Three Months in the Blink of an Eye! Level Thirty Soul Elder! Grandfather's Long-Awaited Breakthrough!

Time flowed like water, silent and unseen.

It had been exactly three months since Qing Mufeng awakened his Azure Dragon Martial Soul and obtained two Soul Rings.

In the secluded bamboo grove of Qing Family Manor, Qing Mufeng sat cross-legged on a flat stone, his eyes slightly closed and his breathing long and steady.

For the past three months, he had come here to cultivate almost every day.

Not the Green Snake Meditation Method.

The Azure Dragon Method.

Before dawn each morning, he would arrive at the bamboo grove and circulate his Soul Power, opening all four pathways at once.

Starting from the baihui acupoint, his Soul Power traveled down the Ren Meridian before splitting into four streams.

One flowed through his heart to strengthen his body, one through his dantian to nourish his Martial Soul, one through his brow to condense his spiritual power, and one through his limbs to temper his tendons and bones.

The four meridians ran in parallel, endlessly renewing themselves.

In the afternoon, sunlight filtered through the bamboo leaves, scattering dappled shadows across the ground. He would practice his Soul Skills amid that shifting light.

As his Soul Power increased, the might of Azure Dragon Claw Probe rose accordingly. The claw aura had changed from its initial azure to a deep blue-green, while its attack range had expanded from three zhang to five.

At dusk, as the sun set, he returned to his room and soaked in the medicinal bath his grandmother had prepared. While nourishing his meridians, he used the Azure Dragon Pupil to inspect himself internally, observing the changes in every meridian and acupoint within his body.

At night, he sat cross-legged on his bed and continued circulating the Azure Dragon Method until the world had grown quiet.

Day after day.

It was dull and monotonous, yet he never slackened for even a single day.

Because he knew that in this world, strength was everything. Without strength, one did not even have the right to live.

Today, the air in the bamboo grove was exceptionally fresh.

With his eyes closed, Qing Mufeng felt the Soul Power within him surge like a river, racing along the pathways of the Azure Dragon Method.

All four pathways were open. His Soul Power, physique, and spiritual power grew in unison, forming a perfect cycle.

He felt as though his body were a vessel, constantly being expanded by an invisible force.

His meridians were widening.

His acupoints were expanding.

His Soul Power was rising.

The bottleneck of level thirty lay directly before him.

Qing Mufeng drew a deep breath and pushed the Azure Dragon Method to its limit.

Soul Power surged through his meridians with a faint hum, like a slumbering giant dragon awakening.

Deep within his dantian, the Azure Dragon Martial Soul opened its eyes.

Its golden vertical pupils peered through layers of flesh and blood, gazing at its master's meridians.

It opened its mouth and silently exhaled.

That was the source power of the Origin of Wood, spreading through his meridians into every corner of his body.

Qing Mufeng's body jolted violently.

His Soul Power burst through the invisible barrier like floodwaters breaking through a dam.

Level thirty.

Soul Elder.

He opened his eyes, and the golden gleam in his pupils vanished in a flash.

Three months.

From level twenty-six to level thirty, a full four-level breakthrough.

Nearly one level per month.

Such speed would have been shocking throughout the entire Douluo Continent.

Soul Power cultivation only became slower the further one progressed.

To advance from Soul Grandmaster to Soul Elder, an ordinary genius would need one or two years, while mediocre people might need three to five.

Even Tang San, starting from level thirteen, had spent a full six years cultivating to merely the peak of level twenty-nine.

Yet he had only needed three months.

Qing Mufeng lowered his head to look at his hands, then clenched them into fists.

"Azure Dragon Method..." he murmured. "As expected, it cannot be compared to the Green Snake Method."

Without the Azure Dragon Method, he might still have been lingering at level twenty-eight, perhaps progressing even more slowly.

But the Azure Dragon Method's simultaneous cultivation of four meridians had increased his cultivation speed severalfold.

Soul Power, physique, and spiritual power promoted and nourished one another, forming a positive cycle.

The more he cultivated, the stronger his physique became;

the stronger his physique became, the wider his meridians grew;

the wider his meridians grew, the faster his Soul Power circulated;

the faster his Soul Power circulated, the faster he cultivated.

That was the terrifying aspect of the Azure Dragon Method.

He stood and stretched his limbs.

Three months of intense cultivation had brought obvious changes to his body.

He had grown noticeably taller, his shoulders had broadened somewhat, and the muscles in his arms had become more defined.

Though he was only six years old, he had already begun to show the outline of a youth.

"It is time to see Grandfather," he muttered to himself. Brushing the bamboo leaves from his clothes, he turned and walked out of the grove.

Qing Family Manor, main hall.

Today, the main hall differed from its usual state.

Qing Zhengyue sat in the seat of honor with a cup of tea before him. The tea was a clear green, reflecting his ruddy, glowing face.

The old man's white hair was still like snow, yet the wrinkles on his face seemed to have faded somewhat. Much of the cloudiness in his eyes had also dispersed, replaced by a long-lost sharpness.

Liu Yunlan sat beside him, her silver hair neatly coiled. Her face looked much younger than it had three months ago.

The old woman's fingers no longer trembled slightly. When she sewed, threading a needle was now effortless.

Qing Hongyuan and Shen Wanqing sat below them, and both of their auras had changed noticeably as well.

The family of four all wore irrepressible joy on their faces.

"Father, you are looking especially well today," Qing Hongyuan said, unable to hide a trace of excitement in his voice.

Qing Zhengyue lifted his teacup, took a sip, and replied calmly, "Level sixty-nine."

Those four understated words made the air in the hall tremble.

Liu Yunlan glanced at her husband, the corners of her lips lifting slightly. "I am level fifty-nine."

Qing Hongyuan took a deep breath. "Your son has broken through to level fifty. Soul King."

Shen Wanqing took her husband's hand and said softly, "I am level forty-six. Soul Ancestor."

Four sentences, four breakthroughs.

On the same day, in the same family.

This had never happened in the Qing Clan's hundred-year history.

Qing Zhengyue set down his teacup, his gaze sweeping across every face in the hall.

His eyes paused on his son's face for a moment before shifting away toward the sky beyond the hall.

"Three months." He spoke slowly, his voice carrying a trace of emotion. "Three months ago, I thought the highest I could reach in this life was level seventy. I had been stuck at the level sixty-six bottleneck for so many years that I could not even remember how long."

He withdrew his gaze and looked down at his hands.

The age spots on them had faded considerably.

"I never imagined that, in my remaining years, I would still be able to climb higher."

Liu Yunlan reached out and took her husband's hand. Her eyes reddened slightly, but she was smiling.

"Old man, you will live for a long time yet," she said. "Long enough to see Feng'er take a wife."

Qing Zhengyue was amused by her words. He laughed once, then quickly composed himself.

"Hongyuan." He looked at his son.

"Yes."

"What are your plans for your Fifth Soul Ring?"

Qing Hongyuan pondered for a moment before answering, "I have been considering it these past few days. According to the records in the Azure Dragon Method, a wood-element Soul Master's Fifth Soul Ring should ideally come from a dragon-type Soul Beast."

"A pure-blooded dragon?" Qing Zhengyue asked.

"That would be best," Qing Hongyuan said. "But pure-blooded dragons are too rare, and finding one of the right age is even harder. If we cannot find one, a draconic beast will do."

Qing Zhengyue nodded without speaking.

Shen Wanqing added from the side, "Hongyuan's physique has already surpassed what it once was after being tempered by the Azure Dragon Method. He should be able to withstand a Soul Ring of around twenty thousand years."

"Twenty thousand years." Qing Zhengyue repeated the number, his gaze narrowing slightly.

A Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring was already considered quite high in age for a Soul King.

Most Soul Kings had Fifth Soul Rings between ten thousand and fifteen thousand years old.

Twenty thousand years had already entered the realm of absorbing beyond one's level.

But with the support of the Azure Dragon Method, the number had become feasible.

"I will keep watch for one," Qing Zhengyue said. "There are several Soul Beast forests within the Tiandou Empire, and Star Dou Forest is an even greater gathering place for dragon-type Soul Beasts. When the time is right, I will take you there."

"Thank you, Father." Qing Hongyuan nodded.

As they spoke, a small figure appeared at the entrance to the main hall.

Qing Mufeng stood beyond the threshold, dressed in a blue-green robe. His hair was tied behind his head with a strip of green cloth, revealing his smooth forehead.

After three months apart, he had grown taller, and his entire bearing was steadier than it had been three months earlier.

He crossed the threshold, entered the hall, and bowed to Qing Zhengyue in the seat of honor.

"Grandfather, Grandmother, Father, Mother."

Qing Zhengyue looked at his grandson, his gaze sweeping over him. Suddenly, he raised an eyebrow.

"Level thirty?"

The hall instantly fell silent.