Chapter 645 - 640: Cyan-Scaled Eagle, Five Great Institutes

Chapter 645: Chapter 640: Cyan-Scaled Eagle, Five Great Institutes

As they watched the giant cyan eagle and the white-haired youth on its back fly into the distance, a dead silence fell over the area. No one spoke for a long time.

The young prodigies from the Southern Domain were especially dumbstruck. They had assumed this white-haired youth would share their fate and be unable to escape being robbed.

After all, the black-robed youth before them possessed extraordinary strength. Despite his youth, he had reached the Earth Martial Realm Peak—a level of power that would place him among the top ten in the Southern Domain.

Yet this formidable figure had been grievously wounded with a mere wave of the hand.

"That kind of power... only the top three from our Southern Domain could do something like that, right?"

The prodigies exchanged glances, seeing the same shock reflected in each other’s eyes.

"Boss, are you alright?"

Just then, the henchmen on the giant snake snapped out of their stupor and rushed to the black-robed youth’s side, propping him up. The youth’s condition was dire; his body was covered in a web of cracks, and the single palm strike had nearly shattered him to pieces.

"I’m fine. I won’t die. It seems we kicked an iron plate this time."

Covered in blood, the black-robed youth hurriedly swallowed a few healing Elixirs to soothe his injuries.

"Damn it, where did that monster come from? How is he so strong? He seriously injured the boss with a single palm strike," one of his henchmen exclaimed in shock.

"Judging by his direction, he came from the east. He’s likely from the East Sea or the Six Eastern Provinces," the black-robed youth said.

"The Six Eastern Provinces are the weakest of all the domains in the Great Thousand Realms. He must be from the East Sea, right? Could he be someone from the Hidden Dragon List?" the henchman speculated.

However, the black-robed youth shook his head. "Don’t underestimate the Six Eastern Provinces. It’s true that they’re the weakest of the major domains, but they have also produced top-tier powerhouses. Who hasn’t heard of the previous generation’s Celestial King Golden Cicada? And the current Little Celestial King Luo Wushuang’s fearsome reputation precedes him."

"Boss, comparing that guy to Little Celestial King Luo Wushuang... isn’t that giving him a little too much credit? Little Celestial King Luo Wushuang possesses one of the Ten Great Royal Physiques! Back when he was in the Earth Martial Realm, he could kill cultivators in the Heaven-Reaching Realm. And in the Heaven-Reaching Realm, he even killed someone in the Celestial Martial Realm! If that guy was really on par with the Little Celestial King, then that palm strike just now..."

The henchman trailed off, but the black-robed youth understood his meaning. If that had been a palm strike from Little Celestial King Luo Wushuang, he would be a corpse right now.

A man’s reputation is like a tree’s shadow—it precedes him. Little Celestial King Luo Wushuang had carved a bloody path to the top of the Celestial Domain, and many people were well aware of his power.

"You’re wrong. Look at this."

The black-robed youth shook his head again, pulling off his outer robe to reveal the Treasure Armor worn underneath. The armor was covered in a shocking web of cracks, and it was clearly ruined.

"If it weren’t for this Half Top Grade Treasure Armor, I would already be dead," the black-robed youth said gravely.

HISS.

Seeing this, the others all sucked in a sharp breath, rendered speechless.

Generally, experts at the Earth Martial Realm used Upper Grade Treasure Armor, while Top Grade Treasure Armor was suited for those in the Heaven-Reaching Realm. A Half Top Grade Treasure Armor was a step down from a Top Grade one. In terms of Defense Power, while it couldn’t compare to a true Top Grade Treasure Armor, it should at least be able to withstand a full-force strike from a Heaven-Reaching Realm expert.

And yet, the Half Top Grade Treasure Armor on the black-robed youth had been utterly destroyed by a single palm strike from Ning Jiang.

That was simply terrifying!

Now, the henchman finally understood why his boss had drawn a comparison to Little Celestial King Luo Wushuang. That white-haired youth was worthy of it!

"Boss, should we notify the Elders to go intercept and kill him?"

A vicious glint flashed in the henchman’s eyes as he drew a hand across his neck in a slicing motion.

People like them, who made a living robbing people in the Celestial Domain, occasionally picked a fight with the wrong person. If it weren’t for the powerful faction backing them, they would have been wiped out long ago.

He made this suggestion because he knew his boss’s personality well.

His boss was ruthless and vengeful, always repaying every slight. It was a style somewhat reminiscent of Little Celestial King Luo Wushuang in his early days. The henchman was certain his suggestion would earn his boss’s praise.

"Absolutely not."

To his surprise, however, the black-robed youth’s expression shifted, and he rejected the idea sternly.

"Boss, why is that?"

The henchman’s eyes widened in disbelief. This was nothing like the vengeful boss he knew, the one who repaid every grudge.

The black-robed youth took a deep breath and said gravely, "His movements were too fast for me to get a clear look. But thinking back on it now, didn’t you notice? The Demon Beast he was riding... it looked a lot like a Qingtian Roc from the Creation Academy, didn’t it?"

Creation Academy. Qingtian Roc!

Those four words landed with the weight of a mountain.

In the Celestial Domain, the Creation Academy was one of the Five Great Institutes, a place of terrifying power. Every year, countless Martial Artists would dream of being able to enroll.

The Qingtian Roc was just as renowned. It was a top-tier species among the Demon Races, second only to the Golden-winged Roc within the Roc Race itself.

"A year ago, the Creation Academy made a trip to the Six Eastern Provinces. I heard they brought back someone with a King’s Body and a Double Pupil. That man was riding a Demon Beast that so closely resembles a Qingtian Roc... he might be connected to the Creation Academy. How could we possibly afford to offend someone like that?" the black-robed youth said, enunciating each word.

The henchman’s face had already gone pale. Given Ning Jiang’s strength, it was indeed highly likely he was from the Creation Academy. Compared to a behemoth like the Creation Academy, their group was just an insignificant little power. A single word from someone like that could make them vanish from the Celestial Domain forever.

"Alright, let’s drop the matter here. I’ll just count it as my bad luck for running into such a powerhouse from out of town. When I get back, I’m going to focus on healing. The Five Great Institutes will be holding admissions soon, and I have to get in this year!"

...

SCREECH.

The giant cyan eagle soared high among the clouds, letting out a long cry. Ning Jiang sat atop it, his gaze fixed on the vast, boundless earth below.

After traveling for more than half a month, he had finally reached the Celestial Domain!

"It was a long flight. You’ve worked hard."

Ning Jiang patted the giant cyan eagle beneath him. The eagle’s body was immense; with its wings spread, it was like a small mountain. Each of its cyan feathers was magnificent and extraordinary.

This was the Cyan-Scaled Eagle!

It was the same Demon Beast Ning Jiang had subdued years ago in the Demon Mist Mountain Range of the Cyan Cloud Country. Because the eagle was intelligent and could understand him, Ning Jiang had taught it a Demon Race Technique to practice.

A Cultivation Technique from Ning Jiang was naturally no ordinary thing. With it, the Cyan-Scaled Eagle’s Cultivation soared.

Moreover, Ning Jiang had once obtained three drops of Qingtian Roc blood. He had used one drop himself, and he had bestowed the other two upon the Cyan-Scaled Eagle.

These two drops of blood were the Heart Blood of a King Level Qingtian Roc, and the Energy they contained was simply terrifying.

Fueled by those two drops of blood, the Cyan-Scaled Eagle had progressed by leaps and bounds. Its current aura was only half a step from the Heaven-Reaching Realm. Ning Jiang estimated that the eagle would likely break through to the Heaven-Reaching Realm even before he did.