CHAPTER 4: OVERCOME
"No, I can't fall here," Haochen muttered, forcing his eyes open.
Old Gu raised his brush and another character "Di" formed, turning into a pure white dragon like crystal, flowing in after it.
Right then, the air turned to ice, and even the wild storm overhead hung motionless. A few snowflakes began to drift down, slipping into Haochen's body. His veins froze over, and an icy glow divine imprint patterns took shape amid the black and gold patterns.
Old Gu let out a deep sigh, his finger drawing out the last character, "Tian," which pulled together into a massive, colorless dragon that rippled across the stars like an echo. It unleashed a thunderous roar, rattling the very ground of that strange arts realm.
"Kid, this is the last step. One slip, and you might never cultivate divine imprints again," Old Gu warned as the colorless dragon spiraled in and entered Haochen's body.
He let out a loud deafening cry, followed by a tremendous aura that exploded from his body, his veins swelling as if they might rupture. Cracks spread across his skin like webs. His blood vessels burst one after another. The storm above hurled a vicious lightning bolt right at him. With his final bit of strength, he raised a divine shield marked with imprint runes to guard himself.
The bolt slammed into it hard, sending shockwaves rippling outward and smashing the shield to pieces on contact. Haochen got hurled miles away from the platform, his bones snapped and veins torn apart. Gritting his teeth, he dragged himself back on his belly. "Tian Dao, I won't let you get away with this."
High above, a ferocious lightning strike and storm dove straight for Haochen, aiming to wipe him out.
"Kid, direct that tribulation energy to repair your broken channels. Don't resist, absorb it," Old Gu yelled.
Haochen struggled on his belly forcing all sorts of imprints patterns and runes from Haochen's body, clashing against the oncoming storm. With forceful swift hand seals, he drew the storm's power inward.
His veins began to heal, invisible divine imprint energy from the storm flooding in from every direction. His body glowed with gold, black, ice and colorless divine imprint runes. As he pulled in more of the tribulation, his cultivation level climbed fast, from first-stage imprint bearer all the way to fourth. His aura surged out of control.
In his sea of consciousness, the forces of his divine imprints merged into one massive colorless dragon. Tapping into the power of heaven and earth, Haochen pointed a finger, creating four separate seals that throbbed with destructive force.
"Combine," he commanded, and they fused into a single whole.
"Heaven Formation Moving Palm, one strike to shatter the sky," Haochen said, driving his palm into the seal's heart. A massive, dominant palm print rocketed upward from it, slamming into the thunderstorm and shattering it on impact.
Haochen let out a deep breath of relief.
"The old Haochen is back, and everyone who stepped all over me is going to pay for it," he thought, a bitter smirk twisting his lips.
"Senior, I did it!" Haochen said, his face lighting up with excitement.
"Kid, don't get ahead of yourself. The real life-and-death trial starts when you hit the Law Tempering Realm. What you just went through? That's only a heads-up from the heavens," Old Gu replied.
"Senior, most cultivators only face a bit of tribulation. Why's mine so different? Is it because the imprints were carved right into my flesh?" Haochen asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
Old Gu walked closer, "No, that's not it. What got carved into you aren't Divine Imprints , they're the Origin of all imprints, the source everything else comes from. A power that threatened the balance of the heavens. Get stronger before the next round hits," Old Gu cautioned, right before Haochen stepped out of the space.
He pushed through the water and broke the surface. His aura felt huge now, powerful in a way it hadn't been before.
"After all the humiliation these past few years, I've seen how greedy people really are. It won't be much longer, and I'll get my mother out of this Long Family for good."
The sky over Night-less City had already gone dark. Haochen headed straight for his mother's courtyard. He noticed the lights still on in her room, a sign she was waiting up for him like always, not ready to sleep until he got back safe.
"Ever since I lost my powers two years ago, Mom's been doing this every night, staying up to make sure I'm okay before she rests, even though she herself was not feeling good. Mom, I will definitely cure you," he thought to himself as he approached her door and gave it a soft knock.
"Xiao Bao, is that you?" Her voice came from inside, and moments later, she swung the door open, letting out a relieved sigh when she saw him standing there, unharmed.
"Mom, I can cultivate divine imprints again. You don't have to worry about me anymore, I swear I'll keep myself safe," he told her, hoping to ease her mind.
"But I don't feel any divine imprints aura coming from you," she said, sounding puzzled.
"Maybe it's because what I'm working with isn't divine imprints, but their origin," he wondered silently.
"Mom, I just used a special trick to hide my aura. Here, check it out." He fibbed a little, then let his power flow out. Her expression softened as she sensed it, finally relaxing.
"Go get some rest, it's late," he said to her before heading off to his own room.
He plopped down on his bed, crossing his legs for meditation, a massive dragon without any color took shape behind him. His body was lined with intricate patterns of gold, black, ice, and those same colorless hues. Invisible fragments of divine imprints began pouring into his dantian from every direction.
"Now that I'm absorbing these divine imprint fragments so much quicker, it shouldn't take long to reach the Imprint Manifestation realm," he muttered to himself, a big grin spreading across his face.
"Long Muchen, you will pay for your actions." He clenched his fists.