Xiaodouding’s demeanor immediately became serious. He sat cross-legged on the bed intently. The next moment, a flash of Golden Light appeared at his Baihui Acupoint, and the palace slowly emerged from the Forehead Ancestral Acupoint.
Zhang Chen watched the palace, and with a movement of his mind, the Six-Word True Mantra Seal transformed into a golden stream of light and pierced into the depths of the palace.
The next moment, the palace descended, Xiaodouding’s body trembled, and two streams of blood spurted from his nose.
"Senior Brother, my head hurts so much." Xiaodouding’s voice was full of pain, looking pitifully at Zhang Chen with teary eyes.
"Within seven days, there will be results. Don’t be afraid, everything is taken care of by Senior Brother." Zhang Chen gently patted Xiaodouding’s head.
He could feel that after the Six-Word True Mantra Seal entered the palace, it evolved into a vortex, continuously absorbing the Power of Faith from the palace. Even the illusory body of the palace trembled slightly. Part of the walls were decomposed into Power of Faith and absorbed by the Six-Word True Mantra Seal.
The Six-Word True Mantra Seal needed a boundless and immense amount of Power of Faith to achieve Great Success. Zhang Chen realized that even the entire size of the Yellow Heaven Dao could not provide enough for his Six-Word True Mantra Seal to reach the Mahayana state.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl, and days settled into a peaceful routine. By afternoon, the Daoist Temple posted a notification: "In three days, the Daoist Temple will hold a grand competition. Whoever wins and takes the top spot can receive the Water God’s blessing, become a subordinate god of the Water God, and ascend from human to possess incredible divine power."
Most crucially, the victor would be recognized as one of the Daoists of the Yellow Heaven Dao, ranked among the Southern Dipper Six Sons or the Seven Sons of Beidou, destined to master the grand trend of the Yellow Heaven Dao and become its absolute core in the future.
Within the small abode
Zhang Chen and Xiaodouding were rarely not cultivating but sitting inside brewing tea.
"Zhang Chen, in three days, it’s the sect’s competition. Do you have confidence?" Chengyu asked Zhang Chen, a hint of caution in his eyes.
"Nothing much. With Wei Yingwu in the Daoist Temple dead, there’s no one left to become a threat." Zhang Chen replied with a confident smile.
He wasn’t coveting the position of the Southern Dipper Six Sons or the Seven Sons of Beidou, nor the place of a subordinate god of the Water God. He wanted to climb higher in the Yellow Heaven Dao, to acquire higher-level Qi Cultivator mantras.
Only by climbing higher, would opportunities be greater.
"You must not be careless. This competition isn’t just about the experts in Huangli Temple but involves all the Daoist Temples under Patriarch Wu Changming’s line. Everyone is competing for this opportunity." Xiaodouding warned Zhang Chen, knowing a lot of inside information:
"At the top of the Yellow Heaven Dao is the Great Virtuous Master, the founder of the Yellow Heaven Dao and an incarnation of Yellow Heaven. Below him are the Ten Celestial Masters, each managing one of the ten regions of the Yellow Heaven Dao. The Southern Dipper Six Sons and the Seven Sons of Beidou are predicted by the Great Virtuous Master to be the destined ones to flourish the Yellow Heaven Dao in the future. If heaven’s decree is followed, they may become Innate Gods. Southern Dipper Six Sons and Seven Sons of Beidou make thirteen spots, each of the Ten Celestial Masters gets one, and the remaining three are randomly distributed. This time Huangli Temple orchestrated a major event, bringing the entire Northern Land under the Yellow Heaven Dao’s teaching. The Great Virtuous Master specially granted one spot, and we are competing for it." Chengyu’s voice was full of seriousness.
"In our Daoist Temple, there’s no one worth noting as your opponent, but in the other three hundred Daoist Temples, there are quite a few exceptional talents. Among them, three deserve your special attention. The first is from Huanghua Temple: Chu Mingyue. Her Martial Dao Cultivation has already entered the Dark Force level. I’ve heard that she has ignited the Qi Blood of Martial Dao, and the Huanghua Temple has spared no expense to secure a spot. The second is from Huangniu Temple: Wu Ming’Er. It’s said that he has cultivated Martial Dao Qi Blood under the temple’s nurturing, and even awakened Bloodline Power under its stimulation. The third is from Huangfeng Temple: Li Donglai. Although he hasn’t cultivated Dark Force, he is born with Copper Skin and Iron Bones, capable of lifting tripods with great strength, personally brought back by Ancestor Wu Changming."
"Aside from these three, the rest are nothing special, merely ordinary people who haven’t even mastered Dark Force." Xiaodouding’s tone was full of arrogance.
After hearing this, Zhang Chen’s heart stirred. During the competition, many of his means couldn’t be used, and the only ones he could rely on were probably the secret Body-Stabilizing Rune and the ultrasonic waves. He dared not underestimate martial artists who had cultivated Qi Blood.
"Unfortunately, I’m too young to compete, otherwise there would be no place for them." Xiaodouding’s voice was full of regret.
"Are there no others in the Daoist Temples who have cultivated Qi Blood?" Zhang Chen thought about the Qi Blood experts in the Inspection and Supervision Department and those in Prince Pingbian’s Mansion. They came in large groups; how come only three Martial Dao Qi Blood experts appeared among the more than three hundred Daoist Temples of Wu Changming’s lineage? This is hardly scientific.
"To awaken Martial Dao Qi Blood, the first condition is to enter the Dark Force. Only by using Dark Force to cleanse the muscles and bones and penetrate the Flood Dragon Blood can there be a chance to awaken the Qi Blood. This one condition rules out 99% of people in the Daoist Temples. Among the younger generation, those who can cultivate Dark Force before thirty are already among the best. Moreover, Flood Dragon Blood contains animalistic traits. To completely activate Qi Blood, one must suppress and extinguish its animality, which is as hard as ascending to heaven. In the young generation, only three have such willpower, which is truly not few." Xiaodouding replied solemnly.
Zhang Chen understood now. He didn’t look down on Dark Force Martial Artists, but it didn’t mean they were weak. On the contrary, mastering Dark Force required the skill of Water Grinding Ink, not just diligent practice but also enough luck.
Xiaodouding rambled on to Zhang Chen a lot before going back to cultivation. The competition had nothing to do with her, nor did she join in the excitement.
"Martial Dao Qi Blood, huh?" Zhang Chen pondered in his heart. Martial Artists cultivating Martial Dao Qi Blood had already transitioned from human to non-human, almost superhuman. They would be somewhat troublesome to handle without using skills, but only just a bit troublesome.
While Xiaodouding went to practice martial arts, Zhang Chen stood in the courtyard, contemplating the competition three days later. This martial arts tournament was of great significance. If he wanted to climb to the top and make himself known, he had to ascend to the summit in one step, directly becoming one of the Southern Dipper Six Sons or Seven Sons of Beidou. This was the simplest shortcut; then he could easily become part of the higher echelons of Yellow Heaven Dao, and obtaining mantras would be quite simple.
"No one can stop me from reaching the summit! Not even if the Celestial King himself comes." Zhang Chen resolutely determined in his heart.
Just as he was making this determination, a flash of light flickered outside the courtyard, and then Wu Changming appeared at the doorway with a difficult expression.
Upon seeing Wu Changming, Zhang Chen’s heart skipped half a beat. This was someone who could compete with Xie Xuan, right?
Since arriving at Huangli Temple, Zhang Chen hadn’t seen Wu Changming again, thinking he had left. But who knew he would appear again at this moment?
"Don’t panic! Wu Changming may not know my identity. Why should I be nervous? I’m just an ordinary disciple of Huangli Temple now." Zhang Chen comforted himself.
In the past, when he fought Zhang Shicheng in the cave and encountered Wu Changming, his disguise had been broken, exposing his true face. But two months had passed since then, and Zhang Chen’s appearance and temperament had changed significantly due to the evolution of the Blood Control Technique. Even if his stepmother came, she might not recognize him; he doubted Wu Changming would either.
Meanwhile, after coming out of the underground chamber, Wu Changming felt stifled. This was clearly the credit of his lineage, and now it might be snatched by others. He felt extremely frustrated but helpless.
Wu Changming strolled around the Daoist Temple in anger, trying to clear his mind. As he walked past Zhang Chen’s courtyard, his eyes suddenly brightened, "It seems there’s a way to reverse this after all, especially since this ’ancient one’ is still here."
This ’ancient one’ was quite something, truly a master!
Wasn’t the old prince of Prince Pingbian’s Mansion transformed into a Walking Flood Dragon pretty strong? Yet he still fell at this kid’s hands.
The world only knew Xie Xuan for slaying the dragon, but who knew the real mastermind was this kid?
If this kid could win, wouldn’t that solve all the problems? Then let’s see how arrogant Gu Mingyue can be!