Chapter 23: Dragon Gate
Chapter 23: Dragon Gate
On the day of the Martial Display, the weather was beautiful, with a clear sky and morning light like rosy clouds.
On the road named Tongtian, a young Mage walked along unhurriedly, his magical robes fluttering. He had a handsome and elegant appearance, with his eyes turned upward, showing an aura of pride that reached the clouds.
Without a care for the people around him, he recklessly released the fluctuations of his mana. This caused the elements to become chaotic, generating small elemental storms. His soul aura seemed to contain a faint, delicate fragrance. Those who came close felt dizzy and disoriented, with the mana inside them becoming disordered as well.
“What are you staring for? Quickly get further away! That is Xun Ye, that one from the Xun family…”
“The ‘Linger-Scent’ Xun clan? He’s not a Heaven’s Pride? Look at that mana, fierce like a tiger or leopard, surging like a tide… by any measure, he should be among the Heaven’s Pride…”
“It’s not that he isn’t strong, but the other few…”
“That’s true, I heard about Yu Qian…”
The whispers occasionally found their way into his ears, and some of them were quite unpleasant.
“Hmph! What do these petty sparrows and buck-toothed fellows know?” Xun Ye gave a light snort. He had long been dissatisfied in his heart, and now his eyes burned with fighting spirit. “Today is the day my Xun name is vindicated! Whether it’s Zhangsun Shenji or Su Xuan’er, I’ll crush them all underfoot!”
His cold gaze swept over the crowd. With a flick of his sleeve, he prepared to leave.
Right then, from the distance, came a soul-shaking roar that seemed like a dragon’s cry. It surged forward, carrying boundless might, like a tidal wave or a crushing mountain force!
“Who is that? So arrogant! To dare release your soul aura before even reaching the Martial Arts Platform? Is this a show of force? Aren’t you afraid of angering the masses?”
Thoughts flashed through Xun Ye’s mind as he wondered which Heaven’s Pride this was.
“You think you’re strong? Let me show you what real strength is!”
He snorted lightly, a fierce look rising in his eyes. He took a step forward, released his soul, and met the incoming spiritual wave with his own.
It was a clash of titans, a battle of Soul Origins!
Boom!
Xun Ye stumbled back three steps, his face pale and drained.
Within his soul, two vast oppressive forces, like two giant beasts, seemed to tear through the heavens and earth, suppressing all gods!
One aura was like a giant sea turtle, the other like a giant crocodile. One was heavy and solid, the other sinister and menacing, but they shared one thing: both were as immense as mountains!
His consciousness felt as if it had been struck by a huge, blunt hammer. For a long moment, his thoughts couldn’t even move.
What a terrifying soul pressure!
“Among the Outer Manor Disciples, there exists a soul this powerful? Could it be… the legendary Celestial Human Aspect?”
A feeling of fear churned uncontrollably in his heart. In an instant, Xun Ye’s face turned ashen. All the lofty ambition he felt earlier vanished without a trace!
…
“Again, half-step to the sixth layer! And this time, it’s a consolidated half-step sixth layer.”
“Just now, when I released that soul shock… did I bump into something? Why did I feel a spiritual rebound?”
“Never mind, it doesn’t seem like anything…”
Inside the number nine-five Meditation Chamber, Li Yi stretched his limbs and relaxed his muscles. His face first showed a bit of doubt, but he didn’t dwell on it.
He stretched his back, washed his face, and rinsed his mouth, everything as usual.
Of course, he didn’t know that the lingering echo of his soul breaking through to the sixth layer had almost scared a pseudo-Heaven’s Pride out of his wits, completely draining his fighting spirit.
Inside him, mana surged like the tides. Once stirred, there was the sound of turbulent currents echoing.
Also, the Dragon-Turtle Qi and the Ancient Alligator Qi had grown much stronger. One on the left, one on the right, they were distinct like the banks of a river, resembling a sort of yin-yang rhythm, standing in opposition.
Furthermore, his research into level 1 spells had yielded good results.
His energy was limited, so he certainly couldn’t master all spells thoroughly. In the end, he focused on four spells, in this order: Water Bullet Spell, Earth Binding Spell, Rockwall Spell, and Wind Stride Spell.
These four were all powerful and practical.
However, the first three were successful, while the Wind Stride Spell failed.
It seemed that neither the Dragon-Turtle Qi nor the Ancient Alligator Qi resonated well with the wind element.
This made Li Yi sigh with regret.
The Wind Stride Spell was a movement-related spell, the most flexible and useful among the four, and easy to combine with others.
Having the Wind Stride Spell would give him much more room to dodge and maneuver.
But there was no time left.
If it weren’t for the fact that recently, Feixue had suddenly become very sleepy, a clear sign of an impending breakthrough, which made Gu Yanran overjoyed and gave Li Yi time off—his benefits remained unchanged, a so-called “paid leave”—otherwise, Li Yi wouldn’t have been able to spare so much time.
As for the Butian Pavilion, he hadn’t been there in a long time. That Crane-Luan Brush, once obtained, had been put away on a high shelf, never used.
“Let’s go. I heard there are four spots for the Heaven’s Pride positions? I want one of them!”
Facing the morning sunlight, Li Yi suddenly felt a sense of a bright future ahead, and his mood felt much more open.
…
Along the mountain path, a steady stream of people flowed on both sides, all moving upward.
The Martial Display venue was called the Dragon Gate Platform.
The Dragon Gate Platform was carved from a large stone into the shape of a Golden Carp, as if lightning had struck down from the sky and landed on its tail.
Its meaning, naturally, was taken from the omen “the carp leaps over the dragon gate, thunder strikes its tail,” signifying transformation into a dragon—an extremely auspicious sign.
There were eight Martial Arts Platforms in total, standing like colorful lotus petals.
The surroundings were noisy and chaotic. Li Yi looked around, as if sensing something, seeming thoughtful.
“Compared to the time of entry, the number of people has indeed decreased by nearly a third… It seems that eliminating the bottom tenth each month wasn’t just an empty statement to boost morale. But I remember, I didn’t participate in any assessments. How did Dawn Cliff determine the bottom tenth?”
He was a bit puzzled.
But this was a place of magic, with all sorts of mysterious methods available. Who knew?
After pacing for a moment, Li Yi, expressionless, glanced sideways at the Dragon Gate Platform.
His eyes moved slightly, his will gathering within his pupils, a hint of purple light contained without showing.
“Huh? I can’t see any clue at all? Is it a defensive barrier?”
He carefully looked around, confirming no one was paying attention, then lightly flicked his finger, sending a wisp of spiritual energy shooting towards the Dragon Gate Platform.
After a few such flicks, his expression changed slightly.
Along the edge of the Dragon Gate Platform, the pattern of half-carp scale, half-dragon scale… With the carp’s whiskers as the array eyes, it was a hidden composite magic formation!
The magic formation was enormous. Just from a partial glimpse, there were formations like “Bloody Will,” “Spell Enhancement,” “Elemental Rebound,” and “Energy Barrier.”
Li Yi imagined stepping inside. Under the influence of the formation, it wouldn’t take long to become Berserk with fighting spirit, forgetting pain, with the power of spells greatly increased. Moreover, all the various energies were confined within the Dragon Gate Platform, rebounding and exploding!
“Is this a Martial Arts Platform? Clearly, it’s no different from a beast-fighting arena!” Li Yi withdrew his spiritual sense, rubbed his nose, and said with a bitter smile.
He didn’t know that it indeed was a beast-fighting arena, built during the Qin era, simply moved and repurposed by Dawn Cliff.
On one of the Dragon Gate Platforms was carved the name of a great warrior who had once won twenty-nine consecutive matches on the martial stage. His name was Ying Bu.
“Li Yi, you’re here? So, aiming to place what rank this time?”
Yan Zhao’s bold voice, like a thunderclap, exploded beside Li Yi’s ear.
Li Yi looked up to see Yan Zhao’s face beaming with a hearty smile, and beside him, Zhangsun Shenji, still calm and composed as ever.
These two really were inseparable.
Zhangsun Shenji’s wounds had healed, with no visible marks left on the surface. He seemed in good spirits; that ordeal hadn’t affected him much.
Yan Zhao was like a tough rock, naturally unchanged as well.
Recently busy with cultivation, they had seen each other less, but their bond hadn’t weakened. On the contrary, it felt more lasting and mellow.
“What rank? My ambition isn’t big. Taking the top spot is enough…” Li Yi said, unwilling to be outdone, with a grin.
“What a coincidence, me too!” Yan Zhao laughed heartily, then suddenly became serious. “Though I don’t want to run into you two, if luck is bad and we meet, don’t hold back!”
“Of course!” Li Yi chuckled.
Zhangsun Shenji gave a light snort as a response.
Somehow, Li Yi always felt that things between Zhangsun Shenji and Yan Zhao seemed a bit awkward.
Well, they were both young. After a big argument, it’s natural to hold a bit of a grudge. That’s not strange.
Li Yi thought to himself.
“Li Yi, I can finally see your skills today. Don’t disappoint me…”
From behind, a clear yet icy-cool voice drifted over softly.
Needless to say, it was Su Xuan’er.
“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely satisfy you.” Li Yi gave a solemn smile, his words carrying a deeper meaning.
With that, among the highly anticipated Heaven’s Pride talents, apart from Yu Qian, it seemed everyone was here…
A strange feeling suddenly surged in Li Yi’s heart.
“Oh? All of you are here? Perfect, that saves me some trouble…” A cold, sinister voice sounded, like a poisonous snake, making one shudder.
Yu Qian!