The cries of a dragon rose from the Rune Master Association Headquarters and spread in all directions.
The sound soared into the sky, scattering the clouds.
It flew past the streets, causing the pedestrians’ bodies to turn rigid and stop what they were doing. For a brief moment, the originally bustling scene turned deathly still and silent.
The birds and beasts in the city wailed in misery as they lay on the ground and trembled.
The boundless ancient dragon cries swept across the territories of the city’s great factions, alerting the many terrifying presences within.
“What powerful pressure!”
“Sound that shakes the land. It must be some kind of sign. Could something big have happened in the Forbidden City?”
“It’s from the Rune Master Association Headquarters!”
“Send someone to find out what happened.”
The terrifying presences conversed in different zones of the Forbidden City, feeling shocked and bewildered.The royal palace, the seventy-two aristocratic peaks, Qinglu Academy, the imperial army...and other locations with powerful hidden experts also sensed the disturbance.
For a time, the draconic roar made the entire Forbidden City fall into an uproar and caused huge ripples!
……
Lin Xun remained unaware of all this because he was busy receiving a giant ancient inheritance in his mind!
The inheritance was far too vast and gleamed with divine golden light. It rumbled as it surged about before ultimately converging into a single ancient word: ‘tribulation!’
The word looked as if it had been built from the very essence of the dao itself, shining brilliantly as it gave off a terrifying, ancient draconic pressure.
It was the secret Lin Xun had unexpectedly obtained: a mysterious inheritance called the Tribulation Dragon Nine Transformations!
The mysterious word that shone in Lin Xun’s mind was the inheritance power created from the fusion of the nine complex rune arrays!
Even Lin Xun himself never imagined that he would obtain such an inheritance after completing the Nine Tablets of the Dragon Gate test.
Could this be the greatest secret hidden in the Nine Tablets of the Dragon Gate?
Lin Xun could not come to a definite conclusion despite mulling over it for a long time.
All of a sudden, an unrestrainable sensation of exhaustion began to fill him. Lin Xun realized that he had used up too much mental energy and was beginning to reach his limit.
He did not dare to continue. With a deep breath, he opened his eyes and stood up from the Dragon Gate Stage.
Eh?
When he looked around, Lin Xun was shocked to discover that the atmosphere was so deathly silent that even a pin drop could be heard.
The rune masters in the hall had dumbstruck expressions mixed with various emotions such as shock, confusion, horror, fear…
No one was speaking!
It was as if they had turned into statues, and it was a very bizarre sight to behold.
Lin Xun could not help but frown. He looked at the Chu Clan members and found that they had ugly, despairing expressions.
Chu Haidong in particular had a deathly pale complexion as if all the life had been sucked out of him.
Chu Yunkong was no better. His wrinkly old face was disappointed and bitter as if his parents had died.
In the end, Lin Xun looked toward Linghu Xiu and probed, “Elder, I should have passed the exam, right?”
Linghu Xiu was immediately awakened from his stupor and hastily nodded. “Oh, yeah, ah? You’ve…awakened?”
His eyes widened as he stared at Lin Xun in astonishment.
Lin Xun: “......”
What did he mean by ‘awakened?’
He was unaware of the huge shock the nine dragon cries had caused. Linghu Xiu was, of course, no exception to this and had just returned to his senses.
With a deep breath, Linghu Xiu said with a complicated expression, “Lin Xun…there’s no doubt. You’re already a true-blue rune grandmaster. Moreover…moreover you are the most special one yet.”
His voice contained the same mixed feelings as his expression.
It was as if he was still in disbelief that such a miraculous thing would occur in a young initiate rune master.
“Thanks for enlightening me, Elder.”
Lin Xun smiled. From Linghu Xiu’s words, Lin Xun was finally certain that he was indeed the only one to have obtained the Tribulation Dragon Nine Transformations inheritance!
A slight wave of dizziness soon struck him, informing him that he had used up too much energy and needed a rest.
He took a deep breath and walked down from the Dragon Gate Stage.
“Young Master Lin Xun, I am an advanced rune master from Luojin Workshop, and I have a few questions about runes which I wish to seek your guidance on. Will you be able to spare some time to help me?”
“Young Master Lin Xun, I am an advanced rune master…”
“……”
Before he could get off, he was quickly surrounded by rune masters whose faces were filled with adoration.
There was even an old man who excitedly shouted, “Young Master Lin Xun, your unrivaled methods have completely entranced me. I beg you to take me as your disciple!”
As rune masters who had dedicated their lives to the path, who could resist after witnessing Lin Xun’s godly techniques?
All of them had countless questions for Lin Xun and strongly desired his advice.
Lin Xun was no longer a young teenager in their hearts, and instead was a peerless miracle worker and a rune grandmaster who was beyond comparison!
What was a rune grandmaster?
It was a superior existence that had attained unmatched mastery of runes!
“Apologies everyone, I’m quite tired and wish to rest.”
Lin Xun was only stunned for a moment and quickly returned to his senses.
Although he knew that everyone’s opinions would change after he passed the exam, he had not expected that these veteran rune masters would become so fanatical.
“Hmph! How can rune masters display such behavior?”
A stern voice thundered, causing the crowd to turn around. They soon saw Yu Beidou, Cheng Jing, Shen Tuo, and other bigwigs approaching from a distance.
Hiss~
The rune masters gasped, shocked that even these rarely seen bigwigs would be alerted and appear!
They immediately shut their mouths, not daring to speak another word.
However, they were even more astonished when they saw the always cold and stern Yu Beidou reveal a bright and friendly smile as he quickly walked toward Lin Xun and said, “Lin Xun, I saw your earlier performance, and I have to say that it was breathtaking. Are you interested in taking up a position in the Rune Master Association Headquarters?”
The crowds’ expressions turned strange. Was this really the Grandmaster Yu Beidou they knew? Who had ever seen him show such a friendly smile?
“Lin Xun, don’t listen to him. I am Cheng Jing from the Divine Workshop. If you come to our workshop, I promise to fulfill any requests that are within our means!”
Cheng Jing also stepped forward. His eyes seemed to burn as they locked onto Lin Xun as if he was a priceless treasure.
The crowd could not help but be shaken once more. Grandmaster Cheng Jing was famously known for his strictness, but now, he was actually promising such generous terms in order to recruit Lin Xun. This was too unusual!
However, it wasn’t over yet. The rune masters were soon utterly stupefied to see Qinglu Academy’s Grandmaster Shen Tuo also step forward and declare that anything was up for discussion as long as Lin Xun joined Qinglu Academy.
This was just crazy!
Rune Master Association Headquarters, Divine Workshop, Qinglu Academy…any rune master would be ecstatic to receive such attention from any one of these titans.
And yet, all three of these highly prestigious factions were already fighting over Lin Xun before he could get a word in, and each was promising him more generous terms than the next. How could the rune masters present not be shocked by this?
“Ahem, ahem, Lin Xun, if you’re willing to join…”
One of the bigwigs suddenly coughed, clearly intending to join in.
Before he could finish his sentence, however, Yu Beidou, Cheng Jing, and Shen Tuo cut in with hostile expressions, “You’re overstepping!”
The bigwig had no choice but to withdraw.
The crowd looked at each other, finally realizing that Lin Xun’s earlier performance had made Yu Beidou and the other two serious about getting him no matter the cost!
Lin Xun was likely the only person to ever enjoy such special treatment…
The rune masters present sighed. They couldn’t even bring themselves to feel jealous. Lin Xun’s earlier performance had been too spectacular, and they could not help but feel only admiration toward him.
He was the real deal!
To be honest, even Lin Xun himself was shocked by this.
Soon after, he revealed a tired look and smiled bitterly. “Thank you, elders, for showing me so much love. However, this is an important matter, and I am currently exhausted and need rest. How about we discuss this another day?”
Yu Beidou slapped his forehead and embarrassedly said, “It’s all my fault, I could I forget that you must be exhausted after that ordeal. How about this, rest here while I send someone to retrieve some recovery medicine from our storage? I guarantee that you will recover in no time!”
Cheng Jing smiled faintly and said, “The Divine Workshop has the best pills in the empire. Lin Xun, come with me and I promise you will not only recover but also obtain unimaginable benefits!”
Shen Tuo confidently declared, “Heh, there’s no one who doesn’t know that Qinglu Academy’s Divine Rejuvenation Pool has unbelievable recovery properties. Lin Xun, you don’t even need to agree to join Qinglu Academy right now. Come with me to experience the pool’s powers first before you decide.”
The nearby rune masters’ hearts thumped loudly as their breathing grew heavy. Which rune master would be able to enjoy such special treatment in the empire?
Lin Xun felt a little overwhelmed by their generous hospitality.
In the end, he rejected their invitations and firmly stated that he did not wish to trouble everyone and would return to Mind Cleansing Peak first.
“Heh, he’s clearly planning to wait for the best offer. Since he has the initiative, he can always bargain for a better deal.”
In the distance, Feng Qingyou could not help but chuckle as she watched. She had already seen through Lin Xun’s intentions.