by Translator: Pokka; Author: 我本纯洁 (I Am Pure); Licensed From: Migu
He had thought that he would be lucky to form even 10 or 20 percent of his draconic aura. However, its completion rate had actually shot straight to 90 percent, almost reaching 100 percent and directly breaking through into the Emperor Realm.
As for why he suppressed his draconic aura instead of breaking through, it was because he was wholly unprepared to attempt a breakthrough. He needed to first reach optimal condition, and he wasn't sure what would happen if he made the attempt now. When he observed the newly formed draconic aura, he found that it was a colorful dragon that looked very different from what others had. It exuded a divine sensation.
Overjoyed, Xiang Shaoyun muttered to himself, "This is the draconic aura formed of nine energies. Looks like the astral cosmos sea is crucial for cultivating nine powers."
Prior to this, he was so terrified after listening to the gravekeeper elder that he started wavering in his path of cultivation. Now, he had once again reaffirmed his chosen path, and nobody would be able to change his mind anymore.
After a month, Xiang Shaoyun finally ended his seclusion. There was now something different about his temperament, a change brought about by the forming of his draconic aura.
After taking a bath, he looked at his empty villa and sighed, "Looks like I need to find a butler that can look after the villa for me."
The Han Clan sisters had been sent to the Glacier Palace, Lady Shura was in seclusion at her own villa, and Tang Longfei and Ning Wenhuang were busy cultivating. Thus, they weren't able to stay with him all the time. At this time, he forcefully summoned Money and the three birds out of his astral cosmos sea.
"Boss, do you need anything?" Money asked, still maintaining his original form instead of turning into his human form.
"Is the nine-colored fog really that attractive for you guys? None of you ever want to leave!" Xiang Shaoyun asked.
"Yes, it's very attractive. After all, it is a very pure energy capable of advancing my strength and bloodline," said Money forthrightly.
"But your innate element is lightning, whereas the nine-colored fog is formed of nine different powers. Is it really that helpful for you?" Xiang Shaoyun asked in confusion.
"Yes, it is. I don't really know why, but absorbing that energy is really very helpful. Just look at those three. It's obvious. It has only been a year, and they are already at the King Realm," said Money as he swept his gaze at the three birds.
In response, the three big-winged vicious birds cried out cheerfully, expressing their joy. Due to their nature as vicious beasts, their intelligence had been rather low in the past. But now, it seemed like their intelligence had grown considerably and that they possessed a potential surpassing what their original bloodline allowed. That was most likely a benefit the nine-colored fog had brought them.
Xiang Shaoyun was pleased with what he learned. In any case, the stronger the nine-colored fog seemed, the more confidence he had. Currently, he was no longer planning to allow them to enter the astral cosmos sea anymore. He needed to make them accustomed to the outside world, which would be beneficial for their growth.
And thus, Money and the three birds became the villa's guards. Taking the opportunity of the fact that nobody knew he was out of seclusion yet, he went to the academy's Book Pavilion.
During the past four years, he had been focused on cultivation and had not gotten any chances to grow his knowledge. Now that he had a chance, he planned to properly browse through the Book Pavilion. As he walked down one of the academy's serene paths, the disciples walking by recognized him.
After all, he was renowned in the academy for reaching the top 300 ranks on the Serpent Fowl List without being a Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator. That feat spoke volumes about his capabilities.
Many of them quickly spread the news so the geniuses who had recently left seclusion could challenge Xiang Shaoyun. It was as if everyone was in a rush to beat him down before he could enter the Dragon Ascension Realm. If they waited until he entered the Dragon Ascension Realm, probably only those freaks on the Jiao Luan List would be able to deal with him.
As Xiang Shaoyun walked, numerous people pointed at him and whispered, but he did not seem to care. Rather, he flashed each of them a friendly smile. When the female disciples received his smile, they became smitten.
"Hey, did you see that? Xiang Shaoyun smiled at me. Has he taken a liking to me? What should I do? I'm not ready yet!"
"Which eye are you using to see that he looked at you? He was obviously looking at me! He must have fallen for me. Although his strength is nothing impressive, he is still quite good looking. If he can confess to me, I won't mind forcing myself to accept him. I am not very good at saying no."
"I have seen a lot of shameless people, but not someone as shameless as you. You rank below 3,000 on the Serpent Fowl List, and look at how flat your figure is! And you actually have the gals to complain about Xiang Shaoyun? Are you not disgusted by yourself?"
"Hey, I think he likes me. Maybe if I take the initiative, I will be able to make him bow before my skirt."
...
Xiang Shaoyun heard everything, and his mood improved. No men disliked receiving the adoration of women. Soon, he arrived before an imposing building. He could sense powerful auras concealed all around the building. He could also sense that a powerful and complicated formation was protecting the building. This place was one of the most important locations within the Dragon Phoenix Academy, the Book Pavilion.
Chapter 596: Book Pavilion
Although it couldn't be said that the Dragon Phoenix Academy's Book Pavilion contained all the books in the world, it definitely had a massive collection of books that ordinary organizations couldn't compare with.
Xiang Shaoyun was a well-read person, but the Ziling Sect was a relatively young organization despite being tier-7. Thus, the collection of books it had was slightly lacking compared to older tier-7 organizations even though they had a better collection than most tier-5 and tier-6 organizations.
It had been a few years since Xiang Shaoyun had gotten the chance to properly read some books. Thus, he wanted to make use of the free time he had to stuff his brain with more knowledge.
As he grew in strength, he found that his understanding of the dominion was still incredibly shallow. He believed that the Dragon Phoenix Academy would be able to make up for his lack of knowledge.
When he arrived at the Book Pavilion, he found an old man seated on a lounge chair with his eyes shut in rest, his hand slowly waving a feather-fan, looking incomparably relaxed and carefree.
Xiang Shaoyun saluted the old man as he said, "Lord, this kid wishes to enter the Book Pavilion and read some books."
Without bothering to open his eyes, the old man said, "Read the instructions beside me."
Only then did Xiang Shaoyun see the notice hanging on the side of the door. He started reading the contents of the notice. A look of astonishment covered his face as he cursed inwardly, This is too much of a scam!
The contents of the notice were quite simple. For two hours of reading on the first floor, 500 contribution points were required. For an entire day of reading, 6,000 contribution points were required. The second floor was even more expensive. Two hours required 2,000 contribution points. On the third floor, two hours required 10,000 contribution points. On the fourth floor, two hours required 100,000 contribution points. As for the fifth floor, the price tags listed were in the millions...
If the price listed was for an entire day of reading, it would be much more acceptable. It was excessively expensive for only two hours of reading. One ought to know that just to finish reading a simple book or a battle technique, a long period of time was required even for geniuses.
Since the Dragon Phoenix Academy set their prices in accordance to reading time, things could get very expensive. After winning five battles in a row, Xiang Shaoyun's contribution points had increased from 10,000 to 320,000. That was quite a large sum of wealth for many disciples. However, that was only enough for six hours
of reading on the fourth floor.
Xiang Shaoyun said to the old man, "Lord, I understand. This is my jade plate. Please take it."
He then placed his jade plate on the table before entering the Book Pavilion. The moment he entered, he sensed that he had arrived within a unique space completely isolated from the outside world.
He was dazed when he saw the rows upon rows of neatly arranged books. There were probably at least 100,000 books. The Dragon Phoenix Academy indeed lived up to the name of being one of the Four Great Ancient Academies. No ordinary organization would have such an abundant collection.
Xiang Shaoyun gulped as he quickly started browsing through the bookshelves. He found that each shelf was clearly labeled, such as historical records, general records, battle techniques, cultivation methods, and so on. Each shelf was its own category.
However, the battle techniques and cultivation methods weren't of a high tier. All of them were tier-5 books. For the academy's genius disciples, such battle techniques and cultivation methods didn't mean much. Their only value was to serve as a reference during cultivation.
After all, the different battle techniques were akin to different routes to the same destination. Those high-tier battle techniques were mostly a product of improving the low-tier battle techniques. That was why these low-tier battle techniques were even collected here.
Xiang Shaoyun understood that very well, but he really wasn't very interested in them. He cared more about the historical records, the general records, and the books containing information of the numerous races in existence. He calmed down, took one of the books, and started reading it with rapt attention.
It was unknown if Xiang Shaoyun simply did not care about the contents of the book in his hands or if he was trying to save time, but his reading speed was extremely fast. He looked like he was simply flipping through the pages in a rush instead of properly reading the book.
In truth, Xiang Shaoyun possessed a photographic memory. It was an ability he had since young. He suspected it was one of the talents that the Nether Soul Domain had granted him. Despite his rapid browsing, after a day, he was only able to memorize a tiny portion of the books available.
Even so, he still felt the price he had paid was worth it. That was because the collection was very well-rounded. Regardless of whether it was an event from ancient times or recent times, detailed records were available, allowing him to understand the things he never had a chance to know before. More importantly, he had also finally found the records concerning the Imperial Nether Clan.
About 500,000 years ago, a massive war erupted between the humans and the devils. During that war, the Imperial Nether Clan broke through humanity's defensive line, resulting in a portion of the Imperial Nether Clan members settling down on the surface world, snatching a piece of territory for themselves in the dominion.
However, after snatching the territory, the Imperial Nether Clan lived peacefully and didn't clash too much with the humans. Even though the humans tried to encircle and destroy them many times, the Imperial Nether Clan focused on defense and did not launch any intense counterattacks.
In fact, the repeated clashes taught the humans how strong the Imperial Nether Clan was, and they eventually lost their courage to keep attacking. Instead, they reached an agreement to coexist in peace.
In truth, the humans had a different plan in mind for the Imperial Nether Clan. They hoped to obtain the bloodline of the Imperial Nether Clan, stealing their unique talents. Unfortunately, the Imperial Nether Clan prohibited marriage with a different race. Thus, the humans failed at their scheme.
After learning all that, Xiang Shaoyun felt himself grow calmer. All along, he had been worried that others would discover his devil bloodline, but it seemed the grudge between the humans and the Imperial Nether Clan wasn't as bad as he had believed. Things would be much more flexible then.
However, he was still puzzled about his mother's identity. Was she a member of the surface Imperial Nether Clan or the Devil Domain's Imperial Nether Clan? His father was probably the only person that could answer the question.
Apart from that, Xiang Shaoyun also learned that the bloodlines of the Undying Devil Clan and the Imperial Nether Clan were among the strongest bloodlines in the world. The unique undying trait was one of the strongest and most mysterious bloodlines in existence.
During one of the many wars between the dominion and the Devil Domain, some Undying Devil Clan members appeared and slaughtered a massive number of human experts. If it wasn't for the fact that the humans also had their own super experts, the dominion would have been conquered by the devils long ago.
Of course, the so-called dominion and Devil Domain was merely a part of the world, not the entirety of the world. Beneath the vast starry sky, there were many other habitable places and numerous other races in existence.
Chapter 597: Don't You Have Any Finesse?
Xiang Shaoyun spent three days on the third floor. Over the three days, he had read a large number of books, enriching his brain with knowledge. He now had a general understanding of what was commonly known and the many organizations of the dominion. All that knowledge would benefit him in the future.
After all, as he grew in strength, he could no longer focus on a single city or region. After regaining what was rightfully his, he would most likely travel across the dominion to expand his horizons. Of course, that was all for the future.
During these three days, many people were looking for him. A large number of them wanted to challenge him, as Xiao Wei had just announced that those on the Jiao Luan List could now challenge him as well. Those who could defeat Xiang Shaoyun would gain 1 Dragon Villa in addition to a reward of one million contribution points. It drove a lot of people crazy.
Just 1 Dragon Villa alone was enough to attract the envy of many, and now, one million contribution points were added to sweeten the deal. Not even those on the Jiao Luan List could easily accumulate that many contribution points. Everyone guessed that this was probably the academy's trial for Xiang Shaoyun to see if he was worthy of staying at 1 Dragon Villa.
Whatever the reason, everyone wanted to be the first to locate Xiang Shaoyun and defeat him. When Xiang Shaoyun learned of that at the Book Pavilion, he was dumbstruck. He couldn't help cursing inwardly, Others can earn one million contribution points after defeating me, yet I don't get anything out of defeating my opponents? How am I supposed to make a living?
He did not mind the challenges. He only minded the fact that the same reward wasn't offered to him. At that thought, he had the urge to look for Xiao Wei and reason with him, but then he realized that he had no idea where to find Xiao Wei. More importantly, he did not have the guts to storm the meeting hall himself since he wasn't qualified to go there without being summoned.
Helpless, he was forced to spread the news that he would not be accepting the challenges from those who couldn't wager at least 200,000 contribution points. Since the academy wasn't offering him any rewards, he could only rely on his own hard work to make some contribution points.
Not long after Xiang Shaoyun made the announcement, he received a challenge. The challenger was Lin Yang, someone within the Serpent Fowl List's top 100. During the physique test, it was revealed he had a primary-grade seven-star physique. He also possessed an Innate Flame Physique and was a core disciple.
Lin Yang was 30 years old. Thus, he was very glad that he was able to join the Dragon Phoenix Academy before he became too old to join. He wasn't from an influential and rich family. However, he had always worked hard on cultivation. He was now a peak first-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator. He only needed to take one more step forward to reach the second stage. He could then start challenging those on the Jiao Luan List.
In truth, his combat prowess wasn't much weaker than those at the bottom of the Jiao Luan List. He was only challenging Xiang Shaoyun because he was a member of Flaming Sun. His mission was not only to defeat Xiang Shaoyun but also to recruit him into the Flaming Sun.
That was Li Li's idea. She believed Lin Yang would be able to complete this mission.
On the ring, Lin Yang stood with a crimson dagger in hand, nonchalantly picking his nails with it, looking completely calm and composed. He wasn't a handsome person, but he had a steadfast face that wasn't annoying to look at. He also had a stern bearing about him, one that many women liked.
Alas, when Xiang Shaoyun appeared, he grabbed all the attention from Lin Yang. Not only was Xiang Shaoyun handsome, but he also had a graceful temperament that many women liked. He exuded the feeling that he was the son of a god, and nobody was worthy of competing against him. One could say that Xiang Shaoyun was starting to shine like a star. Although his brilliance wasn't exactly unrivaled among his peers, few could compare with him.
"Do you have 200,000 contribution points prepared? If not, I won't waste any time with you," said Xiang Shaoyun the moment he stepped onto the ring.
Lin Yang's face turned ghastly as he cursed inwardly, Don't you have any finesse? Why is this the first thing you ask?
"Yes. Win it from me if you can," said Lin Yang as he played with the dagger in his hand. The dagger shone with a dazzling crimson radiance, revealing that it was not an ordinary weapon.
"Good. I hereby announce that those with 200,000 contribution points are allowed to challenge me. Today, this young master will be staying on the ring. Let's see if anyone can make me leave the ring," said Xiang Shaoyun with a look of madness.
For some reason, after discovering the academy's new announcement regarding him, anger welled up within him. He decided he was not going to remain low-profiled any longer. Otherwise, everyone would think they could bully him. He wanted to prove to the grand elders that his choice of cultivating nine elements was not wrong.
An uproar erupted among the crowd when they heard his announcement.
"Has he gone mad? Does he really think he's undefeatable? That is no different than suicide!"
"Yeah, with his combat prowess, fighting a battle or two in a row will be fine. Any more than that will probably exhaust him to death. Is he deliberately setting himself up for a defeat because he can't take the pressure anymore?"