Chapter 228 - Five Levels Mergence
“It's way too hard to awaken the ancestral blood in us.” The nine talented dragons did not hide their admiration and they all agreed, “The rewards of the Ancestral Dragon Ritual are there in order to help us to awaken the ancestral blood in us, but there’s only a few that could do that.”
Only the legends could awaken their ancestral bloodline during the Ancestral Dragon Ritual. These nine individuals may have acquired the jade water and the Qi of the Ancestral Dragon that acted as a catalyst in their cultivation, but the nine of them were still far away from being compared with the legends.
“In my opinion, I think all we have to do is defeat all a hundred statues in one of the stages,” Ao Feifei said after she thought for a while, and she continued, “I once read in a record that stated that a drop of the ancestral blood will be bestowed upon whoever defeats all one hundred statues in any one of the stages, which could greatly enhance the power of our bloodline and even awaken the ancestral blood in us.”
Yu Jiao sighed and replied, “But it is way too hard to win against all the statues, as the final statue will possess the same power as the Ancestral God at the same level as us. A drop of ancestral blood might not be enough to awaken our bloodline.”
Then, silence overwhelmed them, and they waited quietly. After a while, when no one else had walked out from the Dao Yi Palace behind them, Jiao Qingtu shook his head and thought of Zhong Yue. His strength is definitely able to place in the top ten of the Awakening level of the dragons, and he has reached such a high level in the【Soaring Dragon Hundred Forms】. With the strength he possesses, it shouldn't be difficult for him to pass the tests, so why is he still not out yet?”
There were nine of them right now, and those that were listed in the top ten of the Awakening level should have been able to pass the tests, so Zhong Yue’s absence greatly troubled Jiao Qingtu.
All of them then started to walk forwards. Not long after, they stopped in front of a river that floated in the air and off into the void. They then stood on the water and allowed the water to carry them into the void.
Po Luhe laughed and asked, “So what is the sixth level about?”
“From what we heard from the elders, the sixth stage is a stage where the Qi Practitioners of the five levels; Inner Core, Atman Body, Awakening, Rebirth, and Spirit Nurture level would all participate together.”
A Jiao Dragon Clan’s disciple said, “The elders said that there will be a fierce battle where all disciples of the same levels would fight among themselves until the last one standing. With that, there will be only five people standing after the battle. Then, the five people remaining will have to fight one another, and those at a higher level will have to suppress their strengths to the same level as the weaker one. For example, if an Inner Core Qi Practitioner faces off against an Awakening level Qi Practitioner, he will have to suppress his strength to the same level as the Awakening level Qi Practitioner. Finally, the last one standing will be awarded with the grand reward from the Ancestral Dragon, which is the Lei Zhe totem carvings and the Ancestral Dragon’s markings! If the winner manages to reach a certain level in the future, he or she will be able to enter the sacred place of the Ancestral Dragons to cultivate using the markings!”
“The Ancestral Dragon’s markings and totem carvings?”
They were all very excited. Many of the Dragon Gods disappeared after they ascended as gods, as they were all picked up by the Ancestral Dragon and with that, they became a legend after cultivating themselves to an even higher level in the sacred land!
At the same time, they became very wary of each other secretly, as there were nine Awakening level Qi Practitioners that passed the test, and three of them were from the Jiao Dragon Clan. The Jiao Dragons were very well known for their combat prowess!
The river carried them away with the current, and after quite some time, the river merged with another river that was carrying eight Rebirth level Qi Practitioners. The majority of them were from the Jiao Dragon Clan, as well!
Not long after, another river carrying six Inner Core Qi Practitioners merged with the river again. This time, there was only one Jiao Dragon Clan disciple, while there were two Ao Clan disciples.
The Jiao Dragon Clan’s disciples possessed incredible combat power in the early stages, but when they reached the Inner Core level, their inner core would not be as pure as the other dragons, since their cores contained some serpentine attributes. Thus, they were slowly surpassed by the other dragons.
The reason for this was because the Ancestral Dragon and one of its concubines gave birth to the ancestor of the Jiao Dragons. The concubine was a Draconic Serpent, a rare species among the serpents, and so the Jiao Dragons contained some serpent attributes.
Somewhere in front of them, the Atman Body and Spirit Nurture level dragon disciples also merged with them. There were thirty-one Qi Practitioners among the five levels that had reached this point, and with that the number of people that managed to get to this point was much higher than the previous Ancestral Dragon Ritual.
Those who failed at this point would be sent out of the secret realm, and return back to the Eastern Sea’s surface.
As the river carried them forward, a ring appeared in front of them. Behind the ring was a closed door, while behind the door was the battlefield where the last man standing of their corresponding levels would fight together!
Only through defeating the other dragons and becoming the strongest existence among the dragons would he or she be acknowledged by the Ancestral Dragon, and be able to obtain the Lei Zhe totem carvings and Ancestral Dragon’s Markings!
Jiao Qingtu laughed and suddenly jumped into the ring. He then shouted in excitement, “I am Jiao Qingtu, and I hereby seek your advices, dear senior martial brothers and senior martial sisters!”
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“Qingtu, you have to go through us if you want to become the strongest Qi Practitioner in this generation’s Five Level Mergence Battle!”
A Inner Core level dragon Qi Practitioner dashed up to the ring and his face changed slightly immediately as he felt an inexplicable power suppressing his strength to the Awakening level – the same level as Jiao Qingtu’s!
With that, the atmosphere became intense, and battles were about to erupt!
Meanwhile, Zhong Yue was still struggling to get past the tests. By now, he had only reached the Shen Cai Palace, and after defeating the ninety-seventh golden statue, he had unfortunately lost to the ninety-eighth statue and failed that level.
Out of his expectations, he was still rewarded with a pool of jade water and the Ancestral Dragon’s Qi even after failing that level.
Why is the reward so shabby this time?
Zhong Yue absorbed the jade water and the Ancestral Dragon’s Qi, and he felt that his five great secret realms had increased by quite a lot again. Although the Ancestral Dragon’s Qi could nourish and increase the Yuan Shen and bloodline, its effects were still not as good as a drop of ancestral blood.
But the jade water helped me reach the peak level of my Wan Xiang, Shen Cai, and Dao Yi Wheels.
Zhong Yue sighed. He was dissatisfied by the fact that he had failed at the Shen Cai Palace. But it also helped him realize his own weaknesses that had prevented him from reaching the peak of the Awakening level.
Dragons had always been known for their longevity, something that humanity had never been able to match. Humans left their prime once they pass thirty years of age, and humans of the Great Wilderness had an average lifespan of only sixty-some years.
This was where Zhong Yue lost to the dragons. Humans did not have a very long life, unlike the dragons, and even if he cultivated as hard as he could and poured in effort a thousand times the effort they did, he would still be unable to overcome this disadvantage.
The next level is the Yin Yang Palace.
Zhong Yue got up and wondered, “How can the Ancestral Dragon surprise me in this stage?”
He then walked out of the Shen Cai Palace and headed towards the Yin Yang Palace. In this stage, he used his full strength and obliterated all of the golden statues and passed the stage with little effort.
All of this was because of his sun and moon spirit that focused on the Yin and Yang Qi. In addition to the fact that he had cultivated his Yin Yang Secret Realm to the peak, he was basically invincible in that aspect!
The Dao Yi Palace!
Zhong Yue collected his thoughts as he measured the final golden palace in front of him, the Dao Yi Palace. Even with his current achievements, he couldn't guarantee that he could pass this stage.
Although he had reverse-opened his Dao Yi Wheel, making it stronger than anyone else’s, the Dao Yi Wheel consisted of power not only from the Dao Yi Secret Realm, but also the overall power of the other four wheels, which made the Dao Yi Secret Realm the strongest of them all!
Through this battle, I will be able to see how much I have achieved throughout this period of time!
Zhong Yue took a deep breath, opened the door, and entered the golden palace.
Zheng zheng zheng——
Zhong Yue’s Yuan Shen let out bone-cracking sound, and the five wheels appeared at his back uncontrollably.
This was the stage to test the Dao Yi Secret Realm, and also the stage to test the overall proficiency of the five great secret realms. Thus, the five great secret realms were not suppressed at all!
And this applied to the draconic golden statues, as well!
Zhong Yue looked around and measured the five wheels of these statues. He thought, So this is destined to be an extremely tough fight!
“Come on!” shouted Zhong Yue.
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In the other place, Ao Feifei, Po Luhe, and the other disciples watched the ring with serious expressions as Jiao Qingtu, his strength suppressed to the level of Spirit Nurturing, fought with a Yu Clan Spirit Nurturing disciple in a very intense and fast-paced battle!
By this time, Jiao Qingtu had already won ten rounds in a row, and he showed no signs of stopping!
Suddenly, the disciple of the Yu Clan was hit and kicked out of the ring. Before he landed on the ground, a white light flashed across the sky, and he was sent out of the secret realm!
With that, Jiao Qingtu had just acquired his eleventh victory!
“Anyone else?” shouted Jiao Qingtu, without showing any signs of fatigue or exhaustion.
“Maybe he really can hold long until the end, and receive the Ancestral Dragon’s heritage and markings...” murmured someone in the crowd.
One after another, challengers went up the ring, and were defeated one by one. Jiao Qingtu’s momentum was seemingly unstoppable as he continued to defeat all his challengers, including the stronger individuals from the Jiao Dragon Clan.
He was just too strong. He had his fundamentals mastered to an unbelievable degree, making his foundation even more solid than other people of his level. This gave him the capital that allowed him to make short work of every single challenger, even at different levels!
Before long, he had already won twenty rounds in a row.
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At the same time, the Dao Yi Palace’s door opened, and Zhong Yue walked out of the palace, sitting down on the staircase as he panted heavily.
Zhong Yue fought very hard to win this stage. When he faced the last golden statue, he literally used up everything he had, including turning into the Xiang Dragon, summoning his Yuan Shen, and casting all his skills!
He even used his divine third eye! And yet, he failed to destroy the final draconic golden statue and had his bones and five great secret realms almost destroyed by the statue!
Finally, he barely won the battle as his Dao Yi Secret Realm recovery speed was slightly faster than that of the golden statue.
Even after receiving a drop of ancestral blood and the pool of jade water, he still felt exhausted. His limbs shivered after absorbing the jade water and the blood.
To be able to recover so fast, I guess my reverse-opened Dao Yi Secret Realm must’ve had the celestial being Pan Gu in it?
Zhong Yue rested for a while before finally standing up. Although he had been through the Dao Yi Palace’s test, he had yet to fully understand the benefits of the celestial being Pan Gu. This was because, unlike Zhong Yue who had reverse-opened his Dao Yi Secret Realm, the golden statues had no celestial being in their Dao Yi Secret Realm. As a result, Zhong Yue was unable to observe any other advantages of having Pan Gu in his Dao Yi Secret Realm.
However, using the five jade pools, his five great secret realms had all reached the maximum level, which was a very huge gain for him!
He then started walking towards the river floating in the air.
At the same time, a voice could be heard shouting, “Senior Martial Brother Qingtu has won twenty-eight rounds in a row! All he has to do now is defeat two more of us, and he will be able to obtain the Lei Zhe totem carvings and the Ancestral Dragon’s Markings!”