As the last traces of the battle disappeared from the heavens, Dragon Yuan Mountain slowly returned to peace.
The dark clouds dispersed.
The violent winds gradually subsided.
Only the destroyed landscape and the lingering smell of scorched earth reminded everyone that a terrifying Rank Four battle had just taken place.
Within the Lin Family, countless disciples who had watched the confrontation from afar finally breathed sighs of relief.
Many of them had unknowingly been holding their breath the entire time.
Among the crowd, Lin Sheng and the others also stood silently.
No one spoke.
Their minds were still occupied by the overwhelming battle they had just witnessed.
However...
Lin Sheng suddenly noticed something unusual beside him.
Lin Shou.
His elder brother's eyes had become unfocused as he stared toward the distant battlefield.
His entire body seemed perfectly still.
Yet an invisible fluctuation continuously spread from him.
Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed.
"...Enlightenment."
The surrounding youths quickly noticed it as well.
Even Lin Yan looked surprised.
"He entered enlightenment..."
Lou Han's eyes revealed unconcealed envy.
"Such opportunities cannot be sought."
"They simply arrive."
Qian Feng nodded slowly.
"Many martial artists spend decades waiting for a single moment like this."
"It seems Brother Lin Shou's Martial Intent has finally broken through another bottleneck."
None of them dared disturb him.
Everyone quietly stepped several meters away, allowing Lin Shou to remain immersed within his sudden realization.
His aura became increasingly stable.
The previously sharp fluctuations surrounding him gradually transformed into something calmer...
Yet far more profound.
Clearly...
His Martial Intent had advanced another step.
Unlike everyone else's attention...
Lin Sheng remained focused on an entirely different matter.
The battle replayed continuously inside his mind.
Not the Grand Elder's fist.
Nor his Fire Martial Will.
Instead...
The Flood Dragon.
More specifically...
Its manipulation of wind and lightning.
The two seemingly different powers had merged together almost perfectly.
Its hurricanes amplified the lightning.
Its lightning controlled the storms.
Every attack carried both overwhelming destructive force and astonishing speed.
"It wasn't simply combining two elements..."
Lin Sheng muttered softly.
"It was allowing each to strengthen the other."
Without hesitation...
He activated the Emptiness State.
Immediately...
The world around him became silent.
The Chip projected the complete recording of the battle directly within his sea of consciousness.
Every movement.
Every fluctuation.
Every circulation of spiritual energy.
Nothing had been missed.
He replayed the moment the Flood Dragon condensed its dragon breath.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Within the Emptiness State, his perception became frighteningly clear.
Fortunately...
There were many reasons why cultivators entered enlightenment.
Some were inspired by battle.
Some by sudden realization.
Others because they happened to witness something perfectly compatible with their own path.
Comprehension.
Compatibility.
Timing.
All three were indispensable.
Although Lin Sheng had not entered enlightenment like Lin Shou...
He possessed something others did not.
The Chip.
As long as he had a complete recording...
He could repeatedly analyze every detail without relying purely upon memory.
Perhaps...
One day...
He too would comprehend such power.
Meanwhile...
The Head Elder had already begun issuing orders.
"Quickly."
"Clear the battlefield."
"Recover everything."
Purple Palace elders immediately descended toward the devastated mountains.
The Head Elder continued calmly,
"Gather every drop of dragon blood."
"Collect every scale."
"Do not waste anything."
Everyone understood immediately.
A Rank Four Flood Dragon was a walking treasury.
Its blood could temper physiques.
Its scales could refine defensive artifacts.
Its bones, tendons, horns, and claws...
Each possessed immeasurable value.
Even the scorched earth soaked by dragon blood would become fertile spiritual soil after proper refinement.
Nothing could be wasted.
The Lin Family disciples immediately began searching the battlefield under the elders' supervision.
Watching everything unfold...
The tension within Lin Sheng's heart finally eased.
Ever since learning about Human Tribulations from the Heaven Seal Gate's Formation Spirit...
He had viewed every major event with caution.
For a moment...
He had genuinely believed the Flood Dragon's arrival might have been directed toward him.
A Human Tribulation.
Thankfully...
It now appeared otherwise.
This disaster had engulfed the entire province.
Every major force had been affected.
Perhaps...
This truly wasn't aimed specifically at him.
Even so...
Lin Sheng silently reminded himself not to become complacent.
The Heavenly Dao...
Was never something he could afford to underestimate.
Before long...
The news spread throughout the surrounding provinces.
Dragon Yuan Mountain...
Had forced back a Rank Four Flood Dragon.
The Grand Elder's astonishing strength quickly became the hottest topic among countless cultivation forces.
Many had previously believed the Lin Family relied solely upon its Golden Core Ancestor.
Now...
They realized the family possessed another individual capable of contending against Rank Four existences.
Although the Grand Elder had not entered the Golden Core Realm...
His martial cultivation alone allowed him to rival one.
The Lin Family's position within the province instantly became even more stable.
Hostile powers that had previously harbored thoughts of testing Dragon Yuan Mountain quietly abandoned such ideas.
At the same time...
Another piece of news spread like wildfire.
The Startling Lightning Flood Dragon...
Had escaped.
Its whereabouts remained unknown.
Immediately...
The entire Eastern Region boiled with activity.
Countless sects.
Ancient families.
Independent cultivators.
Mercenary groups.
All began searching frantically.
If the Flood Dragon could be killed...
Every part of its body would be an incomparable treasure.
Dragon blood.
Dragon scales.
Dragon bones.
Dragon horns.
Even a single drop of its essence blood was worth a fortune beyond imagination.
Greed rapidly spread throughout the Eastern Region.
Unknown to everyone...
A new storm had already begun brewing beneath the surface.
-----------
Several days later...
Deep within Dragon Yuan Mountain, Lin Sheng remained in seclusion.
The meditation chamber was completely silent.
Only the steady circulation of spiritual qi could be heard as streams of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy continuously flowed into his body before being refined by the Zen Heaven Technique.
His breathing was slow.
His mind had entered the Emptiness State once again.
Within his sea of consciousness, the Chip continuously replayed the battle between the Grand Elder and the Startling Lightning Flood Dragon.
Again.
And again.
Every fluctuation of wind.
Every trace of lightning.
Every circulation of spiritual qi.
Nothing escaped the Chip's analysis.
Unlike ordinary cultivators, who relied solely on memory after witnessing a battle, Lin Sheng possessed a perfect recording. He could repeatedly study every movement until he completely understood it.
His fingers slowly moved through the air.
Spiritual qi gathered around his hand.
A strand of wind intent condensed first.
Immediately afterward, a thread of lightning intent intertwined with it.
The two forces collided.
Boom!
The gathered spiritual qi exploded violently before dispersing.
Lin Sheng frowned.
"They're still rejecting each other..."
He shook his head.
The Flood Dragon hadn't simply fused wind and lightning together.
Rather, it had allowed each force to strengthen the other until they became one.
Wind accelerated lightning.
Lightning, in turn, enhanced the destructive nature of the storm.
It wasn't a simple addition.
It was amplification.
Understanding this, Lin Sheng once again began circulating the Zen Heaven Technique.
Spiritual qi poured into his meridians before emerging through his palm.
This time...
Instead of forcing the two intents together, he allowed the wind intent to circulate first, naturally creating a current before slowly introducing the lightning intent into that current.
Buzz—
The lightning no longer erupted violently.
Instead, it flowed along the path created by the wind.
A faint smile appeared on Lin Sheng's face.
"It works..."
Although only slightly.
He immediately instructed the Chip to record the new circulation route.
The Chip instantly began optimizing it.
> Analysis complete.
Compatibility increased by 17%.
Estimated destructive power increased by 31%.
Lin Sheng nodded in satisfaction.
The third form of the Zen Heaven Technique had originally been a crude combination of Wind Intent and Thunder Intent, relying on their violent collision to unleash explosive power.
Now...
After witnessing the Flood Dragon's battle, he had found a better path.
Instead of allowing the two intents to clash...
He would allow them to complement one another.
The destructive force would no longer come from instability.
It would come from perfect harmony.
If he could completely integrate the two...
The power of the third form would increase by several levels.
He slowly closed his eyes once more.
Around him, streams of spiritual qi continuously gathered before being refined into Gang Qi.