The turmoil surrounding the ancient gods has gradually subsided, and many cultivators who came for the divine treasures cannot hide their frustration. Some have left the Path of Sin, but most have not left. Three months later, the Divine Wind Academy will hold a grand competition for young powerhouses from the four major academies, an event that will naturally attract many cultivators to watch.
The turmoil surrounding the Divine Treasure subsided, and the City of Sin gradually returned to calm. But just then, a mysterious and significant event occurred at the Divine Wind Academy.
Ever since learning that Chen Nan and Xiao Chenxi had moved into Shenfeng Academy and had their own secluded courtyard, Long Baobao moved from Longchang to their backyard and lived with them.
Chen Nan naturally wouldn't object; having the dragon baby by his side was equivalent to having a fifth-tier expert protecting him. Xiao Chenxi was even happier; after spending so many days together, she had developed a deep affection for the dragon baby.
However, Chen Nan gradually noticed something unusual. The dragon baby seemed to be sick, no longer as energetic as before, and was drowsy all day long.
He was terrified, fearing something might have happened to the little dragon, and immediately informed the vice-principal. The cunning old man was also anxious upon hearing the news. The baby dragon was of paramount importance to the Divine Wind Academy; if anything were to happen to a sacred dragon, it would be an immeasurable loss.
In addition, the vice dean also harbors special feelings for Xiaolong. All signs indicate that Xiaolong may be the dragon king with extremely high intelligence who was the first female holy dragon knight of the Divine Wind Academy a thousand years ago.
In this world, sacred dragons are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, and their power is not necessarily proportional to their size. Some sacred dragons are tens of feet long, while others are only two or three feet long. Although their sizes differ greatly, it is difficult to compare their strength. It can be said that there are almost no two sacred dragons in this world that are exactly the same, and the size of different sacred dragons varies greatly.
The vice-principal was well-versed in the history of Shenfeng Academy. A thousand years ago, the first female Holy Dragon Knight failed to overcome the impasse and ultimately returned to the earth. Although her holy dragon returned to the mountains, its portrait is still preserved within the academy, and the baby dragon bears a striking resemblance to it. If it weren't for the baby dragon's childlike nature being so different from that of the highly intelligent holy dragon, the vice-principal would have long regarded it as the first Holy Dragon of Shenfeng Academy.
However, he did not conclude that the two were unrelated, because as far as he knew, all sacred dragons possessed high intelligence, and sacred dragons with such eccentric temperaments and childlike personalities as the little dragon were extremely rare. Not long ago, after careful and serious deliberation by him and some old-timers from the Divine Wind Academy who were extremely knowledgeable about dragons, they unanimously concluded that the dragon baby was a powerful sacred dragon that had undergone rebirth but failed.
Generally, when a sacred dragon undergoes Nirvana, there are only two outcomes: it either transforms into a divine dragon or it perishes. However, there have been exceptions in history. Some powerful sacred dragons possessed the potential to transform into divine dragons, but at the last moment, due to external interference or other extraordinary reasons, they failed to achieve their goal. Because such sacred dragons were too powerful, although they failed to transform into divine dragons, they were still able to survive.
The vice dean and the old fogies in the academy believed that the dragon baby was most likely the dragon king of the female holy dragon knight from a thousand years ago. Although it survived after failing to undergo rebirth, it lost all its original memories. This was also a different kind of rebirth after failing to undergo rebirth.
This also explains why the little dragon has a special feeling for the Divine Wind Academy, always lingering there and unwilling to leave, and occasionally showing a confused and reminiscing expression. These facts corroborate that it is the dragon king from a thousand years ago.
For the reasons mentioned above, the vice dean and the old fogies in the academy have a special and complicated feeling towards Xiaolong, and they absolutely cannot tolerate any accident happening to Xiaolong.
When the vice dean arrived at the scene, he found that Xiaolong was indeed as drowsy as Chen Nan had described. In the past, if anyone approached Xiaolong while it was sleeping, it would always wink playfully or even forcefully drive them away. But now, Xiaolong seemed to have lost interest in everything, lying lazily on the ground, too lazy to even lift its head.
The vice-dean was extremely anxious and finally summoned a whole bunch of old fogies from Shenfeng Academy. Chen Nan's courtyard was filled with a large number of white heads. But everyone was at a loss. Two days passed, and these old men were still helpless.
On the morning of the third day, something astonishing happened. When Chen Nan arrived at the backyard, he was astonished and his mouth dropped open. The little dragon's body was covered with a thick layer of keratinous material, encasing it layer by layer, like a silkworm spinning its cocoon.
Upon receiving the news, the vice president and other old-timers rushed to the scene. After their initial shock, these elderly people all showed expressions of ecstatic joy, with some of the white-haired elders even jumping up and down with excitement.
They could hardly contain their immense joy; their worries of the past three days vanished in an instant. The little dragon had actually been reborn once more! If the rebirth of the holy dragon succeeds, a divine dragon will be born from the Divine Wind Academy!
Chen Nan was overjoyed, never expecting that Xiao Long would be so extraordinary, possibly even reaching the realm of a divine dragon. Xiao Chenxi jumped and danced with joy; in the past few days, she had thought Xiao Long was sick and had secretly shed tears several times.
This mysterious event was classified as a top secret by the higher-ups at the Divine Wind Academy!
Legend has it that the phoenix undergoes nirvana and is reborn from the ashes; legend has it that the holy dragon undergoes nirvana and transforms into a divine dragon after undergoing tribulations.
The old monsters of the Divine Wind Academy had already foreseen that this time, the little dragon's rebirth would be earth-shattering! Anyone capable of transforming into a divine dragon must be an extraordinary dragon. The little dragon had undergone a rebirth once, though unsuccessful, yet it survived, which was enough to demonstrate its unparalleled divine power.
In addition, these old guys had a vague feeling that the baby dragon might have a very special background.
In legend, if the bloodline of the dragon king is no longer pure, some wondrous dragons will undergo continuous rebirth to activate the best bloodline left by the dragon king, until they completely evolve into the king of dragons.
The elders at the Divine Wind Academy vaguely felt that the little dragon might be a descendant of the Dragon King. Its first attempt at rebirth had failed, but it was merely preparation for the next one...
A month has passed in the blink of an eye, and not a single word has been revealed about Xiaolong's rebirth.
During this time, Chen Nan's name spread throughout Shenfeng Academy. People who were previously familiar with his reputation as a "scoundrel" changed their opinions of him, and those who had dealings with him no longer bothered him.
Ren Jian, who was seriously injured by Chen Nan, is now able to walk. He has not taken any retaliatory action. It is unknown whether he has truly failed to find out that Chen Nan was responsible, or whether he has been enduring it all along.
The handsome and carefree Long Wu no longer "threatens" or "intimidates" Chen Nan, and no longer forces him to hand over the Dragon Capturing Hand manual, but every time they meet, they bicker with Chen Nan.
Dongfang Fenghuang still looked at Chen Nan with gritted teeth, but given Chen Nan's current reputation and status, she could only glare at him fiercely each time they met.
The little princess was furious. She couldn't understand why her father would protect Chen Nan. But deep down, she didn't want Chen Nan to die. She had secretly vowed that one day she would use her own strength to knock Chen Nan to the ground and trample him under her feet to wipe away her "humiliation."
There was one person Chen Nan least wanted to face: Ruth. Every time he saw her, he would flee, which infuriated Ruth, who was determined to cause him trouble. The last time they accidentally spent their spring night together, Ruth felt a fire burning within her ever since. But she could never find the right opportunity to vent her anger; the thought of Chen Nan made her feel like she was going crazy.
In just one month, Xiao Chenxi became the star child of Shenfeng Academy, adored by everyone from teachers to students. Almost everyone knew that Chen Nan had a little sister who was like an angel or a fairy, and Xiao Chenxi became a true heartthrob. She always had a sweet tongue, frequently calling everyone "Uncle," "Brother," and "Sister," and wherever she went, people would scramble to hold her.
Even the little princess and Dongfang Fenghuang, who vehemently hated Chen Nan, were won over by Xiao Chenxi's clever and adorable appearance. When Xiao Chenxi ran off on her own, they often took her "flying." Both of them had flying pets, so taking to the sky was naturally a piece of cake.
During this time, Chen Nan visited the old mercenary surnamed Li from the Mercenary Guild of Sin City. The old man had previously befriended him and provided him with detailed information about Ren Jian's activities during that period, for which Chen Nan was very grateful.
After Chen Nan's identity was revealed, many people naturally came to befriend him. However, the place he lived in was reserved for VIPs by the academy, and ordinary people were not allowed to approach it. This made him somewhat relieved, as he didn't want to spend his days engaging in tedious socializing.
Of course, while ordinary people can't approach, that doesn't mean everyone is forbidden from doing so. The martial arts fanatic Leng Feng became a regular here. Since learning Chen Nan's true identity and his experiences in the battle of Kaiyuan City, he sought him out again, demanding a rematch.
Chen Nan had never forgotten his previous defeat. Even if Leng Feng hadn't come looking for him, he would have gone to him to avenge that loss. Only by overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles can a strong person become even stronger.
The outcome of this great battle was without suspense. After the battle at Kaiyuan City, Chen Nan's cultivation advanced greatly, and he has entered the third-stage Mahayana realm. Leng Feng is no longer his match.
After that, Leng Feng would come to challenge him every now and then. After several crushing defeats, he had to admit that his current cultivation level was no longer able to compete with Chen Nan.
Since his cultivation level improved significantly, Chen Nan has been practicing even more diligently. Many of the unique skills in his family's secret arts require formidable internal strength to be used, and now that his cultivation level has improved, he can finally master some of these skills.
However, a lingering unease remained in his heart. The last time he reversed his profound power, he clearly felt himself becoming brutal and bloodthirsty. During that period, the profound power had controlled his emotions; it was almost demonic! It was almost devilish!
Although the reversed profound skill was restored to normal, Chen Nan sensed something unusual. When he looked inward, he discovered that the originally golden and bright true energy in his meridians was mixed with a trace of dark and bright light, which was exactly the same as the mutated true energy when his profound skill was reversed.
Chen Zhan had warned him that even if there was a glimmer of hope, he should not reverse his profound skills in a life-threatening situation, which shows Chen Zhan's aversion to reversing profound skills.
Chen Nan didn't know the consequences of reversing his cultivation technique once, nor what would happen in the future. All he could do now was strive to improve his cultivation, break through to a new level, and enter a new realm. He believed that as long as his power was strong enough, he could suppress any terrible consequences!
For the past month, Chen Nan had kept the secret of the Deathly Abyss from the vice dean, intending to reveal it before the Youth Power Competition between the four academies began. At that time, the City of Sin would be teeming with experts, and many powerful cultivators would gather there. If a large number of highly skilled cultivators were to explore the Deathly Abyss together, they should reap some rewards. However, it was foreseeable that many would never return.
Time flies, and two months have passed in the blink of an eye. The Four Great Academies' Tournament of Strongest Players is about to begin. This true battle of the strongest players is far beyond the warm-up matches; it is the pinnacle of competition among the young powerhouses of the four academies!
The four academies all boast histories spanning nearly a thousand years, their prestige resounding throughout the continent. Naturally, this grand competition attracts countless spectators. Not only are there young masters from many ancient Eastern sects and contemporary talents from some mysterious Western families, but also many renowned figures from the older generation of both East and West. The City of Sin is in turmoil, and the inns are overflowing with people.
On this day, the weather was fine and the sky was cloudless. The highly anticipated Tournament of the Four Great Academies finally began!
The Divine Wind Academy was packed with cultivators from all over the continent. After the deans of the four academies took turns speaking, the battle of the strongest warriors from the four academies was about to begin.
But at that very moment, a tremendous dragon roar that shook the heavens and the earth suddenly came from the deepest part of the Divine Wind Academy. Countless golden rays shot straight into the sky, and countless phantoms of golden dragons from the East soared in the high sky.
The resounding dragon roar shook the heavens and the netherworld! Within a radius of a thousand miles, all beasts prostrated themselves on the ground, bowing and worshipping in this direction!
"My God, the Eastern Dragon!"
"The Holy Dragon's Rebirth, a Reflection in the Void!"
"My God, what am I seeing?! The mythical dragon from the East has been born!"
...
Okay, for the next two weeks, Hongxiu Tianxiang Novel Network has arranged promotion and recommendations. This weekend's featured page will be promoted, and next week's will be a strong promotion, so we'll be uploading them separately each day to boost the rankings. Brothers, please understand!
Shenmu (The Tomb of the Gods) is already among the top-ranked novels on the weekly popularity and recommendation charts. Now, with Hongxiu Tianxiang Novel Network promoting and recommending it, and me starting to speed up my reading pace, I'm confident it will break into the top three, and even strive for first place. Brothers, in the next two weeks, don't be stingy with your clicks and votes, and give Shenmu your full support!
As you've probably noticed, the Tomb of the Gods storyline is on track, and believe me, it will only get more and more exciting!