The White Feathered Eagle’s garrison.

Inside the commander’s main tent.

Seventh Uncle Fang placed the azure jade slip he had just examined back into a brocade box and returned it to Fang Yang.

He said, "This Tier Three Gastric Dao Skill, the Little Whale Swallowing Skill, is indeed authentic. And there are no hidden traps left within it.

Cultivating it can not only nourish your blood and qi and increase your physical strength, but it even holds the profound possibility of strengthening your Soul Foundation!

However, only a prodigy like you, who possesses a Spirit Body, can cultivate this Technique."

As soon as Seventh Uncle Fang finished speaking, Fang Xuan, standing behind them, showed a look of disappointment.

’A Spirit Body... It’s always about the Spirit Body!’

At that moment, Fang Xuan’s desire to quickly ascend to Tier Three was incredibly intense.

One of the prerequisites for advancing from Tier Two to Tier Three was to forge a Spirit Body.

This required using a Spiritual Object as a catalyst to guide True Essence out from the Void Acupoint, flow it through the body, and condense the Spirit Body in one go.

If the process stopped even for a moment, it would result in failure. If handled poorly, the consequences could range from damage to one’s cultivation path to complete annihilation of both body and soul!

But Fang Xuan was confident. He would absolutely not be stopped at this stage.

"Nourishes blood and qi, increases strength, and even strengthens the Soul Foundation..." Fang Yang mused.

’It seems this Gastric Dao Skill, the Little Whale Swallowing Skill, is even more important than I imagined.’

’Besides, my divination slip urged me to rush to Snowfall Cloud Island at once.’

’It seems that Desert Dragon also knew the value of the Little Whale Swallowing Skill and was planning to give it to someone else.’

’In other words, did I, Fang Yang, just snatch someone else’s fated opportunity?’

"No, it’s not snatching. The fact that it fell into my hands proves it was fated to be mine." Fang Yang immediately chuckled and shook his head.

Under everyone’s gaze, he turned and left, entering a private cultivation chamber.

Fang Yang sat on his bed, closed his eyes, and looked inward at his Void Acupoint True Essence Sea.

Within his True Essence Sea, a Fierce Flame Pill Cauldron floated in the upper reaches like a Flying Eagle, while a Thunderous Pill Cauldron rested on the seabed like a fish.

And in the very center, the Fire Eagle Illusion held sway, tightly wrapped around the Carp Eagle Divine Feather Spiritual Object, emitting a faint red and blue glow.

As Fang Yang observed the Fire Eagle Illusion, he suddenly noticed that its talons had become much more solid.

Upon closer inspection, he saw their solidity had increased from 14% to 15%!

"It seems the overall strength of the White Feathered Eagle tribe has grown again. Not bad, not bad at all." A faint smile touched Fang Yang’s lips.

’This kind of passive, idle growth is actually quite nice.’

...

「Some time later」

On the front lines, it wasn’t long before war erupted once more.

Under the watchful eyes of all, Sen Yue arrived as promised, facing the Dongfang Race’s three Dao Seeds alone.

He had been still, but his first move was world-shaking. Unleashing his divine might, he completely suppressed the three Dao Seeds of the Dongfang Race.

In that moment, all creation fell silent. Every living being was stunned.

’Is a person like this really not a Saint yet?’

FLICKER...

A Memory Stone flickered, displaying a scene for Fang Yang, showing him fragments of that day’s battle.

On the screen, islands sank into the sea one after another, lightning filled the air, and fierce flames burned everything.

Even the vast sky itself seemed to have been violently shattered into pieces.

Within the image, Sen Yue merged with his Taiyin Dharma Aspect. Manipulating the boundless power of the stars, he suppressed the Dharma Aspects of the Dongfang Race’s three Dao Seeds with powerful, confident strides.

A moment later, the image shattered into black and white static.

The Memory Stone had been unable to record the subsequent developments.

"The difference between Dao Seeds... no, that’s not right. Sen Yue is a Monarch," Fang Yang said, filled with awe.

When a terrifying figure like Sen Yue made a move, it was like a Flood Dragon emerging from the abyss—overturning rivers and seas, completely unstoppable.

If the remaining Golden Clans didn’t unite soon, they would likely be crushed by Sen Yue one by one!

Vaguely, Fang Yang could almost see what Sen Wei would become several decades from now.

In the Sen bloodline, or rather, the Changkong Race, it was clear that Sen Wei was being measured against Sen Yue.

But compared to Sen Yue’s calm, introverted personality and single-minded focus on the Dao, Sen Wei’s temperament was far more flamboyant and domineering, possessing the tyrannical air of "those who follow me prosper, those who oppose me perish."

"Sen Wei..." Fang Yang murmured.

An image immediately appeared in his mind: a woman clad in a Dragon Robe, her gaze powerful enough to shake one’s soul.

This woman practically saw herself as an emperor!

And yet, she truly had the ability and the foundation to back it up.

Fang Yang felt a wave of revulsion just thinking about the Battle of Xuan-Yu a hundred years from now, where he would have to obey Sen Wei’s commands like one of her servants.

’Reach Tier Five Peak within twenty-nine years and become a Dao Seed.’

’Overcome numerous tribulations within a hundred years, enter Tier Six, and become a Saint.’

’Saints are transcendent beings. If I become a Saint, I won’t have to be bogged down by these miscellaneous affairs anymore. I’ll be able to properly pursue the Path of Longevity.’

Fang Yang sighed.

The animosity from Zhang Ye, the trials from the four Pavilion Elders, even the conflict with Sen Wei and Sen Yue... he wasn’t actually interested in any of it.

What he was ultimately interested in was the Path of Longevity.

For example, why could one only forge a Spirit Body after reaching Tier Three? Why did reaching Tier Three grant an additional three hundred years of lifespan? And so on.

Compared to these timeless mysteries, Zhang Ye, the four Pavilion Elders, Sen Wei, and Sen Yue all paled in comparison.

But in the end, he was still a Flying Eagle of the mortal world. He had not yet transcended everything and could not live freely according to his own will.

...

As Sen Yue pressed his advantage, not only did the Dongfang Race’s northern territories fall, but their eastern territories fell as well.

What was even more terrifying was that the eastern territories were falling even faster than the southern ones had!

At this rate, it would take less than a month for the Dongfang Race to be completely crushed by the Changkong Race.

At that point, it was highly likely that Sen Yue’s grand army would march on the Minghai Race!

And with the fall of the Dongfang Race’s eastern territories, the battle merit board changed once again.

This time, the top one hundred names remained largely the same, but the rankings further down shifted again.

It was worth noting that Fang Yang, by virtue of implementing his policy, had been awarded another thirty great merits, bringing his total to sixty.

This time, he had shockingly leaped into the top four hundred on the merit board, even briefly surpassing Ji Juyun, who was still recovering from his injuries!

Of the five champions from the grand army competition, only Jiang Venerable Sword, a former Dao Seed, was still ranked securely above Fang Yang.

Such a change was simply terrifying.

This was because the top four hundred on the merit board were all Tier Five Great Cultivators.

Aside from them, there was only Fang Yang, a lone little Tier Two Elementary cultivator, hanging on the list.

"Being a third-rank official is awesome. He got thirty great merits just for that."

"Heh, if I were the ’Order Holder,’ I could definitely be in the top four hundred too."

"The champion... Fall behind once, and you’re left behind for good. It’s so frustrating."

"He’s incredible. If I had known, I would have thrown in my lot with Fang Yang like Lu Yao did. I wonder if he’s still accepting followers..."

Discussions broke out among the crowd.

Fang Yang’s name spread throughout the army; every banner and every division had heard of him.

Without a doubt, another Dao Seed Level young prodigy was on the rise!

His connections to Sen Hui and Sen Yue, in particular, fanned the flames of these rumors.

Even members of the other Golden Clans, like the Sea-controlling Race, had heard Fang Yang’s name.

It was an unparalleled storm, surpassing all the prodigies the Fang Clan had produced in the past.

But Fang Yang, the man at the center of the storm, remained indifferent.

He didn’t care much about his rank on the merit board. He was more concerned with what treasures his sixty great merits could be exchanged for. Ideally, he wanted to trade them for the "Thunder Carp Essence" Spiritual Object.

If he could get it, he could leap up to a Grade-A Spirit Body. Unfortunately, it wasn’t available.

"Still no Thunder Carp Essence..." Fang Yang sighed softly.

"You have enough battle merits." Second Uncle Fang shook his head with a smile. "Don’t be too anxious. Once we invade the Minghai Race’s territory, Thunder Carp Essence will definitely appear on the merit board!"

"The Minghai Race..." Fang Yang murmured thoughtfully.