Chapter 1 The Serpent's Pilgrimage

At this moment,

Within the Meiling Mountains,

In the surrounding rivers,

Beneath the thick snow and soil, long snakes, dormant in winter, were drawn by an inexplicable aura. They awoke from their hibernating burrows, crawled out, flicked their tongues, and hissed.

In the frigid, biting river water, schools of emaciated carp with crimson-gold lines along their spines swam. They surged against the current, churning the water as they struggled upstream.

Not only snakes and fish, but also various hibernating worms and strange spiritual insects were awakened by a mysterious fluctuation in the cold air. They broke through the earth, instinctively 'looking' in one direction, as if gazing at some colossal existence.

A similar scene had occurred a few months prior.

That time, their actions seemed driven by fear of some vast, terrifying presence, their reverence preventing them from approaching.

But this time,

They chose to endure the harsh winter, striving to move as much as possible, continuously approaching an unknown location in the distance.

It was almost like… a pilgrimage.

And at this very moment, inside the physical fitness testing camp,

Boom!

Deprived of its overflowing spiritual energy, the spirit-sand hourglass, which had been floating in mid-air, crashed back to the ground with a heavy thud.

The electronic instruments, which had been disrupted by electromagnetic interference and unable to function properly, gradually returned to normal, but the screens still flickered with occasional errors.

The violent wind gradually subsided, but the dancing arcs of electricity and the smell of burning metal lingered in the air, pervading the scene.

Only then did the long-silent crowd seem to awaken, erupting in unrestrained exclamations.

Although most people didn't know what had just happened, nor did they understand the phenomenon of awakening and breaking through to the extraordinary, the dazzling spiritual light and the sudden burst of lightning and wind were enough to shock everyone.

Compared to the students who could only shout "Damn!", "Cool!", "Awesome!" and other linguistically deficient exclamations, the professors and the present practitioners of the extraordinary were the ones most overwhelmed!

"Extraordinary!"

Zhang Fucheng's body flashed with arcs of electricity, accidentally setting the list he was holding on fire. He quickly extinguished the flames, but his astonished expression lingered. "The Extraordinary Realm?! And a lightning-attributed spiritual power specialty!"

No wonder I felt a slight attraction from my own lightning techniques when I saw him. High magnetic fields naturally resonate with each other... but how is this possible!

Since the Severing of Heaven and Earth a thousand years ago, the spiritual energy density of the world had plummeted, and the remaining spiritual energy had become almost completely inert. This had not only cut off the path of cultivation for most people, but also completely severed the path to ascension—no matter how talented someone might be, it was now impossible to connect with external spiritual energy and achieve the Extraordinary.

In the past decade or so, the spiritual energy density had been rising, and the spiritual energy had gradually begun to reactivate. This had certainly brought many troubles and disputes, but it had also allowed many practitioners who had been stuck in place for decades to move forward again... but, no matter how you put it, the real spiritual energy revival had only been going on for four months!

Even the world's top practitioners, stuck at the peak of Awakening for decades, had only entered the Extraordinary recently!

"Four months, from Initial Awakening to the Extraordinary..." Professor Zhang slowly closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. "A natural Dao body... no, this is, this is the bearing of an immortal!"

"Damn." On the other side, Guan Wanjing opened his jaw, which was as solid as a steel brick. Originally confident that he had secured first place, he crushed the hand exerciser in his hand and stared dumbfounded at Su Zhou, who had already withdrawn his hand and seemed to be regulating the spiritual energy within his body.

Guan Wanjing was so shocked that, after uttering that simple and rustic exclamation from Zheng Country, he even forgot to close his jaw. "Damn, is this a human being?"

"Su Zhou probably doesn't have any cultivation technique inheritance... could it be that he's purely relying on talent to advance to the Extraordinary at this moment?!"

He had already repeatedly overestimated Su Zhou's talent, and guessed that Su Zhou might indeed be very powerful, even more powerful than himself—Guan Wanjing had guessed the outcome correctly, but he hadn't guessed the extent of the gap!

And the two Zheng Yi Sect geniuses who had previously assessed Su Zhou also exchanged glances. The female student said quietly, "This is what you meant by just being handsome?"

The round-faced male student quickly waved his hand. "I didn't say that! Besides, it looks like... being handsome really does come with superpowers!"

It wasn't just these people. Professors from other academies also frequently exclaimed in astonishment, their voices filled with incredulity and profound shock.

"How is it possible, but it really happened..."

"Actually, right now, just..."

"Within three minutes, I want all the information on this student—everything!"

Su Zhou was currently unconcerned with the praise and exclamations directed at him.

He had already achieved his goal—to fully display his talent on the grand stage of the physical fitness assessment.

Su Zhou had already guessed and estimated what would happen next.

"The best possibility is that I'll be regarded as an unprecedented genius, be interviewed by the local leaders, and receive key cultivation—in fact, this possibility is extremely high. My parents are both civil servants, and although theoretically I shouldn't expect help from Uncle Shao's family, others won't see it that way. My advancement is mysterious, but precisely because of this, they will be curious."

"The next best possibility is that I'll be closely watched... actually, I can't even imagine why I would be closely watched, but who knows if Zheng Country officials and local leaders will have a lapse in judgment? It doesn't matter anyway. As long as there are people with normal intelligence, they won't allow a genius of my level to be met with hostility and coldness, especially when they don't know my trump cards."

"The worst-case scenario is that I'll be wanted on the spot... damn, what kind of possibility is that? Did I betray the country or kill thousands of students here on the spot? Yala, your thinking is flawed. Why can you always come up with such idiotic possibilities?"

It turned out that the possibilities and estimations just now were all discussed by Yala and Su Zhou, and at this time, Yala, faced with Su Zhou's mental complaints, said calmly, "The multiverse is vast, and anything is possible. The possibilities I just mentioned are all things I have personally witnessed and that have happened before... for example, if Zheng Country officials discover that you are the Transcendent who wiped out the Tang family, they might really keep a close eye on you—although the greater possibility is that they will gloss over it and pretend they didn't see it, but even so, we can't deny the possibility, right?"

"But don't worry." Speaking of this, Yala actually comforted Su Zhou instead: "Even if that one in a trillion possibility occurs and you're wanted, with your current lightning powers, it will be easy to escape from this camp. Then we'll use the Divine Scale to travel to another world, cultivate for ten years or so, and then crush the entire world when we return!"

"That kind of comfort is unnecessary." Su Zhou retorted sharply, "I've told you many times, I'm not you. I won't be chased around the world by others!"

At this time, Su Zhou was striding towards the team from No. 1 High School. Professor Zuo, who was at the head, immediately felt a terrifying pressure flash past—that was Su Zhou's Transcendental-level spiritual pressure. Even when suppressed, the slightest involuntary release could intimidate everyone.

The spiritual energy released by powerful cultivators would disrupt the souls of the weak. If they couldn't avoid this influence, or if they weren't born with a steadfast mind that wouldn't be shaken, then as long as they got close, they would be intimidated and unable to display their full strength.

"How did it go?"

At this moment, Shao Qiming also saw his friend walking towards the team. The crowd along the way retreated slightly, seeming to make way for him, but Su Zhou had an indifferent expression, as if he had expected this.

"How else could it go? You've shaken the world. You're going to be famous, brother!"

He teased him like that, showing a sincere smile, but then, Shao Qiming couldn't help but sigh slightly, muttering to himself, "And I'm still a bit far off."

At the same time, Zhang Fucheng received a call. He learned that the snakes and insects around Hong City, to be precise, around Meiling, were suddenly behaving abnormally.

"What's going on? Didn't they leave before? Why are they suddenly back now...? Wait!"

For some reason, feeling the faint pressure on Su Zhou and the faint sound of wind that sounded like a dragon's roar, Zhang Fucheng suddenly had a flash of inspiration—he suddenly recalled the scene he saw in Hong City in August this year, where the strange dragon-like snakes and fish were all retreating and migrating!

Streams of red carp, winding snakes and insects, left Hong City in a mighty tide... that hasty and fearful escape, as if avoiding some higher-level existence.

And now, the return of the dragon species, the reason behind it... Thinking, his mind became clearer and clearer.

"The dragon species left because they felt a threat. Just like there won't be other large predators in an ecosystem with tigers, the same goes for dragon species. They will compete for resources, so the stronger will drive out the weaker."

"But, if the gap widens, the weaker dragon species will return."

How to put it?

If two dragons were in the same river, the same lake, the same mountain range, then they would naturally have to determine the winner and the loser, and the weaker would retreat.

But if one was a true dragon and the other was a true dragon descendant, staying by the true dragon's side would allow the descendant to be immersed in its aura and become stronger... then before it advanced to become a true *jiao long* (flood dragon), the descendant would be drawn to this place, just like being drawn to a blessed land!

"Su Zhou, he is the one who holds the dragon's blood!"

Everything suddenly dawned on him, and Zhang Fucheng finally understood: "It's him, Su Zhou! He advanced from Initial Awakening to Awakening at that time, and the pressure dispersed a city's worth of dragon species!"

"In that case, the *mu wugong* (wooden centipede) must have been killed by him—that might have been the opportunity for him to advance. *Jia mu* (elemental wood) generates wind and thunder, and the demon core of the *mu wugong* promotes the *yang qi* (masculine energy), which allows him to gain his wind and thunder energy, a perfect opportunity!"

With more and more clues combining in his mind, Zhang Fucheng felt that a perfect process even appeared in his mind: "He was born with an extraordinary physique and extremely high soul strength. Once awakened, he was equivalent to a second-stage Awakening cultivator. Then, after the spiritual energy revival, he awakened his spiritual energy specialization. After four months of accumulation, he advanced to the Extraordinary... Although it's still incredibly strange, at least there's an explanation!"

"This kid, I even reminded him to be careful of the *jiao long* that might be lurking in the Gan River... No wonder I couldn't find it in the sewers or the river. It turned out that the dragon vein was lurking by our side!"

"He is the one who holds the dragon's blood!"

And at this moment, in the monitoring room,

"Not surprising, not surprising... If ordinary people who have never been in contact with the Extraordinary world suddenly obtain power, it's normal for them to want to hide themselves."

"If I had such talent, I would definitely hide myself and dare to appear and show my talent only after I had at least the power to protect myself—even if I knew that no one would harm me for it, my instincts would make me do so. This is the nature of animals in their infancy. Humans are, after all, a type of animal."

The director had also been stunned for a full ten seconds before he recovered—he was still a little bit away from the Extraordinary, and he needed to wait for the spiritual energy to continue to recover and for his physical functions to return to middle age before he could try. Su Zhou's strength had already surpassed his.

No, based on the wind and thunder phenomenon just now, even if he advanced to the Extraordinary, he would probably have a hard time defeating him in hand-to-hand combat!

But then, the director became suspicious: "But something is still a little off—why did he suddenly dare to show his talent now?"

"Could it be that he feels that he can protect himself now?"

After saying this to himself, the director laughed instead. He shook his head with a smile and said, "Isn't that right... the Transcendental realm, a dragon species wielding the power of wind and thunder, how could the soldiers and Transcendent people present possibly hold him back?"

At the same time,

Zhang Qingyun did not take over his old friend's words.

Why dare to show talent? You're saying this to an eighteen-year-old young man! Almost anything is possible. It could be well thought out, it could be a spur-of-the-moment decision, or it could just be pure confidence.

Who knows what the child in this age is thinking, instead of caring about this, it is better to think about other useful things.

"Hoo."

Letting out a long breath, the old man, who had been staring intently at the youth on the screen, seemingly calculating and comparing something ever since he saw Su Zhou advance to the Extraordinary, finally raised his head and said in a deep voice, "Su Zhou..."

"His power and talent can be called the best in the country..."

"No."

Saying this, he shook his head, then continued to stare at the young man on the screen who was smiling and talking with his friend next to him.

Zhang Qingyun asserted, "His talent."

"Is the best in the world."