For some reason, just hearing that name made Gu Longyu feel a sense of frustration and annoyance. He had no proof, but he felt that the boy Tianyi would be the biggest stumbling block to his rise. It was just a faint feeling, but Gu Longyu always trusted his instincts. He didn’t know how many times they had saved his life in the past. Well, in his first life as the Dragon Emperor.

  If it had been his first life, even before his rise, Gu Longyu would not have hesitated to eliminate the boy. Death had taught him to hide his claws, waiting for the best moment to eliminate threats without incurring public wrath.

  It was not that he didn’t have the courage to kill someone openly, but that the benefits did not outweigh the drawbacks. If he killed the boy, Gu Longyu was confident that he could get off with nothing more than a slap on the wrist, but it would turn the entire sect against him, and his father might even think him a fool. Not only would the benefits he could have gotten in the future disappear, but it would also ruin his long-term act as the only “reasonable” member of Dragon Horn Peak.

  Gu Longyu glanced at the boy Tianyi, standing side by side with the girl with perfect water spiritual roots. A sly smile graced his lips as he looked away. As long as he played his cards right, he could make the boy turn against the Rising Dragon Sect, and then wouldn’t he have a just reason to kill him?

  After Tianyi was taken by the Dragon Roar Peak Master, the other immortals soon lost interest. Perhaps some of them might have taken a fancy to the girl with a perfect water spiritual root, but since she was also taken, they left. Ordinarily, only disciples with heavenly spiritual roots would get their interest, and aside from those two, all the other accepted disciples were mediocre.

  It wasn’t just the immortals; the venerable- and grandmaster-level elders didn’t choose any disciples. Compared to a heavenly spiritual root and a perfect spiritual root, everyone else was too mediocre. Had it been a normal disciple selection, one or two elders might have chosen a disciple.

  For now, none of the new disciples were accepted. A few elders might be interested, but they were still in the observation phase. Once they saw their potential disciples’ characters while they were outer disciples, only then would they act or decide against accepting them.

  With the second half of the disciple selection over, an outer disciple led the unchosen disciples to Dragon Tail Peak, where they would live unless they were tasked with some chore or became inner disciples.

  Gu Longyu also left after bidding farewell to Weisheng. Weisheng didn’t leave because he lived on Dragon Head Peak.

  Upon returning to Dragon Horn Peak, he immediately looked for his father. His father was busy concocting pills. Although he was in the middle of concocting a pill, the guarding disciples did not dare block Gu Longyu’s path.

  Gu Longyu’s father was a man who looked to be Gu Longyu’s grandfather and not his father. “How is it, Yu’er? Did you see any disciples with single water spiritual roots?”

  “I have. She has a perfect water spiritual root.”

  Peak Master Gu’s eyes lit up but were also filled with regret. If he hadn’t been busy, he would not have ignored his son’s message, making him miss the perfect chance. “Quick. Tell me if anyone accepted her as a disciple.”

  As Gu Longyu recounted what happened, Peak Master Gu’s expression rose and fell—from the joy of hearing that the girl with perfect water spiritual roots was only accepted by a mortal elder to falling when he heard that she shared a close relationship with the boy with mutated heavenly spiritual roots.

  “It looks like I can only take action when she reaches the Core Formation Realm and leaves to temper herself,” Peak Master Gu muttered to himself.

  Although Gu Longyu couldn’t hear what his father said, he could guess about eighty to ninety percent of his thoughts. “Father, do you want to take the girl as a disciple? As long as they know, that elder won’t dare to block you. Even the Dragon Roar Peak Master will give you face.”

  The Dragon Roar Peak Master was stronger than his father. In fact, his father was among the weaker peak masters, but his status even rivaled the sect master. Why? Because he was a master alchemist—the only immortal alchemist in the Rising Dragon Sect.

  So what if Dragon Horn Peak’s Master Gu was overbearing? The other peak masters would still put on a smiling face and greet him.

  “Since she’s already taken, it just means it isn’t our fate. Forget about her. Yu’er, are you ready to undergo the Foundation Establishment Heavenly Tribulation?” Peak Master Gu asked.

  “I can start it anytime,” Gu Longyu said, the word “confidence” practically etched onto his forehead.

  “Good, good, good! As expected of my son,” Peak Master Gu said. Hesitation flashed across his face. “I have an elixir that can improve your potential, but you would have to delay your tribulation by at least a year, and it might be painful.”

  “Even a mortal can have a maximum of thirty-six hundred years of lifespan. What’s a year in comparison? If it can improve my potential, I’d gladly even wait five years.” Gu Longyu didn’t mention the pain, as if he hadn’t heard about it, but that was because of his confidence.

  “Yu’er, what if I can further improve your potential, but you would need to wait even longer? I don’t have the materials right now, and it can still improve your potential even after you enter the Foundation Establishment Realm, but the improvements won’t be as much,” Peak Master Gu said.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “Father, I’m willing to wait even ten years, but thirty or fifty? That’s too long. Half of my life would have already passed. The trade-off isn’t worth it. Besides, I have the confidence to strive for higher scenery even if my talent is not the best,” Gu Longyu said.

  Peak Master Gu wanted to say he had a special treasure that could slow down time but thought better of it. It was best not to dampen his son’s confidence. A cultivator’s confidence played a crucial role in their ability to improve.

  Besides, it was only a perfect water spiritual root. If it were a heavenly water spiritual root, he would have forced his son to wait, even if it was against his will.

  Gu Longyu followed Peak Master Gu into a secret chamber. Inside was a small pool wafting with a medicinal fragrance. Stripping himself naked, he sat in the center of the pool, leaving only his head exposed.

  A refreshing chill entered his body. He could feel the foreign energy penetrating every cell, but it soaked even further. Despite his strong willpower, Gu Longyu shivered as the sensation reached his spiritual roots.

  Peak Master Gu might not think Gu Longyu remembered, considering he was only an infant less than three years of age, but he did. He had soaked in a similar pool.

  Gu Longyu was actually born with only one flawless spiritual root. His other two roots were fractured spiritual roots. It was thanks to soaking in that pool that he had three flawless spiritual roots.

  Heavenly spiritual roots could only be a single element, but below that, a cultivator could have up to five elements, having five elements in the spiritual root often resulted in a shattered spiritual root, meaning that they had no hope of cultivation. The best below the heavenly spiritual root was to have perfect square spiritual roots.

  And right now, Gu Longyu’s earth and wood spiritual roots were improving at a rapid rate. If the pool could sustain him long enough, both would reach the perfect grade of spiritual roots. Only his flawless fire spiritual root showed no improvement.

  Two years later, Gu Longyu finally left the pool, now possessing two perfect spiritual roots of earth and wood.

  The results exceeded Peak Master Gu’s expectations even though it took twice as long as he expected. He would have considered himself lucky if one of his son’s spiritual roots could reach the perfect grade and stabilize there before the pool ran out. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected two spiritual roots to upgrade.

  After taking some time to adjust to his newly upgraded spiritual roots, Gu Longyu underwent his Foundation Establishment Heavenly Tribulation. Having cultivated the Dragon Emperor Fist, Gu Longyu’s strength had long surpassed the level of Qi Gathering pupils. Even though the heavenly tribulation’s danger had surpassed the limit of the Qi Gathering Realm, Gu Longyu easily succeeded, much to his father’s joy.

  After warning Gu Longyu not to reveal that his spiritual roots had improved, Peak Master Gu entered secluded cultivation. Gu Longyu guessed that his father was scheming against the girl with perfect water spiritual roots to help him upgrade one of his spiritual roots into a heavenly spiritual root.

  If he wanted to do this, Gu Longyu would have to strip two of his spiritual roots. If a heavenly spiritual root appeared alongside other spiritual roots, it would destroy the bearer’s body from within.

  However, Gu Longyu knew it would take a miracle for a living pill created from a perfect water spiritual root to upgrade a perfect spiritual root into a heavenly spiritual root. And earth and wood spiritual roots had the highest chance of success, while upgrading fire spiritual roots was near impossible. The only way to have a modicum of success was for his father to find a bearer of a heavenly water spiritual root.

  Everyone sent gifts to Dragon Horn Peak upon hearing of Gu Longyu’s success. Although a twelve-year-old Foundation Establishment disciple was not unheard of, it was still incredibly rare in history. Normally, Peak Master Gu would only smile once in a blue moon when he made great progress or received some rare materials, but all the compliments thrown Gu Longyu’s way made him smile like a flower.

  Life seemingly returned to normal after that.

  Gu Longyu occasionally practiced techniques, but he spent most of the time raising his cultivation base. Because he knew what his father was planning, he did not aim to enter the Core Formation Realm as soon as possible but focused on his martial path.

  The years passed, and Gu Longyu never forgot about the boy with the mutated heavenly lightning spiritual root.

  As many people expected, Tianyi was a genius. In four years, he had already reached the peak of the Qi Gathering Realm and become a Foundation Establishment disciple at fifteen years old. Gu Longyu was eighteen. Others might think that Gu Longyu was more talented, but Tianyi had cultivated for a shorter time, not to mention that Gu Longyu had a master alchemist for a father who conditioned his body from a young age. Most people thought Tianyi had more talent and potential.

  Soon, rumors spread throughout the Dragon Spine Mountain Range. Most of them didn’t come from the decision-makers of the Rising Dragon Sect. Rather, the rumors originated from the disciples. Most of these were cultivators who had offended or been bullied by Dragon Horn Peak. Although Dragon Horn Peak was tyrannical, the degree depended on the target.

  Gu Longyu cared not for these rumors. Although Tianyi became a Foundation Establishment disciple, so what? Could the boy with the mutated heavenly spiritual root have opened all Eight Extraordinary Meridians like himself? In his opinion, opening one or two was already impressive enough considering the short five years.

  Less than two decades later, Gu Longyu underwent his Acupoint Opening Heavenly Tribulation and successfully formed the Supreme Dragon Martial Body. He continued to cultivate, opening his acupoints, but his spiritual cultivation stalled. It had reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Any more improvement and he would undergo the Core Formation Heavenly Tribulation.

  He had not planned to suppress his spiritual cultivation, but Peak Master Gu received news that Daoyi, the girl with perfect water spiritual roots, had somehow upgraded her spiritual roots into heavenly water spiritual roots.

  Gu Longyu listened to his father. He knew that upgrading his spiritual roots into a heavenly spiritual root would bring endless benefits and slightly increase the success of his Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation. He had the confidence to pass it without a heavenly spiritual root, but even a slight increase was beneficial.

  In preparation, Gu Longyu stripped his fire and wood spiritual roots, leaving only his perfect earth spiritual roots. He continued to polish his martial cultivation, occasionally leaving to temper himself or obtain opportunities.

  A decade after Gu Longyu entered the Acupoint Opening Realm, Tianyi also crossed the Core Formation Heavenly Tribulation and became a Core Formation master. He soon left the mountains to temper himself. Gu Longyu thought about getting rid of him, but when Tianyi left the sect, Gu Longyu was outside, so he did not hear the news.

  Two decades later, Tianyi returned, and Daoyi successfully entered the Core Formation Realm. When she left the sect to temper herself, Peak Master Gu took action!

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