Chapter 351 : Scorpion-Lion Advances to Transcendent
Chapter 351: Scorpion-Lion Advances to Transcendent
A month later, winter had passed, and early spring had arrived. The northern lands of the Alliance had begun to show signs of new life.
Inside the Duanmu Family estate at Yunhai Base, however, the entire estate had entered its highest state of alert. Guards stood watch every few steps, with patrols stationed everywhere.
Within several hundred meters of the estate, all pedestrian traffic was prohibited, and shops of every size had been forced to suspend business.
The Beast Tamers of the family rode their respective beasts, constantly patrolling both inside and outside the estate.
Faced with such overbearing actions from the Duanmu Family, none of the major forces within Yunhai Base—not even the Alliance authorities—voiced any objections.
That was because a tremendous aura was slowly gathering within the Duanmu Family estate, resembling the calm before a volcanic eruption.
Almost everyone knew that the Duanmu Family's young master, Duanmu Lingyuan, was breaking through to become a Transcendent Master.
Once Scorpion-Lion successfully advanced to the Transcendent Master realm, the Duanmu Family would possess two Transcendent Masters, making them an unquestionable hegemonic force within Yunhai Base.
Above the Duanmu Family estate, three figures floated in midair.
Besides Duanmu Ruibo, the other two were Mu Tianqing, Vice President of the Hunter Guild, and Xu Xuan, President of the Yunhai Base Hunter Guild Branch.
Mu Tianqing appeared to be only sixty or seventy years old, but in reality, he was already over three hundred. Three claw-like scars stretched across his face, giving him an imposing, battle-hardened aura.
Xu Xuan appeared much younger by comparison. A gentle smile lingered at the corners of his mouth, making him seem far more approachable than Mu Tianqing.
As the three watched, the aura that had accumulated for so long within the underground Secret Chamber beneath the Duanmu Family estate erupted like a volcano.
In an instant, the floating clouds overhead churned violently.
Seeing this, all three revealed delighted smiles.
Meanwhile, the members of the Duanmu Family both inside and outside the estate burst into ecstatic cheers.
Their Duanmu Family had gained another Transcendent expert.
Moreover, considering Scorpion-Lion's age, even reaching the realm of a Legendary Saint was no longer an impossible dream.
Within the estate, no one was more excited than Scorpion-Lion's father, Duanmu Hengyue.
This influential figure of Yunhai Base had completely abandoned his dignified image. His hearty laughter was so loud that it seemed capable of spreading throughout the entire Yunhai Base.
"What are you so happy about? It's not like you're the one who advanced to Transcendent Master."
Standing beside Duanmu Hengyue, a graceful and well-rounded noblewoman immediately poured cold water over his excitement. She was none other than Scorpion-Lion's mother, Jiang Wan.
"Why can't I be happy? My son has become a Transcendent Master."
"Hmph. Your father and your son have both advanced to Transcendent Master, while you're still stuck in the middle without making the slightest progress, yet you're still proud of yourself?"
"Today is our son's day of celebration. I won't argue with you."
Deeply wounded, Duanmu Hengyue turned his head aside and muttered under his breath.
At least they were still his father and son. As far as carrying on the family line was concerned, he had not failed his ancestors.
While the Duanmu Family was celebrating wildly, the other forces within Yunhai Base were far less pleased.
They all understood that from this day onward, surviving in Yunhai Base would require watching the Duanmu Family's mood.
Soon after Scorpion-Lion successfully advanced to Transcendent Master, Wang Chaoling, Commander of the Yunhai Base City Defense Army, and Yang Shanding, President of Yunhai Beast Taming University, personally arrived to offer their congratulations.
"Congratulations, Patriarch Duanmu. The Duanmu Family has produced another Transcendent expert."
"Congratulations as well, President Mu. You've gained a grandson-in-law with limitless potential."
As representatives of the Alliance, the two could not help but sigh inwardly.
Heaven truly favored the Duanmu Family.
Duanmu Ruibo becoming a Transcendent Master had not been especially surprising.
But for his grandson to reach the Transcendent realm in his early thirties...
That was someone with the potential to become a Legendary Saint.
They were already aware of the marriage alliance between the Duanmu Family and Mu Tianqing's direct bloodline, meaning there was no longer any need to worry about obtaining the Radiant Knight class advancement required for reaching the Legendary Saint realm.
"Haha, thank you both for coming."
"Once Lingyuan has stabilized his cultivation, he will become engaged to President Mu's great-granddaughter. Be sure to attend when the time comes."
Now that Duanmu Ruibo had formally extended the invitation, the two immediately promised they would arrive on time.
While the Transcendent experts of Yunhai Base gathered together to celebrate Scorpion-Lion's breakthrough, Zhou Ming, thousands of miles away, was escaping from the Polar Ice Plain in a thoroughly bedraggled state.
"Ice Corpse Lord... sooner or later, I'll settle this score."
Zhou Ming glanced behind him. After confirming that the Ice Corpse Lord had not continued the pursuit, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
A month earlier, after parting ways with Duanmu Ruibo, he had decided to take advantage of already being in the Polar Ice Plain and explore the area.
Unexpectedly, on the outskirts of the Ghost Bone Mountain Range, he had discovered a piece of Extreme Cold Jade Marrow.
Back then, Jin Shuyu of the Golden Flower Group had presented him with a piece of Extreme Cold Jade Marrow, so Zhou Ming naturally knew how valuable such a spiritual treasure was.
Moreover, with Scorpion-Lion's engagement approaching, he had been worrying over an appropriate gift.
Thus, he had decided to take the risk of excavating the Extreme Cold Jade Marrow.
He had never expected the treasure to already have an owner.
Even on the outskirts of the Ghost Bone Mountain Range, an Ice Corpse Lord was present.
Fortunately, it was only an early-stage Transcendent Ice Corpse Lord. No matter how bizarre its abilities were, it was still no match for Zhou Ming.
However, the Ice Corpse Lord possessed intelligence comparable to that of an ordinary human.
The moment it realized it was no match for Zhou Ming, it immediately fled.
Zhou Ming had assumed no further accidents would occur.
Instead, the fleeing Ice Corpse Lord shamelessly called for reinforcements, gathering several other Ice Corpse Lords.
Since it couldn't win in a one-on-one fight, it simply resorted to a group beating.
This time, it was Zhou Ming's turn to flee for his life.
"Fortunately, I still managed to obtain two pieces of Extreme Cold Jade Marrow. Otherwise, this trip would have been a complete loss."
"But for several Ice Corpse Lords to gather in such a short time... it seems the deeper regions of the Ghost Bone Mountain Range must contain quite a large number of Ice Corpse Lords."
Looking at the two pieces of Extreme Cold Jade Marrow in his hand, Zhou Ming finally understood why Elder Ge had been so wary of the three great forbidden regions.
After calming the surging power of his bloodline, Zhou Ming stored away the Extreme Cold Jade Marrow before flying straight toward his own headquarters.
Two days later, after Zhou Ming returned to the Snake King Fortress camp, Su Mei came to report a piece of news.
A month later, the Duanmu Family would hold Scorpion-Lion's engagement ceremony, which would also celebrate his successful advancement to Transcendent Master.
"I didn't expect Scorpion-Lion to actually turn misfortune into fortune and use the Divine Summoning Flower to break through to Transcendent Master."
"It seems I really did put quite a bit of pressure on him."
At that moment, Zhou Ming credited himself for Scorpion-Lion's early breakthrough.
Thinking about it carefully, however, that was indeed partly true.
"My Lord, I want to go too."
Having completely stabilized her cultivation, Aina wore a casual outfit as she hugged Zhou Ming's arm and acted coquettishly, showing none of the bearing of a Transcendent expert.
"My Lord, Sister Aina has been staying in the camp this whole time. Please let her go out for a walk."
Seeing Aina repeatedly signaling with her eyes, Su Mei smiled helplessly and spoke on her behalf.
"Very well. You'll come with me then."
After some thought, Zhou Ming agreed.
Although Aina was his absolutely loyal maid, she had ultimately become a Transcendent expert. He still had to take her feelings into consideration.
Since Su Mei had also spoken up for her, Zhou Ming accepted Aina's request.
At the same time, he withdrew the right hand that had been tightly embracing her, remaining completely unmoved by Aina's temptation.
Aina was delighted, but she still let out a displeased snort.