The nine tolls of the Ancestral Bell echoed for ten thousand miles, the residual sound seemingly still trembling in the heavens and earth.
The roar of the Ancestral Dragon Vein gradually subsided, yet the palpitations and immense pressure emanating from the deepest part of every Qin Family member's bloodline hung heavy in their hearts. The entire Qin Family Ancestral Dragon Divine Continent fell into an eerie silence.
Above the ruins of the Abandoning Dust Hall, the young Qin Wudao, the source of it all, stood quietly.
In the next instant, the silence was shattered. Space began to fluctuate violently, like the surface of boiling water. Streams of divine consciousness, extreme in their power, converged from all directions—from the very depths of the Qin Family—firmly locking onto Qin Wudao. The owners of these divine senses were none other than the true pillars of the Qin Family, and their wills were filled with uncontrollable, turbulent shock.
"This... what is this aura?"
"Nine tolls of the Ancestral Bell! I have been in seclusion for thirty thousand years, and I have never heard of such a thing!"
"The source is that abandoned child in the Abandoning Dust Hall? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"That power... it resembles a dragon yet it is not, it resembles annihilation yet it is not... and it carries a trace of the aura from the dawn of the Hongmeng... unheard of, unseen!"
Several fossil-level ancestors, who had been in deep, nearly forgotten seclusion, felt their wills fluctuate violently at this moment. The space around their retreat sites began to twist and collapse. On one ancestor’s stone statue, a fissure even cracked open!
"Could this be... the glimmer of hope from the Primal Ancestor's prophecy? Has it manifested in this abandoned child?"
An ancestor let out an incredulous cry, their voice ringing directly in the hearts of the others.
"Go and investigate at once! Spare no cost!"
...
Meanwhile, in the First Elder's hall, Qin Yuan’s face turned ghastly pale. His body trembled uncontrollably, not from fear, but from a mixture of extreme rage and irrepressible panic. He crushed the jade cup in his hand, hot tea splashing over him, yet he seemed not to notice.
"That wretch! How dare he! How could he!!!"
Qin Yuan looked deranged, his eyes bloodshot, the power of laws erupting from his body and instantly pulverizing the tables and chairs within the hall.
"My dragon bone—he sensed it, he is even absorbing the residual origin!"
"The secret of digging the bone while Qin Zhan was away must not be exposed. I must kill that child completely."
Qin Yuan’s voice was no longer serene; it carried a frantic edge. "Come here! Someone, come here!!!"
Three shadowy figures, like ghosts, appeared silently, kneeling on one knee. They radiated a deathly Saint-level pressure that could freeze the soul.
"Spare no cost. Go to the Abandoning Dust Hall and execute that wretch."
"Yes!" The three Saint-level assassins vanished instantly.
Still uneasy, Qin Yuan felt the space around him warp. He transformed into a stream of light filled with destructive intent and followed close behind. He would tear that wretch’s head off with his own hands!
...
On the other side, Qin Zhan, having just returned from a supreme secret realm, felt that familiar aura. His tall frame trembled slightly, his face filled with shock, ecstasy, and an indescribable ache and guilt.
"Nine tolls of the Ancestral Bell... that Divine Sea Realm aura... it’s Wudao, it’s really Wudao!"
He felt the majesty of the Primal Dragon Emperor Scripture within that power, and even more, he sensed a brand-new, domineering physique that made his own heart race.
"What on earth happened?"
"Did the First Elder and the others resolve the problem with Wudao’s physique? I am so grateful to them."
Thinking of the neglect he had shown his son all these years, Qin Zhan’s eyes welled up. He flashed, tearing through the void, and rushed toward the Abandoning Dust Hall at the fastest speed of his life.
...
In a distant core mountain cave dwelling, resided the son of the First Elder, Qin Yuan.
Qin Tianlong, an unparalleled genius of the Qin Family, possessed the purest Primordial True Dragon Bone. Yet, his bone... had been extracted from the body of his younger brother, Qin Wudao. Only he and his father knew this.
Relying on Qin Wudao’s Primordial True Dragon Bone, his cultivation had skyrocketed as if without limit, making him the undisputed number one among the younger generation of the Qin Family. He even held a high ranking among the youth of the entire continent. He was bathed in glory, hearing nothing but praise and flattery.
But at the very moment Qin Wudao awakened his Hongmeng Emperor Bone, his own cultivation suddenly stagnated. Under the surge of clashing blood and Qi, he coughed up a mouthful of blood. The Primordial True Dragon Bone within him let out a groan of distress, and fine cracks appeared upon its surface.
"It cracked?"
Qin Tianlong panicked, agitation spreading from his heart. He stared at the direction of the Abandoning Dust Hall in disbelief, his eyes full of confusion.
"Is it that cripple? No... this is impossible!"
He didn't bother to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth and rushed toward the Abandoning Dust Hall at top speed. He feared the truth about the bone-digging would be exposed, and he feared being stripped of his title as a Qin Family genius. He had to ensure Qin Wudao remained a total piece of trash!
...
The storm gathered.
Above the ruins of the Abandoning Dust Hall, Qin Wudao stood calmly, taking it all in. He felt the several strands of undisguised, biting killing intent, and he felt the familiar aura rushing toward him, carrying complex emotions.
The void was torn asunder. The three black shadows radiating overwhelming Saint-level pressure descended first, locking him in a triangular formation. Without a word, the three Saint-level assassins struck simultaneously.
Three pitch-black hands, wreathed in thick laws of death and strong enough to easily crush stars, covered Qin Wudao from the sky, the ground, and the sides, aiming to reduce him and the surrounding space to nothingness.
The joint strike of three Saints was world-destroying.
Qin Wudao’s eyes were calm; he had long been prepared. At this moment, the Hongmeng Emperor Bone within him erupted with a brilliant grey-purple divine light. A unique devouring power permeated the air, causing the surrounding spatial laws to become viscous and sluggish. The speed of the incoming deathly hands slowed.
At the same time, the Primal Dragon Emperor Scripture began to operate of its own accord. A shrill dragon roar rang out, and the domineering Dragon Emperor’s pressure was unleashed, causing the minds of the three Saint-level assassins to falter for an instant.
"Hahaha, my son is safe!"
Just then, a roar of joy and relief rang out. Qin Zhan’s figure arrived, breaking through the void. He had thought it was the family who had healed his son and was filled with joy, but he was greeted by this scene of an attempted assassination.
"How dare you!!!"
Fury instantly replaced joy. Qin Zhan’s hair stood on end, and a golden dragon phantom ten thousand feet tall roared behind him. He swung his large sleeves, and a majestic force, far exceeding the combined power of those three hands, surged forth!
With three muffled thuds, the three Saint-level assassins were shattered by Qin Zhan’s furious strike. They died instantly.
The First Elder, Qin Yuan, who had arrived, saw this scene. His expression darkened, his gaze cold and icy as he stared at Qin Zhan.
"Qin Zhan! What are you doing!"
"That is exactly what I should be asking you."
"This boy triggered a heavenly phenomenon; he is a curse upon this family! As the First Elder, why should I not clean up the house?"
"Get out!"
Qin Zhan was beyond furious, shielding his son behind him. Just as he was about to say more, he saw his son, Qin Wudao, step forward.
"First Elder," Qin Wudao said, "the Primordial True Dragon Bone inside me was dug out by you, wasn't it?"