Liang Chen and Yan Ling joined Song Bowen and the remaining Song siblings when they left the castle area to greet the returning king and queen. Of course, they joined them so that they could greet their fellow sect disciples, the king and queen of this nation actually had a lower standing in the sect than Liang Chen and Yan Ling.
The ones that had accepted the mission to guard the king and queen were Long Hai and Long Chang, two twins who were approaching their sixties but still looked like they were in their twenties. They were tall and staunch, with square faces, blue eyes, and short blonde hair. The only way to tell the difference between them was using the scar that Long Hai had, one that went sideways over his nose. When the four people met, they cupped their fists and gave each other a bow, the Long twins being the ones who opened their mouths first.
"Greetings, Junior Brother Chen, Young Mistress Ling. We've already heard about what you've done here, and I must say that I am truly surprised. It seems like we can expect a good show during the next tournament, I hope you can give our Storm Hall disciples a good fight."
Liang Chen and Yan Ling had sent a message back to the sect after they finished the battle, telling them about the enemies. The sect had sent this information on to the Long twins, who then increased their speed so that they could return faster.
Both the twins were members of Storm Hall, but the appearance of a strong disciple like Liang Chen, someone who could kill people at the late stage of the Heaven's Gate realm while still at the early stage, was greatly welcomed, even if he was a disciple of Wolf Hall. The Long brothers also didn't forget to praise Yan Ling quite a bit, she was the daughter of the Sect Master after all.
Once the greetings and introductions were out of the way, the four people split up. The Long twins followed the king and queen to the castle area, as they had to protect them for a few more days before their mission could be considered complete. Liang Chen and Yan Ling, on the other hand, left the city, as their mission was now complete and they could return to the sect to pick up their rewards.
Yan Ling brought out the elongated golden chariot that the two of them had ridden to the Snow Mirror nation, both of them stepping onto it and letting it fly them away from the city. But as they were flying, Liang Chen could tell that there was something on Yan Ling's mind, she seemed to be thinking quite deeply about something.
His thoughts were confirmed after two days of flying, when Yan Ling brought the golden chariot down, landing in a rather large and dense forest located quite a bit away from the Snow Mirror nation. The trees in this forest were a bit strange, as the leaves were so deep green in color that they were almost black, they were also long and thin, resembling needles.
Liang Chen didn't say anything after the chariot landed, simply leaning against the side of it as he waited for Yan Ling to open her mouth. She seemed to struggle a bit with it, but after two minutes passed, she was able to say what was on her mind.
"I want to break through to the Heaven's Gate realm here, at the same time, I also want to try to awaken my bloodline, can you safeguard me while I do that?"
Yan Ling's eyes were strong and determined, almost blazing, as they stared at Liang Chen. Liang Chen didn't immediately respond, cocking his head slightly as he gave her a deep look.
"Can I assume that since you aren't willing to wait until we return to the sect, that you aren't actually allowed to attempt awakening your bloodline?"
They would be able to return to the sect in a few days, but Yan Ling seemed unwilling to wait until then. He didn't think she was so impatient that a few days would cause her to act like this, so the reason could only be something else. Yan Ling's lips stretched into a wry smile as she nodded her head, seemed like she had been seen through immediately.
"Father doesn't want me to attempt it, he says that it is pointless to try something we know won't work."
Other than their first ancestor Yan Yi, no one in the Yan family had been able to awaken their bloodline. By now it was so diluted that most of the people who inherited the bloodline thought it impossible to awaken it. Liang Chen still didn't respond, his eyes rolling as he thought it over. Seeing him act like this, a pleading look appeared in Yan Ling's eyes.
"It's not dangerous, I promise. So please..."
This would require her full attention, so if any Demonic beast or the like came close, there was no way she could defend herself. If she didn't have Liang Chen to safeguard her, it would become incredibly dangerous. Liang Chen rolled his eyes a bit more, but eventually threw his arms up in defeat and let out a sigh.
"Ha~ah, fine, fine. I'll keep you safe from intruders, so you just focus fully on your breakthrough."
Yan Ling was his friend, so even though he knew that she was actually forbidden from doing this, he still wanted to help her. Yan Ling's face instantly lit up with a bright and charming smile, giving Liang Chen a short and quick bow.
"Thank you!"
She quickly stored away the chariot and cleared away some of the surrounding trees, creating an open area where she could cultivate. After creating the clearing, she sat down at the center and started to take out several items from her interspatial ring. The items she took out were various herbs and crystals she had gotten from Song Bowen right after they arrived, or they were taken from the interspatial ring of Geng Zhen.
Once she was completely surrounded by herbs, crystals, vials of blood, and Demonic beast parts, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. A stream of Qi seeped out of her body and surrounded all the items, breaking them down into energy that was then drawn into her body.
Her Ascended Tower floated out from her dantian, shining with a deep green light. This was the first time Liang Chen saw someone break through to the Heaven's Gate realm, so even though he was also keeping guard, he was also closely observing Yan Ling.
As more and more energy was brought into Yan Ling's body, the gates of the green tower started to slowly open, a faint humming sound spreading throughout the area, like a soft song that calmed the soul. It wasn't hard for her to break through to the Heaven's Gate realm, not with her preparations. So after only one day, the gates of the tower were thrown wide open, showing that she had entered the Heaven's Gate realm. After the gates opened, the tower retreated to her dantian.
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But this was only the start, now came the actually difficult part, awakening her bloodline. She took out more vials of blood and different Demonic beast parts from her interspatial ring, surrounding them with her Qi and drawing out all the energy within them.
The energy formed a crimson stream of energy that released a bloody scent. The stream turned into several thin needles that stabbed into her body, digging their way into her veins and flesh, spreading throughout her entire body, prodding at her bloodline in hopes of awakening it.
The wind in the area started to pick up, growing stronger and more ferocious, an emerald green tornado starting to form around Yan Ling. The energy she was radiating grew stronger and stronger, a strange pressure starting to seep out from her body, even Liang Chen's bloodline started to feel pressured under this strange pressure. But he knew that even though he felt this, Yan Ling's bloodline was still far away from actually awakening.
Awakening a bloodline as grand as the bloodline of Star God Sirius wasn't easy, the heavens would not allow it to be easy. The sky started to turn dark, thick clouds gathering above them, a heavenly tribulation had come to punish Yan Ling.
Seeing the thick clouds, and sensing the energy gathered within them, Yan Ling stood up, a grave expression on her face. This was a tribulation, she had to face it on her own. If anyone tried to aid her, the tribulation would not only grow tremendously in strength, it would also start to aim at the one who had interfered, looking to strike them down and kill them. Knowing this, who would truly be foolish enough to interfere in a heavenly tribulation? It was tantamount to suicide.
Yan Ling took a deep breath, gazing at the clouds with a determined expression. If she could surpass this tribulation, she would be a step closer to awakening her bloodline. If she failed, she might very well die, which was the main reason her father didn't want her to attempt this.
A thunderous rumbling sound rang out, crimson bolts of lightning flashing out from the deep blue clouds, dancing in the air beneath the clouds. Seeing these bolts of lightning, Liang Chen's expression grew solemn. He knew very well just how strong this crimson lightning was, trying to resist it was no easy feat.
But then, a change occurred in the clouds above them. Azure flames started to spew out from the clouds, forming thick pillars that hovered beneath the clouds. Yan Ling and Liang Chen grew even more solemn when they saw this. Not only tribulation lightning, but she also had to resist the equally powerful tribulation fire?
If she had any regrets, it was already too late to think about them, the fire and lightning starting to descend. A thick pillar of flame and a large bolt of lightning flashed down from the clouds, heading directly for Yan Ling.
Yan Ling clenched her fists, the wind all around her gathering around her fists, forming small tornados. She sent a punch at the bolt of lightning that arrived first, the force of it tearing apart the tornado around her fist and leaving gashes on her hand. But the attack did the trick, the bolt of lightning dissipating right in front of her.
The next to arrive was the pillar of blue flames, which was met with a punch of her other hand. Taking on this hit was a bit easier for her, as her wind was strong enough to extinguish the flames. But blocking it still left burns on her left hand, her fingers turning black.
This was just the first volley, so she didn't even have the chance to catch her breath, another pillar and another bolt of lightning quickly arriving. She didn't even have the time to prepare a proper defense, she could only punch out with all her might, gathering as much wind as she could.
The bolt of lightning arrived first, tearing through her defenses and striking her arm. Large cracks started to appear on her arm, blood pouring forth as it seemed like her arm would split apart. Then came the pillar of flame, the wind she used as defense turning to ash after only a short second. The cloth around her arm was the next to turn to ash, her entire arm starting to scorch black as the disgusting smell of charred human flesh started to fill the area.
She was now wounded and somewhat weak, but she had managed to block the second volley. But who knew how many volleys there were in this tribulation, who knew how much she would have to resist before she was done?
As the third volley started to descend, Liang Chen continued to watch, keeping a close eye on Yan Ling. Wounded and weak, her body bleeding heavily as she faced the might of the heaven. She looked so small and weak in front of that might, but she didn't even flinch, she even carried a challenging smile. Amidst blue fire and crimson lightning, she bloomed like a flower, proud and alone.
Looking at the scene, a question appeared in Liang Chen's mind. What if she failed to resist it? What if she perished here, struck down by the might of the heavens? Once the questions appeared in his mind, he instantly reached an answer. He didn't want that. He didn't want her to be struck down by the heavens, he didn't want her efforts to be in vain, he didn't want her to die here, it would be too much of a shame.
Once the answer came to him, he wasted no time. Time around him sped up and he stepped forward, his hair and eyes turning gray as shimmering gray scales appeared on his arms. He stepped next to Yan Ling and took out a few different pills from his interspatial ring, stuffing them into her mouth and pushing her to the side, causing her to let out a shocked exclamation.
"What are y-?!"
She didn't get to finish her sentence, a thunderous explosion sounding out as Liang Chen's scaly fist made contact with the bolt of lightning. One of his scales cracked, but the bolt of lightning managed to do no further damage before it sank into his body, nourishing it.
The pillar of fire followed right after the bolt of lightning, Liang Chen punching it with all his might, a thick bolt of azure lightning flashing out from his fist and piercing the flames, only stopping when it reached the clouds above them. He didn't look at Yan Ling, his blazing eyes landing on the deep blue clouds as he spoke.
"Just focus on the flames, leave this lightning to me."
He didn't want Yan Ling to die, and he also didn't want the heavens to have their way. So what if they increased the strength of this tribulation? He would still beat it down and survive, and he would also ensure that Yan Ling survived this tribulation. That azure bolt of lightning was his proclamation, a proclamation that not even the heavens were allowed to kill someone he wanted to keep alive.