Homecoming!

"Grandpa," Qing Mufeng suddenly spoke.

"Mm."

"The Azure Spirit Dragon's corpse... just left there, is that okay?"

Qing Zhengyue glanced at his grandson, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

"A thousand-year soul beast's corpse will soon be devoured by other soul beasts. After we leave, many soul beasts will come to eat in this vale. It will help us cover our tracks." The old man paused.

Qing Mufeng nodded thoughtfully.

"What about the Vine Dragon's?"

"Same," Qing Zhengyue said. "The Star Dou Forest is a place of constant eating and being eaten. The bodies of two dragons won't even make a ripple. No one will know what happened here."

Qing Mufeng was silent for a moment, then said something that surprised Qing Zhengyue.

"So, if I hunt soul beasts in the future, I'll have to handle them like this too? Leave no trace?"

Qing Zhengyue looked at his grandson, a hint of admiration in his eyes.

"Yes," the old man said. "Unless you become so powerful that you don't need to hide."

Qing Mufeng took note.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, just as dawn broke, Qing Zhengyue got up.

He moved the stone blocking the cave entrance, poked his head out to observe for a moment, and confirmed there was no danger around before calling back to his wife and grandson.

"Let's go."

The three left the stone cave and began their journey back.

The return trip was much faster than the journey there.

Qing Zhengyue didn't dally on the road, leading his wife and grandson directly towards the outer edges of the Star Dou Forest.

Liu Yunlan still held her grandson's hand, but the old woman's steps were much lighter than before.

Qing Mufeng walked beside his grandmother, feeling the circulation of the two spirit rings within him.

The deep yellow first spirit ring, the purple second spirit ring.

The two spirit rings rotated slowly, spirit power flowing through his meridians, much more potent than before he absorbed the second spirit ring.

Level twenty-six.

At this level, in Nuoding City, he already surpassed most adult soul masters.

And he was only six years old.

Qing Mufeng took a deep breath, suppressing the hint of complacency in his heart.

Level twenty-six was considered quite skilled in Nuoding City, where Soul Ancestors were the strongest on the surface.

But on the entire Douluo Continent, it was nothing.

The Martial Soul Hall's Golden Generation were already Soul Ancestors and Soul Kings in their early twenties.

Those reclusive old monsters, the Titled Douluo level powerhouses, could crush him with one hand.

He was still far from it.

Two days later.

Qing Family Manor.

Qing Hongyuan and Shen Wanqing stood at the manor entrance, waiting from early morning until noon.

When three figures emerged from the forest, Shen Wanqing's eyes immediately welled up.

She hurried forward, crouched down, and examined her son from head to toe, as if afraid a limb might be missing.

"Feng'er, are you hurt?"

"No, Mother," Qing Mufeng smiled and shook his head. "Grandpa and Grandma protected me very well."

Shen Wanqing checked him over again, confirming her son was truly unharmed, before standing up and bowing to her in-laws.

"Father, Mother, you've worked hard."

Qing Zhengyue waved his hand and strode into the manor.

"Hongyuan, come to my study," the old man said without looking back.

Qing Hongyuan glanced at his wife, Shen Wanqing nodded at him, and he quickly followed.

Inside the study.

Qing Zhengyue sat behind the desk, picked up his teacup, and took a large gulp.

Qing Hongyuan stood before the table, waiting for his father to speak.

"Feng'er's first spirit ring was a 823-year Vine Dragon," Qing Zhengyue said. "His second spirit ring was a 1,670-year Azure Spirit Dragon."

Qing Hongyuan gasped.

Although his father had mentioned this plan before, hearing these numbers still shocked him.

"The absorption process..." Qing Hongyuan asked cautiously.

"The first ring went smoothly," Qing Zhengyue said. "The second ring had some complications, but it was within expectations overall."

Qing Hongyuan breathed a sigh of relief.

"However," Qing Zhengyue put down his teacup and looked at his son, "I discovered something when I went to the Star Dou Forest this time."

Qing Hongyuan's heart tensed again.

"After Feng'er absorbed his first spirit ring, he awakened a... innate ability."

Qing Zhengyue chose his words carefully. "It's not a spirit skill, but an ability awakened by the martial soul itself. A set of armor appeared on him, with extremely strong defense, astonishing recovery, and it could also enhance mental power and speed."

Qing Hongyuan was stunned.

"An ability awakened by the martial soul itself?" he repeated. "This... I've never heard of such a thing."

"I haven't either," Qing Zhengyue said. "I've searched all the Qing Clan's ancient texts, and not a single book records such a phenomenon."

He paused, his gaze deepening.

"Also, his first spirit skill is called Azure Dragon Claw Probe. Not Azure Snake, but Azure Dragon."

Qing Hongyuan's pupils contracted sharply.

"He knows himself," Qing Zhengyue said. "When he awakened it, the inherited memories told him."

A long silence fell upon the study.

Qing Hongyuan opened his mouth, then closed it, repeating this several times before finally finding his voice.

"Father, then Feng'er he..."

"He is the Azure Dragon," Qing Zhengyue stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the verdant mountains and forests. "Not the Azure Snake, but the Azure Dragon. The Azure Dragon of the East, the Origin of Wood."

These were things he had read in the clan's ancient books.

Those books were unearthed by their ancestors from some ancient ruins while following armies in campaigns.

Outsiders did not know about them.

"This information must absolutely not get out."

Qing Hongyuan took a deep breath and nodded heavily.

"Your son understands."

Evening.

In Qing Mufeng's room.

Liu Yunlan and Shen Wanqing, mother and daughter-in-law, were busy preparing a bath for Qing Mufeng, changing his clothes, and brewing medicinal soup.

Shen Wanqing walked in with a bowl of medicinal soup and saw her son sitting on the bed, looking down at his right hand.

"Feng'er, drink your medicine."

Qing Mufeng took the bowl and drank it down in one gulp, not even frowning.

Shen Wanqing looked at her son and suddenly felt as if he had grown up overnight.

Not physically, but in his eyes.

There was something in those eyes that didn't belong to a six-year-old child.

"Mother," Qing Mufeng put down the medicine bowl and looked up at his mother. "Grandfather said I have to stay hidden in the manor from now on and can't go out."

Shen Wanqing was taken aback, then nodded gently.

"Your grandfather is protecting you."

"I know," Qing Mufeng said. "I'm not unhappy."

He truly wasn't unhappy.

Staying at home, not having to socialize, not having to participate in those boring competitions, not having to deal with forces coveting his talent.

Quietly cultivating, steadily growing stronger.

When he was strong enough that no one could threaten him, then he would go out.

This was the pace he liked the most.

Shen Wanqing looked at her son's calm eyes and suddenly smiled.

She reached out and ruffled his hair.

"You're much smarter than your father."

Qing Mufeng also smiled.

The night deepened.

Qing Family Manor fell into a deep slumber.

Qing Mufeng lay on his bed, eyes closed, yet he could not fall asleep.

He was introspecting his Martial Soul.

That Azure Snake... no, that Azure Dragon floated silently within his sea of consciousness, having grown slightly larger than when it first awakened.

The scales on its body shimmered with a faint cyan light, and those cloud-like patterns were clearer than before.

Two Spirit Rings revolved slowly around it.

And deep within the Azure Dragon, two more orbs of light lay dormant.

Those were the two innate divine abilities that had already awakened.

The Azure Dragon Armor and the Azure Dragon Pupil.

With a flick of his thought, the Azure Dragon Pupil quietly activated.

In the darkness, his eyes glowed with a faint golden light.

Through the walls, he saw his grandparents sleeping in the room next door.

His grandfather's breathing was steady and powerful, while his grandmother's was soft and long.

Further away, in his father and mother's room.

His father's snoring was thunderous, and his mother turned over, muttered something, and drifted back into a deep sleep.

Qing Mufeng withdrew his gaze and closed his eyes.

The golden light dissipated.

In the darkness, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

This world was dangerous.

But he had his family.

He had the Azure Dragon Martial Soul.

He had the Origin of Wood.

And he had the memories and insights from over twenty years of his past life.

He did not need to rush.

Take it slow.

Step by step.

One day, he would become a true Azure Dragon.

On that day, he would make the entire Douluo Continent remember his name.

But not now.

For now, he was just a six-year-old child.

It was time to sleep.

Because he was already far ahead of his peers.

Therefore, he needed to balance work and rest.