Heart of the Druid

In his sleep, Ling Qing seemed to hear a faint rustling, like the sound of seeds taking root, sprouting, and breaking through the earth.

A hazy green light flashed past. Warm sunlight fell over him, and a gentle breeze brushed against him, carrying waves of fresh fragrance.

Countless emotions surged through his heart, while a vigorous breath of life filled his body.

Before his eyes lay a lush green world. Verdant trees covered mountains and plains, and at the edge of his vision stood a colossal tree that connected heaven and earth, shading half the world beneath its canopy.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp~"

Little sprites darted joyfully through it, their silvery laughter carried by the breeze across the entire world.

The scene shifted. Plants and fungi of every color hid within the forest's shadows, while all kinds of creatures lay buried beneath decaying leaves...

Jungles from every climate blended together, abrupt yet harmonious, displaying the splendor of nature before him.

Then his vision abruptly changed. Ling Qing was already standing on a slab of bluish rock jutting out from a steep cliff.

He looked down at the vast grassland below, where herds of cattle, sheep, horses, and deer were scattered across the plains. Hyenas, leopards, and male lions flickered in and out of sight among the grass, constantly watching them.

An impulse from deep within his bloodline surged up, leaving him with an urge he could not suppress.

"Awooo~~~"

A desolate wolf howl burst from his throat, followed by a tidal chorus of howls behind him.

Amid the long howls, his perspective shifted again. In a lush forest, he endured the hunger in his belly and silently made his way down the mountain along a familiar path.

Before long, a wild deer appeared in his sight.

"Roar~"

With a tremendous roar, he easily pounced on the deer and bit through its neck.

Scalding blood burst across his mouth, and an intense craving drove him to gulp down the spurting blood in great mouthfuls.

His perspective flickered endlessly, gradually changing from ordinary wild wolves and fierce tigers into Nine-Tailed Foxes, Zhengning, Qiongqi, and Lu Wu.

There were even legendary beasts found only in myths: giant turtles that bore continents on their backs, colossal pythons coiled around the world, Kunpeng that soared beyond the clouds with the heavens upon their backs, and more.

Splash, splash, splash~

Suddenly, he became a spray of water in a small river, surging and tumbling along with the current.

Gradually, he swept along with the rushing water, breaking free from the riverbed's restraints and flooding wildly across the vast land.

Rising moisture gathered in the sky, becoming a dark cloud that continuously expanded.

In an instant, torrential rain poured down. Before long, it submerged the entire world, turning heaven and earth into a boundless ocean.

Countless impurities settled amid the floodwaters, slowly condensing in the depths.

Bzzzz~

Shortly afterward, amid a roar that echoed through heaven and earth, mountain peaks rose from the ground one after another, splitting the floodwaters and piercing the dark clouds.

The rising land pushed back the floodwaters, formed coastlines that remained unmoved despite the raging waves, and restrained the waters left upon the continent until they gradually calmed.

Rumble~

The towering mountain peak split open, and a crimson pillar of fire erupted from within, exploding high in the sky.

Blazing fire-rain scattered across heaven and earth with the force of the explosion, soon dyeing the entire world crimson.

Roaring flames became the ruler of this world, melting away half of even the lofty peaks standing between heaven and earth.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~

Amid the swirling flames, a faint ripple spread outward. Countless burning flames stirred wave after wave of ripples.

After stacking upon each other countless times, they finally formed a violent gale that swept across heaven and earth.

The howling wind stirred everything in the world, blowing apart the flames that reflected against the sky like falling, fading stars.

The rolling ocean raised towering waves once more with the aid of the wildly dancing hurricane, while absorbing its surging, turbulent force.

For a time, earth, water, wind, and fire churned ceaselessly, filling the entire world.

Suddenly, a shriek sounded from the sky. Ling Qing raised his head and saw a starlight appear before him.

More and more shrieks and roars rang out above his head, while specks of light emerged throughout the void.

He saw that every point of starlight bore a being made of starlight, each one watching him and waiting at any moment for his summons.

At the same time, with but a thought, consciousnesses that were gentle, savage, cold, or radiant appeared around him.

As his thoughts shifted, countless beasts, exotic beasts, divine beasts, and Star Spirits dwelling in the void answered his call and appeared before him.

Some helped him through hardships, some assisted him in accomplishing certain tasks, some fought beside him to destroy the enemies before him, and some lent him their own power.

As the scenes turned, the colossal tree standing between heaven and earth gathered all plants into itself and transformed into a seed glowing with emerald light.

Countless creatures racing across heaven and earth fused together, constantly changing form before finally becoming an adorable beast claw.

The endlessly cycling elements of earth, water, wind, and fire gradually drew together and condensed into a gem radiating four-colored light.

The dazzling starry sky and countless exotic beasts continuously shrank, becoming a crystal sphere wrapped in specks of light.

The four strange objects spun around Ling Qing without pause, gradually accelerating until they suddenly collided and transformed into a crystal-clear Acorn that shot into his chest.

Character activated Heart of the Druid. Successfully became a Druid. Current level: 1.

Note: This class has been locked, and its level cannot fall below Level 1.

At dawn, as the first ray of light broke free from the horizon and spread across the world, Ling Qing slowly woke from his sleep.

He looked at the ceiling, which he could see with perfect clarity in the faint morning light.

An indescribable clarity filled his body and mind. It was an experience he had never known before.

For more than twenty years of his life, he had always felt half-awake and half-asleep, never particularly invested in anything and treating everything with an indifferent, take-it-or-leave-it attitude.

But at this very moment, it was as if he had awakened from a dream and could clearly feel everything around him.

A mosquito buzzed around him, searching for a place to bite. Dust drifting through the air churned with his movements.

Outside, plants breathed in oxygen and carbon dioxide beneath the morning sun, while the soft rustling of elderly men and women already up and moving about came from nearby.

There was the sound of air flowing through the sky and the roar of cars on the main road in the distance.

Everything—from the farthest reaches to the nearest point and then back into the distance, from the vast to the minuscule and then to the boundless.

And there was last night's hazy yet vivid dream, which resurfaced in his mind as he recalled it.

It replayed like a film until he heard those final words.

"Heart of the Druid?! Becoming a Druid?!"

He murmured the key words from that sentence under his breath.

Ling Qing touched his chest and felt the Acorn within his ribcage, beating in rhythm with his heart.

He turned and felt around the bedside, only to find that the strange Acorn had indeed vanished.

Then Ling Qing suddenly remembered the videos he had watched yesterday.

With an uneasy heart, he focused his mind on his chest and cautiously touched the beating Acorn.

The next moment, countless pieces of information flooded into his mind. In an instant, they formed an information panel before his eyes according to his habits and understanding.