Chapter 3: Dragon Pulse

While Lucian Lawes was still frozen in shock, the Mysterious Dragon Jade erupted with a surging flood of True Energy and appeared inside his core. "Where did all this True Energy come from?" His breath hitched. "Did the Dragon Jade drain it from my dad?!" Lucian was only at Peak Body Tempering. This much True Energy was far beyond what he could control. Wild power spilled out through his limbs and bones, shaking the ground and blasting the dust around him into the air! A wave of heat churned through his chest and belly. Lucian cried out, clamping his teeth down so hard his jaw ached. Sweat poured off him in sheets. Inside his core, the True Energy roiled violently, as if it might explode at any moment. If it kept going, he would burst apart and die. The thought of leaving nothing behind, not even bones, turned his eyes blood-red. "I'm not dying that easily!" he snarled. "Dragon Pulse? Break for me!" After Body Tempering came the Nine Levels of Dragon Pulse. A Martial Artist's core gave birth to True Energy. Once it accumulated to a sufficient amount, it could be gathered and shaped into a Divine Dragon to smash through the first Dragon Pulse. And the True Energy in Lucian's core was more than enough. "Break!" He clenched his teeth. Sweat spattered the ground as he let out a furious roar. Driven by sheer will, the True Energy in his core transformed into a dragon and surged forward without hesitation, howling as it charged the Dragon Pulse! Boom! The first Dragon Pulse was forced open by that overwhelming True Energy. Streams of energy poured in like a raging flood, rumbling as they rushed through. The once tightly sealed Dragon Pulse widened inch by inch under the relentless impact. In the process, that dragon-like True Energy swelled even more, growing wilder and stronger. Pop! After a quarter of an hour, the first Dragon Pulse suddenly connected through. The True Energy cycled along it several times like a living dragon before returning to his core. Even then, it still raged violently, and the pressure made Lucian's whole body feel painfully swollen. "The first Dragon Pulse is open… I actually reached the First Level Dragon Pulse Realm!" Lucian's eyes blazed. "But my core's True Energy is absurdly strong. The Second Level Dragon Pulse Realm… I'm trying it today!" He knew exactly what had happened. Opening the first Dragon Pulse had been almost effortless. With momentum like this, he could not waste it. In front of his father's grave, he grit his teeth and slammed forward toward the second Dragon Pulse. The difficulty of opening the second Dragon Pulse was on a completely different level. It required several times more True Energy than the first, and it only got worse from there. That was why advancing in the Dragon Pulse Realm was so brutal. In Palepop Town, even the strongest figures could spend a lifetime and drain an entire clan's fortune, yet still fail to produce someone beyond the Dragon Pulse Realm. True Energy roared like a dragon, vast and unending. In front of his father's grave, Lucian went all in. His jaw locked tight as the enormous power advanced layer by layer through the Dragon Pulse. Opening the second Dragon Pulse was far harder. If he failed, he would have to start over. A quarter of an hour passed. Lucian had only forced it open by about ten inches, and he was already exhausted to the bone. But then he remembered his father's words. He remembered the tears in his father's eyes as he looked at him in his final moments. Compared to that, this pain was nothing. "That Old Devil wanted me to become strong, and I already promised him." Lucian's voice shook with fury and resolve. "With my temperament, once I give my word, I'll carry it out even if it costs my life. Today I'm breaking through this second Dragon Pulse, and you're going to be proud of me!" At the same time, faces flashed through his mind. Those Yare family members who had humiliated him in the shadows. Every person who had laughed at him. "Fine." His lips curled, cold and sharp. "I'm not some butcher who kills for fun. But whoever humiliated me… if I ever surpass you, I'll pay it back in full." Pop! An hour later, the second Dragon Pulse finally broke open. Vast True Energy surged through both Dragon Pulses, flowing into every corner of Lucian's body and nourishing it. Even more True Energy remained coiled within his core, using it as a fortress. As the True Energy washed past his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, Lucian felt his senses sharpen to a clarity he had never known. Though it was night, he could see much farther than before. Even the chirps of insects and the calls of birds sounded crisp and distinct. Entering the Dragon Pulse Realm felt like a complete transformation. His body was light as a swallow, yet it carried the strength of a thousand pounds. Lucian rose to his feet, feeling the power filling him from head to toe. A smile finally broke across his face. He was already a Martial Artist at the Second Level Dragon Pulse Realm. If he used True Energy and threw a full-strength punch, snapping the big tree beside him would not be difficult. From this day on, he had truly stepped into the ranks of Martial Artists! He glanced at Julian Lawes's tombstone and kowtowed several more times. "Everything I achieved tonight came from you," he said softly. "I used to hate you for leaving me nothing. I was wrong. You were a good father." He stood, hitched up the carriage, and headed back toward Palepop Town. "Something's off…" Lucian frowned. "The Mysterious Dragon Jade was inside Dad's core. I thought it appearing in my mindscape was some freak accident, but thinking back… Dad probably knew it would happen. That's why he pushed me to take it out without hesitation." His eyes narrowed. "This Dragon Jade is too strange. And Dad's words were strange too, talking about the Dragon Sacrifice Continent, Supreme Overlord… none of it made any sense. Did he have some hidden background?" "And it's true… before Dad came to Palepop Town, nobody knew anything about him…" Lucian's brow furrowed deeper. "Most importantly, Dad definitely knew what this Dragon Jade was. Yet it drained him dry and killed him, and then he passed it to me. There's fog everywhere. What's the truth?" His awareness returned to his mindscape. The Mysterious Dragon Jade still floated there in silence. Even if Lucian had ten heads, he could not figure out how it had entered this place. The mindscape was an empty realm of consciousness. If he told anyone a physical object could exist inside it, no one would believe such a ridiculous tale. That alone proved how mysterious the Dragon Jade was. Yet at that moment, Lucian discovered that True Energy still flowed from the Dragon Jade into his core. It was not the overwhelming torrent from earlier, but it was steady. Joy surged through him. "My True Energy keeps increasing every moment. That has to be faster than their cultivation. At this pace, catching up to the others shouldn't be hard." The life he had assumed would be ordinary finally held a path forward. Looking toward Palepop Town in the distance, Lucian remembered Julian Lawes's instructions. "The family assembly…" He exhaled slowly. "The Yare family's outstanding disciples are all freakish geniuses. Even Zane Yare is far beyond me, let alone the others. Dad wants me to take first place and claim the Dragon Seal. That's harder than climbing to the heavens… And that 'Dragon Warrior' thing, is it really that important?" By the time he returned to Palepop Town, it was already deep into the night. Lucian did not live at Yare Mansion. He had bought a small loft on the east side of town and lived alone. From childhood to adulthood, he had been bullied by plenty of nobodies, but he had not offended many important figures. So even living by himself, he had never run into anything truly dangerous. As usual, he returned home, washed up briefly, and then walked to the bed. His gaze suddenly turned cold. "The bedding's been rummaged through. Was there a thief?" He checked the room with suspicion, but nothing seemed to be missing. Lucian let out a dry chuckle and lay down. Too much had happened today. He had broken through two Dragon Pulses in a row and reached the Second Level Dragon Pulse Realm. His blood ran hot with strength. Sleep did not come easily. It was already past the third watch, the hour when most people slept like the dead. After becoming a Martial Artist, Lucian's senses had sharpened dramatically. He faintly detected someone creeping toward his house. He slapped a mechanism by the bedside. In a flash, he slipped into the hidden cellar beneath the bed, and the bed above returned to its normal position. Through a tiny crack in the floorboards, Lucian watched in silence. A few breaths later, two figures in black slipped into his room, faces covered. When they saw the raised quilt, one of them did not hesitate. He swung a blade down at the bed. Bang! The bed split cleanly in two. "Huh?" one of them muttered. "That trash isn't here? Didn't we watch him come in?" "He must've noticed the traces we left and slipped out." "Hmph. He can run today, but he won't run tomorrow. We'll come again. With what we can do, dealing with a spoiled brat like him is easy." The two hurried away. Even though he had reached the Second Level Dragon Pulse Realm, there were still many people in Palepop Town stronger than him. Lucian did not dare relax. The two assassins had carried an aura that made his skin crawl. Their cultivation was not weak. If he fought them head-on, it would end badly. "Good thing I was smart enough to install a mechanism under the bed," he thought, eyes icy. "Otherwise I'd be dead tonight." A chill flickered through his gaze. "Someone in Palepop Town sent experts to assassinate me? I'm a nobody. Am I really worth this kind of effort?" His brows knit again. He ran through every name he could think of, yet none fit. The Yare family had cast him aside, but it was not to the point of hiring killers to cut him down. "There has to be a plot I don't know about." He steadied his breathing. "Fine. Tomorrow I'll move back to the Yare family. First, it'll be safer. Second, I've reached the Second Level Dragon Pulse Realm. Without a Battle Technique, I might not even gain an advantage against someone at the First Level Dragon Pulse Realm. The Yare family has the Martial Arts Scripture Hall. I'm still part of the Yare family, so I should be able to get my share." "A good Battle Technique can multiply your power several times over…" He had seen Yare family members use Battle Techniques before. The might was no joke. At Yare Mansion, Lucian still had a place to stay, even if it had been left unused for years. At dawn, he packed the few belongings he had and returned to the Yare family. The Yare Mansion was enormous. Whether Lucian came back or not, no one cared enough to pay attention. After tidying up his quarters, Lucian consolidated his cultivation again. Over the course of the night, his True Energy had grown stronger by several more degrees. Before long, he would likely be able to charge toward the Third Level Dragon Pulse Realm. But the most urgent thing was still the Martial Arts Scripture Hall. He needed a Battle Technique. By Yare family rules, any member who reached the First Level Dragon Pulse Realm qualified to enter the Martial Arts Scripture Hall and choose one Battle Technique. Lucian met that requirement. Along the way, the cold stares from maids and guards were something he had long since gotten used to. He could not be bothered to argue with their whispers. His memory was excellent. He had only seen the Martial Arts Scripture Hall once as a child, yet he still found the way without trouble. The Martial Arts Scripture Hall was a forbidden ground of the Yare family. Outsiders were not allowed in, and even maids, servants, and guards were forbidden from approaching. From afar, Lucian spotted a stone gate deep within the woods. Beyond it stood a tall tower. That was the Yare family's Martial Arts Scripture Hall. Before he even reached the gate, someone stepped in to block his path. It was Lucas Casson, the same man who had once spat at him. He was about the same age as Lucian, and his cultivation was also at the Second Level Dragon Pulse Realm. Seeing Lucian coming to the Martial Arts Scripture Hall, Lucas froze for a moment, then sneered. "Well, if it isn't Young Master Lucian. What brings you here today? I heard a certain Yare family waste of space got buried yesterday. Shouldn't Young Master Lucian be keeping vigil? Why are you strolling around here instead?" Lucian understood the rule of petty men. They clung like ghosts. Still, the insult in those words lit a fire in his chest. With the Martial Arts Scripture Hall right in front of him, he did not want trouble before he got his Battle Technique. He forced it down and tried to walk past Lucas. Lucas refused to let it go. He stepped in front of him again, smiling coldly. "What, Young Master Lucian? Deaf? You can't hear me?" "I've already entered the Dragon Pulse Realm," Lucian said, lifting his head. His eyes were sharp as ice. "And whether I enter the Martial Arts Scripture Hall or not, what business is it of yours, an outsider?" Lucian had survived in Palepop Town for years without real backing. He had his own presence. And after breaking through to the Second Level Dragon Pulse Realm, that single glance carried weight. Lucas instinctively took half a step back. "What?" Lucas blurted. "You think I misheard? The Dragon Pulse Realm isn't something you can talk your way into. Perfect. I've got time today. I'll 'verify' Young Master Lucian's strength properly!"