Chapter 227 – The Power of Baptism, Dolai Version Enhancement

The Pure Soul Source Pool, this Treasure Land, is rumored to be a special secret ground used by the ancient Holy Radiance Empire to cultivate geniuses within the nation.

After undergoing the baptism here, not only can one’s Rank experience soar rapidly, but it also purifies the body and soul, slightly increasing the chances of a future breakthrough to the Legendary Realm.

At the Treasure Land, several squads had already gathered on the mountain path leading to the Soul Source Pool.

Waving at him was a burly man draped in a brown-red cloak, with a thick beard and short brown hair, looking like a man in his forties.

But in reality, he was still a young man in his twenties.

This was Tyrant Dragon.

Beside Tyrant Dragon stood the Crimson Dragonkin, muscles bulging and bare-chested.

The Crimson Dragonkin was staring intently at General Dolai standing beside Mu Yuan, its Battle Intent blazing.

But Dolai paid it no attention.

If it couldn’t be eaten, there was no point looking.

The other two squads, with Lords surrounded by two or three retainers at their center – one wore magnificent silver armor with a sword at his waist. This was Clairvoyant Lord.

The other wore form-fitting short clothes with a white coat, tall boots, and a cowboy hat, with a slender waist and tall stature. This was Divine Cat Lord.

The retainers following her included one that stood upright but only reached knee-height – a boot-wearing cat – and another that was entirely snow-white, an enormous beast that was hard to distinguish between a giant white cat or a White Tiger.

There was also a top-tier Hero she had recruited at the Festival Grounds.

As for these Lords and their retainers, Mu Yuan hadn’t actually interacted with them before.

The only strong opponent he had truly faced was the Crimson Dragonkin alone.

After exchanging greetings, while they were secretly observing Deadbone and Dolai following Mu Yuan, Mu Yuan was also quietly assessing the powerful generals of the other Lords.

Soon, Limitless Lord and Secluded Mountain Lord arrived one after another.

Limitless Lord was dressed entirely in white.

Secluded Mountain Lord was dressed entirely in black.

Each had two or three retainers accompanying them, while their other retainers were presumably temporarily stored within their Lord’s Marks.

They had also heard about the changes to the Dragon Court Competition format.

“Previous competition formats weren’t repetitive either, but they were generally large-scale battles between armies. This year’s changes are quite significant.”

Divine Cat Lord lamented, scratching her head, “My advantage lies with my Boot Cat Army! Now it’s completely useless, damn it!”

But in reality, as someone who stood out from thousands of Lords and was absolutely outstanding, Divine Cat Lord’s retainers weren’t weak either. Her territory development was well-balanced in all aspects, with the Boot Cat Army just being slightly more outstanding on top of that balance.

The small boot-wearing cat standing upright beside her was the top unit in this series of troop types, obviously an outstanding two-star or three-star troop.

The White Tiger nearby had even more imposing presence, possessing some kind of Bloodline with top-tier combat power.

The so-called most balanced Clairvoyant Lord was similar.

Gathering ten retainers of outstanding grade wouldn’t be difficult at all, and likely more than half of them might be peerless fierce generals of outstanding three-star grade.

It’s just that the format change had indeed cut off their most skilled areas.

They excelled at commanding troops and large-scale operations.

Now, they had to conduct elite special operations.

People’s joys and sorrows don’t interconnect well – Lord Balong laughed heartily, and the Crimson Dragonkin beside him laughed with the same frequency.

“When the time comes, let’s compare our kill counts.”Tyrant Dragon looked towards Tianyuan, Wuji, Youshan, and the others.

The Secluded Mountain Lord was also brimming with confidence. Among the selected Lords, he was one whose development was relatively unbalanced. Had it not been for recruiting the Lord of Flesh Mountain and several other powerful generals, he might not have been able to secure a representative spot.

But in other words, the Lord of Flesh Mountain was exceptionally formidable—so much so that he could erase disadvantages and even gain an advantage in large-scale warfare.

A battle of generals? Specialized combat?

The advantage was on his side!

This rule change was brilliant!

The Secluded Mountain Lord was about to speak up and accept the challenge of competing in enemy kills—after all, how could a young man not be filled with fervor? But he glanced at the massive, coldly imposing figure of the Lord of Flesh Mountain beside him, swallowed hard, and ultimately…

Still didn’t dare to make promises on behalf of the Lord of Flesh Mountain.

If this guy… this esteemed one didn’t put in his full effort during the competition, he would be in trouble. What could he do? He could only pamper him with good food and drink.

Who made the Lord of Flesh Mountain the strongest individual force present?

Pampering him was no loss.

“Alright! I’ll compete with you all.”

The Blue-haired Girl Hero from Tianyuan’s family, full of vigor and Origin Qi, was eager to compete with powerhouses like the Crimson Dragonkin.

Another accompanying general, however, remained silent and low-key, someone who could easily be overlooked if one wasn’t paying attention.

Many Lords and powerful generals unconsciously overlooked Deadbone.

But the Lord of Flesh Mountain did not overlook him.

He glanced at the black-armored figure cloaked in a dark cape, whose face was obscured, and felt an inexplicable surge of irritation, fear, awe, respect, and submission.

Another glance!

And another!

What kind of ability did this guy possess? Why did it… why did it… How outrageous!

The Lord of Flesh Mountain was furious, but he couldn’t direct his anger at this Excellency, so he could only vent his rage inwardly.

Who exactly was this Excellency?

…

‘As expected, the Lord of Flesh Mountain is no ordinary being.’

‘No, it’s more that Bone isn’t strong enough yet, failing to perfectly conceal the “Aura of the King.”‘

A being possessing the Aura of the King was inevitably the most dazzling light in any crowd, commanding reverence wherever they went.

The innate talent was always active, naturally influencing both the possessor and their surroundings.

But with Deadbone’s deliberate control, the Aura of the King wouldn’t be so inconvenient.

After spending two hours, Deadbone figured out a method to control it and used the remaining two days to practice and restrain it continuously.

He thought he had completely concealed it, but now it seemed…

‘I was careless, committing the sins of arrogance and pride. How unsteady!’

‘After returning, I’ll punish myself by copying the “Steadiness Series” a hundred times!’

…

Not long after they gathered, the Evening Elephant Lord, one of the Four Symbols under Taixuan Liangyi whom they had met before, also arrived.

“Everyone’s time is precious, so I’ll keep it brief.”

The Evening Elephant Lord spoke, “The Pure Soul Source Pool is a special place that lies between Miracle Buildings and Treasure Lands. I won’t elaborate further on its origin and function here. Once the Soul Source Pool opens, you will enter in order based on your rankings.”Of course, whether it’s the first team to enter or the last, the baptism they receive will be of the same standard.”””My suggestion for you is to have eleven individuals, including yourself, receive the baptism. This is the most suitable number. Increasing the number would dilute the baptism’s effectiveness, while reducing it would indeed grant greater benefits to a single individual but waste some precious Upgrade Power.”

“Now then, let’s set off.”

The group moved quickly, reaching the mountaintop in just a few dozen seconds.

Before them, clouds and mist swirled around towering stone walls engraved with mysterious patterns, guarding the interior.

That was the precious Soul Source Pool.

Though called a pool, it was actually a mist-like baptism, similar to the cleansing power bestowed by heaven and earth.

In front of the Soul Source Pool, an elderly man reclined in a rattan rocking chair. Upon seeing the Evening Elephant Lord arrive, he slowly rose.

“You’ve come.”

“Yes, we’re here.”

“Then let’s begin.”

The Evening Elephant Lord took out a crescent-shaped secret key.

The guardian elder also produced an identical key.

The two keys were inserted into the recesses on the left and right stone pillars in front of the Soul Source Pool. With a rumbling sound, the stone walls slowly shifted outward, opening a large gate. Inside, white mist swirled, and a path paved with pale golden light extended from the entrance.

“Go ahead.”

The Xixiang City Lord looked at Tianyuan. “Once inside, you’ll have three minutes to prepare. Remember to summon the champions who need to receive the baptism. Of course, you can also summon them in advance… No, forget the last part.”

He thought of Tianyuan’s Frost Dragon and War Treant.

Given their massive sizes, they probably wouldn’t be able to enter through this gate.

After all, the power system of the ancient Holy Radiance Empire differed from the current mainstream Lord system. This facility was designed to nurture human geniuses, but fortunately, the interior was spacious enough.

“Understood.”

Mu Yuan nodded, signaling to Deadbone and Dolai to step inside.

The Soul Source Pool area was vast, resembling a basin, with wisps of ethereal white mist drifting about. Even though the facility hadn’t been activated yet, merely stepping inside was invigorating, as if every cell in the body was rejoicing.

Comfortable! Refreshing!

His power seemed to be slowly increasing.

“Beep~ Please note, 150 seconds remaining until the baptism descends.”

A mechanical prompt sounded inside the facility.

It was the common language of the Eternal World, which even Dolai could understand.

Mu Yuan raised his hand, the Lord’s Mark on the back clearly visible.

‘Come forth, my champions.’

He silently recited in his heart. One by one, the champions who had been stored in the Mark Space earlier emerged.

Thirteen figures stepped out.

—After passing trials, the number of troops a Lord could store in the Mark Space was no longer limited to just a few. High-level Lords could even store an entire army.

As for why there were thirteen…

“The palm is flesh, and the back of the hand is flesh too.”

Mu Yuan had called all his epic champions to the scene.

The massive Tree Spirit Grandma stretched out her branches.

The Frost Dragon Sario landed on all fours, absorbing the power of the surrounding white mist. It raised its head high, letting out a joyful roar to the sky…

Stare—

The Undead General shot a glance over.

The Frost Dragon shuddered, folded its wings, and crouched like a small, obedient cat or dog, emphasizing its docility.

Soon,

“Beep~ Please note, the baptism light is beginning to descend.”A warm, pure white pillar of light cascaded like a waterfall from the heavens, falling upon those receiving the baptism and spreading outward, forming dense white mist far thicker than before.

This was the baptism.

Although the amount of ‘baptism light’ descending was the same, it didn’t mean every participant would gain equal benefits.

After all, this wasn’t a true baptism from heaven and earth – how much one could absorb depended entirely on the individual’s strength.

Would it be thirty percent, forty percent, or perhaps fifty percent?

Those with high potential or special talents could gain greater benefits during this process.

But regardless of how much the baptized could absorb, a significant amount of ‘baptism power’ would inevitably disperse into the surroundings, forming drifting white mist.

This was unavoidable waste.

However,

these baptism lights and baptism mists didn’t seem as unruly as expected.

They converged toward Lord Mu and his generals like sixteen funnel-shaped tornadoes, already gathering over 80% of the baptism power. The pure power that scattered and might be wasted was quite minimal.

Yet waste still existed.

At this moment, beneath one of the funnel-shaped tornadoes, Dolai patted its belly, took a deep breath, and opened its mouth wide.

Throughout heaven and earth, the scattered baptism power that was slowly dissipating began converging toward Dolai.

First update…

(End of chapter)