Chapter 336: Massive Gains
Zhang Ruochen absorbed a large amount of yin-cold energy, channeling it all toward the meridians in his fingers.
After roughly half a day, Zhang Ruochen cultivated the Lesser Condensing Pulse Sword Wave to the Minor Achievement stage. The little finger of his right hand became like an icy-cold sharp sword; with a casual point, sword qi would emanate from it.
Another seven days passed, and Zhang Ruochen cultivated the Greater Yin Pulse Sword Wave in his right thumb to the Great Achievement stage.
If he had not broken through to the Heavenly Extreme Realm, cultivating the Greater Yin Pulse Sword Wave to Great Achievement would have taken at least two months. Moreover, without the abundant yin-cold energy available in the Dragon Tomb to aid his cultivation, the time would likely have extended to three months.
"Let me test the power of a Great Achievement stage sword wave."
Quite pleased, Zhang Ruochen suddenly stood up, raised his right hand, and formed a series of finger techniques.
"Greater Yin Pulse Sword Wave."
The true qi in his Qi Sea transformed into a strand of true qi, surging toward the thumb of his right hand and condensing into a cold sword wave.
"Whoosh!"
The spiritual energy in the entire underground plaza seemed to be drained in an instant, converging at Zhang Ruochen's fingertip. It shot out as an icy sword wave, striking the stone wall.
The powerful sword qi collided with the stone wall, producing another loud boom.
The formation inscriptions on the stone wall activated once more, manifesting as a net-like light barrier that covered the entire underground space.
Even so, the hundred-meter-long stone wall was completely covered in cold air, coated with a layer of white frost.
With the sword wave reaching Great Achievement, its power had increased further.
Zhang Ruochen continued his cultivation, spending another month to cultivate the remaining four Yin Pulse Sword Waves to Great Achievement.
A little over a month had passed, and finally, Si Xingkong was the first to wake up.
"Huh? Why did I suddenly fall asleep?"
Si Xingkong rubbed his temples, stretched his somewhat stiff body, and golden light shot out from every pore on his body, accompanied by a low, resonant dragon roar.
"What's going on…"
Si Xingkong sensed the changes in his body and immediately froze, finding it incredibly unbelievable.
After a long moment, he reacted, ecstatic. "How has my martial cultivation already broken through to the Heavenly Extreme Realm Middle Stage? And in my blood… there's actually… a stream of golden dragon blood flowing… the legendary dragon blood…"
Si Xingkong's eyes burned with passion, his emotions stirred, and his mind could not calm down. He looked toward Zhang Ruochen and asked, "Junior Brother Zhang, what exactly happened earlier?"
Of everyone present, only Zhang Ruochen was awake; the others were motionless, as if turned to stone.
Zhang Ruochen appeared quite calm, gently shaking his head. "I'm not sure what happened either. After arriving here, I suddenly blacked out. When I woke up, I had already broken through to the Heavenly Extreme Realm, and like you, golden dragon blood flows in my blood as well."
Whether it was the Sarira or the Dragon Pearl, both were items of immense importance. A single misstep could bring catastrophic disaster upon Zhang Ruochen.
Therefore, Zhang Ruochen planned to keep it hidden, telling no one.
It was a good thing for him, and also a good thing for Si Xingkong.
The less they knew, the less danger they would face.
"How could this be… Could it be Senior Golden Dragon…"
Si Xingkong's gaze was devout. He immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times toward the altar above the plaza.
Whatever the reason, he had received the dragon blood, so he had to thank Senior Golden Dragon.
Before long, Duanmu Xingling, Huang Yanchen, and Chen Xier all woke up one by one. They were all shocked by the changes in their bodies, for they too had received dragon blood, and their martial cultivation had taken a great leap forward.
Huang Yanchen and Chen Xier both reached the Heavenly Extreme Realm Middle Stage, while Duanmu Xingling also broke through to the Heavenly Extreme Realm, reaching the Initial Stage.
One must know that after a martial artist reaches the Heavenly Extreme Realm, their physical body, bones, and meridians are almost fully formed. Even with the aid of miraculous pills and medicines, their cultivation speed slows down.
Raising even a single minor realm is extremely difficult.
Yet they had only just broken through to the Heavenly Extreme Realm—how could they suddenly reach the Middle Stage?
Wasn't this cultivation speed too fast?
Zi Qian, Chang Qiqi, and even the rabbit Guo Guo gradually woke up as well.
"In my… in my body, there's actually golden dragon blood flowing. Could it be that Senior Golden Dragon saw my extraordinary talent and unique bone structure, wanted me to inherit his legacy, and thus infused his own dragon blood into my body?"
Chang Qiqi was overjoyed, clenching his fists tightly. He suddenly charged forward and punched the distant stone wall.
"Boom!"
A layer of golden light patterns surged on the stone wall, rebounding him backward.
He landed on his buttocks with a "thump," hitting the ground.
Chang Qiqi seemed to feel no pain at all. Instead, he sat on the ground, staring at his fist, and burst into loud laughter. "I'm a Triple Absolute Genius now! I've joined the ranks of top-tier geniuses. Who dares to look down on me from now on?"
In the past three years, across the entire Demon Ridge, all the geniuses from various forces combined had only produced a little over twenty Triple Absolute Geniuses.
It could be said that martial artists who reached the Triple Absolute level were one-in-ten-thousand talents.
To become a Triple Absolute Genius, Chang Qiqi was naturally ecstatic.
After all, his goal was to establish a top-tier great family in Demon Ridge within his lifetime. Now, he was one step closer to his goal.
Everyone saw Chang Qiqi's reaction and rolled their eyes. Wasn't it just reaching Triple Absolute Genius? Did he have to be so excited?
Chen Xier chuckled. "With my current physique, I should have reached the level of a Quadruple Absolute Genius. I can't wait to return to Heavenly Demon Martial City and challenge the Nine Absolute Tower."
Huang Yanchen gave a cold, sharp smile. "I should also be about at the Quadruple Absolute Genius level, not far from Quadruple and a Half."
Zi Qian gently shook her head and sighed. "I'm still a bit short of Quadruple Absolute Genius, but I should at least be at the Triple and a Half level."
Chang Qiqi looked as if he had suffered a huge blow, his face falling as he glanced at Si Xingkong.
Si Xingkong crossed his arms over his chest and laughed. "I should have reached the Quadruple and a Half level. If I were to fight Zhang Tiangui again, I would definitely win."
Chang Qiqi let out a long sigh and finally looked toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen narrowed his eyes and smiled. "At the same cultivation level, I should be able to defeat Di Yi."
Hearing this, not only Chang Qiqi, but even Si Xingkong, Chen Xier, and the others put away their joyful expressions.
This trip to the Dragon Palace had indeed brought them great gains. Almost everyone had improved by one Absolute level. But when they thought of Zhang Ruochen's heaven-defying strength, all their achievements seemed somewhat insignificant.
The gap was too great!
Zhang Ruochen said, "Don't be discouraged. The stronger the physique, the harder it is to improve. With my current physique, even if I fully refine the dragon blood in my body, I won't improve much. But you are different. If you fully refine the dragon blood in your bodies, you should at least be able to improve by another Absolute level, or even more."
Chang Qiqi flipped over and scrambled to his feet, rushing to Zhang Ruochen and grabbing his shoulders. He asked excitedly, "Are you saying I can reach the Quadruple and a Half level?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Right now, the dragon blood has only merged with our blood; it hasn't unleashed its true power yet. You have to understand that Senior Golden Dragon can be considered the most powerful dragon in the entire Kunlun Realm. If a single drop of its blood could only improve us by one Absolute level, wouldn't that make all the martial artists under heaven laugh and think we're a bunch of useless trash?"
Si Xingkong nodded. "A single drop of Senior Golden Dragon's blood is more precious than any body-tempering sacred medicine. We haven't even absorbed the power of that drop of blood yet. If we fully absorb it, I think I should at least reach the Five and a Half Absolute level, and maybe even have a chance at Six Absolute."
Huang Yanchen said, "For us, this is already a tremendous opportunity. I think I also have a slight chance of reaching the Six Absolute level."
Huang Yanchen's natural talent was not much lower than Si Xingkong's. If she had spent two or three years consolidating at the Earth Extreme Realm Great Perfection, she would also have had a chance to reach the Triple and a Half level.
Although entering the Dragon Palace had forced her to break through to the Heavenly Extreme Realm, her foundation was still intact.
If she fully refined that drop of dragon blood, she could at least reach the Five and a Half Absolute level. Combined with other miraculous pills and demonic training, she indeed had a slight chance of reaching the Six Absolute level.
However, Si Xingkong's chances were greater than hers.
Chang Qiqi was thrilled. "Does that mean I also have a chance to reach the Five Absolute Genius level?"
Chen Xier poured cold water on him. "Even if you refine the dragon blood, it still depends on your own potential. The greater your potential, the more you improve. Your potential is too small. Reaching Quadruple and a Half should be your limit."
"Quadruple and a Half is still great."
Chang Qiqi seemed not to hear the disdain in Chen Xier's words, beaming. "I heard that reaching the Quadruple Absolute Genius level qualifies you to go to the Eastern Domain Sacred City and take the Holy Academy exam. Every martial artist who walks out of the Holy Academy becomes a big shot. I want to become a big shot too."
"You definitely can." Si Xingkong patted Chang Qiqi on the shoulder, giving him an encouraging look.
Zhang Ruochen let out a soft "huh" and looked toward Guo Guo.
He saw that all the fur on Guo Guo's body had turned golden, and at the very top of its head, a sharp golden horn had grown.
Moreover, its body had doubled in size. When it stood up, it was only half a head shorter than Chang Qiqi.
A fat rabbit as big as a person!
Chang Qiqi's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "Guo Guo, don't tell me you also got a drop of dragon blood?"
Guo Guo sat on the ground, dazed for a moment, then nodded.
Chang Qiqi immediately grabbed Guo Guo by both ears and said, "Hurry up and hand over that drop of dragon blood! What use does a rabbit have for dragon blood? Give it to me. With your drop, I should be able to reach the Five Absolute level."
As Chang Qiqi tugged at Guo Guo's ears, he completely failed to see the fury in the rabbit's eyes.
Suddenly, Guo Guo kicked its legs, stood upright, and let out a strange cry: "I'll hit you!"
"Boom!"
A golden rabbit paw shot out, striking Chang Qiqi in the chest and sending him flying. He spun three hundred and sixty degrees in the air before slamming heavily into the stone wall twenty meters away.
Chang Qiqi's body was like a piece of paper, sticking to the wall for a moment before sliding down and crashing to the ground.