by Translator: Pokka; Author: 我本纯洁 (I Am Pure); Licensed From: Migu
The person residing in 1 Phoenix Villa was none other than Yu Caidie. Xiang Shaoyun had not seen her since their previous separation. Now, she was one of the top 10 disciples in the Dragon Phoenix List, and her ranking was even higher than Han Chenfei. It was obvious her strength had reached a terrifying level.
Because of that, many men had their eyes on her. The only reason why Xiang Shaoyun had visited 1 Phoenix Villa was to make his position known, telling his love rivals that she was his and they should forget about her. After all, he could really be considered a Yu Clan's son-in-law.
Naturally, what he did would attract a lot of trouble, but he wasn't afraid. If he couldn't even solve this much trouble, he wouldn't be worthy of Yu Caidie. Currently, Yu Caidie wasn't in the 1 Phoenix Villa. Rather, she was cultivating within one of the academy's unique flame zones.
She was located at a volcanic crater erupting with lava as she battled flame spirits while mounted on a phoenix. The flame spirits were a unique life form created of flame energy. They weren't very intelligent and, like their element, had a fiery temper.
Anyone who approached their territory would be attacked madly. Most of the flame spirits at the zone were at the King Realm, and there were also a number of Emperors, including some who were peak Emperors. One could say that Yu Caidie was rather courageous to explore the volcanic crater all alone.
After parting with Xiang Shaoyun, she had advanced by three stages, reaching third-stage Dragon Ascension Realm. As for her combat prowess, it was now comparable to a late-stage Emperor.
Her weapon moved about without stop as she worked in perfect harmony with her phoenix, killing one flame spirit after another. While killing, she also gathered the flame essence of the dead flame spirits. The flame essence was extremely helpful for any flame cultivator. After a while, she retreated with her phoenix. She was able to leave when it was appropriate without getting too greedy.
As she brushed her somewhat messy hair, a smile bloomed on her face as she muttered, "Want to catch up to me? Work hard, then."
Chapter 593: I Hope You Can Get Through This
After returning to his villa, Xiang Shaoyun called the Han Clan sisters over for a conversation.
"Qianwei, Xuewei, I have already talked it out with Han Chenfei. From now on, both of you are Glacier Palace members. You don't have to stick with me anymore," said Xiang Shaoyun in a forthright manner.
The two were stupefied. They had not imagined that both of them would be given away to someone else after just half a day. Although they knew Xiang Shaoyun was doing this for their own well-being, they still didn't feel too good about it. After all, both of them harbored feelings for him and were hoping to one day be his lovers. If they were to leave him, would they still have a chance?
"Is she the only one who can help us?" Han Xuewei asked as she started sobbing.
Xiang Shaoyun sighed. "Your yin frost aura was born with you, but it is incomplete. If you continue cultivating, it will grow stronger. Even now, it is already starting to invade your bodies. Only by transforming both your physiques into true Yin Frost Physiques will you be able to live past 50. Even 50 is a conservative estimate. There is a chance that you won't be able to live much longer than now, like Han Chenfei had said. For now, I really have no solution. Making you join Han Chenfei is also a decision out of helplessness. I hope you can treasure this opportunity. I don't wish to see both of you die young."
They were both grateful and sad, their emotions mixed.
"Since you already knew this, why had you still decided to bring us to the academy with you?" Han Qianwei asked.
"I guess you can say it was due to the promise I made Uncle Han," said Xiang Shaoyun after thinking about it for a bit.
The words were rather cruel, but he couldn't lie as that was the truth. After all, he did not owe them anything. Rather, he had saved them several times. He already saw them as friends, but he couldn't let that show too much. He did not want them to make a rash decision based on emotions.
The sisters knew that, but after hearing the words from his own mouth, they still felt terrible. They hoped he would lie to them, telling them that he liked them or something. At this point, they no longer knew what to say. After bowing to Xiang Shaoyun, the two left with sorrowful looks on their faces.
Looking at their departing backs, Xiang Shaoyun sighed inwardly, I hope you can get through this.
At this time, Lady Shura walked out from a different room and said softly, "They really like you a lot. Hearing those words from you has hurt them badly."
"Nothing good will come out of not being firm when necessary. They will understand in the future," said Xiang Shaoyun. "How are your injuries?"
"I'm all fine now," said Lady Shura.
"Since that is the case, you should focus on entering the Dragon Ascension Realm. For the coming few days, you don't have to go to the ring with me. Otherwise, you won't be able to keep up with me, and that is not something I want to happen," said Xiang Shaoyun seriously.
"Ok. When I further complete my draconic aura, I will enter the gold zone to attempt my breakthrough," said Lady Shura.
"It will be even better if you can go there after the breakthrough. After all, you are already close to breaking through. If you can calm down and focus, you will be able to advance smoothly. You can then go there to consolidate and further increase your cultivation base," said Xiang Shaoyun. Lady Shura nodded, expressing her agreement.
News of Xiang Shaoyun's visits to the two Phoenix Villas spread over the entire Dragon Phoenix Academy, creating a massive commotion. Both the villas were occupied by the academy's two brightest flowers. Had Xiang Shaoyun set his eyes on both of them?
"That bastard Xiang Shaoyun seems to have successfully met Han Chenfei. Is he going to join the Glacier Palace?"
"I heard that too. It was said that earlier in the morning, Han Chenfei went to watch Xiang Shaoyun's battle. She seemed to have taken a liking to his two followers. Both of them have an ice-related physique that fits very well with Glacier Palace's cultivation method. I heard both of them are now staying in 2 Phoenix Villa."
"Then that explains his visit to 2 Phoenix Villa. But he actually had the guts to claim that he is Beauty Yu's man. Is he suicidal?"
"Yeah. He thinks he can disregard all of us just because he has a nine-star physique? How can Beauty Yu be his? He has to first ask the saber in my hand for permission!"
"Both Beauty Yu and Beauty Han have a lot of white knights. Xiang Shaoyun won't have a good time on the ring tomorrow."
...
Sure enough, when Xiang Shaoyun stood on the ring the next day, a large number of challengers appeared, including those at the upper range of the Serpent Fowl List. If it wasn't for the fact that a lot of geniuses were busy cultivating within the unique cultivation zones, there would be even more challengers. All of them adored Yu Caidie and Han Chenfei. Nobody could forgive Xiang Shaoyun for publicly daring to proclaim Yu Caidie his.
That day, Xiang Shaoyun's opponent was someone ranked 507 on the Serpent Fowl List. Someone like this could already be considered an upper-class member of the academy. One ought to know that there were only 100 spots on the Dragon Phoenix List and 1,000 spots on the Jiao Luan List. The rest of the disciples were listed on the Serpent Fowl List, and someone ranked 507 on the Serpent Fowl List was considered the 1,607th strongest disciple in the academy.
As usual, Xiang Shaoyun wagered all the contribution points he had. His challenger met the bet and wagered 30,000 contribution points. As for Tang Longfei, he opened his betting stand yet again. This time, a lot more people were betting at his stand.
After all, although Xiang Shaoyun looked rather impressive, from his previous two duels, his strength did not seem special. Otherwise, why would he have won the two duels with such difficulty?
More importantly, news of Xiang Shaoyun cultivating nine powers had also spread. Everyone started wondering if there was something wrong with his brain. What he did was no different than cr
ushing his future with his own hands. That was the main reason why the disciples no longer feared him.
Xiang Shaoyun would forever be stuck with using only one star, while they could use multiple stars. Thus, he would not be able to gain an advantage over them. More importantly, he was only a peak Skysoar Realm cultivator, his most glaring weakness. To defeat him, someone only needed to have a higher cultivation level and the ability to punch above one's weight.
As for Xiang Shaoyun's previous two victories, everyone believed they were due to the challengers underestimating him too much. But were they right? Nobody would know without personally experiencing his strength.
Chapter 594: Draconic Aura Forming Failure
Three days passed, and Xiang Shaoyun won all three duels during this time. Including his previous two victories, he had now won five duels. His rank on the Serpent Fowl List had now reached 392nd place. On the sixth day since he started his daily duels, there were no longer any challengers.
It wasn't because Xiang Shaoyun was now acknowledged as unrivaled. Rather, it was because a vast majority of the actual experts were in secluded cultivation and were too busy to deal with him, giving him an opportunity to take a break from dueling.
Currently, he was in his villa's gravity room, analyzing all the gains from the five battles he had gone through. Apart from the first battle where he had comprehended some of the profundity of earth, he found that he had not comprehended anything new during his other battles.
That wasn't to say that a problem had occurred with his comprehension capability. Rather, the profundity of the elements represented absolute truth. Apart from comprehension capability, one also needed an accumulation of experience before comprehending the truth of the elements.
As for his feat of comprehending the profundity of earth, apart from luck, it was also due to the fact that earth was everywhere. So long as one lived on the land, one would be able to sense the boundless power of earth. As for the other powers, although they were also present in the air, they could never be felt as vividly as the earth. In a way, this was an environmental factor.
Xiang Shaoyun had just come to understand this point. For example, flame cultivators would be stronger in an area with a dense flame element. That was the so-called environmental factor at work. In other words, to comprehend the profundities of the elements, one had to become one with the world.
Of course, Xiang Shaoyun had still gained a lot from the battles. He gained firsthand experience of the tricks the young geniuses had up their sleeves. Almost all of them were capable of punching above their weight. From that, it could be seen that the so-called geniuses of the dominion were really quite capable.
If it wasn't for his superiority in speed and the teachings from the gravekeeper elder, it would be almost impossible for Xiang Shaoyun to defeat his opponents by relying on a single power. For now, he did not want to focus too much on the profundity of the elements. He wanted to first grow his cultivation level. That way, he would be better equipped to face his coming trials.
He was sure that the next time a challenger appeared, that challenger would be much stronger than those he had faced thus far. Seated in the cultivation room, he started circulating his nine astral energies again and again.
Apart from gravity suppression, a powerful presence suppression existed in the room as well. The environment here was similar to the stairs he had climbed when taking the academy entrance test; the only difference was that the room's presence suppression was much harsher.
In such an environment, the energy he gained during cultivation would be purer and stronger. This was a unique benefit only core disciples could enjoy. As Xiang Shaoyun circulated his energies, he found that his accumulation had reached a critical point. He could now attempt to transform his energies into draconic aura and get started on reaching the Dragon Ascension Realm.
As for how the draconic aura could be formed, that relied on one's grasp on one's astral energy. The better the control one had, the easier it would be to form one's draconic aura. One without good control would have a problem forming draconic aura, and by extension, one wouldn't be able to reach the Dragon Ascension Realm. That was the main reason why so many peak Kings were stuck at the same cultivation level for life.
The so-called Dragon Ascension was a process of condensing one's energy into a dragon. With a spine akin to a dragon, one could soar above the sky and become an Emperor among humans.
After gathering the energies of his nine stars, Xiang Shaoyun attempted to transform them into draconic aura. However, the process wasn't smooth, and he kept failing as if he was unable to find the trick of success.
Initially, he suspected that his failures were due to the fact that his Heaven Conquering Overlord Manual was incomplete. But he then recalled that the version he had should be sufficient for him to reach peak Emperor. Thus, it couldn't have been the cultivation method.
Ultimately, he concluded that the failures were due to his insufficient grasp on the powers he cultivated. At that realization, he calmed down and started studying all his powers once again, practicing his control of each, one by one. The so-called control wasn't as simple as wielding them. Instead, he needed to control the powers' every detail, using them like they were an extension of his body, fully becoming one with them.
He had the best control over the power of lightning, which was the first power he cultivated, followed by the powers of gold and flame. As for the other powers, he needed more time to improve his control over them. He spent an entire month before he was done deepening his control over all nine powers.
It was worth noting that if not for the Nether Soul Domain and filthless soul that gave his comprehension a boost, he would have taken a much longer time. However, this was only a tiny issue for one cultivating nine powers. The biggest issue was the act of fusing all nine powers together to form draconic aura. Forming his draconic aura with only one power would not work in this situation.
Xiang Shaoyun's spine was an innate lightning bone covered in dragon scales. That was why he was able to form dragon projections after he had gained control over the power of presence. But that dragon projection wasn't exactly draconic aura. The very nature of the two was different.
Xiang Shaoyun tried using his lightning power as the base for the other eight powers to work on, but he still failed, as the nine powers still separated at the end. He had no way of forming his draconic aura. Even with great control over his nine powers, he still encountered the same result, and it filled him with indignation.
If he couldn't form his own draconic aura, he wouldn't be able to transform his astral energy. In that situation, his cultivation level would be stuck. Finally, he recalled the ancient mantra. When he tried using the mantra while fusing the nine powers, something unexpected happened. The nine powers indeed fused, but something crucial still seemed to be missing, preventing a complete fusion.
However, Xiang Shaoyun had still gained some vague insight during the process, an insight that signified that he would be able to fully display the strength of the nine powers in the future. It was also closely related to whether he would be able to proceed further in his path of cultivation. After spending some time in thought, he shifted his focus to his astral cosmos sea.
In the records he had read, the astral cosmos sea was something a cultivator formed to serve as a special storage space. However, he had not once read that the astral cosmos sea could also store life. His astral cosmos sea was obviously different from others', as he could store living beings in it. It seemed more like an independent space filled with vitality.
He had never understood the reason. But now, he started having a feeling that to form his own draconic aura, he would have to do it through the astral cosmos sea because a complete fusion of the nine powers had never succeeded outside of it.
Inside the astral cosmos sea, however, the nine powers seemed capable of changing automatically, turning into the nine-colored fog that could also be considered a new power that was a p
erfect fusion of the nine powers. That new power represented both life and destruction. Additionally, the new power was also capable of unleashing an unimaginable might.
Chapter 595: Ninety Percent Draconic Aura
Sure enough, after Xiang Shaoyun channeled the nine energies into his astral cosmos sea, the energies transformed into the nine-colored fog. This was completely unlike the situation outside the astral cosmos sea where the nine energies refused to mix. He then extracted the nine-colored fog and sent it to his spine.
His spine was also his lightning bone, but many of his other bones had also turned purple. Once all his bones turned purple, he would possess the strongest Lightning Bone Physique of the Xiang Clan. It was the Xiang Clan's legendary physique, one that, apart from the clan's ancient ancestor, only Xiang Dingtian had ever possessed.
It was not something Xiang Shaoyun was deliberately working toward. After all, he did not have a good opinion of the lightning bone. Or, to be precise, he did not have a good opinion of the Xiang Clan's bloodline. Otherwise, he would have stuck with cultivating only the lightning power long ago.
When the nine-colored fog reached his spine, the nine stars started flickering in unison. As he circulated his cultivation method, the nine-colored fog started transforming into draconic aura.
"Roar!"
Suddenly, the lightning bone's purple dragon roared and started fusing with the newly formed nine-colored draconic aura, helping increase the speed at which the draconic aura formed and grew. At the tip of the spine, the draconic aura surged with power. His spine, which seemed to have transformed in a dragon's spin, released the vivid projection of a dragon.
Swish! Swish!
The draconic aura formed without stopping. From 10 percent, it reached 20 percent, then 30 percent, and continued until 90 percent when Xiang Shaoyun forcefully stopped it. The speed at which his draconic aura formed stunned Xiang Shaoyun.