Chapter 399: Divine Dragon Tribulation
After Duanmu Xingling left, Zhang Ruochen put aside his thoughts about her identity, took out the Time-Space Crystal, and entered the inner space to continue practicing the Thirteen Soul-Chasing Swords.
The first three sword techniques—Soul-Slaying Seven Kills, Soul-Breaking Wind Listener, and Soul-Suppressing Shadow Stand—had already been cultivated to the realm of perfection.
Next came the remaining ten sword techniques.
Zhang Ruochen held the Purple Thunder Sword as the Sword Intent Heart in his Qi Sea spun, transforming into a tiny human silhouette.
As that silhouette executed the sword techniques in practice, Zhang Ruochen also entered the state of Sword Heart Illumination, and the sword in his hand began to swing in unison.
After spending four days, Zhang Ruochen finally cultivated the entire set of sword techniques to perfection.
The power of the sword techniques seemed to have reached an even higher level.
"Now, only a little over a day has passed outside. The second round of assessment should not have completely ended yet."
"Having broken through to the late stage of the Heavenly Extreme Realm, I wonder what level of strength I have now?"
Having reached the late stage of the Heavenly Extreme Realm, Zhang Ruochen had never had the chance to test his own strength. Now, he could finally examine it.
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes and immersed his Martial Soul into his Qi Sea. At the center of the Qi Sea, a liquid True Yuan sphere the size of a pigeon egg floated.
Faintly, one could see sacred divine spirit silhouettes suspended on the surface of the True Yuan sphere, flying in a certain pattern.
Activating the *Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture*, the True Yuan sphere immediately began to spin rapidly, releasing strands of True Qi that split into thirty-six streams, surging into the thirty-six main meridians throughout his body.
"Whoosh!"
At the same time, a layer of cyan light emerged on the surface of Zhang Ruochen's body, rushing out and forming a protective Heavenly Shield three zhang in diameter.
An ordinary martial artist at the Great Perfection of the Heavenly Extreme Realm, even if they struck with full force, could not break through that protective Heavenly Shield, let alone harm Zhang Ruochen in the slightest.
Zhang Ruochen mobilized his True Qi, channeling it into his Blood Spirit Meridian, and activated the golden Dragon Pearl within his heart.
"Divine Dragon Transformation."
A deep, resonant dragon roar emanated from the Dragon Pearl.
A surge of golden dragon energy was released, flowing from his heart into his limbs and head.
Zhang Ruochen's entire body trembled. He felt his body violently expand, and his head and limbs were pulled by an invisible force, as if he were being torn apart by five horses.
"Pfft!"
Sensing danger, Zhang Ruochen immediately dispersed his True Qi, and the pulling force finally disappeared. A sharp pain surged from his abdomen to his throat, and a mouthful of blood spewed from his lips.
He had failed.
"Indeed, executing the Divine Dragon Transformation is no easy task."
On the Pilgrimage Heavenly Ladder, Zhang Ruochen had performed the Divine Dragon Transformation, turning into a golden dragon and easily defeating the heirs of the four great Saintly Clans with overwhelming force.
This demonstrated the immense power of the Divine Dragon Transformation.
However, the Divine Dragon Transformation was a Ghost-level upper-rank martial technique, and Zhang Ruochen had never practiced it before. He could only roughly guess that it might be related to the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm.
If Zhang Ruochen could execute the Divine Dragon Transformation at will, his strength would rise to an unimaginable level.
He tried again.
This time, Zhang Ruochen was more cautious, to avoid injuring himself by failing to perform the Divine Dragon Transformation.
The second attempt at the Divine Dragon Transformation also failed.
With the experience from the previous attempt, Zhang Ruochen was not injured.
Then came the third attempt.
This time, Zhang Ruochen simultaneously struck with the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm while channeling True Qi into the Dragon Pearl, using the power of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm to trigger the Dragon Pearl's energy.
Unfortunately, he still failed.
After failing seventy-eight times in a row, he finally made some progress.
Zhang Ruochen discovered that by rapidly striking the first five palms of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm in succession, he could activate part of the Dragon Pearl's power, forming a layer of golden dragon scales on the surface of his body.
"Wild Elephant Stomps the Ground."
"Soaring Dragon in the Sky."
"Dragon and Elephant Return to the Field."
"Dragon Elephant Shadow."
"Elephant Power Ninefold."
Just as the fifth palm was struck, Zhang Ruochen felt a powerful force erupt from within his body, surging outward.
Light radiated from his skin, and fingernail-sized golden dragon scales grew out, covering his entire body. Even his scalp and nails transformed into scale-like forms.
It was not the full Divine Dragon Transformation, but it greatly increased Zhang Ruochen's strength and defense, achieving a half-dragon, half-human form.
"To trigger the Divine Dragon Transformation is far too difficult. I estimate that even after a thousand attempts, I might not succeed once."
"Perhaps only when I am in danger, under immense pressure, and combined with the power of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, can I execute the Divine Dragon Transformation."
Of course, being able to activate a layer of dragon-scale armor had already significantly boosted Zhang Ruochen's strength.
According to Zhang Ruochen's speculation, if he could successfully cultivate the sixth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, "Divine Dragon Tribulation," he would be able to unleash even greater dragon power.
Moreover, the probability of executing the Divine Dragon Transformation would increase substantially.
Having just broken through to the late stage of the Heavenly Extreme Realm, Zhang Ruochen knew that reaching the Minor Extreme Position of the Heavenly Extreme Realm was not something that could be achieved overnight.
To enhance his strength before the third round of assessment, he could only focus on cultivating the sixth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm.
Once the sixth palm was successfully cultivated, the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm would advance to a Spirit-level upper-rank martial technique. Given the profoundness of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, even mastering only six palms could unleash power comparable to a Ghost-level lower-rank martial technique.
"Divine Dragon Tribulation."
Zhang Ruochen stood at the center of the Time-Space Crystal's inner space, his legs slightly bent into a dragon-shaped horse stance, his hands resembling both palms and claws. His entire skeletal structure seemed almost fused together, producing a "cracking" sound of bones colliding.
As his palms struck out, streaks of lightning flashed from the center of his palms.
"Roar!"
A divine dragon shadow over ten meters long flew out from his palms, circled around him once, and then vanished.
The Divine Dragon Tribulation emphasized the overwhelming momentum of the palm strike, converting True Qi into lightning power, as if a divine dragon were undergoing a tribulation amidst thunder and lightning.
Because Zhang Ruochen had consumed the Dragon Pearl, practicing the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm was easier, and he could fully unleash the momentum of the palm strike.
"Even though it is also a Spirit-level upper-rank martial technique, the sixth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm is more profound than the Thirteen Soul-Chasing Swords, with greater power, being supremely strong and yang. At the same time, it is also harder to cultivate."
After spending a day and a night, Zhang Ruochen only managed to reach the beginner level of the Divine Dragon Tribulation.
Another three days passed, and Zhang Ruochen reached the minor success level of the Divine Dragon Tribulation.
From then on, Zhang Ruochen struck tens of thousands of palm prints almost every day, only stopping to rest when his True Yuan was completely depleted.
Once his True Yuan was restored, he immediately resumed training.
Without sleep or rest, after training continuously for half a month, Zhang Ruochen finally reached the major success level of the Divine Dragon Tribulation.
If Zhang Ruochen had not broken through to the Heavenly Extreme Realm, it would have taken at least one or two years to successfully cultivate the sixth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm.
Now, he had succeeded in less than a month.
Moreover, Zhang Ruochen had completely refined the cluster of Half-Saint Light in his Qi Sea.
Although it was only one percent of the Half-Saint Light, it had strengthened Zhang Ruochen's Martial Soul to a level comparable to a cultivator at the fourth transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm.
If he unleashed the power of his Martial Soul to mobilize the world's spiritual energy and convert it into attack power, Zhang Ruochen's current strength could rival a cultivator at the second transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm.
Of course, he could not defeat a cultivator at the second transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm; he could only contend with them for a short time.
Moreover, if his opponent was a genius from the Saint Academy, even if they were only at the first transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm, it would be best to flee immediately.
For example, Xu Hai, though only at the first transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm, was an heir of a Saintly Clan and could cross several realms to defeat opponents.
If Zhang Ruochen encountered him, fleeing would be the best option, and he might not even be able to escape.
The inner space of the Time-Space Crystal was very small, so Zhang Ruochen dared not test the power of the Divine Dragon Tribulation inside. He had to leave the inner space first.
"Boom, boom."
Arriving at the training ground of the Martial Market Inn, Zhang Ruochen rapidly struck the six palms of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm in succession, immediately activating the power of the Dragon Pearl.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen's entire body was enveloped in golden light. His skin gradually hardened, turning into scales.
His bones underwent subtle changes, as if forged from metal and stone, with dragon patterns growing on them.
His ten fingers elongated twofold, becoming sharp, transforming into two dragon claws.
A tearing pain came from his back, and with a "rip," a pair of golden dragon wings, twelve meters long, sprouted forth. They were also covered in dragon scales, as hard as iron.
Zhang Ruochen looked at the changes in his body, filled with awe.
It was not the Divine Dragon Transformation, only a half-dragon, half-human state, but it was far more powerful than the previous state.
"With my current strength, even without using my Spiritual Power or Martial Soul, I could probably exchange a few moves with a martial artist on the *Heavenly Ranking*."
Martial artists on the *Heavenly Ranking* were all extremely powerful, the elite among elites.
Especially those ranked at the top. Even if Zhang Ruochen used his Spiritual Power and Martial Soul, unleashing all his trump cards, he would not be their match.
During the time Zhang Ruochen spent cultivating in the Time-Space Crystal, only eight days had passed outside. The second round of assessment at the Saint Academy had finally completely ended.
The assessment rankings for each department were posted, written on lists and hung outside the Saint Academy.
Unsurprisingly, Zhang Ruochen became the top of the Sword Dao Department, receiving a seventh-rank pill, the Sword Heart Pill.
Many were astonished to see that Zhang Ruochen was the top of the Sword Dao Department, because during the second round of assessment, he had only demonstrated three sword techniques.
How could three sword techniques earn him the top spot?
If Zhang Ruochen were not an heir of a Saintly Clan, seeing this result would have led many to suspect a conspiracy.
Only a few knew that the three sword techniques Zhang Ruochen had demonstrated had reached the realm of perfection, making him the undisputed top of the Sword Dao Department.
Half-Saint Lingshu personally delivered the Sword Heart Pill to the Martial Market Inn, handing it directly to Zhang Ruochen.
"Zhang Ruochen, tomorrow is the third round of assessment. The assessment location will be in a newly discovered lower-rank Ruins Realm."
"Ruins Realms are filled with unknown dangers, including powerful indigenous cultivators and ancient deadly lands and perilous places. If you are unlucky, even a Fish-Dragon Realm martial artist could die inside."
Half-Saint Lingshu's expression was serious as she continued, "You should prepare in advance. Once you enter the Ruins Realm, you can only rely on yourself. No one can help you. I have high hopes for you—don't let me down."