990 Crown Prince Jiao

The clothes she was wearing seemed soft. She did not have a resplendent and threatening aura, but the moment she appeared, it was as if the entire world had lost its color. Even the colorful mist and fog in the sky, the Qilin and beasts running in the mountains, as well as the faintly discernible dragons and phoenixes in the air — all instantly turned monochrome. All the colors in the world seemed to have been concentrated on this exceptional girl.

"Your Highness!" The white-haired dragon servant knelt down and was so excited that his entire body started to tremble. Even though she had been asleep for several hundred years, the princess was still the same old princess. She was still as young and pretty as she was several hundred years ago. The dragon servant even felt as if she had become even more dazzling.

"He has arrived." The princess smiled and looked beyond the white-haired dragon servant and the sacred mountain, where the Heavenly River that connected the two worlds was. Massive white Heavenly River energy flowed from the river.

The terrifying Heavenly River that even the top four races could not directly face seemed extremely amiable and gentle to her. She could feel many things in the flowing energy that others could not sense. At that moment, a familiar aura was mixed with the energy. It was this familiar aura that had awakened her from her sleep.

The white-haired servant was slightly stunned. Then, extreme joy appeared on his face. It was no wonder that the princess had awakened from her slumber. "The heavenly cycle is occurring. The almighty will be born, but I cannot imagine how much difficulty they will face. Would you like me to…?"

"No." The girl shook her head. "The current times are different from the past. He has not returned to the past, and the natural order is still the same. Perhaps this is the most critical period. Furthermore, if the celestial races discover this, it will result in many variables."

The white-haired servant was stunned. Several hundred empty years had passed. Things might have remained the same, but people had changed. However, the Land was in too much chaos, but they were going to ignore it. What if they fell short of success for the lack of a final effort?

The girl's smile was full of confidence. She looked up at the Heavenly River in the distance. Among the flowing energy, there was a dazzling message that only true dragons were able to understand. "The news of my revival must be kept secret!"

"Yes, Your Highness!" The dragon servant respectfully said. "Also, the four top races have invited us to attend a ceremony. We have always rejected them, but what about this year?"

"Oh, it's almost time for the Heavenly Gates to open again." She was talking to herself. "Ninth Uncle, please help me take a look."

Thus, this period was called the Opening of the Heavenly Gates. Experts in the Land who had the qualifications to ascend would obtain the approval of the four top civilizations in the Heaven. Then, they would enter the Heaven from the weakened Heavenly River and get their big break.

In order to obtain approval, they had to fulfill two conditions. Firstly, they had to obtain permission from the Heaven. Secondly, they had to reach the Heavenly Core Stage, which meant that they had to accumulate their Gold Core.

In reality, the first condition was to make the authority of the Heaven conspicuous and to eliminate candidates who were inferior, or had exhausted too much of their vitality. Meanwhile, the second condition was a rigid condition. If they did not accumulate their Golden Core, they would simply die at the Heavenly Gates. Of course, this harsh process was very useful for attaining the Heavenly Core Stage and was even a necessary process.

Of course, these were the conditions from the Heaven. There were also a bunch of troublesome conditions on the Land. After all, they had a population of several hundred million, with many civilizations mixed together. Thus, it was a rather complicated society. The quota was limited and was usually monopolized by civilizations that were level-6 and above. In reality, level-8 civilizations made up half of the quota; level-7 civilizations formed 30%, and the remaining percentage was spread out among the other races. However, level-6 civilizations would usually make up the bulk of this remaining quota, leaving the rest to level-5 civilizations…

Level-4 civilizations? They did not have a place.

Meanwhile, the dragon race was the only race that was not harmed by the energy from the Heavenly River as they were born this way. They were also the only race that was not differentiated by a civilizational level. There were also diverse opinions about their origins. Some said that they were the only level-10 civilization, while others said that they were messengers from the Hyperdimension. However, it was agreed that they were detached from the rest of the world. Of course, members of the dragon race were few and far between. They were in a dormant state most of the time and did not interfere in the operations of the divine territory. However, it was a massive honor to have the dragon race present for special events. Furthermore, the dragon race was of utmost importance to the top experts in the four top celestial races as the dragon race was the bridge between the Fifth Dimension and the Hyperdimension.

There was no change in their surroundings. The girl looked into the distance with a charming smile. In an instant, it was as if the entire world had turned brighter. Her pure white fingers gently tied up her hair. This action caused even the flowers to collapse, but her gaze seemed as if she was about to break through time and space.

The goodbye felt like it had only happened yesterday. He… had truly done it.

...

Meanwhile, at the Shell Shade Faction in the Catanlyke District…

A gloomy and massive Jiuli Tree released a thick gloomy aura. This was the core of the Shell Shade Faction. Meanwhile, the sealing ward that released shocking energy allowed the gloomy aura to perfectly accumulate within a radius of 1,000 meters. Even though it was a bright and sunny summer day when the heaven and the earth were clear, it was cold and gloomy here. It was as if sunlight was never seen here.

A massive white snake lingered at the place where the gloomy Jiuli aura was the strongest. There were two short horns on the top of its head, and four thin limbs were covered in a thin membrane. One could see undeveloped dragon claws through the transparent membrane that looked like the tender arm of a baby. Every time it breathed in the gloomy Jiuli aura, one could see thick gloomy aura flowing through the transparent membrane, nourishing its limbs that were slowly growing.

A massive snake was turning into a flood dragon. It was 70% to 80% complete!

An elder who was shrouded in a gloomy mist appeared not too far away. He was the Suzerain of the Shell Shade Faction, Yin Jiuli. At that moment, there was a rare excitement and kindness in his cold gaze as he looked at the massive snake.

It seemed the massive snake had sensed the appearance of this elder. After the massive snake breathed in the gloomy aura once more, it turned into a gloomy mist and rushed over. In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a handsome young man.

He was the Crown Prince Jiao of the Shell Shade Faction!

This was an eloquent and rousing name. Even in the periphery of the Land, he was an illustrious being. This was not simply because of his strength, but also because of his terrifying potential and natural talents. He was only 20 years old but had already started to transform into a flood dragon and accumulate his Void Core. He was ranked first even in the history of the Shell Shade Faction. He was also the hope of the Shell Shade Faction!

"Father." He was respectful and peaceful, completely unlike the ordinary dark and heavy creatures in the Shell Shade Faction. His entire being was shrouded in exceptional intelligence as he respectfully folded his hands.

"Although the gloomy Jiuli aura is an exceptional source of nourishment from my race, if you actually transform into a flood dragon, darkness and light will swap, and the gloomy Jiuli aura will no longer be suitable for you." There was a kind smile on Yin Jiuli's face. He paused for a while but then spoke again, "Jiao'er, after several hundred years, you are the genius with the highest chance of entering the Heavenly Gates in the Shell Shade Faction. Your future is boundless. Now, we are only two or three years away from the Opening of the Heavenly Gates. With your potential, you will be able to fully transform by then. I know that you are diligent, but this does not mean that you can advance rashly because of your greed for success. You need to know that going too far is just as bad as not going far enough."

"I will carefully observe what you have taught me," the Flood Dragon Crown Prince smiled and respectfully replied.

"Carry out your cultivation slowly for now. Go out more and make more friends as they will be a great help when you enter the Heaven in the future," said Yin Lijiu with a smile while he took out an invitation from his pocket. "The 500th anniversary of the Cloud Mist Faction is happening in a few days. Please go on behalf of them. Princess Cloud's natural talents are of the same level as yours, and she is destined to leap through the Heavenly Gates in the future and step into Heaven. You can build relations with her."

"Yes." The Crown Prince Jiao received the invitation. Of course, he understood what his father actually meant. "Father, recently when I am cultivating, it felt like the growth of the Jiuli Tree was becoming harder and harder to seal and suppress. The concentration of the gloomy aura is also overflowing. Our territory is just too small, and if we don't expand…"

"I know." Yin Jiuli nodded his head and said, "The Ninth Wilderness Path has bribed the Star Alliance. However, the merchants in Heavenly Treasures Street are protected by the law and are not willing to move. There are too many people, and it will not be good to forcibly move them. For now, Elder Li is in discussions with their representatives. This matter is not urgent. We have to take things slow."

"Father, leave this matter to me." The Crown Prince Jiao smiled. "Entering society is also part of cultivation. Furthermore, since we have taken up so many resources, we should do something for the races. After cultivating for such a long time, I should start moving."

Yin Jiuli was slightly dumbfounded. Then, he furrowed his eyebrows. "Jiao'er, you may have set your mind to this, but we need not force our way through this matter. Don't see them as just merchants. Their background is somewhat complicated, and there are members of large races among them. One or two actions might not matter, but if we do too much, complaints will blow up, and the Star Alliance might exert pressure on us…"

Crown Prince Jiao smiled. His father's outlook was still restricted to that of a level-6 civilization. He was too overcautious and indecisive.

A year ago, he would have had the same thoughts as his father, but now that he was part of the group heading for the Heavenly Gates and had interacted with geniuses from various races in the Land, the Crown Prince Jiao had opened up his view. For a creature whose goal was the Heaven, no matter whether it was in terms of vision or outlook, he could not compare himself to the authorities in middle-classed civilizations.

It was only a street in the middle circle. How complicated would their backgrounds be? They were simply the marginalized citizens of several large civilizations. If they actually had good backgrounds, they would not have come to Catanlyke District to open shops and have to pay protection fees to the Ninth Wilderness Path.

Even if there were one or two members of advanced civilizations hiding among them, so what? As one of the genius disciples that was favored by the Heaven, he had many friends, unlimited potential, and a boundless future. Even if he offended one or two important figures from large civilizations, he had the confidence that he could protect himself. Furthermore, once he leaped into the Heavenly Gates and soared into the Heaven, even the Star Alliance in the Land would have to be polite to him and the Shell Shade Faction, let alone a few civilizations!

Thus, he dared to do what his father did not dare to do. He was able to do all of them!

The Jiuli Tree was the foundation of the Shell Shade Faction, and maintaining its growth demanded constant attention. In the past, the Shell Shade Faction did not have any confidence in themselves. They were simply a level-6 civilization, and being able to occupy a street in the Catanlyke District was the limit of their ability. But now, it was different… Because they had him!

In order to achieve great things, could they afford to be overcautious and indecisive?

Furthermore, the Void Core was only the first stage. To a few experts from level-7 and level-8 civilizations, their foundation was not the problem. The problem was turning nothing into something. There was no shortcut, and they could only use a massive amount of resources to accumulate their Core. With the current state of the Shell Shade Faction, this was definitely impossible!

"Relax, Father." He smiled and said, "We have to visit the Cloud Mist Faction, but we also have to settle this matter."

...

Although he had made several attempts in the past, he had always experimented with grown plants and tested out the recovery effects the fragment world had on damaged plants. This was his first time directly planting in the fragment world. Yesterday, there was a particular reason why he had immediately taken a fancy to the Loying Fruit. Even though it was among the "trash" elixir materials in Old Cow's flower nursery, it was easy to cultivate and grew quickly. Its various special characteristics made it a decent material to experiment with.

Lao Wang thought about the Loying Fruit in his fragment world for the entire day. He occasionally used his spirit to take a look, but there were no changes in the surface of the ground even in the afternoon.

Old Cow was chattering to Wang Zhong in the flower nursery. Recently, Wang Zhong had become particularly "eager to learn" and was evidently more meticulous with his work in the flower nursery. This made Old Cow very satisfied. Thus, while he introduced the special characteristics of various plants to Wang Zhong, he would also include other knowledge, such as general knowledge about cultivation.

"Heavenly Soul? Major Heavenly Calamity? What in the world is that?" Old Cow's face was full of hate. "Don't apply the cultivation systems in your lower-class cultivation here. You dare to call fellows who don't even have the qualifications to advance to the Foundational Stage 'Heavenly'? And what major Heavenly Calamity are you talking about? In the divine territory, if you have not formed your Core, you will not produce any Calamity! The Heavenly Calamity is a punishment from the Will, imposed because one's power has affected the rules of the world. If you take a look at the divine territory, do you think the rules here can be affected by you weaklings? Don't joke with me!

"Before the Void Core is formed, one will be said to be in the Foundational Stage, where one will build up the basics. We are also differentiated by our Spiritual Energy Points," said Old Cow. "Those who are able to reach a Spiritual Energy Value of 100 will reach the average standard of ordinary residents in the divine territory. They are able to resist the spiritual influence here and survive in the divine territory without any pressure. If you reach a Spiritual Energy Value of several hundred thousand, you will be able to sweep past this street without any problems."

Wang Zhong rolled his eyes. When Old Cow started to show off, Wang Zhong particularly wanted to slap him. He spoke as if reaching a Spiritual Energy Value of several hundred thousand was nothing.

Relatively speaking, using his own power as a base, the Sacred Teachers in the Holy City probably reached a Spiritual Energy Value of several thousands. He did not expect that they did not even come close to reaching the Void Core Realm. Meanwhile, the wolf goblin he had previously faced felt several times faster and stronger than Wang Zhong was, but he was probably a little bandit who had only reached a Value of several hundred. Damn, he felt as if he had gone back to square one.

In the divine territory, such large races, especially those from high-leveled civilizations, had many members, but this did not mean that all high-leveled civilizations had extremely powerful combat powers. For example, although Old Cow was born to a level-7 civilization, he was not a natural combat type. It was enough for him to live, but he would be easily defeated if he encountered a combat type. However, since he had a good background, this would mean that he would live a relatively stable life.

"What Spiritual Energy Value must you reach to advance to the Void Core Realm?" Wang Zhong asked. He was very concerned about this.

Of course, Old Cow knew about this. Which lower-class civilization didn't want to have a new lease on life? However, the road of cultivation was too difficult. To aristocrat civilizations, it was not difficult to reach the Void Core stage. The difficulty was in forming their Gold Core. They needed a large amount of resources, as well as natural talents and favorable circumstances. Furthermore, only a few people possessed all these.

"What? You want to form your Core? Stop dreaming. You need to have natural talents like I do. I only gave up on cultivation because I love peace," said Old Cow in an impressive manner. "The Void Core does not have much to do with one's Spiritual Energy Value, but with one's natural talents. If not, the machinery race and the insect race would not be so tragic. Ha ha."

The boss of the Ninth Wilderness Path in Heavenly Treasures Street was called a Heavenly Core Stage Goblin, but in reality, this was no more than a name. If the Ninth Wilderness Path actually had a Heavenly Core Stage expert, why were they still in such a marginal place like Catanlyke District? They would have started fighting for a spot in the inner circle.

In reality, the main forces of many Factions were in their Foundational Stage. However, they were all combat types, while Old Cow and the rest of the people on Heavenly Treasures Street were ordinary people. If Wang Zhong had half of Old Cow's spiritual energy, he would have been able to defeat four Old Cows. Frankly speaking, the people in the divine territory focused on their realm and cultivation, but they were not as good in terms of combat. However, this view might be because he did not have much experience.

Just as they were chatting, they suddenly heard a clear crashing sound outside the flower shop. Old Cow furrowed his eyebrows and immediately jumped up. "This stupid girl broke another one of my flower pots again!"

Wang Zhong was amused. He could already see the scolding that Little Lost Fox would receive. However, before Old Cow could rush out, they heard the sound of multiple flower pots breaking in succession.

"You dare to bump into my young master? Are you tired of living?!"

Pa!

"Ya!"

BOOM!

It sounded like someone had slipped and fallen. Then, they heard a surprised shout from Little Lost Fox.

Was someone causing trouble?

The changes that occurred outside the shop happened very quickly. The expressions of Old Cow and Wang Zhong immediately changed, and they charged out of the flower nursery. They saw that the flower shop was in a mess, with broken pots strewn everywhere. A spider goblin with eight limbs was pulling Little Lost Fox's messy hair, and she was being beaten up.

Little Muddle Head's face had turned red and swollen. She wanted to argue with the spider goblin that was pulling on her hair and struggle, but she could not move. She could only stretch out her hand to barely cover her face. There was blood at the corners of her mouth, and she was teary-eyed. She looked as if she had been wronged. "Sob sob sob. Don't hit me. It hurts~~~!"

Wang Zhong's expression sank. However, before he could do anything, Old Cow let out a ferocious roar.

"Stop!"

When Old Cow saw Little Lost Fox's miserable appearance, he was truly angry. His shop had been broken, and his employee had been beaten. He roared angrily and wanted to rush out.

However, the spider goblin turned his body slightly, and the elegant and handsome son of an official appeared in front of Old Cow.

The young man was smiling. He casually looked at Old Cow and Wang Zhong, who had rushed out, but Old Cow felt as if his eyes were as deep as the moon. He was dumbfounded and felt as if he was about to fall into an endless dark abyss that he could not climb out from.

Luckily, before he "fell", he felt someone beside him firmly pull him back. This real touch instantly pulled him out from the dark abyss and back into reality. Old Cow hurriedly took a closer look and realized that the one who had pulled him back was Wang Zhong. Although he was a far cry from the cultivation standard in the divine territory, in terms of his realm and his resistance to this harsh environment, Lao Wang was much stronger than Old Cow, who had never cultivated before.

Crown Prince Jiao was rather surprised. This human who seemed extremely weak was actually able to ignore his eye technique. He took another look at Wang Zhong. He looked like an employee working in the shop. Was he a practitioner from a lower-class civilization in the peripheral worlds?

[0] Jiao - flood dragon in Chinese mythology.