The Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life was the venerable Daoist lineage passed down by the Eternal Life Daoist Venerable, and it ruled over the Celestial Domain.

Within the Celestial Domain, Daoist arts flourished, and its branches were numerous.

The Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life was also a primary force in the fight against the Red Flame Demon Country.

For various reasons, while the Great Xuan Dynasty was hostile toward the Golden Clan, the Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life maintained friendly relations with them.

Many of the young men of the Golden Clan had experience cultivating in the Celestial Domain.

Some even directly entered the gates of the Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life, renouncing their secular identities to wholeheartedly pursue the path of immortality.

Previously, Chen Ying had intended to pull Fang Yang along this very path with her.

This time, with the conclusion of the Xuan-Yu War drawing near, some of those who had joined the Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life returned to the Changkong Clan.

Chen Ying and the others would also be traveling with them to the Celestial Domain.

Coincidentally, the tradition of the Assembly of the Hundred Bloodlines was beginning. Blood is thicker than water; such ties cannot be severed just by wishing it so.

Thus, the combination of these circumstances made this year’s Assembly of the Hundred Bloodlines somewhat special.

Namely, some of those who had joined the Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life, while unable to serve as martial examiners, could still participate in the Assembly of the Hundred Bloodlines!

Among them, the siblings Su Dao and Su Xi were the most outstanding of those who had pledged themselves to the Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life.

"Saints are emerging one after another. It’s just a pity that big sister Saint Phoenix has fallen behind."

Su Xi gazed at Lin Shenghuang’s departing figure and turned her head. "Brother, when do you plan on becoming a Saint?"

Hearing this, Su Dao’s expression was calm. "Becoming a Saint isn’t difficult for me. But without obtaining the supreme inheritance, my foundation will remain flawed. Even if I become a Saint, I fear I won’t be able to withstand three moves from Sen Yue."

Su Dao and Su Xi were both children of Su Kancai, and held a rather high status.

Much like how the Fang-Zhang conflict led to the rivalry between Fang Yang and Zhang Ye, Sen Yue and Su Dao had also once been rivals who fought each other every step of the way.

But in the end, Sen Yue won easily, and Su Dao was forced to flee overseas.

The reason Su Dao had now returned to the clan lands was to make final preparations for his bid to seize the [Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram Phenomenon] inheritance!

"What about you? Are you confident you can defeat Fang Yang and prevent him from becoming the First Martial King?" Su Dao asked, lowering his gaze.

Su Xi held her head high and puffed out her chest, the corners of her mouth curling up. "He may be gradually developing a powerful aura, but I’m no pushover!"

If Fang Yang were allowed to continue building his momentum of invincibility and develop the imperial aura of one who commands mountains, rivers, sun, and moon, then she would naturally have no choice but to avoid him.

But the Fang Yang of today was only just beginning to show his edge; he was still on the rise.

So, naturally, she was confident she could fight Fang Yang and win.

Supreme dominance isn’t something you can just imagine; you have to fight for it!

...

The Thunder Festival had arrived.

On this day, throughout the Changkong Clan, fireworks bloomed, dazzling and brilliant, heralding the arrival of the new year.

The streets of the main city were bustling with people, a scene of extraordinary liveliness.

New Year paintings and plays, dragon and lion dances, food stalls...

Unlike Fang Min, Fang Hao, and the others, who were running around busy with mundane affairs, Fang Yang spent the entire day wandering the main city streets with Sen Hui.

"At Mao Hour, I went with Ah Yang to the Golden Crow Tree on the dome, and we watched the first rays of dawn in the Xuan Domain together."

"At Chen Hour, I went with Ah Yang to the Frostfall Flower Sea. There were so many people there exchanging marriage certificates."

"At Si Hour, I went with Ah Yang to the Hundred Sugar House. The crescent moon sugar cakes were actually bitter, but since Ah Yang was there, they were sweet."

"Hehe, it would be wonderful if every day could be like this."

Sen Hui took the initiative to reach out, her fingers intertwining tightly with Fang Yang’s, and she refused to let go.

Even though the Xuan Domain didn’t have the same extremely strict separation between men and women as the Great Xuan Dynasty, her actions were still exceedingly bold, drawing countless strange looks along the way.

But she didn’t care. She just wanted to hold on to Fang Yang tightly and never be apart from him.

At one point, as they passed the residence of the four Pavilion Elders—Flower, Bird, Fish, and Insect—Fang Yang faintly felt a subtle, scrutinizing gaze that made the fine hairs on his skin stand up.

Fang Yang knew these old men felt his behavior was a bit excessive, that he was even being a bad influence on Sen Hui.

Fortunately, he was also enjoying himself, even feeling a sort of perverse pleasure. ’Heh, I’m stealing away the little princess you’ve all doted on. What are you going to do about it? Come and hit me?’

But as You Hour approached, the time when the sun sets, Fang Yang wiped that feeling away.

The sun sank in the west, its fading light like blood.

At Broken Cloud Cliff, numerous cultivators had gathered, all waiting for five long roads to extend—for the official start of the Assembly of the Hundred Bloodlines.

RUMBLE...

An incessant rumbling came from within the clouds and mist. Fang Yang looked over and immediately observed five black silhouettes emerging from within.

These five silhouettes were actually the five forms of the Dragon, Tiger, Bird, and others, representing the five celestial beasts: the Cyan Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermilion Bird, and so on!

At this moment, everyone’s eyes flickered as they were lost in their own thoughts.

Fang Yang, too, was inwardly contemplating the current level of his combat prowess.

In truth, on that day, he had still held back his killing moves.

For instance, his incredibly abundant blood qi had yet to be activated.

This was the true source of his confidence in facing Sen Wei.

In the end, he came to a conclusion: as long as Sen Yue and Sen Wei did not appear, he was invincible.

Even Saints like Chen Kui and Yuxuan, who were at the same realm as him, would be suppressed by him!

At this thought, Fang Yang’s gaze shifted to the southeast.

In that direction stood Su Dao, Su Xi, and their group.

’Su Dao, Su Xi... People from the Daoist Mansion of Eternal Life.’

Fang Yang narrowed his eyes, thinking, ’I wonder if anyone in their group has cultivated the [Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram Phenomenon] inheritance.’

The Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram Phenomenon was one of the supreme inheritances of Daoism and was especially important to Fang Yang.

This was because he wanted to comprehend the transformation of the Kunpeng. To evolve his own Spirit Body into a perfect-grade Kunpeng Spirit Body, he needed to fulfill a series of conditions.

Not only did he need to collect the [Wings of the Golden Sun Wind Roc], the [Heart of the Black Moon Water Kun], and a [Thunderfire Sacred Object], but he also had to truly come into contact with the [Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram Phenomenon] at least once—or, at the very least, obtain its true inheritance.

Thunderfire Object: The Carp Eagle’s Divine Feather.

Heart of the Black Moon Water Kun: Already refined.

Wings of the Golden Sun Wind Roc: Not yet acquired.

Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram Phenomenon: Not yet acquired.

Once he fulfilled these conditions, his path to becoming a Great Saint would be basically unobstructed.

One of the main reasons he was so eager to go to the Thunder Saint Academy was that those in the top ten of the Earth Ranking could choose a Sacred Material—and one such Sacred Material was the Wings of the Golden Sun Wind Roc!

"Ah Yang?"

Sen Hui’s soft hand gently squeezed Fang Yang’s large one. "What’s wrong?"

Hearing her, Fang Yang looked back. "I was just wondering what the thirty-sixth pass will look like after the roads fully form."

Sen Hui replied, "I heard it’s a small city, and outside the city, there’s supposed to be a thunderstorm..."

Just like that, Fang Yang and Sen Hui continued to chat idly.

Even when Sen Wei appeared, displaying her power like a mortal emperor, they continued their quiet conversation.

DONG—

Finally, the five long roads manifested and took form, extending from five different directions to connect with Broken Cloud Cliff.

Seeing this, Sen Hui reluctantly let go of his hand, watching as Fang Yang was about to activate his Token and transport himself to the thirty-sixth pass of the Tier Three long road.

Just then, a glint appeared in Fang Yang’s eyes.

Because in his mind, the ball of light that sought fortune and avoided calamity was forming words:

[Assembly of the Hundred Bloodlines, where internal and external converge. To be named a marquis or crowned a king, it is best to strive forward with all your might.]