DRAGON EMPEROR

CHAPTER 56 Blood Meridians Expand

Lu Ming opened his eyes and a ray of light shone in his eyes.

'Nature Fourth Class Master! The speed of devouring blood essence was indeed frightening. It only took one day for me to switch from the beginner stage of the Third Grade Master Realm to the Fourth Grade Master Realm!

‘However, this is not enough. Ning Feng was the best Sixth Grade Master, and no one knew if he would succeed in breaking through this time. I need to grow further.'

Lu Ming went to the Contribution Hall once again.

This time, he exchanged the 80,000 taels of silver he had obtained from Duanmu Jue into sect contribution points.

80,000 taels of silver was equivalent to 800 sect contribution points.

With his own 700 points, and the 3,000 points that Lu Ming borrowed from Mu Lan, he had a total of 4,500 points, and he traded them all for the blood essence of a demonic beast.

Lu Ming got fifteen portions of the blood essence of a Level Two Fifth Grade demonic beast (100 sect contribution points each) and fifteen portions of the blood essence of a Grade Two Demon beast (each 200 Sect contribution points).

In the blink of an eye, he completed all of his sect contribution points.

“Pity, I'm too poor!” Lu Ming sighed.

He continued his cultivation when he returned to his room.

Two days later, Lu Ming had devoured a total of 19 Level Five Second Grade demonic beast blood essences, including the four parts he had bought before.

His cultivation reached the peak of the Fourth Grade Master Realm, so he was only a little more to the peak of the Fourth Grade Master Realm.

After the blood essence of a Level Two Fifth Grade demonic beast, Lu Ming continued to devour the blood essence of a Level Six Second Grade demonic beast.

With just three servings, Lu Ming's cultivation reached the peak of the Fourth Grade Master Realm.

As he continued to devour the three blood essences of a Level Six Second Demon beast, there were no signs of improvement in his cultivation, either, which meant that he had no hope of reaching the Fifth Grade Master Realm any time soon.

“My cultivation increased too fast. My Essential Qi was tainted and my foundations were shaky. I must stop to consolidate and strengthen my cultivation!” Lu Ming bitterly laughed.

Lu Ming focused entirely on strengthening his cultivation, temporarily putting aside devouring the blood essence.

He also practiced martial techniques in his spare time.

Ten days had passed, and there were only two days left of the agreement with Ning Feng a month ago.

Within the span of these ten days, Lu Ming's Fire Dragon Fist had reached the Sixth Stage of – One with Martial Arts.

However, no matter how much Lu Ming practiced, his Glittering Sword Technique remained stagnant in the Fifth Stage.

Moreover, he had almost finished strengthening his cultivation.

'I'll start breaking through now!'

Lu Ming began to attempt a cultivation breakthrough after devouring even more Level Six Level Two demon beast blood essence.

Roars! Roars!

The blood essence of the demonic beast turned into a dragon-like stream of Essential Qi which grew larger as it surged in Lu Ming's meridians. Finally, all the dragon-like Essential Qi gathered in Typhoon Qi in the Dantian.

Wusssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss...

After a day and a half, Typhoon Qi Lu Ming revolved swiftly, and with a tremble, it expanded to double its original size.

'I have finally broken through to the Fifth Grade Master Realm!'

Lu Ming opened his eyes happily.

Buzz!

He felt a numbing sensation on his spine and in a burst of red light, a finger-sized Spirit-eating Worm appeared, falling in the air.

The Spirit-eating worms began to lengthen and thicken. Within two hours, he became like a small snake about 50 centimeters thick and long.

Yes, it did look like a scaly black-colored little snake that floated in the air.

There were four bright red meridian focal points on the little snake.

In terms of progress, Lu Ming's blood meridians had finally increased, but they needed more blood essence than expected.

'Looks like I can't call this a worm anymore, right? Should I rename it to ‘ular’?’

Lu Ming was confused.

This was unprecedented – blood meridians that could level up and evolve.

'I'm not sure if this will continue to grow in the future. You know what? In that case, I will call it Spirit Eater!' Lu Ming thought enthusiastically.

....

On one of the wider courtyards in the Vermillion Bird Hall stood two figures. It was Ning Feng, and the other was Ning Kong, his father.

“Feng'er, how sure can you beat Lu Ming?” Ning Kong asked.

“Don't worry, Father, I will definitely kill Lu Ming at the Vermillion Bird Stage,” Ning Feng replied confidently.

“Don't underestimate your enemy, Feng'er. This Lu Ming was the Apprentice Champion, and he had initiated the challenge, so he must have something behind his sleeves. Don't underestimate it,” Ning Kong's advice.

Ning Feng laughed and said, “I wasn't so sure before this, Father, but my cultivation managed to break through to a higher level yesterday.”

“You managed to break through? Feng'er, did you just say you broke through? Ning Kong was overjoyed.

“Yes, Dad!” Ning Feng chuckled, an aura stronger than Sixth Grade Master emanated from within him.

“Hahaha, nice, I'm calmer now. The Duanmu family emphasized this matter a lot, so as long as you kill Lu Ming, our position in the Duanmu family will increase even higher.”

“The Duanmu family is gradually growing in strength and influence, which means we will be in a better place if we continue to serve them faithfully.”

Ning Kong laughed as he gave Ning Feng a jade bottle. “Feng'er, this is the Spirit Explosive Pill I requested from the Duanmu family. It was intended for you to kill Lu Ming, but since you have broken through in your cultivation, you might not need it. Still, take it with you, just in case.”

"Thank you dad!" Ning Feng took the jade bottle.

“Alright, time is running out. Let's go to the Vermillion Bird Stage” Ning Kong said.

.....

On the other hand, Lu Ming packed up and walked out of his room only to see Hua Chi and Pang Shi waiting for him.

“Senior brother Lu, we will go with you,” Pang Shi said.

“Don't you dare lose, Lu Ming. You can only lose to me, Apprentice Champion,” Hua Chi said coldly.

"Let's go!" Lu Ming smiled and walked out of the door.

The Vermillion Bird Stage was located on the eastern side of the Vermillion Bird Peak's foot. It was very spacious as it was specially designed for the apprentices in the hall to duel with each other.

Back then, there were already thousands of people swarming around the Vermillion Bird Hall. Some were new apprentices, but most of the senior apprentices and elders were present.

Never before has the emerging Apprentice Champion challenged a senior apprentice who was four to five years older to a duel.

Many came because they were interested. Where did Lu Ming get that confidence and courage from?

Suddenly, a voice sounded. “Head Elder Ning Kong is here.”

“Ning Feng is also here!”

Ning Feng and Ning Kong entered along with a group of people by his side.

The same group walked towards the upper area and towards one of the observation rooms.

“Older Mu Lan is also here!”

"really?! Where's where?"

A bigger commotion ensued.

Mu Lan walked in gracefully with her group including Feng Wu and Yuan Hui.

They also walked towards the observation room in the upper area.