Chapter 44: Challenging the Institutes

The serpent demon’s willpower was very strong. As expected from a Spiritual Master which had reached Level 1 Earth Realm, it was still refusing to budge after enduring almost 15 minutes of torment despite being hit by ten shots of Heavenly Slave Divine Finger.

“Once more,” Xiao Ran prepared to strike again.

Another ten shots of Heavenly Slave Divine Finger hit the serpent demon.

“You’ve gone too far!” The serpent demon roared in rage.

Enduring the gut-wrenching searing pain from his soul getting torn to shreds, the serpent demon dashed towards Xiao Ran in ruthless desperation.

The moment he moved, Xiao Ran immediately punched him back.

It sent him flying and he crashed violently into the Celestial Dungeon enclosure.

The ensuing thunderous commotion made the nearby demons so terrified that they trembled in fear.

All of them looked towards the source of the noise in trepidation. At the same time, they wondered silently what on earth was happening over there.

“Looks like it’s still not enough.”

He added 300,000 Mastery points to the Heavenly Slave Divine Finger and the remaining 500,000 to the Sanctifying Righteous Treasure Tome.

After the attributes were refreshed,

Heavenly Slave Divine Finger: Minor Achievement

Sanctifying Righteous Treasure Tome: Minor Achievement

The former had become twice as powerful, while the Immense Righteous Energy had, likewise, doubled in its power.

In terms of Immense Righteous Energy, Xiao Ran had already advanced to a terrifying level.

With a tap of his finger, he sent another ten shots of finger force over.

There were a total of thirty shots. No matter how strong the serpent demon was, it could no longer withstand such an onslaught. It crawled to a spot in front of Xiao Ran and begged, “Sir, please spare me…”

Xiao Ran was unmoved. He stepped on him and pressed him to the ground.

Seven or eight minutes later,

Xiao Ran gestured with his hands and sent a beam of golden light into the serpent demon’s body, temporarily relieving his pain. He asked in an icy tone, “Why did you sneak into the Celestial Dungeon?”

‘Sir, this is a misunderstanding!’ The serpent demon protested.

“I had just possessed this Blazing Sun Fire Crow when he bumped into your people. Thereafter, he was arrested and imprisoned in the Celestial Dungeon.”

“You really don’t know what’s good for you.” Xiao Ran gave him a vicious kick that sent him flying.

The walls shook again and the serpent demon slid down the wall and collapsed onto the floor.

“Spirit Shifting Soul Control!”

Just as the spiritual soul energy entered the demon’s mind, it was blocked by a layer of restrictions.

Xiao Ran gave a scornful snort and manipulated his spiritual soul energy to break the layer of restriction.

Bang!

The serpent demon’s head burst open in an explosion. It was as dead as a dodo.

“So you have activated a Forbidden Spirit Technique to protect your soul,” Xiao Ran said thoughtfully.

It was a very special spiritual skill that specifically protected the core secrets. Once an external force tried to infiltrate the soul, it would be destroyed, as was amply demonstrated earlier.

He looked at the fiery red bead in his hand. It nourished the soul and was a pretty good treasure.

He put it into the Seven Treasures Rainbow Jade Belt and then he took out the Finishing Touch Sacred Brush.

As emerald light swirled and danced around the brush, it exuded a rich and dense wave of spiritual energy.

When it was used for drawing or creating inscriptions on talismans and other usages, the created object’s effect was doubled.

He put it away and left the cell.

When the demons nearby saw him come out, they quickly lowered their heads and averted their gazes, afraid that they would become his next target.

When he came to the Deluge Dragon’s cell,

sensing the all-too-familiar aura, the Deluge Dragon pretended to be asleep. “I did not see anything. I don’t know anything.”

There was a clinking metallic sound.

Xiao Ran opened the cell door and walked in. Seeing that his eyes were tightly closed but his body was trembling badly and seemed especially nervous, he kicked him in irritation. “Don’t pretend to be sleeping.”

The Deluge Dragon did not move and continued to play dead.

He took out the corpse of the Heaven Devouring Rat and tossed it in front of him.

The huge corpse landed on the ground with a big crash, causing the ground to shake violently. The thick demonic aura surged outwards. In the eyes of the Deluge Dragon, it was something of great nutritional value.

He couldn’t help taking a sniff with the tip of his nose. He furtively opened his eyes and looked at the Heaven Devouring Rat on the ground. His heart burned with fervor as he swallowed hard to contain his hunger.

“It’s not that I’m spineless. He is giving me too much.” The Deluge Dragon thought silently.

The Deluge Dragon asked, “Is it for me?”

“You are not pretending to sleep anymore?” Xiao Ran asked in a mocking tone.

“I was really sound asleep earlier.”

Nonetheless, it opened its mouth wide and swallowed the huge rat corpse in one gulp.

If a demon at Level 2 of the Profound Realm died, its remaining demonic power was still very strong. After digesting it, the Deluge Dragon’s evolution level increased by one step and reached Level 2 of the Profound Realm.

Licking his lips, he still wasn’t satisfied and asked, “Anymore?”

“What do you think?” Xiao Ran asked in reply.

The Deluge Dragon then obediently extended his right limb and closed his eyes. “Can you be more gentle?”

With a swipe of his finger, Xiao Ran cut the extended wrist and held up the jade bottle to collect the dragon blood. This time he was able to fill five bottles before he weakened.

He put away the jade bottles and left.

The Deluge Dragon’s eyes rolled in resignation. “This seems to be quite a good arrangement. There’s no need to fight and kill, and my evolution level has advanced very quickly.”

Shocked by his own thoughts, he shook his head violently to banish them.

“I must break out of this dungeon!”

At the Eldest Princess’s cell,

Xiao Ran stopped and found that she was in the midst of eating white lotus cake. He opened the cell door and walked in.

He sat opposite her, picked up a piece of the white lotus cake and started eating.

“Aren’t the Divine Sword Guards busy?” The Eldest Princess asked.

“We’re busy!”

“Then why did you still come here?”

“I have been entrusted with two jobs. I can’t leave the Purgatory unattended.” Xiao Ran said.

He took a sip of tea before continuing.

“The Celestial Dungeon hasn’t been peaceful recently. Something big may happen soon. Be careful.”

“What do you know?” The Eldest Princess asked.

Xiao Ran recounted the incident of the serpent demon.

“The people from the Yin Incubation Institute are here. The higher-ups are all focused on them and won’t pay attention to this place.” The Eldest Princess shook her head in resignation.

“You’re rather well informed.”

After they had finished the white lotus cake,

Xiao Ran locked the door and left.

Back at the antechamber on the first floor,

he briefly told the lieutenant about the serpent demon’s attempted break-in to alert him, as a precautionary measure. The lieutenant did not seem to put much attention to his warning.

Since Xiao Ran had already done his duty by alerting him, if he chose not to believe it, there was nothing else he could do.

He left the Celestial Dungeon and walked towards the Divine Sword Guards headquarters.

Elsewhere,

in a remote courtyard dwelling somewhere in the north of the city, the Three-Headed Wyrm sat on the bed and meditated. The door opened and a bear demon rushed in.

“Something terrible has happened. The Serpent King is dead!” The bear demon reported anxiously.

“He’s a Level 1 Earth Realm demon. How could those two pieces of trash guarding the Celestial Dungeon have discovered him?” The Three-Headed Wyrm asked in utter disbelief.

The bear demon shook his head as well. “I don’t believe it either. But just now, the Elemental Jade Tablet that the Serpent King left with me shattered.”

The Three-Headed Wyrm grew alarmed. “Could it be that there are still Profound Realm experts hidden in the Celestial Dungeon without our knowledge?”

“Have you asked anyone to investigate this matter?”

“We have completed our investigation. Everything looks normal. The uncovered information matches what we have received previously.” The bear demon reported.

The Three-Headed Wyrm’s gaze turned sinister and malevolent. Its malicious aura leaked out, making the bear demon tremble in fear. It quickly circulated its own demonic energy to disperse this malicious aura and asked tentatively, “Are we still going to continue with our plan?”

“Hmph!” the Three-Headed Wyrm snorted disdainfully.

“After paying such a huge price, how can I give up halfway? As long as I obtain the dragon aura in her body, I can advance another step forward and finally become a True Dragon. At that time, I’ll wait for an opportunity to devour the Great Xia’s dragon aura. Once I succeed, what can a mere Great Viridian Mountain do to me? The entire world will have to bow down at my feet.”

He looked at the bear demon.

“Has the Yin Incubation Institute commenced their challenge?”

The bear demon nodded affirmatively. “They’ve already challenged the institutes. As of this morning, the Scholastic Incubation Institute had lost all three matches. There are still three matches in the afternoon. They won’t be able to stop the Yin Incubation Institute.”

“That’s good! When they wipe out the Four Great Institutes of Great Xia, all the attention in the capital city will be focused on them. At that point, it will be time for us to make our move.” The Three-Headed Wyrm said in an icy tone.

“How about your promise to me?”

“As long as I succeed, I will definitely help you regain control of the Great Viridian Mountain Bear Tribe.” The Three-Headed Wyrm told him reassuringly.