“Cause and effect?!”
But upon hearing this term,
Huai Lie and the Earth God immediately trembled with shock.
“Thank you, Honored One! I, this little dragon, will never forget this kindness for the rest of my life!!”
Huai Lie knelt down once more.
Luckily, Lu Chen was quick this time. He reached out and held him up. “Alright, old Dragon King. When a god kneels to a mortal, my lifespan bar, no matter how thick, can’t handle you kneeling like that!”
Feeling both ashamed and grateful, Huai Lie repeatedly apologized, “This little dragon was too rash, this little dragon was too rash!”
To entrust such a heavy responsibility, he had patiently lurked for a hundred years… Lu Chen looked at the old dragon before him, and a sense of respect couldn’t help but arise in his heart.
He smiled calmly and turned his gaze to the four floating dragon pearls. “So, right now, I just need to drop blood on them to claim ownership?”
“Exactly, Honored One. Just one drop of your essence blood for each pearl is enough.”
“I wish I hadn’t gone to the hospital first…”
Lu Chen shook his head as he looked at his bandaged wound.
“Oh well, it’s not like I can’t spare one more drop.”
He bit his fingertip and let the blood fall onto the four dragon pearls.
The blood slowly seeped into the pearls. The previously calm dragon spirits suddenly grew restless. Light swirled within the pearls, as if living creatures were eager to break free from their shells.
Huai Lie lightly waved his dragon claw. A golden light enveloped the four pearls, and he shouted in a deep voice, “My children, quickly recognize the Honored One as your master and take your proper places!”
“RAAAAH!!!”
In the next instant, four clear and resonant dragon roars echoed within his inner palace!
Four ethereal dragon-shaped shadows leaped out from the pearls and, in a flash, disappeared into Lu Chen’s body.
Among them, the son of the [Yangtze River Dragon King], who specialized in defense, settled into the five vital organs in his chest.
The son of the [Yellow River Dragon King], who specialized in increasing attack power, coiled within Lu Chen’s hands.
The son of the [Huai River Dragon King], who specialized in mana recovery, settled into the spine of his back.
And finally, the son of the [Ji River Dragon King], who specialized in purifying innate talent and bone structure, settled into Lu Chen’s eyes.
After the light faded, Lu Chen looked down at himself. There was no visible change on the outside.
But very quickly, he noticed four mysterious connections inside his body. It felt… like having four special types of “Qi.”
They were still chaotic and without clear consciousness.
“They really are dragon spirits that haven’t developed intelligence yet,” Lu Chen thought to himself.
Just then, his own spiritual sea and physical body began to undergo dramatic changes.
First, his injured fingertip felt an strange itch, as if the flesh was regenerating wildly. He looked down. The wound he had just bitten was healing at a visible speed. In the blink of an eye, it was completely healed, without leaving a single trace.
Lu Chen’s pupils contracted. He quickly tore off the bandages he had just applied and saw that those wounds had healed too.
This was the power of the [Huai River Dragon King]!
Next, Lu Chen suddenly felt his mind become completely clear and bright!
A cooling sensation shot straight through the crown of his head, like a spring of clear water washing over his spirit, bringing an indescribable sense of clarity and relaxation.
And that wasn’t all.
Looking inward at his spiritual sea, he saw it churning restlessly!
It was as if a blue dragon was raising waves, driving the spiritual tide forward.
In the next moment, a shocking sight appeared before Lu Chen’s eyes.
There, in his spiritual sea, a second spiritual lamp was slowly taking shape.
Although the flame was still small, the base was stable, and the light was beginning to bloom!
BOOM!!
A surge of immense power erupted from his spiritual sea, rushing like a flood through his limbs, bones, and every acupoint in his body.
The feeling of abundant power made Lu Chen let out an involuntary and comfortable groan.
— A Second-Rank Spirit Adept!
Thanks to the effect of the [Ji River Dragon King] cleansing his innate talent and bones,
Lu Chen had finally broken through the peak of the First Rank, perfectly entering the Second Rank.
Although a Spirit Adept’s magical power comes entirely from the cleansing of a deity’s divine power,
it’s their innate talent that almost entirely determines the conversion rate of that divine power.
And it was precisely this upgrade to his crucial talent that allowed Lu Chen to knock on the door of the Second Rank.
With a thought, acting on a whim, Lu Chen concentrated all his magical power onto his fingertip and slashed it through the air.
SSSHRRIIIP!
A sharp burst of energy, like an invisible blade, tore through the air, leaving a clean cut several inches deep in the ground. The cross-section was as smooth as a mirror.
This was precisely the effect of the [Yellow River Dragon King], honing his edge to sharpness!
Lu Chen’s heart surged with excitement. He turned back to Huai Lie and crooked his finger. “Come on, old Dragon King, punch me in the gut!”
“Ah? This…” Huai Lie was stunned and about to refuse.
Lu Chen thought for a second, then waved his hand. “Never mind, you’re not quite suitable. Earth God, you do it! Hit me with everything you’ve got!”
“Honored One, this is absolutely not okay!” the Earth God said, waving his hands in a panic.
“No worries, just let me test out these new abilities I’ve got!” Lu Chen sank his energy into his dantian, settled into a firm horse stance, and said, “Bring it on!”
“This…” The Earth God looked troubled.
Huai Lie said thoughtfully, “Since the Honored One wishes to test himself, you should obey his command, Earth God.”
“But this humble god is afraid of accidentally injuring the Honored One…”
“Don’t be arrogant, just come at me!”
“Then… please forgive my rudeness, Honored One, be careful!”
The Earth God took a silent breath, tucked in his sleeves, and in the next second, his seemingly hunched figure flashed forward, closing in on Lu Chen with fierce speed!
“Yaah!” The Earth God even added his own sound effect.
His skinny arm bulged with muscle. The fist, containing terrifying power, swung in a full arc and landed squarely on Lu Chen’s stomach.
There was a loud WHUMP!
Followed by a PFFT!
Lu Chen immediately spat out a mouthful of old blood.
Damn it. He turned his head and stared at the Earth God in disbelief. “Hey… old man, are you sure you’re a Earth God?!”
The Earth God was so scared his face turned ashen. He stumbled back several steps, bowing continuously. “Forgive me, Honored One! This humble god deserves to die! This humble god deserves to die!”
“Ah, I’m just joking, just joking. I can still take it.” Lu Chen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. He felt like his insides were churning.
Luckily, the power of the [Huai River Dragon King] automatically activated, and his injuries were quickly recovering.
“Hey, Earth God, what level of Spirit Adept would you say your strength is roughly equivalent to?”
Lu Chen had always wanted a reference point to measure his own level.
“Honored One, that’s… hard to say. Under normal circumstances, this humble god should be equivalent to the Third Rank. However, when a celestial spirit attacks a mortal, they are suppressed by the Heavenly Dao. The greater the mortal’s destiny, the stronger the suppression. This humble god feels that punch was at most around the strength of an early Second Rank.”
“There’s a rule like that?” Lu Chen was surprised, but he couldn’t rule out the possibility that the Earth God was just flattering him. He thought for a moment and said, “No wonder Ao Guang’s thirteenth son was killed by a Sixth Rank Spirit Adept. If this is the reason, then it’s not so hard to understand.”
Huai Lie also nodded. “The Honored One is perceptive. This is a unique favor from the Heavenly Dao that only humans enjoy. If we celestial beings attack a mortal, we are suppressed by the Heavenly Dao. However, if a mortal attacks a celestial being, there is no such restriction. But… mortals have a relatively lower ceiling. Only when they reach above the Ninth Rank and achieve the realm of Great Sage do they enter that state of ‘swallowing a single golden elixir, my fate is in my own hands, not Heaven’s.’
Before reaching that point, if I may be so bold, if the current me were to encounter a human Sixth Rank, I’m afraid that person wouldn’t be able to gain any advantage.”
Lu Chen said, “So, even weakened this much, mortal Spirit Adepts still aren’t all that impressive.”
Huai Lie smiled. “Honored One, the Three Realms have been clearly separated since ancient times. Conflicts across realms are extremely rare. You don’t need to worry.
After all, with the Heavenly Dao in place, whoever strikes first will inevitably suffer its backlash.
In the past, that brave Sixth Rank warrior used a secret technique to trade his life for the Dragon King’s thirteenth son, and he perished as a result.
But even if he hadn’t perished, he would have suffered the Heavenly Dao’s backlash afterward.
That’s because the Dragon King’s thirteenth son, although wild and unruly in temperament, killing his own kind indiscriminately, strictly followed the rules when it came to humans and never harmed a mortal’s life.
Otherwise, he would have become an evil dragon.
Killing an evil dragon isn’t a crime; it’s actually a great act of merit.
Perhaps that Sixth Rank warrior wouldn’t have died.”
Lu Chen asked in return, “So it’s the same for humans? If there’s a truly wicked and evil person, can celestial spirits act on behalf of Heaven?”
The Earth God nodded. “The Honored One is absolutely right. However, even if such an evildoer exists, unless their crimes are so heinous that they might invite a heavenly execution from the Ministry of Thunder, most of the time, they are left alone. After all, when a person dies, the Underworld judges their sins, which fits the saying, ‘Heaven’s vengeance is slow, but sure.’
But… there are exceptions to every rule. If a celestial spirit is determined to attack a mortal, and is willing to offset the Heavenly Dao’s punishment with their own great merit, it’s not impossible. But merit is to celestial spirits what air is to mortals—who would so easily squander it? In the end, as long as you can bear the cause and effect, there are no taboos!”
“In the end, it’s all about strength and power,” Lu Chen thought to himself. On the surface, he just smiled calmly.
“Then, that punch you just threw, will it cost you some of your merit?” he asked, looking at the Earth God.
“Uh… Honored One, you’re joking. We were just having a normal sparring match, a friendly exchange. How could that be considered an attack?”
“I get it. Suppression is one thing, but as long as you don’t kill them, it doesn’t count as attacking, right?”
“Hehe.” The Earth God smiled sheepishly and said nothing.
Lu Chen made his own assessment: He hadn’t used any magical power just now. He had taken the Earth God’s full-powered Second Rank punch purely with the defensive power of the [Yangtze River Dragon King]. Although he was injured, it wasn’t a serious wound.
After all, by the time they had finished chatting, most of his injuries had already healed.
If he used both magical power for defense and his defensive ability together, he figured that even if a Spirit Adept of the same rank came at him, they’d only be able to do scratch damage.
Against a Third Rank Spirit Adept, he could probably avoid being defeated.
Whether he could win was another matter.
After all, there’s a whole major rank difference.
He’d have to actually fight to find out!
Thinking this far,
Dammit, Lu Chen felt like he was getting drunk on power…
“No way, I suddenly really want to find someone to fight!! Preferably someone stronger than me, but I come out alive and they’re dead!…”
