Chapter 586: Dragon Wave

"Bang!"

Ye Yuan fell to the ground once again; this was already his fourth failure.

In between, he had jolted his wounds several times, spitting out mouthfuls of blood. His face grew paler and paler, his breath weaker and weaker, but he still stubbornly tried to stand up again.

"Ah!"

Ye Yuan roared with all his might.

This time, he finally stood up!

But his legs had no strength left. As soon as he steadied himself, his feet gave way, and he nearly fell again.

Staggering several steps, Ye Yuan barely managed to stabilize himself.

"Huff... huff..."

Ye Yuan panted incessantly, utterly exhausted. His body swayed continuously, yet he never collapsed.

Seeing this, the black-clad man was finally moved.

If before he had purely appreciated Ye Yuan as a genius, now he was filled with admiration for him.

He had long seen that Ye Yuan had reached his limit; standing up was entirely sustained by a single breath of will.

Without great perseverance, this would be impossible!

The black-clad man came before Ye Yuan and said, "Boy, you will surely become a figure of earth-shattering importance. To have waited for you is not in vain for my fifty thousand years of vigil!"

Ye Yuan did not heed him, still lowering his head and swaying unsteadily.

"Hmm?"

The black-clad man suddenly sensed something wrong. Looking closely, he saw that Ye Yuan's eyes were tightly shut—he had already fainted.

Seeing this, the black-clad man let out a long sigh. With a single gesture, a beam of light shone down from the air, enveloping Ye Yuan.

The aura on Ye Yuan's body was already very faint; if not treated, he would truly die!

But the black-clad man truly could not imagine what willpower had driven Ye Yuan to stand up.

The black-clad man looked at Ye Yuan within the halo, his expression complex.

How many years had it been since his emotions had been so stirred?

He had waited in this Haotian Tower for fifty thousand years. Yet not a single one had truly caught his eye.

Several thousand years ago, when that youth named Li Fantian appeared before him, he had finally brightened his eyes.

But Li Fantian ultimately failed to pass the eighth floor, which had left him regretful for a long time.

It was not until Ye Yuan appeared that he was truly dazzled.

In fact, during the first three floors, the black-clad man did not think Ye Yuan was much stronger than Li Fantian. But when Ye Yuan passed perfectly a second time, the black-clad man finally realized Ye Yuan's uniqueness.

Especially when Ye Yuan refined the dragon blood, which gave him a tremendous shock.

And now, the black-clad man was filled with admiration for this youth.

With talent, perseverance, and opportunity, Ye Yuan possessed almost all the qualities to become a strong man.

More importantly, he saw the shadow of that person in Ye Yuan.

Stubborn, with an indomitable spirit!

Only at this moment did the black-clad man understand the intention of the Haotian Tower's master in setting up the ninth floor!

The ninth floor tested not only comprehension but also one's character.

...

Ye Yuan slowly opened his eyes and found himself in an unknown space.

"You're awake? This is the central space of the Haotian Tower. You have successfully passed the ninth floor." An aged voice said.

Ye Yuan's gaze gradually focused, and at the end of his sight was a withered old man.

"Are you... the black-clad man?" Ye Yuan hesitated for a moment, then asked.

The old man's appearance was terrifying; the wrinkles on his face were almost all twisted together, looking very ferocious.

"I am Long Teng."

Ye Yuan's expression changed, and he asked, "Senior, are you from the dragon clan?"

Long Teng showed a surprised look, then suddenly understood: "You are indeed clever, boy. But... I have never considered myself a member of the dragon clan."

Ye Yuan smiled and said, "Senior's dragon clan martial arts are superb, and you bear the surname Long. If I couldn't guess that, I would be too stupid!"

Many people have the surname Long, but one who could cultivate a heaven-defying martial art like the Coiling Dragon Heaven-Splitting Palm to such a level was definitely no ordinary person.

The dragon clan in the Divine Realm was a very powerful race, and Ye Yuan naturally thought of them.

But from Long Teng's words, he could guess that his relationship with the dragon clan was probably not simple.

Although curious, Ye Yuan did not intend to ask rashly; it would be very taboo.

"Good boy, I'm very curious: how exactly did you comprehend the Coiling Dragon Heaven-Splitting Palm?"

During Ye Yuan's coma, Long Teng had been puzzling over this question.

After all, he had spent thousands of years on this martial art.

Yet Ye Yuan had grasped it in just a few short days.

And he knew that Ye Yuan had not practiced the palm technique at all; he had been meditating on the eighth floor the whole time.

This was too strange!

Ye Yuan smiled and said, "The last three floors were all guarded by the Coiling Dragon Heaven-Splitting Palm, and Senior Long was very deliberate in his moves, as if intentionally letting me see clearly. So the key to passing the ninth floor could only lie in this Coiling Dragon Heaven-Splitting Palm."

Given Long Teng's strength, the Coiling Dragon Heaven-Splitting Palm at the seventh and eighth floors was at a certain level.

Hearing Ye Yuan's words, Long Teng nodded slightly and said, "You have a keen mind, boy. But these past few days, I saw you meditating all the time, never practicing."

Ye Yuan smiled and pointed to his head, saying, "All the practice was here!"

Seeing Long Teng's puzzled look, Ye Yuan continued, "Actually, after I found the method to mobilize the true dragon power, I kept thinking about how to master the Coiling Dragon Heaven-Splitting Palm. Later, I discovered that when Senior made his moves, he would emit a peculiar wave at specific moments. So I guessed that the key to this palm technique lay there. And these days of seclusion were spent searching for that wave."

Long Teng's gaze sharpened, and he said in surprise, "You... you could actually perceive the Dragon Wave?"

"So that's called the Dragon Wave? Very fitting!" Ye Yuan smiled.

Long Teng took a deep breath and said, "All dragon clan martial arts are emitted through the Dragon Wave. Only the vibration frequency of the Dragon Wave differs depending on the strength of the technique. The Coiling Dragon Heaven-Splitting Palm is also a very powerful technique among the dragon clan, and its Dragon Wave intensity has reached the Heaven grade. You used the Dragon Wave for the first time, yet you were infinitely close to the Heaven grade!"

These words stunned Ye Yuan: "Uh... is that very difficult?"

Hearing this, Long Teng's expression froze, and the words he was about to say were choked back.

Seeing Long Teng's already twisted face become even more twisted, Ye Yuan realized that this seemed quite difficult.

"Do you know how many years it took me to cultivate the Dragon Wave to the Heaven grade?" Long Teng said with a dark face.

Ye Yuan replied weakly, "Five years?"

Long Teng choked again, almost losing his breath.

After a long while, he came back to his senses and stared at Ye Yuan, saying, "A hundred years!"