Spring Returns to Earth! Azure Dragon Pupil!

In the next instant, he was already standing before the head of the Azure Spirit Dragon.

A long blade swept horizontally.

As the blade light flashed, a wound deep enough to expose bone was carved into the dragon's neck.

Fresh blood gushed out, staining the grass of the Vale crimson.

The Azure Spirit Dragon let out a dying hiss, its dragon body twisting frantically as its tail lashed out wildly.

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

"Mufeng," the old man called out without turning his head, "come over and deliver the finishing blow."

Qing Mufeng took a deep breath and ran over.

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

Its vertical pupils were filled with fear and unwillingness, staring 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 pierced into the head of the Azure Spirit Dragon.

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

Qing Mufeng retracted his claw, stepped back two paces, and looked at the giant dragon corpse at his feet.

This was the first time he had killed a Spirit Beast with his own hands.

Not just a finishing blow, but an ending.

He could not describe what he was feeling inside.

There was no excitement, no fear, only a calm sense of exhaustion.

"Well done," Qing Zhengyue's voice sounded from behind him.

The old man walked over and patted his grandson on the shoulder.

"Absorb the Spirit Ring," he said. "The second ring, sixteen hundred years."

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

Liu Yunlan walked over quickly, crouched down beside her grandson, and took out a handkerchief to carefully wipe the dirt and bloodstains from his face.

"Are you tired?" the old woman asked softly.

"A little," Qing Mufeng answered honestly.

"Then rest for a moment," Liu Yunlan said. "There is no rush."

Qing Mufeng shook his head.

"No need, Grandmother. I will absorb it now."

He closed his eyes and steadied his breathing.

Above the corpse of the Azure Spirit Dragon, a purple Spirit Ring slowly rose.

A thousand-year Spirit Ring.

Purple.

It was exactly double the eight-hundred-year ring his grandfather had mentioned.

The Spirit Ring drifted toward him and slowly submerged into his body.

The moment it entered his body, a sharp pain struck.

It was not the same pain as the first Spirit Ring; it felt like a red-hot iron awl being driven straight from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.

Sixteen hundred years of spirit power surged into his meridians like a flood, frantically battering every inch of his meridian walls.

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

His Azure Dragon Martial Soul awakened at this moment.

It did not just cast a cold glance like last time, but let out a silent roar.

Golden light surged from the depths of his Martial Soul, spreading along his meridians to envelop the violent purple Spirit Ring.

The riot of the Spirit Ring was suppressed inch by inch.

But this process was several times more painful than the last.

Qing Mufeng's body began to tremble, and a fine layer of blood beads seeped out from the surface of his skin.

Liu Yunlan's hand gripped her short dagger tightly, her knuckles turning white.

Qing Zhengyue stood to the side with his long blade held horizontally before him, his gaze sweeping across the surrounding woods, alert for other Spirit Beasts that might be attracted by the scent of blood.

But his ears remained constantly tuned to his grandson's breathing.

One breath.

Ten breaths.

A hundred breaths.

Qing Mufeng's breathing gradually shifted from rapid to steady.

The beads of blood on his body stopped seeping out, and the trembling slowly ceased.

After about the time it takes to burn two incense sticks, he opened his eyes.

Golden vertical pupils.

They were richer and more dazzling than the last time.

He looked down at his hands and clenched his fists.

Within his body, two spirit rings rotated slowly.

One deep yellow, one purple.

Level 26 spirit power!

From level 20 to level 26.

A leap of six full levels.

Qing Mufeng stood up, feeling the surging power within him.

His first spirit ring had granted him Azure Dragon Claw Probe and Azure Dragon Armor.

What would his second spirit ring grant him?

With a thought, the purple spirit ring lit up.

A warm force surged from the ring, permeating his entire body.

He raised his right hand, and a faint green light emerged upon his palm.

That radiance was filled with the aura of life.

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

Second spirit skill!

Spring Returns to Earth.

Area-of-effect healing.

Teammates within the range would continuously recover from injuries, spirit power, stamina, and mental energy.

Plants within the range would grow wildly.

Qing Mufeng pressed his palm against the ground.

The green light seeped from his palm into the soil, spreading outward with him at the center.

The grass on the meadow grew at a speed visible to the naked eye, rising from ankle-height to knee-height.

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

Liu Yunlan crouched down, watching the wildly growing flowers and grass, and reached out to touch a petal; the old woman's eyes turned red once more.

"This child..." she choked out, "This child is a gift from the Heavens to the Qing Clan."

Qing Zhengyue did not speak, merely watching his grandson with a deep and distant gaze.

And within Qing Mufeng's body, his second innate divine ability also awakened at this moment.

The golden light in his eyes grew even more intense.

Deep within his pupils, something was coalescing.

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

Then, he saw it.

Inside the trunk of that tree, a beetle was gnawing on the wood.

He saw it with perfect clarity.

Even the details of how the beetle's mouthparts tore through the wood fibers were laid bare before him.

Azure Dragon Pupil.

Insight.

Qing Mufeng withdrew his gaze, the corners of his mouth curling upward slightly.

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

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

Calculating based on one divine ability per ring.

By the time he reached Titled Douluo, he would have at least nine divine abilities.

He was one step closer to becoming a true Azure Dragon.

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

The night in the Star Dou Forest was far more dangerous than the day; various spirit beasts began to stir, and low growls and rustling sounds drifted out from the darkness from time to time.

Qing Zhengyue chose not to continue the journey through the night.

The old man found a natural stone cave near the Vale. The entrance was narrow, allowing only one person to enter sideways, but the interior was three zhang square.

He struck the stone wall at the entrance a few times to widen it, then moved several large rocks to block most of the opening, leaving only a small gap for ventilation.

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

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

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

His body was still exhausted.

Absorbing a 1,600-year spirit ring was a tremendous ordeal for his six-year-old body.

Although the Azure Dragon bloodline had helped him suppress the violent energy of the spirit ring, his meridians had still suffered some damage during the impact and required time to heal.

Liu Yunlan sat beside him, one hand resting on his pulse, her brows slightly furrowed.

"The meridians are somewhat damaged," she said. "After we return, you must recuperate for a while; you cannot absorb any more spirit rings."

Qing Mufeng nodded.

He had no intention of rushing to absorb the next spirit ring anyway.

The advantage of his innate twentieth-level spirit power had been exhausted; now, he would have to cultivate step by step from level twenty-six to level thirty, a process that would take time.

Qing Zhengyue sat at the cave entrance, his back against the stone wall and his long blade resting across his knees, his gaze fixed on the darkness outside through the gap in the rocks.