Nine Lives: Unbeatable Dragon Blood

With a long sigh of relief, Lu Ping slowly withdrew his energy and brought the Bloodline Spiritual Strength that he had just gained into his Bloodline. Throwing away the discarded spiritual stone in his hand, and feeling the strong and powerful beating of his heart, he seemed to hear the "clattering" sound of his blood in his blood vessels.

In the darkness, he suddenly opened his eyes which were shining brightly like two stars in the pitch-black night sky. Lu Ping smiled and looked at everything in the house. After he reached the seventh level of Blood Refining, he gained the ability to see things at night. However, he could only see everything clearly in the hut.

Fetching a bucket of water to wash away the dark red impurities squeezed from his Bloodline and body, Lu Ping lay on the wooden bed. He finally could get a good night's sleep.

Having been in this world for 16 years, Lu Ping had not had any discomforts. Instead, after knowing how mysterious this world was, Lu Ping was badly curious about it.

Lu Ping had a very ordinary aptitude, but his True Spirit Bloodline was motivated when he was six years old. The Leading Immortal Senior on the island was amazed by that, so Lu Ping was admitted as a disciple by True Spirit Academy.

In the past ten years, Lu Ping had worked hard to learn everything about this world, and despite his ordinary aptitude, he had strived to cultivate and finally succeeded in reaching the seventh level of Blood Refining.

Those Immortal Seniors didn't know about his Bloodline, nor did himself.

The next morning, after the bell rang three times, True Spirit Academy was immediately filled with a hubbub of people's voices. The fifty people of the seventh team, second level quickly came out from their courtyard and ran towards the seventh platform of Morning Sun Peak. They were as swift as wild horses off the reins. If martial arts experts saw this, they would probably be dumbfounded.

The speed of these people might not be as fast as those top Qinggong experts, but they were thousands here, each with such superb Qinggong. Those top Qinggong experts might be stunned by this. If these people went out, the world of Wushu would be in chaos!

Lu Ping was at an appropriate speed and looked easy among these people. When he arrived at the seventh platform, he saw two figures on it from afar. They were probably the first and second senior disciples. Both of them had reached the ninth level of Blood Refining, and only the final Blood Dissolving was needed to build the foundation before they could become inner disciples of True Spirit Sect.

When the others were about to reach the platform, three more figures surpassed them and leaped onto the stage. They were the third, fourth and fifth senior disciples who had reached the eighth level of Blood Refining.

Seeing that all the people had reached the platform, the first senior disciple Yao Yong shouted, "Line up!" The crowd ran to their positions and lined up neatly in a moment. Lu Ping ranked second from left in the second row, which meant that he was the twelfth disciple.

Yao Yong shouted again, "Blood Bone Dissolving Fist, begin!"

The crowd made the Start Move, threw a punch out and shouted in unison, "Ha!"

Blood Bone Dissolving Fist had 72 moves. The first 36 moves helped them smelt themselves and motivate the true spiritual strength of their Bloodline. The second 36 moves were life-saving kung fu which enabled them to protect themselves and kill enemies.

After finishing practicing Blood Bone Dissolving Fist, Lu Ping felt hot all over. In the past, he would be panting and sweating after practicing it, but it had become a warm-up for him at this time.

Lu Ping looked at Yao Yong, who once again shouted, "Greetings to our Immortal Senior!"

Outside Xianyang Peak, a red light flashed, and three figures had already landed on the stone stage in front of the platform.

The disciples saluted in unison, saying, "Greetings, Immortal Senior Liu!"

The middle-aged cultivator among the three people who had an air of quiet authority waved his hand and said in a flat tone, "Forego it. Guys, I know you are cultivating very hard, but the assessment for the second level disciples of True Spirit Academy is about to begin. If you do not want to become outer disciples, you need to work harder!"

After Immortal Senior Liu finished his speech, the expressions of the people in the team were different. The first three rows of people had calm expressions, while the last two rows of people began to whisper with anxious, lost and desperate expressions.

Immortal Senior Liu looked at the last two rows of people blankly, and they fell silent at once. He made a faint "hum" and looked at the first three rows. When he saw Lu Ping, he looked overjoyed and said, "Lu Ping, you have already reached the seventh level?"

Immortal Senior Liu's words immediately caused a commotion among the quiet people, and even the senior disciples in the first row turned their heads to look at Lu Ping.

Lu Ping looked calm. Without the slightest bit of nervousness and excitement, he bowed politely and said, "Immortal Senior Liu, thank you for your guidance and training. I indeed made a lucky breakthrough last night."

"Good, good! After March, when the second level disciple assessment is over, you can participate in the second level Disciple Promotion Grand Competition."

The disciple assessment of True Spirit Academy was to eliminate disciples who did not meet the progress, while the Grand Competition was held for outstanding disciples at all levels, of which the winners would be rewarded and their cultivation would be greatly improved. Both were to motivate the disciples to cultivate hard.

In True Spirit Academy, disciples' status was determined by the strength and the competitions were fierce. The number of cultivation resources each team could get depended on the annual winning and elimination rates of their respective teams, and the leader of the team would also be rewarded by the sect. Therefore, when Immortal Senior Liu knew Lu Ping made a breakthrough, he was quite happy.

The second level disciple reached the seventh level, which meant he already had the strength of the top ten of the team, so the seventh team was more likely to win in the Grand Competition.

"In our True Spirit Academy, disciples' status is determined by strength. Lu Ping made a breakthrough and became the tenth one of our seventh team who reached the seventh level. According to the rules, Lu Ping will become the tenth disciple."

Lu Ping had experienced such things several times. At the moment, he was just walking silently to the far right side of the first row. He could clearly feel the gazes of the people behind him. They were angry, envious, jealous...

The previous tenth disciple Li Cheng cast a stern glance at Lu Ping, and walked to the far left of the second row, while the eleventh disciple Zhang Zicheng gave a wry smile and took two steps to the right to take the previous position from Lu Ping.

Lu Ping ignored all these expressions and just stood in his new position silently.

Immortal Senior Liu glanced at Lu Ping and smiled, "According to the custom, a disciple whose cultivation level has risen can challenge his peers to occupy a higher position and get better cultivation resources."

The four disciples who were at the seventh level of Blood Refining on the left looked at Lu Ping in unison. Lu Ping bowed to Immortal Senior Liu and said, "It hasn't been long since I've made the cultivation breakthrough. I still need to consolidate it. I am not a match for them, so I give up the right to challenge."

The others secretly thought, "As expected!"

Every time Lu Ping made a progress, he never challenged his peers. If not for the annual team ranking competition, Lu Ping would have ranked the last among his peers.

Lu Ping didn't want to cause trouble, but it didn't mean that troubles didn't come to him. After a few new disciples failed to beat him, everyone knew that Lu Ping was not a pushover like they thought. Therefore, there were fewer people who challenged him.

The reason why Lu Ping was able to rank twelfth among the peers who were on the sixth level of Blood Refining was that he passively took the position after the others failed to challenge each other.

"So, Lu Ping is the tenth senior disciple of our seventh team!" Immortal Senior Liu announced the result.

"Congratulations, Lu Ping!"

"Congratulations, Lu Ping!"

After Lu Ping returned a salute, Immortal Senior Liu said with a solemn look, "Good! Miscellaneous matters are finished. Guys, begin to meditate and do your exercises!"

Lu Ping returned from Lingcang Pavilion with more than a dozen spiritual stones and eight blood purifying elixirs in his hands. Spiritual stones were auxiliary in cultivation and were hard currency, while blood purifying elixirs could purify True Spirit Blood and improve cultivation.

Lu Ping was a disciple of True Spirit Academy. Strictly speaking, he was neither an outer disciple of True Spirit Sect nor an inner disciple. True Spirit Sect trained them for free from childhood to adulthood. Unlike the outer disciples, he didn't need to be self-reliant. Disciples like Lu Ping were cultivated to be the reserve force of True Spirit Sect. If Lu Ping couldn't reach the ninth level of Blood Refining within 15 years, he would become an outer disciple and have to serve the sect while being self-reliant.

In True Spirit Academy, disciples were divided into three levels, and every five years were considered a session. Lu Ping had been in the academy for nearly ten years and was a second level disciple. The second level disciples needed to reach the fourth level of Blood Refining. If Lu Ping failed to reach the sixth level of Blood Refining in the tenth assessment, he would lose his position as a third level disciple and become an outer disciple.

When the second level disciples reached the fourth level of Blood Refining, they would be rewarded two spiritual stones per month. When they reached the fifth level of Blood Refining, besides two spiritual stones, they would be rewarded one blood purifying elixir per month. When they reached the sixth level of Blood Refining, besides those things, they would be rewarded two more spiritual stones. The seventh level was a watershed, which was difficult to be reached. After they reached it, they would enter the late stage of Blood Refining, and their strength would improve greatly. At that time, the reward would be six spiritual stones and three blood purifying elixirs.

The sect also rewarded disciples who reached the late stage of Blood Refining with 10 spiritual stones and doubled the reward for those who reached the late stage of Blood Refining before the age of eighteen, supposedly because disciples who reached the late stage of Blood Refining before the age of eighteen had a better chance to reach the Blood Dissolving stage.

Lu Ping didn't know whether the rumor was true or not. He only knew that few people could reach the Blood Dissolving stage. Once they reached it, they would formally become inner disciples of True Spirit Sect, formally learn Cultivation Methods of True Spirit Sect, and became an example of the outer disciples.

There were thousands of disciples in True Spirit Academy, and about a hundred of them could reach the ninth level of Blood Refining every year. However, few people could succeed in building the foundation. Disciples who did that would make a sensation in True Spirit Academy.

Lu Ping exchanged ten spiritual stones for five blood purifying elixirs, and then he had sixteen spiritual stones and eight blood purifying elixirs. In the past, He always used them up early in cultivation, but this time, except for the basic consumption, he still had some left.

He needed to prepare for the second level Grand Competition.

Grand Competitions were a way for cultivators to gain cultivation resources. It was not only a competition for the sect's rewards to the individual, but also a competition for teams' cultivation resources. If teams made excellent performance in the Grand Competition, they could obtain more resources. Half of the resources would go to the leading Immortal Seniors of the team, and the rest would be distributed to the disciples.

This was also why Immortal Senior Liu was quite delighted when he knew Lu Ping had reached the seventh level. The top ten disciples of their respective teams would participate in the Grand Competition. This was only a basic requirement. The disciples who had reached the seventh level could also participate in the competition regardless of their rank.

In some powerful teams, there were already more than ten people who had reached the late stage of Blood Refining!

Lu Ping returned to the hut, swallowed a blood purifying elixir as usual, held a spiritual stone in his hand, and began to cultivate. After a period of time, the spiritual stone turned into powder, and the medicinal power of the blood purifying elixir had been refined.

Lu Ping did not rush to improve his cultivation, but reviewed the foundation of the first level of Blood Refining to the seventh level and firmly consolidated it. He did this every time after he made breakthroughs. So, his foundation was very solid.

However, Lu Ping still felt that his cultivation had improved significantly. He let out a breath of turbidity. This was something normal after he made a breakthrough. It would become more and more difficult to make breakthroughs in the future. In the later stage of Blood Refining, each level was a hurdle. It was normal to be unable to overcome them in three to five years.

Lu Ping opened the wooden box on the table, took out a piece of yellow spell paper from it, unfolded it on the table, and then took out a piece of graphite and some strange wooden tools. He kept making invisible drawings above the yellow spell paper. Following the Magic Figure patterns in the "Elementary Magic Figure Mastery", he lightly drew the Magic Figure with graphite.

It was difficult to draw Magic Figures, and it was even more difficult for cultivators in the Blood Refining stage to do it. The patterns of Magic Figures were complicated and no mistakes were allowed while he was drawing them. Otherwise, even if he drew them, their power would be affected. However, Lu Ping had solved this problem by using these tools.

"Hehe, this might be the advantage of being a time traveler," Lu Ping thought with a smile.

Lu Ping knew that these were all just petty shrewdness. After reaching the Blood Dissolving stage, the cultivators would develop Divine Mentality Coercion and these tools would become useless. The cultivators with Divine Mentality Coercion could draw standardized Magic Figures without using tools.

Lu Ping took out the brush used to draw Magic Figures. The brush was made from the hair on the tail of the top-ranked monster. There was a simple Spirit Gathering Circle on the brush, which could better transmit spiritual strength to it.

Lu Ping dipped the brush in the spiritual ink blended with spiritual spring water, fine cinnabar and the blood of the first-class monster Earth Spirit Turtle. He slowly injected his Bloodline Spiritual Strength into the brush, and slowly drew the Magic Figure, following the traces he had drawn earlier.

With the completion of the last stroke, Lu Ping let out a long breath. He did it! It seemed that the improvement of his cultivation had an impact on the success rate of making Magic Figures.

Feeling the spiritual strength contained in the Magic Figure and the power it radiated, Lu Ping was surprised and delighted. It had the top quality, which was the best Magic Figure that a cultivator could make at the Blood Refining stage.

Lu Ping thought for a while, pierced his finger, and dripped a drop of his Fine Blood on the Magic Figure. The dark red Magic Figure suddenly became bright red, as if to rush out of the paper.

This was the method Lu Ping learned in Cangjing Pavilion. It could increase the power of the Magic Figure but at the cost of cultivation. Fortunately, cultivators of Blood Refining relied on Bloodline and their cultivation was in Bloodline. Therefore, they had more Fine Blood than other cultivators, so they suffered a lighter loss. If the Magic Figure was not top-grade, Lu Ping would not have sacrificed this drop of Fine Blood.

He meditated to recover his lost energy and spiritual strength. Then he made nine more Magic Figures. Unfortunately, none of them were top-grade. They were only two high-grade Blood Refining Magic Figures, two medium-grade and three low-grade Magic Figures. He made mistakes while drawing the other two, so they were scrapped.

If other cultivators knew that he had such a success rate in making Magic Figures, they might exclaim in surprise.

Lu Ping thought for a while, dripped his Fine Blood in the two high-grade Magic Figures, turned them into Blood Magic Figures, and then put the three Blood Magic Figures in another box. In the box, there were already several high-grade Magic Figures of Blood Refining.

Lu Ping put the medium and low-grade Magic Figures in a package, which had contained dozens of them. What was in this package was the fruit of Lu Ping's work for a month.

Although the cultivators in the academy could enjoy the allowance from the sect for free, the allowance was far from enough for cultivation. Therefore, the cultivators had their own ways to earn spiritual stones. Making Magic Figures was Lu Ping's way.

Since he reached the fourth level of Blood Refining, he made Magic Figures every three days. With continuous practice and research and some small skills, he went through the initial stage of losing spiritual stones to the stage of earning them. Otherwise, with his ordinary aptitude, he would never become one of those first-class cultivators.

After making the top-grade Magic Figures, Lu Ping, who was exhilarated, kept trying to make them in the next month. Unfortunately, he only succeeded twice, but his success rate of making high-grade and medium-grade Magic Figures increased greatly.

Early in the morning at the end of the month, Lu Ping walked to the market outside the academy with a package full of Magic Figures.

The Grand Competition was around the corner, so the market was very lively. Some cultivators of Foundation Building were flying through the sky, attracting envious looks.

Lu Ping handed in a spiritual stone, found a place in the market, put on the mask he took from the management cultivator, and opened his package. There were thirty-six low-grade Magic Figures and thirty-six medium-grade Magic Figures. The six high-grade Magic Figures were placed on top of them. They could be used as auxiliaries and in powerful attacks and defenses. In fact, Lu Ping didn't want to sell them.

As soon as Lu Ping took his Magic Figures out, others were attracted. Soon, a green-robed cultivator came to ask the price.

"One spiritual stone for three low-grade Magic Figures, one spiritual stone for one medium-grade Magic Figure, and three spiritual stones for one high-grade Magic Figure," Lu Ping answered in a cold voice.

Since a middle-aged cultivator who made Magic Figures he had met in the market disappeared two years ago, Lu Ping had been cautious in the market.

That cultivator was an expert in making Magic Figures, and had reached the eighth level of Blood Refining. He was famous among cultivators of Blood Refining and sometimes gave advice to Lu Ping. Unfortunately, he had a slip of the tongue after making the top-grade Magic Figures. Then Lu Ping didn't see him again, and his family couldn't find him no matter how hard they tried.

After Lu Ping reached the seventh level of Blood Refining, he believed that his ability to make Magic Figure had surpassed that of the missing cultivator, so he was naturally more concerned about his own safety.

The green-robed cultivator who inquired about the price gave a wry smile and said, "Sir, they are a bit expensive, aren't they?"

Lu Ping still said coldly, "They are more powerful than other Magic Figures of the same level."

After hearing the words, the green-robed cultivator picked up a medium-grade Magic Figure. Feeling the spiritual strength in it, he said, "You are telling the truth." After finishing speaking, he wanted to say something else, but seeing Lu Ping's cold face, he shook his head and said, "Give me one medium-grade Vajra Magic Figure, one Golden Sword Magic Figure and one Blast Wind Magic Figure, and three low-grade each of them."

"It's six low-grade spiritual stones," Lu Ping was delighted. It was a good beginning, but he still said coldly.

The green-robed cultivator reluctantly took out six spiritual stones, and then took the twelve Magic Figures that Lu Ping handed to him. He turned to leave, but suddenly turned around, gritted his teeth, and said, "Give me one high-grade Ice Stabbing Magic Figure! My allowance of this month is all yours," He was like making a very hard decision.

Lu Ping got nine spiritual stones at once. Naturally, he was happy.

After the green-robed cultivator left, other cultivators came to Lu Ping one after another. Lu Ping was very excited as he watched the increasing spiritual stones in his pocket, but he still maintained a cold face.

Among them, there were many disciples from the other academy whom Lu Ping knew. Even the first disciple Yao Yong and the fourth disciple Shi Lingling of his team bought a high-grade Magic Figure, four medium-grade Magic Figures and several low-grade Magic Figures from him. Lu Ping was surprised. He thought that his allowance was already very high. After all, he was already in the late stage of Blood Refining. However, it could not compare with that of his seniors who had reached the eighth and ninth levels of Blood Refining. Moreover, it was said that the two were born well, and their backgrounds were much better than those of ordinary disciples like him.

In just one morning, Lu Ping got sixty-six low-grade spiritual stones, which was a fortune that he had never had before. He bought yellow spell papers and spiritual ink needed for making Magic Figures with ten spiritual stones, and saved the remaining fifty or so spiritual stones for the Grand Competition.

Lu Ping came to a garret in the center of the market, Treasure Attic. He had never been here before, because his cultivation was not high enough! The lowest-grade weapons here were magic weapons that could barely be activated only by cultivators at the late stage of Blood Refining. The customers here were often cultivators at the Blood Dissolving stage.

Lu Ping entered Treasure Attic with apprehension, and an old man greeted him with a smile and said, "Sir, welcome to our pavilion, what can I get for you?"

Lu Ping calmed down and bowed to the old man, and said, "I want to buy an attack magic weapon. This is the first time I came to your pavilion. I don't know what you have here, so please recommend one to me."

It was not that Lu Ping was superficial and timid but that he really didn't know much about weapons. Treasure Attic had an outstanding reputation, and even cultivators of Blood Refining like him had heard of it. Therefore, he asked the old man for advice frankly. If he pretended to understand weapons, he might offend the old man and make a fool of himself.

Hearing this, the old man smiled. He was obviously quite satisfied with Lu Ping's attitude, and said, "Sir, this way, please!"

Lu Ping followed the old man to the side of the first floor. This was obviously the place where the low-grade magic weapons were placed. From them, the old man picked out three magic weapons, one sword, one seal, and one fan, and he said, "These three weapons are all considered good among them." After that, he looked at Lu Ping, and said, "You have a solid foundation, and when you urge them, you wouldn't have a lack of power like other cultivators who are at the seventh level of Blood Refining."

When the old man looked at him, Lu Ping felt a chill from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet, as if he had been seen through by the old man. Was this Divine Mentality Coercion that cultivators at the Blood Dissolving stage could possess? Lu Ping was more cautious. He said respectfully, "Senior, please introduce them to me!"

The old man gave a "hmm" and nodded, "This sword is called 'Speedy Electricity'. It's the weakest among the three magic weapons, but it has the highest attack speed. It is flexible and changeable. Comparing with the other two, it needs the smallest power. This seal is called 'Landslide' which is the most powerful among them and it demands the largest power."

After that, he took a look at Lu Ping and then said, "With your current spiritual strength, you could use them. The third magic weapon is called "Flame Fan" which can spray out a burst of spiritual fire to injure enemies. Its quality lies between the two. Which of them do you like best?"

Lu Ping thought, "I can only barely drive them. I don't care if they are flexible and changeable. All I need is that they could help me injure enemies with a single blow, so this mountain-shaped magic weapon is enough."

The old man looked at Lu Ping with a smile. Seeing that Lu Ping had come out of his trance, he knew that he had decided, so he asked, "Which of them do you want?"

Lu Ping said, "Senior, thank you for your advice. I've already decided. I want this 'Landslide'. How much is it?"

The old man stroked his beard and said with a smile, "You have a good eye for weapons. This 'landslide' is enough for you even when you reach the middle stage of Foundation Building. You came to our pavilion for the first time, so I will give you a 10% discount. Forty-five spiritual stones will do."

Lu Ping was stunned for a moment. Although it was the first time he bought a magic weapon, it didn't mean that he had no idea about the price. An ordinary low-grade magic weapon cost only about thirty spiritual stones. This was the first time Lu Ping saw a magic weapon that cost fifty spiritual stones. Looking at the old man's frank look, and recalling other cultivators' good opinions of Treasure Attic, Lu Ping gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I'll buy it!"