Chapter 416 – Restoring the Glory of Dragons, Today!

Are nine people from Tianyuan City making the list a lot? It is, yet it isn’t.

If Red Robe had a few more actual battles—for instance, using the Eyes of Reincarnation to stage an epic battle of defeating a Legendary Realm opponent—it wouldn’t be impossible for her to claim the top spot on the Dragon Gate List.

As the evaluation experts from First Hand Commerce remarked: The battle of the Water Dragon’s Song Formation was too brief. Based solely on this engagement, it’s impossible to assess the true capabilities of ‘Lord of Netherworld, Red Robe.’

Their judgment is sharp; they likely discerned long ago that Red Robe holds the identity of Nether Ghost General.

However, First Hand Commerce certainly wouldn’t have imagined that during her breakthrough of the Water Dragon’s Song Formation, Red Robe only exerted a fraction of her power.

The Eyes of Reincarnation are the core of Red Robe’s entire combat system.

When Dolai, Uta, Lu Liu, and the others initially made the list, they had already unleashed their full combat prowess. However, at that time, they were either at the peak of the Third Order or merely at the Early Stage of the Fourth Order, far from reaching their peak level for ranking.

Using this edition of the Dragon Gate List as a benchmark, Rakshasa, Uta, Asun, Sophia, Sickle Moon, Seventeen, and others all possess the capability to rank in the top three, top two, or even first place.

As for Deadbone and Dolai, the two Generals who were at the Fourth Order’s limit back in the day, they need no further explanation.

If Tianyuan City were to fully contend for the rankings, it might even achieve the remarkable feat of monopolizing the top ten spots on the list.

However, doing so would be utterly meaningless.

Mu Yuan isn’t arrogant enough to believe that there are few formidable opponents below the Legendary Realm.

One must never underestimate the talents across the land.

He had long heard that in some top-tier major territories, exceptionally talented young military commanders are cultivated using the most extravagant methods. These prodigious military assets are trained all the way to the Legendary Realm before such young powerhouses are allowed to emerge.

Since they never set foot outside their territories, they naturally wouldn’t be recorded in the Dragon Gate List.

In fact, in previous editions of the Dragon Gate List, there were indeed few powerhouses affiliated with top-tier territories. The handful that did appear were those following the path of ‘testing their swords’ through tempering—emerging at the Fourth Order’s limit to challenge various Dragon Gate List powerhouses and forge an invincible heart. Such young powerhouses often broke through to the Legendary Realm shortly after entering the top ten, their esteemed names then fading from the list.

In recent editions, there have been more powerhouses from top-tier territories.

Tianhua City, Evening Elephant City, Cold Moon City, and others.

One of the top ten on the rankings is a subordinate of the Cold Moon City Lord.

However, Cold Moon City’s seniority and foundation are quite shallow; strictly speaking, it doesn’t qualify as a top-tier territory. It’s just that the Cold Moon City Lord single-handedly made the territory’s name renowned.

Without exception, the public battle records of these powerhouses from top-tier territories come from drill battles or assessment battles at various advanced academies.

Otherwise, the number of top-tier territory powerhouses on the list would have to be reduced by at least half.

“Because top-tier territories are garrisoned by numerous Legendary Realm powerhouses and their own territories face no crises, there’s naturally no opportunity for invincible Fourth Order experts to take action and demonstrate their prowess.”In ordinary territories, whether it’s external expansion, territorial defense, subduing monster forces, purifying Foul Lands, Secret Realm challenges, champion duels, Great Warzone cooperative defense, etc.”, the territory’s most crucial generals are actively involved. If these generals are sufficiently powerful, they will naturally be included in the Dragon Gate List.”

Here in Mu Yuan’s case, precisely because Tianyuan City is secluded from the bustling world, otherwise, based solely on the Battle of Tianyuan Defense, many among the Tianyuan Generals would have made the list.In reality, even though the Taixuan Alliance issued directives on “establishing cultivation academies to flourish in culture, martial arts, and skills,” many top-tier territories still would not send their legendary seeds or peak Fourth-Order geniuses to participate.

These territories were not lacking in talent.

Sending a few seemingly decent Fourth-Order Commander Tier individuals to take up positions and comply with the policy was sufficient.

Even though Tianze City significantly improved the treatment for high-level academy instructors, top-tier lords like the Cold Moon City Lord might care, but veteran top-tier lords such as Nanshan, Tianhua, and even Beiting would not be concerned.

Their territories had more resources than they could count.

They were not short on secret manuals or resources, and even if they lacked a specific top-tier resource, Tianze City would not be able to provide it.

“Powerful individuals like Red Shadow were invited by certain deans of Tianze Academy, who called in personal favors.”

“Of course, there were also cases where some powerful individuals were originally subordinates of the academy presidents.”

“The third high-level academy in Tianze Lake Main City, ‘Tianhua Academy,’ was funded and established by Tianhua Lord, with much of its teaching staff also provided by Tianhua Lord.”

For instance, in the current Dragon Gate List, four of Tianhua Lord’s subordinates made the list, which speaks volumes.

“Speaking of which…”

Mu Yuan stroked his chin, “In the future, when Tianyuan City is no longer short on funds, we could also invest in establishing a cultivation academy.”

It wasn’t just about taking advantage of some alliance benefits—it was mainly about benefiting the public, right?

Currently, there were still few high-level cultivation academies in the alliance, with only three in the Twilight Great Domain: in Panshi, Red Maple, and Tianze Cities. In contrast, there were many elementary academies, with almost every city-level official territory having one, and even some group territories and independent territories establishing elementary academies.

If Tianyuan City invested in a high-level academy, building its reputation would be effortless.

All they had to do was have a dozen or so powerful individuals make the Dragon Gate List.

For now, however, Tianyuan City was too small in scale, lacked financial resources, and had no teaching staff to speak of, so it was better not to mislead students.

High-level cultivation academies not only taught combat skills, breakthrough insights, and methods for creating skills but also included departments like alchemy, potion-making, medical care, cultivation, and forging, among others.

The teaching staff of an academy also attracted instructors and mentors.

Instructors and mentors taught skills to students.

At the same time, they could seek guidance from higher-ranking experts to learn and improve themselves.

What Mu Yuan valued were these specialized skills.

Learning with guidance versus learning without it were two entirely different matters. The teaching materials and resources at Tianze Academy were also far more abundant.

Of course, for the vast majority of professionals and lords, the most appealing aspect was the lectures by Legendary Realm experts, who shared their experiences and insights on breaking through to the Legendary Realm.

How to maintain one’s state during the ultimate sublimation;

The key challenges and dangers of breaking through the Legendary Realm chasm;

How to ignite the Willpower Light through tempering;

The essential points of Domain creation, from beginner to mastery;

And so on.

Legendary Realm experts might not reveal everything they knew, but even sharing a fraction of their knowledge would be immensely beneficial for most peak Fourth-Order individuals.

Even for Tianyuan Territory…

It would be quite useful.

Tianyuan Territory’s experience with Legendary Realm breakthroughs was not extensive.

Deadbone, Dolai, Isloria, Lu Liu, and Tree Spirit Grandma could break through effortlessly because their innate talents were exceptional. They had a little margin for error during their breakthroughs.However, it might not be so easy for other experts in the Tianyuan Territory to break through their realms in the future.

There are differences between people, and sometimes these differences are even greater than those between humans and dogs.

The strength of individuals like Deadbone and Dolai isn’t solely due to their high life ranks.

To put it simply, they excel in both racial potential and individual capabilities.

On the other hand, some Fourth-Order experts who don’t stand out may have decent racial potential but lack remarkable individual capabilities.

Currently, some T3 and T4-ranked junior officers in the Tianyuan Territory have gradually reached the peak of the Fourth Order—they benefited from two major baptisms, which allowed their ranks to rise rapidly.

However, these junior officers are lacking in other areas.

Creating Domains and igniting the Willpower Light remain distant goals, with no signs of progress yet.

Given their epic-tier grades and Lord Mu’s unwavering investment in their cultivation, he believes these junior officers will eventually possess all three essential elements.

But “eventually” could mean one or two years, or even eight to ten years.

If it can be achieved sooner, it’s better to strive for it.

Even among the T1-ranked officers in the Tianyuan Territory, Uta, who has already reached the epic three-star rank, still has no Domain in sight.

This clearly illustrates the vast differences between individuals.

Uta is too unbalanced in his development, giving Lord Mu quite a headache.

“Perhaps we can find some inspiration from the academies in Boulder City and Tianze City?”

…

The deployment of Tianyuan Faction officers has already begun.

Master Li Erniu and an epic one-star Holy Light Sage are working in Boulder City.

Red Robe and the other three are stationed in Tianze City.

Boulder City maintains close ties with the Iron Mountain Kingdom, founded by dwarves, and Panshi Academy has invited a dwarf Great Master to give a lecture.

Master Li is likely to learn a great deal from this.

As for Sage Tina, her presence in Boulder City is purely Lord Mu’s way of supporting the city.

Boulder City’s medical system is underdeveloped, and Tina can play a significant role there.

Many of the Tianyuan Territory’s operations will also radiate outward from Boulder City as a central hub.

Lord Mu frequently checks in on the situation of Red Robe and the others.

His daily life remains largely unchanged: tinkering with the mental network, studying skills, reviewing documents, and guarding against monster factions—nothing more.

The difference is that with the resurgence of Tianyuan’s reputation, many academy leaders have reached out to him through intermediaries, hoping to invite experts from Tianyuan City to take up positions in various regions.

Lord Mu didn’t refuse all of them.

Maintaining more interpersonal connections is never a bad thing.

However, he didn’t accept every offer either.

He couldn’t possibly dispatch experts of Dragon Gate List caliber again; at most, he could send a few Third or Fourth-Order junior officers to teach at elementary academies.

—After all, Tianyuan City is still a young territory, and it doesn’t have that many powerful experts to spare.

The lords who were turned down understood his position.

“Next, we can procure some breakthrough materials for the Legendary Realm through academy channels and continue cultivating Legendary experts.”

By sourcing materials from various places, we can barely meet the breakthrough needs of the Tianyuan Faction officers.

Once the number of Legendary Realm experts reaches double digits, Lord Mu can begin assigning some officers to the Great Warzone led by Cold Moon City Lord and to logistics departments for expansion efforts.

In reality, he could deploy officers to the Great Warzone and logistics departments even now.

Cold Moon City Lord and Old Qin would likely welcome them with open arms.However, for Mu Yuan, sending Fourth Order generals to advanced academies could yield significant value; but dispatching Fourth Order generals to the Great Warzone or logistics departments would only amount to idling around and accumulating minimal military merits.

Since his own generals weren’t incapable of breaking through in a short time, there was naturally no need for them to go while still at the Fourth Order.

Deploying generals externally and dealing with the Black Crow Clan and Great Serpent Clan weren’t mutually exclusive.

Both could proceed simultaneously.

Multitasking and flourishing across multiple fronts—this was the fundamental capability a powerful territory ought to possess.

North of Tianyuan City, thousands of kilometers away in a certain mining area, deep within the rear mountains.

Boom—

The mountains shook and the earth split, dust billowing everywhere.

Amid the swirling dust, a vast draconic aura radiated out, accompanied by an ear-splitting Dragon Roar.

Immediately after, a colossal shadow with wings spanning over forty meters tore through the clouds and surged forward, spewing a pillar-thick stream of icy breath.

Wherever the frost-white breath spread, the ground solidified into thick layers of ice, and the temperature in the surrounding area plummeted rapidly.

But unlike before:

Wherever the Cold Frost spread, desolation followed in its wake.

Plants withered, and the earth dried up.

The frost was interwoven with an even more terrifying force of decay.

Simultaneously, within the power of Death, a soul-piercing chill permeated.

“Roar!”

Sario’s blazing eyes fixed on the distant figure.

This was his new ability, roar!

A skill awakened through his Epic Three-Star evolution!

When would the glory of the undead dragon be restored? Today!

He, Sario, would today defeat the mighty Uta and, with this as proof, follow Dead Bone Boss on the expedition to the Great Domain of the Undead.

The plan was set.

Uta was Epic Three-Star, and so was he;

Uta was at the Peak of the Fourth Order, not yet at the limit, and so was he;

Uta possessed the divine skill Flesh Shackles, and he, Sario, with his newly awakened skill, also wielded a divine ability!

「Dirge of Frost and Death」

「Description: When the Frost Dragon Sario uses this skill, he can imbue all his frost powers with the concept of ‘decay,’ and all his death powers with the concept of ‘frost.’」

Sario hadn’t just evolved today.

He had evolved three days ago.

He had deliberately sparred with Bone Two and others to master it and sought guidance from the Lord on how to utilize his new ability.

All for the sake of restoring the glory of the great dragon.

He, Sario, would not shirk this duty!

As frost billowed, an invisible yet immense force of decay surged from all directions.

Where there was ice, there was death.

Death descended in waves.

This death force, in turn, gave rise to the concept of frost, and in an instant, the entire world seemed to freeze over.

The earth turned stark white.

Space and time appeared on the verge of being frozen solid.

This was the “snowballing” power Sario had developed through his research.

Frost begets death, death begets frost—an endless cycle of frost and death.

Given Sario’s current skill mastery, his Dirge of Frost and Death could only snowball three times and deliver a single strike.

But one strike was enough.

Hadn’t Uta earned his fearsome reputation precisely by concentrating all his power into a single blow?

“Well done!”

Uta roared, his eyes blazing with divine light.

He could already feel the chill seeping into his body.

The frost was freezing his soul, and death was decaying his flesh.

He was exhilarated beyond measure.

This was the true combat of a mighty warrior.

As soon as he spoke, three shackles within him shattered with a series of loud cracks.

A visible crimson aura erupted, blazing like a fierce fire.However, even this violent and vast surge of Qi could neither disperse nor even hinder the pervasive, spreading, and permeating decay and frost.

This was the power of concepts.

Witnessing this, Uta’s Battle Intent burned even higher.

Pitch-black War Intent Armament instantly enveloped his entire body.

The erosion of decay and frost vanished in an instant.

Uta disappeared from his original position.

A sonic boom cloud expanded, then froze mid-air.

The frozen world cracked and shattered like chiseled ice rock, breaking apart into a circular void dozens of meters in diameter.

At the far end of the void was Sario, who had just finished his breath attack and was admiring his handiwork.

His soul flame suddenly flickered.

Uta’s familiar figure had somehow appeared right before his head.

A tightly clenched fist, wreathed in blazing Qi, slammed forward.

Just like the last time, the time before that, the time before that, and the time before that…

“W-Wait, hold on—!”

Take it easy!

That day, the workers in the mine heard a Dragon Roar that pierced the heavens.

Truly worthy of Guardian Sario of the Northern Mine—so full of vigor.

With Lord Sario here, the safety of their mine was surely assured.

(End of Chapter)