The Seventh Prince of the Merfolk was escorted back to the Capital City.
Many citizens of the Capital City witnessed this, and they all celebrated the might of Xuanyang Country.
Emperor Li Chengyuan was overjoyed to see the Seventh Prince of the Merfolk.
This time, they had managed to eliminate the grave threat of the Xuanjiang Aquatic Race in one fell swoop.
Of course, the greatest credit went to Grand Tutor Liang Yuan Kang and Elder Pei.
Li Chengyuan announced that in a few days, he would visit the Dragon Tiger Sect to pay homage to the Celestial Ancestor, a gesture to demonstrate his dedication to ruling justly.
Additionally, everyone who participated in the Xuanjiang operation was rewarded according to their contributions.
Bai Yuan once again stole the spotlight.
Even though Bai Yuan was at odds with the Civil Servant faction, Grand Tutor Liang Yuan Kang had no choice but to grant him the highest honors.
Having served in the Capital City for less than half a year, he had already performed one miraculous deed after another. Overjoyed, Emperor Li Chengyuan promoted him directly to Left Deputy Chief Imperial Censor, a position of the junior second grade.
This was essentially a declaration to the entire Imperial Court that Bai Yuan was the all-but-confirmed future Left Chief Imperial Censor.
In that moment, his power and authority increased by another huge leap.
Bai Yuan, however, found this regrettable.
He would have rather traded this junior second-grade position for an opportunity to select a Cultivation Technique from the No. 1 Heavenly Library. Unfortunately, such an exchange was impossible.
In less than five years, he had shot up from a fifth-grade official to the junior second grade. A rise this rapid hadn't been seen in three hundred years.
No wonder they say it's easy to get promoted in the Capital City.
Before he knew it, his rank was now on par with Old Dong, the junior second-grade Grand General of the North.
Of course, in terms of actual authority, there was still a significant gap.
A Military Officer's rank was inherently considered a step below that of a Civil Servant's.
...
「Bai Mansion.」
Bai Yuan sat cross-legged on the bed in his room.
'Add points!'
[In your 673rd year of practicing the Vajra Lion Technique, you have finally reached the Adept level.]
...
[In your 831st year of practicing the Vajra Lion Technique, you have reached the Master level.]
...
[In your 1,115th year of practicing the Vajra Lion Technique, you have finally become a Legend!]
Instantly, the three words "Vajra Lion Technique" on the panel took on a brilliant, gilded appearance.
'Success!'
Bai Yuan's eyes widened.
He had originally thought he didn't have enough enhancement points to raise the Vajra Lion Technique to the Legend level.
But the progress had been much faster than he'd imagined.
Not only that, he even had enhancement points to spare.
'It's the providence!'
Bai Yuan quickly realized the reason for this unusual speed.
After his promotion from the third grade to the junior second grade, the providence bestowed upon him by the Xuanyang National Fortune had grown much stronger.
With the aid of this providence, his comprehension had increased significantly.
That was why the time needed to practice the Vajra Lion Technique had been so drastically reduced.
'This stuff is amazing!'
If he were a Martial Artist from the Confucian Family, the effects of this providence would be even greater.
Even so, its effect on an ordinary Martial Artist was still immense.
He felt a wave of exhilaration and had the urge to let out a mighty roar, but he ultimately suppressed it.
The Vajra Lion's Roar was associated with Silent Meditation; the less one spoke, the greater the power of the roar. This was what the Buddhists called the "method of stillness."
'Fuse!'
Bai Yuan commanded inwardly.
The Vajra Lion Technique merged into the Divine Mansion in his neck.
With the Divine Mansion in his neck now perfected, Bai Yuan only had two left to complete. Once they were perfected, he could reach the third layer of the Divine Mansion realm!
By then, he might even have the strength to fight a Mingxin Grandmaster.
The reason he was still only a junior second-grade official, and not yet the Chief Imperial Censor, was precisely because his combat strength was insufficient.
It was the same for the others on the Hidden Dragon List.
They were "hidden dragons" precisely because they had not yet fully matured.
Only by possessing the combat strength of a Mingxin Grandmaster could one earn the recognition of the court's major figures. Otherwise, no matter how great the Emperor's favor, being forcibly promoted to such a position would only lead to disaster.
As Bai Yuan was lost in thought—
Suddenly, rumbles of thunder echoed from the far distance.
The ordinary citizens of the Capital City would have assumed it was merely the prelude to a thunderstorm.
But Bai Yuan and the other Martial Dao experts in the Capital City knew better.
Those were tribulation clouds.
To be precise, they were the Jue Emperor's tribulation clouds.
The Jue Emperor was finally undergoing his tribulation!
Demons were different from the Human Race. Perhaps because their Cultivation Techniques were rejected by the heavens, a celestial tribulation would descend upon them at set intervals.
The interval between tribulations varied greatly among different races.
It was said that the Jue Emperor had already survived two celestial tribulations. This was his third.
If the Jue Emperor could withstand this celestial tribulation, he would become a supreme expert on par with the Grand Ancestor Emperor and the Demon Sect Ancestor Master.
Bai Yuan gazed from afar at the tribulation clouds on the horizon.
His heart pounded with apprehension.
'So powerful...'
...
「Over the Xuanjiang.」
Several figures appeared far from the tribulation clouds, terrified of being tainted by even a wisp of its calamitous aura.
Among them were none other than Elder Pei and Grand Tutor Xuanyang, Liang Yuan Kang.
Aside from those two, there were several other elders whose auras were in no way inferior.
These were, of course, the "old monsters" from the major sects.
Elder Pei couldn't help but marvel at the sheer power of the heavens.
Although the Dragon Tiger Sect possessed the Palm Thunder, which could manipulate the Heaven and Earth Thunder Skill, it paled in comparison to a true lightning tribulation.
This was the Jue Emperor's third tribulation, so the lightning was of an unprecedented and terrifying scale.
Of course, they hadn't gathered here to launch a sneak attack on the Jue Emperor.
In truth, it would be impossible even if they tried.
The lightning tribulation treated all beings beneath it as one.
No one could help the Jue Emperor, and likewise, no one could attack him. Anyone who interfered would also face the wrath of the tribulation.
Even an expert in thunder skills like Elder Pei would never willingly be struck by tribulation lightning—it was a near-certain death sentence.
A golden light flared in Liang Yuan Kang's eyes. "Here it comes!"
Above the misty Xuanjiang, a bolt of world-ending purple lightning descended with brazen force.
A roar that shook the land for a hundred li echoed out, and within it, the faint shadow of a dragon could be seen.
Dragon transformation!
Elder Pei was stunned.
A dragon was not a specific species, but rather a title for the supreme beings of the water.
A fish could become a dragon; so too could a sea serpent.
After millennia of cultivation, the Jue Emperor had actually managed to refine a wisp of draconic energy.
'Could he actually succeed in his tribulation?!'
All the experts in the sky were aghast. They never expected that the old Jue Emperor had spent his long seclusion in the Xuanjiang attempting a dragon transformation.
The Jue Emperor successfully blocked the first tribulation bolt.
The members of the Aquatic Race watching from afar were all visibly moved.
If their Jue Emperor succeeded, the Aquatic Race would reclaim its ancient glory, once again becoming masters of this land, free from the oppression of the Human Race.
For a moment, the demons were ecstatic.
But in the next instant, a second bolt—this one of violet-gold divine lightning—followed.
Its terrifying pressure was suffocating to human and demon alike.
The massive pillar of lightning persisted for a full quarter of an hour, like a torrential thunderstorm.
The cheers of the Aquatic Race were cut short, as if they were strangled ducks.
The tribulation clouds on the horizon slowly dissipated.
The Xuanjiang still surged, but the Old Jue Emperor was nowhere to be seen.
In the end, the celestial tribulation was too difficult to overcome. The Jue Emperor's millennia of cultivation proved insufficient. Ultimately, it was ashes to ashes, dust to dust, as he returned to the Xuanjiang.
Thousands of li away, Bai Yuan withdrew his focus.
He gazed at the clear, sunny sky in the distance, having already guessed the outcome of the tribulation.
The path of a great demon was fraught with hardship. Was the path of a Martial Artist any different?
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