Northern Front of the Dawn Empire, Varlen Province
In the extreme north, a harsh winter swept across the land.
Amid the endless white, a makeshift hut stood alone, barely capable of shielding anyone from the biting cold.
Outside, a lamp hung unsteadily, its flame flickering as icy winds battered against it, as if determined to snuff it out at any moment.
Inside the hut, a young man was calmly tying bandages around his body.
Terrifying wounds crisscrossed his skin, yet none of them seemed to affect him.
His hands moved steadily, practiced and precise.
Still, his focus was elsewhere.
[Name: Rheydan Cilliyan]
[Realm: Ninth Layer of Golden Core]
[Techniques]
[Scarlet Tyrant Dragon Body Refinement: Perfection: Combinable]
[Hollow Star Dragon Soul Canon: Perfection Combinable]
[Azure Flood Dragon Surge Fist: Perfection: Combinable]
[Primal Sky Tyrant Dragon Chant: Perfection: Combinable]
…
“Indeed, it is time for my combat power to rise another level…”
With a single thought, he guided his will.
The techniques that were already immensely profound for a Golden Core cultivator were pushed together, forced into interaction.
Instantly, a Dragon Chant echoed within his mind.
Different dragons manifested inside his mental domain, their forms colliding and clashing as though locked in endless combat.
Roars overlapped, wills resisted one another, and chaotic pressure spread through his consciousness.
Yet, something strange began to happen.
The more they fought, the calmer his mind became.
The discord gradually softened, replaced by an unexpected sense of harmony.
The clashes no longer felt like conflict, but like refinement.
They were merging.
The four techniques within Rheydan’s mind were not something he had acquired from a single source.
They were an amalgamation of inheritances passed down from his father, along with techniques he had seized through countless encounters with Cultists and Warkarians.
At present, the techniques he possessed were already at the level of the Divine Transformation Realm.
Even cultivators who had truly stepped into Divine Transformation would find it extremely difficult to fully master such techniques.
Yet Rheydan was different.
With the aid of the system, he had pushed these techniques to Perfection.
That alone was the fundamental reason his combat power appeared so outrageous, allowing him to contend with enemies far beyond his Realm.
The Dragons merged into one another, and in that instant, Rheydan’s entire body began to emit a terrifying atmosphere.
Indeed… this Technique is outrageous…
Tyrant Heaven Dragon Convergence Canon
Rheydan’s eyes shone with brilliance as he opened them.
He paused, momentarily stunned.
With a flick of his hand, the wind churned.
Two golden dragons twisted and writhed around Rheydan’s muscular arms.
Although the sight was astonishing, it was not something that truly surprised him.
He was already capable of forming such phantoms.
These manifestations were projections of the Qi he had comprehended.
The shape and size of Qi were secondary.
What truly mattered was the form it took, for that form represented the Path a cultivator walked.
If one comprehended the Phoenix Feather Technique, their Qi would naturally manifest as a phoenix phantom.
Dragons, phoenixes, and other mythical beings had long since transcended flesh and blood, becoming symbols of Laws and Dao itself.
Why this was the case, and how such a phenomenon was even possible, Rheydan did not know.
Nor did he bother to question it.
He did not complain.
After all, the domineering presence and tyrannical might of a Dragon far surpassed that of mountains or rivers.
Compared to such existence, those natural wonders felt insignificant.
And yet, at this very moment, something else had occurred within his body.
It was infant-like in nature, newly formed and incomplete.
However, despite its immaturity, the sheer tyrannical power it carried was impossible to conceal.
That power seemed to ooze through Rheydan’s injured body, pressing outward, as though it wished to announce its existence to the world.
Even in its nascent state, it radiated an unmistakable dominance.
“With this… with this, could I win against Divine Transformation?”
“…No, not enough.
But to battle them in a stalemate…”
A slow smirk spread across his face as Rheydan glanced over his shoulders.
An Eastern dragon coiled from his arms, its massive form hovering behind him, its head resting near his shoulders.
The twin dragons appeared almost lazy, their bodies drifting languidly as they surveyed the surroundings, as if the world around them posed no immediate threat.
Suddenly, the golden dragon on his left shoulder stirred.
Its eyes sharpened as it lifted its head, baring its teeth slightly.
Yet before its ferocity could fully manifest, it paused, let out a long yawn, and returned to its previous drowsy state.
“Extraordinary senses, indeed.”
With a faint smile, he stood up and retracted the Twin Dragons back into his body.
He stretched lightly, and crisp cracking sounds echoed from his limbs.
If the Tyrant Heaven Dragon Convergence Canon could display such outrageous power even at the Entry Realm, then what kind of existence would it become once it reached the Perfection Realm?
That thought lingered in his mind as he walked toward the wooden door.
Reaching out, he pushed it open with a relaxed smile.
“It seems the Saintess of the Ten Thou-”
His expression froze.
Rheydan frowned slightly.
“A Warkarian?
No… you seem different.”
A man covered in blue runic tattoos stood outside.
He looked at Rheydan and smiled calmly.
“Well, hello there.”