Chapter 465: Chapter 465: I’m Too Eager to Progress

"Yes... Not bad at all."

After a long silence, a satisfied voice emerged from behind the veiled Dao Platform. With a sweep of Divine Sense, the Jade Scroll Lü Yang had offered vanished.

By now, the Daoist Court Emperor had realized what was happening.

’He’s putting me on the spot. With this level of sincerity on display, if I don’t grant him a good position, I fear the True Dragon Race will start to have other ideas.’

That said, the Daoist Court Emperor wasn’t the least bit displeased; in fact, he felt quite satisfied. From another perspective, Lü Yang’s actions had actually placed the decision entirely in his hands. What Official Position to grant, what benefits to bestow—it was all his call.

This was a crucial point.

Lü Yang was well aware that he could have used the coordinates to the Seven Luminaries Heaven as a bargaining chip, leveraging his status as a member of the True Dragon Race to haggle with the Daoist Court Emperor.

But what would be the point of that?

This was the East, under the rule of the Dao Court. The Emperor’s Position was absolute. No matter how many benefits Lü Yang managed to negotiate, the Emperor had plenty of ways to make him cough them all back up.

The only result would be to antagonize the Emperor.

That would never do.

That was why he had acted so uncharacteristically, presenting the coordinates to the Seven Luminaries Heaven directly and handing the power of decision to the Daoist Court Emperor, all to display his "loyalty."

Besides, by doing this, he wasn’t worried that the Daoist Court Emperor would simply brush him off with some token reward. After all, his status as a member of the True Dragon Race was undeniable, and he was backed by a Dragon Monarch in the Middle Stage of Golden Core. The Daoist Court Emperor couldn’t possibly act recklessly; the final reward was certain to be satisfactory.

And just as he expected—

"You... are quite impressive."

The Daoist Court Emperor chuckled. "As it happens, the All Heaven Department is short one Assistant Commander. Since you are so inclined, the position is yours."

The moment he finished speaking, the Immortal Dao Law responded.

Lü Yang looked up to see the Script of his original Official Position, Dongting Dragon King, begin to twist and warp. It finally settled into the characters for: Assistant Commander of the All Heaven Department.

A Third-Grade Official!

In the next instant, Lü Yang felt a terrifying stream of information, empowered by the Official Position, flowing rapidly and surging around his Spiritual Space.

’This is... Knowledge!’

At that moment, Lü Yang gained a much deeper understanding of the Immortal Dao Law. It was far more than just a tool for controlling the Cultivators of the East.

It was truly a network.

It connected every Cultivator in the East, and the Cultivation, knowledge, and experience of all these Cultivators... every last bit was encompassed and contained by this great network!

It gathered the wisdom of all living beings!

Therefore, an Official Position bestowed far more than just a higher level of Cultivation. It also came with the depth of Cultivation insight that corresponded to that level, and all this knowledge was being conferred upon him at this very moment!

’However... this cultivation insight and knowledge cannot enter my Spiritual Space, and I would never allow it to. Therefore, once the Official Position is gone, this knowledge will also depart... But on the other hand, as long as I hold this Official Position, I can command this depth of Cultivation as easily as moving my own limbs!’

If he had to use an analogy.

The Immortal Dao Law was like a database. The Daoist Court Emperor, by granting him an Official Position, had given him temporary administrator access.

As long as he had access, the knowledge in the database was his to use.

Once that access was revoked, he would be completely in the dark again.

’However, this also means the cultivation insight and knowledge can be learned. I can study it bit by bit and completely internalize it, making it my own!’

A divine tool for cultivation!

At this thought, Lü Yang finally had an epiphany. He had wondered about it before—the Talent Skills of Cultivators vary greatly. In theory, that kind of diversity shouldn’t support an imperial system.

After all, how could the geniuses produced by a single family compare to a Sect that welcomes talent from all corners of the world?

This was especially true for the Celestial Wu Royal Family, whose bloodline was not particularly numerous.

Under these circumstances, how on earth did the Celestial Wu Royal Family continue its legacy? Reaching the Early Stage or Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment was one thing, but the Late Stage and Perfection were no simple feat!

But now, Lü Yang understood.

’The Celestial Wu Royal Family... they can probably access the Immortal Dao Law without any restrictions. They can directly extract whatever knowledge they need and master it instantly!’

This was tantamount to using the Immortal Dao Law to harvest the insights of every Cultivator in the East and making that wisdom their own. They were having the countless Cultivators of the East help them practice! With such a method, the Celestial Wu Royal Family likely faced no bottlenecks in their cultivation insight. The only thing limiting their Cultivation level was whether or not they had the necessary Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches!

"This is truly..."

Lü Yang blinked. No wonder the system of the Dao Court in the East could produce experts all the way up to the level of Golden Core Perfected Lord. The Immortal Dao Law was truly a perfect masterpiece!

With its help, the speed at which he could advance his Cultivation would be simply incredible!

In fact, as long as the Daoist Court Emperor was willing to promote him, he might even be able to recover his Perfect Foundation Establishment Cultivation within ten... no, five years in this lifetime!

’I’m so eager to advance!’

Lü Yang lowered his eyelids, concealing all emotion. He quickly began to search for the corresponding cultivation insight within the Official Position of Assistant Commander of the All Heaven Department that the Daoist Court Emperor had bestowed upon him.

’This Official Position... it comes from the Fruit of Roadside Earth!’

The Fruit of Roadside Earth was formed from Geng Metal, Wu Fire, Xin Metal, and the Earth of Wei. Two of these corresponded with his own Fruit of Celestial Fire.

This Official Position had been split off from the Fruit of Roadside Earth. The Position of a Third-Grade Official was equivalent to Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Perfection, and its corresponding cultivation insight happened to include two Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches: Geng Metal and Wu Fire. The Wu Fire was precisely what he needed. This was clearly no coincidence.

Evidently, the Daoist Court Emperor had seen through to his Dao Foundation.

Knowing that he was cultivating the Fruit of Celestial Fire, the Emperor had specifically granted him this Official Position so that he could obtain the cultivation insight and knowledge of Wu Fire.

"Well?"

From behind the veil, the Daoist Court Emperor watched Lü Yang with a faint, unreadable smile. "Are you satisfied with this office? The Fruit of Celestial Fire is quite a remarkable Fruit Position, after all."

"Thank you for your immense grace, Your Majesty!"

Lü Yang broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this. A look of panic flashed in his eyes as he hurriedly bowed in gratitude. Only then did the Daoist Court Emperor reveal a satisfied expression.

A little warning like that was enough.

"That is all. You are dismissed," the Daoist Court Emperor continued. "Return and cultivate diligently. I have high hopes for the Dragon Race, and I will have an important task for you in the future."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After watching Lü Yang back respectfully out of the Celestial Wu Hall, the Daoist Court Emperor’s thoughts quickly moved on. He didn’t pay too much mind to this one True Dragon.

As for him cultivating the Fruit of Celestial Fire?

What a joke. The Fruit of Celestial Fire wasn’t so easily cultivated. Its prerequisite was Ruling the World, and the bare minimum for that was controlling the East. Did Lü Yang think he was already dead?

Why would a mighty Perfected Lord such as himself need to be wary of a mere Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment cultivator?

Unless he was gone, and the Three Ministers were gone, and this True Dragon had managed to reach Foundation Establishment Perfection... but how could something like that possibly happen?

It was a needless worry!

That was why the Daoist Court Emperor had been so generous, directly granting him the cultivation insight related to Wu Fire. In his eyes, it was a meaningless prize. He hadn’t actually given up anything of value, but on the surface, it looked like a handsome reward—more than enough to appease the True Dragon Race. It was a classic case of achieving a great result for a small price.

........

’The gains this time were significant...’

Walking out of the Celestial Wu Hall, the panic in Lü Yang’s eyes immediately vanished, his expression returning to a state of calm. He could more or less guess what the Daoist Court Emperor was thinking.

It wasn’t just him; the Old Dragon Monarch had likely guessed it as well.

If that weren’t the case, the old monarch wouldn’t have so openly sent over a True Dragon who was cultivating the Fruit of Celestial Fire. Instead, he would have tried to hide it at all costs, not letting anyone find out.

’By my estimation, the Old Dragon Monarch himself probably didn’t expect any dragon to successfully cultivate the Fruit of Celestial Fire in a short period. His plan is likely a very long-term one, intended to be set in motion only at the time of the millennial calamity. But... who would have thought that a perfect opportunity would present itself so soon.’

No Heaven!

Once someone achieves the state of No Heaven, all the Perfected Lords in the world will go into seclusion. At that point, I, who can be empowered by an Outer Dao Fruit Position, will instantly become the most powerful person in the world.

And that will be my chance!