Chapter 187: Leaping the Dragon Gate

After returning to the Academy, Lin Jing felt a sense of great ease. He had spent more time cultivating at the Academy than at the Beast Taming Sect; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it his second Sect. However, it was a pity that while he was a Saint at the Beast Taming Sect, he wasn’t one at the Academy, nor had he heard of a “Saint” position existing there.

At this moment, having completed all preparations, Lin Jing didn’t want to think about anything else. He only wanted to complete his Foundation Establishment as soon as possible.

Having cultivated for several years, the day of breaking through to a major Realm was right before his eyes. In the Immortal Cultivation World, it was generally believed that only upon reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage…

…could one truly be considered to have stepped through the gates of Immortal cultivation. After all, only at the Foundation Establishment Stage would one’s lifespan significantly diverge from that of a Mortal. Although Lin Jing didn’t fit this rule, he had long yearned for the Foundation Establishment Stage.

It couldn’t be helped; the Beast Taming Sect’s Three Great True Legacy Secret Techniques required the Foundation Establishment Stage to Cultivate. Most Spells and secret techniques became easier to practice as one’s Realm increased. He had a pile of secret techniques in his Storage Pouch waiting for him to learn.

“With Qi Training cultivation, using the Ten Unique Gu to seize first place on the heavens pride ranking, the Potential Dragon Luck accumulated over the past few days…”

“…is more than a hundred times what it used to be, and it’s still steadily growing. Among the past first-place winners of the heavens pride ranking, there probably aren’t many whose fame exceeds mine now. I must make good use of the Hidden Dragon Secret Technique; it wasn’t for nothing that I exposed the existence of the Ice Soul Gu!”

Lin Jing landed on the peak where his Immortal Cave was located. On his right shoulder was a red-leafed Squirrel, and in the air to his left was a flying, flaming Dragon Carp.

The Pine Leaf Squirrel was dozing off, feeling that the Cross-Domain Teleportation Formation was too boring. It wasted so many Spirit Stones, yet they arrived at their destination in less than a second. It hadn’t managed to comprehend anything at all.

“Bo~” The Dragon Carp didn’t care about the Dao of Space; right now, it only wanted to transform into a Dragon as soon as possible. It twisted its body and looked at Lin Jing expectantly.

“Not only do you want to, I want to as well.”

“Stay right here, don’t move.”

“I’ll help you with your Foundation Establishment right now! I won’t wait another moment.”

After setting up the Formation barrier, Lin Jing immediately flew to the mountain peak. With a wave of his sleeve, the massive amount of Potential Dragon Luck flowed out like spring water. The materialized dragon-shaped Luck fell from the peak to the ground like a waterfall.

“Luck transforming into a waterfall.”

“If you don’t leap now, when will you?” Lin Jing spoke, scattering the power of Luck for the Dragon Carp to absorb.

The Dragon Carp had never seen such a massive amount of Luck; light couldn’t help but flash in its pupils.

“After transforming into a dragon, I shall be the strongest—” It struggled to speak in human tongue to celebrate. Given its previous IQ where it forgot things as soon as they happened, learning Human Speech through constant exposure was a significant improvement.

“Become stronger.” As its Dragon Clan Bloodline grew stronger, the Dragon Carp’s obsession with becoming stronger had reached a near-obsessive level.

This noble Bloodline made the Dragon Carp no longer want to be just a “spectator”; it also desperately wanted to compete with the Prodigies of all races.

Bang!

Like a fish climbing a waterfall, the Dragon Carp plunged into the Luck waterfall, absorbing Potential Dragon Luck to strengthen its Bloodline while simultaneously compressing its dragon-shaped flame True Qi to undergo Foundation Establishment evolution!

“Strongest?” Lin Jing’s left shoulder turned into ice and snow, and a crystal ice spider crawled out. The Ice Soul Gu crawled next to the Pine Leaf Squirrel and said, “What do you think?”

“After this fish completes its Foundation Establishment, how do you think its strength will compare to ours?”

“Squeak—” The Pine Leaf Squirrel glanced at the Icebox Gu. Does it matter?

The stronger the Dragon Carp’s strength, the higher its Alchemy level; the higher its Alchemy level, the higher its efficiency. For the Pine Leaf Squirrel, which had already stockpiled several boxes of Medicinal Pills, the more powerful the Dragon Carp was, the happier it would be!

Everyone was a Fellow Daoist on the same assembly line; who was more powerful wasn’t important. The Pine Leaf Squirrel wished the Dragon Carp and the Ice Soul Gu could carry the burden of battle so that the resources it had hoarded wouldn’t be consumed at all.

However, seeing how studious the Icebox Gu was, the Pine Leaf Squirrel didn’t mind analyzing it for it.

“Squeak!”

Although one of them was a Rare Beast possessing a Demon King True Body and the other was one of the Ten Unique Gu with a Demon Emperor Bloodline…

But…

Whether it was the wood-attribute rat or the ice-attribute Ice Soul Gu, both were countered by the fire-attribute Dragon Carp.

Not to mention that now, the Dragon Carp had also awakened a combat-oriented fire-attribute Rare Beast Divine Power. This was an exotic fire Divine Ability from an Immortal’s Legacy. The Ten Unique Gu were ultimately created by Cultivators of the Lower Realm; how could they compete with a Rare Beast carrying an Immortal’s Legacy?

Furthermore, the Pine Leaf Squirrel wasn’t good at fighting, and the Ice Soul Gu wasn’t good at fighting alone either; it could only exert its maximum strength when fused with a vessel. If the Dragon Carp’s Bloodline Rank also reached the Emperor Grade after transforming… “What? I’ll be the weakest again by then?” The Ice Soul Gu couldn’t accept it.

After the Pine Leaf Squirrel’s analysis, the Ice Soul Gu felt that even if it took more Human Pets, its disadvantage would be obvious.

“Gu insects can devour each other. Boss, can you catch the other nine Strange Gu for me to devour? If I can devour those brothers and sisters of mine, I might be able to become the Gu God,” the Ice Soul Gu suggested to Lin Jing.

“You should go back to sleep. Don’t come out if there’s nothing important.” Lin Jing pressed the Ice Soul Gu back. What did it mean by catching the other nine Strange Gu for it to devour?

The other nine Strange Gu were either in the hands of the Soul Transformation or Void Profound Cultivators of the Gu God Sect, or in the hands of the powerhouses of the Demon Subduing Division. Where was he supposed to catch them?

“It’s over. This Ice Soul Gu is becoming more and more like Senior Demon Pine. One old Devil Head, one little Devil Head.”

Actually wanting to devour the other Strange Gu…

Lin Jing let the unrealistic proposal vanish from his mind and focused intently on the Dragon Carp leaping through the Dragon Gate.

“Hehe.”

Just then, a laugh suddenly echoed from the Void Realm.

“Since you’ve refined so many pills for me, this old man shall also lend you a hand.”

“This is the blood of the Nan Shan Demon Emperor’s Incarnation; it can be considered Demon Emperor Blood. I have refined it into a Foundation Establishment Spiritual Liquid for you to use now to enhance your Bloodline!”

As the words fell, countless blood-water appeared within the Luck waterfall flowing down from the peak, dyeing the waterfall blood-red. The Fusion of the ethereal and the physical—two types of miraculous items aiding the Dragon Carp’s evolution—allowed the climbing Dragon Carp to feel immense benefits.

“Roar!!!” The Dragon Carp was moved.

Accompanied by a dragon’s roar, both the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Liquid made from Demon Emperor Blood and the Potential Dragon Luck provided by Lin Jing were absorbed by the Dragon Carp at an extremely fast speed. As the True Qi in its body continuously compressed, a dazzling red light filled its entire body, and countless burning clouds appeared around it!

“Roar!!!”

The dragon roars continued. Amidst the vast fire clouds, a fiery-red divine dragon several dozen meters long spiraled out. Its body seemed to be forged from the purest flames, shimmering with a dazzling and mysterious light!

“Is this… a successful dragon transformation?” Below, Lin Jing took a deep breath, looking at the Dragon Carp with a surprised expression…

No, it would be more appropriate to call it a Fire Scale Dragon now!

Each of its scales was like a meticulously carved ruby, not only emitting a scorching aura but also containing endless power and majesty. Moving up the body to the dragon’s head, its eyes were like two blazing suns, deep and bright. Looking directly into its eyes, one could feel a sense of shock and awe from ancient times.

Its Bloodline Rank had increased to an inconceivable degree, to the point that Lin Jing’s Beast Control Body could no longer suppress it!

Under Lin Jing’s full gaze, the Dragon Carp spread its wings and flew high. Its wingspan was vast and boundless, like two burning wings slicing through the sky, leaving behind trails of brilliant fiery red, dotting the horizon with extraordinary brilliance.

Seeing this scene, the Pine Leaf Squirrel on Lin Jing’s shoulder also blinked, a drop of sweat trickling down its forehead as its whole body felt hot.

“Wait.” Inside Lin Jing’s body, the Ice Soul Gu felt it even more strongly. At this moment, it felt as if Lin Jing’s blood was boiling like lava. The Dragon Carp’s flame power had finally completely balanced out the Ice Soul Gu’s frost power.

“Emperor Grade Bloodline, as expected. However, the atavism isn’t quite complete. Just how high was the cultivation of its Qilin ancestor? —” To the side, Divine Pine muttered to himself after seeing the Dragon Carp’s Bloodline Rank successfully leap to the Emperor Grade upon Foundation Establishment.

After the Dragon Carp transformed into a dragon, its Bloodline Rank leaped past the Pine Leaf Squirrel’s, causing the rat to wipe away its sweat.

Simultaneously, the True Qi in Lin Jing’s body seemed to ignite. Under the feedback of the Contract Power, his strength was born incessantly. His cultivation, which had been at the Qi Training Stage Twelfth Layer Bottleneck, finally leaped to the Qi Training Stage Thirteenth Layer, a Realm that could be called a miracle.