Chapter 88: The Dragon Rises in the Great Wilderness (Please Subscribe)

“Duan Zhengfei—what crisis is he facing?” Upon hearing Lu Chunyuan’s words, Lu Sheng furrowed his brow, curiosity flickering in his eyes. As the foremost figure beneath the grandmasters, only other grandmasters in the world could truly threaten Duan Zhengfei.

“Could it be that his pursuit of becoming a supreme grandmaster has made the other grandmasters feel threatened?” Lu Sheng speculated. There were only a little more than twenty grandmasters in all the land; with such strength, each naturally claimed corresponding interests. Judging by Duan Zhengfei’s current momentum, his potential to become a grandmaster was beyond doubt. It was hard to say whether the grandmasters around him would feel threatened and wish to nip him in the bud—

Such events were all too common in the martial world.

“Indeed!” Lu Chunyuan affirmed. “Duan Zhengfei hails from the Mountain and River Sect. His grandfather, Duan Tianhe, is still the sect master. Although the Mountain and River Sect is not considered powerful, its heritage ties make it a vassal force of our Great Jing Lu Clan.” The Mountain and River Sect had formed around the Stele of Mountains and Rivers left by the Emperor Jing; its techniques were closely linked to those left by the emperor. Moreover, lacking a complete inheritance, whenever someone from the sect attained grandmastery, they would come to the Great Jing Lu Clan to seek enlightenment. For this reason, the sect was always regarded as a vassal of the Lu Clan in the Wild Province. The Lu Clan had never denied this.

“At present, the Wild Province has only one grandmaster, King Yunhuang Xia Mingye, who was ennobled by the Great Jing court,” Lu Chunyuan continued. “He rules most of the province. In the past, because the Mountain and River Sect was a Lu Clan vassal, he tolerated their existence. But now, with the sect about to produce a grandmaster who could share the province’s rule, he will not continue to endure!”

Though Lu Chunyuan did not know of Duan Tianhe’s ascension to grandmasterhood at that moment and so his assessment was not entirely accurate, even if he were aware, he would not believe that a single grandmaster could resolve the crisis Duan Zhengfei faced. “Moreover, Duan Zhengfei’s future adversaries will be more than just Xia Mingye. Anyone in the world who knows the prophecy now watches him like a hungry wolf!”

“A prophecy? What prophecy?” Lu Sheng asked, his brow tightly knit. A prophecy is a foretelling, and in this world where heaven and man respond to one another, many such predictions have proven true. History records countless prophecies fulfilled, most originating from the Spring and Autumn Pavilion, which issues the Heaven, Earth, and Man rankings, and its predecessor, the Gate of Destiny.

The credibility of this particular prophecy owed much to its origin. Lu Sheng listened as Lu Chunyuan explained, “Sixty-eight years ago, before King Huntian Lu Zhengyang entered the Divine Ruins, he consulted Feng Yixuan of the Spring and Autumn Pavilion regarding the state of the world. Because of a certain remark, King Huntian resolved to enter the Ruins, a place almost devoid of vital energy, and never returned. Now, for some unknown reason, those words have spread throughout the land. At its core are four characters—‘The Dragon Rises in the Wilds.’”

“The Dragon Rises in the Wilds.” Lu Sheng’s heart trembled. Without further thought, he already sensed the danger these words posed to Duan Zhengfei. The dragon was a creature of myth. Ever since Emperor Qin slew the Golden Flood Dragon King and proclaimed himself the True Dragon Son of Heaven, the title had belonged exclusively to emperors—or, more precisely, to supreme grandmasters.

With this prophecy, and given Duan Zhengfei’s ambitions, it was all too easy for people to suspect—Duan Zhengfei might well be that true dragon.

“With such a prophecy, as long as Duan Zhengfei has not become a grandmaster, not only Xia Mingye, but all the grandmasters will covet his life.” Lu Chunyuan turned to Lu Sheng. “With his example, you should understand now why I urge you to reach grandmastery as soon as possible, and what the true reason behind it is!”

Duan Zhengfei’s aspirations were admirable, but the crisis he now faced was largely of his own making. Without sufficient strength, to pursue the path of the supreme grandmaster was to court disaster, even without the prophecy of ‘The Dragon Rises in the Wilds.’ His actions alone would have drawn calamity upon himself.

“Even if he becomes a grandmaster, there are at least three others in the world who could kill him!” Lu Sheng thought, recalling the clash of the three Void Grandmasters he had witnessed the previous day. Lu Chunyuan perhaps believed that Duan Zhengfei, upon attaining grandmastery and gaining the ability to vanish into the void, might thus escape peril. But having seen three such grandmasters battle, Lu Sheng knew the truth was otherwise. As long as the prophecy was unfulfilled, as long as Duan Zhengfei did not ascend to supreme grandmastery, his crisis could never truly be resolved. In fact, once he became a grandmaster, the true danger would only begin.

“It seems that even if I desire the path to supreme grandmastery, I must conceal it somewhat—acting as openly as Duan Zhengfei is certainly not the way of the wise.” Even with the Lu Clan as his backing, Lu Sheng would not face the same pressure as Duan Zhengfei if he revealed his potential. Still, if things could be easier, why not take advantage?

Therefore, despite not entirely agreeing with Lu Chunyuan, Lu Sheng still thanked him for his guidance and began to consult him on his own cultivation difficulties.

“Your Profound Energy’s progress has slowed?” Lu Chunyuan was surprised. “You’re only eighteen—this should be the time of greatest progress! Before thirty, one’s vigor is at its peak, and martial cultivation advances fastest. For you to experience stagnation so soon is unusual.”

Frowning, Lu Chunyuan said, “Release your defense and let me examine your Profound Energy cultivation.” He placed his fingers on Lu Sheng and sent a stream of pure, gentle Profound Energy into him. Lu Sheng relaxed, allowing the energy to probe his entire body.

“No wonder! No wonder!” As his energy entered Lu Sheng’s body, Lu Chunyuan sensed the three vortices in his dantian and understood. “To comprehend the Inheritance Stone, one must sense spiritual power. For you to achieve this before becoming a martial artist means you began refining the spirit upon receiving the inheritance. Thus, when you became a martial artist, you merged your spirit with Profound Energy, achieving complete unity of mind and qi. Because of this, when you opened your middle dantian, you also opened the upper dantian, cultivating all three simultaneously! That—this is the reason your Profound Energy’s progress has slowed!”

“Is there something wrong with that?” Lu Sheng asked, frowning. He had thought that cultivating all three dantian at once would speed his progress, but now it seemed the cause of his current stagnation lay here.

Lu Chunyuan chuckled. “Of course there’s a problem! Do you think, in the thousand-year history of the Lu Clan and its practitioners of the Primordial Art, you are the first to try this? The path you walk allows for greater accumulation of Profound Energy at each stage, but compared to normal cultivation, it is far more arduous!”

Martial artists who cultivated all three dantian at once were not unprecedented in the Lu Clan’s history. But such figures either quickly achieved mastery or fell by the wayside. The reason was simply that this path was far too difficult.