Chapter 311 - 175: The Candidate
At that moment, the pressure from the stone stele seemed to be neutralized by a power welling up from his limbs and bones. Though his Bone Aspect had yet to manifest, Chu Lingguang could clearly feel every bone in his body responding with all its might.
He could even feel a surge of power rushing straight toward his Sea of Consciousness.
It made his mind incredibly clear.
He didn’t rush to take another step forward or puff out his chest to act as if the pressure was nothing. Instead, he remained perfectly still, with only one thought in his mind: ’I have to seize this response.’
How to get closer to the stele, how to resist the pressure—none of that was Chu Lingguang’s goal or interest anymore. Even if Xia Tianzhong and the others left him far behind, Chu Lingguang was completely unfazed.
Guo Wei’s recent letter had made him realize the importance of Guarding the Heart and staying true to his original intentions.
Chu Lingguang clearly understood that on the path of Martial Arts, one must not only forge ahead fearlessly and face challenges without dread, but more importantly, one must always guard their original intentions and never forget why they started.
When faced with the provocations of Xia Tianzhong and the other two, he had put on a fearless front and pushed forward. But driven by desire, his once-pure heart had already begun to waver.
That was why, in the days that followed, he had made a complete mess of his cultivation.
He had wanted to open his fourth-level Dharma Aspect, evolve his bloodline, and even comprehend the profound mysteries of the resonance between his flesh and his Spear Technique in front of the stele.
All of this was because he wanted to win too badly. He was too desperate to defeat Xia Tianzhong’s group in the next round of assessments and become the center of attention again.
There was nothing wrong with wanting to win.
The problem was his short-sightedness, his overconfidence, his arrogance.
Thankfully, Guo Wei’s letter had struck him like a bolt of lightning, making him realize where the problem lay.
Now, he still craved victory over Xia Tianzhong’s group and wished to dominate the Trial Ground, but his attitude was a world apart from before.
He was eager, but not impatient.
He would do his best and leave the rest to fate. He would cast aside all distracting thoughts and focus on one thing: opening his fourth-level Dharma Aspect!
He had long since banished the thought that he couldn’t beat Xia Tianzhong’s group if he failed to open his Dharma Aspect or evolve his bloodline.
Instead, he now felt that success would be a matter of luck, while failure was to be expected.
He put no pressure on himself to open his Dharma Aspect or evolve his bloodline. He would simply do his best, leave the rest to fate, and execute every step perfectly, savoring each moment of the process as he sought the response from his very bones.
With this mindset, Chu Lingguang’s focus was absolute. Through Introspection and his Perception Power, every response from his bones became clearly visible. As time passed, those responses grew until they were as deafening as the tolling of great bells.
Chu Lingguang finally managed to grasp this response.
In a state of Introspection, he saw his limbs and skeleton as if they were coated in a layer of golden light. The power in every bone was undergoing an earth-shattering transformation.
Special patterns grew within the bones, like a golden mesh that covered his flesh and bloodline. In that instant, he heard the cheers of his flesh and bloodline and felt them rapidly growing stronger.
Yun Hong was right.
A weak Dharma Aspect would hinder the expression of his True Dragon Power.
The Bone Aspect would grant his body the defense and resilience of steel and iron.
Letting the True Dragon Power erupt and surge through his body would not only avoid harming his flesh, bones, or even his bloodline, but would even strengthen them in the process.
Now that Chu Lingguang had successfully opened his Bone Aspect, not only had his skeletal frame been transformed, but his flesh and bloodline had also gained a layer of reinforcement and protection with the aid of its power.
Even his True Dragon Power had been unleashed.
It was like a torrent trapped behind a dam finally being released as the floodgates opened. The True Dragon Power surged and raged through Chu Lingguang’s bloodline like a flood crest passing through.
The long-suppressed power was finally released. It felt like letting out a breath that had been held in his chest, both exhilarating and clarifying.
Imperceptibly, the Abdominal Vortex also began to spin rapidly, echoing the True Dragon Power.
When his bones first responded, Chu Lingguang had felt a power from his limbs and skeleton rush toward his Sea of Consciousness. Now, at this moment, he finally grasped that power.
’So it was the power released by the Abdominal Vortex.’
’So I really do possess a Blood-colored World.’
’So that really is my own Sea of Consciousness.’
DRIP!
Chu Lingguang heard the sound of a water droplet falling. A cool sensation spread from between his eyebrows. The drop seemed to have landed right there. In his state of Introspection, he once again saw a red vortex appear at that spot. As his consciousness drew near, his vision shifted, and he entered the Blood-colored World once more.
After enduring countless hardships and trials, Chu Lingguang had finally formed a Sea of Consciousness. The Blood-colored World that had appeared while he was unconscious had now found its proper home.
Chu Lingguang saw a Qi Vortex coalescing within his Sea of Consciousness. A stream of qi extended from the vortex’s edge, flowing out of the Sea of Consciousness and forming a connection with the Abdominal Vortex.
In his state of Introspection.
Chu Lingguang discovered that the Qi Vortex in his Sea of Consciousness and the Abdominal Vortex were not connected by a simple straight line. Instead, they were bound together with all his blood vessels, his entire skeleton, and even every acupoint and orifice in his body. It was like a dense network linking every organ and point within him.
Although its aura was very weak.
But his Bone Aspect had successfully opened. He had also gained a Sea of Consciousness, located between his eyebrows. Chu Lingguang’s Perception Power evolved once more. His previously imperceptible Spiritual Sense began to take solid form. Though he still couldn’t project it very far, he could now use it to quickly inspect his entire body.
