Chapter 106: Heavenly Court
In cultivation, time becomes meaningless.
Ever since obtaining the Green Lotus Core Flame, Yao Yan hadn't rushed to refine it. Instead, he threw himself into cultivation, becoming utterly absorbed. He used this time to get used to his rapidly rising strength—spending his days either refining pills, tempering his body with the Green Lotus Core Flame, or sparring with Hai Bodong. Time passed just like that.
In the blink of an eye.
He had already spent nearly three months in the Snake-People Tribe's royal palace, and during that time, his strength steadily improved.
He consumed three Earth Flame Lotus Seeds and several supporting pills to raise his Dou Qi to the level of a seven-star Dou Ling.
But compared to the growth of his Dou Qi, the increase in his physical strength was even more worthy of celebration. His flesh and blood had grown far stronger than three months prior. When he activated his life force, his skin would glow with a dazzling silver sheen—almost like a miniature silver figure. But a closer look would still reveal traces of bronze underneath.
Not that it mattered. At this point, Yao Yan could even resist the direct burning of the Green Lotus Core Flame with nothing but his flesh and blood.
…
Boom boom—
Above the small island in the middle of the lake, two figures were exchanging blows. The deafening explosions shook the lake water, sending waves and splashes in every direction.
These two were, of course, Yao Yan and Cai Lin.
They weren't fighting seriously—just sparring. Yet Yao Yan, relying solely on the strength and defense of his physical body, could already match a peak Dou Huang like Cai Lin without being defeated. His powerful body was comparable to the Heavenly Demon Puppet from the original story—perhaps even more agile.
After all, Yao Yan was a living human. He could dodge Dou Techniques, disrupt his opponent's Dou Qi flow, and wasn't just standing there tanking hits like an idiot.
"Slash!"
Cai Lin's long sword released a seven-colored slash. A sharp glint flashed in her cold and elegant eyes as she gave a light shout. The colorful Dou Qi slash tore through the air, warping the surrounding space, almost on the verge of ripping it open.
Yao Yan remained calm, showing no fear. He didn't even dodge. Instead, he threw a punch.
In the past, this technique required full power to create an air cannon. But now, it felt like a casual attack. As the air in front of him collapsed, a powerful shockwave clashed head-on with Cai Lin's strike.
When the two collided, a violent energy burst erupted, with fierce winds sweeping in all directions.
Cai Lin watched the scene, her deep purple eyes involuntarily turning toward the unscathed Yao Yan. She was numb at this point. Her entire worldview had been repeatedly shattered and rebuilt by this man. She had once been a genius herself—reaching the peak of nine-star Dou Huang in only two or three decades.
But compared to this monster, her pride and confidence now seemed laughable.
"Come again!"
Yao Yan, on the other hand, was in high spirits and laughed heartily at her.
After six months of relentless training—barely even sleeping—he was eager to test his progress. He was filled with a primal urge to fight. Maybe this was just how men were: the moment they gained power, they felt a strong desire to unleash it.
But Cai Lin put away her sword, her red lips parting as she said, "That's enough. Continuing is pointless~"
With that, her slender waist twisted and her Dou Qi wings fluttered as she descended to the island below. She didn't want to continue fighting. Against this iron-clad beast, unless she used her trump cards and went all-out, she couldn't even pose a threat. And a normal sparring match clearly didn't benefit Yao Yan anymore.
Yao Yan watched her alluring figure descend. His wild grin froze slightly. He sighed, restrained his aura, and once his inner energy calmed, the silver sheen on his skin faded. In a flash, he followed her down.
Just as the two landed, Cai Die came bouncing over. She hugged her sister and, with a proud smile, said, "Sister, wasn't the Young Master amazing?"
Her tone practically shouted: That's my man!
Hai Bodong and Hua She'er stood to the side, quietly watching. They weren't surprised in the least. Over the past month, Cai Lin had sparred with Yao Yan many times. He had gone from being completely overwhelmed to now going toe-to-toe with her. His rate of improvement was frankly insane.
Cai Lin ignored her sister and turned her eyes toward Yao Yan. "When do you plan to refine the Green Lotus Core Flame?"
With Yao Yan's current body, plus the assistance of Ice Spirit Cold Spring, refining the flame posed almost no risk. Even if he failed, the damage to himself would be minimal. Only by experiencing it firsthand could one understand just how terrifying his physical body had become.
Compared to him, the Green Lotus Core Flame even seemed… docile.
"Once my Dou Qi increases by another one or two stars, I'll use the refining process to break through directly to Dou Wang."
Yao Yan answered without hesitation—something everyone had already guessed.
In the original story, when Xiao Yan refined the Green Lotus Core Flame, it had been a waste. Due to his low strength, he couldn't fully absorb the flame's essence. Most of it had gone to Cai Lin, allowing her as the newly evolved Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python to instantly reach fifth-rank strength.
If one didn't know better, it was one thing. But knowing this, Yao Yan intended to use every drop of the flame to its fullest.
Cai Lin wasn't surprised, nor did her expression change. She simply said, "Yesterday, the Jia Ma Empire sent envoys to the Snake-People Tribe. They offered us a territory suitable for survival in exchange for a non-aggression pact. I refused."
Without enough strength, leaving the Tagor Desert would only make the Snake-People Tribe a target. To humans, the tribe was little more than merchandise. Only by becoming truly powerful could they attain true freedom.
As for relying on Yao Yan? Queen Medusa had never been the type to depend on others.
Better to rely on herself!
Seeing how quickly Yao Yan's power was rising, Cai Lin began to yearn even more for Dou Zong-level strength. She had been stuck at peak nine-star Dou Huang for years. Perhaps it was time to break through. But that still depended on Yao Yan—just as they had agreed earlier.
The Breaking Sect Pill.
A tier-six high-grade pill that helped Dou Huang experts break through to Dou Zong. Even if it failed, it ensured they wouldn't regress.
Its value was enough to drive any peak Dou Huang into madness.
In the Dou Qi continent, being an alchemist was indeed a dream profession.
Upon hearing this—
Yao Yan paused for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, are you interested in working with me? I plan to create a new faction. If the chance arises in the future, we could even unify the northwest—and reach toward Central Plains."
The second half was obviously long-term. Without Dou Sheng-level power, he didn't seriously think about unifying the northwest yet. That region wasn't weak—in the original story, it had multiple Dou Zun-level experts, and who knew how many hidden Dou Shengs?
But founding a force of his own—that had always been his goal.
Whether it was the Hall of Souls or the Hun Clan, none of them truly served him. He could borrow their strength but not trust them. It was better to "go public"—while using the Hun Clan to grow stronger, he could also build his own faction. One day, if he broke through to Dou Di, he could rule the Dou Qi continent outright.
And beyond that… there was still the Great Thousand World.
Compared to that, the Dou Qi continent was just the beginning.
He needed his own force to support him—whether it be for intelligence or cultivation resources.
The moment he finished speaking, Cai Lin's phoenix-like eyes flickered with surprise. Her brows furrowed slightly as she stared coldly at Yao Yan. "If I remember correctly, Young Master is from a major clan in Central Plains. With your background and talent, why would you need to create a faction?"
She thought Yao Yan was pitying the Snake-People Tribe, and that struck a nerve—she even stopped using his name.
Cai Die looked unsure what to say. She quickly tried to defuse the tension. "Sister, the Young Master didn't mean it like that!"
Yao Yan gave Cai Die a reassuring glance, then turned to face Queen Medusa. He said calmly, "Your Majesty, didn't you recently face inner conflict in your tribe? Surely you know that the bigger the clan, the more internal strife it harbors. The clan head might be the highest position, but underneath them are countless who fight for power. I have no interest in those games. I'd rather build something that's truly ours."
He paused.
Then looked toward Hai Bodong and continued:
"The Snake-People Tribe and the Jia Ma Empire make a great starting point. You and I have similar strength—we can grow together and build something from scratch. I already have ties with Cai Die, and I'm friends with the Ice Emperor Hai Bodong. That makes your tribe and the Miteer Clan my natural allies. Who else would I go to?"
"The Miteer Clan has no objections. If Young Master wants to build a faction, we will support it!"
Hai Bodong didn't hesitate for a second.
Watching Yao Yan's power skyrocket, he had already made up his mind. Following Yao Yan would only raise his own ceiling. It was a good investment no matter how you looked at it.
Cai Lin's eyes flashed. She stared intently at Yao Yan, unsure if he was being sincere. With his talent, any major clan would have raised him as their successor. As long as his strength grew, who would dare challenge his authority—just like she did in the Snake-People Tribe?
Cai Die gently tugged on Cai Lin's arm, her eyes full of hope. It was clear she wanted Yao Yan and the tribe to be more closely tied.
"The Snake-People Tribe has no objections either."
Cai Lin paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement. She didn't remain stubborn—if Yao Yan truly meant what he said, it was clearly beneficial to the tribe.
Seeing both of them agree, Yao Yan smiled. "You won't regret this decision."
"Young Master, what will our faction be called in the future?"
Cai Die was excited. She let go of her sister's arm and scooted up to Yao Yan like a curious child. Her bright blue eyes sparkled as they stared at him, reflecting his handsome face like twin sapphire mirrors.
Yao Yan didn't think too long. He already had a name in mind: "Heavenly Court."
"Heavenly Court?!"
Everyone repeated the name. It didn't seem especially unique—there was no such concept in the Great Thousand World—but somehow, it felt… special. Just hard to describe.
Cai Die tilted her head. "Young Master, does it have a special meaning?"
"It sounds good."
Yao Yan gave a mysterious smile and didn't explain. If he ever gained the power to control the entire Great Thousand World and reach into the myriad realms, no name would be more fitting than "Heavenly Court." But for now, he didn't have the right to say such things—it was still far off.
So no one pressed the issue.
Hai Bodong immediately said, "Young Master, I'll return to the Jia Ma Empire and try to persuade the other factions. From what I know, as long as you can offer Breaking Sect Pills, they won't refuse."
In his mind, he already pictured the expression on Yun Shan's face. Unlike Jia Xing Tian, that old man was a total recluse and had no interest in managing power. With a prodigy like Yao Yan at the helm, Yunlan Sect would have no reason to refuse.
"Just inform them for now. With my current strength, it's not time to expand too rapidly. If they want to join, great. If not, we can maintain a cooperative relationship."
Yao Yan nodded and said calmly.
As for whether this would alert the Hall of Souls? With their slow response time, by the time they investigated, he'd already be in the Black-Corner Region. At that point, he would actively approach them and contact Hun Xu Zi—his "mentor."
Hai Bodong nodded, exchanged a few more words with Yao Yan, and then transformed into a streak of light heading toward the Jia Ma Empire.
"When you finish refining the Breaking Sect Pill, no one in the Snake-People Tribe will oppose you—including me."
Cai Lin said, then turned and walked back toward the palace, taking Cai Die with her. At least she knew Yao Yan needed someone to handle his living arrangements, so she left behind Hua She'er—the gentle and attentive maid.
Yao Yan wasn't really interested in women at the moment. He nodded to Hua She'er and turned toward the Green Lotus Core Flame. He intended to break through to eight-star Dou Ling today. After that, he would begin refining the heavenly flame—aiming to use its power to break into Dou Wang. Even if that failed, he'd at least reach peak Dou Ling.
Then, using Flame Mantra, he'd devour the Green Lotus Core Flame and convert its essence into his own power. That way, no matter how wide the gap between Dou Ling and Dou Wang, he could leap across it.
Dou Wang.
That would be the true beginning of his ascent.
(END CHAPTER)
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