He crouched down and gently used his draconic right claw to move aside the surrounding scales and flesh, revealing what lay beneath that scale.
It was a cluster of azure light.
The glow was faint, wrapped in flesh and blood, impossible to notice without looking carefully.
But when Qing Mufeng's Azure Dragon Pupil fixed upon it, the cluster of light suddenly brightened, like a sleeping heart abruptly awakening.
"Grandpa." Qing Mufeng's voice tightened slightly. "Come take a look."
Qing Zhengyue was cleaning the blood from his blade. Hearing this, he walked over and crouched beside his grandson.
His gaze fell upon the azure light, and his pupils suddenly contracted.
"This is..."
The old man reached out and carefully moved aside the flesh enveloping the light.
As the flesh was peeled away, the light's full form gradually emerged.
It was a pair of wing bones—a complete set of Wind Wood Dragon wing bones, symmetrical on both sides, each joint distinct, their entire surface glowing with azure light.
The bone surfaces were covered in dense patterns resembling naturally inscribed runes, every line flowing with a faint radiance.
A thin membrane connected the wing bones, appearing translucent azure under the glow.
It was not merely an outline, but a complete wing framework, its surface covered by a thin membrane of light.
Qing Zhengyue's hand trembled slightly.
He had lived for nearly eighty years. He had seen soul bones and heard of External Soul Bones, but he had never seen one with his own eyes.
External Soul Bones were the rarest and most precious type of all soul bones.
They did not occupy a standard soul bone slot, could exist independently, and possessed the ability to grow.
As the host's Soul Power increased, the External Soul Bone's power and form would evolve alongside it.
Throughout the history of Douluo Continent, Soul Masters who possessed External Soul Bones were few enough to count on one's fingers.
And judging by its shape and energy fluctuations, that pair of wing bones was precisely a wind-attribute flying-type External Soul Bone.
"External Soul Bone—Wind Wood Dragon Wings." Qing Zhengyue's voice was somewhat hoarse. "Thirty thousand years... It truly is thirty thousand years..."
Hearing the commotion, Liu Yunlan hurried over.
The moment the old woman saw the pair of wing bones, her eyes immediately reddened.
"Heavens..." she murmured. "This... this is an External Soul Bone?"
Qing Hongyuan and Shen Wanqing also gathered around. Four pairs of eyes stared at the azure wing bones stripped from the flesh, and the air seemed to freeze.
Qing Mufeng said nothing, merely watching the wing bones in silence.
The insight of the Azure Dragon Pupil told him that this soul bone's energy was exceptionally pure and highly compatible with wind and wood attributes.
More importantly, it bore no signs of having been used.
This was a fresh soul bone, one that had just been removed, with tremendous growth potential.
"These are the Wind Wood Dragon Wings."
Qing Zhengyue finally spoke, his voice returning to calm. "An External Soul Bone, a growth-type one. After absorbing it, one can gain the ability to fly directly, without consuming Soul Power or using a soul skill, just like..."
He glanced at Qing Mufeng.
"Just like Feng'er's Azure Dragon Wind Control. It is an instinct one is born with."
After a moment of silence.
Qing Mufeng stood and looked at his grandfather.
"Grandpa, absorb this soul bone."
Qing Zhengyue froze and looked up at his grandson.
"What did you say?"
"I said, you should absorb it."
Qing Mufeng's tone was calm, but every word was crystal clear:
"You are the Qing Clan's pillar, the strongest combat force in the entire family."
"You are currently level sixty-nine, only one step away from becoming a Soul Saint."
"After absorbing this soul bone, you may very well break through directly to level seventy."
He paused before continuing, "And External Soul Bones can grow. As your Soul Power increases, this soul bone will become more powerful as well. Once you break through to Soul Saint, the Qing Clan will become a Soul Saint clan. With a Soul Saint standing guard, our security and deterrence will be completely different."
Qing Hongyuan nodded as he listened from the side. "Feng'er is right, Father. You should absorb it."
Liu Yunlan held her husband's hand. The old woman's eyes were red, but she did not speak.
Her gaze had already explained everything.
Shen Wanqing nodded gently. "Father, Feng'er and Hongyuan are right. You are the backbone of the Qing Clan. Only when you are strong will the Qing Clan be safe."
Qing Zhengyue's gaze swept over his son, daughter-in-law, wife, and grandson in turn. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but his throat seemed blocked by something.
He had rarely reddened his eyes in his entire life.
Even back on the battlefield, with a blade pressed to his throat, he had not blinked.
Yet at this moment, as he looked at his family surrounding him and at the precious soul bone dropped by the thirty-thousand-year Wind Wood Dragon he had personally slain being offered to him, he suddenly felt his nose sting.
If this soul bone were sold, it would be worth a fortune.
If his grandson or son absorbed it, their flying abilities would become even stronger.
But his family had unanimously decided to give it to him.
Because he was currently the Qing Clan's pillar.
And the Qing Clan could not do without that pillar.
"Fine." Qing Zhengyue's voice was slightly hoarse, but resolute. "I'll absorb it."
He reached out and carefully removed the pair of Wind Wood Dragon Wings from the flesh. Holding them in both hands, he felt the warm, pulsing energy.
"I, Qing Zhengyue, have lived for seventy-eight years."
"I served in the army for thirty years, then retired into seclusion for more than a decade. Never did I imagine that I could still advance further in my lifetime."
He raised his head and looked at the sky above, fragmented by the canopy.
"Today, I accept these dragon wings."
"I accept them not for myself alone, but for the Qing Clan."
He pressed the soul bone against his back, circulated his Soul Power meditation technique, and began the absorption.
Azure light surged out from the wing bones, enveloping his entire body.
An extraordinarily profound sensation arose.
The next moment.
The soul bone automatically sought out the position most compatible with its host—the shoulder blades on his back.
The roots of the wing bones connected perfectly with his shoulder blades, as if they had always grown there.
A tingling sensation swept over him.
Qing Zhengyue's body suddenly shuddered.
His Soul Power began to surge wildly.
The level sixty-nine bottleneck was torn apart by the impact of the Wind Wood Dragon Wings as easily as paper.
Peak level sixty-nine!
Level seventy!
He had broken through.
Qing Zhengyue closed his eyes, feeling that long-lost power surge through his body.
At seventy-eight, he had thought he had reached the end of his road. He had never expected to have another chance to break through.
More importantly, he now had a pair of wings on his back.
No, not wings. Wing bones.
Azure wing bones extended from his shoulder blades, their joints distinct, their surfaces covered by a thin membrane of light.
When the wings spread, their span exceeded four meters. Their entire surface gleamed azure, while bone patterns flowed across them like runes.
With a thought, he gave his wings a light beat.
Qing Zhengyue opened his eyes and looked at his hands.
Those hands, covered in age spots, seemed to have become several years younger.
At that moment, it was officially announced that the Qing Clan now had a Soul Saint standing guard.
No, he had not yet obtained a soul ring. At most, he was only a quasi-Saint.
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