Long Chen was stronger than ever in terms of essence, and he was much better at controlling it too. When he first cultivated the Golden Emperor Veiled Heaven Seal, he was unfamiliar with it. Now, it was different. He had the full capability to control three types of power.

That was why he guessed that cultivating the Azure Emperor Rising Heaven Seal would be simpler than cultivating the Golden Emperor Veiled Heaven Seal.

Long Chen would finally witness the sheer power of five combined Emperor Seals when he could finally merge the five seals. It was probably more powerful than the Three Thousand Star Clusters.

Long Chen could only perform some simple functions of the divine weapon for the moment. He knew that in order to unlock the Emperor-tier secret combat technique within the weapon, he had to increase his cultivation level. Maybe he had to reach the Ninth Earthly Martial Stage, or even the Heavenly Martial Realm, before he could unlock it. Then again, it was an advanced Emperor-tier divine weapon after all, so the secret combat technique inside it was surely at least an advanced Emperor-tier one.

That secret combat technique would likely be more powerful than the five combined Emperor Seals.

However, the Five Emperor Seals were not even part of the Five Emperors’ treasure. Just the Seven Star Lord’s inheritance alone was powerful, so the true treasure that once belonged to the Five Emperors was surely much, much more incredible!

Long Chen was currently focusing on the Wooden Soul Crystal.

The green Wooden Soul Crystal floated above his right palm. The red and golden seals in his palm had already been activated, while the third seal was still dull.

Under Long Chen’s control, the Wooden Soul Crystal started to merge into his palm and appeared in one of his Martial Meridians. Wood energy poured in, and the metallic and fire energy, which had previously achieved equilibrium, erupted once more. The eruption of three types of energy was more intense than before. This caused three lights to appear on his arm, and the three were fighting with each other.

However, Long Chen’s essence was stronger.

The three powers gradually fell under his control. After his first and second experiences, plus his now powerful essence, taming them wasn’t that hard. The three energies gradually reached an equilibrium, forming a triangle that appeared in the meridian point in his right palm.

Three sources of energy merged harmoniously with his palm.

The Azure Emperor Seal symbol in his hand also lit up and came to life. Now only the Black and Yellow Emperor Seals remained dull.

The Five Emperor Seals made Long Chen think of his friends in the Divine Martial Empire.

I wonder if they’re doing well.

After cultivating the Azure Emperor Rising Heaven Seal, Long Chen stood up. He counted the days and found that almost ten days had passed. He had to feed the young Suyan his blood every ten days. Every time, Suyan would stare at him with her big eyes as she sucked the blood from his arm.

“Big Brother, I’m full,” Suyan said happily.

“I still need to feed you several more times,” Long Chen said in exasperation.

“That’s a good thing, Big Brother. That way, you’ll be able to stay near me for a longer time. Time passes so fast though. I wish the next tenth day wouldn’t come sooner.”

Looking at the somewhat crestfallen girl, Long Chen did not know what to say. He had broken several hearts along his journey, and he did not really know how to deal with this.

He had met many women, and there were many good ones who treated him well. However, they did not give him the same feeling as Ling Xi did.

When he thought about the girl, battle spirit burned in his heart.

Ten days have passed while I was cultivating the Azure Emperor Rising Heaven Seal. This time, I need to work towards the Eighth Earthly Martial Stage.

Reaching the Eighth Earthly Martial Stage was harder than reaching the seventh.

Every level of the Earthly Martial Realm was more complicated than the previous, making it much harder to cultivate. If not for the Martial God Tombstone’s guidance, he would never have progressed this quickly.

Even with the Martial God Tombstone, he could not advance by a rank every ten days or so like he previously did. He could not reach such unrealistic levels yet.

He counted the days. Almost two years had passed since he and Ling Xi had separated.

Long Chen had advanced from the Heavenly Passage Realm to the Earthly Martial Realm’s peak.

It had taken him only two years, which surpassed the speed of the best prodigies in the Ten Thousand Nations Territory!

However, he was not satisfied!

Because he was competing with the prodigies of the Royal Territories!

The Ten Thousand Nations Territory was just a small place after all. It was not Long Chen’s endpoint!

When I rise, I want the whole world to tremble in my presence. To those who looked down on me: I will make you understand who the real prodigy is.

Looking far away, Long Chen broke into a smile.

He did not take any time to rest. Long Chen sat cross-legged, and his mind entered the Martial God Tombstone. He started to revise the punching routine of the first seven Earthly Martial Stages. The revision allowed him to fill in previous gaps, and at the same time, he started the process of cultivating the Eighth Earthly Martial Stage.

Within the Martial God Tombstone, the human silhouette’s punching routine became increasingly complicated, and many parts were difficult for Long Chen to understand.

However, he did not give up. He studied it again and again, and even asked Bai Lan and the others for teachings. He quickly improved during this time. He had about sixty days to study this punching routine, and he was not disturbed at all. To him, it was rare to get such a peaceful cultivation environment.

When he wasn’t cultivating, he sparred with Suxue. Of course, he did not use his killer moves, and they only sparred using the punching routines in the Earthly Martial Manual. Suxue was at the Ninth Earthly Martial Stage, so she could completely defeat him.

During this time, the young Suyan also worked very hard. She actually reached the Eighth Earthly Martial Stage before him. After her breakthrough, Long Chen started to get guidance from both sisters.

Just like that, Long Chen started a very happy life of cultivation with the two sisters, much to the admiration of countless people. Under the two sisters’ patient guidance and the Martial God Tombstone’s demonstration, Long Chen improved very quickly.

At the same time, he familiarized himself with the Three Thousand Star Clusters. He had experienced using the Azure Dragon Halberd, so he could quickly figure out many fighting techniques with it. Most importantly, he learned how to use a spear with his left hand!

He wielded the spear with his left hand, then used his right hand to make seals. When he combined the Three Thousand Star Clusters and the Five Emperor Seals, Long Chen’s combat abilities were boosted to a terrifying level. Everything depended on his breakthrough to the Eighth Earthly Martial Stage.

Time passed quickly when he cultivated. In the blink of an eye, one month had gone by. Only twenty days or so were left until the Nine Clans Martial Youth Competition. Thanks to the excellent environment and assistance from others, Long Chen had almost reached the Eighth Earthly Martial Stage.

In order to help Long Chen improve, even Bai Lan personally guided him. Comprehending concepts was an important step in the Earthly Martial Realm, and if there was someone to give feedback, he could grasp the concepts quicker.

On this day, Long Chen was sitting in the small room. His mind was fully immersed in the Martial God tombstone in the Primordial Realm. The human silhouette was flying through its movements, moving extremely quickly. It sometimes moved so quickly that he could barely see it. Thankfully, he had a lot of time to slowly savor the complicated movements.

Even when slowed down, it was difficult to imitate them. The slower the movements, the more profound and complicated they actually were.

The journey of cultivation is difficult. I have no idea how the people of the Three Royal Territories cultivate. Are there really people who can skip the Four Foundational Realms when they are born?

Perhaps they can. The Four Foundational Realms do not require comprehension. There is no Martial Soul, just changes to the body and the meridians, as well as the formation of the Eighteen Martial Veins and the Nine Martial Meridians. If they are born with these, then they are fated to be much stronger than us.

One could even say that the Three Martial Realms were the true beginning of cultivation.

The three realms were surely not the end of cultivation. What lay beyond that?

Long Chen looked forward to seeing it.

He was tiny and helpless when he was in Baiyang Town. Today, he still felt tiny. Making his way through the journey of cultivation made him feel smaller than ever. He had only started the journey, and there was a lot ahead of him.

Four Foundational Realms. Three Martial Realms. What was next?

Were there other, more terrifying places beyond the Three Royal Territories?

Long Chen had an even more important question. Where did his father, Long Qinglan, come from? Before he died, Long Qinglan said that he was once the best in the Dragon Continent. If his words were anything to go by, he had seen much more than Ling Xi. So where did he come from?

He had many more questions. For example, the mysterious dragon jade could suppress the ancestral dragon’s Inherited Blood Essence. What was it? Also, Long Chen’s Inherited Blood Essence from the Ancient Bloodsoul Dragon. Why would it be inside a mere advanced Yellow-tier Dragon Seal book? And who put the seal on the Dragon Seal book?

Why was Long Qinglan in a lowly place like Baiyang Town?

How had he lost his cultivation?

Long Chen had a rough feeling that Long Qinglan knew what the mysterious jade pendant was.

Father, what is this thing that you gave me? You left so soon; you didn’t tell me anything. Now that I think of it, there are many things that I do not know. If only you were alive …