Divine Powers

Bolt after bolt of lightning struck down—nine in a row—blasting Su He from the water's surface to the bottom, then from the bottom back to the surface.

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

Feng Ya Ya and the camel were utterly dumbstruck.

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

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

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

A phantom mountain flashed across his shell, sending Feng Ya Ya flying.

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

Feng Ya Ya was not frightened in the slightest. She jumped about on his shell, laughing loudly.

Su He shook his somewhat muddled head. He had slept too long and could not quite react for a moment.

Waking from hibernation to a torrential downpour was an auspicious sign for a pure water-attribute divine beast.

But—what was with being struck by lightning? Nine bolts in a row, too. Had I done something so infuriating to Heaven and hateful to man? "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 and seeing Feng Ya Ya right away stirred an inexplicable feeling in him, especially on a rainy day like this.

"Big Turtle!" Feng Ya Ya suddenly jumped up, wrapped her arms around his turtle head, and poked the two bulges atop it. It looked as though horns were about to grow there.

"Big Turtle's head turned into a dragon head! Uncle Xia said you'd gain a new divine power when you woke up. Have you mastered one? Can you fly? If you can, take Ya Ya flying! Ya Ya's scared of flying the most, but Big Turtle's back is so wide, so I won't be scared!"

Su He gave two soft cries.

I can't fly, but I'm not afraid of being beaten anymore!

"Huh?" Feng Ya Ya's eyes lit up. She jumped up, clenched her little fist, and punched Su He's turtle shell.

With a clang like a Great Bell tolling, a phantom mountain appeared on Su He's shell. Feng Ya Ya failed to shatter the phantom or harm the shell.

Su He was terrified.

Ancestor! Little Ancestor! That tiny fist of yours can smash half an island flat—aren't you afraid you'll punch me to death?!

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

She found the mountain familiar. 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: Burden Mountain! Innate Divine Powers were not inheritances.

To make an analogy, inheritances were knowledge passed down from teacher to teacher. 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 various external forces and substances, forming manifestations outside their bodies. These manifestations made a Dragon Turtle seem as though it wore a suit of armor with all-round protection.

Different things absorbed formed different manifestations. If a Dragon Turtle absorbed and bore things such as Human Dao Merit or Heavenly Dao Merit, the manifestation formed might be a stone stele or a city.

If, like Su He, it directly turned items such as magical treasures, mountains, and rivers into manifestations, then the manifestation would generally be a mountain.

So long as the manifestation remained unbroken, the Dragon Turtle would not be harmed.

Even if you attacked a Dragon Turtle's eyes or mouth, the damage would first fall upon the manifestation—after the manifestation broke, there would still be the turtle shell and scales, whose defenses were even more astonishing!

When each Dragon Turtle first formed its Burden Mountain Manifestation, the additional 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 abode space. His manifestation could therefore store things, with a space roughly one zhang wide in every direction. If he wanted to expand it further, he would have to improve it gradually in the future.

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

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

Over the course of one winter, Su He's Burden Mountain had licked up a thread of Su Hua Nian's sword qi. It was only a tiny bit and not especially powerful, but its nature was completely different now.

Su He's Burden Mountain Manifestation could counterattack!

You thought you were hitting a turtle hiding in its shell, only for that shell to suddenly stab you with a sword! Su He's beloved shell hammer finally had a use as well.

You thought a massive turtle shell was charging straight at you? 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 along with his cultivation.

Su He was very pleased with both additional abilities.

Then there were these scales. They had no Innate Divine Powers—or perhaps Su He's bloodline was insufficient, and they had yet to awaken. They only possessed a few interesting little abilities.

For example: breathing! By the later stages of hibernation, drawing in Spiritual Energy was no longer simply a matter of breathing through his mouth and nose. Every scale actively drew in spiritual power, as though his entire body were breathing.

Moreover, by sensing the flow of water through his scales, the water seemed almost alive, 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 that limp, feeble, ancient-looking tongue from before. Like a dragon tongue, it was powerful as a sword.

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

He circulated his spiritual power and let out a roar, innately carrying a soul-shaking impact.

Not only could it make all things submit—provided their cultivation was inferior to 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, friend and foe alike. Other than Su He himself, anyone who heard it would be attacked.

He would have to practice slowly until he mastered it.

Just like how people had to learn to eat.

Feng Ya Ya sat atop the turtle shell, kicking her little feet, her face brimming with smiles.

She was happy, truly happy.

But as she went on being happy, she suddenly could not be happy anymore. She sprang to her feet and cried out in panic, "Big Turtle, Big Turtle, this is bad! I skipped class!"

Classes at Li Nan Courtyard had already been underway for quite a while.

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

Su He let out an ang. Though it was rather unscrupulous of him, he was even happier because of it.

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

After a single hibernation, his Water Manipulation Divine Power had become utterly different from the past days.

Swift as wind, fast as lightning.

After crossing Elephant Water and reaching the shore, the waves beneath him did not recede. Su He rode the waves across the land; the enormous billows rolled past, yet left the ground only faintly damp.

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

On Listening Sea Lake, the camel blinked his big eyes, looked around in every direction, then looked at himself, Face Full of Confusion.

Who am I? Where am I?

What was I doing just now? Oh, I brought Feng Ya Ya here to find a friend...

Rage! What friend?! Master Zhuang has never had such a thing!