Nothing special happened during the remaining days Yuan stayed in the Dragon Turning Room, also known as the Founder's Manor, or the Split Space Attraction Spiritual Creation. Whatever the name, Yuan had spent a week within it, and now his time was up.
The Longwei elder approached him silently, a bright smile on his face. He tapped Yuan twice on the shoulder, and as Yuan opened his eyes and saw the elder, he simply gave a silent nod and stood up. Without a word, he left.
Now standing outside the Founder's Manor, Yuan glanced back at the ancient structure. As he did, the scamming lizard's words echoed in his mind. A strange thought flickered into being, but he pushed it aside and quietly descended the Loose Long Mountain.
After a brief ride in the carriage that Old Man Longwei Feng had arranged for him, Yuan arrived at the Longwei Management Pavilion. The guards on duty were familiar faces to yuan, they had been waiting for his return. As they saw him approach, they saluted and greeted him respectfully.
Yuan gave them only a curt nod.
He wasn't in the mood for small talk or formalities. He came for one reason, to speak with the old man.
Without pause, he made his way toward Feng's usual office. Stopping before the plain wooden door, Yuan raised his hand and knocked. He waited in silence until the familiar voice granted him entry.
"Oh, little Yuan, you're back already?" the old man called out, genuine surprise in his tone.
Yuan stepped inside, nodding once. "Yes. A week has passed."
"Haa... Time really does fly the older one gets," the old man sighed, shaking his head and muttering to himself. Then, looking at Yuan with a warm smile, he gestured toward a nearby chair.
"Sit, sit."
Yuan didn't hesitate. He wasn't a stranger here. Taking the offered seat, he waited patiently as the old man leaned forward, ready to begin the conversation.
"So, little Yuan," the old man began with a smile, "did you swallow the Sense Skipping Pill? How are your improvements?"
"They were not bad," Yuan replied plainly, a small smile tugging at his lips. "I've awakened my hearing sense. Now, I'm already more than halfway through the threshold to awakening the third sense."
"Halfway to the third! Good! Truly good!" Old Man Longwei Feng burst out in praise, laughing heartily at the news.
His laughter eventually faded, but the joy lingered on his face. "Then with your breakthrough, you've officially become a second sense Mortal Awakening Stage cultivator. That means you're now a Soldier! Congratulations, little Yuan."
"Thank you, old man. Without your help, I might've needed a lot more time to get to this point," Yuan replied sincerely, not bothering with modesty. Yuan knew how much the Sense Skipping Pill had helped him.
"Hahaha!" the old man laughed again, waving a hand. "No need for thanks! Really!"
But despite his words, the glint in his eyes said otherwise, he was clearly pleased.
After chatting for a while about mundane topics, Old Man Feng finally leaned forward, eyes narrowing slightly.
"So, tell me. You're not just here for small talk, are you?"
Yuan nodded. "Old Man Feng, I've decided to spend the next few weeks in the library, I'll bury myself in study. After that, I'll focus solely on cultivation until I awaken my third sense. Besides informing you, I came to ask if there are any competitions or sparring events coming up. I'd like to test myself and maybe earn something useful."
"Oh? I see," the old man said, nodding approvingly. "That's a good path. Who wouldn't be happy to see a junior training with such focus?"
He stroked his beard thoughtfully before continuing. "If that's all, then yes, I can make those arrangements easily. As for sparring or competitions, there's one coming up in about a month. It's called the Soldiers' Sparring Ground. And in about half a year, there will be a larger competition held with our allied families. You can participate in that as well."
"Thank you for your help, old man," Yuan said with a respectful nod.
The old man chuckled again, this time more bitterly. "You always thank me so formally... but I suppose that's just your way."
They chatted a bit longer, until Yuan finally left the office of Old Man Longwei Feng. But unlike when he had entered empty handed, he now held a green jade slate in his right hand, etched with the characters "Longwei."
With this slate, Yuan had gained access to the more restricted sections of the Loose Long Family's library, books normally reserved for inner family members or elite cultivators.
From that day on, he began arriving at the library just as the sun was rising and wouldn't leave until the moon hung round and high in the night sky.
Those days were far from dull. Yuan absorbed knowledge like a sponge, studying the world's geography, the structures of major families, clans, and sects, forbidden zones, ancient wars, cultivation history, and more.
In general, he deepened his understanding of the Heaven Ascension Continent. Six weeks passed this way, and once he had learned all he could for now, he turned his full focus to cultivation, leaving behind even rest.
For two full months, Yuan cultivated relentlessly, sparring against fellow cultivators, seeking every opportunity to earn or trade for cultivation pills. Through sheer persistence and effort, he made steady progress toward awakening his third sense.
Although he hadn't reached the breakthrough yet, his path was steady and clear, without any setbacks.
Alongside this, Yuan practiced the Royal Dragon Breath Discipline without pause. Day after day, he refined and stabilized it. He had already reshaped it into a near flawless technique, capable of supporting cultivation up to the sixth grade of the Meridian Awakening Stage.
However, to push beyond that point, he would first need to reach that very level himself.
The reason for this limitation was simple: the technique was only half complete. What remained were the foundations and even those were flawed. Restructuring it into a usable form had taken immense time and focus.
Yet, even so, Yuan was satisfied. Reaching this point with such a technique was a considerable achievement.
He knew the remaining flaws could only be addressed after stepping into the Blood Purification Stage. From there, it would be trial and error, experimenting, adapting, and carving out his path by hand. But Yuan didn't mind.
The Royal Dragon Breath Discipline had a strong foundation and a promising future. Even if the Free Winged Dragon had been a schemer, it was clear he had done so for the survival of his bloodline. The techniques he left behind wouldn't have been lies.
At worst, they may have contained hidden risks or serve some revival purpose, but because Yuan was modifying the technique from the ground up, it could be said that this new version no longer had any real connection to the original.
Time passed once more, and finally, the day of the allied competition that the old man had mentioned arrived.
Yuan was seated inside a carriage, with Old Man Longwei Feng sitting opposite him. They weren't traveling alone. Several more carriages rode alongside and behind theirs, each bearing dragon tail, head, arms, wings, legs, painted in intricate detail.
The carriage that Yuan and the old man rode in had a dragon tail pattern drawn across its side, symbolizing their identity as members of the Longwei Faction of the Loose Long Family.
The journey was calm and uneventful. They were en route to the territory of the most powerful among the Loose Long Family's allied forces, the Martial Cloud Sect. Compared to their allies, the Loose Long Family was considered small in influence and power.
Still, they maintained strong, friendly relations, and long ago, the families, clans, and sects within the alliance had agreed to host a yearly competition.
This competition was a friendly sparring tournament, meant to test and encourage the younger generation of each faction. Only juniors under the age of twelve could participate, and even then, each youth could only compete twice in their lifetime.
As they neared their destination, Old Man Feng explained a bit more about their hosts.
"The Martial Cloud Sect is the strongest among our allies," he said. "They currently have three cultivators at the Meridian Awakening Stage. Out here, far from the core cultivation world, that's enough to be recognized as an Overlord of the mortal world."
He chuckled softly. "Of course, the Martial Cloud Sect isn't the only such overlord in the mortal realm, but they're the closest to our Loose Long Kingdom. And since we've never had any conflict, the ancestors agreed to form an alliance."
That alliance had been forged several hundred years ago, and remarkably, it had endured. Most of the original allies remained loyal, helping each other in times of war and hosting occasional friendly tournaments like this one.
With all this in mind, Yuan gazed out as their caravan approached the Martial Cloud Sect's territory. Towering peaks loomed ahead, and soon, the massive stone gate of the sect's mountain stronghold came into view.