There was no roaring, no explosion. The moment that destructive, lightless beam vanished into the clouds, the cloud layer split open. The black tribulation clouds, like a piece of silk sliced by a sharp blade, surged and receded to both sides, revealing a clear blue sky.
In a span of just three breaths, the black canopy that had shrouded the Northern Wasteland for an entire month completely disappeared.
Qin Hao let out a breath. That breath actually condensed into a white arrow of air in the sky, shooting straight out for dozens of feet before dissipating. This was not intentional; it was merely Qin Hao's casual exhalation.
Yet, just this single exhalation possessed the power equivalent to a full-force strike from a cultivator in the Mahayana Realm!
Qin Hao looked down at his hands. Newborn skin was replacing the charred, dead skin blasted by the lightning at a visible rate. Moreover, as Qin Hao exerted a little strength, dragon scales actually surfaced on his body.
"Mahayana Realm!" Qin Hao said softly, the corners of his mouth slowly curling up. He felt unprecedentedly powerful. Without exaggeration, he felt that with his Mahayana Realm cultivation, he could completely hold his own in a fight against a true immortal cultivator!
This was especially true for his physical body. After a month of being baptized by the lightning tribulation, coupled with the fact that Ji Ruxue had been continuously absorbing and refining the Primordial Dragon Emperor essence blood over this past month, under the dual nourishment of the tribulation lightning and the essence blood, Qin Hao's physical body had grown outrageously strong.
He threw a light punch into the air, and the air let out an extremely muffled boom. The sound did not seem like an object ringing out; it sounded more like space itself wailing.
A visible white shockwave exploded from his knuckles, spreading forward in a fan shape. Wherever it passed, layers of the ground were lifted. Rubble, dirt, and snow were all swept up by the shockwave, tumbling forward to form a wall dozens of feet high.
"Haha, the Primordial Dragon Emperor essence blood is truly extraordinary. I haven't even fully grasped its power yet. Once I completely possess it, I will be able to transform into a dragon myself. I wonder how much my combat power will increase after transforming, bearing the essence blood of the Primordial Dragon Emperor."
"Is this the Mahayana Realm? What Mahayana Realm cultivator has this kind of power? Even our Dragon clan doesn't have this! It's too exaggerated. I am also in the Mahayana Realm, but I feel like I couldn't even block a single breath from him!" nearby, the spectating members of the Northern Wasteland Dragon clan could not help but exclaim after seeing the changes in Qin Hao upon breaking through to the Mahayana Realm.
"Are you joking? Do you think he endured a month of lightning tribulation for nothing? What normal person can withstand a month of lightning tribulation? Dozens of lightning bolts struck down on him every second. When we undergo a tribulation, there are only a dozen or so bolts in total. His one second is equivalent to our entire tribulation."
"It's normal, he is the big brother I've acknowledged!" In the crowd, Ao Yu proudly raised his head, as if he were the one everyone was marveling at and praising.
"I heard that this Qin family's imperial son's father is good friends with our clan leader, and now he is good friends with our young clan leader. So, he can be considered half a member of our clan."
...
The light of the Nine-Revolution Exquisite Pagoda reached its peak at this moment. The pagoda shook violently, and a long, piercing howl that could crack gold and shatter stone rang out. Immediately after, a figure dashed out from the pagoda.
After a month, Ji Ruxue had finally absorbed and refined all of the Primordial Dragon Emperor essence blood. Ji Ruxue slowly landed, and the Spacetime Divine Blade flew from her hand to Qin Hao. With Ji Ruxue's appearance, a suffocatingly powerful pressure descended from the sky.
That was the aura she naturally exuded after merging with the Primordial Dragon Emperor essence blood.
Looking at the Northern Wasteland dragons around her struggling to resist her aura, Ji Ruxue smiled softly, thinking to herself, "Having merged with the Primordial Dragon Emperor essence blood, I should be even stronger than Qin Hao now!"
In a month's time, Ji Ruxue's strength had undergone an earth-shaking transformation. She now possessed unprecedented confidence, feeling that even Qin Hao was no match for her.
Ji Ruxue raised her head and began searching the crowd for Qin Hao's figure. She found him, but the smile on her face froze along with it.
Because she realized she could not see through Qin Hao at all. It was not the blurry feeling of not being able to see through someone whose cultivation was higher than hers, but a deeper, more fundamental inability to see through him.
Ji Ruxue extended her divine sense, wanting to check on Qin Hao's condition. But right at this moment, a heart-palpitating aura rose from Qin Hao's body, like a slumbering ancient beast being awakened.
Ji Ruxue was forced back several steps by this aura, her eyes full of shock:
"What... what kind of monster is he? I have merged with the essence blood of the Primordial Dragon Emperor! Why? Why do I feel like his life level is even higher than mine? I have two top-tier bloodlines in my body: the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox and the Primordial Dragon Emperor essence blood!"
Ji Ruxue gave a somewhat self-deprecating smile. She originally thought that by merging with the Primordial Dragon Emperor essence blood, the gap between her and Qin Hao would have narrowed, or that she might have even surpassed him.
But upon seeing Qin Hao, she realized that the gap had not narrowed at all; instead, it had grown even wider.
Ji Ruxue slowly walked up to Qin Hao, then reached out to hug his waist, resting her head against his chest:
"I have finished refining the Primordial Dragon Emperor essence blood. Thank you. If it weren't for you, even if I obtained the Dragon Emperor's essence blood, I wouldn't have been able to refine it."
At this point, Ji Ruxue's face turned completely red. She gritted her teeth and finally spoke the words she wanted to say with a face full of shyness:
"Qin Hao, I like you. When I saw you facing those strange beasts regardless of the danger just for me, you completely took root in my heart. I can't leave you anymore. You caused all this, so you have to take responsibility!"
Ao Yu stood in the crowd, the expression on his face incredibly colorful. He felt a bit awkward, and then felt conflicted about whether he should leave.
"Well then, she's become my sister-in-law. Whatever, there's plenty of fish in the sea, why hang myself on one tree? Sister-in-law it is. Either way, I've already acknowledged Qin Hao as my big brother."
Qin Hao looked down at the person in his arms. He raised his hand, placed it on top of Ji Ruxue's head, and patted it gently:
"I'll take responsibility then. Anyway, one more like you won't make a difference."
As soon as these words came out, Ji Ruxue's body suddenly stiffened. On that delicate little face, the shy expression from just a moment ago instantly turned into shock upon hearing Qin Hao's words, and quickly morphed from shock into anger.
"One more like me won't make a difference?" Ji Ruxue repeated Qin Hao's words pausing after every syllable, her voice carrying a dangerous undertone. "Qin Hao! What do you mean?"
"I mean it literally. To tell you the truth, I have a few others just like you at home..." Qin Hao had no intention of hiding it. He could not hide this kind of thing anyway. To be honest, Qin Hao's reputation had long spread out. Ji Ruxue could easily find out just by asking around once she went to the Hongmeng Heaven.
Rather than causing unnecessary trouble later on, it was better for him to lay his cards on the table and make it clear right now.
Ji Ruxue's gaze turned from anger into a death stare. She loosened her arms around Qin Hao and slowly took a step back:
"Say, that, a, gain!"
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
