A Child

Han Ping had originally planned to ask his uncle to help him hunt for his sixth soul ring. He had already spoken to his uncle about it, and his uncle had even arranged for people to find the soul beast he needed. He truly had not expected that, on the day he was to hunt his sixth soul ring, his young master would bring a Titled Douluo to help him hunt it. It felt a little like a dream.

Lin Feng's group of six did not waste any time on the road. Upon reaching the Star Dou Great Forest, they headed straight toward the Mixed Zone. However, before they arrived, they stopped because ahead of them, a little boy without even a soul ring was fighting a soul beast.

The child looked about the same age as Lin Jian—actually, not much younger than Lin Feng either. It was just that Lin Feng always subconsciously forgot that he himself was this age. Since the boy had no soul ring, he could not fully possess his Martial Soul, and only some of its traits appeared on his body. His arms were covered in dim, rough phantom dragon scales riddled with cracks. The phantom was unstable, flickering in and out of sight. His hands had undergone slight mutation, his fingertips becoming sharp. From the phantom alone, it was impossible to tell what Martial Soul he possessed.

The soul beast fighting him was an Emerald Green Snake that had only just passed a hundred years in cultivation. It possessed a pain toxin that caused agonizing pain throughout the body, as though one had been hammered all over, but it was not fatal.

It was obvious that the child had already been poisoned, yet he still stubbornly fought on. The cold snake body was tightly coiled around his waist and abdomen, constricting ever tighter and nearly suffocating him. The child was equally ruthless, viciously digging his slightly sharpened fingertips into the Emerald Green Snake's vital spot. The current situation was a contest to see who would outlast the other. But leaving aside the fact that the child was poisoned, even if he were not, his vitality could not outlast that of a hundred-year soul beast, even one that had only just entered the hundred-year level.

Lin Feng was slightly stunned when he saw the look in the child's eyes, then said, "A-Jian, go help him. But don't kill that snake. That child is probably after its soul ring."

Lin Jian stepped forward. Seeing someone approach, the child thought Lin Jian intended to steal the Emerald Green Snake from him. He forcibly drew in a breath and tried to strangle the snake to death first. At least then he might still have a chance to keep the soul ring. But with a hundred-year soul beast's vitality, it was not something he could kill simply by gritting his teeth and trying harder. Lin Jian knocked the Emerald Green Snake unconscious with one punch, and the little boy was released when the snake's tail suddenly went limp. With his hopes shattered, the boy lost consciousness.

Lin Feng fed him a Detoxification Pill, then told everyone to wait there for a while until the child woke up.

Lin An asked, "Young Master, why the sudden burst of kindness?" In the Star Dou Great Forest, the greatest threat was not soul beasts, but people. Even if the person who appeared was only a child, who knew whether there was some trap behind him? Lin An did not believe his young master was such a simple-hearted good person that he would want to save someone just because he was a child.

Lin Feng said, "Nothing much. I just thought the look in that child's eyes was very similar to how A-Jian looked when he first met me. They were filled with the desire to live and despair toward life."

No one said anything. However, Lin Jian's heart stirred. He recalled how, some time ago, he had clung to his last shred of hope and gone to Lin Feng for help. He had said he was holding onto a sliver of hope for life, but in truth, he had also been prepared to die. If Lin Feng had refused him then, he would have had a reason to give up struggling for survival entirely. I tried my best in this world. It just truly wasn't enough. He had never expected Lin Feng to really save him, teach him cultivation, help him take revenge, and give him hope for life once again. His young master was his hope.

The little boy soon woke up. Looking at the people around him and the motionless Emerald Green Snake beside him, his eyes were filled with wariness and despair. "Did you save me? Thank you for saving my life."

Lin Feng smiled. "You don't need to worry. This Emerald Green Snake isn't dead, and we have no interest in it either. Since we happened to save your life, I'll remind you of something while we're at it. From your battle just now, and the flickering dragon-scale phantom of your Martial Soul, I don't know exactly what your Martial Soul is, but it is at least a sub-dragon species. Otherwise, dragon scales would not have appeared. This snake is not suited to your Martial Soul. It will only lower the grade of your Martial Soul bloodline. You can still cultivate, but if you wish to have a powerful future, I'm afraid it will be difficult. Of course, I'm only giving you a reminder. How you decide is your own business."

With that, Lin Feng turned and led everyone away. The little boy stood frozen for a moment, then hurriedly took two steps after them and dropped to his knees before Lin Feng.

Lin Feng asked, "What is the meaning of this?"

The little boy himself was a little dazed. He had been drifting about for some time and had seen all the warmth and coldness of human nature. If he had not truly felt that there was no hope left of surviving, he would never have entered the Star Dou Great Forest alone. He had come for one final gamble—if he could obtain a soul ring, he would live; if not, then he would simply die here. Having wandered outside for so long, he could naturally tell that among these six people, aside from the frightening-looking middle-aged man and the little girl, the rest all regarded this young master as their leader. In particular, when those two youths looked at this young master, their eyes held respect and loyalty, but no fear. It was clear that this young master treated those beneath him well.

Perhaps that was why he had instinctively followed them. Deep down, he still wanted to live. If he could find a good master to whom he could pledge his loyalty, that would also be a way forward.

The little boy said, "Young Master, I was born with innate soul power rank 6. If I am given the chance to cultivate properly, I believe I can break through to Spirit Saint in the future. May I serve at your side and run errands for you?"

Lin Feng said, "Release your Martial Soul and let me see it."

The little boy released his Martial Soul. A dragon-shaped Martial Soul appeared in his right hand, dark blue in color, yet dull and murky, as if covered in ashes. Its dragon scales were rough and lacked luster, its dragon horns were underdeveloped, and the lightning wrapped around its body was extremely unstable, sometimes violently bursting forth and sometimes weak.

Lin Feng carefully examined his Martial Soul before saying, "Your surname is Yu, isn't it?"

The little boy's eyes were full of shock. He had not expected someone to see through his background at a glance. He had originally thought that no one would recognize his Martial Soul in its current state.

Before the little boy could speak, Dugu Bo spoke first from the side. "Feng'er, you mean he is..." His meaning was clear.

Lin Feng said, "Yes, Grandpa Dugu. Although its attributes are the opposite of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon and its color is different, the form of the Martial Soul itself and the aura it gives off are the same. So if I'm not mistaken, he should be from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. His Martial Soul has merely mutated. Judging by its appearance, it should have mutated from the original Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's yang-attributed lightning Martial Soul into a yin-attributed lightning Martial Soul. It is a mutation of the same rank, like Liu Erlong of Blue Tyrant Academy. However, either an accident occurred while his mother was pregnant, leaving him congenitally deficient, or someone tampered with him after he was born. His physical condition was insufficient, and the Martial Soul mutation was incomplete, resulting in this incomplete Martial Soul. Am I right, friend of the Yu family?"

Yu Tianqing said, "Yes, as Young Master said. My name is Yu Tianqing, and I am eight years old. I was originally a member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Both of my parents were surnamed Yu and belonged to a branch of the Yu family. While my mother was pregnant with me, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan happened to be fighting outsiders. She was severely injured and damaged at her foundation, yet she still gave birth to me despite her grave injuries. As a result, her Martial Soul shattered, and she became an ordinary person.

"When my Martial Soul Awakened, it was already this incomplete form. The clan said I was an ill-omened person. They believed my Martial Soul mutation was the shame of impure bloodline and a sign of the clan's decline. In the clan academy, they isolated and bullied me, calling me the Gray-Scaled Sick Dragon. I asked the teachers for help, but they said I deserved it. My father appealed to the elders, but not only did they ignore him, they even urged him to kill me and have another child. My father did not want me to continue suffering humiliation in the clan, so he wanted to take my mother and me away. They claimed he intended to betray the clan and wanted our family of three killed at once. In the end, after the elders of my father's branch mediated, my father's soul power was crippled, and our family left the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

"Half a year ago, Wolf Bandits came to the village where we lived. My mother was killed on the spot by the Wolf Bandits while protecting me, and my father was seriously wounded as well. Fortunately, a powerful soul master passed by and slaughtered the Wolf Bandits. But my father's injuries were ultimately too severe. Before he died, he told me that he hoped I would strive to live on. The character 'Qing' in my name was chosen by my mother. She hoped I could endure every hardship life placed before me and become a person who stood tall between heaven and earth. As for 'Yu,' it was the clan surname, while 'Tian' was my generation name. Neither mattered. From now on, I would be myself. My father told me to choose a new name and live a new life. In that life, I would have nothing to do with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. I would not seek revenge against the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and even if I achieved something in cultivation, I would not concern myself with any hardship the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan faced."