Soul Emperor Awakening

Bone Dragon Ruins. It sounded like a domineering name.

As he was wondering what it was, he suddenly remembered that he could find information about it within Qing Liuyun’s memories.

The Bone Dragon Ruins, as the name implied, was a place with many Dragon Bones—in truth, it was a dragon graveyard. Because it required great effort to enter, and because it had been visited by countless people already, its fame had dwindled. Still, it was worth visiting.

There were still some unexplored areas inside, and more importantly, it contained Dragon Qi! Nowadays, those who entered the Bone Dragon Ruins were mostly just there to absorb Dragon Qi, but that alone was enough.

Absorbing enough Dragon Qi could increase one’s Cultivation speed and strengthen one’s Physique and Spiritual Power. The benefits were, to say the least, plentiful.

Lin Xuan’s eyes lit up, however. He muttered, "The Bone Dragon Ruins... what if there are a lot of souls inside?" It wasn’t the Dragon Qi he cared about, but the souls!

A dragon’s soul... ’If I could read its memories, or perform a Soul Possession... the effects would be absolutely incredible.’ The mere thought excited him. He had to place in the top three.

"I didn’t expect the top three would get to enter the Bone Dragon Ruins. That’s a pretty amazing reward." Seeing the fervent looks in the crowd, Lin Xuan knew the Dragon Qi inside was incredibly tempting.

"Yeah. Entry into the Bone Dragon Ruins is usually heavily restricted, tightly controlled by the Pattern Master Association and the Royal Family. Anyone else who wants to get in has to curry favor with them!" Liu Menghua said with a sigh. "If we can get in, it would be a huge help to us. The Dragon Race’s attainments in Spiritual Power were astounding. Just spending some time inside would be a significant boost. A big reason our ancestor was able to become a Sixth Grade Pattern Master was supposedly because he had a fortuitous encounter inside the Bone Dragon Ruins."

Liu Menghua was right. The Liu Family ancestor had indeed had a significant fortuitous encounter in the Bone Dragon Ruins. He had obtained a Dragon Bone Pearl, and absorbing it greatly enhanced his Spiritual Power, allowing him to leap to the Realm of a Sixth Grade Pattern Master.

Lin Xuan already knew this from the memories. Qing Liuyun had been inside, as had the Liu Family ancestor. However, the Liu ancestor had entered much earlier, so his chances of a good encounter were higher. Nowadays, one could only hope to absorb Dragon Qi.

Ultimately, the Liu Family had produced a Sixth Grade Pattern Master not through innate talent, but through a great stroke of fortune—in other words, luck. But luck was a part of one’s strength. After all, no one else had managed to get that Dragon Bone Pearl.

The Bone Dragon Ruins were tempting, but entry was limited to the top three, which was no small feat.

"I wonder, are you all satisfied with this reward?" Luo Xiao said with a faint smile. "I won’t say any more. The first event of the competition will be... pattern stability!"

Pattern stability!

The topic of the competition was straightforward. Stability referred to the stability of the pattern. The more stable a pattern was, the harder it was to erase, and the more Elemental Power it could withstand being poured into it for a burst of power.

In battle, some patterns would collapse on their own during a violent clash or when too much energy was released—a clear sign of instability. In other cases, a pattern might simply vanish after being left alone for a while before it was even used. Only a truly pathetic level of skill could produce such a result.

It might sound ridiculous, but that was the reality. Successfully drawing a pattern didn’t mean it was perfect.

The reason the Pattern Master examination didn’t test for this was mainly because it was considered a Late Stage concern, something that could be improved by strengthening one’s overall skill. The exam only cared about success, not the process.

But a competition was the real deal. Stability was one of the most important qualities for a Pattern Master. Only with sufficiently condensed Spiritual Power could one achieve greater stability.

Theoretically, the higher the Grade of the pattern, the more stable it was. However, if one’s Spiritual Power was absolutely formidable, even a First Grade Pattern could be astonishingly stable.

It was like carving: the more force you used, the deeper the cut, and the less likely it was to be worn away by time.

"The stability test is simple. Use your greatest ability to draw a pattern and imprint it onto an object. Afterward, we will send people to erase the patterns from the objects. The harder your pattern is to erase, the higher your score. The score has nothing to do with the Pattern’s Grade; we are looking purely at stability," Luo Xiao explained.

Several assistants quickly distributed the Weapons. They were all of a decent grade; while not all were Treasure Level, most were at least Top Level Mortal Iron Level. But the Weapons given to Lin Xuan and the other top contenders were Treasure Level. The Pattern Master Association’s intentions were clearly quite insidious.

Imprinting a pattern on a Weapon would double its value, and for a High Grade Weapon, the value would multiply! Because Lin Xuan and the others had performed so well, they were naturally given good Weapons, which was basically a way to profit from them.

However, this was an unwritten rule. The association provided all the Spirit Wood Liquid and Spirit Wood Paper for the grand competition, as well as the prizes. It was only natural for them to collect these items as compensation. If others had the ability, they were welcome to fund the event themselves.

"Those of you who have your Weapons can begin drawing your patterns and imprinting them now. I look forward to your performance..." Luo Xiao gave a sly chuckle. Every time the Pattern Master grand competition came around, it was a chance for the Pattern Master Association to make a huge profit.

After receiving their tools, the numerous contestants began to draw their patterns. For a moment, lights of all colors emanated from their hands.

Sun Zhe, the disciple from the Divine Rune Sect, drew the most attention. His technique was masterful. After dipping his brush in Spirit Wood Liquid, he quickly began to draw on the Spirit Wood Paper. He moved in a single, fluid motion, without the slightest hesitation. His skill was so impressive it made one want to applaud.

Sun Zhe reveled in the astonished gazes and expressions around him. ’I’m only carving a Third Grade Pattern,’ he thought, a hint of mockery appearing in his eyes. ’It’s just a decent Third Grade Pattern. If I were to draw an even better one, wouldn’t they all start screaming?’

"I’m finished." These words came not from Sun Zhe, but from Lin Xuan, who was standing off to the side.

Among all the contestants, Lin Xuan was the first to call out. No one had expected that the first to finish would be him, and not the disciple from the Divine Rune Sect.

Shang Zhihao and Huang Qianyun’s faces twitched. ’It was one thing for Lin Xuan to act this way at the Pattern Master Association, but to be so brazen in front of a Divine Rune Sect disciple?’

Although the speed of completion had nothing to do with the score, being the first to finish would certainly attract a great deal of attention and bring honor to one’s family. Of course, that was provided one’s score was good. If the score was low, it would just become a laughingstock.

"It’s you again..."

Luo Xiao smiled and shook his head. He had seen this same scene during the examination. He hadn’t expected Lin Xuan to be even faster than Sun Zhe, overshadowing him right from the start.

’He’s fast, sure,’ Luo Xiao thought. ’But what really matters is the score he gets, not his speed.’

Lin Xuan, of course, knew this. But his expression was calm and composed, as if nothing could stir the waters of his heart.

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