A long drought meeting sweet rain.
Longtian’s current state was the severe drought, and this voice was the sweet rain.
His soul, which had been on the verge of dissipating, gradually solidified.
“I heard my brother’s voice; he wants me to keep on living.
He isn’t dead.
He is right here with me, he has always been by my side!
He is still guarding me, protecting me.
I am not alone.
I must live, I will live!”
The obsession to live deeply penetrated his mind.
Even though the pain in his body and soul persisted, he chose to grit his teeth and persevere.
Slowly, his scattered consciousness began to recover.
“Where is this?” he wondered.
Once his consciousness fully recovered, Longtian was astonished by the sight before him.
It was a blurry space.
Within the haze, he saw a golden light—it was an unknown Crystal.
But now, the shape of the Crystal was changing.
It gradually transformed into a Stone Stele carved with runes.
The Stone Stele was still only the size of a thumb, but Longtian could see it clearly; this golden light was actually radiating from the Stone Stele itself.
In the middle of the Stone Stele was an independent space, making it look like a cage.
It seemed capable of suppressing and imprisoning all things.
Suddenly, the Stone Stele began to tremble.
A drop of blood appeared in that independent space, seemingly trying to break free from this bizarre cage.
ROAR!
With a loud boom, the entire space trembled.
The blood suddenly transformed into a creature radiating golden light.
This creature had tiger-like whiskers and a mane-like tail.
Its long body resembled a snake, with scales like a fish, horns like a deer, and claws like a dragon hawk.
It could walk, it could fly, and it could change its size at will.
When it grew larger, the entire Stone Stele actually expanded along with it, reaching thirteen thousand rods in an instant and stretching endlessly out of sight.
When it shrank, it became the size of a fingernail.
“This…
this…”
Longtian’s entire body trembled.
Although everything before him was far too bizarre, he still recognized what this creature was.
A dragon!
The world Longtian lived in was called the Totem Continent.
On this continent, every village and every clan had its own beliefs.
But dragons were legendary existences that transcended faith, as people did not even know whether dragons truly existed or not.
Legend had it that dragons were bloodthirsty, tyrannical, and greedy for wealth.
But one thing was certain—dragons were incredibly powerful!
Just as Longtian stood in shock, the trembling stopped.
The Golden Dragon reverted into blood, seemingly aware that it could not break free from this bizarre Stone Stele.
Everything returned to silence, and the surrounding mist dissipated.
Only then did Longtian realize that this was his Sea of Consciousness—his spiritual world.
“A Sea of Consciousness?
A spiritual world.
Isn’t this something one can only possess after becoming a Cultivator?
How could this be?
Have I already become a Cultivator?” he thought, completely baffled.
At this moment, his Sea of Consciousness quieted down, and the bizarre Stone Stele cage before his eyes returned to being plain and ordinary.
Beside the Stone Stele, a blurry ball of light had appeared.
The ball of light was too blurry; Longtian didn’t know what it was.
However, he could clearly feel a warm and familiar aura radiating from it, as if his family were watching over him with affection.
Longtian had a feeling that the Stone Stele in front of him wasn’t important, and the Dragon Blood wasn’t important either.
The most crucial thing was this ball of light.
If this light were to be extinguished, he would suffer a fate worse than death.
“I don’t know what you are, but I feel that I must make you grow stronger.
Otherwise, I will regret it for the rest of my life,” he thought.
Longtian deeply trusted his own intuition.
This ball of light was extremely important.
“It’s completely quiet now, and the pain in my soul and body has vanished.
If the mental anguish just now was this bizarre Stone Stele expanding my Sea of Consciousness, then wouldn’t the physical pain mean it was reforming my body?”
Now that things had settled down, Longtian finally began to inspect his body.
If one’s consciousness was in the Sea of Consciousness, all it took was a single Thought for the consciousness to exit.
The next moment, the scene before his eyes shifted.
The sky was still just as dim, the mountain forest was still deep and secluded, and his brother’s corpse still lay at Longtian’s feet.
“My consciousness has returned!
The space I saw just now really was my Sea of Consciousness.
I’ve actually opened my Sea of Consciousness and become a Cultivator?!
“Right, let’s see how my body is doing.”
A Cultivator possessed a Sea of Consciousness, and with a Sea of Consciousness, one could look within their own body.
After looking within, Longtian clearly saw two meridians emitting a faint, sharp light inside his body.
“These are Hidden Veins!
I actually opened two of them.
No wonder it hurt so much earlier—I’ve unexpectedly become a Cultivator at the Second Level of Mortal Realm!”
Longtian was immensely surprised.
The pain he felt earlier was actually Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy surging against the Hidden Veins in his body.
Although Longtian had not been a Cultivator, he knew that the human body possessed numerous meridians, and the Hidden Veins were countless.
As long as one opened their Hidden Veins, they could become a Cultivator and connect with heaven and earth.
Once nine Hidden Veins were opened, one would undoubtedly become a powerhouse at the Ninth Level of Mortal Realm.
The strongest person in all of Flying Horse Village was merely at the Ninth Level of Mortal Realm.
“Just what is this Stone Stele?
Simply by entering my body, it allowed me to become a Cultivator.
And that blood—is it really Dragon Blood?”
Longtian knew that Cultivators were divided into three major categories.
The first was ordinary Cultivators, the second was Beast Cultivators, and the third was Artifact Cultivators.
A Beast Cultivator referred to a Cultivator who had obtained a Beast Soul.
A Beast Soul resided within Beast Essence Blood.
By consuming Beast Essence Blood, there was a certain chance of acquiring a Beast Soul, thereby becoming a powerful Beast Cultivator.
A Beast Cultivator could transform into a Half-Beastman or even fully turn into a beast.
However, Beast Cultivators were uncommon because the probability of obtaining a Beast Soul was far too low.
An Artifact Cultivator, on the other hand, was an ordinary Cultivator who merged with a weapon, naturally granting a massive boost to their Attack Power.
This was a supreme Realm, the Dao of Weapons.
Among the three major categories of Cultivators, Artifact Cultivators were stronger than Beast Cultivators, and Beast Cultivators were stronger than ordinary Cultivators.
Longtian was currently just an ordinary Cultivator.
If the Stone Stele truly contained a dragon’s Essence Blood, Longtian had the potential to become a Beast Cultivator.
Moreover, what was even more coincidental was that Longtian’s very own faith lay in the ethereal dragon.
On the Totem Continent, if one’s faith matched the Beast Soul they obtained, they were called a Lifebound Beast Cultivator.
A Lifebound Beast Cultivator was stronger than any other Cultivator!
Because faith was a terrifying power.
“It’s a pity that this Stone Stele has trapped the Dragon Blood.
I can’t get it at all.
It’s as frustrating as looking at a beautiful naked woman every day but never being able to have her.
“Forget it, I shouldn’t be too greedy.
This Stone Stele at least allowed me to become a Cultivator.
As a Cultivator, I can return to the He Family to learn a Martial Skill.
The highest level Martial Skill in the He Family is Mid-level Human, but it’s said that one needs to reach the Fifth Layer of the Mortal Realm to cultivate it.
Those with good talent can successfully cultivate it at the Fourth Level of Mortal Realm, while those with poor talent can only do so at the Seventh Layer.
It seems I should just settle for learning a Basic-level Human Martial Skill for now.”
At the thought of being able to cultivate, Longtian felt his entire body surge with endless motivation.
Looking down at his brother’s corpse, his eyes were no longer lost in hesitation.
“Brother, you gave me this opportunity, and I definitely won’t let you die in vain.
Whoever killed you, I will make sure they die without an intact corpse!
“From today onward, Flying Horse Village has not only produced a He Chen, but also a Longtian!
I will make everyone who looked down on me drop their jaws in shock.
I will repay a hundredfold the humiliation others have inflicted upon me!
But what I must do right now is—endure.
“I remember you saying that one day, you would have Flying Horse Village renamed to He Family Village, becoming an officially recognized minor affiliated faction of the Purple Bear Clan.
I will continue walking your path.
I will plant the Flaming Lion Totem at the entrance of Flying Horse Village to show that this is the He Family’s territory.”
The He Family was considered a major clan in Flying Horse Village, but within the Purple Bear Clan’s sphere of influence, they didn’t even rank high enough to be named.
To be an affiliate of the Purple Bear Clan, one had to at least establish their own village.
Since Flying Horse Village did not belong to any specific clan, it was classified as the lowest-tier village.
However, to officially become a recognized village, besides strength, they also needed a cornerstone.
With a sigh, Longtian dug a large pit with his hands and buried his brother’s corpse inside.
Longtian did not shed another tear for his brother.
He felt that crying once was enough; the rest of his time should be spent striving and rising up!
Moreover, Longtian couldn’t shake the feeling that his brother was still by his side and hadn’t left, just like that voice calling out to him earlier.
If it hadn’t been for that call, Longtian would never have been able to hold on.
“Just what exactly is that ball of light?” he mused.
Thinking about the ball of light again, Longtian suddenly trembled, realizing a certain possibility.
“If my theory is correct…
perhaps my brother really is by my side.”
But a theory was just a theory in the end.
He had no way to verify it unless the ball of light actively underwent a change.
“Brother, I’m leaving now,” Longtian said softly.
“When I have time, I’ll come over to burn some paper money for you, share a drink, and chat.
Oh, right, I’ll also burn some paper beauties for you.
You died a virgin, having never experienced the pleasures of the bedroom.
Sending a few beauties your way will ensure you aren’t lonely on the road to the underworld.
“As for Father’s marriage, I will do everything in my power to stop it.
He can marry anyone, but he absolutely cannot marry Sun San Niang.
My intuition has never been wrong.
How could an enemy become our stepmother?
It’s completely impossible.
Unless I die too.”
After erecting a makeshift tombstone, Longtian turned around, left the wilderness, and headed back to Flying Horse Village.
By now, it was already dusk.
He grabbed a casual bite to eat at a small restaurant and waited until the sky turned completely dark before making his way toward the He Family’s home.
“With my status in the He Family, I would definitely face a lot of obstruction if I tried to go in during the day.
I remember my brother saying that all of the He Family’s Martial Skills are in the Library Pavilion.
As long as someone is a Cultivator, they can obtain a Martial Skill, regardless of their level.
“I’ll go in to look at the Martial Skills, and once I memorize them, I have to leave the He Family estate.
Otherwise, if the other siblings see me, they’ll inevitably ridicule and mock me again.
Even though I am now a Cultivator at the Second Level of Mortal Realm, I’m still far too weak compared to the younger generation of the He Family.
Even He Qingfeng is at the Fourth Level of Mortal Realm.
“Someone at the Third Layer could kill me, let alone the Fourth Layer.
I must endure; now is not the time for me to lash out.
I am currently a hidden dragon in the abyss, just waiting for the opportunity to soar into the sky.
At that time, I will definitely make the He Family look at me in a new light.
If I can gain the Patriarch’s attention, I will go and dissuade He Yitao, making him put a stop to this marriage.”
Longtian had a detailed plan for the future.
He had to take his path one step at a time; otherwise, it would be all too easy to die prematurely.
Perhaps his brother had died precisely because he showed his edge too much.