Chapter 622 - 404: Breakthrough

Chapter 622: Chapter 404: Breakthrough

[Azure Dragon Dominating Body·First Layer (9647/10000)]

In the Quiet Chamber, Xu Yang took out the Essence Blood of the Two-horned Tiger.

"At any rate, this is an Exotic Beast that has condensed Essence Blood and possesses strength comparable to a Celestial Essence Third Layer Martial Artist. These few drops of Essence Blood should be enough for my Azure Dragon Dominating Body to break through to the Second Layer Realm."

With less than four hundred points of progress remaining, the Azure Dragon Dominating Body could break through to the Second Layer. Even if the effects of these few drops of Two-horned Tiger Essence Blood were only half as potent as the Profound Water Spirit Loach’s, it would still be enough to achieve the breakthrough.

Sitting cross-legged on a futon, Xu Yang uncapped the bottle. A faint glimmer of light shone from the opening, accompanied by a fresh fragrance akin to medicinal herbs.

Without hesitation, he tilted his head back and swallowed it in one gulp.

Although it was Essence Blood, there was not the slightest hint of a metallic stench. The viscous, concentrated droplets entered his stomach and instantly transformed into a surging torrent of Essence Qi, rushing into his limbs and bones like floodwaters bursting through a dam.

This was the Exotic Beast Essence Blood of a Two-horned Tiger, a creature equivalent to a Celestial Essence Third Layer Martial Artist. The value of these few drops alone was arguably higher than the beast’s entire corpse. It was purer than the Profound Water Spirit Loach, and the resulting eruption of Essence Qi was far more ferocious.

The berserk Essence Qi frantically scoured his flesh and bones. For a moment, Xu Yang actually felt a sense of "swelling" throughout his body. He hurriedly discarded all distracting thoughts and circulated the Azure Dragon Dominating Body with all his might.

His bones and sinews rumbled thunderously. Dragon Qi instantly permeated his entire body, rapidly crushing the Essence Qi carrying the Two-horned Tiger’s aura and refining it into nutrients that seamlessly integrated into his flesh and blood.

Xu Yang’s entire body turned crimson red. He resembled a burning furnace, his blood roaring through his veins like a mighty river.

His Qi-Blood surged at a rapid pace. His bones and muscles radiated heat as their strength and toughness continued to elevate.

The billowing Essence Qi was so massive that it felt as if it wanted to escape through his pores, but the Azure Dragon Dominating Body firmly locked it within his body.

The Dragon Qi circulated at a blinding speed, growing stronger in tandem.

Xu Yang wore a solemn expression. The vast, ancient aura exuding from him grew increasingly intense, making him look like a humanoid Azure Dragon stepping out of the primordial era.

An unknown amount of time passed before the progression speed of the Azure Dragon Dominating Body finally slowed down. No matter how he circulated his Cultivation Technique, his Dragon Qi and physical strength only crept upward at a snail’s pace. Xu Yang knew this wasn’t because the Essence Blood had been fully refined; rather, the Azure Dragon Dominating Body had hit a bottleneck.

[Azure Dragon Dominating Body·First Layer (9977/10000)]

Distracting himself for a split second to glance at the panel, he didn’t hesitate in the slightest, directly using the panel to upgrade the Azure Dragon Dominating Body.

A surge of comprehension flooded into his mind. Xu Yang quickly grasped the profound mysteries of advancing the Azure Dragon Dominating Body to the Second Layer. It was as if he had already personally broken through once before, allowing him to accurately pinpoint the intangible Realm Barrier.

"Even a Spirit Bone Celestial Pride would need a month or two to grind down the bottleneck and break through to the Azure Dragon Dominating Body’s Second Layer. I, on the other hand, don’t need to."

With a Heart Thought, the Azure Dragon Dominating Body began to circulate in an even more profound manner, launching a relentless assault against the unseen Realm Barrier.

The overbearing Dragon Qi, wrapping around his entire body’s Qi-Blood, violently crashed into the Realm Barrier.

BOOM...

Xu Yang’s Heart Spirit shook violently. The Realm Barrier for the Azure Dragon Dominating Body’s Second Layer was smashed to pieces, thoroughly penetrated.

In an instant, the previously stagnant Dragon Qi and Qi-Blood roiled once more, skyrocketing at an astonishing rate.

The Essence Blood that he had previously been unable to continue absorbing and refining was now overbearingly crushed and integrated into his flesh and blood.

The power that had been confined by the Realm Barrier was suddenly freed from its shackles, multiplying explosively.

Xu Yang’s blood surged like great rivers while his bones boomed. His skin and membranes writhed in a mystical rhythm.

The Heart Method of the Azure Dragon Dominating Body’s Second Layer circulated, rapidly cleansing and fortifying his bones and muscles. Countless streams of power hidden deep within his body poured out like a ruptured dam.

His aura climbed steadily higher, and the lines of his muscles became increasingly perfect. Every single muscle looked as though it had been cast from refined iron.

The majestic aura caused the runes on the surrounding walls to flicker wildly.

As time flowed on, the aura emanating from Xu Yang gradually settled down.

The sound of his rushing blood and booming bones faded away, and his crimson skin slowly returned to its normal hue.

Inside his body, the few drops of the Two-horned Tiger’s Essence Blood had been completely refined, not a single trace remaining.

What was left throughout his entire body was an overwhelming physical strength capable of battling a Celestial Essence Third Layer Martial Artist.

Xu Yang ceased the circulation of the Azure Dragon Dominating Body and opened his eyes. An oppressive glint flashed fleetingly in his gaze.

[Azure Dragon Dominating Body·Second Layer (11/10000)]

The tyrannical power lay dormant within his flesh, blood, and bones, like a volcano quietly awaiting eruption.

The Dragon Qi, having more than doubled in volume, continuously nourished and strengthened his physical shell without a moment’s rest. Xu Yang felt completely purified, as if he had stepped into a whole new world.

"With my current strength, I should be able to easily clear the Ninth Layer of the Battle Tower. As for the Tenth Layer, I’m not sure if I can beat it."

He was already confident in effortlessly clearing the Ninth Layer. However, the Gatekeeper of the Tenth Layer would be at the Celestial Essence Fourth Layer. Having never faced a Martial Artist of this caliber before, he didn’t know exactly how strong they were.

Still, even if he couldn’t win, he was confident in his ability to protect himself.

The breakthrough had consumed a considerable amount of his Heart Spirit, so Xu Yang did not continue his cultivation.

The next day, the very first thing he did upon opening his eyes was look at the panel.

[Azure Dragon Dominating Body broke through to the Second Layer, Points +200]

[Martial Arts Longevity Points: 3428]

He casually allocated a point to his lifespan to maintain his body at its peak eighteen-year-old state, then waved his hand to close the panel.

In the days that followed, Xu Yang lived in seclusion, focusing entirely on consolidating his Cultivation.

Having just broken through with the Azure Dragon Dominating Body, his physical body was still in a state of rapid elevation. Only when his Cultivation was thoroughly consolidated would this enhancement return to normal.

Naturally, he did not neglect his other Cultivation Techniques. He continued to alternate between cultivating and comprehending them. As his overall strength further increased, his speed at comprehending Martial Techniques quickened a bit more as well.

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed. His Azure Dragon Dominating Body realm had finally finished its consolidation, and the rate of his strength increase leveled out.

During this period, the majority of the students in Basic Class A began reaching the Celestial Essence Second Layer Perfection Realm and started making attempts to break through to the Celestial Essence Third Layer.

However, the bottleneck for the Celestial Essence Third Layer would take even a Spirit Bone Celestial Pride ten to twenty days to grind through. Geniuses of Li Yunfei and Yang Ao’s caliber found it impossible to achieve the breakthrough in a short time.

Those who had reached Celestial Essence Second Layer Perfection also began challenging the Battle Tower en masse to improve their rankings.

The Battle Tower rankings were based on Combat Power within the same realm. Therefore, to obtain the best possible placement, one had to achieve Perfection in a specific realm before making their attempt.

Xu Yang heard about this, but since he was busy consolidating his Cultivation, he didn’t go to the Battle Tower to spectate. He merely learned from others that Lu Wei, Tu Gang, and Yang Ao had all seen significant improvements in their rankings.

Lu Wei, widely known as the number one person below the Spirit Bone Celestial Prides, had reportedly cleared the Tenth Layer. However, word was that he had only barely managed to scrape by and had chosen to concede before even setting foot onto the Eleventh Layer.

There was also Tu Gang, who had similarly cleared the Tenth Layer, though his result seemed to be on par with Lu Wei’s.

Yang Ao, who was second only to those two, was rumored to be on the verge of clearing the Tenth Layer.

As for Huo Xiaochen, Xu Yang hadn’t heard any news of him challenging the tower.

Gu Qingfeng, Li Yunfei, and Sun Tao hadn’t attempted the tower either. Xu Yang wasn’t sure about the others, but he knew for a fact that Sun Tao had yet to reach Celestial Essence Second Layer Perfection, so he was in no rush to challenge it.

KNOCK KNOCK...

One day, as Xu Yang was practicing the Extreme Prison Heaven-Slaying Technique in his courtyard, someone suddenly knocked on the gate.

He walked over to open it, only to find Sun Tao and Jiang Fan arriving together.

The two brought news: Huo Xiaochen had reached Celestial Essence Second Layer Perfection and was planning to challenge the Battle Tower.

They had come here specifically to invite Xu Yang to go watch the spectacle with them.

Huo Xiaochen’s original talent was inferior to the likes of Lu Wei and Yang Ao. However, after obtaining the Dragon Blood and successfully cultivating the Azure Dragon Dominating Body, many believed his future potential far exceeded theirs.

Because of this, the news of Huo Xiaochen challenging the tower caused quite a stir in the Lower Courtyard.

By the time Xu Yang, Sun Tao, and Jiang Fan rushed to the Battle Tower, the area was already densely packed with people. Formidable auras saturated the sprawling open space.

"Brother Xu, Brother Sun, Brother Jiang!"

Gu Qingfeng had also arrived and greeted the trio with a smile.

Xu Yang returned the greeting with a cupped-fist salute and a smile. As his gaze swept across the area, he spotted many familiar faces. Aside from the few Spirit Bone Celestial Prides, the majority of the individuals on the Lingyun List were present.

Lu Wei, Tu Gang, Yang Ao, Wu Xiuyuan, Li Yunfei...

"Huo Xiaochen is here."

Suddenly, an unknown person shouted out. Everyone turned around to see Huo Xiaochen striding forward, surrounded like the moon among the stars. He was walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Kong Cheng and Xiao Yun.

The three walked side-by-side in the front, followed by their close associates such as Du Ziming, Fang Xu, and Lu Ren.

"Ye Qiuling?" Sun Tao’s confused voice rang out.

Ye Qiuling could also be seen walking amidst this group, lingering just half a step behind Xiao Yun.

"She latched onto Xiao Yun," Jiang Fan whispered.

Recently, Xu Yang and Sun Tao had both been in Closed-door Cultivation, so they were unaware of what had happened. Jiang Fan, however, knew that after falling out with Wu Xiuyuan, Ye Qiuling had managed to latch onto a Spirit Bone Celestial Pride like Xiao Yun.

Sun Tao was slightly taken aback. "She actually managed to hook a Spirit Bone Celestial Pride?"

He hadn’t expected that Ye Qiuling could find someone even better after her ugly fallout with Wu Xiuyuan.

The main thing was that a Spirit Bone Celestial Pride shouldn’t be foolish enough to get entangled in such a mess. Not everyone was like Jiang Fan beside him, willing to risk everything for a woman. While most Martial Artists appreciated beauty, they wouldn’t let it cloud their judgment.

"She’s nothing but a plaything. A Spirit Bone Celestial Pride is destined to ascend the Final Dragon Platform; it’s impossible for her to become his official wife," Jiang Fan sneered.

Unless a Spirit Bone Celestial Pride had a screw loose like him, there was no way they would take a wife at this juncture.

"Impressive!" Sun Tao sighed in amazement.

Even if she wasn’t an official wife, the fact that she could latch onto a Spirit Bone Celestial Pride like Xiao Yun after causing such an ugly scene with Wu Xiuyuan was proof enough of Ye Qiuling’s cunning methods.

At this moment, as if sensing the gazes of Xu Yang and the others, Ye Qiuling looked up at them, a faint, almost imperceptible sneer hanging on her lips.

Soon, Huo Xiaochen strode toward the Battle Tower to line up, while Kong Cheng, Xiao Yun, and the others came to a halt.

Immediately following that, Xiao Yun beckoned with his hand. Ye Qiuling obediently stepped up beside him, and the two then walked out together, stopping directly in front of Wu Xiuyuan, who was standing a short distance away.

"Would you consider this me going against you?" Xiao Yun looked at Wu Xiuyuan with a highly amused expression.

An uproar swept through the crowd. Xiao Yun was clearly standing up for Ye Qiuling.

Wu Xiuyuan’s face flushed bright red, and his body trembled faintly. Xiao Yun was slapping him right in the face.

Although he had once declared that anyone who helped Ye Qiuling would be going against him, Wu Xiuyuan, since she had ended up with Xiao Yun, he naturally wouldn’t harp on the issue anymore. That way, no one would lose face.

For Xiao Yun to come over and question him right now wasn’t just a show of dominance; it was intentionally trampling all over Wu Xiuyuan’s pride.

Furthermore, if he dared to say it *was* "going against him," the matter wouldn’t just end with trampled pride.

Everyone’s eyes were locked onto Wu Xiuyuan, eager to see how he would respond.