26. Ascention

So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

( Hebrews 13 : 6 )

*****

A star, bright and brilliant.

A cosmic wonder, ignited once again.

Lijen watched his core finally returned to its glory, bigger and brighter than ever before. He had put a lot of work into it. With the assistance from his dwarf core, he was able to pull more Qi than before, allowing him to create a bigger core.

My core is lit,

I turned to the side where multiple constructs of constellations floated about. They were constructs of Qi I made when bored. I couldn't fully concentrate on the core since I already did it once. My ADHD clearly affects my goals, I get too distracted. I even finished the books I had bought.

Survival Guide of Bare Grills was useless except for finding trails and recognizing dangerous plant. The book was written for Humans on Earth, not for a Dragon in a forest filled with Dinosaurs on steroids. The beasts here were stronger and more intelligent, they could even use elemental attack.

I got scammed by the system, again!

I don't know why I fell for that. It was a waste of money, my money. At least, Mighty Steel Legs was authentic, but it was not what I was expecting. The technique strengthens the leg with Qi to make is indestructible. Problem is, I need to cycle the Qi through meridians and refine that path until Qi flow through it naturally. I got to hit all the meridians with adequate Qi to use the technique. If I don't the technique fails, miserably.

I had to try it a hundred times before I even completed the first cycle. But the technique, in fact, could be used for more than just strengthening legs.

I could strengthen the whole body with it.

[ See, I didn't scam you ]

[ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ]

You did! That Survival guide is use less to me!

[ To you ]

You!... You know what! I am not going to get angry.

[ Good Choice ]

I huffed in annoyance before I turned to my core. It was still glowing bright as it absorbed the abundant Qi here. Hmm... I don't see those speck of multi-color lights. I haven't seen them once since I cam down here.

Well, they were different from Qi...

[ They were Cosmic Energy ]

[ You need to be under the star when cultivating to attract them ]

Oh! Well, will it affect my strength?

[ Not by much for now, but you will need them after the first part of the Stellar genesis technique ]

I will worry about that later. Now, I need to get out and eat, I could already feel my stomach growling like a beast. I need to fill my stomach before continuing my cultivation journey. I closed my eyes and opened them again, appearing back at my spot.

~Yawn~

A yawn escaped my mouth as I stretched my limbs, feeling my muscles sore due to staying in the same position for too long. I shook my body and fluttered my wings and felt a weight roll down my back.

I turned my head and saw Fluffy waking up and looking at me menacingly. I seem to have disturbed her sleep.

~Caw~

Sorry, maybe don't sleep on my back.

~caw~

She flapped her wings, attempting to hit me? Her feathery wind don't even register as attack. She even claws but left no mark. Looking at her all angry, I couldn't help but break out in laughter. She then flew up and pecked on my head for laughing.

Hey, hey, cut it out.

I pushed Fluffy away from my head, but she peck on my hand. I kept her away from me with one hand and pulled one of the bunnies form the inventory. The smell of blood instantly filled the cave, causing my stomach to growl and Fluffy to stop pecking.

I threw the bunny into my mouth and chewed, grinding the meat and tasting the blood. I pulled another one and threw it to Fluffy. I care not for the intestines as the whole thing was smashed out in the fight. I pulled more bunnies and ate them one by one, removing the intestines for those that had and made sure to fill my stomach full before I go back into cultivation.

I turned to my wings, they were still torn. I closed my eyes and turned away from them, no point feeling sad.

After making sure I couldn't eat more and Fluffy also had her fill, I laid back, going into my Virtual Dantian. I turn to my Core and brought the information on Core Ignition stage.

[ Core Ignition Stage: Nebula Awakening ]

[ In this stage, Cultivators harness the power of their Primordial Core to ignite an internal Nebula. This Nebula is a swirling cloud of energy that represents the birth of their stellar cultivation path. ]

[ To awaken the Nebula, cultivators enter a state of deep meditation and concentration. They visualize their Primordial Core expanding and transforming into a swirling cloud of cosmic energy, resembling a nebula in space. ]

[ The Nebula is a manifestation of the cultivator's spiritual essence and represents the birth of their unique stellar cultivation path. It is a reservoir of power and potential waiting to be unlocked. ]

[ Through the Nebula Awakening, cultivators gain access to new abilities and techniques that are specific to their individual cultivation path. These abilities can vary greatly depending on the cultivator's affinity with cosmic forces.]

Lijen remembered all the information of how to ascend the stage.

The ignition of core to create a nebula is similar to red star going supernova, releasing a cloud of condensed refined energy. This Nebula will allow him to master cosmic forces.

This was the start of his step into the path of immortality.

Wait a minute! What do you mean by my core will transform into a swirling cloud of Cosmic energy!

[ Did you not read it correctly? ]

Of course not! What does it mean by me having no core?! How am I suppose to cultivate. I thought I would have a dwarf core and a cloud of nebula!

I mean, I understand that it was my fault for not exactly understanding the words. I was excited, okay. But I need an explanation. Now!

[ Your core is not going to disappear! ]

[ It will become the central nuclei of the nebula ]

[ How will you create and refine your nebula without the core? ]

[ Think Lijen, think ]

Oh, okay, okay. It's my fault for freaking out. So I just go boom and shed the outer layer.

[ Yes ]

Okay, then let me continue my cultivation. I shall become rank 2, then rank 3, then to Rank 4.

I will check their details later.

...

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO*

The Horn blew ending the month long competition.

The atmosphere was thick with sparking tension and excitement. The Cultivators gathered on the venue, hundreds if not thousands, waiting for the end of the competition. They were all waiting excited to know the who the inner was and the rewards for the top ten.

The man floated above, one the cultivators recognized. He was the one that announced the start of the competition and he would be the one to end it.

"Today, the competition ends," He announced. "Those who have not exchanged your hunt, exchange it now."

The man scanned the crowd. Some cultivators moved to empty their pockets, bringing some impressive beasts. The appraisers moved quickly to examine the corpses and assigned points to each. The rankings on the banner of valor changed but not by much.

The team from Crimson Lotus brought a white tiger of late stage of Rank 2 and many other beasts, increasing their point by 3075, bringing their total point to 7540. This brought them to the fifth in the ranking.

Another team, from Whispering Blade, brought two Rank 2 beast added with many low rank beasts. This team earn a total point of 3670, bringing their total to 8430. Taking them to fifth and pushing the previous fifth to sixth. This pissed the team from Crimson Lotus as they now ranked sixth, but they controlled themselves. But the one who was on the tenth was not so, they glared holes into the Whispering Blades.

And another Teams, from Frostfire Warden, brought out four Rank 2. But all four were frozen solid. The appraisers had to melt the Ice before they could even examine the beasts. The beast brought them a solid 4000, bringing their total to 8920. They now occupied the fifth place, causing another wave of anger.

No one liked to see their rank go down.

The cultivators from different backgrounds kept exchanging, but the top five didn't change anymore.

The first was Prince Zhihao, who watched the banner with a mysterious smile. He had brought in all his beast this morning, putting him in a comfortable spot on the top. He had 20750 points in total.

The one in the second was duo from Hu Clan. They were only short of him by about a thousand points. The duo had brought some impressive beasts as their hunt, even an Earth Drake. This fetched them some impressive point.

The third was from Feng Rong and fourth was Ling Hao. Their points were only slightly different. They both only lack about two thousand points to rank two.

But the competition was not done, the protagonists of the show have yet to arrive.

The Man flying at the top looked down, he could not see the heirs. He waited for them to appear and the sun began to tilt. The cultivators exchanging began to reduce and the excitement started to spark.

And the protagonists appeared.

First one to appear was the fourth princess, Tian Xueying. She walked with her servant, a barbarian giant of a woman who looked menacing than beasts. Princess Xueying looked so small compared to her servant and her demeanor gave a feeling of Greenhouse flower.

But non judge her on appearance, even though most men and women were smitten by her beauty.

Xueying walked slowly to the exchange venue and flashed her ring. The multiple pocket rings in her hands flashed.

The Venue became full immediately, the noticeable one was the large trunk that fell with a boom. This was a plant type monster known as Thorned Blossom Guardian. This plant type monster was especially hard to deal with due to their many throne vines that sprung from ground and their trunk protected by many poisonous flower.

The main point was the trunk was smashed half.

The cultivators who noticed it looked to the Servant. The weak just gulped at suck force while the strong admired it. It was not so easy to break the trunk with pure force, at least not as brutally as this.

The appraisers moved quickly and evaluated the points for the Beast. In total she had 12 rank 2 beast, nearly hundred rank 1. The rank 2 were many of different kind, from Bear to wolf, from Hawk to Serpent.

The point gained pushed her to the fifth spot in the banner of valor, just below Ling Hao due to lack of 10 points. She lost many points due to the beasts being smashed paste.

While she finished, another heir arrived, Prince Longwei, a young man with tall slender build with handsome face. His flowing blond hair was tied in a phony like his sister. He walked with few guards, who followed closely.

He then unloaded his ring, bringing out a massive beast. One the cultivators called Goliath Thunderbeast. This was a giant mammoth with thunder attribute. One that surprise you with its speed and shoots lightning from its trunks. It also know for rampaging frequently like a demonic beast.

And the most impressive, the Goliath was beheaded.

He also brought out 12 Rank 2 beast, and four of them were late stage beasts. One was a Serpent Tortoise, which had lone neck and face that looked very similar to a serpent and had scales. A very rare beast.

His combine points brought him to rank One, three thousand points above Zhihao. He just smiled at Zhihao and Hu Qian and took his leave without waiting anymore.

After him came Princess Quiglian and Princess Meihua. They both showed an impressive collection of beasts, but it was lackluster compared to Longwei.

Quiglian only brought Stonewall Juggernaut that was one of the hardest opponent to defeat at Rank 2 and a bitch to fight with. She also brought a late stage Abyss Crawler and thousands of its children.

Meihua brought a Shadow Panther and a ThunderGale Wolf both tanking a late stage cultivation. She also brought pack of chimps.

They both didn't gain much Rank but they replaced the fourth and fifth in ranking.

First: Prince Longwei

Second: Prince Zhihao

Third: Hu clan

Fourth: Princess Quiglian

Fifth: Princess Meihua

And finally,

"Wait, Is that "That child"?" A cultivator asked silently, but he was not silent as all head turned.

A young girl with silver white hair, long and mesmerizing, walked towards the venue. She wore a black dress adorned with purple lining of the celestial dragon on her chest, She had a bow to her back and a sword on her hip.

Her each step was firm like the mountain and she exuded an aura of dominance.

Princess Xueying, Snow Shadow of the Dragon's bride.