Divine Powers

Bolts of lightning crashed down one after another—nine in a row—striking Su He from the water's surface to its depths, then from the depths back to the surface.

Fish and shrimp lay dead all around him as Su He bobbed amid the waves.

Feng Ya Ya and the camel were already dumbstruck.

Ignoring Feng Ya Ya's cries, the camel carried her as it leaped and bounced far away.

Only when no more lightning fell and the dark clouds overhead showed signs of dispersing did it cautiously draw closer.

"Big Turtle!" Feng Ya Ya sprang up and launched herself from the camel's back like a cannonball, smashing onto Su He's shell.

A phantom mountain flashed across his turtle shell and sent Feng Ya Ya flying.

Su He suddenly came to his senses and hurriedly paddled over, catching Little One securely.

Feng Ya Ya was not frightened in the slightest. She bounced atop his shell, laughing loudly.

Su He shook his confused head, still a little slow to react after sleeping too long.

Waking from hibernation to torrential rain was an auspicious sign for a pure Water Attribute divine beast.

But—what was with getting struck by lightning? Nine bolts in a row! Had I done something so outrageous that it enraged both heaven and earth? "Big Turtle!" Feng Ya Ya rolled around on his shell.

Big Turtle had not gotten smaller! She had thought he would keep shrinking.

"Ang~" Su He answered softly. Opening his eyes to see Feng Ya Ya brought him an inexplicable sense of warmth, especially on such a rainy day.

"Big Turtle!" Feng Ya Ya suddenly jumped up, wrapped her arms around his turtle head, and poked the two bumps on top. It seemed like this was where horns would grow.

"Big Turtle's head has become a dragon's head! Uncle Xia said you'd gain new divine powers when you woke up. What divine power did you gain? Can you fly? If you can, take Ya Ya flying! Ya Ya is most afraid of flying, but Big Turtle's back is so wide that I won't be scared!"

Su He let out two ang-ang cries.

I can't fly, but I'm no longer afraid of being beaten!

"Ah?" Feng Ya Ya's eyes lit up. She leaped up, clenched her tiny fist, and punched Su He's turtle shell.

With a clang like a great bell, a phantom mountain peak appeared over Su He's shell. Feng Ya Ya failed to shatter the phantom and harm the shell.

Su He's heart trembled in terror.

Ancestor! Little Ancestor! That tiny fist of yours can smash half an island flat. Aren't you afraid you'll kill me with one punch?!

Feng Ya Ya's eyes shone as she stared at the phantom mountain peak flashing over his shell.

She recognized that mountain. It was Big Turtle's Turtle Mountain, the one that had melted away in winter.

"Big Turtle, Big Turtle, what is this?"

After the fright passed, Su He proudly raised his dragon head.

This was the most important ability he had gained during hibernation, one of the Dragon Turtle's Innate Divine Powers: Mountain Bearing! Innate Divine Powers were not inheritances.

To make an analogy, inheritances were knowledge passed down from teacher to teacher through generations. Innate Divine Powers were instincts—eating, drinking, urinating...

Dragon Turtles were born with astonishing defenses, but that defense did not come from nowhere.

Dragon Turtles could absorb all manner of external forces and materials, forming a manifestation outside their bodies. This manifestation made a Dragon Turtle seem as though it wore a suit of armor with all-around protection.

Different things absorbed produced different manifestations. If a Dragon Turtle absorbed something bearing Human Dao Merit or Heavenly Dao Merit, its manifestation might become a stone stele or a city.

If, like Su He, it directly transformed magic treasures, mountains, rivers, and other objects into a manifestation, then the manifestation would generally be a mountain.

So long as the manifestation remained unbroken, the Dragon Turtle would remain unharmed.

Even if someone attacked a Dragon Turtle's eyes or mouth, the damage would first fall upon the manifestation—once the manifestation broke, there would still be the turtle shell and scales, whose defensive power was even more astonishing!

When every Dragon Turtle first formed its manifestation through Mountain Bearing, the extra abilities its manifestation possessed beyond defense differed according to what it had absorbed.

For instance, Su He had absorbed his former Turtle Mountain, which contained a cave-dwelling space. His manifestation could therefore store things, with a space roughly one zhang wide. To expand it further, he would have to slowly improve it in the future.

That was not the main point. The most important thing was that Su Hua Nian's immortal sword had been embedded in Turtle Mountain. Su He had instinctively licked the immortal sword. Although the sword's grade was far too high for him to absorb, it contained Su Hua Nian's sword qi.

That sword qi had specifically been stored for Su He, so it did not resist him.

Over the course of one winter, Su He's Mountain Bearing had licked up a thread of Su Hua Nian's sword qi. Its power was only a little bit, but its nature had become completely different.

Su He's Burden Mountain Manifestation could counterattack!

You might think you were striking a turtle hiding in its shell, only for that shell to suddenly stab you with a sword! Su He's favorite shell slam finally had a place to shine as well.

You might think a huge turtle shell was crashing straight at you, but it was actually a sword! If Su He learned swordsmanship in the future, he could even merge sword qi and sword intent into his Burden Mountain Manifestation, its power growing alongside his cultivation.

Su He was very satisfied with both extra abilities.

Then there were these scales. The scales did not possess Innate Divine Powers—or perhaps Su He's bloodline was insufficient, and they had yet to Awaken. They merely had some interesting little abilities.

For example: breathing! By the latter half of his hibernation, drawing in Spiritual Energy was no longer merely done through his mouth and nose. Every scale would proactively draw in spiritual power, as though his entire body was breathing.

And through his scales, he could sense the flow of water. That water seemed to possess life, as though it would heed his commands at any moment.

What delighted Su He most was the change in his mouth. He opened it and showed off to Feng Ya Ya. "Ang~"

Look! I grew a tongue.

It was no longer the limp, old-fashioned tongue from before, but a dragon tongue—strong as a sword.

Not only could it better taste the deliciousness of food, it had also awakened another divine power: Divine Might!

By circulating spiritual power and roaring, he could unleash an innate impact upon the soul.

It could make all things submit—as long as their cultivation was lower than his. It could also be used directly as an Attack Method, but this was not something he could casually demonstrate.

Su He still could not control it very well. The Divine Might he unleashed was area damage, distinguishing neither enemy nor ally. Aside from Su He himself, all who heard it would be attacked.

He would have to practice and master it slowly.

Just as people had to learn how to eat.

Feng Ya Ya sat on his turtle shell, swinging her little feet, her face overflowing with smiles.

She was happy, truly happy.

But as she kept being happy, she could no longer stay happy. She suddenly jumped up and cried out in alarm, "Big Turtle, Big Turtle, this is bad! I skipped class!"

Li Nan Courtyard had already been holding lessons for quite some time.

"Quick, let's go! If Mother finds out I skipped class, she'll definitely punish me!"

Su He gave an ang. Though it was rather improper, he became even happier instead.

With a light stroke of his four claws, the waves pushed him swiftly toward Elephant Water.

After one hibernation, his Water Manipulation Divine Power was completely different from the past days.

Swift as wind, he sped forward at incredible speed.

After crossing Elephant Water and coming ashore, the waves beneath him did not recede. Su He rode the waves across land; the enormous swells rolled past, yet the ground was only faintly dampened.

One turtle and one person howled and rejoiced. In the time it took to burn one stick of incense, they crossed over three hundred li and charged into Li Nan Courtyard.

On Listening Sea Lake, the camel blinked its big eyes, looked around in every direction, then looked at itself, its face Full of Confusion.

Who am I? Where am I?

What did I just do? Oh, I brought Feng Ya Ya here to find a friend...

Rage (ノ｀ー)ノ┻━┻ What friend?! Master Zhuang has never had such a thing!