Venerable Supreme of Myriad Dragons

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Venerable Bloodline

Baiyun City, Shen Family, Ancestral Hall.

"Old Ancestor, I have arrived."

A young man walked in slowly. Seated in the place of honor was an old woman with a kind face and silver-white hair.

"Xing, you’re here."

A faint smile touched the old matriarch’s lips as she saw the young man enter. "In one month, the competition for the White Cloud Order will be held. You are the hope of our Shen Family. Today, I will personally help you open your acupoints, so that you might reach the Profound Platform Realm sooner and bring glory to our name."

This young man’s name was Shen Daoxing, one of the foremost prodigies of the current Shen Family.

For an ordinary person to begin the path of cultivation, they must first gain the recognition of the gods and awaken their bloodline mark.

A month ago, during the sacrificial ceremony, Shen Daoxing had prepared to awaken his bloodline mark. Dark clouds had blotted out the sky, and the cries of dragons and phoenixes echoed through the heavens as celestial phenomena shook the land for miles around.

Everyone in the Shen Family had witnessed the mysterious, profound patterns flowing across Shen Daoxing’s body.

It was the supreme Venerable Bloodline!

The revelation sent shockwaves through all of Baiyun City.

Everyone knew that the Shen Family had produced a true prodigy, one whose future was boundless. He even had the potential to become a true Venerable Supreme.

However, the Shen Family secretly suppressed the news of who had awakened the Venerable Bloodline.

And in one month’s time, the various powers of Baiyun City would compete for the White Cloud Order.

"Thank you, Old Ancestor."

Shen Daoxing’s heart leaped with joy upon hearing the old matriarch’s words.

Having just awakened his bloodline mark, his cultivation was only at the Third Layer of the Acupoint Opening Realm.

The Shen Family’s Three Tides Heart Method could awaken eighteen of the body’s acupoints to absorb the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. It was considered a low-grade Profound Tier Heart Method.

Martial Techniques were divided into four tiers: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow, with Yellow Tier being the lowest.

Profound Tier techniques were far more precious and formed the core of every major family’s heritage.

Shen Daoxing hadn’t expected the Old Ancestor to personally help him open his acupoints today. This would undoubtedly save him a great deal of time and effort.

The old matriarch smiled and gestured. "Good. Sit down, quickly."

Shen Daoxing nodded, then sat cross-legged before the ancestral shrine and began to circulate the Three Tides Heart Method.

The old matriarch’s lips parted, her voice weaving a string of ancient, mystical syllables.

Huh!?

Shen Daoxing felt a prickle of unease. ’This seems completely different from the mantra for my Heart Method.’

Soon, the ancient chant ended. Shen Daoxing felt a searing heat spread through his body, as if he were being consumed by flames.

Gasping for breath, Shen Daoxing’s mind descended into chaos. "Great-Grand-Aunt, it hurts... It hurts so much..."

"Don’t be afraid. This is normal."

A tremor ran through the old matriarch’s voice as she quickly called out, "Shaotian, come in now!"

"Yes!"

As her voice faded, a young man dressed in opulent robes emerged.

This was none other than the Shen Family’s other genius, Shen Shaotian.

There were two candidates for the position of the Shen Family’s Young Master: Shen Daoxing, who was supported by the Patriarch, and Shen Shaotian of the Direct Lineage.

Due to disagreements within the clan, the choice for Young Master had long been undecided.

Shen Shaotian’s face was a mask of feverish excitement. "Grandmother," he exclaimed, "Shen Daoxing really does possess the Venerable Bloodline! If I have it, I’ll definitely be able to master the Nine Tides Heart Method! Forget the Young Master position—even entering the Celestial City Academy will be a simple matter!"

The old matriarch urged him on, "Quickly! We must extract this Venerable Bloodline before the Patriarch returns. Otherwise, there will be trouble."

"AHH—!"

As the two spoke, a blood-curdling scream tore from Shen Daoxing’s throat.

The old matriarch’s heart stirred. "It’s time to begin," she said.

At that moment, the bloodline in Shen Daoxing’s body became clearly visible, pulsing with an ancient, boundless light.

"It truly is the Venerable Bloodline!"

The fervor in the old matriarch’s eyes intensified. She clamped a hand on Shen Daoxing’s shoulder. "Shaotian, hurry! Don’t waste any more time."

Shen Daoxing struggled to open his eyes. "Great-Grand-Aunt, what are you doing?"

He felt as if the Old Ancestor had become a different person, her eyes filled with an endless chill.

"You’re nothing but a bastard the Shen Family picked up off the street, and you dare to covet the position of Young Master!?"

The old matriarch’s gaze was cold and merciless. A sharp blade appeared in her hand, and she sliced open Shen Daoxing’s body.

Blood gushed forth, revealing the bloodline shimmering with a hazy, sacred light and radiating an endless, profound aura.

"It hurts—!"

Terror filled Shen Daoxing’s eyes, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

"You must not pass out."

The old matriarch frowned and barked the command.

Blood continued to pour from his wound. The pain was so extreme that Shen Daoxing’s face turned as white as a sheet.

For a young man, how could he possibly endure the agony of being skinned alive and having his bones ripped out?

"You bastard, you have to hold on! Just hold on and you’ll be fine! You can’t die at this critical moment!"

Shen Shaotian strode forward, shouting nervously.

He was terrified that if Shen Daoxing died now, all his efforts would have been for nothing.

"Great-Grand-Aunt..."

Drenched in sweat and blood, Shen Daoxing’s body curled into a ball on the cold floor. He wanted to ease the pain, but he was powerless.

The old matriarch remained expressionless as her blade continued to carve into Shen Daoxing’s flesh. With each flash of the sharp edge, the Venerable Bloodline, shimmering with endless light, was gradually stripped away, its brilliant glow illuminating the entire hall.

’So this is the Venerable Bloodline?’

Seeing it, the old matriarch was utterly transfixed.

"My turn! I have to succeed!"

Shen Shaotian’s eyes burned with fanaticism as he immediately began to imprint the bloodline onto his own body.

Shen Daoxing lay sprawled on the floor, feeling as if every pore in his body was bleeding and weeping. The pain made it hard to breathe, and his mind sank into a fog of chaos.

"So cold..."

He reached out, struggling to grasp the old matriarch’s hand, desperate for a sliver of warmth.

The old matriarch shot Shen Daoxing a cold glance before fixing her eyes on the figure before her, her gaze filled with devout reverence. "Shaotian, you can do this. With this bloodline, you will absolutely become the greatest prodigy in the Martial Kingdom, the true master of this land."

"You are the true Venerable Supreme, the truly immortal one!"

Lying on the cold ground, stripped of his Venerable Bloodline, Shen Daoxing’s eyelids grew heavier and heavier. His mind went completely blank. In a daze, two figures flickered in his thoughts. "Father... Mother..."

Shen Shaotian absorbed the Venerable Bloodline into his body. Its supreme radiance, etched with immortal patterns, was the most dazzling thing in the world.

But whether his body could withstand the power of the Venerable Bloodline remained to be seen.

"Shaotian, you must hold on!"

The old matriarch was incredibly tense. She grasped Shen Shaotian’s hand tightly, transferring her warmth to him. "Survive this, and your path forward will be clear. The entire world will await your dominion, and the Shen Family will rise in the Martial Kingdom because of you."

Shen Shaotian was already a genius from a prominent family, possessing resources far beyond the reach of ordinary people. Now, with the addition of the Venerable Bloodline, he was certain to elevate the Shen Family to a first-rate power in the Martial Kingdom.

The Venerable Bloodline began to merge with Shen Shaotian’s body. A dense web of light flowed across the surface of his skin, containing the mysteries of the heavens and the rules of the supreme Dao.

"He must succeed. He must!"

The old matriarch clenched her jaw, her eyes filled with an unsettling madness.

「About half an incense stick later.」

The Venerable Bloodline had completely fused with Shen Shaotian’s body. Thunder cracked as divine light erupted from him, and an ancient aura wafted out. Celestial phenomena manifested one after another.

Finally, the Venerable Bloodline and Shen Shaotian’s own bloodline became one.

"It hurts so much..."

Shen Daoxing lay on the floor, his lips deathly pale. His breath was faint, and his chest rose and fell like that of a dying beast in the wild.

The old matriarch stepped forward at that moment, her voice full of pleasant surprise. "Did the fusion succeed?"

"Yes."

Shen Shaotian glanced at his wrist, then at Shen Daoxing on the floor. "There’s still some residual essence of the Venerable Bloodline in his body. Extract all of it for me. It can aid my cultivation."

"Alright!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the old matriarch extracted the last dregs of the Venerable Bloodline’s essence from Shen Daoxing’s body and injected it all into Shen Shaotian.

"AHH—!"

Shen Daoxing could no longer hold it in, and another agonizing scream tore from his throat.

The sound sliced through the entire Shen Family estate.

BOOM!

Just then, a tremendous noise came from outside the hall.

"How dare you!"

A white-haired old man stormed in. Seeing the scene before him, he burned with fury. "You two scoundrels! How could you do something so utterly depraved!"

This was none other than the Patriarch of the Baiyun City’s Shen Clan, Shen Changqing.

He had only been out for a short while. He never imagined that Shen Daoxing’s Venerable Bloodline would be stolen.

The old matriarch shouted, "What audacity! I am your aunt, and Shaotian is the future Young Master of the Shen Family!"

"What Young Master? He is not worthy of the title!"

Shen Changqing roared, "Look at what you two have done! I’ll kill you both!"

At that moment, several Shen Family experts rushed in, having heard the commotion. One of them, an elder named Shen Lin, saw the situation and quickly shouted, "Shen Changqing, our Shen Family has already lost one Venerable Supreme. Are you going to make us lose another?"

Shen Lin was Shen Shaotian’s paternal uncle and had always been one of his staunchest supporters. Naturally, he sided with him now.

Shen Changqing roared, his voice cracking, "What bullshit Venerable Supreme is he!?"

With that, Shen Changqing charged toward Shen Shaotian.

"Insolent!"

The old matriarch’s brow furrowed, and she thrust her palm forward.

The three major realms for a Martial Artist are the Acupoint Opening Realm, the Profound Platform Realm, and the Grotto Heaven Realm. Each realm is further divided into nine minor layers.

The old matriarch was at the Third Layer of the Profound Platform Realm, while Shen Changqing was at the Second Layer.

They were separated by a single minor layer.

BOOM!

A terrifying Palm Seal descended from above, crashing down with an unstoppable, awe-inspiring might.

"Ugh!"

Shen Changqing threw a palm strike to counter, but he only felt a sharp pain in his chest before a Blood Arrow sprayed from his mouth.

Clearly, he was no match for the old matriarch and could not get justice for Shen Daoxing.

"Hmph!"

The old matriarch snorted, her eyes filled with ice. "Shen Changqing, do you truly believe that I wouldn’t dare to kill you?"

"Child, are you alright?"

Shen Changqing stumbled unsteadily to Shen Daoxing’s side.

"Cold... so cold..."

Shen Daoxing’s face was ashen, his voice extremely weak.

The old matriarch bellowed again, "Shen Changqing, I think you’ve gone senile! Shaotian is of our Shen Family’s Direct Lineage, while Shen Daoxing is nothing but a bastard you brought back! Instead of nurturing Shaotian, you dote on this bastard. It’s the height of foolishness."

"From this day forward, Shaotian will be the Venerable Supreme of our Shen Family, the Venerable Supreme of the Martial Kingdom."

Shen Changqing lowered his head and gave a bitter laugh. "The Venerable Bloodline!? The Shen Clan’s born Venerable Supreme?"

The old matriarch shook her head disdainfully. "I used to think you were someone of consequence, but now I see you’re nothing special..."

The surrounding Shen Family experts all had their brows tightly furrowed. Under the old matriarch’s intimidating presence, none of them dared to even breathe too loudly.

"It’s all my fault. It’s all my fault for not taking better care of Daoxing!"

Tears streamed down Shen Changqing’s aged face as he wailed, "You have ruined the Shen Clan! You have destroyed a truly immortal Venerable Supreme! You will all face retribution for this!"

The old matriarch looked at Shen Daoxing on the floor and said flatly, "Just kill him. Eradicate any future trouble."

A blood-red light glinted in Shen Changqing’s eyes. "If Daoxing dies, I will drag you all down with me."

The old matriarch studied Shen Changqing and pondered for a moment. "If you want to save this brat’s life, that can be arranged. You will resign as Patriarch and go to the mines as a slave. You are not to return to the clan without my command."

Sending Shen Changqing to the mines as a slave was a monumental humiliation. He would likely never have a chance to recover for the rest of his life.

Shen Changqing took a deep breath. "I agree to your terms. But you cannot harm Daoxing."

"I promise you."

The old matriarch’s face was expressionless, but inwardly, a cold sneer formed. ’He’s just a piece of trash whose bloodline has been extracted. Wouldn’t killing him be as easy as lifting a finger?’

Shen Shaotian excitedly felt the Venerable Bloodline coursing through him as his cultivation base grew continuously.

He shot up directly from the Sixth Layer of the Acupoint Opening Realm to the Ninth Layer.

...