"We only need to help him break through the seal."
Mu En's words left not only Yan Shaozhe but even Lu Heqiu staring wide-eyed. Though Lu Heqiu had not been in this world long, this was the first time anyone had ever offered to do such a thing for him.
The seals in his body had been reinforced by the Heavenly Dao. To break through them, he could only do so from the inside out.
Breaking through from the outside...
Lu Heqiu might actually die!
Elder Mu! Don't joke with me like that!
People could die!
A sudden surge of immense power burst from Lu Heqiu. Mu En's body sank under its weight, and his aged eyes snapped open. He forcibly held Lu Heqiu in place with his power, but the chair beneath him crashed apart.
It was obvious that it could not withstand the terrifying clash between the two.
Mu En gently patted Lu Heqiu's back and explained in a soothing voice.
"I'm not going to break all nine of your seals. I'll just carve out the tiniest crack in the first one, so you can use some of the power inside you."
"Don't be nervous."
Hearing this, Lu Heqiu relaxed again. He considered whether Mu En's plan was feasible, but there was no trace of hostility left in his eyes.
"He understood?"
When Ma Xiaotao saw Lu Heqiu's reaction, her cheeks flushed bright red. She wasn't being oversensitive. Last night, she'd thought the little fellow couldn't understand a thing. If he really could tell what they were doing...
Did that mean he'd known what she was looking at last night, too!?
Mu En reached out to steady Lu Heqiu, then rose to his feet in a strange, hunched posture. His back remained stooped, a result of old injuries that made it difficult for him to stand normally.
None of the three found this surprising. They simply kept their eyes fixed on Mu En's movements.
Mu En set Lu Heqiu on the table. Branches from the Golden Tree spread in from all around and settled over him. Feeling no ill intent in this power, Lu Heqiu likewise withdrew his own.
Mu En slowly closed his eyes. A terrifying power burst from his body.
He could no longer remember how many years it had been since he last made a move.
But he had never expected...
That his first time acting after all these years would be to help a child not even half a year old awaken his Martial Soul. Ordinarily, a Martial Soul awakened at age six, under a Soul Master's guidance, and the process involved a complicated ritual.
But Lu Heqiu's situation was simply too unusual.
Mu En did not even know whether his Martial Soul could survive until then.
If he really had a Martial Soul.
Now was the best time to awaken it. His physical strength surpassed that of a Power Attack System Battle Soul Emperor, and the suppressive power inside him could hold down any Soul Master below Soul Saint. If someone like him still couldn't awaken a Martial Soul... then he probably had none.
As for people without Martial Souls...
Mu En had indeed never met one.
Golden light filled the entire Sea God Pavilion. The Golden Tree radiated boundless power, and the students throughout the Inner Academy all stopped in their tracks and looked toward Sea God Lake.
The Golden Tree's light illuminated the whole lake.
Mu En's aura quietly spread outward.
At the same time, Xuan Zi released his own aura—not to help Lu Heqiu complete the awakening ritual, but to stand guard at the entrance and deter anyone who might try to sneak in.
Elder Lin, Elder Cai, Elder Qian, and the other Sea God Pavilion Elders all flew toward the Sea God Pavilion.
But they did not approach it.
They had no idea what was happening.
Whatever could make Mu En use the Golden Tree was certainly no small matter. Without a word, they surrounded Sea God Lake and forbade all students from approaching. Their gazes turned toward the Sea God Pavilion, worry written across their faces.
Had Mu En been gravely injured? Or had something happened to someone?
Why such a huge commotion?
The Sea God Pavilion had not gone on full alert like this in nearly a century!
Mu En paid no attention to what was happening outside. Instead, he sent his spiritual power into Lu Heqiu's body. The Holy Light Dragon appeared at once, looking at Mu En as if he were an old friend it had not seen in ages.
The Golden Tree shielded Lu Heqiu's body as Mu En personally set about helping him break the seal.
Lu Heqiu hesitated for a moment.
He did not use the power inside him.
Instead, he waited quietly for Mu En's spiritual power to enter.
The nine seals varied greatly in strength. Like chains, they locked away all of Lu Heqiu's power, leaving him able to wield less than a tenth of it. If all nine seals were broken...
Lu Heqiu would once again regain the form of a divine official, transcending this world without needing a divine position!
Mu En proceeded carefully.
His spiritual power spread toward Lu Heqiu's Sea of Consciousness.
When he opened his eyes again, the scene before him left him utterly stunned.
He had never seen a Sea of Consciousness like this!
An ordinary person's Sea of Consciousness was little more than a puddle. Even for a Titled Douluo, most were no more than small lakes or ponds.
But this infant's Sea of Consciousness was completely different.
It was not only a vast ocean—it was an ocean whose farthest reaches he could not see!
The water was golden, its holiness surpassing even the power radiating from the Golden Tree. It was as if a true Deity had descended and temporarily stored their power within this child.
Nine Lightning Chains divided the sea, splitting the entire Sea of Consciousness into nine irregular regions.
The region Mu En stood in lay before the first seal.
A gentle breeze stirred the golden water, lapping it against a platinum-colored beach. A small pond lay on the sand, belonging to none of the nine seals.
It seemed more as if Lu Heqiu's power was so overwhelming that the nine seals could not contain it, and the sea breeze had blown some of it ashore.
The nine seals repeatedly pressed down on the golden pond, trying to force that power back into the ocean.
But they could do nothing.
Mu En understood.
This little pond was the power Lu Heqiu could use. Even this much power was enough to surpass a Soul Emperor in strength!
The sealing force that the nine seals directed at the golden pond was the part of Lu Heqiu's own sealing power that had overflowed. Even this overflow alone was enough to suppress Soul Masters and the Evil Fire inside Ma Xiaotao.
Mu En followed the Nine Lightning Chains with his gaze. All nine pointed toward the same place. That spot was sealed by all nine chains at once, but it was no longer a golden ocean.
It was...
A person!
The figure sat cross-legged above the Sea of Consciousness.
It was as if the whole ocean could never stir as long as he sat there.
Mu En studied the seated figure closely.
The figure was strikingly handsome, with the bones of an immortal crane. Mu En had never seen the clothes he wore, yet could sense in him an aura holier than light itself. As Mu En looked at him, the figure looked back.
A kind smile, identical to Mu En's own, played across his face.
Mu En's heart trembled.
Could this be...
A Martial Soul?
A Humanoid Martial Soul?!
Before you continue