《Sleeping Dragon Empire》


 Prologue

    Inside a small dimly lit cave, there were fifteen people. Their appearances varied from young geniuses in the prime of their life to old ancestors that were one foot in the grave. However, each of their gazes were more intimidating than the Heavens and the vitality they excluded was second to none.


    Besides the fifteen people, there was also a small formation circle in the middle of the cave. One of the old men with a burn scar covering half his face sighed and turned towards the young man with with silver hair, ¡°Li Wu, do you really have to take this risk? If you wish to surmount this Rebirth Calamity, holing up inside a fortified cave would suffice¡­. We are all even willing to become your Dao Protectors during this time.¡± Hearing the old man speak, everyone else besides the young man nodded their heads seriously.


    The young man looked at the burned old man and said, ¡°It is not that I hadn¡¯t thought about it but¡­.¡± He then let out a deep sigh before finishing his sentence with cold eyes, ¡°You all also know the Bloodline Power of the Imperial Li Clan of the NetherFlame Domain. For me not to succumb under their manipulation, I have to use nearly ninety pre cent of my Soul to suppress the Bloodline.¡± He then looked at the portal for a minute in silence before he slowly shook his head and said, ¡°Our Myriad Realms Domain is by no means weak but we aren¡¯t strong either. We are the middle of the crop amongst the countless Domain across the Endless Primordial Chaos.¡±


    He then took out a black book with blood red writing on it. He looked at the book with a bit of nostalgia and helplessness, ¡°Each Domain has their own Twelve Heavenly Registries. As long as a Domain holds these, they can never be truly conquered. However, should even one fall into the hands of another Domain, the Domain would fall.¡± Hearing this, the fourteen others let out a deep sigh. They looked at the book in the young man¡¯s hands and sighed deeply.


    The young man then let out a helpless smile as he continued, ¡°No matter how I have tried, I have not been able to get rid of this damn Registry. Every person that could potentially inherit it from me avoids me and the Registry as if we were a calamitous, maddened Divine Beast.¡± After the young man had said that, the other could also only helplessly shrug their shoulders. Another one of the fourteen, a beautiful young woman wearing a veil then sighed as a book similar to the young man¡¯s appeared in front of her.


    She looked at the book and said, ¡°Even though they are the most Supreme Treasures of the Domain, they are also the most Omnious Artefacts in the Domain. They choose their own Masters and even the Heavenly Emperor, who shoulders the Heavens Will, can¡¯t do anything about it.¡± After saying so, she glanced towards the middle aged man with a golden Qilin robe. The middle aged man sighed as well when he heard this.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    The young man shook his head and his gaze turned serious, ¡°The Imperial Li Clan has been trying to influence and manipulate me through the Bloodline Power for several dozens of millennia now. Using the Nether Flame Homunclus Soul and Physique, I have managed to suppress the Bloodline Power until now, however, once I go through this Rebirth Tribulation, I would lack the strength to suppress my Bloodline. So, all I can do is use ninety per cent of my Soul to seal the Bloodline and then cultivate form the beginning.¡±


    A murderous glint flashed in his eyes as he said with a cold smile, ¡°Once I pass through this Rebirth Tribulation, I will be able to undo the Seal and using the momentum, I will be able to reverse the influencing, if the Heavens are on my side, then I may even be able to break the Bloodline Suppression.¡± Hearing this, the rest of the people in the room turned dead serious. They understood very well how strong a Progenitor¡¯s influence was over their descendants.


    Should Li Wu be successful in breaking the Bloodline Suppression¡­. Not to mention that the Imperial Li Clan would be unable to influence him any more, if he wanted to, he could slaughter his way to the Imperial Throne Room and slay the Imperial Lord Li.


    The young man handed the Registry to the middle aged man in golden robes and said, ¡°Until I pass the Rebirth Tribulation, I leave the Registry in your care. Should I be unable to resist the influence of the Li Clan and succumb to their manipulations, do not hesitate to kill me.¡± After leaving behind these words, the young man took a deep breath as his aura suddenly changed.


    From the previous invincible aura, it started regressing. As his aura declined, his appearance started changing. In the blink of an eye, he turned into an old man and then his body turned to dust, returning to the vast earth. However, this was not the end as a small cocoon appeared where Li Wu had disappeared. Seeing the cocoon, an old man in white daoist robes stepped forward and gently took it.


    He looked at the rest and said, ¡°As we agreed before, I will take him to the Ancient Saints World and look over him for the first few years of his life. After he regains his memories, I will let him walk his own path.¡± The rest of the people in the room nodded their heads but couldn¡¯t help but look at the small cocoon with a sad look.


    Li Wu was without a doubt the strongest person in their Domain at the current times however, his path had been filled with the most thorns and his future was something that even the wisest of Sages could not predict.

 Chapter 1: Rebirth

    A Decade had passed since the day in the secret cave and Li Wu had grown from an infant to a dashing young man. Usually, people could start cultivating at five years old, however, the white robed man didn¡¯t give Li Wu any arts to cultivate but rather always told him, ¡°In the future, you will understand why.¡±


    Although this always annoyed the little Li Wu, he didn¡¯t bother the old man. Since he could remember, this old man had always looked after him, however, he had made it explicitly clear that he was not his Kin. The boy had tried to probe something out of him but the old man always gave him a smile and said, ¡°It will all become clear soon enough.¡± Since the old man never gave any clue, little Li Wu was also out of luck. Since he could not do anything about it, he spent his days wandering around the small city they were living in. Inside the city, there lived two Clans that always fought for supremacy.


    Although they didn¡¯t go to a full blown war, the younger generation was always competing and one expert after another always mysteriously disappeared. The enmity of the two Clans was known known even in the nearby cities. However, what puzzled everyone was that the old man had bought a mansion with a sizeable piece of land in the heart of the city, the exact land that the two Clans had always been fighting for.


    The two Clans had quieted down after the arrival of the old man and neither Clan seemed to even breathe too loudly in front of the old man. The origin of the man was a complete mystery. He just appeared one day with the infant Li Wu in his arms. Where he came from, what his cultivation level was or even what his name was, those things were all a mystery. However, one thing was certain, neither of the two Clans dared to lift even a finger against the old man or the young boy.


    Although the Ancient Bamboo City wasn¡¯t an Imperial City, it was a city that had been standing for countless years. No matter how one looked at it, for a ten year old, it was a shameful matter to not cultivate, however, no one dared to make fun of Li Wu.


    Although it was only a rumour, many people still felt a chill run down their spines when they heard it. The rumour had it that the Crown Prince of their Saint Brilliance Kingdom had at visited the city to meet the old man. However, he had not known when to act humble and it had ended with the Crown Prince being crippled. The Royal Family had been enraged by this and sent their Top Experts to bring in the old man, but with a single glance, these Top Experts had exploded into a bloody mist. After that encounter, the man had gone directly to the Imperial City and after that, the King had released a Decree that anyone that dared to scheme against the old man, should be prepared to face the entire Kingdom.


    This statement had baffled many people but no one dared to question the Decree. In their eyes, the Saint Brilliance Kingdom was a superpower that could wipe their entire Bloodline off the face of the world with a sweep of their hand. Although everyone were puzzled to see the young Li Wu not cultivating, none of them dared to say anything. Everyone would always throw peculiar and questioning glances at him but no one dared to make it obvious.


    Like this, Li Wu-s life had been full of laughter and happiness. However, one day, just as he was planning to go explore around the City again, his steps suddenly stopped at the gate of the Mansion. His escorting guards were all startled but before any of them could ask if everything was okay, Li Wu suddenly grabbed his head with both of his hands and released the most soul piercing scream that silenced the entire city.


    At the same moment the scream started, the old man was already there and had established a protective ward around him. Following the scream, all of the top experts of the City rushed to the mansion only to be met with the old man¡¯s cold gaze. It was obvious without a word that should any one of them step even half an inch closer, they would die without a corpse. As cold sweat started running down their backs, the old man withdrew an ancient looking sword from his Spacial Ring as he stared at the young Li Wu inside the ward with ice cold eyes.


    Everyone were clueless as to why this unfathomably strong old man was looking at the young boy as though he was facing the strongest nemesis in his life. When the young Li Wu finally stopped screaming, his hands limply fell to the side as he looked at the sky with lifeless eyes. Time seemed to stop as the old man¡¯s aura began to grow. The boy¡¯s eyes suddenly changed into a profound and complex gaze as he looked at the old man.


    The old man said in a freezing voice, ¡°The Heavens my fall but¡­.¡± As he intentionally ended the sentence there, his gaze was as cold as ice as he look at Li Wu. Li Wu stood up and looked at the old man with a cold smile, ¡°The Twelve Judges will shoulder it.¡± Hearing this, the old man sighed heavily in relief as he dispelled the ward. With a single glance at the young Li Wu, all of the top experts of the city felt cold sweat run down their backs. That gaze was no longer that of the innocent young boy that always ran around the city. His gaze now¡­.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    It contained a myriad of things but what people recognized the most was that his gaze now contained the coldness they had never seen before. His gaze alone was domineering enough to make them all gulp. If Gods blocked his path, he would slay Gods, should it be a Devil, he would slaughter the Devil.


    ¡°This brat¡­. He is not of this world.¡± It was unknown who had said it but all of the experts present could not help but nod inwardly at this statement. The old man then glanced at them and waved his sleeve. Seeing this, the experts immediately understood that this was their signal to scram and all of them returned to their dwellings. The two looked at each other for a moment before the old man threw Li Wu a black ring. This was Li Wu¡¯s Cosmic Ring that he had entrusted to the old man before.


    Li Wu accepted the ring and just as he put the ring on his finger, the old man said, ¡°My part of the promise is done. I will now return to the Sleeping Dragon World. I await the day you march back up there with your back straight.¡± Li Wu gave a wide smile as he said, ¡°I have passed the biggest hurdle, awakening my memories, now all that remains is to once again climb over a mountain of corpses to the top.¡± Hearing this, the old man gave a slight nod before he slowly rose up and waved his hand.


    An earth shattering vortex appeared in the sky and the old man gave Li Wu one last look as he said, ¡°We shall await for your return. Our Myriad Realms Domain has been too dormant recently¡­. The other Domains seemed to have started to think that our Domain has become a pushover.¡± Li Wu gave a nod and said nonchalantly, ¡°Even a paper tiger would dare to bear his fangs in front of a dying lion. Although our Domain can¡¯t be counted as one of the strongest, we are no dying lion either.¡± Hearing this, the old man let out a chuckle and said, ¡°Well said, we are waiting for you at the top old friend.¡± With that the old man flew into the vortex and the vortex slowly closed.


    When the Vortex had completely closed, Li Wu looked at the spot for a moment before he turned around and walked inside. Since this event had alarmed the entire mansion, all of the servants and guards were gathered in the courtyard. As their gazes followed the completely changed Li Wu, Li Wu gave a deep sigh and said, ¡°From today onwards, I will be the Master of this Mansion. If anyone wants to leave, they are free to do so.¡± Hearing this, all the servants looked at each other in puzzlement and the Head Steward finally said, ¡°We have watched Young Master Li grow since before Young Master could speak. Young Master has always been kind to us and Old Master had taken all of us in, not caring one bit about our backgrounds. We are deeply in debt of the Li Clan.¡± Hearing this, Li Wu gave a smile and said, ¡°Everything will stay the same as before, however, don¡¯t think that because Da Hui left, we are with no means to hold this ground.¡± Hearing this, all of the servants put on a wry smile. Actually, none of these servants were weak.


    The guards were all at the Core Formation Realm and the Captains were at the Peak of the Realm. The Commander of the Guard was at the Early Nascent Soul stage, the same stage as the Head Steward. Inside a Mortal World like the Ancient Saints World, Nascent Soul level Experts were the highest level Experts. Once one passed the Mortal Tribulation and ascended to the Immortal Realm, they would have to leave this world. Mortal Worlds could not withstand the presence of an Immortal.


    However, as with everything, there are always exceptions. By using certain Artefacts or Arts, one can seal their cultivation to the Peak of the Nascent Soul Realm and descend to the Mortal Worlds. However, since they couldn¡¯t cultivate this way, people rarely used this method. This was typically only used when someone was hiding from enemies or when someone at the end of his lifespan with no prospects of advancing his or her cultivation sealed their real cultivation and descend to a Mortal World to either find enlightenment or look after a branch of their Clan or Sect.


    Besides these invincible existences who have travelled further on the path of cultivating, Nascent Soul Experts were the Ancestor level people in Mortal Worlds. These two, the Guards Commander and the Head Steward were both people that were on the level of Top Experts in this Ancient Saints World.


    No matter which Sect or Clan would welcome them with open arms to be their Ancestors. Golden Core Realm Experts were the Elites of the World and they were Elder level characters across all of the Mortal Worlds. Li Wu¡¯s Mansion had nearly a thousand people as servants and guard. Besides the two Nascent Soul Experts, two thirds of the rest were all at the Golden Core Realm. No matter which Ancient Sect or Clan saw this line up, they would be extremely reluctant to start a feud with this Mansion.


    The whole Kingdom was too focused on the old man with unfathomable cultivation and they actually forgot to check the strength of the rest of the people in the mansion. Now that the old man had left, the Mansion closed it¡¯s doors for a while until the glamour outside would die down a bit. The protective formations on the Mansion were personally established by Da Hui, a person that had reached the highest levels of cultivation in the Domain. Unless it was someone that had managed to pass the second, Earth Tribulation, they would be unable to even as much as to scratch these protective formations.


    A week passed by since Da Hui had ascended to the higher Realms. Li Wu was talking with the two Nascent Soul Experts of the Mansion about the Mansions future and what they were going to do from now on.


    Suddenly, their conversation was cut short when suddenly, a huge boom resounded on their Front Gate. Hearing this, Li Wu¡¯s face darkened as a shout followed, ¡°Brat of the Li Clan, get out here right now.¡±

 Chapter 2: Reaping old Karma

    Hearing this shout, both the Commander, Shi Long¡¯s and the Head Stewards Zhao Zan¡¯s faces fell. With a simple sweep of their Divine Sense, they could see that the people that were shouting outside belonged to the two Clans, Xiao Clan and Yin Clan.


    From the look of things, they had brought over their entire Clans. With this line up surrounding the Mansion, it didn¡¯t require a seer to understand what they wanted to do. The both of them looked at Li Wu for the order. Li Wu stood up and started leading the way to the gate.


    The two Nascent Soul Experts followed half a step behind in a very respectful manner. When they reached the gate, they were greeted by the entire lined up Guard. Each of them were adorning the same pitch black armour and were looking towards the gate with a cold gaze. When Li Wu arrived, they all saluted him by banging their right arm on their heart in unison.


    Li Wu nodded his head and strode in front of the gate, with the two experts in tow. With a simple push, he opened the gate. Waiting him on the other side were two middle aged men. The one of the two said, ¡°Hand over the Ancient Bamboo Mansion and scram before we crush you.¡± Hearing this, Li Wu furrowed his brows. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of Da Hui¡¯s revenge?¡± The man then answered with a wide grin, ¡°The old man left this World. No matter what, to descend for a simple Mansion¡­.¡± Hearing this, Li Wu let out a deep sigh. How could he not see who was really behind this? Da Hui had gone and extorted the Royal Decree from the King himself, now that he was gone, what better way to wash away this humiliation than to take revenge on him, the person he left behind.


    These two Clans had been sent as the probing party. If they could take this Mansion without any problems, then that meant that the old man truly left and Li Wu was on his own. If the Da Hui hadn¡¯t really left then they could say that these two were acting on their own volition. Li Wu simply turned around and said, ¡°Kill them all, leave no chicken or dog alive.¡±


    Hearing this grim order, the Guards simply answered in unison, ¡°Yes Young Master!¡± before they all released their Golden Core Realm Cultivation and flew out. Realizing the true cultivation of the six hundred Guards, the two Clan Master¡¯s pupils dilated as their heads flew up not even a second later. The Guards were extremely swift and before Li Wu could even walk the twenty meters back inside the Mansion, the Guards had already locked down the entire City.


    The two Nascent Soul Experts followed behind Li Wu and followed him back inside. In less than an hour, the two Clans had been razed to the ground with not even a chicken or dog being left alive. All of their treasures had been brought back to the Ancient Bamboo Mansion. All of the other citizens of the Ancient Bamboo City felt their legs give out as they stared at the two Clans former Mansions. No one dared to believe that in less than an hour, two great Clans that had fought for supremacy in this City for generations, had been reduced to nothing more than rubble.


    The City Lord had been completely dumbstruck by the level of the Guards. At the same time, a chill crawled up his spine as he thought to himself, ¡°If simple Guards are at the Golden Core Realm, and Captains are at the Peak of the Realm, does that mean that the Commander is a Nascent Soul Expert?¡± As this thought passed his mind, he didn¡¯t waste a second before he hurriedly reported this to the King. If this was true, then this could turn extremely bloody. Their Kingdom was a small one that had only a single Ancestor on the Nascent Soul Level.


    The rest of the experts and Ancestors of the Clans were at most Supreme Core Formation Experts. However, as his thoughts progressed, his feet suddenly froze. He had been watching the Mansion like a hawk and when Li Wu walked out, the feeling that the Head Steward gave was no weaker than the feeling the Commander gave him. If the Commander was a Nascent Soul Expert, then was the Head Steward one as well? Once this question entered his mind, his mind became blank as he stood there frozen. Suddenly, he took a deep breath and said to his steward, ¡°Pack up all of our valuables and have the Mansion prepare to move.¡±


    The Steward was surprised as he asked with round eyes, ¡°May I ask why Sir?¡± The man looked at him seriously and said, ¡°If I am not mistaken then provoking the Ancient Bamboo Mansion will mean the downfall of the Kingdom. Make preparations to leave, should the Royal Family decide to continue provoking the Mansion, then our Zhi Clan Members are not going to follow them to the Yellow Springs.¡± Hearing this, the Steward¡¯s mind was blank for a second before the man accepted the order and started making preparations to leave.


    However, the City Lord didn¡¯t get far before a ten year old child with an indecipherable gaze stood in front of him. Behind him stood two middle aged men with a cold gaze. The City Lord froze for a moment but immediately recovered himself and cupped his hands in greeting, ¡°Young Master Li, what a pleasant surprise.¡± Then with a smile he asked, ¡°For what does this insignificant official deserve the visit of Young Master Li?¡± Li Wu gave him a smile and said, ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know your schemes Zhi Fang. Let me ask you this instead, with the strength of the old men buried below this Mansion, why are you serving such a weak Royal Family?¡± Hearing this, Zhi Fang¡¯s eyes narrowed as he said with a smile, ¡°This lowly one is afraid that this minor official doesn¡¯t understand what Young Master Li is talking about.¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Li Wu then looked outside the window and said with a distant gaze, ¡°Nearly ten thousand years ago, in a certain Earth Realm, a certain Clan lived in seclusion from the World. However, across the Thousand Earth Realms, there was no one that didn¡¯t know the illustrious name of the Night Walker King¡¯s Zhi Clan.¡±


    After saying this, he turned his gaze back to the man in front of him and said, ¡°However, five thousand years ago, the Clan was met with a Calamity when a certain Prince from a Heaven Realm Clan took a fancy to the First Young Miss of the Zhi Clan.¡± Li Wu became quiet after speaking this far and gave a cold smile to the man. Zhi Fang however had dropped his sly smile and looked at Li Wu with a cold gaze.


    Li Wu then gestured for them to move to a more private room and Zhi Fang lead the way to their Mansions Secret Room. Inside this room, Li Wu and his two escorts were immediately surrounded by hundreds of men dressed in all black wearing different masks covering their faces. All of their cultivations were at the Peak of the Core Formation Realm and nearly a dozen Auras were no weaker than the two Nascent Soul Experts behind Li Wu. Seeing this, Shi Long¡¯s and Zhao Zan¡¯s face fell, however, Li Wu still had the same smile on his face. Just as Zhi Fang was about to say something, an ancient voice echoed out underground, ¡°Stand down.¡±


    Hearing this voice, Li Wu¡¯s eyes flashed and he looked towards the deepest parts of the room. Suddenly, three silhouettes appeared in everyone¡¯s vision and Zhi Fang gave a deep bow with cupped hands and said, ¡°Ancestors.¡± The three men ignored him and walked right in front of Li Wu. They dropped onto one knee and cupped their hands, ¡°Benefactor.¡± Seeing this, all of the Zhi Clan¡¯s assassins pupils turned to the size of pin needles.


    Their hearts begun thumping as they knew that there was only on person they would give this sort of respect. They were all core members of the Zhi Clan and they knew their Clans roots and their Clan¡¯s Calamity. Li Wu nodded gently and said solemnly, ¡°You may rise.¡± Hearing this, the three men stood up and looked at Li Wu. Li Wu then sighed deeply and said, ¡°Are you guys willing to follow me?¡± Hearing this, silence pervaded the room.


    The three Ancestors looked at each other and one of them said, ¡°Pardon my rudeness Benefactor but as a person that stood at the Apex of the Domain with unfathomable cultivation, what can our lowly Clan do for Benefactor?¡± Hearing this, no one thought that he was being too humble. Li Wu¡¯s gaze turned distant as he said, ¡°You should know that I am currently undergoing the Rebirth Tribulation.¡± The old man nodded his head and Li Wu continued, ¡°Until now, I have always been been a vagrant cultivator without a Sect or a Clan to back me up. Until now, my own personal strength had been enough to eclipse everything that came my way.¡±


    He took a breath as he continued, ¡°However, now things are different. Once I pass this Tribulation, our Domain will go to war. No matter how much confidence I have in myself, I alone can¡¯t do everything.¡± Hearing this, the entire room was startled. Shi Long and Zhao Zan looked at each other and then Zhi Fang. Li Wu then said, ¡°So, as I journey back to the top, I will build my own backing. A backing that no one will dare to underestimate.¡±


    He then turned his gaze back to the three men and said, ¡°Five thousand years ago, I sowed Karma by saving your branch and helping it hide in this Mortal World. Now, I am reaping Karma by asking you guys to trust your lives to me and follow me to the Apex. Follow me and no one will dare to even look a your clan with a low brow.¡± Hearing this, the blood of everyone in the Room started boiling. Both the Shi Clan and the Zhao Clan were the same as the Zhi Clan.


    Long ago, due to one reason or another, their Clan had faced a Calamity. The one that had saved their Clans from extinction was Li Wu. Li Wu then added two sentences, ¡°If you follow me, you will never have to be afraid of anyone threatening to exterminate you. In the future, you can even take revenge against the Heavenly Long Clan for destroying your Clan that day.¡± No matter who, if they heard that someone wanted to exterminate the Heavenly Long Clan of the Heaven Realm, they would think that the person was insane.


    However, none of the people in this room thought so. They knew who Li Wu really was, a person that was considered as the strongest in the Realm before he underwent this Tribulation. If there was anyone that was qualified to say these things, it was him. However, he had one more non official title given to him by the Major Powers of the Domain, ¡°One Man Army¡±.


    This non official title was given to him because no matter who or what he faced, he always stormed in alone and even though he had many friends, he never asked for help. There had been times when others had gathered their forces and rushed to his aid only to be sent away by him.


    Now, a person like that was building a force of his own, how could these people not be excited at the thought of belonging to this force.


    Li Wu then said, ¡°Since all those geezer are pushing me to create a force, I will build the strongest Imperial Clan this Domain has ever seen.¡±