Volume 3: Global Vanguard & The Advanced Pinnacle
Chapter 249
Advancing the Lightning Star Sea to Advanced Tier Two
Deep within the three-hundred-meter subterranean heart of the scorching Western Desert wasteland, the air inside the ancient Primordial Dragon God Hall grew as thick and heavy as a colossal block of amber.
The towering azure dragon stone pillars supporting the soaring vaulted ceiling continued to exhale wisps of ethereal mist from millennium-old dragon breath. Upon the nine-petaled lotus platform made of White Jade Dragon Marrow—where the Primordial Dragon Amulet had just been embedded into the central depression—a burst of brilliant golden radiance suddenly erupted, illuminating every shadowed corner of the ancient stone chamber.
WHOOSH!
The jade lotus petals slowly unsealed. From within the core of the lotus dais, a droplet of blood the size of a pigeon’s egg drifted leisurely into the air. Unlike ordinary fresh blood, this droplet resembled a pure ruby melted down into liquid form, hovering amidst a halo of divine golden light. Within the dense, viscous fluid, the miniature silhouette of a golden Primordial Dragon could be faintly seen winding its nine-segmented body, emitting deep, resonant dragon roars that vibrated straight against the eardrums.
“The Primordial Dragon Blood Essence!”
Ye Qingwan stood at the foot of the lotus platform, her eyes wide as she stared fixedly at the resplendent dragon blood. The magical gale from her physique gently stirred the hem of her combat robes, carrying the soothing fragrance of herbs that dispersed throughout the silent space:
“This is the primordial essence left behind by the Primordial Dragon God before self-detonation of its true form! Through hundreds of millennia of cleansing by the White Jade Dragon Marrow and nourishment by the grand array, it has attained a state of utter purity, devoid of all impurities. Lin Feng, this fortuitous encounter... is a millennium-rare opportunity!”
Lin Feng stood atop the lotus platform, his gaze locked tightly onto the droplet of dragon blood. He could feel the violent throbbing deep within his chest quite clearly—not merely his own heartbeat, but the Primordial Dragon Amulet resonating in rapid succession, akin to a long-wandering traveler discovering the source spring amidst a scorching desert.
Following the life-and-death battle that beheaded the Blood-Sands Flame Demon Emperor, although the Six Elemental Magic systems within his body had been preserved intact, the consumption of magical energy was astronomically immense. In particular, after witnessing the spine-chilling prophecy inscribed on the archaic dragon-hide scroll regarding the two impending catastrophes descending upon the Eastern Sea and the Ancient Capital, the blazing urgency within Lin Feng’s mind ignited fiercer than ever before.
Time was running out. Facing the rise of an entire sea-demon empire and the awakening of the Underworld King beneath the nine layers of hell, his current Advanced Tier 1 strength was fundamentally insufficient to tilt the scales of life and death.
He had to become stronger! Strong enough to tear apart the shroud of apocalyptic darkness!
“General Meng, Qingwan,” Lin Feng turned around, his voice calm yet as resolute as iron nails driven into wood: “I wish to enter closed-door seclusion immediately within the stone chamber behind the altar. The energy within my body is surging to its absolute limit, and the realm barrier has already exhibited signs of fracturing.”
Meng Chiến tightened his grip on the shaft of his magical lance, the wound on his chest already treated by Ye Qingwan, though a weary expression still lingered on the seasoned general’s resolute face. Hearing Lin Feng’s declaration, deep admiration flashed in his eyes:
“Go ahead and concentrate on your breakthrough with peace of mind. Even if this old general has only a single breath left, I will absolutely not allow anything to disturb you by even half a step!”
“Lin Feng, be careful.” Ye Qingwan stepped forward, her soft hand resting gently upon the back of his hand, her soothing voice brimming with absolute faith: “The energy of the Primordial Dragon Blood Essence and the Monarch Soul Essence is supremely tyrannical; the process of refining your meridians will be unimaginably agonizing. You must steadfastly guard your inner heart.”
Lin Feng nodded, breaking into a confident smile: “Rest assured. Even the desert tempest could not bury me, what is mere pain compared to that?”
With a wave of his hand, the Primordial Dragon Amulet flew back from the altar’s depression into his chest, carrying the resplendent Primordial Dragon Blood Essence hovering before him. Under the vigilant protection of the Gluttonous Black Hound growling at the perimeter, Lin Feng strode straight into the subterranean stone chamber situated deep beneath the relief-carved wall of the Dragon God Hall.
CRASH!
The two-meter-thick Xuanwu stone door slammed shut, completely sealing off the interior of the stone chamber from the outside world.
Outside, Meng Chiến and Ye Qingwan instantly sprang into action. Meng Chiến thrust his heavy lance deep into the stone floor, brownish-gold Earth Element magical energy surging across all directions to erect a sturdy rock barrier encapsulating the stone chamber. Ye Qingwan waved her staff, ribbons of emerald Wind Barrier swirling softly around the outer rock layer to neutralize acoustic vibrations while guarding against the slightest whisper of stray wind. The Gluttonous Black Hound crouched directly before the stone doorway, its beastly eyes as cold as razor blades, staring fixedly into the subterranean gloom.
Everything was prepared.
Inside the subterranean stone chamber, absolute silence prevailed.
The space spanned roughly forty square meters, its four rock walls as smooth as mirrors, engraved with ancient array patterns designed to suppress volatile energy fluctuations. Lin Feng sat cross-legged upon an octagonal jade block at the center, taking a deep breath to steady his respiration.
He closed his eyes, plunging his consciousness deep within his body.
Internal observation of the spiritual sea!
The spectacle unfolding within Lin Feng’s spiritual sea at this moment was so breathtakingly magnificent that anyone witnessing it would be struck dumb with awe. Six distinct Star Seas and Star Nebulae belonging to six different magic systems occupied six directional positions, radiating brilliant splendors: blazing red roaring flames, swirling turquoise wind gales, mystical silver space, profound obsidian darkness, ethereal astral summoning...
Yet, reigning supreme at the absolute center, blazing the fiercest and most ferocious, was the Lightning Star Sea!
It was a boundless expanse of purple-black lightning ocean, stretching thousands of meters across his consciousness. The 343 Lightning element stardust particles—constituting the seven Star Maps of the Advanced tier—drifted atop the thunderous sea. Each stardust particle resembled a twinkling purple magical spark, interlinked by meandering lightning threads to form a magnificent, majestic Lightning Star Constellation.
However, at this moment, the Lightning Star Sea was completely sealed off by an invisible, dense, and rigid barrier as unyielding as ten-thousand-foot dark iron. This was none other than the realm barrier standing between Advanced Tier 1 and Advanced Tier 2!
Raging purple-black lightning waves battered furiously against that barrier, yet every collision merely produced dull rumbling thunders that rebounded, causing Lin Feng’s soul to tremble with stinging agony. The star sea space had grown overly congested, its magical energy accumulated from countless battles filled to the brim, but without a destructive external propulsion force, this sturdy barrier would forever confine him to Tier 1!
“Time has come.”
Lin Feng whispered within his consciousness.
He activated the Primordial Dragon Amulet across his chest!
BOOM!
Like a colossal millennial dam blasted wide open, the Primordial Dragon Amulet suddenly unsealed its native dimensional space!
Within the amulet, the Early-stage Monarch Soul Essence of the Blood-Sands Flame Demon Emperor—having been devoured and cleansed by the amulet to eradicate all malevolent desert impurities—now transformed into a torrent of primitive, pure magical energy rushing like a Yellow River flood into Lin Feng’s meridians!
This was the accumulated might of a millennium gathered by an Ancient Monarch! Even merely its purest soul essence fraction possessed a volume of energy formidable enough to rupture the meridians of ten ordinary Advanced-tier mages!
Without pausing, the droplet of Primordial Dragon Blood Essence hovering before his forehead descended, directly permeating through his glabella acupoint and fusing straight into the surging bloodstream within his veins!
BANG!
An earth-shattering explosion resonated directly inside Lin Feng’s chest!
Terrifying pressure struck in a fraction of a second. His body temperature soared by thousands of degrees, every meridian throughout his frame swelling like molten iron-chained ropes beneath his skin. The ancient golden dragon blood surged forward, carrying the indomitable, proud will of the Primordial Dragon God as it swept across every single cellular flesh tissue, muscle fiber, and bone marrow joint.
CRACK! CRACK!
The excruciating agony felt as though a thousand sledgehammers were simultaneously smashing down upon his skeletal joints. Lin Feng’s magical meridians had already been tempered and hardened through numerous rebirths, yet under the frenzied scouring of the Monarch energy and divine dragon blood, hairline fractures began to emerge. Fresh blood oozed from his pores, dyeing his entire black combat uniform crimson. Yet the blood oozing onto his skin surface was instantly vaporized into wisps of red mist swirling around his body by the sheer thermal heat and purple-black lightning arcs!
Pain! An agony piercing straight to the soul, akin to being flayed and deboned before being cast into a boiling vat of oil!
Yet, not a single trace of fear or hesitation flickered across Lin Feng’s expression. His teeth clamped shut until blood trickled down, his hands clenching his knees so tightly that bulging tendons stood out like gnarled roots of ancient trees.
His eyes stared wide open within the gloom of the stone chamber, profound and steadfast as an ancient rock standing desolate amidst a sandstorm tsunami.
He recalled the innocent souls in the Western Desert frontier swallowed by quicksands, the towering tsunami waves of the Eastern Sea shattering city walls in the relief carvings, and the pitch-black abyss crack of the Sát Uyên threatening to devour the Ancient Capital. If he could not even endure this modest physical tempering pain, what qualification did he possess to stand atop the summit of the world, what strength to shield his loved ones before the apocalypse?!
“Condense for me!”
Lin Feng roared lowly in his throat, his voice hoarse yet imbued with unshakeable iron will.
He did not use magical energy to resist the tearing onslaught of the dragon blood; instead, he proactively opened all 108 magical acupoints across his body, channeling the roaring Monarch energy together with the Primordial Dragon Blood Essence directly into his spiritual sea, heading straight for the Lightning Star Sea!
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Within the spiritual sea, the purple-black thunder ocean met a catastrophic gale! The pure Monarch magical energy poured in, causing the Star Sea’s water level to swell twofold within mere heartbeats. Towering thunder waves battered savagely against the realm barrier, producing deafening thunderclaps that shook his entire conscious domain.
Yet, the Advanced Tier 2 barrier was abnormally unyielding. No matter how violently the lightning waves surged, it stood firm, even emitting a magical rebound force that pierced Lin Feng’s divine sense with the pain of ten thousand needles.
“Trying to block me? You lack the qualifications!”
Lin Feng drew a deep breath, transitioning to the most crucial step of his breakthrough: Tempering the Stardust Particles!
Advancing from Advanced Tier 1 to Tier 2 was not merely expanding the volume of the Star Sea; its core essence was the qualitative sublimation of the magical stardust particles! At Tier 1, the stardust existed merely as hazy luminescent energy dots drifting like suspended lightning sparks. Yet to tear apart the Tier 2 realm barrier, all 343 stardust particles had to be condensed, forged, and completely transformed into a vastly more concentrated energy form—Lightning Crystalline Matter!
“Merge!”
Lin Feng focused all his mental mindfulness, locking onto the very first Lightning element stardust floating atop the constellation.
He guided a wisp of golden dragon god breath from the Primordial Dragon Blood Essence, combining it with the pure Monarch magical energy to envelop that single stardust particle.
HISSS!
The purple stardust trembled violently, frantically emitting blinding arc flashes to resist the terrifying pressure. Yet under Lin Feng’s millimeter-precise control, the two divine energies acted like two colossal divine smithing hammers, repeatedly smashing down to compress the stardust!
Shrinking from the size of a bean, the stardust compressed to a fraction of its original volume. The pale purple radiance vanished, replaced by a deep, viscous purple-black hue resembling the deepest night.
CLANG!
A crisp chime echoed within the spiritual sea.
The surface of the first stardust suddenly crystallized, transforming into a sharp hexagonal crystal block resembling a diamond of thunder! Each polished edge of the crystal refracted a cold purple-black light, sealing within its core a volatile yet perfectly stable concentration of lightning essence. Surrounding the crystal, minute golden dragon-scale patterns automatically carved themselves onto its surface, emitting the majestic might of an archaic Primordial Dragon!
One success!
The euphoric sensation of energy sublimation instantly soothed the pain within his meridians. Without wasting a single second, Lin Feng’s consciousness fragmented into hundreds of strands of divine thought, simultaneously enveloping the subsequent stardust particles!
The second... the tenth... the fiftieth!
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Crisp chimes rang out incessantly within Lin Feng’s consciousness, resembling an unprecedented symphony of divine weapon forging. Under the tempering of the Dragon Blood and Monarch Soul Essence, every hazy gaseous stardust particle was squeezed, tightly compressed, and transformed into dense, peerlessly sturdy blocks of Lightning Crystalline Matter!
When the three-hundredth stardust successfully crystallized, the volume of the Lightning Star Sea abruptly contracted by half due to extreme energy compression, yet the coercive might it radiated surged twofold!
The three hundredth...
The three hundred and fortieth...
The further it progressed, the faster the forging speed became. Lin Feng’s divine thought merged seamlessly with the respiration of the Primordial Dragon Amulet.
Until...
CLANG!
The final crisp chime echoed, vibrating throughout the entire void!
The 343rd stardust—the core stardust of the Lightning Constellation—officially completed its metamorphosis, transforming into a brilliant purple-black Lightning Crystalline Star brimming with golden thunder clouds!
All 343 stardust particles had now completely transformed from gaseous states into dense, crystalline Lightning Matter! No longer wandering aimlessly, they arranged themselves into a flawless octagonal thunder formation, hovering across the sky of the spiritual sea like 343 stars wielding world-destroying might!
“All stardust transformed into Lightning Crystals!”
Lin Feng roared within his mind, his pent-up euphoria and battle intent erupting to their absolute peak:
“Today, nothing can block my path! BREAK FOR ME!”
BOOM!
At the supreme command of their master, all 343 Lightning Crystalline Stars simultaneously flashed brilliantly! Tens of thousands of purple-black lightning bolts erupted from the crystalline blocks, intertwining mid-air to condense into a colossal Thunder Dragon spanning thousands of meters. The entire body of the lightning dragon was covered in sharp purple-black lightning-crystal dragon scales, its eyes blazing with the divine golden flame of the Primordial Dragon Blood Essence!
ROAR!
The thunderous dragon roar tore open the entirety of Lin Feng’s consciousness! The Thunder Dragon carried the entirety of the Monarch Soul Essence’s pure magical energy and the destructive might of 343 Lightning Crystalline Stars, transforming into a magnificent spear of thunder that lunged straight at the Advanced Tier 2 realm barrier!
CRASH!
An earth-shattering explosion erupted right at the center of Lin Feng’s consciousness!
Time seemed to freeze for a fraction of a millisecond.
CRACK!
The realm barrier, previously as unyielding as ten-thousand-foot dark iron, trembled slightly. Right at the impact point of the thunder dragon spear, a deep fissure appeared. Immediately afterward, the crack spread at gale-like speed, transforming into millions of intricate spiderweb fissures covering the entire barrier!
BANG!
The realm barrier shattered into countless glittering fragments of light and completely vanished into nothingness!
OUTBURST!
The lightning ocean of the Lightning Star Sea roared like a behemoth freed from millennium-old shackles, frantically expanding its domain! A thousand meters... two thousand meters... three thousand meters!
The area of the Lightning Star Sea expanded threefold compared to before! The purple-black lightning waves surged skyward, every single drop of thunder liquid containing an unimaginably dense and pure concentration of lightning essence. The 343 Lightning Crystalline Stars flew freely across the newly opened boundless thunder ocean, emitting resonant cheers resembling early summer thunder!
BREAKTHROUGH SUCCESSFUL!
THE LIGHTNING SYSTEM OFFICIALLY ENTERS ADVANCED TIER TWO!
Simultaneously, the external physical tempering process of Lin Feng reached its most consummate stage.
As the realm barrier shattered, the massive feedback of magical energy combined with the lingering essence of the Primordial Dragon Blood Essence flooded his limbs and skeletal frame. Every torn muscle fiber rapidly closed and regenerated at a visible speed. His outer skin turned smooth yet taut and resilient, as though enveloped in an invisible layer of dragon scales.
Beneath his skin, faint golden dragon-scale patterns flashed before sinking deep into his bone marrow. His skeletal structure grew manifold sturdier than before, his magical meridians expanding threefold to permit the flow of magical energy at lightning speed without encountering the slightest obstruction!
The magical energy within Lin Feng’s body surged twofold, his aura profound, tyrannical, and as deep as a bottomless abyss!
He slowly opened his eyes.
SWISH! SWISH!
From his pitch-black pupils, two beams of deep purple-black lightning shot straight out into the space, tearing the air of the stone chamber into two vacuum grooves over ten meters long, striking directly against the opposing Xuanwu stone wall!
HISS!
The stone wall—so sturdy that Advanced Tier 1 magic struggled to leave a mark upon it—was now pierced by two finger-deep holes shot from his gaze, the stone edges melted red-hot and emitting a pungent burning smoke.
A mere glance possessed terrifying piercing might to this extent!
Lin Feng lowered his gaze to his right hand. He gently flipped his palm, a thought stirring in his mind.
DRIP! DRIP!
Without tedious magical spell-chanting or slow Star Map sketching, in the blink of an eye, the 343 Lightning Crystalline Stars within his spiritual sea simultaneously activated. Seven Star Maps linked flawlessly, a brilliant purple-black Constellation pattern manifesting directly beneath his palm!
Advanced Tier 2 Variant Magic: Nirvana Lightning Seed - Thunder Storm Torrent!
Lin Feng clearly perceived the qualitative transformation of his newly comprehended magic.
Whereas at Advanced Tier 1, “Nirvana Lightning Seed” focused on condensing isolated destructive lightning pillars or generating localized Lightning Confinement Arrays, upon advancing to Tier 2, “Thunder Storm Torrent” constituted a large-scale strategic destructive prohibition of massive proportions!
When executing at full strength, the 343 Lightning Crystalline Stars would summon from the thunderstorm clouds hundreds of dense purple-black lightning pillars crashing down in rapid succession! The thunder might was threefold denser than Tier 1, its coverage radius extending over a mile. Within that perimeter, any living entity ranging from Servant to Warrior level would be instantly melted into ashes. Even a swarm of Commander-level demonic beasts or an army division of thousands clad in heavy magic armor would be completely wiped off the face of the earth by this lightning storm torrent within mere heartbeats.
This strength... constituted the qualification for him to look down upon the battlefield and single-handedly combat an entire legion!
Lin Feng withdrew his magic, exhaling a long breath of turbid air carrying flickering electric sparks. The corners of his lips curved upward into an arrogant arc:
“Advanced Tier 2... It has finally arrived.”
CRASH!
The heavy Xuanwu stone door slowly slid open to both sides.
Outside the chamber, Meng Chiến and Ye Qingwan instantly whipped around. Upon beholding the tall figure in black combat attire stepping forth, both held their breath in astonishment.
Lin Feng walked leisurely, yet every footstep upon the flagstones carried an invisible aura that caused the surrounding air to ripple slightly. Although he intentionally restrained his magical energy, minute purple-black arc sparks occasionally flickered around his shoulders and fingertips, emitting dry, crackling snaps. His aura at this moment no longer resembled the dazzling sharpness of an ordinary young prodigy, but bore the steadfast, profound, and majestic dignity of a genuine powerhouse!
The crouching Gluttonous Black Hound abruptly lifted its head, its beastly eyes flashing with immense elation. Wagging its tail heavily, it trotted forward to rub its colossal head against his arm, sensing that the familiar lightning dragon might had grown manifold stronger.
“Lin Feng... You... have you truly broken through to Tier 2?!”
Ye Qingwan stepped forward quickly, her lovely eyes sparkling as she gazed at him from head to toe. She perceived that the pure magical energy surging within his body was now so profound that even she—an exceptional Wind-element mage of her clan—felt a suffocating, breathless pressure.
“It succeeded, Qingwan.” Lin Feng smiled, his gaze looking at her gently: “Thanks to the Primordial Dragon Blood Essence and your guardianship.”
Meng Chiến stepped forward, his steel-like palm slapping heavily onto Lin Feng’s shoulder as a hearty laugh resounded throughout the hall:
“Fine lad! Truly a hero emerges from youth! This old general spent decades reaching the threshold of Advanced Tier 2, yet you under twenty years of age have stepped into this realm! With your current strength, coupled with the Nirvana Lightning Seed variant and your Six Elemental Magic... Even peak Commander-level old monsters or ordinary early-stage Monarchs encountering you will likely have no choice but to tuck their tails and flee for their lives!”
“General Meng flatters me too much,” Lin Feng replied modestly, though within his heart he knew well that the general’s words were no exaggeration. Presently, if he were to rematch the Blood-Sands Flame Demon Emperor, he could entirely utilize the Thunder Storm Torrent to grind its magma body to dust without undergoing an exhaustive, life-or-death battle of attrition as before.
Yet, the joy of reunion and congratulations had not lasted long before a sudden crisis struck!
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
From the waist of Lieutenant General Meng Chiến, a dark-red military sound-transmission jade talisman suddenly emitted urgent, piercing alarms resembling death knells!
The smile on Meng Chiến’s weathered face instantly vanished. His fingers trembled as he unsealed the talisman’s barrier.
WHOOSH!
A blood-red beam of light shot mid-air, accompanied by the panicked, broken voice of a frontline military district liaison officer echoing amidst chaotic roaring winds and exploding thunder in the communication channel:
“Urgent... Urgent report! Reporting to Lieutenant General Meng Chiến! The Frontline Command issues a national red alert!”
“What has happened?! Report calmly!” Meng Chiến roared into the jade talisman, his voice carrying military dignity suppressing the panic.
At the other end of the line, howling winds and hair-raising bone-crashing sounds transmitted clearly:
“It’s the Ancient Capital! An earth-shattering cataclysm has occurred in the Ancient Capital!”
“Half an hour ago, the entire sixty miles of defensive lines outside the millennium-old walls of the Ancient Capital suddenly experienced a ‘Blood Moon Night’ in broad daylight! A crimson blood moon hangs suspended directly above the city summit!”
“The Sát Uyên abyss crack, previously fixed in the suburbs... has begun moving at blistering speed toward the Northern city gate! Millions of undead skeleton soldiers, corpse generals, and evil ghosts have surged from the underground like mushrooms after rain, frantically assaulting residential defense sectors!”
“The Ancient Capital legion is under severe siege! Reinforcements from neighboring provinces are sealed off by dark demonic qi and unable to approach! The Ministry of National Defense issues an emergency mobilization order: Requiring all Advanced mages and military district commanders to reinforce the Ancient Capital at all costs before the defense line collapses!”
The sound within the jade talisman flickered out, leaving only the cold, hissing static of magical communication disrupted by dark magnetic fields.
The entire subterranean Dragon God Hall fell into a deathly silence.
Ye Qingwan’s expression turned pale white, her fingers instinctively tightening around her robes: “The prophecy on the dragon-hide... has been fulfilled! The Underworld King of the Ancient Capital... has truly awakened beneath the ground!”
Meng Chiến gripped his heavy lance tightly, bulging veins throbbing violently across his forehead: “Twenty million civilians... If the Ancient Capital falls, the central plains of Shenzhou will be drowned by an undead sea of blood!”
Lin Feng stood unsteadily yet towering within the stone hall.
Desert wind blew downward from the subterranean tunnel, whipping his dark hair and robes. He slowly raised his head, gazing toward the distant North—where the millennium-old city of the Ancient Capital was submerged within the blood-moon tempest.
His eyes flashed with sharp purple-black lightning radiance resembling a blade just drawn from its scabbard.
“The time has come.”
Lin Feng spoke in a deep tone, cold yet imbued with towering killing intent that shook the entire hall:
“Black Hound, Qingwan, General Meng! We... set out for the Ancient Capital!”