Chapter 171: Dragon Vein Awakening, Rebuilding the Foundation (Part Two)
The moment Su Tianhao's foot touched the surface of the elixir, a thunderclap of agony detonated through his entire body.
Instant.
The glowing liquid that had shimmered like divine light mere seconds ago now felt like molten steel and razor-edged glass—invading every pore, burrowing through every cell, tearing into every fibre of his being.
The multicoloured elixir wasn't medicine.
It was tribulation given liquid form.
"AAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGUHH!!!"
A blood-curdling scream ripped from Su Tianhao's throat—raw, guttural, inhuman. Not a cry of surprise. The sound of a soul being torn apart and stitched back together in the same agonising breath.
His vision fractured into blinding white. His lungs seized. His heart hammered like war drums trying to break through his ribs.
Every nerve ending in his body shrieked.
He tried to move—couldn't.
Tried to breathe—couldn't.
Tried to think—couldn't.
Pain was the only reality now. Pain was the world. Pain was existence itself.
But collapsing wasn't an option.
Collapsing meant death!
Gritting his teeth so hard he tasted blood, Su Tianhao reached for the Supreme Dragon Vein Awakening Art. He tried to circulate the technique, tried to guide the energy flooding his meridians—
Nothing.
His mind was pure chaos. His body was in agonizing pain, but tears didn't come—blood did. Ten thousand sharp needles splitting his skull from the inside. Every attempt to focus felt like trying to catch smoke with bleeding hands.
'I can't—I can't do this—'
No!
His jaw clenched tighter.
'I didn't come this far to fail here.'
Through the haze of agony, a realisation struck like lightning.
'The Ethereal Mind Crystal.'
In his desperation to begin, he had forgotten the one tool that could anchor his shattered consciousness.
With trembling hands, Su Tianhao fumbled for his spatial ring. The moment the crystal materialised, it blazed to life—flooding the cave in vivid purple radiance.
Whoosh.
An ethereal golden aura erupted from Su Tianhao's body, swirling around him like protective flames. The chaotic storm in his mind stilled. Not gone—the pain remained, relentless and overwhelming—but his willpower surged. His soul found footing in the madness.
The Ethereal Mind Crystal couldn't erase the suffering.
But it gave him the clarity to endure it.
Su Tianhao's eyes sharpened—bloodshot, but filled with ironclad will.
'If my mind holds... my body can endure anything!'
Splosh!
The water erupted into violent motion, boiling like a cauldron over hellfire. Ripples raced across the surface in chaotic patterns, waves crashing against the tub's edges.
Su Tianhao's consciousness finally pierced through the pain—and touched upon the Supreme Dragon Vein Awakening Art.
The technique unfolded in his mind like a scroll written in golden fire.
---
Supreme Dragon Vein Awakening Art — the third layer of the Supreme Dragon Transformation Technique, marking a critical evolution: from physical refinement to spiritual dominance. While the first and second layers laid the foundation in flesh and essence, the third awakens the dormant dragon veins within the body, merging spiritual energy with raw physical power.
Upon cultivation, this layer tempers the practitioner's spiritual energy channels, rebuilding their cultivation foundation from the inside out—allowing the practitioner to achieve threefold spiritual energy amplification at just the 1st level of the Martial Adept Realm.
---
Boom!
Su Tianhao's aura exploded outward like a dam bursting. The devouring vortex within his dantian roared to life—spinning faster, hungrier, more violent than ever before.
This was it.
Rebuilding his cultivation foundation. Awakening his dragon vein. Achieving threefold spiritual energy amplification at the 1st level of Martial Adept Realm.
Another insurmountable foundation was about to be laid.
'Cultivate! Cultivate!! CULTIVATE!!!'
The words thundered like a sacred mantra, echoing through his soul like temple bells.
Whoosh!
Wind stirred within the sealed cave—impossible, yet undeniable. Su Tianhao's hair whipped behind him like a writhing serpents.
The medicinal essence from the multicoloured elixir surged into his body, drawn by an invisible force that devoured it with ruthless hunger. The energy flooded into his dantian, where the swirling vortex refined everything like a divine furnace consuming raw ore. What emerged was flawless—potent medicinal essence without a single trace of impurity.
That refined power spread through every corner of his being. His muscles drank it in. His bones absorbed it. Even his very essence was being reforged under the profound principles of the Supreme Dragon Vein Awakening Art.
The few remaining blocked, stagnant meridians cracked open—not gently, but like ice shattering under spring sun. The fusion between body and spirit deepened. His entire frame began to glow with faint golden radiance, and his already immense potential soared.
Su Tianhao's eyes widened.
'This—'
"Is this... the Clear Stream Body?!"
Joy surged through him despite the scorching heat threatening to boil him alive.
The Clear Stream Body—just like the Untainted Body—was a rare and elusive state that few could ever hope to achieve. While the Untainted Body meant a physique completely free of impurities, the Clear Stream Body represented perfect meridian flow. In ancient records, it was said that when this legendary state was achieved, the body became a flawless vessel of heaven and earth—spiritual energy flowing smooth and unobstructed through every meridian, like a thousand pristine rivers converging into the boundless sea.
Su Tianhao's breathing grew rapid, his face flushing deeper red under the intense heat.
'I now have both the Untainted Body and the Clear Stream Body. If I can truly awaken multiple martial cores with this technique, then when I break through to the Martial Core Realm...'
He let the implication settle.
'Wouldn't my body become a True Divine Body—perfectly suited for cultivation?!'
Hiss!
He drew in a sharp breath of scalding air, trying to suppress the excitement threatening to overtake him.
Such a True Divine Body was almost impossible to achieve. It wasn't something one could be born with, like a heavenly constitution. To reach it was as difficult as grasping the stars themselves. In the entire mortal realm, there existed no record of anyone achieving such a state from ancient times until now.
'Who would have thought that all my hard work and dedication would bring me such unexpected fortune...'
Su Tianhao smiled faintly despite the agony still ravaging his body—as if his mind had begun adapting, accepting pain as the price of ascension.
In truth, he had only managed to achieve the Clear Stream Body because his foundation had already been near-perfect. As the son of Tunlong Chenyuan—a supreme dragon immortal who had himself achieved a True Divine Body—and of Tian Yuexin, the Sword Saint of the Moon—his birth had been blessed beyond measure. Though his mother's physique had not yet reached that pinnacle when she bore him, it had already been cultivated close to perfection.
Combine both heavenly bloodlines, and the result was a divine child born with a body containing almost no flaws—flaws that needed only the right catalyst to be eradicated entirely.
And this transformative elixir was that catalyst.
And it was only the beginning!
After achieving the Clear Stream Body, Su Tianhao noticed the other benefits accumulating rapidly. Warm energy reinforced his organs and tempered his spiritual energy. The pain that had threatened to tear him apart subsided—not gone, but manageable. Almost negligible.
'At this rate, the threefold spiritual energy amplification won't be far off.'
He allowed himself a moment of quiet satisfaction.
Then everything changed.
Without warning, the cultivation session crossed into its next phase.
Awakening the Dragon Vein and Rebuilding the Cultivation Foundation.
Su Tianhao's body convulsed violently. It felt as if his bones were being shattered from within—ground into powder and reforged in the same breath. A violent torrent of energy flooded his marrow like a raging storm tearing through his skeleton.
The subsiding pain returned—doubled!
"AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGHHH!!!"
The scream tore from his throat like the wail of a dying god. It echoed through the cave with such raw, primal force that birds fled from treetops outside and startled beasts scattered into the underbrush, terrified by whatever inhuman entity was producing such a sound.
Even with the Ethereal Mind Crystal stabilising his consciousness, Su Tianhao felt his mind fracturing.
He collapsed into the boiling water, hands clutching his skull as he screamed and convulsed. The crystal floated above the surface, its purple glow still offering support while his devouring vortex desperately refined the violent energy ravaging his body.
Under the crushing pressure, his heart clenched. His muscles strained to the breaking point. His bones cracked like brittle wood. Even his marrow—the deepest core of his being—felt as though it were being liquefied and reformed.
Time became meaningless.
Every second stretched into an hour. Every minute became an eternity.
His body began to fracture. Muscles tore. Bones splintered. Several meridians sustained internal injuries, bleeding spiritual energy into his flesh.
At this point, Su Tianhao had lost his voice entirely. His body turned pale as a corpse. Blood poured from his nine orifices—eyes, ears, nose, mouth—painting him crimson. Green veins bulged across his ghostly skin, pulsing with dormant power desperately trying to break free.
As more time crawled by, Su Tianhao could no longer endure.
His body gave out.
His eyes sealed shut.
Darkness.
Complete. Absolute. Suffocating.
Even the Ethereal Mind Crystal's glow seemed to dim. The multicoloured elixir lost its brilliance. The world itself faded to black.
And then—
A spark.
A single, defiant spark.
A brilliant golden glow ignited on Su Tianhao's chest—small at first, then spreading like wildfire across his entire body. It flooded him with renewed vitality, with power that felt ancient and newborn at the same time.
His green veins turned gold. The dormant power within them awakened.
The Dragon Vein had been awakened!
Su Tianhao's body began to transform.
Fractured muscles knitted back together—stronger, denser. Cracked bones fused and solidified—harder, purer. Injured meridians restored themselves to perfection—wider, deeper, flawless.
His entire being radiated divine light, as if heaven itself had descended into that cave to witness his rebirth.
It wasn't just the dragon vein that had awakened.
His very foundation had been rebuilt from the ground up. The threefold spiritual energy amplification had taken root. The cultivation of the Supreme Dragon Vein Awakening Art was complete.
At that moment—
Su Tianhao's eyes snapped open.
But they were no longer the eyes of a man.
They were the eyes of a dragon.
A Supreme Dragon!
Slanted pupils. Glowing golden irises. An aura radiating from his eye sockets that was deep, ancient, unfathomable—the gaze of a sovereign who had walked through death and emerged transcendent.