Little Black who had been in slumber for months, finally opened his blue eyes, as a horrifying aura erupted from his body.

The black dragon let out a roar, that completely shocked Shun Long who had just sent his spiritual strength inside the 'Stone of TIme'.

Little Black was delighted when he saw Shun Long again, and with an excited tone he said

''Master!''

Shun Long smiled when he saw the black dragon finally waking up, but a shocked expression quickly filled his face, when he sensed Little Black's aura

''Peak of rank 5''

Before Little Black had fallen asleep, he was still at the peak of rank 4, but now, in just a few months, his cultivation had grown all the way to the peak of rank 5, the same level as the black panther.

Seeing the shocked expression on Shun Long's face, Little Black seemed to have instantly understood Shun Long's thoughts as he started explaining

''Master, I was also stunned. As soon as I started my breakthrough to rank 5, I could feel my soul touching upon some weird power inside me. It was probably because we dragons, are usually born above the 5th rank, so our soul doesn't need to go through the primary evolution that normal magic beasts have to experience.

I don't know how long I slept for, but I could feel that I was inside a very, very long dream, and as soon as I woke up, my strength had already reached the peak of rank 5''

After listening to everything that Little Black said, Shun Long was speechless for a moment.

The dragons were indeed kings among other magic beasts.

After taking a deep breath, Shun Long smiled at the black dragon in front of him, as he then started explaining everything that had happened in the last 4 months, ever since little Black had fallen asleep while they were inside the 'Vermilion realm'.

From defeating Cui Guoliang and listening to his request, as well as getting the black panther and getting together with Liu Mei... all the way to where he was just now.

Liu Mei was stunned when she saw Shun Long suddenly falling in a daze, and didn't know what she should do.

The black panther however, could sense that its master was still alright, as it continued towards the western part of the city.

At the same time that Shun Long was traveling towards the House of Rankings, in a large building at the east of the Heaven's Dome city, the spiky-haired rank 2 silver grade alchemist Yao Huang, was kneeling in front of a red-haired woman who seemed to be in her middle 30s.

Her oval-shaped face and her beautiful red-hair, along with her stunning body, gave people a feeling of indescribable allure. However, if one took a look at her cold red eyes, they would immediately feel shivers all over their body.

The woman looked at Yao Huang who was kneeling in front of her with an icy look as she heard his report.

Yao Huang had just rushed over from the 'Alchemists' Guild', to report that a very young rank 3 silver grade alchemist had appeared from the examination tests that he was responsible for.

...

Seeing that the woman in front of him wasn't speaking, Yao Huang knew that she was angry that he hadn't managed to rope in that young man to the Blood Moon sect.

The red-haired woman's hands were supporting her chin, as she stared at Yao Huang for 10 minutes without uttering a single word.

Every minute felt like a day to Yao Huang, who now had sweat dripping from his forehead, under the stifling atmosphere that had permeated the room.

The rank 2 silver grade alchemist felt that he couldn't take it anymore, and just as he was about to raise his head slightly, a cold, emotionless voice then sounded in his ears

''Yao Huang, you have been working for our Blood Moon sect for 5 years, and yet, you have only managed to bring useless trashes to me. Aside from a handful rank 1 silver grade alchemists, the rest were all bronze grade worms. I can forget about all your mistakes in the past... however, THE ONE TIME that a rank 3 silver grade alchemist appeared, you still failed to rope him in!

What use do you have to me any longer? What should I say when the other Elders ask me about your progress?

Should I tell them that within 5 years, you only brought a handful of rank 1 silver-grade alchemists?''

Yao Huang's face had an ugly look when he heard these words.

Although he hadn't worked as hard as he could for the Blood Moon sect, he also didn't want the 'Alchemists' Guild' to find out what he was doing.

However, he was still dissatisfied with the red-haired woman's behavior.

Taking a deep breath, his eyes stared at the woman in front of him, as he said with an aggrieved look

''Elder Zhong, I have done everything that I can so far. It's not easy to recruit a rank 3 silver grade alchemist from the 'Alchemist's Guild'. The higher-ups will immediately learn of it, and do everything that they can to keep such a person in the guild. Of course, if we approach this person secretly, then we may still have a chance!''

The red-haired woman didn't respond to Yao Huang, as she fell into deep thought.

At the same time, more than half an hour had passed while Shun Long and Liu Mei were touring through the western part of the city. Shun Long had just finished narrating the most important parts of the last months to the curious little Black, when the 'Silver-winged panther king' had arrived in front of a huge building that seemed to have been made from wood.

On top of the building, the 3 words 'House of Rankings' were plated in gold, and right above them were also the words 'Golden Exchange firm'.

Many young men and women could be seen coming and going from the building, while a huge board with 200 names was erected right in front of it.

Shun Long and Liu Mei walked towards the building, while the black panther attracted everyone's attention around them.

The moment that they stepped through the wooden gates, a whole new place unfolded itself in front of Shun Long's and Liu Mei's eyes.

A large, floating screen of light was suspended mid-air, showing the scenes of countless young men and women fighting with each other.

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