Chapter 678 677: The Opportunity to Ascend

"Compete? I thought it was just for training."

Yang Xiao's expression brightened at Yang Tian's words, but Nangong Tianling's was filled with worry.

She said urgently, "Young Master, the competition for the Hidden Dragon List forbids the use of external items. You won't be able to use your Divine General Talisman. Once you're in the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm, you mustn't rush into fights. The right thing to do is to focus on finding opportunities and improving your strength."

At this, she couldn't help but glare at Yang Tian.

'Isn't that just sending him to his death?' she seemed to think, blaming him for bringing up the Hidden Dragon List and encouraging her Young Master to compete with those people.

In response, Yang Tian just smiled.

He didn't say anything.

Yang Xiao, however, was a little confused.

He asked, "This Hidden Dragon Secret Realm you're talking about... what kind of place is it?"

"The Hidden Dragon Secret Realm, as its name suggests, is a place only 'hidden dragons' can enter. It's not limited to those on the Hidden Dragon List. Anyone with a Hidden Dragon Order and a cultivation below the True God Realm can get in. For each event, only three hundred Hidden Dragon Orders are issued, and each Order can admit up to ten people. As for the Secret Realm itself, it's not a fixed location. It's the Small World of a recently slain Great Emperor, repurposed as a training ground. And every time the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm opens, it leads to a major shake-up on the Hidden Dragon List!"

Yang Tian said calmly.

Yang Xiao, however, sucked in a sharp breath.

It wasn't the Hidden Dragon List rankings that caught his attention.

It was the fact that the so-called Hidden Dragon Secret Realm was the Small World of a recently slain Great Emperor.

"So that means every time the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm opens, a Great Emperor has been slain."

Yang Xiao was stunned.

"Exactly. Now do you understand how precious a spot in the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm is? The Small World of a recently slain Great Emperor is incredibly rich. If you could find its Heart of Origin, you might just ascend to the heavens in a single step and lay the foundation to reach the Emperor Realm yourself. It's not out of the question. And even if you don't find the Heart of Origin, a Great Emperor's personal collection is enough to drive anyone mad."

A flicker of excitement glinted in Yang Tian's eyes.

Yang Xiao nodded in agreement.

In his first life, he had been powerful enough to contend with Great Emperors, but he had never managed to become one himself.

And no Great Emperor was ever weak. Setting aside the vast resources it took to reach the Emperor Realm, even just a fraction of what they left behind—a tenth, or even a hundredth—would be enough to drive any expert in the True God Realm mad with greed. What's more, everyone entering the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm was below the True God Realm.

Someone might just find a heaven-defying opportunity and transform into a peerless prodigy overnight.

It was entirely possible.

'No wonder the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm leads to a major shake-up of the Hidden Dragon List. And the Small World's Heart of Origin... while it's not true Origin Power, the energy within it is incredibly dense. The Blue Flame Realm requires exactly this kind of high-quality power. If I can obtain it, I might ascend to the heavens in a single step and evolve my Heaven and Earth Origin Flame directly to the Purple Flame Realm!'

Yang Xiao was tempted.

He knew that ever since his Heaven and Earth Origin Flame had advanced to the Spirit Fire level, starting with the Green Flame Realm, even the slightest improvement had become extremely difficult.

For the Green Flame Realm, for instance, he needed six types of Supreme Yin Flames.

And each subsequent flame had to be stronger than the last.

The same went for the next realm.

The Cyan Flame Realm required six types of Supreme Yang Flames.

Right now, Yang Xiao had already collected five, with only one remaining. This final flame needed to be at least at the level of a Divine Fire.

And then there was the Blue Flame Realm.

It didn't require any special flames.

However, it required a massive amount of high-quality energy for him to advance.

By Yang Xiao's estimation...

To advance from the Peak of Cyan Flame Sixth Revolution to the Blue Flame First Revolution, he would need the entire power of at least one Divine King. And to advance each subsequent revolution, he would need ten times the power of the previous one.

Furthermore, the quality of that power also had to increase tenfold.

Under these circumstances...

For Yang Xiao to advance from the Cyan Flame Sixth Revolution to the Blue Flame Sixth Revolution, the resources required would be absolutely astronomical. Moreover, low-quality energy was useless no matter how much of it there was.

It could be said that the difficulty of advancing was no less than finding the Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang Flames—it might even be much harder.

But now, the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm offered him a glimmer of hope.

The hope of ascending to the heavens in a single step.

How could Yang Xiao refuse?

"I'll participate. But I imagine the Hidden Dragon Order isn't easy to come by, is it?"

Yang Xiao asked.

"It certainly isn't. But you don't need to worry, Junior Brother. Look, this is a Hidden Dragon Order. The Hidden Dragon Secret Realm will open in half a year, and the Order will automatically transport you and whomever you choose inside. Oh, and by the way, I was also fortunate enough to get a chance to enter this time. Ziling, Bing Xin, and Brother Zhang Mengfei will be going as well. We can all look out for each other then."

Yang Tian smiled faintly.

He handed over a Hidden Dragon Order that he had already prepared.

Yang Xiao took it.

He sensed it for a moment. It was a very unusual Teleportation Token.

Moreover, he could sense the aura within it—the aura of its creator. It was terrifying, absolutely no weaker than he had been in his first life, perhaps even stronger.

Instantly, any lingering doubt he had about a Great Emperor's Small World being used as a training ground vanished without a trace.

He nodded slightly.

He accepted the Hidden Dragon Order.

"Then how will we contact each other once we're there?"

It had been about a year since Zhang Mengfei, Yang Ziling, and Bing Xin had left the Profound Sun Continent, and Yang Xiao naturally missed them. Moreover, he was confident that in that year, the three of them must have made significant progress.

Otherwise, Yang Tian probably wouldn't be bringing them along.

"I have a Communication Talisman here. Take it. You can use it to contact me then."

Yang Tian took out another Jade Talisman and handed it to him.

Yang Xiao took it and nodded.

After leaving the Hidden Dragon Order and Communication Talisman, Yang Tian prepared to depart.

Yang Xiao and Nangong Tianling tried to persuade him to stay, but he declined.

Naturally, they didn't press the issue.

They saw Yang Tian off.

Before Yang Tian left, Yang Xiao felt a strong urge to ask him about the mother of his current life—who she was, and how she was doing.

But after a moment's hesitation, he decided against it.

'My enemies are too powerful,' Yang Xiao thought. 'If she doesn't want to show herself, there's no need to drag her into this. I'd hate for her to be harmed because of me one day.'

Yang Xiao's thoughts shifted.

He said no more.

The Hidden Dragon Secret Realm wouldn't open for another half a year.

Yang Xiao felt he could use this time to investigate the place with the Seven-Colored Divine Fire.

'If I can obtain that Divine Fire, I can reach the Great Divine Power Realm Sixth Stage Peak. Then, if I also manage to get the Small World's Origin, I could ascend in a single step, reaching the Peak of Demigod Realm or even breaking through directly to the True God Realm. When I emerge, I'll be able to fight a Divine King on my own!'

With this in mind, he bid farewell to Nangong Tianling, planning to head to the Ten Thousand Mile Desert.