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Chapter 272: Double the Arrogance

The exhaustion from burning his blood was intense. Even with a dragon's strong recovery abilities, it would take time to heal, especially since his body was still fundamentally that of a frail human.

Old Man Sikong, leaning on his cane, approached Ling Ao and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

Ling Ao felt a warm surge of qi flow into his meridians, soothing the pain in his limbs and bones from his extreme frailty. However, the deep-seated weakness in his blood persisted. This would have to heal gradually on its own.

"Esteemed teacher..." he murmured, unwilling to lift his head, "I've let you down."

"Silly child," Old Man Sikong said with a smile, patting his head. "Making it to the top four is already enough to satisfy me. The only thing you've let down is your own ambition."

Ling Ao stayed quiet, keeping his head bowed.

Old Man Sikong said no more, letting Ling Ao walk away in his dejection as he himself returned to the spectator stand.

It wasn't that he didn't care about his disciple. He knew Ling Ao was prideful and ambitious, and any extra attention at this moment of failure would only make him feel more dejected.

This was essential training for strengthening one's character and mindset. It was something he had to overcome on his own.

"Haha, your disciple did well! This only disciple of yours made it to the top four. But why does he look so sad? Did you scold him?" Di Nufeng, who sat next to Old Man Sikong on the spectator stand, asked.

"Why would I scold him?" replied Old Man Sikong. "He's just struggling to accept the failure himself."

"Your disciple is still not as good as mine," Di Nufeng said, shaking her head.

"Hah, your disciple's chances of winning aren't that great either," Old Man Sikong chuckled without getting angry.

"I'm not talking about winning or losing," Di Nufeng replied. "Trust me, even if my disciple spouted arrogant words and was crushed in defeat, he would still step down from the stage with a silly smile, not taking the defeat to heart."

Isn't that just being shameless? Why are you so proud of this? Old Man Sikong blinked, thinking to himself.

Of course, as an old man who had cultivated for several hundred years, he knew that this kind of character was also a form of strength.

In the long journey of cultivation, who would win every battle? Since ancient times, the truly powerful have had the trait of not being defeated by failure.

I hope Ling Ao can get through this. Old Man Sikong thought to himself.

...

Ling Ao walked by himself to a corner of the mountain wall outside the public square on Heaven-Reaching Peak. He sat down, leaned against the rock, and gazed at the sky.

WHY?

Must I have cultivation aptitude to win?

He had joined Mount Shu at a very young age and had been following Old Man Sikong ever since. His teacher's evaluation of him was that he had above-average aptitude. With a lifetime of diligent effort and perhaps an extraordinary encounter, he might be able to touch upon the Great Dao.

As for prodigies like Jiang Yuebai, she had been showered with great expectations since childhood and was destined to become a future leader of the Mount Shu Sect.

But Ling Ao refused to accept this fate.

Why was his life determined to be inferior from the very start?

With the determination to excel, he dedicated himself to cultivation, striving to compete with others. Since achieving the Body Refinement Realm, he had set his sights on matching the prodigies, using them as benchmarks to push himself.

In the first realm, he could still keep up with them, but by the second realm, the gap widened. By the third realm, he had fallen so far behind that he couldn't even see their backs in this race.

When news of Xu Ziyang reaching the fifth realm spread, he was still stuck at the pinnacle of the Spiritual Awareness Realm.

Actually, at his age, being able to reach the pinnacle of the Spiritual Awareness Realm showed that he wasn't weak. For instance, Shang Ziliang, who was at the same level as him, was already considered outstanding among the younger disciples of Mount Shu. Lin Bei, on the other hand, had only reached this level due to a fortunate encounter[1].

But Ling Ao was in so much pain.

Like what his name meant, he was full of pride, yet he had to endure being more inferior than others.

Old Man Sikong had tried multiple times to counsel him, saying that cultivation aptitude was predestined. Even if one was lacking in natural talent, it was still possible to surpass others through perseverance and hard work.

That was exactly what Ling Ao believed.

He continued spending every day cultivating arduously, yet he remained unnoticed.

But things changed one day—his teacher successfully fished a dragon for the Mount Shu Sect.

That was when Ling Ao felt that his opportunity had arrived.

If cultivation aptitude was predestined and could only be changed by some extraordinary opportunity or encounter, the True Dragon had to be one of those encounters.

Ling Ao refused to believe in fate.

He wanted to fight for his own destiny.

Being a member of the Solitude Peak, he was near the dragon. Through some ancient books, he found rituals about draconic descendants worshiping True Dragons in ancient times.

Since then, he prayed to the True Dragon daily.

Finally, through his persistent efforts, the True Dragon blessed him with the Dragon-Blood Body Refinement.

The Dragon-Blood Body Refinement was not done by bathing in dragon blood. Instead, the True Dragon would infuse a drop of its blood essence into his body. This essence blood would boil and merge within him, constantly refining his own blood, rapidly enhancing his body's strength.

In ancient times, True Dragons used this method to reward and empower their loyal servants. Now, Ling Ao had received such an opportunity, elevating his physical body to an extraordinary level.

He felt that he had finally returned to the same starting line as those prodigies and was determined to prove that he was not inferior to them!

But shortly after, another incident occurred.

The White Dragon gave not one person, but two, its primordial dragon scales.

And those two did nothing to earn it. They didn't pray to the True Dragon like he did. In fact, it was the True Dragon that begged them to accept the legacy.

His esteemed teacher instructed him to keep this matter absolutely confidential.

Still, he couldn't understand this.

Why did that person and that fish get better things than him without even doing anything?

If the Dragon-Blood Body Refinement was a blessing that the True Dragon bestowed to its servants, then the gift of the primordial dragon scale was how the True Dragon imparted its cultivation legacy. If this were an immortal sect, he would be the servant while the others would be the successors.

These thoughts consumed him while he had no idea about the Dragon Orb. By the same analogy, obtaining the Dragon Orb would be like receiving the position of sect leader.

Of course, in this era, there were no longer dragon servants. All of these were just methods to enhance power.

However, the Dragon-Blood Body Refinement only enhanced the body once, with limited potential for continuous growth.

The primordial dragon scale was different. With it, one could continue cultivating endlessly just by breathing, promising boundless prospects.

If you say that I am no better than Chu Liang from the Silver Sword Peak, I can accept that since he does have an ultimate-tier Golden Core. But how am I inferior to a fish? These were his thoughts then.

Anger surged in Ling Ao's heart. He began racking his brains, searching for martial arts techniques, seeking enchanted tools that belonged to the dragons, and trying every possible way to increase his strength. He wanted to trample all those prodigies beneath his feet at the Mount Shu Summit!

To prove that he was not weaker than anyone!

Then, Jiang Yuebai shattered his dreams effortlessly with an immortal art.

Anyone with an eye could see that she was keeping up the engagement only to conceal her abilities. With her cultivation and divine techniques, it wouldn't have been difficult for her to defeat him if she had gone all out.

She didn't even take out her enchanted tool.

And all his painstaking preparations seemed like a joke.

Was one's fate truly predestined?

Just as he was sighing in despair, a figure in white robes suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Junior Brother Ling, it's just a minor defeat. Why are you so disheartened?" the person asked with concern.

"What?" Ling Ao looked up and asked.

"I have an idea that will give you a chance to become the head disciple of Mount Shu. Are you interested?"

...

"Senior Brother Xu will win!"

"Senior Brother Xu will win!"

"Senior Brother Xu will win!"

When Xu Ziyang stepped onto the stage, chants of support and cheers erupted all around, sounding like the wind on the mountain and the crash of tsunami waves.

He was also dressed in white, standing with a posture so straight that his back resembled a sword. His handsome face exuded an impressive presence, and his eyes shone brightly like lightning. Yet, his expression remained cold and hard as ice.

His popularity on Mount Shu was always second only to Jiang Yuebai's. Given Fairy Jiang's beauty, it could be said that Xu Ziyang received the most recognition purely based on his strength.

Most people believed he deserved the title of head disciple.

Moreover, his opponent was Chu Liang, someone who had very few supporters.

Only Lin Bei and a few others cheered for Chu Liang from the sidelines, chanting slogans like, "Chu Liang, Chu Liang! Mount Shu's strongest!" and "Chu Liang, Chu Liang! Handsome and elegant!"

But their efforts were in vain, completely drowned out by the overwhelming support for Xu Ziyang.

Some even shouted things like, "Chu Liang, Chu Liang, insane and deranged," trying to disrupt their rhythm and break their resistance.

In the midst of overwhelming support for the other side, Chu Liang stepped onto the stage with a confident smile.

Amidst the clamor, he raised his left hand, tilted his head back, and pressed a finger to his lips.

It was the same gesture Ling Ao had made.

Silence!

The entire crowd gasped in shock!

A brief moment of silence hung in the air.

Despite the knowledge that Ling Ao had made the same gesture in response to the crowd previously and faced humiliation, Chu Liang boldly replicated it. This act demanded even more courage.

He displayed double the arrogance!

1. JUST HAD TO DISS LIN BEI HUH ☜