Spring Returns to Earth! Azure Dragon Pupil!

The next moment, he was already standing before the Azure Spirit Dragon's head.

His long saber swept sideways.

A flash of blade light cut a wound deep enough to expose bone across the dragon's neck.

Blood gushed out, staining the grass in the valley red.

The Azure Spirit Dragon let out a dying shriek, its body twisting wildly as its tail lashed about at random.

But Qing Zhengyue had already retreated to a safe distance, coldly watching it make its final struggle.

"Feng'er." Without looking back, the old man called, "Come over and finish it."

Qing Mufeng took a deep breath and ran over.

The Azure Spirit Dragon was not dead yet, but it had already lost the ability to resist.

Its vertical pupils were filled with terror and unwillingness as it stared fixedly at the child walking toward it.

Qing Mufeng stood before the dragon's head and raised his dragon-transformed right claw.

"Sorry," he said softly.

The dragon claw plunged into the Azure Spirit Dragon's head.

The dragon's body convulsed violently a few times before finally falling still.

Qing Mufeng withdrew his claw, took two steps back, and looked at the enormous dragon corpse at his feet.

This was the first time he had personally killed a soul beast.

It was not merely finishing a wounded prey, but ending a life.

He could not explain what he felt.

There was no excitement, no fear—only a calm weariness.

"Not bad." Qing Zhengyue's voice sounded behind him.

The old man walked over and patted his grandson's shoulder.

"Absorb the soul ring," he said. "Your second ring. Sixteen hundred years."

Qing Mufeng nodded and sat cross-legged beside the dragon corpse.

Liu Yunlan hurried over, crouched beside her grandson, took out a handkerchief, and carefully wiped away the dirt and blood on his face.

"Tired?" the old woman asked softly.

"A little," Qing Mufeng answered honestly.

"Then rest first," Liu Yunlan said. "There's no need to rush."

Qing Mufeng shook his head.

"No, Grandma. I'll absorb it now."

He closed his eyes and steadied his breathing.

A purple soul ring slowly rose from the Azure Spirit Dragon's corpse.

A thousand-year soul ring.

Purple.

It was twice as old as the eight-hundred-year soul ring his grandfather had mentioned.

The soul ring drifted toward him and slowly entered his body.

The instant it entered his body, excruciating pain struck.

It was not like the pain from his first soul ring. It was like a red-hot iron spike piercing straight from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet.

Sixteen hundred years of Soul Power surged into his meridians like a flood, madly battering every inch of their walls.

Qing Mufeng gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead.

The Azure Dragon Martial Soul within him awakened at that moment.

Rather than giving a cold glance as it had last time, it let out a silent roar.

Golden light poured from the depths of his martial soul, spreading through his meridians and wrapping around the violent purple soul ring.

The soul ring's rampage was suppressed inch by inch.

But the process was several times more painful than before.

Qing Mufeng's body began to tremble, and a dense layer of tiny blood droplets seeped from his skin.

Liu Yunlan tightly gripped her dagger, her knuckles turning white.

Qing Zhengyue stood nearby with his long saber held across his chest, his gaze sweeping through the surrounding forest as he guarded against other soul beasts that might be drawn by the scent of blood.

Yet his ears remained focused on his grandson's breathing.

One breath.

Ten breaths.

A hundred breaths.

Qing Mufeng's breathing gradually changed from hurried to steady.

The blood droplets on his body stopped seeping out, and his trembling slowly ceased.

About the time it took two incense sticks to burn, he opened his eyes.

Golden vertical pupils.

They were deeper and more dazzling than before.

He lowered his head to look at his hands and clenched his fists.

Within his body, two soul rings slowly revolved.

One dark yellow, one purple.

Soul Power Rank 26!

From Rank 20 to Rank 26.

He had crossed a full six ranks.

Qing Mufeng rose to his feet, feeling the surging power within him.

His first soul ring had given him Azure Dragon Claw Probe and Azure Dragon Armor.

What would his second soul ring give him?

With a thought, the purple soul ring lit up.

A warm force poured from the soul ring and spread throughout his body.

He raised his right hand, and a faint layer of green light appeared over his palm.

That light was brimming with the breath of life.

As Qing Mufeng looked at the green glow in his palm, information from his inherited memories surfaced in his mind.

Second soul skill!

Spring Returns to Earth.

Area healing.

Allies within its range would continuously recover from injuries, Soul Power, physical strength, and mental energy.

Plants within its range would grow wildly.

Qing Mufeng pressed his palm against the ground.

Green light seeped from his palm into the soil and spread outward with him at its center.

The grass across the clearing grew madly at a visible rate, rising from ankle height to knee height.

Several wildflowers bloomed amid the grass, dew still clinging to their petals.

Liu Yunlan crouched down, looking at the wildly growing flowers and grass. She reached out to touch a petal, and the old woman's eyes reddened again.

"This child..." she choked out. "This child was bestowed upon the Qing Clan by heaven."

Qing Zhengyue said nothing. He only looked at his grandson, his gaze deep and distant.

Within Qing Mufeng's body, his second Innate Divine Ability awakened at that moment as well.

The golden light in his eyes grew even richer.

Something was gathering deep within his pupils.

He raised his head and looked toward a tree in the distance.

Then he saw it.

Inside that tree's trunk, a beetle was gnawing at the wood.

He could see it with perfect clarity.

Even the details of how the beetle's mouthparts tore apart the wood fibers were plain to see.

Azure Dragon Pupil.

Insight.

Qing Mufeng withdrew his gaze, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.

First soul ring: Azure Dragon Claw Probe + Azure Dragon Armor.

Second soul ring: Spring Returns to Earth + Azure Dragon Pupil.

By the current pattern of one Innate Divine Ability per soul ring,

when he reached Titled Douluo, he would be guaranteed at least nine divine abilities.

He had taken another step closer to becoming a true Azure Dragon.

When Qing Mufeng opened his eyes, the sky had already darkened.

Nights in the Star Dou Forest were even more dangerous than the daytime. All kinds of soul beasts began to stir, and low roars and rustling sounds occasionally came from the darkness.

Qing Zhengyue did not choose to travel through the night.

The old man found a natural stone cave near the valley. Its entrance was narrow enough for only one person to enter sideways, but its interior was roughly thirty feet square.

He slashed the rock wall at the entrance a few times, widening it somewhat, then carried over several large boulders to block most of it, leaving only a crack for ventilation.

Liu Yunlan spread a layer of dry dead grass inside the cave, then took out dried rations and a waterskin from her cloth bag.

"Feng'er, come eat something," the old woman called to her grandson.

Qing Mufeng sat on the dry grass, accepted the rations his grandmother handed him, and ate them in small bites.

His body was still exhausted.

Absorbing a sixteen-hundred-year soul ring had been an enormous trial for his six-year-old body.

Although his Azure Dragon bloodline had helped suppress the soul ring's rampage, his meridians had still suffered some damage from the impact and needed time to heal.

Liu Yunlan sat beside him with one hand resting on his wrist. The old woman's brows furrowed slightly.

"Your meridians have suffered some damage," she said. "After we return, you need to recuperate properly for a while. You cannot absorb another soul ring yet."

Qing Mufeng nodded.

He had not planned to rush into absorbing his next soul ring anyway.

The advantage of his innate Rank 20 had already been used up. Next, he needed to cultivate step by step from Rank 26 to Rank 30, and that would take time.

Qing Zhengyue sat at the cave entrance with his back against the stone wall, his long saber across his knees, his gaze watching the darkness outside through the crack.