As the tribulation clouds faded away and tranquility returned to the world, the Dragonblood warriors still hovered in the sky, having successfully ascended into the Divine Venerate realm.

Moreover, because they were all seven-star Heavenly Doyens, they instantly became Heaven Venerates upon breaking through.

Typically, the Divine Venerate realm encompassed the Mortal Venerate, Earth Venerate, and Heaven Venerate stages, each closely tied to one’s innate talent. Many individuals with exceptional aptitude would naturally advance to the Earth Venerate stage upon entering the Divine Venerate realm, with hopes of later transcending to become Heaven Venerates through continued cultivation and enlightenment.

On the other hand, cultivators with average aptitude would probably be stuck in the Mortal Venerate realm for the rest of their lives even if they managed to break through to the Divine Venerate realm. Only a few of them could become Heaven Venerates.

However, this paradigm shifted dramatically for Heavenly Doyens. It was not uncommon for them to automatically ascend to the Heaven Venerate rank, and in the case of seven-star Heavenly Doyens, they would for sure become Heaven Venerates upon reaching the Divine Venerate realm.

Heaven Venerates were revered as the supreme beings of the world, having garnered the highest favor of the Heavenly Daos, while Heavenly Doyens were considered the chosen favorites of heaven and earth. Therefore, upon attaining the Divine Venerate realm, Heavenly Doyens essentially ascended to the peak, becoming either Earth or Heaven Venerates.

Feeling the power of heaven and earth supporting them, with the ten thousand Daos swirling around, the Dragonblood warriors felt like they were in command of this world. This newfound power gave them an unprecedented sensation.

With over seven thousand Dragonblood warriors newly ascended to the Divine Venerate realm, they continued to emit formidable Blood Qi that reverberated with echoes of faint dragon cries.

Through the baptism of heavenly tribulation, the Sovereign clan expert’s dragon blood had fully merged with them, along with the various dragon souls.

Moreover, as the essence blood originated from the Sovereign clan expert, each of them now radiated majestic Sovereign qi as well.

It was as if some light was illuminating them from above the nine heavens, making them the most brilliant stars wherever they went.

Even the Dragonblood warriors could sense their transformation. Their fists clenched in excitement as they were unable to contain the overwhelming thrill.

Guo Ran, in particular, felt like he had transformed from a beggar to a crown prince when he sensed this majestic air. He knew that if he didn’t swagger around everywhere, he would be letting down his new blood.

“Guo Ran, did you manage to redistribute your power?” asked Long Chen.

“Boss, through my constant struggle against the powerful hidden dragon soul, I managed to… seize thirty percent…” murmured Guo Ran, his voice as quiet as a mosquito. He didn’t dare to even look at Long Chen.

“So, only thirty percent of your Dragon Soul Body Forging Art isn’t focused on defense?”

Gu Yang and the others were shocked. After all, they had focused over seventy percent of the Dragon Soul Body Forging Art on power. In particular, Gu Yang was quite extreme, having devoted over ninety percent of his focus to offense, leaving a mere fraction for defense.

In their minds, the Dragon Blood Battle Armor and dragon scales were enough to protect them, so they didn’t need to focus on defense too much.

Therefore, hearing that Guo Ran had focused seventy percent of his Dragon Soul Body Forging Art on defense, they couldn’t help but glance at each other.

“That’s not too bad.” Long Chen nodded as he understood the hidden dragon’s character. It was so cowardly that its primary strengths lay in running, hiding, and defending.

If the damn hidden dragon’s soul had been in full control, perhaps Guo Ran’s would have been a true blue iron turtle.

For Guo Ran to take back thirty percent of control was definitely not easy. It showed that he had really tried, so Long Chen expressed his approval.

“Hahaha, I’m just teasing you!” Guo Ran laughed loudly.

“Tch, I knew that you wouldn’t be so stupid!” Xia Chen sighed with relief.

“Brother, don’t say that!” Guo Ran was rather speechless.

Xia Chen stared at him and asked, “Don’t tell me that you really did that…?”

“It’s not my fault! The hidden dragon insisted on it! Achieving thirty percent focus on offense was nearly impossible for me, you know?!” argued Guo Ran. “Boss, you don’t need to worry. The hidden dragon race isn’t entirely useless. They also have their strong points. When they encounter danger and can’t get away, their divine ability can extract the energy of their scale armor to attack. In other words, their defensive power is a way to accumulate power. They’re so lazy that they only rely on accumulating energy to cultivate.”

“There’s such a cultivation style?” Everyone was startled.

“Hehe, of course! It’s like putting your money in the bank! As long as you have enough money, just by relying on the interest, you can still get by!” said Guo Ran.

“But where does your initial capital come from? And who is the bank?” asked Xia Chen.

“The initial capital is the energy of heaven and earth that I absorb. As for the bank, it’s rather embarrassing to say… it’s the entire dragon race’s karmic luck,” replied Guo Ran awkwardly.

“The hidden dragon race is incredibly lazy from the moment they’re born… But well, they’re not that lazy when it comes to reproduction, or they wouldn’t exist. But other than for reproduction, they don’t really move… So they just find a place to hide once they’re born, and just stay there…”

Despite having powerful talent, they didn’t cultivate and only went around to find a secluded place to lie for hundreds of thousands of years. They would only awaken when they were on the verge of a breakthrough.

Furthermore, the reason they could make a breakthrough was thanks to the support of the entire dragon race’s karmic luck. In other words, as long as the dragon race wasn’t destroyed, they could rely on the karmic luck to continually grow that way.

To put it in an uglier fashion, they could be considered parasites in the dragon race. After all, they contributed almost nothing to the dragon race. However, in the end, they were still part of the dragon race. So, when they encountered danger, they still had the power to protect themselves.

After merging with the hidden dragon’s soul, Guo Ran had awakened all their abilities. Fortunately, one of the divine abilities allowed him to transfer his defense prowess into offensive power. Otherwise, Guo Ran would have had to live like an iron turtle.

Hearing that, Long Chen sighed with relief. Guo Ran was a Forging Master, so he could forge weapons tailored to his unique abilities. By playing to his strengths, Guo Ran could unleash his maximum potential and solidify his position as the commander of the Dragonblood Legion.

“Boss, we’ve reached the Divine Venerate realm! It’s time for us to protect you in your tribulation. No one will be able to disturb you as long as we are here!” exclaimed Yue Zifeng.

Everyone looked at Long Chen. They had managed to pass their tribulations, so now it was Long Chen’s turn.

Just as Long Chen was about to reply, the ground started to rumble, and the air quivered with the sound of thunder. Startled, they all gazed upward, their eyes widening in astonishment as the void was rent asunder by streaks of lightning.