had to be unimaginably precious, and he couldn't afford to waste even a drop.

The painful process continued for nearly half an hour. Throughout it all, Ye Tianming didn't make a sound, forcing himself to endure with his teeth clenched. Once he had made it through, the burning pain slowly faded, replaced by a wonderfully comfortable warmth inside his body.

A faint, thin blue-green film covered his skin.

Mu Guanchen walked over. "You can swallow that Extreme Attainment Pill now, then draw down second-level heavenly lightning to temper your body."

Ye Tianming opened the box, took out the Great Tribulation Pill, and swallowed it. The moment he did, a bank of black clouds appeared overhead, and lightning flashed within them like silver serpents.

Mu Guanchen retreated into the distance. A bolt of lightning burst from the clouds and struck straight down at Ye Tianming.

Feeling the terrifying might of the lightning, Ye Tianming instinctively wanted to resist, but Mu Guanchen's voice rang out again. "Don't resist. Take it with your body."

Ye Tianming hastily stopped, and the bolt struck him squarely on the head.

Boom!

Ye Tianming fell to the ground with a ringing in his head. Before he could react, another bolt came down and struck him, sending his body flying more than ten feet into the air...

He couldn't actually feel any pain, because his entire body had gone numb.

As the lightning bolts fell one after another, countless tiny points of lightning appeared across Ye Tianming's body. Thanks to the Divine Flint Spirit Liquid, his body began absorbing them at a tremendous speed. He then circulated his cultivation technique, making him absorb them even faster, until his body looked like a vortex.

The Great Tribulation Pill's effects lasted a full four hours, during which Ye Tianming was struck hundreds of times by second-level heavenly lightning. As he devoured more and more of its energy, his cultivation rapidly rose, showing faint signs of a breakthrough. But he forcibly suppressed it rather than breaking through.

Another two hours passed, and the lightning on his body disappeared. He slowly rose to his feet. His body had undergone a transformation: it had originally been a Glazed Body, but now that his flesh and internal organs had been strengthened, it had become a Vajra Glazed Body, a body belonging to the Major Tribulation Realm.

His cultivation, however, had not reached the Peak Attainment Realm, because he had suppressed it.

Ye Tianming clenched his fists, and the bones in his body crackled. He stomped hard on the ground.

Bang!

The ground collapsed instantly.

Ye Tianming was excited. His body had grown more than five times stronger, and he knew the Divine Flint Spirit Liquid was responsible for much of that. Only with it had he been able to devour the lightning's energy without restraint; otherwise, he would never have dared. The energy within the Divine Flint Spirit Liquid itself had also been enormously beneficial to his body.

If only I could drink a few more bottles...

At that thought, Ye Tianming shook his head with a smile. It had to be unimaginably precious; with his current wealth, he couldn't afford even one bottle.

Mu Guanchen walked over and examined Ye Tianming's body. "How do you feel?"

"Very good," Ye Tianming said excitedly.

Mu Guanchen smiled, then took out a box and gave it to him. "These are demonic beast inner cores. There are only five. Eat one every half month. These inner cores are pure essence; they'll continuously nourish your body and help you stabilize it."

Ye Tianming didn't refuse. He accepted the box. "Thank you, Teacher."

Mu Guanchen said, "Without using the power of the earth, your body alone should now be able to withstand stacking at least four uses of your Heaven-Slaying Sword-Drawing Technique. If you also use the power of the earth..."

He stopped, pondered for a moment, and said, "Even I can't really estimate it."

Ye Tianming said, "Should I try it with the Sword of Upholding the Dao?"

He also wanted to test his limits now.

But Mu Guanchen shook his head. "No need. Your sword is somewhat unusual. The result you get with it won't have much to do with you... It's all right; there's no rush. Spend this time stabilizing your body, then make some preparations. The academy master will be taking you all out for actual combat."

"Actual combat?"

Ye Tianming grew excited. "Where are we going to fight?"

He wanted a proper fight now, to see how strong he really was.

Mu Guanchen smiled. "You'll find out when the time comes. It's getting late, so let's stop cultivating for today and head back."

Master and disciple returned to the academy. Ye Tianming began cooking, while Mu Guanchen went back to writing what he needed to write.

This time, Ye Tianming stewed a huge pot of demonic beast meat with all kinds of wild vegetables. It smelled wonderful. Once it was ready, he went to his room, only remembering as he was about to enter that the hall seemed to belong to Miss Fu Zang now.

He knocked on the door.

There was no answer.

He was about to leave when the door suddenly opened. Fu Zang appeared before him and stared at him.

Ye Tianming asked, "Miss, dinner's ready. Do you want some?"

Expressionless, Fu Zang said, "Bring it to me."

With that, she shut the door.

Ye Tianming's face darkened. What the hell? I'm not going to indulge you. He turned to leave.

Just then, the door suddenly opened again, and a storage ring flew out.

Ye Tianming caught it. Inside were a thousand spirit crystals.

His face immediately lit up. "Senior Sister, I'll bring it to you right away."

With that, he turned and ran off.

Little Pagoda suddenly said, "That senior sister of yours has quite a temper."

Ye Tianming stroked the storage ring and said seriously, "I think Senior Sister is fine just as she is. She has character. I like her."

Little Pagoda said, "..."

After bringing Fu Zang her meal, he returned to the hall to eat with Mu Guanchen.

Master and disciple sat on simple stools.

Mu Guanchen suddenly asked, "Want a drink?"

Ye Tianming looked at him. "May I?"

"Of course," Mu Guanchen said with a smile.

He rose, walked over to a corner, and brought out two bottles of wine. "The academy master bought this wine. I took it on the sly."

He handed Ye Tianming a bottle.

Ye Tianming accepted it, then said, "Teacher, stealing... isn't that a bit wrong?"

Mu Guanchen said seriously, "How can you call a scholar's business stealing?"

Ye Tianming said, "..."

Mu Guanchen smiled. "Tianming, do you think there are perfect people in this world?"

Ye Tianming immediately shook his head.

Mu Guanchen nodded. "Your teacher has many shortcomings too. I've made quite a few mistakes in the past, and I've wronged some people..."

A complicated look flashed in his eyes. He opened his bottle and took a small sip.

Ye Tianming said seriously, "I think you're the best person in the world, Teacher, just like Miss Nanling Zhao... I wonder how she's doing."

He took a sip of wine as well, worry appearing in his eyes. Nanling Zhao had completely offended the Xiao Family and Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy for his sake, and he had been worried about her all this time.

Mu Guanchen said, "Don't worry. The Nanling Clan isn't a small clan. The Xiao Family can't do anything to them."

Ye Tianming said quietly, "Teacher, it's really hard for someone without power or influence to get ahead."

Mu Guanchen took another sip of wine. "That's just how the world is. Even an extraordinary figure as powerful as the Guanxuan Sword Master couldn't possibly change that."

Ye Tianming said softly, "That's how the world is... but I don't think it should be."

"Well said!"

Mu Guanchen turned to Ye Tianming with a smile. "The world shouldn't be like this. But Tianming, remember that you think this way now because of the injustice and hardship you've experienced. You're one of the people at the bottom, so that's understandable. But let me ask you: if one day you traded places with those people high above and became one of them, would you still think this way?"

Ye Tianming was stunned. He had never considered it.

Mu Guanchen said, "Once your position changes, what you think and what you need to do may become entirely different. As people often say, the youth who slays the dragon eventually becomes an evil dragon."

He took several more gulps of wine. Because he had no cultivation, and perhaps because he couldn't hold his liquor, his face turned red after only a few drinks.

Ye Tianming also took a big swig. "Teacher... I don't want to become that kind of person, but I can't promise what kind of person I'll eventually become, either."

Mu Guanchen said, "Tianming, this world is very complicated. Good and evil are by no means things that can be explained in a few words. People at the bottom have their hardships, and people at the top have theirs. Take those at the top who want to make the world a better place, like Miss Nanling Zhao... Would you say things are hard for her?"

Ye Tianming nodded.

Mu Guanchen said softly, "At the root of it all is human nature. Human nature is greedy: the desire for money, the desire for power, the desire for desire... Everyone has desires, and no system in this universe can completely eliminate them. In the future, Tianming, you'll have desires of your own too, and driven by them, you may do things that go against your conscience... All I can tell you now is this: no matter what happens, there are two things you must never give up."

Ye Tianming asked, "What are they?"

Mu Guanchen took a gulp of wine and smiled. "Your conscience and your ideals."

After a moment's silence, Ye Tianming asked, "Teacher, what is your ideal?"

Mu Guanchen said, "May all living beings under heaven, every one of them, be like dragons."

With that, he fell over. "Damn it, Old Song's wine is fake."

Thanks to Fengyan Zhanhuo for the tip, and to readers including Xin Shijie Tianming, Qingqing Xuanxuan, Chunyu Run Ruyu, Jiangzhu Xian de Zhuzi, and Xiao Lingxi for their tips. Thank you, everyone!

The new book is out. Readers with votes to spare, please cast them for it. Thank you!!