Chapter 23: The Invincible Hero Power Fantasy (22)

The Golden Core lightning tribulation, the Dragon’s Chant sword, and the first form of the Heavenly Derivation God-Slaying Sword Technique, "Cloud-Breaking," combined to give Su Bai a makeshift, three-piece set for slaying dragons.

Every bolt of heavenly lightning during the Golden Core stage was meant to temper a cultivator’s bones and sinews. Su Bai utilized the unique properties of the Dragon’s Chant sword alongside a lightning-element mental cultivation method from her past life to turn the lightning essence to her own use.

When she unleashed her sword intent in coordination with the Heavenly Derivation God-Slaying Sword Technique, even though the Dragon’s Chant was wielded by a cultivator who had only just stepped half a foot into the Golden Core stage, it could easily cleave through a flood dragon at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.

Meanwhile, the popularity of the "888" livestream was skyrocketing.

The higher one climbed, the more crowded the competition became at the top. Initially, relying on Luo Yuqing’s popular promotional slot and naturally attracted traffic, it was already a miracle for the 888 livestream to break into the top 500. Now, it had climbed steadily from 473rd place to 123rd, then 87th, and it was still rising.

[Did I enter the wrong room? You’re telling me this intense fight scene is a romance movie?]

[Holy crap! I need to get my bros in here to watch this. This duel with the flood dragon is even more spectacular than the one next door with the Dragon-Proud Heaven!]

[Can someone explain what’s going on?]

[Isn’t this the streamer who used frozen lightning before? My god, is she trying to draw down lightning right now?]

[No, she’s actually forming her Golden Core. (complex.jpg)]

The girl amidst the lightning strikes endured nearly eighty bolts. She had no one to protect her. She had no medicinal pills to stabilize her spirit. She was leaping across three minor realms in one go.

The girl was covered in blood. The only thing sustaining her through the eighty-one bolts of the tribulation was the Dragon’s Chant sword—a blade she could not even form a contract with.

*She’s a lunatic,* the Dragon’s Chant sword thought, its emotions complex. From its perspective, one could only see bright red blood dripping from her sharp, defined jawline.

When others underwent tribulation, they fought with their lives to keep the lightning out. When she underwent it, she fought with her life to draw the lightning into her Dantian. One hundred and eighty-eight external Dantians were shattered one by one, and now, she was filling those shattered vessels entirely with heavenly lightning.

*Yes.* The sword retracted its focus. It was true that those born with a Sword Heart could resonate with a sword’s soul. But without a soul-bound contract, one could only unleash less than sixty percent of the sword’s power.

Yet, every one of her sword strikes was filled with awe-inspiring intent, as if she wished to shatter everything in existence. Even when one wave of sword intent was crushed, the next was guaranteed to give birth to infinite vitality. This, it seemed, was her Dao heart.

A bolt of lightning, as thick as the combined reach of five men, crashed down from ten thousand miles of clouds. The three-headed flood dragon was so shaken by the power of this penultimate bolt that it dared not move.

The girl’s slender figure was instantly swallowed by the lightning. The lightning essence was drawn to the lightning-gathering bead at the tip of the Dragon’s Chant, surging in frantically. The sword devoured the lightning tirelessly, yet it could feel the hand holding it trembling slightly.

*Forcibly forming a Golden Core through battle, defying destiny to attempt a flawless, ten-out-of-ten Golden Core... what kind of Dao does she possess?* For the first time in its existence, the Dragon’s Chant felt a flicker of interest in a human.

All one hundred and eighty-eight Dantians were shattered. But since she was defying destiny, it was bound to be a life-or-death gamble. The final bolt of lightning gathered in the clouds.

Her entire body was shaking, yet she still leaned on her sword and stood up, swaying.

The eighty-first bolt of lightning crashed down. Su Bai gathered her consciousness into a single point and struck upward.

The Dragon’s Chant was shocked. A force of unending lightning was injected into it. Because the immense power was compressed in an instant, the blade emitted a sharp, piercing resonance—but this lightning did not come from the heavens.

It came from the one wielding the sword.

The lightning elements she had tamed within her body flowed out obediently, matching the final tribulation bolt in scale! The three-headed flood dragon widened its eyes in disbelief as it watched the final bolt of lightning being cleaved in two.

*She wants to cut the dragon and the lightning?*

The roar of thunder echoed. Amidst the near-white light of the extreme heat, the longsword tempered its blade, and a deep, resonant dragon’s cry echoed from afar.

*A water-element root, unable to sign a soul-bound contract, yet she can resonate with the spirit of the Dragon’s Chant?* Qin Yang clenched his fists. Faced with such a massive force of heavenly lightning, he asked himself: even if he were given the Dragon’s Chant, how could he possibly have a thirty-percent chance of surviving it?

Inside Su Bai’s body, the one hundred and eighty-eight shattered Dantians were constantly tempered and reforged by the lightning. Spiritual energy circulated rapidly, greedily devouring the energy of the five elements. The Dantians merged into one; her severed meridians regrew rapidly, becoming even more expansive. Now, her speed at absorbing spiritual energy was nearly six times that of an ordinary person!

Furthermore, due to those one hundred and eighty-eight external Dantians, the amount of spiritual energy she could store was oceanic. Even more terrifyingly, having been shattered during the lightning tribulation, it was as if her Ren and Du meridians had been cleared, allowing the elements to circulate within her Dantian more smoothly than ever before.

A flawless, naturally formed Golden Core stood prominently within. The ten-out-of-ten flawless Golden Core was achieved.

Su Bai channeled the lightning into the blade, and icy pillars erupted from the lake. She leaped, following the pillars upward, the Dragon’s Chant sword covered in a thin veil of water with lightning crackling upon it.

Lightning overcomes water, but conversely, water aids lightning!

Fear flickered in the eyes of the three-headed flood dragon. *Damn it, does this monster ever take a breath?* If it condensed an ice dragon, she would slay it. If it condensed a water dragon, she would slay that too. Most terrifying of all, she had formed a flawless Golden Core right under its nose!

Even a beast like the three-headed flood dragon, which practiced under the protection of the Heavenly Dao, felt a tremor of fear. *This is not human!*

Just before, she had used the heavenly lightning to slay the dragon, but now that her flawless Golden Core was complete, it meant she was no longer restricted by water-element limitations. The three-headed flood dragon shrieked, condensing a massive ice ball, but no matter how many it spat, the Dragon’s Chant shattered them all.

The girl leaped onto the dragon’s horn. The beast felt a chill; despite the thick scales, it could clearly sense the bone-chilling cold of the sword’s blade and the scorching steam produced by the sizzling electric currents burning its flesh. Exhausted, the three-headed flood dragon struggled with its last bit of strength, desperate to claw out a sliver of survival.

*Sshhh—*

Blood gushed from its neck. A voice as terrifying as one from the Nine Nether Hells echoed in its ears: "Hand over the Frost-Condensing Ice, and I might spare your life."

The three-headed flood dragon’s scales stood on end. A thousand thoughts flashed through its mind—*Is this it? Is this really it? Why the hell have I been fighting for so long? This cultivator is so shameless. Not only did she stop to form a core mid-fight, but she’s a water-element cultivator who can also control ice and lightning! And she’s wielding the Dragon’s Chant!*

"I surrender, I surrender, okay?" Seeing the sword descend further, the dragon trembled and spoke in a muffled voice: "It’s just some Frost-Condensing Ice, let’s talk this over, let’s be reasonable, why are you attacking?" It had completely forgotten how aggressively it had fought at the start.

The girl flicked her sword. Another stream of blood flowed across its neck.

Terrified, the dragon didn't even dare to shake. It quickly transformed into human form. Nascent Soul beasts could take human form, but it consumed a lot of energy and was less effective in a fight than their true form. However, because it was weak, it turned its three dragon heads into three human heads to show its "sincerity."

Su Bai: "..."

Three bruised, battered, barely human heads hung from a single neck, their expressions utterly devoid of hope—it was truly horrifying. Even the livestream chat went silent for a moment before filling the screen with question marks.

[What is that thing?]

[Is this the sequel to "Alien" in the cultivation world?]

[My eyes are tainted, ahhhhh.]

Seeing the girl’s mouth twitch, the three-headed flood dragon twisted its neck innocently and blinked eyes that had been squeezed into thin slits: "Ah... sorry, I forgot you cultivators can’t appreciate triple the beauty."

[Triple the beauty? That’s triple the mental damage!]

"Be normal."

The dragon chuckled sheepishly and obediently retracted the other two heads.

Su Bai grabbed the three-headed flood dragon and rode her sword toward the perennial ice-blue iceberg on the lake. She swung her sword, and wherever the sword energy passed, the glacier melted. The dragon watched helplessly as she hauled out the Frost-Condensing Ice, its heart aching. That was the treasure it had spent thousands of years with!

The Frost-Condensing Ice was surrounded by pure ice-element energy. Living with it was like cultivating while lying down.

Suddenly, a bright idea struck the dragon.

"Fellow Daoist," the three-headed flood dragon popped its head out cautiously and said carefully, "Perhaps... do you happen to need a mount?"

Su Bai: "?"

Seeing her confusion, the dragon forced a smile and explained diligently: "Look, how about I become your contracted beast?" It rubbed its hands awkwardly, smiling shyly: "Do you think I’m qualified?"

[A peak Nascent Soul beast becoming a mount for a Golden Core cultivator?]

[!! Look at the dragon, it’s clearly obsessed with that Frost-Condensing Ice!]

[Duh, the ice is a supreme treasure of heaven and earth. Beasts have an affinity for these things. If it stays near it, its cultivation will be twice as effective.]

[This dragon is smart. It got beaten to a pulp by a half-step Golden Core, it’s gotta hug a big leg now.]

Su Bai pondered for a moment. The dragon was a peak Nascent Soul beast with the ice element. She had spared it because the Dragon’s Chant told her it had only been cultivating in the Sword Tomb and had never harmed a cultivator, and she did need someone to run errands.

But bringing a peak Nascent Soul beast along would attract too much attention, so the thought only crossed her mind briefly.

The dragon frantically promoted itself: "I can cook, I can do chores, I’m very diligent!"

"I’m extremely durable!"

"I can warm the bed!"

Su Bai: "...You’re an ice-element dragon, and you’re telling me you can warm the bed?"

The dragon gritted its teeth and went all in: "I have three heads! If the Master wishes, I can adopt three different personalities!"

Su Bai: "."

What kind of weird quirk was this? Three heads with three personalities on one body—that was definitely abstract.

[LMAO, a classic example of someone losing their dignity for the sake of cultivation!]

[Can I say I’m a little tempted?]

[It’s already calling her Master! I’m okay with the little snake! I really want to [BEEP—]]

[Put some pants on, don't embarrass yourself here.]

The chat urged Su Bai to take the dragon. The 888 system chimed in: "Host, items to mask cultivation and demonic aura only cost 1,000 reward points." Plus, the traffic from subduing a three-headed flood dragon would be immense!

The dragon was still looking at her with wide eyes. One eye was swollen with visible blood vessels, the other was purple, and its mouth was beaten into a "pouty" shape. Its cheeks were puffy and greasy—it looked nothing like a human. But under the weight of absolute power, it had no choice but to submit.

Given the atmosphere, Su Bai bought a masking item for the dragon and signed a master-servant contract with it. The dragon had originally hoped to trick her into a "fair" contract, which would have allowed it to break the bond later, but Su Bai was well-versed in beast-taming and chose the highest-tier master-servant contract, crushing any thoughts of rebellion.

The fighting on the lake ceased. Qin Yang flew his sword toward the center of the lake to investigate. Before he could arrive, he saw the contract formation light up.

"A master-servant contract that only high-level beast tamers can master?" The Holy Venerable, seeing the runes, was shocked: "You’ve only been separated from her for two years. What kind of encounters has she had?"

Qin Yang didn't speak, only slowing his speed. The Holy Venerable sighed, "It’s just a ten-out-of-ten flawless Golden Core. If you want to form one, it’s not impossible for you."

In just one month, she had mastered the Heavenly Derivation God-Slaying Sword Technique. In two months, she had jumped from the Heart-Activation stage to the Golden Core. She had contracted a peak Nascent Soul beast. Born with a Sword Heart and a flawless Golden Core.

Qin Yang felt a sourness in his chest and a sudden, infinite regret. If he hadn't developed feelings for Yun Zhu, if he had just cultivated properly, could he and Su Bai still be the childhood sweethearts they once were? Could they have lived happily ever after?

Su Bai had already noticed Qin Yang. The three-headed flood dragon was coiled around her wrist like an intricately crafted, translucent snake-shaped bracelet. Its body was a pale ice-blue, the edges of its scales marked with deep blue curves like ice crystal cracks. Its tiny green eyes were adorable.

The Dragon’s Chant was the Holy Venerable’s soul-bound sword. Seeing Qin Yang linger, Su Bai knew his thoughts. Those with a Sword Heart could naturally connect with a sword, which was why she could use the Dragon’s Chant without a soul-bound contract. But a soul-bound contract meant the sword and the cultivator were of one mind. With a soul-bound contract, a user could unleash 100% of the sword’s intent.

The Holy Venerable’s consciousness had largely dissipated, and this remaining wisp had struggled for ten thousand years. It couldn't expend the energy to re-establish a link with the sword. However, because the soul-bound contract was an oath to the Heavenly Dao, and the Holy Venerable’s wisp resided in Qin Yang’s sea of consciousness, it was just barely plausible for Qin Yang to contract the sword.

Su Bai didn't necessarily need the Dragon’s Chant. When she had entered the Sword Tomb, ten thousand swords had sung in unison. Even the number-one sword on the list, the Un-Anger Sword, had vibrated, trying to catch her attention. She had walked through the tomb and chosen none of them.

The Sect Master had been heartbroken, asking why she refused. Su Bai had replied: "The Un-Anger sword is too heavy, the Rain-Drifting sword is too light, the Abyss-Flame sword is too bitter with resentment. They don’t suit me. I want to forge a sword of my own."

Back then, the cultivation world mocked her arrogance. But thirty years later, she forged the Su-Zhao sword during her own Golden Core tribulation. From then on, the number-one sword in the world changed hands.

Now, watching Qin Yang stand by, Su Bai felt a cold disdain. *She didn't have to take this sword. But she certainly wouldn't let Qin Yang get it so easily.* If the Heavenly Dao wanted to test her, she would test Qin Yang to see if he was even qualified to hold the Dragon’s Chant. Or rather—Su Bai smiled. *What is Qin Yang, anyway?* She wanted to test the strength of the Holy Venerable behind him.

"Hey." The girl’s cold voice rang out. Qin Yang turned. The clouds had vanished, and light poured down. She stood on her sword, eyes like paintings, the Dragon’s Chant shimmering in her hand.

"It’s the Dragon’s Chant!" the Holy Venerable exclaimed excitedly: "Let me see! It’s been so long!" Sensing the Venerable, the sword vibrated in her hand, emitting a faint white light.

"Why are you here?" Su Bai asked.

Qin Yang was stunned. Why was he here? He quickly recovered: "I saw the tribulation clouds and thought a fellow disciple was undergoing the trial, so I came to protect them."

Su Bai’s gaze was sharp: "In that case, why were you watching from the sidelines?"

Qin Yang panicked: "A peak Nascent Soul beast... how could I dare to interfere?"

"The Dragon’s Chant is the Holy Venerable’s sword. You have his wisp in your pendant. Are you telling me the Venerable couldn't sense the sword's location?" She pressed him step by step.

Qin Yang was speechless. At that moment, the pendant on his chest glowed, and the Holy Venerable manifested.

"Su Bai," the voice was deep and commanding: "The Dragon’s Chant is my soul-bound sword. My consciousness still exists; even if you have the sword, you cannot form a contract with it. Without a contract, you cannot unleash its full power."

"Are you forcing me to hand it over?" Su Bai’s expression was indifferent: "I can’t contract it, but that peak Nascent Soul beast that Qin Yang didn't dare to touch? I beat it into submission using this sword."

Seeing she didn't intend to give up the sword, the Holy Venerable’s previous flicker of admiration vanished. He scolded sternly: "It is the world’s number-one sword. Since you cannot contract it, will you insult it by wielding it for your own selfish desires?"

The girl in the lake was not intimidated. She looked him straight in the eye. The Holy Venerable’s gaze hardened. Behind her were endless rivers and mountains, and the sky filled with stacked clouds. She stood there, as if she belonged to the vastness of the world.

"Now that my Golden Core is formed, is Qin Yang still my match?" Su Bai smiled, her expression rampant.

The Holy Venerable stepped back, unable to believe she would say such a thing. He trembled with rage: "A shameless, unruly person like you—do you think the Dragon’s Chant will submit to you?"

The next second, a breeze brushed Qin Yang’s hair. Qin Yang’s pupils contracted. The girl stepped forward and swung her sword. He instinctively raised his own to block. The Dragon’s Chant pressed down with such force that Qin Yang sank into the water, waves splashing everywhere. He hurriedly channeled his spiritual energy to resist, but the sword intent of a Golden Core cultivator was irresistible, forcing him back dozens of meters through the water.

This time, there were no miracles.

In two years, she had jumped from the Heart-Activation stage to the Golden Core. In the eyes of ordinary people, what kind of terrifying talent was that? If she hadn't formed a flawless Golden Core, people might have gossiped about her forcing a breakthrough, but the flawless core proved her Dao heart was firm.

Qin Yang leaped out of the water, disheveled. He had held onto a fantasy that Su Bai’s efforts were just her acting out of spite because of their decades of history. He had always been self-assured because of his own value.

He gave a bitter smile: "Junior Sister."

His sharp phoenix eyes held a hint of pleading, the corners turning red. *This was the girl who used to stand in front of him when they were children. The girl who dressed up to see him practice, pretending to be dignified while secretly giggling. The girl who traveled mountains and rivers for him.*

His voice was hoarse as he asked: "Is there really no room for us to turn back?"

Su Bai finally lowered her head to look at him.

"Before the inner sect assessment, you had a bright future. The elders supported you, the Holy Venerable taught you, and countless disciples admired your 'loyalty.' To you, I was nothing but a sister you kept on a leash, obsessed with petty romance, with no ambition for the world."

"At that time, had you ever considered me?"

Even now, her tone was calm. Qin Yang felt a dull pain: "I just hadn't sorted out my feelings for you..."

The girl let out a soft, mocking laugh: "Sisterly love?"

Qin Yang gritted his teeth. Su Bai searched her memories and added: "If it was just sisterly love, why did you insist on taking me to release lotus lanterns on the River of Love every year? Why, when others spoke of our engagement, did you never tell me you only saw me as a sister?"

Su Bai’s gaze grew colder. Having flipped through the memories of this body, she found his rhetoric absurdly ridiculous. *Was the world itself this ridiculous?*

Did she love Qin Yang? At first, it was an admiration for an older brother. But having grown up together without ever experiencing other love, she had fallen into the trap of the stories she read—the "perfect couple" fantasy.

*Absurd!* Su Bai’s fingertips tightened. They fed women stories of absolute loyalty, while men were taught sword techniques, power, and the "destiny of the world."

They said that if a man was jealous, he loved you. They said that if a man didn't express love well, you should look at the details. They said men were meant for the world, and women should be tolerant.

*It was all a lie!*

The whole world wove a lie to keep women under control. The men just had to sit back and collect the adoration of infatuated women, taking a scoop from the vast sea and then walking away unscathed.

In her previous life, Su Bai didn't understand why the talented sisters in her sect were always trapped by love. Now she knew: love was a means to break a person’s spine and make them admit defeat.

*But would she lose? Why should she admit defeat!?*

Su Bai gritted her teeth. She realized that if one didn't distinguish between the two, the standards for men and women were completely different. The world used whips, blood, and tears to drive men upward, while using beautiful clothes, sweet words, and "love" to drag women downward.

"Qin Yang," Su Bai gripped the Dragon’s Chant, unable to suppress the violent rage in her heart: "You didn't regret it during the inner sect assessment. You didn't regret it before. Only now, when I have formed a Golden Core and taken your sword, do you come to repent?"

"What a fine example of a man who fears the strong and bullies the weak!"

The Dragon’s Chant felt the girl’s infinite rage. Its sword intent surged, manifesting as two dragons coiling around the blade.

*This...* Qin Yang’s heart churned. *This is the manifestation of sword intent! Even without a soul-bound contract, she can reach this level?*

On the other side, the Dragon-Proud Heaven system, having finished a livestream, noticed a certain channel’s popularity skyrocketing. It was the "888" channel. *Isn't that the 'White Lotus Saint' system?* It clicked in and saw the girl’s exquisite sword techniques.

*She’s a talent. If I could intervene and bring her into my harem, that would be a huge boost in ratings.*

Just as it felt disappointed, a notification arrived. The Heavenly Dao had detected that the "888" system’s world had severely deviated from its world-line. It had opened a special channel for the Dragon-Proud Heaven system to descend and help Qin Yang slay the Candle Dragon to stabilize the world.

*What a coincidence!*