The Mysterious White Turtle

In the Southern Wastes, the million-mountain ranges held countless secrets, where endless myths and legends had once flowed forth, leaving behind tales both beautiful and terrible for later generations.

At this moment, three of the Southern Wastes' ultimate young experts had almost simultaneously ended their cultivation seclusions. They each set out on the return journey from three different directions, all bound for Heavenly Emperor City!

From the northern lands had come a man named Wu Xingfeng, and there were even murmurs that two other peak young experts from the north had already arrived in Heavenly Emperor City, seeking to challenge the strongest of the Southern Wastes' younger generation.

Yuwen Feng, Dugu Jianmo, and the handsome blue-haired youth—the three of them had emerged together precisely for that purpose.

As the Beast Tournament drew near, so too approached the moment of ultimate confrontation among the younger generation of cultivators. Beyond the Southern Wastes and the northern lands, perhaps even more outstanding youths from the vast reaches of the Eternal Continent would appear.

Without a doubt, a storm was about to engulf Heavenly Emperor City. The Beast Tournament, where powers from all directions gathered, might well evolve into a grand contest of cultivators themselves.

The conflict stemmed from men. The Beast Tournament arose because of men, and the beasts fought as proxies for their masters. It was a tournament of beasts, but also a tournament of men!

The younger generation was the most vigorous and spirited of all. Their clashes would draw extraordinary attention. Some young experts would shine like fleeting meteors, beautiful and brief; others were destined to blaze like eternal stars, brilliant and enduring. Their falls and their rises could not be stopped by anyone. The victors of today might very well be the rulers of this land decades hence, and the shape of the great powers decades later might already be glimpsed in the present.

Hai Yuntian had already left. Xiao Chen sat quietly for a long time, pondering deeply. The information Hai Yuntian had revealed was utterly unexpected, and he had already decided to play along with the misunderstanding. Or perhaps he should actively mislead them further—having such an identity was very important!

Though the residence was not large in scale, its garden-style layout was still a pleasure to behold. Xiao Chen strolled through the grounds, passing several pavilions in the central courtyard, threading through a trellis of vines, and stepping onto a small white jade bridge. Clear water gushed from the mouths of several stone beasts, gathering into the pond below the bridge.

Suddenly, Xiao Chen's gaze stopped. He stared in astonishment at the little white-shelled turtle that had run off before.

Beneath the arched white jade bridge, a small white-shelled turtle was cheerfully chasing a school of goldfish.

What astonished Xiao Chen was that the fist-sized turtle did not swim at all like a turtle. It moved more like a spirit wearing a turtle shell—utterly nimble and natural.

"This…"

What left him truly dumbfounded was when it flipped onto its back and leisurely backstroked across the pond. Its four tiny claws were light and agile, with not a trace of clumsiness.

"This… is that a turtle?" Xiao Chen could hardly believe his eyes. This sly little turtle was far too bizarre! Only after staring at it intently for several minutes did he finally let out an involuntary laugh.

But when he tried to scoop it up, he was taken aback. The white-shelled turtle vanished like a bolt of lightning, flickering once before darting up onto the bridge with unimaginable speed. Keke and the Little Defiant Dragon tried several times to catch it but failed. It was as if it appeared and disappeared without shadow or trace.

Even more shocking to Xiao Chen was that the black iron divine chain was no longer bound to it. It had slipped off its shell and lay in the lotus pond.

The white-shelled turtle was staring at him slyly, almost as if it were smiling. Yes, smiling—not nervous or afraid at all.

"How could this be? What happened?"

Only when the three skeletons approached and began gesturing did Xiao Chen understand. Last time, when the Little Defiant Dragon was gravely wounded, the white-shelled turtle had drunk a great deal of the Little Defiant Dragon's spilled blood, and then it had darted away slyly. When it reappeared, the chain had already fallen off.

Greatly intrigued, Xiao Chen thought for a moment, then spoke to the white-shelled turtle as if addressing a person, "Little Thief, since you're already free, why have you come back?"

Though Xiao Chen appeared calm, a storm surged within him. After all, he suspected this might be a sealed dragon! Now it had regained its freedom. Still, it had not reverted to its original dragon form, so there was no fear of overwhelming destructive power.

With a faint shimmer, the fist-sized white turtle seemed to pierce through space itself, appearing directly before him. Then, slyly, it carved three ancient characters into the stone slab.

Keke's big eyes went round as saucers. She rubbed them vigorously with her fluffy little paws. The Little Defiant Dragon, too, showed a look of astonishment.

Their jaws dropped. The ancient strokes of those characters resembled the legendary divine script of high antiquity. Xiao Chen recognized only one—the character "dragon," which had remained unchanged since time immemorial.

After a long moment of study and pondering, Xiao Chen read aloud in shock, "I… am… dragon!"

"You…"

When he tentatively deciphered the meaning of the other two characters, his expression turned to one of utter disbelief. Despite his vastly improved state of mind, he could not suppress his astonishment.

His earlier speculation was confirmed!

With a faint shimmer, the white-shelled turtle left an afterimage on the white jade bridge and vanished.

The next morning, a visitor arrived. It was an old man with crane-white hair and a ruddy complexion, his age difficult to guess—perhaps only fifty or sixty, yet on closer look, he seemed over a hundred. Though aged, his eyes were as deep as the sea.

This old man was extraordinary, Xiao Chen sensed immediately. He guessed that this might be the patriarch or an elder of some great power, probably come about his own identity.

But when the old man stated his purpose, Xiao Chen realized he was wrong. The old man had not come for him at all—he had come for Qin Guangwang, Yanluowang, and Lunhuiwang.

"I am a spiritist, well-versed in the art of life spirits. I would like to communicate with these three skeletons…"

The old man was very amiable and expressed his wish indirectly. Though he said he wanted to communicate with the three skeletons, Xiao Chen felt that the old man wished to take them as disciples. Yes, that was it—a fondness for talent. The expression was unmistakable!

Xiao Chen was somewhat surprised. This old man had taken a liking to three skeletons?

The light of souls flickered. The old man was actually able to engage in direct soul communication with the three skeletons!

The outcome was without suspense. The three skeletons wished to go with the old man to train.

"Do not worry. If you wish to see them, you may visit Beidou Academy at any time. I live deep within the academy." The old man said with a smile, "Their souls are exceptionally powerful. These past nights, when I cultivate alone in solitude, I kept sensing that fluctuation. Curiosity led me here."

After hearing the old man's brief account, Xiao Chen understood what had happened. He could not stop them. This was a good thing. According to the old man, the three skeletons might one day be reborn. This was an opportunity!

After the old man left with the three skeletons, Fatty Zhuge Liang arrived with a beaming face. Staring at the old man's retreating figure, he muttered, "Brother Xiao, who was that old man? He looks just like a portrait hanging in my home."

Soon after, the handsome Hai Yuntian also arrived.

When they heard Xiao Chen's account of the old man, Fatty was so shocked he nearly fell over.

"That elder is still alive?! It must be him—it's the man in that painting in my home." Fatty's tone was utterly certain.

"Who exactly is he?" Xiao Chen's curiosity was piqued.

"All I know is that he lives in Beidou Academy, a spiritist who has delved deeply into life spirit arts. He once saved the life of my grandfather's grandfather's grandfather."

Hai Yuntian was dizzy from the convoluted lineage. His grandfather's grandfather's grandfather—how old would that be?

While deeply surprised by this revelation, Xiao Chen was also very pleased. The three skeletons seemed to have found a worthy mentor.

"Xiao Chen, you should be careful."

This was Hai Yuntian and Zhuge Liang's advice to Xiao Chen. Although Hofmann and Zhuge Kun had been reprimanded by their fathers and forbidden from causing further trouble until Xiao Chen's identity was confirmed, those two scoundrels were hardly likely to heed that advice. They were secretly gathering their cronies to make a move against Xiao Chen.

Then the two left.

Afterward, Xiao Chen took the Little Defiant Dragon and Keke and flew into the mountain ranges outside Heavenly Emperor City. He wanted to resume his cultivation, planning to deal with those two scoundrels when he returned.

This decision nearly drove Hofmann and Zhuge Kun mad with frustration! They had finished their arrangements, but their target had vanished. It was like clenching a fist with all one's might, only to find it striking empty air—the opponent's trace had disappeared.

For the next few days, Hofmann and Zhuge Kun were so depressed they could vomit blood. The feeling was suffocating.

Deep in the desolate mountain forests, Xiao Chen let Keke and the Little Defiant Dragon charge into the primeval mountain ranges on their own. He sat quietly beneath a colossal waterfall, his upper body bare, as the three-thousand-foot cascade thundered down from the cliff like a thunderstorm, hammering against his bronze-like body.

The three-thousand-foot great waterfall hung before the precipice, its white, raging torrent like thousands upon thousands of galloping horses—deafening. At such a height, the downward impact force was unimaginable. But Xiao Chen sat as motionless as a boulder, the massive, flowing white ribbon like a giant iron hammer relentlessly striking his body. Gleams of crystalline light flickered from his bronze skin.

Ten days. He sat unmoving.

Xiao Chen was not merely tempering his body—he was also tempering his mind. Amid the thunderous roar of the waterfall, his heart was as still as water, his divine consciousness condensing and subliming.

On the eleventh day, Xiao Chen opened his eyes. His piercing gaze was as sharp as a blade. A crystalline radiance burst from his bronze body. With a clear cry, his long, jet-black hair whipped wildly, and the plunging waterfall reversed its flow, surging upward!