Grinding to Martial Emperor from the Border Army

Chapter 243: Chapter 165: Divine Essence

But Secret Techniques were indeed very alluring, allowing one to gain immense combat power in a very short time.

Nearly every expert who possessed a Secret Technique could fight opponents above their own level.

"If Xiao Shun says so, then of course it’s not a problem," Lu Yuan said with a chuckle.

The Great Qin expert who practiced a Secret Technique was named Xiao Shun. He was one of the few outstanding disciples from the imperial clan.

Not only was he powerful himself, but he was also a general who served in the Beast Riders.

He was now considered one of Lu Yuan’s subordinates.

Xiao Hua nodded and silently gazed at the ruins.

"VMMM!"

Just then, as a humming sound rang out,

The restrictive barrier instantly erupted with a dazzling light.

Xiao Xiong said from the side, "It’s open."

The moment he finished speaking, Lu Yuan charged inside without hesitation, as the others had already made their move.

Unlike the previous test, this time the estate held real treasures.

A single step too late, and those treasures could fall into someone else’s hands.

The restrictive barrier was mystical. As Lu Yuan approached, he clearly felt as if he were passing through a wall of air.

The moment he stepped through, he found himself at the estate’s main entrance.

The others were there as well.

The great gates stood wide open.

Many were already facing off against each other, and some had even started to fight,

All wanting to be the first to charge inside.

"ROAR!"

A furious roar erupted from Xiao Shun’s mouth.

For a moment, everyone present was frozen in place.

"Go! There are too many of them. They’ll break free any second!"

He shouted in a low voice, protecting Lu Yuan as they headed inside. The other Great Qin experts followed close behind.

A moment later, by the time the crowd recovered, they realized the people of Great Qin were already one step ahead of them and inside.

"Despicable!"

Someone cursed, then gave chase.

However, Lu Yuan and his group paid them no mind.

They didn’t linger in the front courtyard, making a beeline for the rear of the estate.

Everyone knew the real treasures were in the back.

Sure enough, upon entering a garden, Lu Yuan saw an ancient tree nestled among the flowerbeds, laden with fruit.

They were a beautiful, brilliant orange and glowed with a soft light.

"This must be the Daoist Palace Fruit. And this is the Divine Tree," Xiao Shun said, his tone uncharacteristically grave.

Lu Yuan didn’t hesitate for a second.

With a flip of his palm.

"WHOOSH!"

He uprooted the Divine Tree and stored it directly in his Space Ring.

This brief delay, however, was enough for the pursuers to catch up. Conspicuously among them was the Crown Prince of Dayong. He glared at Lu Yuan and said, "There were so many fruits, yet you uprooted the entire tree? Is this how a Prince of Great Qin acts? Hand over the Divine Tree at once!"

After he spoke, many others looked ready to make a move, eager to snatch the tree for themselves.

There was no mercy to be found in the ruins. Death was final, and by convention, not even the imperial courts could pursue the matter.

Outside, they might be majestic Crown Princes and Princes, but in here, they were no different from common members of the Jianghu.

Lu Yuan shot him a glance. "Since ancient times, treasures belong to the fated. Your failure to obtain it simply means you lack the destiny for it—and the skill."

Lu Yuan’s voice was laced with ice.

He gave the Crown Prince of Dayong no face whatsoever.

"Insolent!"

As the Dayong Crown Prince’s voice faded,

several figures shot through the air, launching an attack on Lu Yuan.

The experts from Great Qin, of course, were not about to let them succeed.

"HAH!"

Xiao Shun bellowed again, but this time it clearly took a great deal of his energy, leaving his face somewhat pale.

The Dayong experts who had just taken to the air began to sway as if drunk.

The other experts from the Great Qin imperial clan attacked in an instant.

Their methods were utterly ruthless.

"CLANG!"

One of them swung a great warhammer, smashing it directly into the chest of a Dayong Divine Power Realm expert. The man’s entire upper torso caved in.

In a near instant, all five of the charging Divine Power Powerhouses from Dayong were slain.

The display of force stunned many of the onlookers.

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan and his group continued their dash toward the rear of the estate.

Finally, they entered a storehouse. It was filled with Elixirs, various Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, weapons, and Cultivation Techniques.

Any single item taken from this room would be enough to make people outside fight to the death over it.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Yuan began stuffing everything into his Space Ring.

Once the storehouse was completely cleared out,

Xiao Shun said urgently, "Your Highness, the entrance is surrounded! We can’t get out."

Outside, experts from several imperial courts and various members of the Jianghu all wore expressions brimming with killing intent.

However, the storehouse door was remarkably sturdy. Made of some unknown material, it held firm as Xiao Shun and his men braced it, preventing anyone from forcing their way in for the time being.

But this couldn’t go on forever.

Lu Yuan turned and asked, "How long can you hold them?"

"One night at most," Xiao Shun replied after a moment of contemplation.

Lu Yuan looked at him. "That’s enough. Barricade the door, and don’t let a single person get inside."

After saying this, he found a spot in the corner and sat down.

Though confused, the other experts from Great Qin dutifully stood guard at the door.

Their foray into the ruins had been exceptionally smooth and the rewards plentiful, but that was precisely the problem.

No one else had gotten anything.

This had led to them being besieged.

But having Lu Yuan hand over his gains was completely out of the question.

He popped a Daoist Palace Fruit into his mouth and immediately entered a state of cultivation.

The next moment, Lu Yuan felt his already robust Divine Palace become even more stable in a short period. Spiritual Qi flooded into his body like a river.

The aura emanating from him grew stronger and stronger.

In just a short time, he reached complete Perfection, breaking through to the Divine Containment Realm.

Without any hesitation, Lu Yuan swallowed another Daoist Palace Fruit.

The tyrannical energy caused him to exhale great clouds of white vapor from his mouth and nose.

Meanwhile, as he cultivated, the people outside the ruins could see the situation inside with perfect clarity.

Chang Dao couldn’t help but frown. "This Prince Qin has a glorious battle record, but his methods are rather petty. To risk his life for a few treasures... even if he breaks through now, he’ll only reach the Divine Origin Realm. How can he possibly fend off so many Divine Power Powerhouses?"

A Dayong expert who had accompanied him nodded. "The Old Grand Commandant is correct. But those who claw their way up from the bottom always carry a certain crude nature. Otherwise, why is it that in all these years, you are the only one from our Dayong, Old Grand Commandant, who has been able to stand at the very peak?"

Hearing the words of the man beside him, a cold light flashed in Chang Dao’s eyes.

He said nothing more, however.

’He had no patience for the court nobles who looked down on commanders from humble origins.’

The man who had just spoken was an expert from the Dayong imperial clan.

Across from them, Xiao Xiong also frowned. He couldn’t understand Lu Yuan’s actions either.

He didn’t understand why Lu Yuan would choose to break through at a time like this.

’Could reaching the Divine Origin Realm possibly be enough to deal with so many Divine Power Powerhouses?’

A look of worry filled his eyes.

’If anything happens to Lu Yuan,’ he thought, ’even with my high standing in Great Qin, I’ll likely face punishment from the imperial court.’

Xiao Hua was even more worried, her hands clenched into tight fists.

Viewed from above, there were hundreds of people assailing the storehouse door.

Every single one of them was incredibly powerful.

If Lu Yuan and his men made one slip-up and failed to hold them back, the enraged mob that burst in would surely show no mercy.

Outside the storehouse, the expressions of the Crown Prince of Dayong, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Barbarians, and the Crown Prince of Great Yu were all grim.

They were accustomed to being high and mighty; not only were they powerful cultivators, but their statuses were second to none.

They had entered the ruins full of ambition, ready to plunder its treasures to bolster their respective nations’ foundations and earn their fathers’ praise.

But who could have imagined that Great Qin would beat them to the punch right from the start?

Not only was the Divine Tree taken, but they had even occupied the storehouse.

If they couldn’t force their way in, they would become laughingstocks once they left the ruins.

As for the members of the Jianghu, they were an unruly and arrogant lot. Now, with treasures right before their eyes, someone had beaten them to it.

They began ramming the door with reckless abandon.

Xiao Shun and his men were fraught with worry. ’How long can this go on?’ They glanced back at Lu Yuan.

He was still deep in his cultivation.

Meanwhile, as time passed, Lu Yuan had reached a critical juncture in his cultivation.

A massive amount of Life Essence Qi surged from within his body.

Waves of golden light suffused his entire body before gradually fusing with it.

"BOOM!"

Following a resounding boom from within, he broke through completely. His cultivation had reached the Divine Origin Realm.

His eyes snapped open, and an unprecedented feeling of euphoria washed over his entire being.

Feeling the power coursing through his body, the corners of his lips curled upward.

’Now that I’m in the Divine Origin Realm, I should be able to handle those Divine Power Powerhouses,’ he thought, getting to his feet.