Chapter 114: Sister Axiao, I want you...

Electric sparks crackled and popped within the sleeves of his dragon-patterned python robe, the surging energy so intense it nearly burst the cuffs at the seams.

He clearly delighted in this name.

Wang Cheng leaped from the "scrutinizing" door panel, soaring ten feet into the air as lightly as a falling leaf. It felt as though his very essence had broken free from the heavy shackles of his physical form through the "Bridge of Heaven and Earth," leaving him feeling liberated and unrestrained—a world of difference compared to his past self. Even though his raw physical strength remained largely unchanged, the mere presence of this divinely-aided "Unity of Heaven and Man" allowed him to effortlessly best three opponents at once, easily crushing his former self.

At the apex of his leap, he did not fall back down. Instead, like the "Immortal’s Rope" trick from the repertoire of a master illusionist, he used his hands and feet to scramble rapidly into the high sky, aided by the swirling clouds, rain, and breeze around him. In the blink of an eye, he had climbed higher than the three-story pavilion in the Fenglin Studio where the "Zhou-grabbing" ritual to divine a child's destiny was held.

Wang Cheng discovered that by combining the White Water Man's "Gathering Beasts and Calling Birds, Enlightening All Creatures" with the Attendant Lord's "Summoning Wind and Rain, Commanding Thunder and Lightning," he could temporarily animate the various soldiers and beings around him. Wind, rain, thunder, lightning, fish, turtles, shrimp, crabs, and even vegetation—all became his army! Though not as potent as permanent enlightenment, it was incredibly convenient for on-the-fly conjuring.

Just then, it felt as if countless hands were supporting him, allowing him to easily borrow leverage in mid-air. One day, perhaps, commanding the guards of the Three Realms, receiving the Five Emperors, and directing the thunder and lightning would no longer be a mere dream.

Furthermore, while he had previously been able to permanently enlighten his guardian spirits only through brute force—knowing the "how" but not the "why"—he could now use "Listening to Thunder" to follow the inner voices of all things, finding the gaps to enter and spark their intelligence. He could achieve far superior results with less than half the effort of the past. His spiritual capacity to host these guardian spirits had also increased significantly. If he wished, he could now enlighten a yokai like the clam-maiden Shui Rou, the ancestral guardian of Huang Yuanzhou’s family, without any trouble—and without having to suffer from the numbing of his legs like Huang Yuanzhou did.

Of course, the fundamental spiritual responses of official ranks were merely the baseline; without deep cultivation of unique arts and secret orthodox methods, they were insufficient to conquer enemies. What concerned Wang Cheng most was how much his combat prowess had been bolstered by his own heart-light and rank after reaching the Sixth Grade, especially regarding the secret method, "Ocean-Crossing Star-Tugging Technique."

He chanted: "Eight Awesome Divine Resonances, Spiritual Strategy of Jade Script. Summon the Dragon to Bring Rain, Gather Breath to Collect Mist. Decree!"

The dragon-patterned python robe, which had only been able to manifest on the surface of his skin when he was at the Seventh Grade, now surged deep into his body. Wang Cheng’s eyes suddenly transformed into sharp, vertical pupils; a dragon tail covered in green scales sprouted from his back, and shimmering, razor-sharp claws extended from his hands and feet.

With a slight release of wind and thunder energy, he rocketed into the sky. Cloaked by the vast clouds and rain, his body swelled to twice its size, and he clenched his fists, hammering them fiercely toward the heavens.

*BOOM!!!*

It was as if a giant spirit were beating a war drum. He punched a gaping hole through the curtain of rain above, and the raindrops within a hundred-foot radius followed the force of his blow, reversing their flow and surging upward against the heavens.

The dragon robe, cultivated through the "Ocean-Crossing Star-Tugging Technique," had clearly reached a new level. With his natal star official inhabiting his body, from skin to flesh, he could now exert strength far beyond that of a mortal, echoing the spirit-possession style of Pu Shouying’s "Eight-Gate Golden Lock Formation."

In mid-air, Wang Cheng exhaled a long trail of white mist and tilted backward, falling straight down. The two child-spirits, Qingfeng and Honglong, manifested once more, catching him and landing him lightly on the ground. With these two guardian spirits, Wang Cheng never again had to worry about falling to his death from a mast dozens of meters high.

At this rate, perhaps his wind and thunder energy would not manifest as wings, but as wheels of wind and thunder? That sounded even cooler!

"I’m still being held back by the snake skin of the Money-Flowered Snake. If I had used the dragon-snake skin left behind by Sister A-Xiao when she first took human form to craft the python robe, the effect would have been far greater. It would have turned me into a full-fledged dragon without any issues. Upgrading the dragon robe needs to be put on the agenda."

Wang Cheng flipped onto his feet. Yan Yunxiao was already approaching, her jade feet dancing gracefully over the misty rain.

"Little Cheng, impressive! To break through to the Sixth Grade on your first attempt at dual-job cultivation. You were only a few days behind my human form. Though not a true genius like the jealous ghosts and gods next door, nor a genius of pure hard work, you’re at least a genius with a deep background—that’s already quite remarkable."

She took Wang Cheng’s hand, inspecting him up and down, and couldn't resist stroking his dragon tail to confirm he had truly broken through and was, in fact, significantly stronger than a standard Sixth Grade. If Tang Miaofu, the West Lake boatwoman who had been poisoned, were standing here now, she wouldn't even need to use poison; he could defeat her with ease.

After Yunxiao broke free, her dragon form and human form no longer burdened each other. Two days ago, her human form—the pearl fisher—had successfully reached the Sixth Grade, a step ahead of Wang Cheng. During the recent chaos in the East Sea, that human body, free from the territorial constraints of local deities, had been putting out fires everywhere, executing missions that the dragon form found inconvenient to handle directly. When dividing the spoils, Wang Cheng had specifically brought her into the Green-Clad Gang and the Baoshan Thousand-Household Office, appointing her captain of the wind-sail warship *Eight Treasures* to secure two artifacts: the Silver Kind Servant and the Golden Evil Master.

During this time, she had been patrolling the East Sea, asserting dominance and suppressing the arrogance of foreign pirates while attracting many excellent recruits for Wang Cheng.

Wang Cheng inwardly grumbled that she still didn't know how to give a proper compliment, but remembering he had serious business to attend to, he didn't immediately ask for his favor. Instead, he sought her advice on the confusion he encountered when the two official positions failed to merge:

"Sister A-Xiao, with your family’s deep heritage, have you ever encountered anyone who successfully merged a new profession? What am I missing to fuse the positions of White Water Man and Attendant Lord?"

Yunxiao led him into the garden pavilion and sat down, tapping her foot lightly. Her internal officials manifested automatically to serve them tea. She took a sip of fine Wuyi rock tea and said:

"As for examples of successful mergers of divine official positions, I do know of one. You must realize that the founding of every dynasty in history is essentially a massive divine ritual. By using at least a national-level 'Symbolic Artifact' and aligning the official rank system with celestial phenomena, Daoist energy is injected into the nation—which is a copy of the cosmos—making it a reality. Over time, many official titles established by ancient states evolved into various 'official position ranks.' Many others vanished into the river of history because they existed for too short a time or were replaced by reforms. For instance, it is recorded that in the late Han Dynasty, Cao Cao specially appointed 'Gra-Digger Middle Generals' and 'Gold-Touching Captains' to plunder tombs. At the time, these titles were mere flashes in the pan and did not endure as true official positions."

Wang Cheng retrieved several plates of snacks from the eye of his Four Seas Treasure Coin and placed them attentively before Yunxiao, chiming in helpfully: "And then? The 'Gold-Touching Captain' lineage exists in the world today, doesn't it? Even if they are rarely seen, their Symbolic Artifact, the 'Gold-Touching Amulet,' is world-famous."

Yunxiao took a dainty bite of a soft, sweet nine-layer cake before continuing: "You’ve heard of Yang Lianzhenjia, the evil monk of the Yuan Empire, right? On the surface, he was a Buddhist monk, but in reality, he was a grave robber who plundered the six imperial tombs of the Southern Song and countless wealthy graves. His most infamous act was exhuming Emperor Lizong of Song, severing his skull to fashion a 'Kapala bowl' as a drinking vessel, which he presented to the Yuan Emperor and which was passed down through the Golden Family for generations. It eventually became a Symbolic Artifact, only to be recovered and reburied after our current dynasty conquered the capital. It is said that among the death-sworn men Yang Lianzhenjia kept, some used the massive imperial divine energy of the Han Dynasty to fuse the land-based positions of 'Earth-Master' and 'Mountain-Chaser' into the long-lost 'Gold-Touching Captain.' That is how they were able to plunder great tombs with such success."

"My advice is to try to sense what that new official position actually is, and then seek out the Symbolic Artifacts strongly associated with it, especially the 'Hair-Raising Seal,' 'Gold-Touching Amulet,' or 'Crouching Tiger Waist-Token' that represent the identity of that office."

The words struck Wang Cheng like a bolt of lightning; he suddenly understood: "When performing the inauguration ritual, the stronger the connection between the Symbolic Artifact and the official position, the better. While generic items like gold and silver coins can be used, they are of no help when it comes to fusing positions. This must be what I’m missing! And I believe it’s best to trace the source and find the earliest representative figures; that is how I can best ensure a high success rate for the artifact."

Having found the solution, Wang Cheng was in high spirits. He looked up, his gaze burning, at the cold, stunningly beautiful dragon lady.

"Why are you looking at me? Let’s get this straight: I am quite poor. I don’t have any treasures representing ancient official identities, and well, I don’t have money either." Yunxiao, who had been happily eating her snacks, hurriedly clutched her small pouch embroidered with silver lotuses, looking at him with suspicion.

"No, Sister, you do!" Wang Cheng leaned forward with conviction, staring straight into her flickering, bright eyes, and said, word by word: "We had an agreement. It is time to fulfill your promise. Anything you have, you would give to me. Whoever reneges on their word is a puppy."

Seeing Wang Cheng’s solemn demeanor, Yunxiao finally realized his request was likely not simple at all. Struggling to maintain her usual cold composure, she nervously toyed with her small pouch and the corner of her dress, stammering: "Tell me... what is it you want?"

She felt a tinge of regret for having spoken so recklessly back then. *What do I do? What if Little Cheng asks for the dowry my father left me—the three million, eight hundred and twenty-seven thousand, six hundred and sixty-eight taels and thirty-two copper coins?*

*That might be manageable, but what if he also wants the seventy-two cabinets of precious gowns, phoenix crowns, and ceremonial robes left by my mother? The thirty chests of jewelry? The two hundred pairs of silver-threaded cloud shoes and gold-embroidered slippers? The hundred thousand acres of fertile land in Minzhou?*

*What about the one hundred and fifteen bushels of pearls left by my eldest brother, the twelve vaults of Wei-Jin ancient coins, the two hundred weapons used by famous ancient warriors?*

*What about the forty-five flawless jade discs, thirty-eight coral trees, twenty jade Buddhas, and five hundred and forty-three paintings and calligraphies by famous masters left by my second brother?*

*What about the eight hundred bolts of four-warp-twisted gauze, two hundred bolts of dragon-silk, eighty chests of porcelain and jade, and the ivory-carved thousand-labor bed left by my third brother?*

*If he takes all that, the inventory of the Grade-A vault in Minzhou will be completely empty! No—don’t!*

Wang Cheng, a pauper whose family had only been wealthy for one generation, could never imagine how pathetic his own financial status was compared to a long-lived species that truly pampered its daughters—even with the thirty thousand taels of pocket money his old man gave him annually. Even with the limit of his imagination, he did not know that his "considerable" wealth couldn't even reach the toes of someone like her.

At this moment, his eyes were fixed only on the small silver garment at the dragon lady's chest. Summoning his courage, he spoke with the finality of one facing death: "Sister A-Xiao, I! Want! You!"

Before he could even finish, Yunxiao—who knows what she was thinking—was shocked, a flush of crimson rising to her cheeks. She extended her small hands in a panic and shoved him hard in the chest: "Want me? No! This is moving too fast!"

With a burst of draconic power, a loud "BOOM" echoed through the air, and a black shadow went flying high into the sky, soaring straight out of the courtyard.