Breakthrough

The small drop of violet-crimson fluid seemed to contain infinite mysterious and was a truly mesmerizing sight to behold. The more Yu Hao looked at it, the more he felt drawn to it.

This was the True Dragon Blood.

The blood of one of the most powerful species of Demonbeasts in existence.

Since time immemorial, great emperors and rulers all over the world have prided themselves to be dragons among men, wearing clothes with dragons embroidered on their chests.

Statues of dragons are used as symbols of power and prosperity, of strength and valour.

Yet now, Yu Hao was about to surpass all of them; He was about to absorb the blood of a True Dragon and change his bloodline to one that was similar to a real dragon.

Zhang Baichi knew that the power of True Dragons would surely surpass any kind of dragon that Yu Hao was thinking about.

What the system referred to as True Dragons were the primordial race of dragons from the prime universe, where people and Demonbeasts of unimaginable power resided; For example, the five Empyreans of humanity, like the Black Heaven Great Sage.

What kind of creatures would be worthy of being hailed as True Dragons by such exalted people? How much higher was the point of view of such people compared to Yu Hao or Zhang Baichi?

From the novels he read in the past and the enormous hawk that had flown them from the sect to the Mystic Realm, he could already imagine that these True Dragons must be colossal beasts of mind-boggling proportions.

How much blood would such a creature's body contain? Enough to fill a sea? An ocean? To flood a whole world?

And yet, a single drop of it was enough to give one the potential to reach the Nascent Soul Realm, a legendary realm of cultivation, that no one in the Grand Mo Kingdom had reached, bar the founding king of the Mo family.

"Get a hold of yourself.", Zhang Baichi lightly called out, causing YU Hao to regain his focus and avert his eyes from the True Dragon Blood.

"Sorry…", he spoke and closed his eyes for a few seconds. He had regained his cool and focus when he opened his eyes again. "I'll start now. Please guard me."

Zhang Baichi and Lu Zheng nodded and gave Yu Hao a bit more space. Then, the latter chugged the True Dragon Blood down in one gulp and started meditating.

For a long time, nothing happened, but both Zhang Baichi and Lu Zheng were entirely focused on Yu Hao, afraid that something might go wrong.

After more than a quarter of an hour. Zhang Baichi sighed and relaxed. "I guess he's doing well since nothing bad is happening. Let's guard him properly, now."

He moved out of the small ditch between the boulder and sat down on top of one of them instead, scanning the surroundings with his eyes.

Lu Zheng did the same and sat down on the other boulder, his back to Zhang Baichi.

An hour passed and Zhang Baichi had already closed his eyes, quietly meditating. Some time ago, a nauseating stench started wafting out from the ditch below and Zhang Baichi noticed that Yu Hao's skin was coated with a pitch black, oily substance.

He had seen the same happening to himself when he took a Body Cleansing Pill to rid his body of any impurities before, thus he was not bothered by this sight.

Lu Zheng was though, as he did not understand what was happening and was caught off-guard by the rancid stench.

He only calmed down when Zhang Baichi explained what was happening. Of course, both of them were using their own Qi to keep the stench out of their noses; It was truly too unbearable otherwise.

Another few hours passed, and the time Yu Hao spent absorbing the True Dragon Blood had passed the six-hour mark by now.

His body, clothes, and the ground beneath him were drenched in the black, oily waste. Only now did things begin to change.

Zhang Baichi noticed that Yu Hao's body was shaking ever so slightly, with sweat pooling on his forehead and his teeth clenched.

He figured out that Yu Hao must be enduring terrible pain at the moment, most likely a side effect of changing his own bloody and transforming his body and soul.

Slowly but surely, Yu Hao started to emit a pressure like one was standing in front of a hibernating beast.

With the pressure rising every moment, night soon arrived. Yu Hao was still cultivating tirelessly, his body shaking continuously.

Lu Zheng and Zhang Baichi took turns sleeping and standing watch to make sure nothing would happen. The two of them didn't dare relax, especially not during the night.

They couldn't imagine what would happen if the Demonbeasts in the surroundings were to catch on that there was True Dragon Blood here. They could only hope that the beasts wouldn't do anything, of wouldn't notice in the first place.

The night passed in silence, thankfully, and both Lu Zheng and Zhang Baichi relaxed a bit when the sun rose again.

However, it did not seem likely that Yu Hao would wake up any time soon.

Zhang Baichi went back into the camp, grabbing something to eat for himself and Lu Zheng and informed the rest of the group that their break would be extended for some time.

Many were displeased by this, as their time in the Mystic Realm was limited, but they calmed down when Zhang Baichi gave them an excuse that Yu Hao was having trouble with his cultivation.

"Everyone is free to hunt on their own; I don't want to restrict you. You all know about the dangers already.", Zhang Baichi plainly explained, once again asking everyone to remain patient for safety's sake.

The next few days passed in the same manner, with Yu Hao's aura transforming and growing more and more powerful. So much so, that even some people with keen senses in the camp had noticed the commotion.

Even Zhang Baichi did not expect that Yu Hao's seclusion last for four whole days, and he could only appease the other disciples by asking for them to be understanding.

By the fourth day, the bestial aura surrounding Yu Hao had already surpassed Lu Zheng and the other disciples at the 10th Layer of the Body Forging Realm in strength, yet he had not even reached the 10th Layer himself.

By the time he made his breakthrough, Zhang Baichi figured that he could defeat Lu Zheng and the others with ease by himself, bringing his strength to a level only surpassed by Zhang Baichi.

In the evening of the fourth day, Yu Hao managed to make his breakthrough, reaching the 10th and final Layer of the Body Forging Realm after reforming his bloodline.

He cultivated until deep into the night, stabilizing his cultivation as the bestial aura surrounding him vanished.

As in the beginning, only Lu Zheng and Zhang Baichi were close to him, thus only the two of them noticed his breakthrough.

A short while later, Yu Hao stopped his cultivation and opened his eyes.

Zhang Baichi and Lu Zheng noticed that the Spiritual Qi in the surrounding calmed down and went down into the ditch.

Upon meeting Yu Hao, Lu Zheng was shocked by the pressure he was feeling, while Zhang Baichi smiled lightly.

Yu Hao had completely transformed in both talent and disposition. Just by standing in the ditch, his body radiated an incredible strength and his cultivation felt much, much deeper than before, far surpassing Lu Zheng.

"How do you feel?" Zhang Baichi was the first to ask, his bearing casual and nonchalant, even under the pressure of Yu Hao's aura.

Yu Hao showed a similarly casual bearing and smiled back. "Very good. I've fully absorbed the True Dragon Blood and my strength and talent for cultivation have undergone a complete transformation."

Unlike the two smiling young men, Lu Zheng was frowning. Not only was he suffering from just the pressure Yu Hao was radiating, but the stench he exuded was even more unbearable.

With two fingers clutching his nose shut, Lu Zheng addressed Yu Hao with an irritated tone. "It's good that you're alive, but your unbearably filthy. Go and wash up, will you?"

Later, the three of them sat around on a few rocks, casually talking about what Yu Hao had experienced during these four days.

Zhang Baichi was apparently right in his thoughts as Yu Hao was indeed suffering an incredible amount of pain while his body was cleansed, and his bloodline was transformed.

However, he truly managed to perfectly fuse the True Dragon Blood with his own bloodline, breaking the shackles of his own talent for cultivation.

The only problem was that the sudden increase in strength had been too great, and that Yu Hao was not yet fully in control of this new strength; He would need some time to adjust.

All three of them agreed that real combat would be the best way to adjust, and they announced to resume the hunt the next day.

Many eyes were on Yu Hao, who's aura alone was pressuring many of the disciples. Their reactions to his transformation varied from shock, to envy, to confused dumbfoundedness.

Just when everyone had come to an agreement to resume the hunt, Yun Ye came forward with a disciple who regularly went on scouting missions.

"Yun Ye, what's wrong?", Zhang Baichi asked after Yun Ye had asked the powerhouses of their group to come to the side.

He looked at Zhang Baichi, Lu Zheng, Yu Hao, and the two young woman from the Willow Tree Pavilion including Xiao Xueling. "We've found the traces of the Broad Wisdom Sect's disciples. They're coming closer to the Dragon Peak. We have no idea where they were before or how they got so close without us noticing earlier, though."