Chapter 51: Winged Lightning Dragon
Ning'Er exited the Heavenly Sacred Border after keeping the rusty sword into her interspatial ring in case anyone recognised what she was bringing out although she suspected no one had gone that deep inside to even catch a glimpse of the altar containing the sword for many decades. Most likely, only the upper echelons of Glory City's most powerful experts would have even known about it, and even so, few would have risked facing the deadly aura that the Thunder God's Meteorite Sword emitted even from a distance.
Ye Sheng walked up to her excitedly, "You've passed the Heavenly Sacred Border test! I was getting worried after you didn't come up for so many days."
She bowed her head to the man in front of her, "Vice Principal Ye Sheng, thank you for giving me the opportunity to take the test. I was fortunate to be able to pass."
He laughed out loud, "Good, good! I like that the younger generation still know how to be humble even in the face of such an achievement! Although it's a formality at this point, we will hold a ceremony soon to award you the recognition of one who has passed since it's so rare for someone to do so. It's time for Glory City to see your potential!"
Ning'Er thought for a moment and decided not to ask him to keep it a secret. She knew that too much attention would draw the focus of the Dark Guild but as she was already at Black Gold Rank, she felt like she was more prepared to put herself on the front line and test the response of her enemies. With her demon spirit, she could at the very least run away and escape from even an early Legend Rank expert unless that expert's demon beast also specialised in speed.
Heading out from the Holy Orchid Institute, she made preparations to visit her grandfather's village. Now that she had sufficient strength, it was finally time to have a few words with a dragon!
…..
By the time she arrived at her grandfather's home, it was almost time for dinner. She had decided to fly over at a leisurely pace to save the time from travelling on the ground by horse. The guards recognised her as the genius of the Winged Dragon Family and promptly let her into the home. She noted far more layers of guard duty after what had happened.
She walked into the dining hall that was dark except for a candle in the middle of the table. "Grandpa Xiao! Why are you sitting in the dark? I've brought your favourite snack from the city."
She heard his hoarse voice, "Ning'Er? It's so good that you visit." He proceeded to light up the lamps around the hall. "Sorry, making the dining hall brightly lit up in the evening always makes me think of the times when your...your grandma...I miss her so much."
She was relieved to see that his face had recovered a lot of its old complexion. "Did you use up all the Azure Water? How are you feeling, grandpa?"
He smiled as he looked at her, "I'm much better because of you. I've used up all the Azure Water and have largely removed most of the poison. However..."
He pulled the neckline of his shirt downwards and showed a black spot around his heart that looked like the size of a thumb print. "The remaining poison has collected around my heart and I'm unable to resolve this final trouble. Don't worry though, my life is no longer at risk just that I can sense that my cultivation will be unable to regain its old strength because it's being held back by the last, stubborn seed of poison. I'm only able to activate strength equal to around early Black Gold Rank right now..."
Ning'Er's eyes glowed with joy. "I'm so thankful that your life is no longer being threatened. I don't know what I'd do if...I lost you too." Her face turned serious. "In fact, the reason I came back here is because it's time to meet this...benefactor of our clan."
His jaw dropped in disbelief, "What do you mean? Ning'Er...you've reached Black Gold Rank?"
"Grandpa, don't look at me like that. I had a fortuitous encounter in the Heavenly Sacred Border and luckily managed to break the final barrier to reach Black Gold." she replied.
He gasped in further surprise, "Now you've even passed the Heavenly Sacred Border test too??!" He sat back in his chair completely dazed, muttering to himself, "What's going on with the younger generation nowadays...are we feeding them something different..."
When he finally managed to calm down, he sat forward again and looked straight at her, "Are you sure you want to take the risk that I took by meeting that dragon? What if you end up injured or poisoned the way I was? If you remember I was already at 5 Star Black Gold Rank when I made the ill-fated choice back then. You've only just broken through. How can I allow you to take a risk like that?"
"Don't worry, grandpa. If you could help to describe your experiences with the dragon, and the test you had to take, it would help me to understand whether I have the capabilities to proceed or not!" she declared confidently.
"The Winged Lightning Dragon is a draconic lineage known for their fighting ability using their unsurpassed speed. The proud dragon will only test for one thing - combat! Fortunately, it will not fight itself because there's no way even a legend ranked demon spiritualist could compete with a true legend ranked dragon! Instead, it has a special ability to send a lightning clone with similar abilities to itself but with a cultivation base at the peak of Black Gold Rank." Grandpa Xiao explained gravely.
A Black Gold Ranked dragon! No wonder so few had been able to pass its test. Even a regular Legend Rank demon spiritualist would find it a challenge to defeat this clone. Ning'Er began to wonder if she could face such an opponent at this point of time.
"Who has passed the test before?" she asked.
"Only the founder of our Winged Dragon Family!" came the immediate response. "You're allowed to use any strategy or tactic you want. The only requirement is that you take the test alone."
Ning'Er thought long and hard about whether to take this risk in front of her. Since her previous life, she had never shrunk away in fear but she also understood the wisdom of strategic retreats and patience. She currently had an ancient divine weapon and Black Gold Ranked armour, and she had confidence in the battle prowess of her Panterran demon spirit. At the same time, she wanted to resolve the last of the stubborn poison in her grandfather's body.
"Grandpa, I'll do it."
…..
She hiked through the mountains behind the village through a path that was specially marked out by the Winged Dragon Family. Only those of this bloodline could activate their unique aura and find glowing runes subtly carved into the rock walls to point the way. The journey took three days before she reached the waterfall which hid the cave entrance behind the sheet of thunderous water that crashed down from two hundred feet above.
If she didn't enter properly, the waterfall would press her down towards the pool below with incredible pressure. Not taking any chances, she transformed into her Panterran form and explored the slippery rocks at the side of the falling water to look for a way through from the side but there was no such luck. She would have to test out the same method as she had used the in the Heavenly Sacred Border.
She first sent out a test blast of black lightning to see its effect on the falling water. The electricity reacted with the water to blast open a small, round gap that merely lasted half a second before closing again. With the Panterran's speed, this was more than sufficient if she timed it just right. She leaped towards the middle of the waterfall, waiting until the last moment to release a fully charged sphere of energy to blast open the sliver of window for the Panterran to glide through, and then landed nimbly on the other side.
As her grandfather had told her, there was a large cave behind that she would have to travel through for half a day downwards before she would meet the benefactor of their clan. She walked through the rocky tunnels into the depth's of the dragon's cave and saw that the texture of the walls was changing to a shiny sheen, as though the walls hid many precious gems.
Finally, she came to an opening leading to a massive cavern. She held her breath as she saw that every pillar, wall, ceiling, stalactite and stalagmite was made of a shimmering, white material. It was completely dazzling and right in the middle of it was a large pool that she could sense was filled with Azure Water! The entire cavern was filled with all sorts of treasure that the dragon had collected over centuries and next to the pond, she could see a massive silver beast lying down, apparently sleeping.
Although it was just resting there with deep breaths shown in the slow rising and lowering of its torso, the aura that a true dragon emitted was even more powerful than the murderous aura she had felt from the Thunder God's Meteorite Sword. The dragon's aura didn't flow over in waves to try to overwhelm her in the same way, but the pressure she felt in her soul from being in the presence of such an ancient, high tier beast almost felt like her heart was being crushed slowly.
As she approached tentatively, trying hard to breathe as quietly as possible, a deep, gravelly voice resounded across the cavern majestically. "Which human dares intrude on my lair? It's been a long time since anyone visited me? I sincerely hope you're from the only bloodline I've approved to approach me. If not, it's been awhile since I've tasted human flesh and I wouldn't mind a snack even though you're just a tiny, little thing that won't fill me up."
Ning'Er knelt deeply on one knee. "Xiao Ning'Er from the Winged Dragon Family pays her respects to the Great Benefactor of our clan!"
The beast lifted its head lazily to look more carefully at her. "Hmmm? You must not be more than fifteen years old. What joke is this that your family is sending me children and weaklings? I'm starting to believe that I made a mistake in giving your ancestor my approval!"
"Great Benefactor, I am deeply sorry that I came while I was still this weak. I came with an urgent need. Forty years ago, a man known as the Silver Flash, came to take your test." she explained.
"Oh? Yes, that was the last time anyone visited me. What a shame, he actually had excellent potential and had reached 5 Star Black Gold Rank. I had placed so much expectation that he would only be the second person to pass my test but then he failed me. What a disappointment! If I recall, he got poisoned by my clone and by now, should have succumbed to it..." The dragon mused, half to himself.
"The Silver Flash is...my grandfather. He has managed to fight on despite the poison destroying his body all these years until today. I'm here to humble request for some Azure Water to bring back to him so that he can live on." Ning'Er's voice could not hide her earnest desperation to help her grandfather.
"Ahhh, the poison back then was to give him motivation to raise another powerful genius from the ranks of your family. Looks like he has once again failed and disappointed me. Instead, he thought that sending his little granddaughter would move my heart?" He burst out into booming laughter that bounced off the walls, hurting her ears as her ear drums vibrated to the thunderous noise. "He must not know much about dragons!"
From her kneeling position, Ning'Er lifted her face and looked straight at the terrifying beast in front of her. "Great Benefactor, I'm not here to move your heart with sentiment."
Her eyes flashed with silver lightning as she took on a resolute expression.
"I'm here to pass your test!"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
AerynSun
AerynSun Three days in a row. I'm on a roll! :)
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