Chapter 114: Returning Home in Glory

The Azure Dragon let out a series of resonant roars, soaring through the boundless spiritual world. Wherever it passed, it stirred up mighty winds and thunder.

Gao Wu felt his spirit shattered by the dragon’s roar and his body pulverized by the wind and thunder, his entire being—from the inside out—reduced to microscopic particles.

Yet, within the echoes of the roar, his consciousness coalesced once more, and his body was reshaped by the storm. His spirit and flesh fused with the Azure Dragon, only to be disintegrated again into fine dust.

This cycle repeated countless times. Finally, amidst a world-shaking roar, Gao Wu’s consciousness transformed into a long dragon, returning to the endless, profound depths.

When Gao Wu opened his eyes, he saw rays of sunlight piercing through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating the train compartment. As the train moved forward, ribbons of light and shadow shifted and danced.

Looking across from him, Song Mingyue was sitting cross-legged in meditation. The flowing light outside the window occasionally swept over her face, brushing against her delicate, neat short hair, her long eyelashes, and her rosy lips.

The clattering of the wheels, the gentle swaying of the carriage, and the shifting shadows felt exceptionally serene because of the young girl’s presence, evoking a sense of warmth that comforted the heart.

Gao Wu was in no hurry to check the Book of Immeasurable Merit. He enjoyed the heat of passion, but he equally cherished this quiet, gentle peace.

The two were not in conflict; rather, they were a harmonious whole. Only by experiencing the beauty of life can one face challenges and hardships with positive fervor. If life were miserable, one would only exhaust all their strength just to survive, leaving little room for passion.

Although Gao Wu had awakened memories of his past life, he was still an eighteen-year-old youth at heart, and thus he was often filled with fiery spirit. Yet, those past memories also made him realize how luxurious this state was.

He cherished this state of being, he cherished the cool yet pure Song Mingyue, he cherished Sister Jun, he cherished his family and friends, and he cherished everything beautiful before his eyes.

Song Mingyue seemed to sense Gao Wu’s gaze. She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Your physical state was a bit abnormal last night..."

Before she finished speaking, a look of surprise appeared in her clear eyes. "You seem different!"

Gao Wu smiled. "How so?"

"Your eyes are brighter," Song Mingyue said after a thoughtful pause. "And you look even more handsome."

She was not paying him a compliment; she was simply stating a fact with precision.

At her level of spiritual power, her perception was incredibly sharp. Especially regarding Gao Wu, she could not be more familiar. Even a change of 0.01 millimeters in his features would not escape her senses.

Over the course of the night, Gao Wu had undergone subtle adjustments from head to toe, leaving his internal and external states more coordinated and stable. In particular, the subtle refinement of his facial features made them more three-dimensional, symmetrical, and aesthetically proportional, making him naturally more attractive to the eye.

"I think absorbing the Qilin Serum helped my spiritual talent break through, triggering changes at the physical level..."

Gao Wu knew he couldn't hide these changes from Song Mingyue, so he had already prepared an explanation. The Book of Immeasurable Merit was his foundation; no matter how close they were, he would never speak of it. The Qilin Serum was known to stimulate a martial artist's life potential, and its effects varied from person to person. It was entirely plausible that it had boosted his spiritual potential.

As he spoke, he activated the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra, proactively establishing a connection with Song Mingyue.

Song Mingyue clearly felt their spiritual connection become more stable. The spiritual power Gao Wu channeled to her was more refined, carrying a richer, more potent vitality. Through this resonance, the foundation of her own spiritual art, the Cold Nether Heavenly Snake, became remarkably active.

She was pleasantly surprised. While Gao Wu’s total spiritual power did not seem to have increased, the portion resonating with her had made a tremendous leap, benefiting her Cold Nether Heavenly Snake in turn. With daily shared practice like this, her technique would soon break through to the next level.

The connection was reciprocal. As Song Mingyue sensed the changes in the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra, Gao Wu could feel the active state of her Cold Nether Heavenly Snake.

The Cold Nether Heavenly Snake was the name of the mental technique Song Mingyue practiced, based on the visualization of a white snake. Last time, when her visualization was destroyed and she was forced to start over, Gao Wu had helped her by imbuing her with the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra, which led to the resonance between the two. With this upgrade to his mantra, the Cold Nether Heavenly Snake had clearly reaped significant benefits.

In truth, this resonance benefited Song Mingyue even more. The focus of her visualization was the cold, dark netherworld. Song Mingyue’s personality was naturally introverted, and practicing this technique had made her increasingly cold and detached, suppressing her human instincts. While good for cultivation, it was detrimental to her as a person, as she risked gradual alienation. The stronger her spiritual power grew, the more this alienation would erode her mind and body.

The resonance with the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra provided her with vibrant life force, allowing her to shed the negative side effects of the Cold Nether Heavenly Snake while simultaneously accelerating her cultivation speed many times over.

For Gao Wu, this resonance helped stabilize their connection and served as a way to hone his own mantra. Each resonance session was equivalent to reciting the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra dozens of times—an excellent method of training.

Gao Wu and Song Mingyue completed thirty-six cycles of the "Dragon and Snake Dance" before he withdrew the mantra, breaking their connection.

***

While Song Mingyue was fully immersed in meditation, Gao Wu opened the Book of Immeasurable Merit.

The entry for the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra, previously marked as "Great Success," had now changed to "Mastery Level."

Checking his physique, he saw it had increased by another five points, reaching an impressive 20 points. Based on his experience, a top-tier warrior who practiced breathing techniques day and night and specialized in body-tempering methods would only reach 15 points. A physique of 20 points likely surpassed martial arts masters like An Ziru or Shen An.

At the level of a Martial Master, the pursuit was the mastery of Source Energy; few people bothered to specialize in body-tempering, as the flesh had its limits. With biochemical armor, divine weapons, and other special equipment, they could compensate for the fragility of the body, making such effort unnecessary.

Gao Wu understood this, but he knew that a physique of 20 points was not just raw strength—it represented a super-abundant life force.

Checking his lifespan, he saw it had indeed broken the limit of 150, reaching 200 years. Even his "Root" attribute had increased by 0.5, hitting 8.5. This proved that the root attribute was somewhat linked to the body, though the connection wasn't profound. It was also possible that the full absorption of the Qilin Serum had boosted it. Either way, an increase of 0.5 was negligible.

Gao Wu was more concerned with the changes to the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra itself. With this massive upgrade, he could now store eight layers of the mantra at his glabella. Did this mean that triggering the eight-fold "Swift Wind and Sudden Thunder" transformation would increase his spirit and agility by four points each?

He couldn't test it in the cramped carriage, so he would have to wait until he got home.

Gao Wu used his Yin Spirit to look inward and saw that the blue light at his glabella was more intense, and the eight-pointed star in his Dantian acupoint was increasingly brilliant, gathering Source Energy several times more powerfully than before. As his fundamental mantra, the upgrade had synchronously strengthened all the acupoints that gathered Source Energy. Although he had anticipated this, he was still pleasantly surprised.

Using his previous test as a benchmark, his Source Energy value should now reach 1,000, placing him at the level of a high-tier warrior. While that seemed high, considering the wonders of his mantra, it was actually nothing—far less than Song Mingyue’s spiritual power.

However, his Source Energy efficiency had also improved, marking a significant step forward on his martial path. Under normal circumstances, it would have taken him five or six years to reach this level.

Though his Source Energy had reached the high-tier warrior level, he had progressed too quickly. His combat instincts and techniques hadn't kept pace, and his body lacked the training to fully utilize this power. These things would all require time to polish.

His Yin Spirit was truly miraculous, capable of peering into the subtle layers of his spirit and body, allowing him to clearly understand the changes brought by the upgrade. He had a hunch that the upgraded mantra could be applied to his Yin Spirit as well.

When Song Mingyue finished her session and opened her eyes, she took out her phone. "The money has arrived. Sixteen million. After deducting five million for the serum, I’ve transferred eleven million to you."

Though they were close, they kept their finances separate. She didn't really care, but Gao Wu had insisted on it.

"The bookmakers in Anjing are generous; they don't welch on their debts," Gao Wu said happily. The Qilin Cup championship prize was another four million, but it required extensive approval to process, so he didn't know when that would arrive. Betting was certainly faster.

"The house made a fortune off you, so paying out this money is nothing," Song Mingyue remarked.

Gao Wu laughed. "A pity, a pity..." He realized they had been too timid; they could have bet four million and still gotten paid. Regardless, eleven million was a vast sum. He also had the 50,000 credits from the Hunter’s Guild, which he could exchange for serums and weapons. This money was more than enough to improve his family's life.

At 9:30 AM, the train arrived on time. Before Gao Wu even stepped out, he saw the welcoming party through the window. A large group of elementary school students holding colorful flags and flowers were lined up in two rows. In front were school leaders, officials from the governor's office, and a giant red inflatable arch with gold-lettered banners. Behind them, a band was playing drums and gongs.

As soon as the Dongjiang High School team stepped out, they were met with a cacophony of drums and firecrackers, and the children cheered, "Welcome! Welcome!"

Although this was Coach Song Yunhui’s first time experiencing such a scene, she had been notified in advance and handled it with composure. The other students were a bit awkward, as they had never seen anything like it.

As the primary hero, Gao Wu had several garlands placed around his neck as soon as he appeared. He shook hands and took photos with officials, feeling a bit dazed. Honestly, he used to dislike such useless rituals. But as the protagonist, the absolute center of attention, he quickly realized the benefit of such ceremony.

How could life be without a sense of ritual? Without it, how could the value of the Qilin Cup championship be shown? How could the school and the governor's office show their importance, and how could the people of Dongjiang show their love for this honor?

At the formal ceremony in the station square, the school leadership announced a reward of one million for the martial arts team, specifically for Gao Wu. Dongjiang High was wealthy, and one million was nothing; but the glory of the Qilin Cup championship would become part of the school's history forever, a shining golden signboard. For the school, reputation was everything.

The million-dollar bonus made Gao Wu smile brightly. He was graduating soon, and nothing was more practical than cash. Even with over ten million, he would never complain about having too much.

When Gao Wu finally returned home, it was past 10:00 PM. His grandfather was still waiting up for him. Seeing Gao Wu’s exhausted face, the old man decided not to chat and told him to rest.

After a full day of high-intensity activities, even with a physique of 20, Gao Wu felt drained. It was mostly the effort of meeting people and speaking, which required constant mental focus. He had set high standards for himself; as the teenage idol of Dongjiang, he had to be cautious with his words and not lead the youth astray.

After a shower and his daily practice, Gao Wu felt his spirit fully recover. A physique of 20 was terrifyingly strong.

He first tried casting the eight-fold Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra on himself. The "Swift Wind and Sudden Thunder" transformation increased his agility and spirit by four points—his spirit reached 19, which was incredibly powerful. According to calculations, a Martial Master’s spiritual power was only around 18 points. With 19 points of spiritual power, he should be able to pierce through a Martial Master’s spiritual defense and shatter their Source Energy field. Without that protection, even a Martial Arts Grandmaster could not withstand a strike from his Destiny Sword.

Under the crescent moon, Gao Wu’s Yin Spirit drifted silently through the wall and floated to the familiar street corner. He could project his spirit 500 meters without feeling any strain. The mantra upgrade had strengthened his Yin Spirit as well.

He then tried imbuing his Yin Spirit with the mantra. As the divine power descended, a faint blue light coated his spirit, giving it a tangible quality.

"It works!" Gao Wu was overjoyed. The weakness of his Yin Spirit had been its inability to wield the Destiny Sword against Martial Masters. By imbuing it with the eight-fold mantra, his Yin Spirit could now trigger the "Swift Wind and Sudden Thunder" transformation, and by synchronizing it with the six-fold Vermilion Bird Divine Light Mantra, his spirit would gain even greater explosive power!

He could only maintain this state for three seconds, but that was enough for his Yin Spirit to slay a Martial Master if given the chance. After so long, he finally had a weapon to deal with them, and he was in high spirits.