"A Divine Strength Realm martial artist!"
The Sacred Fire Palace elder drew in a sharp breath of cold air, his expression turning gravely solemn.
He could push around an ordinary commerce guild as he pleased, but he could not simply ignore an Ocean Commerce Guild backed by a Divine Strength Realm martial artist.
A fundamental difference lay between the two.
Even so, the fire seed was far too critical to the Sacred Fire Palace.
Taking a deep breath, the elder said in a heavy voice, "Senior, the fire seed is of paramount importance—"
*Clang!*
Before the elder could finish speaking, Lu Changsheng's saber cleared its sheath in an instant.
*Squelch!*
The next moment, the Sacred Fire Palace elder's head flew high into the air and tumbled onto the dock.
Fresh blood sprayed immediately, filling the air with a thick, pungent reek of gore.
Lu Changsheng remained expressionless, his gaze sweeping over the disciples of the Sacred Fire Palace as he said, "Does anyone else object?"
Overbearing, cold, arrogant, and utterly unrestrained...
A jolt went through the hearts of the Sacred Fire Palace disciples, and they stumbled back in unison.
In the past, they were always the ones who strutted around Volcano City, acting domineering and lawless.
Now, someone even more arrogant and far more ruthless had appeared before them.
Moreover, he was a Divine Strength Realm martial artist. How could any of them dare to speak up?
"What immense prestige you put on, sir! Do you truly take my Sacred Fire Palace for an empty house with no one left?"
Just then, a whistling roar carried from the distance.
Lu Changsheng's eyes narrowed slightly. Far off, he spotted a figure rapidly rushing toward the dock.
The figure did not conceal his aura in the slightest; a terrifying torrent of qi and blood surged around him like crashing waves. He was unmistakably a Divine Strength Realm martial artist as well.
"The Grand Elder is here!"
"The Grand Elder is also in the Divine Strength Realm!"
"Now that the Grand Elder has arrived, let's see how arrogant this man can be!"
The disciples of the Sacred Fire Palace, who had been completely suppressed by Lu Changsheng, were suddenly overjoyed and intensely excited.
Hadn't this Divine Strength Realm martial artist just been flaunting his arrogance?
Now that their own palace's Divine Strength Realm martial artist had arrived, how could Lu Changsheng continue his bluster?
Lu Changsheng paid no attention to the ordinary disciples of the Sacred Fire Palace.
His eyes remained fixed on the figure rapidly closing the distance.
A hundred zhang, fifty zhang, thirty zhang, ten zhang...
The moment the Sacred Fire Palace Grand Elder stepped within ten zhang, a sharp, fierce gleam flashed in Lu Changsheng's eyes.
*Clang!*
Without uttering a single word, Lu Changsheng drew his saber once again.
This time, however, his draw was accompanied by the dense, immense qi and blood within him, the Three Transformations of the Divine Dragon detonating inside his body in an instant.
The strength of seventy tripods erupted into the strength of two hundred and ten tripods the moment his blade cleared the scabbard!
At the same time, this slash relied purely on the external release of qi and blood. While the strike itself might not carry the full two hundred tripods of power through the air, it was infused with the Ocean Wave Conception.
"This is..."
The Grand Elder's eyes snapped wide.
*Rumble!*
To the Grand Elder, everything before his eyes seemed to vanish, replaced entirely by churning, colossal ocean waves sweeping over heaven and earth, threatening to swallow him whole into a boundless sea.
Faced with such majestic power, he felt utterly insignificant.
What could possibly withstand might of this scale?
Even the so-called "divine strength" of the Divine Strength Realm was like a fleeting firefly compared to the brilliant moon when measured against the raw forces of heaven and earth—there was simply no comparison.
*Bang!*
With a dull thud, the Sacred Fire Palace Grand Elder was sent flying backward.
Simultaneously, one of his arms snapped off and tumbled away.
Silence!
The entire dock fell deathly quiet!
The Sacred Fire Palace disciples, who had been bursting with excitement moments before, stared with eyes wide in disbelief.
That was their Grand Elder, a Divine Strength Realm expert!
From ten zhang away, a single slash through the empty air had severed the Grand Elder's arm.
Was this still within the bounds of the Divine Strength Realm?
Only the Grand Elder himself was gripped by sheer horror, turmoil raging in his heart.
Just now, he had come a hair's breadth from dying.
Fortunately, the other party had apparently not intended to take his life, merely severing an arm.
*Was that just now... martial conception?*
The Grand Elder was bewildered and shaken.
Martial conception!
How could anyone in the Divine Strength Realm grasp martial conception?
Even if it was only the barest surface scratch of a conception, it was still far beyond what a Divine Strength Realm martial artist should be able to achieve.
It was precisely because of this dreadful conception that he had been powerless to resist across a distance of ten zhang, having his arm cut off in a single blow.
"Exquisite saber technique, sir!"
The Grand Elder picked up his severed arm from the ground.
The limb was still intact. For a Divine Strength Realm martial artist like him, as long as the severed limb remained whole, it was not an irreparable loss.
He pressed the arm firmly against his shoulder and controlled his flesh and blood to squirm and knit together, rapidly "regrowing" into one piece.
The arm was restored as before.
This was the terrifying aspect of the Divine Strength Realm.
They had clearly become entirely different from ordinary mortals.
"Can we set sail now?" Lu Changsheng asked calmly.
With that strike, Lu Changsheng had unleashed his Ocean Wave Conception for the first time.
In truth, he had also wanted to test its practical effects.
The outcome had exceeded his expectations; the results were astoundingly good, far surpassing what he had imagined.
Across such a distance—a full ten zhang—even with the strength of over two hundred tripods, it should have been impossible to strike down a Divine Strength Realm expert with a ranged blow.
Yet just now, Lu Changsheng had sensed that, augmented by the Ocean Wave Conception, he truly could have slain his opponent in a single slash had he wished.
In the end, however, he had stayed his hand.
He harbored no deep enmity toward the Sacred Fire Palace, so there was no need to execute their Divine Strength Realm martial artist right off the bat.
Severing an arm was enough to teach him to back off.
If the man still refused to see reason, killing him then would not be too late.
"Let them pass!"
"From now on, whenever merchant ships of the Ocean Commerce Guild visit Volcano City, no one from the Sacred Fire Palace is permitted to cause them trouble!"
The Grand Elder's voice rang across the entire dock.
Lu Changsheng's single strike had chilled the elder to the core.
A powerhouse of this caliber could only be befriended, never offended!
Though he did not know Lu Changsheng's true identity, the man was aboard the Ocean Commerce Guild's vessel and was bound to be connected to them. That was reason enough.
Offering a few favors to the Ocean Commerce Guild would naturally smooth over any "unpleasantness" between them.
As for the palace elder Lu Changsheng had killed earlier, so long as he was not in the Divine Strength Realm, his death was hardly worth mentioning.
"Set sail," Lu Changsheng said, sheathing his saber and turning to walk toward the cabin.
"Right... set sail!"
Sophie snapped out of her daze, instantly overwhelmed with ecstatic joy.
The Sacred Fire Palace was a colossal presence in Volcano City, the true local hegemon.
Now, because the Sacred Fire Palace "mistook" Dao Twelve for a martial artist of the Ocean Commerce Guild, they had declared that the guild would never face difficulties doing business in Volcano City again.
This was an immense boon for the Ocean Commerce Guild.
With the Sacred Fire Palace backing them in the future, conducting trade in Volcano City would be vastly easier.
"Mister Dao, I truly cannot thank you enough for helping our guild this time..."
Sophie made a point of approaching Lu Changsheng to express her gratitude.
"I merely wish to return to Zhanhai City; helping the Ocean Commerce Guild was just incidental," Lu Changsheng replied with a smile. "If you truly wish to thank me, then just make sure you don't turn me away next time I need passage on your ship."
In truth, he was not entirely joking. The Ocean Commerce Guild's vessels could sail ten thousand li across the open sea.
Perhaps Lu Changsheng would genuinely have use for them in the future.
"Naturally! Mister Dao is welcome to board any vessel of our Ocean Commerce Guild at any time."
"This is a VIP medallion, recognized by everyone in the Ocean Commerce Guild."
"Even if I am not present in the guild in the future, this medallion will allow you to board freely."
Sophie presented a VIP medallion.
Such a token was reserved only for those of exceptionally exalted status who had rendered monumental aid to the Ocean Commerce Guild.
Lu Changsheng accepted the medallion.
Before long, night fell.
The merchant vessel had long left the Fire Dragon Country behind, cutting its way across the vast ocean.
Suddenly, a crate containing spices shifted ever so slightly.
*Swish!*
Lu Changsheng snapped his eyes open, looking toward a specific direction outside his cabin.
In the cargo hold where goods were stored, a crate packed with spices and other cargo shook violently before its lid was pushed open from the inside.
Yun Haitang scrambled out of the crate.
"Phew..."
Yun Haitang let out a long breath of relief.
After hiding for so long, the ship had finally set sail. Out on the open sea, the Sacred Fire Palace was far beyond reach.
However, as Yun Haitang looked around to survey her surroundings, her expression suddenly froze.
In the pitch-black cargo hold, she caught sight of a familiar figure.
"Mister Dao."
At that moment, Lu Changsheng was standing right beside her, staring down at her.
"Miss Yun, to think you really did board the ship, hiding in a crate where no one could find you," Lu Changsheng said flatly.
He realized he had actually "wronged" the Sacred Fire Palace—Yun Haitang truly had been hiding in the crates.
Yet the disciples of the Sacred Fire Palace had clearly searched the ship's cargo thoroughly, opening every single crate. How had they failed to discover her?
Yun Haitang felt a pang of awkwardness, but seeing that it was "Dao Twelve," she relaxed slightly.
"Mister Dao, I am aware of the commotion that occurred on the docks earlier."
"Thank you for repelling the Sacred Fire Palace Grand Elder. If you hadn't, and they had truly impounded the ship, I certainly wouldn't have escaped."
Yun Haitang knew full well that "Dao Twelve" had effectively saved her.
Otherwise, no matter how cleverly she hid, the Sacred Fire Palace would have found her eventually once they detained the vessel and searched it at their leisure.
Yet who could have foreseen that Dao Twelve possessed the strength to beat back the Grand Elder?
Lu Changsheng did not care how she had evaded the Sacred Fire Palace disciples' search; in truth, he had indeed saved her life.
"I heard Miss Yun took the Sacred Fire Palace's fire seed."
"I am rather curious about this fire seed. Would you mind letting me have a look?" Lu Changsheng asked, his eyes resting upon her.
The Sacred Fire Palace had mobilized in full force and searched everywhere for Yun Haitang entirely for the sake of that fire seed.
For it to be so vital to the palace, it had to be extraordinary.
"This..."
Yun Haitang weighed her options for a moment before gritting her teeth and saying, "My escape this time was entirely thanks to Mister Dao's assistance. A share of the Sacred Fire Palace's fire seed rightfully belongs to you!"
She acted decisively.
She was well aware that hiding aboard the Ocean Commerce Guild's ship had been rather deceitful.
She had essentially dragged the guild and Dao Twelve into her mess.
Fortunately, Lu Changsheng had withstood the pressure.
Otherwise, had the ship been seized, Lu Changsheng would not have been able to depart either.
Offering compensation to Dao Twelve was only right and proper.
Besides, Lu Changsheng was not someone easily brushed off.
Yun Haitang retrieved a porcelain vial from her robes and pulled out the stopper.
Instantly, a wisp of flame drifted out from the vial.
Strangely, however, the flame lacked the scorching heat of ordinary fire.
Furthermore, even when sealed inside the vial, it continued to burn ceaselessly—a truly marvelous sight.
One glance was enough to tell that this fire seed was no ordinary object.
"Brother Dao, do you have a porcelain vial?"
"I do."
Lu Changsheng produced a porcelain vial of his own.
With great care, Yun Haitang tipped a portion of the wisps of flame from her vial into Lu Changsheng's, then handed it over to him.
"This fire seed can be preserved for a long time, but only within porcelain vessels."
Lu Changsheng nodded, examining the flame inside the vial with great fascination.
"What purpose does this fire seed actually serve?" Lu Changsheng asked.
Though he could tell it was extraordinary, he knew nothing of its specific applications or effects.
Yun Haitang, having gone to such great lengths to steal it, surely knew how it worked.
"This is a fire seed brought back from a mysterious realm by the founding ancestor of the Sacred Fire Palace."
"When using this seed to ignite combustible materials, the resulting flames can burn away impurities within the body—especially those within the blood—making the blood exceptionally pure. Its effect is virtually identical to a blood exchange."
"Furthermore, the fire seed can purify one's thoughts, allowing for intense mental focus and multiplying one's comprehension."
"With prolonged use, one can rapidly reach the peak Refining Organs stage. It even offers immense benefits for breaking through the life-and-death gateway and advancing to the Divine Strength Realm."
"This is precisely why the Sacred Fire Palace has produced an unbroken succession of Divine Strength Realm martial artists throughout its generations."
Lu Changsheng understood.
This fire seed was indeed a treasure, capable of accomplishing a "blood exchange" before reaching the Divine Strength Realm.
To a Refining Organs martial artist, the benefits were tremendous.
In fact, the earlier one underwent a blood exchange, the greater the advantage.
With such an edge, producing Divine Strength Realm martial artists was naturally much easier for the Sacred Fire Palace.
No wonder they had mobilized almost their entire sect when the fire seed went missing—it was the very foundation of their palace!
"So your journey here was solely for the fire seed, Miss Yun?" Lu Changsheng asked.
"Indeed. I have some past ties with the Sacred Fire Palace and know their secrets."
"However, this portion of the fire seed is not everything they possessed; otherwise, the Sacred Fire Palace would have gone completely mad."
"Moreover, while the fire seed can be preserved for a long time, it cannot last indefinitely—unless one finds a volcano and uses the subterranean volcanic veins to nourish it, keeping the flame eternal."
Hearing her explanation, Lu Changsheng finally understood why the Sacred Fire Palace was established in Volcano City.
Volcano City had no shortage of volcanoes, which could preserve the fire seed endlessly.
Afterward, Yun Haitang went to meet Sophie and the others.
Naturally, Sophie and her crew were displeased, as Yun Haitang had effectively dragged the Ocean Commerce Guild into danger.
Even so, Sophie could not simply cast her overboard into the sea, so she allowed Yun Haitang to stay in the cabin.
Once they reached Zhanhai City, however, the Ocean Commerce Guild would sever all ties with her.
None of this concerned Lu Changsheng, who returned directly to his quarters.
"Time to give it a try."
Lu Changsheng separated out a single wisp of the fire seed.
Following the method Yun Haitang had described, he placed the wisp against a small cut on his palm.
Gradually, the wisp vanished into his palm, burrowing into his blood vessels and merging with his bloodstream.
Immediately, Lu Changsheng felt a distinct warmth spread throughout his entire body.
It felt as though countless impurities in his blood were being "burned away."
Yet there was no sensation of pain; instead, he felt lighter and more unburdened, while his blood surged and rushed with greater vigor.
Even his mind grew clearer and sharper.
However, this sensation did not last very long.
After only half an hour, Lu Changsheng felt that the wisp of flame inside him had completely dispersed.
*It seems absorbing the fire seed directly consumes it very quickly.*
Next, Lu Changsheng used the fire seed to ignite some combustible material, using the resulting flames to "scorch" and purge the impurities from his blood.
This method was also effective, though far slower in comparison. The wisp of flame itself, however, was not consumed.
*How miraculous. This fire seed truly differs from ordinary fire—it lacks scorching heat and instead possesses a purifying quality,*
Lu Changsheng marveled inwardly.
The world was vast and full of wonders.
Who knew where the founder of the Sacred Fire Palace had obtained such an extraordinary fire seed in the first place?
Previously, Lu Changsheng possessed the strength of seventy tripods.
Having purified his blood just now, it could be considered a form of blood exchange.
Though not quite as potent as a true marrow transformation and blood exchange, it still augmented his strength to some degree, making his physical body even more formidable.
As for aiding a martial artist in advancing to the Divine Strength Realm, Lu Changsheng had no need for that particular benefit.
After all, he was already a Divine Strength Realm martial artist.
Instead, it was the fire seed's other property that offered immense value to him:
purifying thoughts, focusing the mind, and temporarily boosting comprehension.
More than two months had passed since his last leap across the dragon gate.
Originally, leaping the dragon gate required two to three months of physical adjustment.
In fact, the further one advanced, the longer the body needed to recover and prepare.
After all, one had to possess absolute certainty before attempting to leap the dragon gate.
Previously, neither Lu Changsheng's body nor his spirit had been fully ready for the third leap.
Yet under the purification of the fire seed, both his physique and mental state seemed to have reached an absolute peak!
This condition was the ideal opportunity to attempt the leap!
Moreover, he was currently upon the vast sea.
A fish leaping the dragon gate—what setting could be more fitting than the boundless ocean?
Lu Changsheng sat cross-legged on the deck and instructed Sophie and the others to stand guard and keep everyone from disturbing him.
Time slipped by bit by bit.
Lu Changsheng felt no impatience, his mind utterly serene.
He waited in silence until dawn, when a fiery-red morning sun slowly climbed into the sky.
Lu Changsheng smiled faintly. He knew the time had come!
Chapter 92