Beast Tamer Ascension

Vol. 3 Chapter 87: Reappearance of the Dragon Palace

Outside Lotus City, thunder echoed through the skies.

The massive rumble immediately alerted the cultivators within the city.

Inside the city, a palace-dressed woman with the highest cultivation level opened her eyes and instantly teleported outside her cave dwelling.

Swish! Crack!!

Moments later, several Nascent Soul cultivators appeared beside her.

“Elder.....”

If Lin Jing were here, he would have definitely recognized that these Nascent Soul cultivators were all teachers from the academy.

Among them, Lin Jing had even taken classes from two of them.

Whether it was the Southern Mountain Demon Emperor’s invasion or the hosting of the Autumn Hunt, this academy elder had stepped forward.

During the Academy Great Transfer incident, not only Foundation Establishment students were affected—even Nascent Soul teachers and Nascent Soul Transformation elders had no way to resist the power of that teleportation treasure.

This group of academy experts happened to be the ones who landed in Qingzhou.

After arriving in Qingzhou, they didn’t rush to return to the Ancient Kingdom. First, traversing the Misty Forest was extremely dangerous. Second, many students were still scattered. As mentors, their top priority was to gather all the other geniuses who had also ended up in Qingzhou, and then return together to the Ancient Kingdom.

This Tongtian Path’s Lotus City was their temporary base. The academy teachers had long since spread word for all students who arrived in Qingzhou to gather here.

“That’s the Thunder Dragon Clan’s little princess,” one academy teacher spoke. “She’s been going around challenging human geniuses of the same realm lately... never thought she’d come to Lotus City too.”

“There’s a Thunder Dragon Prince at the Nascent Soul Transformation stage with her,” another said. “Just let a few students handle her. No need to provoke her. We don’t need to show ourselves...”

“I recall the Thunder Dragon Clan is a member of the Demon Court, right...” another teacher hesitated. “The Beast Taming Sect and the Demon Court are tangled together. Could it be the Demon Court already found our student Lin Jing...”

“Not sure if this Thunder Dragon Princess knows anything. Should we ask her?”

“Highly unlikely,” the palace-dressed woman said. “The Demon Court’s various races are more like an alliance. Each beast clan doesn’t have deep ties with one another. Although Xu Qingyao from the Beast Taming Sect became the Demon Court’s Third Holy Maiden, clans with a Void Mystical Demon Ancestor as their guardian, like this one, rarely have close relations with the Holy Maidens.

“Only those beast clans without a ‘Demon Ancestor’ to rely on would invest in the Holy Maidens, hoping to elevate their entire race. The Thunder Dragon Clan has always been isolated from the world—there’s no way they’d have deep connections with the Holy Maidens.”

“We don’t need to worry about Lin Jing. Just leave it to the Vice Dean.” As the palace-dressed woman finished speaking, one of the academy geniuses, under the teachers’ transmission, was already heading out of the city to face the Thunder Dragon Princess.

In Qingzhou, besides this group of academy powerhouses, even the Vice Dean—a cultivator at the Void Mystical Stage—had come to search for Lin Jing. Not because of his identity as a student or a genius of the Ancient Kingdom, but simply to prevent the Yin Corpse Sect and the Gu God Sect from gaining any advantage.

Since the Yin Corpse Sect cared so much about the Longevity Body, there was no way they could be allowed to have it. Finding and protecting Lin Jing was also a way to foil the enemies of the Ancient Kingdom and the academy.

But Lin Jing was just too good at hiding. Even with the Vice Dean at the Void Mystical Stage dispatched, they still hadn’t found him in Qingzhou.

Even after enlisting a seer from Tianji Pavilion, the best they could divine was that the Thunder Dragon was in Qingzhou.

That concealment item gifted by Senior Pine before parting had been a massive help.

“They’re here!!!”

At the same time, inside Lotus City, Lin Jing the “princess” looked at the dozen Ancient Kingdom geniuses flying toward her, eyes lighting up.

Indeed, those dozen or so academy students were also observing her, expressions solemn.

That breathtaking divine dragon form, over ten meters long, with gem-like scales crackling with lightning, made it impossible to raise any sense of resistance.

“Our teachers want us to fight that monster?”

Though these academy students had been tempered in various ways while stranded in Qingzhou, asking them to fight the Thunder Dragon Princess felt absurdly beyond their level.

With the Thunder Dragon Princess’ peak Emperor-tier bloodline, in the Ancient Kingdom, only those at the top of the Genius Rankings had the right to fight her.

And among the academy students transported to Qingzhou, the highest-ranked on the Genius Rankings was only “twenty-first.”

While being ranked twenty-first was still impressive, the gap between that and the top ranks was like heaven and earth.

Those at the top could easily crush ten ranked below them.

Everyone’s eyes turned toward a refined young man in brocade robes at Peak Foundation Establishment.

“Let me face you. I am Ji Changge of Ten Thousand Swords City, once ranked twenty-first on the Ancient Kingdom Genius Rankings!” The youth was a sword cultivator, now flying on his sword, arms folded behind his back. The flying sword beneath him was clearly of extraordinary quality.

“Twenty-first? That low?” the Thunder Dragon Princess said with a hint of disappointment in her eyes.

“That was in the past,” Ji Changge replied. Indeed, back then he was ranked twenty-first, but after arriving in Qingzhou, he had a fortuitous encounter and was no longer the same.

In these past few years, what he gained in Qingzhou far exceeded what he had from years of cultivation in Sword City and the academy.

Buzz.

A powerful sword intent surged from Ji Changge’s body, and sharp energy condensed into solid yellow flying swords all around him—one, two, three...

In an instant, 108 flying swords formed purely from sword intent gathered into a formation behind him.

Each sword radiated a chilling aura, their blades reflecting withered yellow leaves...

“Fully realized Withering Sword Intent—this sword intent can weaken an opponent’s spiritual energy...”

The surrounding academy students were shocked to see Ji Changge achieve full mastery of sword intent. The difficulty of mastering sword intent was no less than perfecting a spiritual physique.

However, even with such a display of power, the palace-dressed woman and several teachers secretly shook their heads. This sword intent alone was still no match for the Thunder Dragon Princess. After all, rumors said she had easily suppressed divine physiques elsewhere.

Boom!!!

Sure enough, moments later, the Thunder Dragon Princess took the brunt of the 108 perfected swords. The sword intent didn’t even scratch her lightning-covered scales.

Then, with a single claw, she sent Ji Changge flying.

“I told you, you’re too weak. Are you really the strongest Foundation Establishment cultivator here? I doubt it.” The Thunder Dragon Princess wasn’t interested in him at all. Her gaze shifted to two other academy students among the shocked crowd—the only ones who remained calm.

“There’s a terrifying power sleeping inside you two... far stronger than his... want to have a go?”

Following her gaze, the others looked toward a pair of siblings.

“The two Palace Lords of the Dragon Palace—Jiang Lin and Jiang Qi? She thinks they’re stronger than Senior Brother Ji?” The other students were stunned. Back at the academy, these two were only at mid-Foundation Establishment and hadn’t even made the rankings.

Though they had since reached Peak Foundation Establishment, no one thought they could compare to Ji Changge.

Many had wondered why Lin Jing handed the Dragon Palace he built over to these two. Could it be that this brother-sister duo wasn’t as simple as they seemed?

“How did she sense the Ice Soul Gu inside us...” The Jiang Family twins exchanged a glance, feeling troubled.