Mission: Seduce the Master!

Xie Qing entered a deep state of semi-consciousness. Inside his spiritual channels, Superior Qi surged like lava in a volcano's crater. This reaction was linked to the sudden changes within his blood.

Despite the fact that the dragon blood, as reported in the system notification, had only reached a mere 3%, the young man felt a distinct reaction in his body.

With each passing second, his body grew stronger and stronger. Sometimes this even caused him pain, which only subsided after a week of focused cultivation.

Xie Qing opened his eyes on the second week. Although he had not broken through to a new level, his physique had become robust and could be compared to that of cultivators at the peak stage of Spiritual Ascension.

Standing up and dusting himself off, Xie Qing did not even try to hide the excitement that flickered in his black, onyx-like eyes. With a slight smile, he took a deep breath and then exhaled.

"What a wonderful feeling. Is this the power of a dragon? I can't even imagine what it would be like if my blood were to awaken to 100%!" the young man thought, somewhat excitedly: "This is incredible! Considering that I'm not far from the first transformation…!"

Dragons had three stages of transformation, at least for those living in the mortal world.

The first transformation – Spiritual Ascension, ninth stage.

The body becomes significantly stronger and more powerful, the same goes for the soul. Lifespan… increases to a million years!

For a moment, such a lifespan was only achievable by cultivators at the level of Transcendence! And the young man could achieve the same at Spiritual Ascension!

Dragons were long-lived – this was a well-known fact. Therefore, those who inherit dragon blood also become long-lived!

Unfortunately, Xie Qing did not know about the second stage. This was due to restrictions. Until he broke through to the required level, everything would remain vague and limited to hints.

"However, I am sure that if I continue on the path of awakening dragon blood, I will be able to obtain immortality and incredible power!" this thought made Xie Qing excited.

A month had passed, but Xie Qing was still in the same location, not changing it for trivial reasons – he simply could not leave such a golden vein!

In addition to the new energy, which he decided to temporarily call "Dragon Qi" due to its effects of awakening dragon blood.

"At the moment, my dragon blood occupies 3.03%! It increased by 0.03% after I absorbed it over the course of a month. The main reason for this phenomenon is my weak cultivation level…" Xie Qing muttered with a somewhat annoyed expression, sighing heavily.

As it turned out, dragon blood had a… finicky nature. As soon as it sensed that Xie Qing's cultivation was not up to par, it immediately stopped growing.

"Although, what else could be expected from an ancient bloodline. I must not forget that Golden Dragons, before their extinction, were considered Children of the Heavens, and they could rightfully be called the legitimate controllers of the Nine Realms!" after careful consideration, Xie Qing regained his motivation and shook off his gloom.

In any case, he had managed to strengthen his body. His cultivation was still at the third stage of Spiritual Ascension, which was a relatively good result.

"Hmm, not bad!" the young man smiled and stretched. After he finished, he looked at the ground with some longing: "It's a shame that the energy has completely depleted! I no longer feel its presence! Moreover, all my attempts to preserve it in the form of a stone failed. Therefore, the only option was to absorb it completely!"

Xie Qing simply could not allow devilish cultivators to gain access to this wonderful energy. Although he doubted they could gain as much benefit as he did, caution was still necessary.

All good things – to me, all bad things – to them! The young man smiled and, slightly restoring his Qi, set off on his journey.

***

The world beyond the barrier was still filled with silence. Although the sudden evacuation, enormous pressure, and the sword in the sky had caused concern for hundreds of millions of souls, it soon subsided.

People are creatures capable of quickly adapting to everything. Therefore, very quickly this topic became boring to everyone, and discussions were mainly held in cultivator circles. After all, for them, it was clear as day that this was a legendary technique of the Dao of the Sword!

There was something else strange. For some reason, the main sects remained silent, not even bothering to explain or investigate this incident. This could only mean one thing – they had a direct connection to this event!

This caused fear in many. Minor sects felt the pressure. No matter how much they did not want to admit it, the four main sects were always a sharp blade at their throats.

Their existence was both a blessing and a curse at the same time!

***

Due to the fact that the vision of the sword in the sky clearly belonged to the Dao of the Sword, it aroused obvious interest among many cultivators – whether they were beginners or experts.

Therefore, the Sect of Heavenly Sword was forced to receive crowds of guests who were interested in seeing what the Dao of the Sword was like. There were even tours of the sect, although they were limited to the outer court.

If Xie Qing had seen this, he would definitely have smiled from ear to ear. Because in this short time, the sect had earned a huge number of spiritual stones! Moreover, the number of newcomers wishing to join had increased exponentially!

Considering that Xu Mei had just recently recovered and seen the situation, her stony heart softened. She passed on several basic (in her opinion) techniques, which became an entry reward for talented newcomers.

If one were to limit the description of what was happening, it was a true rise of the Heavenly Sword. As a young sect (by cultivator standards), it was powerful but clearly inferior to the other three sects.

However, since the ascension, the average level of disciples and even elders had significantly increased. This was a true dawn!

***

Xie Qing, of course, knew nothing about the news of the Heavenly Sword. He wandered through the spacious meadows, where some semblance of life had been preserved. Of course, there were no animals, but strange plants grew there.

They had a somewhat dark, black hue, and in some places, there was even a flower that resembled frozen, large drops of blood.

"What a strange flower. It has an iron scent. Is this real blood? Could this thing have once absorbed the blood of some cultivator? It emits Qi… remarkable!" The young man stroked his chin in surprise.

He took out an encyclopedia from his spatial ring and checked all the pages, but found no matches. This was a new species. The young man's eyes sparkled.

"I need to preserve it! I have the necessary equipment…"

Squatting down, the young man pulled out his tools. After two minutes, he had a vial in his hands. To avoid any issues, he placed the flower, along with its roots and soil, into the vial to preserve it in its natural state.

Although the vial appeared ordinary at first glance, it actually had a special formation that served to preserve and ensure effective transportation. Under the current conditions, the flower would be preserved for ten years without any problems.

"Miss Liu Yan will be pleased… and I will be even more so! I'll sell it at a good price!" the young man smiled, his eyes gleaming with spiritual stones: "We're making money, booooi!"

What a… strange fellow.

***

Two weeks later, Xie Qing sighed as he sat on a boulder. Thanks to his enhanced vision, he could clearly see the town walls. Finally, after so much time… a town!

Considering that the young man wanted to explore everything around him, the journey here had taken a long time. However, he did not regret it, as he had found many new plants that needed to be studied.

"As far as I remember, this town was called… Jue Wang? What a name, indeed… despair. Although, what else could be expected from one of the human cities?"

Indeed. This town was mainly inhabited by humans. Although evil spirits were also present, they were mostly in the minority.

This place was home to many descendants of devilish cultivators! And only now could the young man begin to engage in espionage. Before this, he had only been skimming the surface.

"Interesting! A town of humans… it's been a while since I've seen them. On my journey, I've only encountered mindless ghosts, monsters, and a few other abominations. In short, it's been boring…"

The young man smiled and headed towards the town . Following his thoughts, devilish Qi began to swirl around him. Now he was indistinguishable from any other devilish cultivator.

"I wonder what awaits me here?"