Chapter 118: The Wing Hangar (Please Subscribe and Vote)

Inside the crystal palace, Ke Bei, who had been resting with his eyes slightly closed, slowly opened them.

"Just one last step to go!"

Without realizing it, two and a half months had passed. Only a dozen days remained before the deadline for completing the ultimate mission of the introductory martial arts training.

Ke Bei had spent a long time contemplating the secret techniques of the first level of the Qitian Tower. He had finally broken them down into nine patterns, each containing mysterious golden markings and representing one-ninth of the secret technique. He had practiced them one by one. After two and a half months of sleepless study, he had finally successfully performed the golden markings of the last pattern today.

Now, only the final step remained. If he could fuse the nine patterns containing the secret technique into one, he would have fully mastered the first-level secret of the Qitian Tower.

Once he thoroughly grasped the first-level secret, the ultimate mission for the introductory martial arts would be complete. His strength would surge, and that would be the moment he shattered this crystal palace.

"Hoo... let's begin!"

Time was running out. Ke Bei had no time to rest. After successfully performing the final pattern, he sat cross-legged once more and slowly sank his consciousness into the small golden tower resting between his brows.

With a thought, a large pattern containing eighty-one complex golden markings appeared before his mind's eye.

*Hum~* Ke Bei’s hands traced slow, mysterious trajectories. As his hands moved, his body trembled slightly, each vibration carrying a unique frequency that seemed to hint at the fundamental laws of the universe.

*Hum, hum...* As Ke Bei continued his movements, the small golden tower between his brows shook more and more violently, as if it were about to burst forth.

*Boom!*

As Ke Bei performed the ninth golden marking, the small golden tower suddenly flew out from between his brows and began to rotate, hovering above his head.

Feeling the tower leave his body, Ke Bei’s heart tightened; he knew the critical moment had arrived. For the past two and a half months, he had practiced the nine patterns separately. Today was the first time he was attempting to perform them in a continuous sequence. Fearing potential mishaps, he remained tense.

*Hum~ Boom!*

The ninth golden marking was completed. Ke Bei did not pause and immediately began the tenth. However, just as his hands traced the path of the tenth marking, two sounds emanated from the golden tower.

*Hum~* The tower shuddered violently, then, with a soft *boom*, it flew back into the space between Ke Bei’s brows and fell into a deathly, motionless silence.

"How can this be!"

As the tower returned to its place, Ke Bei’s heart jolted. His face clouded with shock, and he cried out in disbelief.

"No, this shouldn't be happening!"

Ke Bei could not understand the failure. He tried again and again, frantically performing the sequence, but the result was always the same: as soon as he reached the tenth marking, the tower would inevitably snap back into his brow.

"Something is wrong. I must have overlooked something!"

After failing a dozen times in a row, Ke Bei fell silent. He frowned and sat still, carefully contemplating where the problem lay. Although he felt his technique was flawless, he could not bridge the gap between the patterns. If it wouldn't work, there had to be an error.

He had to find it. Ke Bei stared fixedly at the massive pattern of eighty-one golden markings, sinking into deep thought.

Ke Bei sat in meditation for ten full days. During those ten days, aside from consuming a single drop of Green Spirit Liquid each day, he kept his mind submerged within the golden tower, quietly observing the massive diagram.

He knew clearly that if he could not fuse the golden markings of the first pattern with those of the second, he would never succeed. As the days ticked by, his anxiety grew, but he forced himself to endure. If he couldn't identify the flaw, the mission would be impossible to complete. Failure meant no increase in power, and without that, he would be trapped in this palace until he starved to death.

"Hoo..."

Exhaling slowly, Ke Bei stopped himself from spiraling further. The more anxious he became, the more chaotic his mind, making it impossible to solve the puzzle. Knowing this, he forced all distractions from his mind. Only when he felt a sense of inner calm did he cast his eyes back upon the massive pattern.

"Eh?"

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened.

"How did I never notice this before? There’s an extra golden arc here!"

He stared intently at the junction between the ninth and tenth markings. A faint, golden thread flickered in and out of existence; had he not been observing with such meticulous care, he would never have spotted it.

He had been sitting for ten days, and this was the first time he had seen it.

"The problem must be here!"

A faint smile touched the corner of Ke Bei’s lips. He didn't fear a problem; he only feared not knowing what it was. Once identified, he had the confidence to resolve it.

Unlike the eighty-one fixed markings, this golden thread was constantly shifting and changing its shape.

"Let's try."

Fixing his eyes on the flickering thread, Ke Bei remained still, slowly moving his body in rhythm with the thread's pulsations.

While Ke Bei practiced in silence, the ranking battles for the Jiujiang Talent Training Camp's Azure Dragon List had been underway for over ten days. Two dark horses had emerged.

One was Wang Yuan, who had been training at the camp for five years but had never before made the Azure Dragon List. The other was Luo Ling.

Wang Yuan was a veteran, yet few knew of him because he spent most of his time cultivating in the wilderness. Five years ago, in his first ranking battle, he had faced Li Qingfeng, the current top-ranked fighter, and lost. He had then retreated into obscurity for three years, failing to appear in any subsequent battles until this year, when he returned carrying a black spear. While others were unaware of his strength, Li Qingfeng knew very well that Wang Yuan had returned specifically for him.

As for Luo Ling, she was even more mysterious—a newcomer who had joined the camp this year, with a cultivation base only at the Lower Realm of Transcending Mortality. Yet, this newcomer had defeated four fighters already on the Azure Dragon List, including one of the top fifty experts. Her brilliant performance had etched her name into the minds of the six thousand trainees.

Similar battles were taking place at the Gutang Base and the Haoyue Base.

...

On Heavenly Corpse Mountain, inside a massive golden palace, a young man dressed in loose purple robes, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them.

"Han Qi."

Seated upon a grand golden throne, the youth spoke softly.

"Progenitor."

At the youth's command, a sturdy, muscular man stepped forward and knelt respectfully before him.

"Take Yiku to this location."

The youth on the throne extended a fair finger from his robes and tapped the center of the kneeling man's brow.

*Boom!*

The man’s mind roared, and a clear image appeared in his consciousness: a valley, a dark cave, and a crystal-clear palace. On the top level of the palace, a human sat cross-legged.

"Go. Let Yiku have a proper fight with that human. You should wait a while before intervening; don't let that little one remain so arrogant, thinking he is invincible beneath the Divine King Realm."

The youth on the throne wore a faint smile as he spoke.

"As you command, Progenitor."

The sturdy man bowed deeply, rose, and retreated from the golden hall.

"Yiku?"

Upon hearing the name, the man understood his role; he was merely a bodyguard. Yiku was the greatest genius of the God Race. Beneath the Divine King Realm, no one on Heavenly Corpse Mountain could rival him—not even among the Beast Race, below the level of the Beast Kings. Aside from humans, Yiku was the strongest expert in both the God and Beast races below the Battle God Realm.

Reflecting on the fact that he was only a Middle-stage Divine King, Han Qi smiled bitterly and shook his head. He felt no resentment at being sent as a bodyguard for a high-level God Race member; in fact, he felt a sense of pride, knowing that once Yiku broke through the Divine King Realm, his power would be terrifying.

Han Qi walked to Yiku’s palace and delivered the Progenitor’s order. Clad in scarlet armor, Yiku followed the Middle-stage Divine King toward the valley where Ke Bei resided.

"Yiku, do not be careless. That human is a super genius; even the Progenitor considers him formidable," Han Qi said in a deep voice.

"Hmph, a human super genius?"

The youth in scarlet armor, his brow arched with arrogance, snorted in disdain.

"I will cut off his head and bring it to the Progenitor!"

With a cold shout, the youth in scarlet armor stomped the ground and dashed toward the valley at high speed.