The mountain-like, stone dragon was far in the distance. It gave off an aura that was oppressively terrifying, causing the void around it to shudder.
Li Luo and the rest stared at it from the stage. They felt like tiny, little ants in comparison, a feeling of awe rising up within them.
All of a sudden, a majestic voice sounded in the air and echoed throughout the space.
"This is the Dragon's Ascent, the first stage of the Battle of the Dragon's Head.
"All participants will have to ascend this stone dragon that spans thirty thousand feet in length. With each step, you will have to overcome a terrifyingly oppressive dragonfear. This will be a test of not just your physical strength, but your mental fortitude as well. Only those who can conquer all their fears will be able to reach the head of the stone dragon. At the same time, the dragonfear will be a rare opportunity for you all. With each step that you take, a strand of dragonbreath will infuse into your body. This will help you build up your foundation for the Sanctified Dragon's Body later. Therefore, please make good use of this opportunity."
As he listened to the regal voice, Li Luo stared at the stone dragon entrenched in the void in front of him. He had spent the past two days doing his homework on the Battle of the Dragon's Head, so he already knew all this information.
The first stage, the Dragon's Ascent, was extremely important.
One could acquire strands of dragonbreath during this stage, and those strands would be repeatedly refined by the dragonfear. This process would forge and fuse them closely with one's body. Only after passing this stage would they form the foundation to begin cultivating the Sanctified Dragon's Body.
Otherwise, the dragonbreath in their body would be in disarray and beyond what their current power could control. This meant that their strength would not be boosted at all.
Without this forging, there was no other way they could utilize these strands of mysterious dragonbreath, resulting in them being useless in the end.
"You'll need to reach thirty thousand feet in order to get the perfect Nine Scales Sanctified Dragon's Body. That is the only way for the dragonbreath to be completely refined by the dragonfear so it can fuse flawlessly with your bodies. It's the foundation for the Nine Scales Form."
Simply put, Dragon's Ascent was like a training mechanism. Its purpose was to prepare the participants for the next stage, where they would gather the materials for the Nine Scales Sanctified Dragon's Body.
Li Luo's eyes lit up at this thought. He was naturally very interested in the ultimate form of the Sanctified Dragon's Body. After all, it was top-tier! His strength would surely skyrocket if he got his hands on it.
Hence, Li Luo decided to give it a try. Of course, if it was too difficult, there was no need for him to force it.
As Li Luo was pondering over it, the clouds in the misty sky started to form a bridge connecting the jade-green stage to the stone dragon.
"Let's go."
After the voice resonated in the air, the twenty Banner Leaders stepped forward without any hesitation. Their resonant power surged up and they flashed across the bridge, heading towards the stone dragon.
After a few moments, the mountain-like dragon got larger and larger in their eyes. Soon, they stepped onto its tail.
They were currently standing on the hard, gray-white steps of a stone staircase.
The stairs were mottled, as if they had been there for many years. As soon as Li Luo and the rest took the first step up, they sensed a gigantic pressure press down on them like a boulder weighing thousands of kilograms.
At the same time, a horrifying, draconic roar entered their ears. The sound instilled an indescribable terror within them that slowed down the flow of their resonant power. In fact, even their minds were affected. They were overwhelmed with fear, making them feel like turning around and fleeing.
This was the dragonfear emitted by the stone dragon.
Nonetheless, the Banner Leaders were the elite amongst elites in this generation of the Heavenly Dragon's Five Lineages. Although their faces had changed a little, they did not lose their cool over it and quickly composed themselves.
This was just the beginning. If they could not even handle this, there was no need to talk about the Dragon's Ascent at all.
The stone staircase was wide enough that the twenty Banner Leaders could keep a considerable distance from each other. None of them said anything; they just silently began their climb.
The Dragon's Ascent had started.
As Li Luo and the rest made their way up the long and lengthy flight of stairs on the stone dragon, an elevated platform materialized in the air. Many figures were spectating their ascent from it.
Naturally, the Lineage Chiefs of the five lineages were sitting in the front.
The elders and Hall Masters were behind them.
As Li Tianji, the Lineage Chief of the Dragon's Blood Lineage, watched the little, black dots make their way up the stone dragon, he smiled and was the first to break the ice. "Speaking of which, it's been a long time since we've seen someone complete the whole thirty thousand feet, right?"
The other Lineage Chiefs nodded. It was extremely tough to reach the peak. In the past few years, the best record was only around twenty-nine thousand feet, still falling a bit short.
At this moment, the silver-haired Lineage Chief of the Dragon's Scale Lineage, Li Qingying, turned towards Li Jingzhe with a smile. "The kid named Li Luo surprised all of us with his spectacular performance in the Dragonbreath Pool. Do you think he will surprise us in the Dragon's Ascent like his father?"
Hearing this, Li Tianji smiled a little and replied, "I think there's a chance. If not, Lineage Chief Li Jingzhe would not have so easily agreed to using the Battle of the Dragon's Head to decide on who gets the Nine Marks Sacred Heart Lotus from our Ancestor."
Hearing about the Nine Marks Sacred Heart Lotus, the faces of the other Lineage Chiefs changed immediately. This was an extremely rare and valuable ingredient that piqued their interest as well. They had also tried to trade numerous resources for it multiple times.
In response, Li Jingzhe simply replied, "Just giving it a try. However, I am really determined to get the Nine Marks Sacred Heart Lotus. Regardless of the result, I hope the other Lineage Chiefs can help me with this."
Li Tianji laughed and responded, "Sure, we can talk about it when the time comes. I understand that you are a man of principle, Lineage Chief Li Jingzhe. If any of the other four Lineage Chiefs get it, I am sure you will trade a worthy and satisfactory treasure for it."
At this point, Li Jinjiao, the Lineage Chief of the Dragon's Horn Lineage, also nodded. What made him special was that there was a golden horn glowing on his head. He smiled and said, "I've always wanted to see Lineage Chief Li Jingzhe’s Heavenly Temple Lotus for myself. If there's a chance, may I borrow it from you?"
Li Jingzhe did not show any reaction when he heard this. However, he was cursing him in his heart. “This sly, old fox is trying to exploit me to the fullest! He still covets my Heavenly Temple Lotus? Hmph! If he dares to piss me off, I will tear off that horn of your head!”
He did not comment any further on this matter. At this moment, he simply looked towards the stone dragon and whispered to himself, "Li Luo, whether we obtain the Nine Marks Sacred Heart Lotus smoothly is up to you... If you fail, I'll get exploited by these old farts."
……
With a light push off from his toes, Li Luo flipped in the air and easily conquered a few more steps. When he landed on the mottled staircase, he could feel a mysterious force enter his body through the soles of his feet. It was something that was far beyond his control. Once it entered his body, it disappeared without a trace.
Li Luo could not sense it any longer, but he knew that this was the so-called Heavenly Dragonbreath.
As he made his way up the stairs, the terrifying dragonfear gradually grew stronger. His body seemed to be crying out and shaking in fear.
"It seems like there are subtle changes taking place deep inside my body," Li Luo muttered to himself. He could feel burning air rising up somewhere within his body after each step.
At the same time, the dragonfear struck him like a heavy hammer repeatedly. It was like his body was getting forged into something stronger and better.
Besides that, Li Luo could also sense some subtle changes taking place in his three resonant palaces under the repeated strikes from the dragonfear. Resonant power was flowing actively within them, as if something was brewing.
It seemed to be... the birth of Fiend Dipper Energy.
Li Luo had gone through repeated tempering in Li Jingzhe's fire veil in order to refine Fiend Dipper Energy, but he didn’t see much success. However, he shifted his focus to cultivating the Myriad Resonances Dragon Fang Sword Formation afterwards and delayed his cultivation in that area. Now, he could feel his resonant power being refined through the repeated forging of his body with the aid of dragonfear.
Excitement bubbled up within Li Luo. Perhaps this competition was a chance for him to refine his Fiend Dipper Energy.
He paused in his tracks for a moment and scanned his surroundings.
It had been roughly an hour since the Dragon's Ascent began. The twenty Banner Leaders were doing their best to make their way up. However, the beginning half of the trail was not considered challenging to most of them at all. Nearly everyone had made it to five thousand feet smoothly.
It was only at this point that differences started to emerge among the Banner Leaders.
There were two individuals in front of everyone: Li Qingfeng and Lu Qingmei. Their resonant power was the strongest and the effects of the dragonfear on them was minimal. Hence, their speed of ascent was the fastest.
Behind them, there were people like Deng Fengxian, Li Hongli, and Li Senyan. This was the group where Li Luo found himself in at the moment.
Behind them, it was the Banner Leaders with weaker foundations, including Li Fengyi and Li Jingtao. In particular, Li Jingtao was nearly all the way at the end of the group.
However, his ascent was slow but steady. Taking one step at a time, he was not in a rush and proceeded forward steadily like an old cow. Li Luo shifted his gaze back to the two figures in the lead. Their current positions here were not deterministic of their final positions.
Everyone would endure the first half of the ascent quite easily; the differences would only start to surface in the latter half.
“Phew.”
Li Luo took a deep breath and calmed himself down. This was not the time to fight for the first position. He decided to make good use of the dragonfear to strengthen his body and refine his resonant power.
He knew that his foundation in the Fiend Body Tier had already reached the maximum possible threshold and it was about time for his Fiend Dipper Energy to appear.
“Fiend Finisher Tier, here I come!”
The mountain-like, stone dragon was far in the distance. It gave off an aura that was oppressively terrifying, causing the void around it to shudder.
Li Luo and the rest stared at it from the stage. They felt like tiny, little ants in comparison, a feeling of awe rising up within them.
All of a sudden, a majestic voice sounded in the air and echoed throughout the space.
"This is the Dragon's Ascent, the first stage of the Battle of the Dragon's Head.
"All participants will have to ascend this stone dragon that spans thirty thousand feet in length. With each step, you will have to overcome a terrifyingly oppressive dragonfear. This will be a test of not just your physical strength, but your mental fortitude as well. Only those who can conquer all their fears will be able to reach the head of the stone dragon. At the same time, the dragonfear will be a rare opportunity for you all. With each step that you take, a strand of dragonbreath will infuse into your body. This will help you build up your foundation for the Sanctified Dragon's Body later. Therefore, please make good use of this opportunity."
As he listened to the regal voice, Li Luo stared at the stone dragon entrenched in the void in front of him. He had spent the past two days doing his homework on the Battle of the Dragon's Head, so he already knew all this information.
The first stage, the Dragon's Ascent, was extremely important.
One could acquire strands of dragonbreath during this stage, and those strands would be repeatedly refined by the dragonfear. This process would forge and fuse them closely with one's body. Only after passing this stage would they form the foundation to begin cultivating the Sanctified Dragon's Body.
Otherwise, the dragonbreath in their body would be in disarray and beyond what their current power could control. This meant that their strength would not be boosted at all.
Without this forging, there was no other way they could utilize these strands of mysterious dragonbreath, resulting in them being useless in the end.
"You'll need to reach thirty thousand feet in order to get the perfect Nine Scales Sanctified Dragon's Body. That is the only way for the dragonbreath to be completely refined by the dragonfear so it can fuse flawlessly with your bodies. It's the foundation for the Nine Scales Form."
Simply put, Dragon's Ascent was like a training mechanism. Its purpose was to prepare the participants for the next stage, where they would gather the materials for the Nine Scales Sanctified Dragon's Body.
Li Luo's eyes lit up at this thought. He was naturally very interested in the ultimate form of the Sanctified Dragon's Body. After all, it was top-tier! His strength would surely skyrocket if he got his hands on it.
Hence, Li Luo decided to give it a try. Of course, if it was too difficult, there was no need for him to force it.
As Li Luo was pondering over it, the clouds in the misty sky started to form a bridge connecting the jade-green stage to the stone dragon.
"Let's go."
After the voice resonated in the air, the twenty Banner Leaders stepped forward without any hesitation. Their resonant power surged up and they flashed across the bridge, heading towards the stone dragon.
After a few moments, the mountain-like dragon got larger and larger in their eyes. Soon, they stepped onto its tail.
They were currently standing on the hard, gray-white steps of a stone staircase.
The stairs were mottled, as if they had been there for many years. As soon as Li Luo and the rest took the first step up, they sensed a gigantic pressure press down on them like a boulder weighing thousands of kilograms.
At the same time, a horrifying, draconic roar entered their ears. The sound instilled an indescribable terror within them that slowed down the flow of their resonant power. In fact, even their minds were affected. They were overwhelmed with fear, making them feel like turning around and fleeing.
This was the dragonfear emitted by the stone dragon.
Nonetheless, the Banner Leaders were the elite amongst elites in this generation of the Heavenly Dragon's Five Lineages. Although their faces had changed a little, they did not lose their cool over it and quickly composed themselves.
This was just the beginning. If they could not even handle this, there was no need to talk about the Dragon's Ascent at all.
The stone staircase was wide enough that the twenty Banner Leaders could keep a considerable distance from each other. None of them said anything; they just silently began their climb.
The Dragon's Ascent had started.
As Li Luo and the rest made their way up the long and lengthy flight of stairs on the stone dragon, an elevated platform materialized in the air. Many figures were spectating their ascent from it.
Naturally, the Lineage Chiefs of the five lineages were sitting in the front.
The elders and Hall Masters were behind them.
As Li Tianji, the Lineage Chief of the Dragon's Blood Lineage, watched the little, black dots make their way up the stone dragon, he smiled and was the first to break the ice. "Speaking of which, it's been a long time since we've seen someone complete the whole thirty thousand feet, right?"
The other Lineage Chiefs nodded. It was extremely tough to reach the peak. In the past few years, the best record was only around twenty-nine thousand feet, still falling a bit short.
At this moment, the silver-haired Lineage Chief of the Dragon's Scale Lineage, Li Qingying, turned towards Li Jingzhe with a smile. "The kid named Li Luo surprised all of us with his spectacular performance in the Dragonbreath Pool. Do you think he will surprise us in the Dragon's Ascent like his father?"
Hearing this, Li Tianji smiled a little and replied, "I think there's a chance. If not, Lineage Chief Li Jingzhe would not have so easily agreed to using the Battle of the Dragon's Head to decide on who gets the Nine Marks Sacred Heart Lotus from our Ancestor."
Hearing about the Nine Marks Sacred Heart Lotus, the faces of the other Lineage Chiefs changed immediately. This was an extremely rare and valuable ingredient that piqued their interest as well. They had also tried to trade numerous resources for it multiple times.
In response, Li Jingzhe simply replied, "Just giving it a try. However, I am really determined to get the Nine Marks Sacred Heart Lotus. Regardless of the result, I hope the other Lineage Chiefs can help me with this."
Li Tianji laughed and responded, "Sure, we can talk about it when the time comes. I understand that you are a man of principle, Lineage Chief Li Jingzhe. If any of the other four Lineage Chiefs get it, I am sure you will trade a worthy and satisfactory treasure for it."
At this point, Li Jinjiao, the Lineage Chief of the Dragon's Horn Lineage, also nodded. What made him special was that there was a golden horn glowing on his head. He smiled and said, "I've always wanted to see Lineage Chief Li Jingzhe’s Heavenly Temple Lotus for myself. If there's a chance, may I borrow it from you?"
Li Jingzhe did not show any reaction when he heard this. However, he was cursing him in his heart. “This sly, old fox is trying to exploit me to the fullest! He still covets my Heavenly Temple Lotus? Hmph! If he dares to piss me off, I will tear off that horn of your head!”
He did not comment any further on this matter. At this moment, he simply looked towards the stone dragon and whispered to himself, "Li Luo, whether we obtain the Nine Marks Sacred Heart Lotus smoothly is up to you... If you fail, I'll get exploited by these old farts."
……
With a light push off from his toes, Li Luo flipped in the air and easily conquered a few more steps. When he landed on the mottled staircase, he could feel a mysterious force enter his body through the soles of his feet. It was something that was far beyond his control. Once it entered his body, it disappeared without a trace.
Li Luo could not sense it any longer, but he knew that this was the so-called Heavenly Dragonbreath.
As he made his way up the stairs, the terrifying dragonfear gradually grew stronger. His body seemed to be crying out and shaking in fear.
"It seems like there are subtle changes taking place deep inside my body," Li Luo muttered to himself. He could feel burning air rising up somewhere within his body after each step.
At the same time, the dragonfear struck him like a heavy hammer repeatedly. It was like his body was getting forged into something stronger and better.
Besides that, Li Luo could also sense some subtle changes taking place in his three resonant palaces under the repeated strikes from the dragonfear. Resonant power was flowing actively within them, as if something was brewing.
It seemed to be... the birth of Fiend Dipper Energy.
Li Luo had gone through repeated tempering in Li Jingzhe's fire veil in order to refine Fiend Dipper Energy, but he didn’t see much success. However, he shifted his focus to cultivating the Myriad Resonances Dragon Fang Sword Formation afterwards and delayed his cultivation in that area. Now, he could feel his resonant power being refined through the repeated forging of his body with the aid of dragonfear.
Excitement bubbled up within Li Luo. Perhaps this competition was a chance for him to refine his Fiend Dipper Energy.
He paused in his tracks for a moment and scanned his surroundings.
It had been roughly an hour since the Dragon's Ascent began. The twenty Banner Leaders were doing their best to make their way up. However, the beginning half of the trail was not considered challenging to most of them at all. Nearly everyone had made it to five thousand feet smoothly.
It was only at this point that differences started to emerge among the Banner Leaders.
There were two individuals in front of everyone: Li Qingfeng and Lu Qingmei. Their resonant power was the strongest and the effects of the dragonfear on them was minimal. Hence, their speed of ascent was the fastest.
Behind them, there were people like Deng Fengxian, Li Hongli, and Li Senyan. This was the group where Li Luo found himself in at the moment.
Behind them, it was the Banner Leaders with weaker foundations, including Li Fengyi and Li Jingtao. In particular, Li Jingtao was nearly all the way at the end of the group.
However, his ascent was slow but steady. Taking one step at a time, he was not in a rush and proceeded forward steadily like an old cow. Li Luo shifted his gaze back to the two figures in the lead. Their current positions here were not deterministic of their final positions.
Everyone would endure the first half of the ascent quite easily; the differences would only start to surface in the latter half.
“Phew.”
Li Luo took a deep breath and calmed himself down. This was not the time to fight for the first position. He decided to make good use of the dragonfear to strengthen his body and refine his resonant power.
He knew that his foundation in the Fiend Body Tier had already reached the maximum possible threshold and it was about time for his Fiend Dipper Energy to appear.
“Fiend Finisher Tier, here I come!”
