A Saint Strikes the Bell, Nine Peals of the Dao Bell!
Great Luo Dynasty.
The holy land, Void Heaven Hall.
"Holy Son Fu Yuan has arrived!" The cry of a peak Nirvana Realm expert rang throughout Void Heaven Hall, resounding like a great bronze bell.
Dong! Dong, dong...
The Great Luo Dao Bell rang five times when a Holy Son or Holy Maiden was chosen, or when a new Divine Fire Realm expert emerged.
Everyone in Void Heaven Hall turned their eyes toward the entrance, waiting for one person to enter.
Dong! Dong!
Two even more resounding peals rang out. The resonance of the Great Dao surged from the bell and spread for a thousand li. Dao flowers bloomed in the void, and Spiritual Qi and fierce winds swirled.
"Seven peals of the Dao Bell, what a grand reception!"
Even the Divine Fire Realm elders were astonished. Seven peals were reserved for major events such as the coronation of a new king or the emergence of a Venerable.
Dong!
The Great Luo Dao Bell rang an eighth time. Its mighty peal resounded across the entire Heavenly Luo Star, and the voice of the Great Dao spread for a hundred thousand li. Even the Venerable Realm grand elders could no longer remain calm.
Eight peals of the Dao Bell were not heard once in ten thousand years. They sounded only when a Saint was born or a Saint passed away.
"Eight peals of the Great Luo Dao Bell. I'm afraid His Highness the Holy Son has an even more astonishing background than we imagined." Young Marquis Luo Feng put aside his carefree attitude, his expression grave.
"The last time the Dao Bell rang eight times was five thousand years ago, when the Third Ancestor's life tablet shattered," Grand Elder Luo Jue said with a sigh, stroking his beard.
"A mighty Venerable is striking the bell." Brilliant light flickered in Holy Maiden Luo Qingyi's beautiful eyes.
The Great Luo Dao Bell was the First Ancestor's lifebound saint weapon. The First Ancestor was in the Quasi-Emperor Realm, and part of the bell's body had already undergone a transformation. It possessed sentience and could almost be considered a half-Great Emperor Weapon.
Someone at the peak of the Nirvana Realm could make the Dao Bell ring five times, and someone in the Divine Fire Realm could make it ring seven times. Only a Venerable could make it ring eight times.
In the Dao Desolation Era, Venerables stood at the summit of cultivation in some desolate realms. Even in imperial clans and supreme holy lands, they had a certain degree of influence.
What a grand reception this was. Cultivators across Heavenly Luo Star were in shock.
Dong!!!
The Dao Bell rang a ninth time. Its peal resounded across the three hundred stars of the Heavenly Luo Dynasty, while the voice of the Great Dao echoed throughout Heavenly Luo Star. Seven-colored flowers of the Great Dao drifted down upon the world, and tornadoes of Spiritual Qi ravaged heaven and earth.
"Nine peals of the Dao Bell! A Saint is striking the bell!!!" Everyone rose to their feet and solemnly looked toward the entrance of Void Heaven Hall.
A Saint had emerged from the Heavenly Luo Forbidden Zone to strike the bell for Holy Son Fu Yuan. It was utterly inconceivable, impossible to understand.
Only Luo Qing, the King of Great Luo, who knew part of the truth, was neither alarmed nor surprised. He did not know Fu Yuan's identity in full, but the Fifth Ancestor had knelt that day, and everything pointed to how exalted Fu Yuan's status was.
He guessed that Fu Yuan was most likely the Great Emperor of Nothingness's own son, the young master of the Great Luo Dynasty, born before Fu Xu became an emperor and sealed within divine source.
As for Fu Yuan being the Indestructible Heavenly Venerable's own son, he would not have dared imagine it even if beaten to death. That existence had been called invincible since the Mythic Era, and anyone who inherited his bloodline was bound to sweep through an entire age and reign invincible among their peers.
As the current King of Great Luo, he had the authority to consult the Ancient History of Great Luo. Fu Yuan had entered the world twice, once at the end of the Blood Ancient Era and once eighty thousand years ago. Although he had never lost, he had no notable battle record to show for it.
He was a Holy Son-level prodigy, but he could not contend with an emperor's son and did not count as a peerless monster.
"Lord Holy Son Fu Yuan has arrived!"
Another shout rang out. A heroic, formidable youth of commanding bearing slowly walked into the hall. The five-clawed blood dragon on his ink-black robe seemed ready to break free and roar into the heavens. A blue-and-gold qilin swished its tail behind him, treading through the sky.
As he advanced, the people seemed to see a young dragon soaring, his blood Qi like a rainbow. What a young immortal descended to the mortal world he was.
"What a terrifying little monster. He has only just entered Profound Opening, yet his blood Qi is already this formidable. The strength of his bloodline is beyond imagination." Grand Elder Luo Jue was so shaken that the hand stroking his white beard paused for a moment.
On the path of cultivation, one tempered the body in Houtian and condensed Qi in Xiantian. A Qi sea formed in the dantian, the Qi sea nurtured a spiritual platform, and the bloodline awakened at Profound Opening.
The fifth realm of the Dao was called Profound Opening. Cultivators in this realm awakened their bloodlines. The more powerful the bloodline, the greater its potential and the greater the strength gained upon breaking through.
The bloodlines of the world were divided into nine grades. Those below the third grade would struggle to surpass Profound Opening in their entire lives.
Those with fifth-grade bloodlines could enter the Nirvana Realm, while those with bloodlines of the seventh grade or above were prodigies.
Those with eighth-grade bloodlines were monsters on the level of Holy Sons and imperial princes.
Those with ninth-grade bloodlines were supreme prodigies on the level of an emperor's son. Whether they possessed an emperor's bloodline or a top-tier saint physique or Divine Body, every one of them was a peerless monster who stirred wind and clouds and reigned supreme among their peers.
"What a terrifying fellow. His talent is far above mine. If we fought at the same realm, I'm afraid I couldn't last ten moves." Luo Qi, the King of Great Luo's fifth son, was moved. A prodigy ranked among Great Luo's ten finest of the younger generation had spoken thus, acknowledging Fu Yuan's strength.
As Fu Yuan advanced, his divine talent shone forth and his bearing was extraordinary. Like a young true dragon or a juvenile qilin, he walked with a natural Dao resonance in every step, the very image of a young divine king.
Blazing flames burned in Holy Son Luo Jie's eyes. His fighting spirit grew ever stronger, and he longed to step forward and fight Fu Yuan then and there.
[Ding! Void Heaven Hall check-in successful. Congratulations to the host for obtaining a seven-star check-in reward: Star-Plucking Hand!]
The system's notification of a successful check-in rang in Fu Yuan's mind. It was a powerful offensive technique.
Interesting. Fu Yuan's spiritual sense was extraordinarily formidable. As soon as he entered the hall, he felt an intense gaze. Its owner was young and powerful, most likely a leading figure of the Great Luo Dynasty's younger generation.
The surging fighting spirit was not concealed in the slightest. The young prodigy possessed the utmost confidence that none could stand against him.
The world was far, far too vast, and there were far, far too many prodigies invincible among their peers. But the struggles for heaven's mandate and the Great Dao were incomparably cruel. On the grand stage of the Battle of the World Sons, countless Holy Sons gathered, and even an emperor's son could be defeated.
This was the first battle in which a rising supreme prodigy could make a name for himself. The victor would gain the blessing of an entire realm's providence, with countless wondrous uses.
He's considerably stronger than I used to be at the same realm, an indisputable Holy Son-level monster. Fu Yuan was faintly rueful. Having two brothers of unparalleled talent was no blessing; he had been far too insecure in the past.
Despite possessing Holy Son-level combat strength, he had not taken part in the Battle of the World Sons and had not dared contend with supreme prodigies.
A faint star revolved around the great sun. How could a speck of light dare compete with the bright moon?
Without a steadfast Dao heart, the path of the Great Dao was hard to tread. Both of his ventures into the world had ended in haste. He had severed his cultivation realm and returned to the forbidden zone. What a sorry sight he had been.
The eyes of everyone present were fixed on the slowly advancing youth, unable to move away even a fraction. Fu Yuan was too dazzling, like the most brilliant Ziwei Emperor Star beyond the heavens.
His bearing was so extraordinary that the younger generation's prodigies felt ashamed of their own inferiority merely by looking at him, not daring to meet his gaze.
"Surging blood Qi and a soul as deep as an abyss-he deserves to be called a young supreme!" Grand Elder Luo Shu praised.
"Such a monster has appeared in the world, yet no one has ever heard of him. How very strange." Grand Elder Luo Jue was also shaken.
The Divine Fire Realm elders' eyes shone with wonder, and the Venerable Realm grand elders were all astonished. A youth who had only just entered Profound Opening, who had yet to break its limits and awaken his bloodline a second time, was already this powerful. He surpassed anything they had seen in their lives.
"My King, could Holy Son Fu Yuan have a ninth-grade bloodline?" one grand elder asked the King of Great Luo, Luo Qing, beside him, clicking his tongue in amazement.
As mighty Venerables, their eyes were exceptionally keen. They could tell at a glance that Fu Yuan was extraordinary.
A cultivator at the first level of Profound Opening possessed blood Qi even stronger than that of Holy Son Luo Jie at the fourth level. What that meant went without saying.
This Holy Son, who had gone into slumber eighty thousand years ago, was a peerless monster who could stand shoulder to shoulder with an emperor's son.