Chapter 1353: Promotion

The pieces of metal were not easy to break, and Lu Yin was not willing to use his Vacuum Palm. No matter how powerful the princess was, there was no way that this technique was as powerful as Progenitor Hui’s sourcebox array. Lu Yin’s Vacuum Palm might be able to shatter this trap, but there would be more problems after breaking free, and Lu Yin did not want to make himself too conspicuous.

It would be better for him to appear to be a normal Hunter. At least for the moment, Lu Yin was in no danger.

It was a pity that he was not able to see runes in this place, as if he could, he would be able to more accurately determine the princess’s strength and the power hidden within the White Dragon Mountain, and then he would be able to more calmly deal with things.

The sky quickly grew dark, and unending red clouds covered the top of the mountain. Above even that, there was an endless sky filled with countless stars that shone down. Above that was the Higher Realm that Shou Sheng and others had mentioned.

One landmass was right beneath a second landmass, but with a star-filled region of space in between. This was an amazing place.

After a few hours, it became completely dark, and Long Xi returned to the bamboo hut.

The moment he saw Long Xi, Lu Yin plastered a smile onto his face and put forth his best at appearing humble. "Ahem, Princess, you were right, and I showed you a bad attitude. I won't do so in the future."

Long Xi frowned. For some reason, she still felt that there was a problem with this guy's attitude. She did not feel any true respect towards her White Dragon Clan, or towards her as the princess of the White Dragon Clan. Still, it was time, and she did not want to put things off. "Keep an eye on your attitude. Don’t say anything, and just follow me."

"Yes, princess," Lu Yin replied quietly.

Long Xi's expression seemed a little better, and though Lu Yin still did not like the situation, he would have opportunities in the future, so he would slowly adjust.

Lu Yin did not want to get married, but he was under the White Dragon Clan’s roof, and he could not fight them here. They were one of the four ruling powers of this place, and though it was not easy to accept, there were absolutely people in this place with power levels that exceeded a million. Lu Yin did not want to die quite yet, so he needed to gain an understanding of things for himself.

Lu Yin expected it to be an upbeat and lively wedding, considering it was for the White Dragon Clan’s princess. He had certainly not expected the ceremony to be nothing more than worshiping the ancestors. The event took place in the great hall, and Long Xi did not even change her clothes. This was too rushed! Out of all of the clan’s elders, only Elder Long Kui even showed up, though it was unclear how many eyes were watching the wedding that Lu Yin could not see.

Lu Yin wanted to ask questions. After all, this was his first wedding.

However, when he saw Long Xi's cold expression, he wisely decided to stay quiet.

At this moment, he was thinking that the most important detail of the evening might be the bridal chamber for the wedding night. The civilization in this place leaned towards ancient practices, so new couples were expected to consummate their marriage. This made Lu Yin very uneasy, as not even he and Ming Yan had reached this step.

As soon as he thought of Ming Yan, Lu Yin felt guilty. He did not know what had happened to her, or where she was, or why she had managed to come across Aru's information.

"This is just the ceremony. There are three stages to a wedding in my White Dragon Clan. The first is to worship the ancestors, and the second step is to pay homage to the Python Ancestor. The last step is to register the wedding in the genealogy, and at that moment, the marriage is real, and then guests will be invited from all over. As the princess of the White Dragon Clan, I will naturally be married in the Higher Realm," Long Xi spoke lightly as she explained things to Lu Yin.

Lu Yin then understood that this night was not a real marriage, but just a ceremony that would force the Celestial Frost Sect to give up.

"Even if we have not yet completed the third stage, I am already your wife." Long Xi looked at Lu Yin in a serious manner. Lu Yin was able to see his own reflection in her eyes.

"From now on, although you and I won't be officially married, we will still be considered husband and wife. If I use you to get through this difficult situation, I won’t let you down. In my life, I, Long Xi, will only be your wife." Long Xi spoke in an indifferent manner, almost as if she was talking about something that had nothing at all to do with Lu Yin.

Lu Yin felt somewhat depressed. He looked at Long Xi and saw sadness filling her eyes, as well as a bit of despair. What was going on? Does the woman have a sweetheart?

"Do you know why I’m willing to marry you?" Long Xi looked at Lu Yin and asked.

Lu Yin replied, "To get through some problems?"

Long Xi's eyes darkened. "Because, you also have seven in your name."

After finishing speaking, she extinguished the candles. "Please keep your distance from me."

Lu Yin looked at Long Xi's back. This woman was so beautiful, but she also seemed rather bleak. She had to already have a sweetheart.

Lu Yin was spending his wedding night in the bridal chamber and standing guard over a beautiful woman, but he could not do anything. The situation left him speechless. Life really was unpredictable.

The stars shone down, their spots of light looking like something from a picture as their silvery light entered the room.

Lu Yin was resting and behaving himself when a familiar fragrance entered his nose. He opened his eyes and saw Long Xi standing over by the window with her back to him.

Her sea-blue hair fell down her back. Long Xi turned her head to look at Lu Yin. Her eyes were so bright and beautiful in the light of the night. She raised a hand and pricked one of her delicate fingertips. There was a soft roar as a drop of blood shot towards Lu Yin.

He was confused, but Long Xi gently explained, "That’s my blood essence. If you absorb it, your true identity won’t be revealed, and it can also improve your strength."

Hearing that his strength could rise from this, Lu Yin did not refuse it. Blood essence was not a poison, so he allowed his body to absorb the blood essence.

Long Xi stared at Lu Yin for an intense moment before turning to leave the room. Although she did not like the person, he would be her husband, so she would help him as much as possible. Also, with how high she needed to climb, she needed to make sure that he remained able to match up to her.

For a woman, her husband would be the most important person. No matter what Long Xi felt about Lu Yin, deep down she was slowly accepting the man.

Lu Yin has no time to be concerned with what Long Xi was thinking at the moment. From the moment that the blood essence was absorbed into his body, his blood began to boil. This was not blood from an ordinary member of the White Dragon Clan, but the purest blood essence of their princess. After this blood essence had entered his body, and an indescribable power had descended, and a giant python had mysteriously appeared behind Lu Yin that extended into the ground and into the sky.

The python was like a phantom in a photo. After it appeared behind Lu Yin, it slowly grew.

Outside the room, Long Xi was not surprised at this development. Her blood essence was able to release the power of the Python Ancestor, which meant that it was powerful enough to raise a person’s cultivation. As for how much the person would improve, that all depended on how much they could personally endure.

The Python Ancestor's power was not something that an ordinary body could withstand.

Everything that happened was watched by Elder Qing Xing from outside White Mountain. Elder Qing Xing was furious, as he had clearly watched Long Xi hand over her blood essence to that youth. For the White Dragon Clan, this was no different from a bride losing her virginity on her wedding night. This meant that the moment that the phantom python had appeared, Long Xi was no longer a girl, but a woman.

Everything that the Celestial Frost Sect had schemed had failed, and Elder Qing Xing left the mountain with a livid expression on his face.

Long Xi watched for a long time as the vision of the Python Ancestor's grew bigger and bigger. Her eyes grew sad. She already knew what this meant. That person would disappear forever. No, that was not right. He had already disappeared and could never return.

The vision of the giant python piercing the ground and the sky appeared fast, and then disappeared just as fast.

In the distance, Long Kui sighed, and the Envoy level beast beneath his feet that was buried in the ground trembled. The power of the Python Ancestor frightened the beast to the point that it did not dare even look at the vision.

Inside the bridal chamber, the vision of the Python Ancestor did not disappear, but transformed into a stream of qi that shot into Lu Yin's body. This qi replaced the star energy cycling through his channels. In the blink of an eye, Lu Yin completed his 14th cycle as a Hunter. Also, the energy did not stop, but continued for another cycle.

The power of the Python Ancestor entered Lu Yin’s body, and his body was subjected to a terrifying pressure. He closed his eyes and saw a massive python that he could barely see the end of. The more he looked at it, the more confident he was that he could not see the end. The pressure on his body increased.

The 15th cycle finished, and Lu Yin's body tensed up. His veins popped up across his body, and a trace of blood broke through his skin and stained the floor of the room red.

Another blink of an eye, and the 16th cycle finished. Lu Yin’s skin cracked, and it seemed as though he was unable to bear the pressure any longer.

Suddenly, an earth-shattering roar echoed in his head. This was the Python Ancestor's roar. Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood and placed his right hand on the ground to hold himself up. The power of the Python Ancestor disappeared from within his body.

Lu Yin stared at the blood stains on the floor, a bit incredulous at what had just happened.

He cultivated so hard while in the Fifth Mainland. He had done his best to improve his cultivation and had endured the agony of refining his body with flames. Yet in this place, he actually managed to complete three cycles with just a drop of blood essence. This was just too fast.

A power that was able to help someone improve their cultivation was something that belonged to Progenitors. There were Progenitors in this place, and unless Lu Yin was wrong, that huge python he had seen had the power of a Progenitor.

A python had reached the level of a Progenitor? Along those lines, the White Dragon Clan was able to use the Python Ancestor's power, so were they descendants of the Python Ancestor?

The Fifth Mainland had no Progenitors, and though the Sixth Mainland had three Progenitors, Lu Yin had never seen them. He had only ever sensed their immense power. However, if he was making a comparison, it felt like the Sixth Mainland’s Progenitor of Combat was not as strong as this Python Ancestor. The power he had felt from the two was completely different.

The White Dragon Clan had this Python Ancestor, and were able to utilize the power of python. Since the Celestial Frost Sect was able to suppress the White Dragon Clan, they had to have their own Progenitor.

This was rather horrifying. There were four ruling powers in the Higher Realm, so did that mean that there were at least four Progenitors in this place? And that none of them were any weaker than the Python Ancestor?

The more he thought about it, the more terrified Lu Yin became. This place vastly outstripped the Fifth Mainland, and likely even the Sixth Mainland. Just where was he?

Lu Yin suddenly remembered the incident that had led to the Innerverse and Outerverse being cut off from each other: the Sea King had broken through the Upper Three Gates. Could this place be what was behind the Upper Three Gates?

Lu Yin heard footsteps, and Long Xi walked into the room. She looked at Lu Yin with a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

Lu Yin stood up and coughed twice. "Thank you."

Long Xi stared at Lu Yin. "How did you do?"

Lu Yin answered, "I’ve completed the 16th cycle as a Hunter."

It seemed strange that this place referred to cultivation realms in the same manner as the Fifth Mainland, but it led Lu Yin to be even more confident that this place had ties to the Fifth Mainland.

Long Xi frowned. "That’s all your body could handle?”

Lu Yin nodded and gave an honest response.

Long Xi was disappointed. The blood of the White Dragon Clan’s princess was potent enough to elevate a new Hunter to the peak of the realm unless their physical strength was lacking too much.

This person had only improved his cultivation a small amount, but his body had not been able to bear any more. This was a pretty bad result.

There were some people who could use this challenge to leapfrog a realm, while others were not able to win even when given the strongest tools. From Long Xi’s point of view, Lu Yin obviously was one of the latter.

"Pay more attention to cultivating your physical strength in the future. Improving your cultivation realm is not the only thing to focus on," Long Xi said lightly.

She assumed that Lu Yin's early training had focused entirely on improving his cultivation realm, but then she remembered the attack with 150 Stacks that he had unleashed earlier in the day. The Overlaying Stacks Path required a great deal of physical strength.

This thought led her to look at Lu Yin strangely. If his physical strength was not poor, then why had he improved so little from her blood essence?

OMA's Thoughts

Translated By: OMA

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA