Chapter 213: Dragon Enters the Belly, Zhuangqi Reaches Great Completion

"The blood of a fourth-rank dragon is truly formidable!"

Li Rui's heart skipped a beat.

No comparison, no harm.

He had seen ordinary dragon blood before, but it was nowhere near the same league as this fourth-rank dragon blood.

A single drop could easily overpower an entire previous bottle.

Faintly, he could catch a hint of exotic fragrance—perhaps due to the presence of chi-dragon bloodline.

"Precious blood!"

Li Rui stared at the single crimson blood droplet inside the vial.

Ordinary blood would have long stuck to the bottom of the bottle; to consume it, he'd have to smash the vessel and lick the residue. But this dragon blood held its shape naturally, remaining a perfect sphere without dispersing.

With prior experience.

He knew dragon blood must be consumed raw to preserve its pure dragon power and yield the best effect on the dragon form.

Li Rui tilted his head and swallowed the droplet whole.

Only in the instant it entered his mouth.

A thick, metallic stench surged straight to his crown, filling his nose and mouth with the taste of blood.

In an instant.

A violent heat exploded within Li Rui's body.

Boom!

Dragon roars echoed from his dantian, like thunder suddenly cracking open.

The Yinglong circling within his immortal form slowly spread its wings, flying out from the dantian, as if an emperor touring his realm, traversing every inch of his body.

A coolness arose.

Each time the Yinglong circled, the burning sensation lessened slightly.

Li Rui firmly closed his eyes, activating the Dragon Soaring Through Nine Heavens Diagram; the Yinglong, as if aided by divine wind, moved faster.

Each circuit.

Increased the amount of xianxuan qi in Li Rui's dantian by a fraction.

An hour passed.

The Yinglong had circled seventy-two times within his body, passing through the Ren and Du meridians, the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, and the Twelve Regular Meridians, refining essence into qi in a continuous cycle.

Li Rui slowly opened his eyes, his gaze brimming with joy.

The xianxuan qi in his dantian increased visibly before his eyes.

Not long after.

His dantian was now filled with xianxuan qi, swirling like mist, resembling a fairyland.

This was the sign of Zhuangqi Great Completion!

He had estimated it would take at least three more years to fully fill his dantian with true qi; he never imagined a single drop of dragon blood would accomplish it ahead of schedule.

"The Yinglong form truly possesses the ability to refine essence into qi."

The Yinglong within him refined the essence of the dragon blood into true qi, feeding it back to Li Rui.

Not only did the Yinglong grow stronger, but Li Rui himself benefited immensely.

Now observing the Yinglong.

It had thickened by a full circle since before and become far more agile.

If one didn't know, one might think Li Rui had raised a true dragon inside his dantian.

With his dantian now brimming with true qi, the Yinglong no longer confined itself to the realm of the immortal form—it roamed freely throughout his body.

As before.

Each circuit strengthened the true qi within him by a trace.

'After Zhuangqi Great Completion, one condenses the yuan, forsakes quantity for quality, and gathers qi into a pearl.'

According to the manual's records.

Completion of Zhuangqi meant the quantity of true qi was sufficient; the next step was to elevate its quality.

When true qi reached a certain threshold, it would coalesce into a pearl the size of a thumb.

That was the qi pearl.

Only then could one meet the conditions to open the qi sea.

And Li Rui, bearing the dragon form, could enhance the quality of his true qi daily through the Yinglong's patrols—not just during qi circulation.

In other words.

Others could only train during qi circulation; he was different—he trained while eating and sleeping.

The daily gains were merely less obvious than during active circulation.

But over time, the cumulative effect would be extraordinary.

"Brilliant!"

Everyone in the Quartermaster's Office thought Li Rui was a fool; after all, no matter how good the item, if the quantity was insufficient, it couldn't make much difference.

Only he knew—this single drop of dragon blood was an incredible bargain.

It obliterated nearly every fifth-rank spirit pill in existence.

Having finished all this.

It was deep night; Li Rui simply crawled into bed, closed his eyes, and fell into deep sleep.

When his consciousness returned.

He found himself atop the dreamlike Yuntai.

"Gao Zhen, come out!"

Before the words had fully left his lips.

Gao Zhen's figure appeared not far from the Yuntai; the Zhaodao Cangfeng appeared in Li Rui's hand.

Without a word.

He slashed at Gao Zhen.

First strike: Directly targeting the dragon's lair—the move "Dragon Appears in the Field" sent Gao Zhen stumbling backward.

Second strike: A net of blades descended, cutting off Gao Zhen's escape.

Third strike: "All Day Vigilant"—changed from slash to smash.

A heavy, forceful blow crashed down upon Gao Zhen's skull.

Smash it!

Literally, physically smash it.

Gao Zhen instantly exploded into a cloud of black mist.

Excitement flashed in Li Rui's eyes.

Three strikes—he had slain Gao Zhen, far surpassing his strength from just days ago.

Li Rui considered it, then suppressed his impulse.

Chronic insomnia wasn't good.

He sheathed his blade, sat cross-legged upon a mat, and closed his eyes to contemplate the Dao.

Outside Qinghe City, on the official road.

Cao Wei and Jiang Lin appeared together, unusually, standing before the Reception Pavilion.

Neither spoke; they merely stood silently. Besides them, numerous Anning Guard logistics officers bustled within the pavilion—the scene was grand.

Soon, a group arrived.

About seven or eight people.

Each rode a pure white steed; seven formed a protective circle around a young man in the center.

The man wore white robes, a light fur-lined cloak with loose sash, his demeanor elegant and carefree, eyes slanted upward, face handsome yet radiating martial vigor; his attire clearly marked him as a wealthy nobleman's son.

Look at the six or seven handsome guards at his side, each with a fine sword at their waist—those were no men; they were young women disguised as men.

"Only princes and dukes can afford such extravagance—how do they even like this?"

Cao Wei glanced at the androgynous attendants, muttering to himself.

Indeed, the newcomer was Qi Ze, grandson of the Wei Duke.

He was long known as the virtuous grandson.

Rumor had it he recited a line at age one, composed poetry at three, began sword training at five, achieved minor mastery at ten; now in his early twenties, he had already crossed the sixth-rank dragon gate, possibly even reaching the Sea Observation realm before thirty.

He rivaled Jiang Lin in his youth.

Cao Wei had never liked child prodigies.

Jiang Lin's expression remained utterly calm.

One reason was that Qi Ze was precisely the man he was meant to oppose; another was that he had seen too many geniuses—or rather, he himself was among the greatest prodigies in the world.

=9+book_bar

Recited a line at one? Composed poetry at three?

Of course, it was fabricated by overzealous storytellers—unless "this bowl is big and round" counts as poetry.

As for sword training at five and minor mastery at ten—it wasn't difficult.

At least, not for Jiang Lin.

The group arrived at the Reception Pavilion.

The white-robed youth Qi Ze floated down gracefully, his folding fan snapping open with a crisp sound, exuding effortless elegance.

He bowed to Cao Wei and Jiang Lin: "My lords, you've waited long."

Though Cao Wei privately despised aristocratic brats, he smiled broadly: "Young Master Qi, you've traveled a great distance to Qinghe—how tiresome for you. Please, come in at once."

Regardless of whether Qi Ze's arrival was for the position of Trade Bureau Captain, it had nothing to do with him.

In fact, he welcomed it—he was delighted to see Jiang Lin humiliated.

In terms of status alone, Qi Ze was a genuine noble, grandson of a Duke, of exalted rank.

Forming an alliance with the Duke of Wei would be most advantageous.

He must treat him with proper courtesy.

Qi Ze turned to Cao Wei: "This must be Lord Cao?"

"My grandfather once said Lord Cao is bold yet meticulous—surely destined for great things."

Cao Wei's eyes lit up: "Did the Duke truly say that?"

Qi Ze nodded: "Without a doubt."

Cao Wei was thoroughly pleased. Though the Duke of Wei held little real power, his influence was considerable; given his lineage's contribution in surrendering to Yu, any request he made—so long as it wasn't outrageous—was nearly always granted by the Emperor.

Even if the Emperor wished to refuse, he would never publicly humiliate the Duke of Wei.

If the Duke of Wei merely mentioned Cao Wei's name in casual conversation with the Emperor, promotion was imminent.

Only then did Qi Ze turn to Jiang Lin.

Compared to Cao Wei, he clearly found Jiang Lin far more intriguing: "This must be Lord Jiang?"

Jiang Lin nodded: "Once you've arrived in Qinghe, rest well first."

Though Qi Ze wished to engage Jiang Lin in conversation, his advances met with indifference; Jiang Lin offered only a few curt replies, then excused himself with the excuse of urgent military duties and departed.

Qi Ze was not offended.

For he knew that his arrival in Qinghe had taken a position belonging to one of Jiang Lin's subordinates—a man named Li Rui.

For Jiang Lin to treat him kindly after being preempted like this would be astonishing.

Cao Wei narrowed his eyes.

He wore the expression of a man enjoying a spectacle.

He longed for Jiang Lin and Qi Ze to clash—ideally, to draw the Duke of Wei's attention.

Then, with a single word, have Jiang Lin transferred away.

He had tried many times before, and had reached a conclusion.

Jiang Lin could not be toppled.

To control the Anning Guard, he would need to replace the Deputy Commander.

"Young Master Qi, don't take offense—our Lord Jiang is simply like this with everyone."

This remark—

On the surface, it was meant to explain Jiang Lin's behavior, but in truth, it was clearly designed to leave a bad impression on Qi Ze.

Qi Ze, however, looked slightly disappointed:

"I see."

Cao Wei laughed heartily: "Young Master Qi, wine and refreshments have already been prepared at the residence. After such a long journey, rest and refresh yourself. The competition is still three days away—no rush. Once you've triumphed, I'll throw you a grand feast!"

"Thank you, Brother Cao."

Qi Ze fanned himself with a light smile.

The two entered the reception pavilion together.

Three days passed in a flash.

That day,

Li Rui rose as usual, early, and practiced his sword routine as always.

He ate meat porridge with the four others in the courtyard.

Only then did he prepare to leave.

As he departed, he told Wang Zhao: "By the way, have lunch yourselves today—don't wait for me. Don't wait for dinner either."

"Yes, Master."

Wang Zhao nodded obediently.

With that,

Li Rui stepped out the door.

Today, he did not go to the Tiger Charge Cavalry—he headed straight for the General's Mansion.

Halfway there,

he saw Ning Zhongtian standing on the road, smiling warmly at him.

"Brother Li, how are you prepared?"

Clearly,

he had been waiting here specifically for Li Rui.

Indeed, today was the day they would compete against Qi Ze.

"Fine."

Li Rui smiled lightly.

Ning Zhongtian asked curiously: "I heard you bought a drop of dragon-blood?"

He remembered Li Rui had purchased dragon-blood before, but the quality was far inferior to this one.

"It worked well."

Ning Zhongtian clicked his tongue.

'He really splurged.'

Compared to Li Rui, he considered himself frugal—he'd bought only three fifth-rank elixirs.

After days of refining them,

his strength had increased by more than two-tenths—he was brimming with confidence.

'Crushing a rookie? Easy as pie!'

(End of Chapter)