The Awakening of the Innate Divine Ability! I Want to Try!

Qing Mufeng looked down at the armor on his body, feeling the power surging from it into his frame.

Defense, significantly increased.

Recovery, significantly increased.

Mental power, significantly increased.

Speed and attack power, also clearly boosted.

This was not a Soul Skill.

This was...

"An innate divine ability." Qing Mufeng murmured, a flash of realization crossing his eyes.

Qing Zhengyue was completely stunned.

He had lived for seventy-eight years, seen countless Martial Souls, and witnessed countless Soul Skills.

But he had never seen anything like this.

It was not a Soul Skill granted by a Soul Ring, but an ability awakened by the Martial Soul itself.

Unheard of.

Liu Yunlan circled her grandson twice, the old woman's eyes shining like two stars.

"Old man, did you see that?"

"This set of armor... this child's Martial Soul has awakened some kind of innate talent!"

Her voice was trembling, but not from fear—it was excitement.

"I saw it." Qing Zhengyue's voice was somewhat hoarse.

He walked up to his grandson, extended a finger, and tapped lightly on the armor.

Ding!!!

A crisp sound rang out, as if striking metal.

Yet, the surface of the armor simultaneously rippled with wooden textures.

"The defense is very strong." Qing Zhengyue judged, "And it's not just physical defense; I can feel it also has an insulating effect against Soul Power."

He tapped it twice more, then withdrew his hand.

"What about the consumption?"

Qing Mufeng sensed the rate at which his internal Soul Power was draining: "Moderate, it can be maintained continuously."

"Put it away." Qing Zhengyue said, "Do not use this ability lightly in front of others; treat it as your trump card."

"Mm, that is what I was thinking as well."

Qing Mufeng nodded, and with a thought, the armor on his body receded like a tide, sinking back into his body.

Qing Zhengyue was silent for a moment, then suddenly reached out and patted his grandson gently on the head.

"Azure Dragon Claw Probe." He repeated the name of the Soul Skill in a low voice, then looked at his grandson: "You know what your Martial Soul is, don't you?"

Qing Mufeng looked up, meeting his grandfather's eyes.

He did not speak, simply nodding.

"When did you find out?"

"During the awakening." Qing Mufeng said, "Inherited memories told me."

"I see."

Qing Zhengyue closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

When he opened them again, the shock and turbulence were gone from his old eyes, leaving only calm and resolve.

"Good." He said, "Since you know, Grandfather won't say much more. Remember, until you are strong enough, you are an Azure Snake. Not an Azure Dragon."

"I understand." Qing Mufeng said.

Qing Zhengyue looked at him, looking at the composure in the six-year-old child's eyes that far exceeded his age, and suddenly smiled.

"Rest for a quarter of an hour." The old man turned around and gripped his long blade once more: "Then we will go find the second Soul Beast."

Liu Yunlan crouched down to help her grandson straighten his collar; the old woman's eyes were slightly red, but the corners of her mouth were turned up in a smile.

"My precious grandson." She said softly, her voice choked with emotion: "You are much stronger than your grandfather was at your age."

Qing Mufeng looked at the tears in his grandmother's eyes and said nothing, only gently squeezing her hand.

A quarter of an hour later.

Three figures continued to walk deep into the dense forest.

Qing Mufeng walked between his grandfather and grandmother, his steps still light.

Within his body, the deep yellow Soul Ring rotated slowly, the Azure Dragon Armor lying dormant deep within his Martial Soul, waiting for the next summons.

The first ring, complete.

Next, the second ring.

"Grandfather."

Qing Zhengyue stopped in his tracks and turned to look at his grandson.

"What is it?"

Qing Mufeng walked forward and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with his grandfather.

His gaze was fixed on the low-lying Vale ahead, where a massive cyan dragon was coiled into a ball, basking in the sun.

An Azure Spirit Dragon.

A superior species to the Vine Dragon, possessing the wood attribute. Its body was a full two times larger than the previous Vine Dragon, with a torso as thick as a water vat and a length exceeding eight meters.

The scales covering its body were a deep cyan, each the size of an adult's palm, shimmering with a cold, eerie luster under the sunlight.

"Let me try this Azure Spirit Dragon," Qing Mufeng said.

Qing Zhengyue frowned.

"What did you say?"

"I said, let me try it myself."

Qing Mufeng repeated himself, his tone calm. "Grandfather and Grandmother, just watch from the side. If I can't handle it, then you can intervene."

Liu Yunlan hurried over and reached out to touch her grandson's forehead. "Feng'er, are you running a fever? That is a 1,600-year-old soul beast. You are only six years old and have just absorbed your first soul ring..."

"Grandmother, I don't have a fever."

Qing Mufeng gently brushed her hand away and looked at the two elders earnestly. "I know it is a thousand-year soul beast, and I know it is stronger than me, but..."

He paused, organizing his thoughts.

"My martial soul is the Azure Dragon."

"It possesses the pride of the dragon race."

Qing Zhengyue's eyes flickered.

"The Azure Dragon is the superior of all wood-attribute dragons in the world."

Qing Mufeng continued, "My inherited memories tell me that any wood-attribute dragon soul beast will be suppressed by the hierarchy of my bloodline when facing an Azure Dragon. They cannot unleash their full strength, and may even be too terrified to attack with their full power."

He looked toward the Azure Spirit Dragon in the Vale.

"I want to test how strong this suppression is."

Qing Zhengyue fell silent.

He stared into his grandson's eyes for a long time, trying to find a trace of impulsiveness, recklessness, or ignorance of the immensity of heaven and earth.

But he found none.

Those eyes were calm, as calm as a pool of deep water.

It wasn't that he wasn't afraid, but that he knew exactly what he was doing.

"How much confidence do you have?" Qing Zhengyue asked.

"Due to the limitation of my level, I have no certainty."

Qing Mufeng answered honestly, "That is why I asked Grandfather and Grandmother to watch from the side. If I can win, I will fight; if I cannot, I will run. If I cannot run, then you can step in."

The corner of Qing Zhengyue's mouth twitched slightly.

This child's calculations were certainly shrewd.

Liu Yunlan wanted to say something more, but was stopped by Qing Zhengyue raising his hand.

"Let him try," the old man said.

Liu Yunlan glared at her husband, but did not object further.

The old lady retreated to the side, her right hand already gripping the short dagger at her waist, while her left hand pulled two small porcelain bottles from a cloth bag, ready to act at any moment.

Qing Zhengyue also stepped back a few paces, his long blade drawn three inches from its scabbard, his gaze locked onto his grandson.

"Go," he said. "Remember, if it doesn't work, retreat."

Qing Mufeng nodded, took a deep breath, and turned to walk toward the Vale.

Inside the valley.

The Azure Spirit Dragon had long since sensed their arrival.

The perception of a thousand-year soul beast far exceeded that of a hundred-year one. From the moment Qing Mufeng began to speak, it had raised its dragon head, its golden vertical pupils coldly staring at the three intruders.

But it did not move.

Because it felt a certain aura that made it uneasy.

That aura did not come from the white-haired old man.

Although that old man was strong, that strength was something it could understand and deal with.

That aura came from the child.

The child who was only six years old.