Azure Scale Rain and Marsh

Di Tian arrived at Zi Ji's territory. Inside the deep, gloomy cave, a gigantic purple dragon lay coiled.

Zi Ji was asleep, but when she sensed Di Tian's arrival, she opened her dragon eyes.

"Di Tian, get to the point."

Zi Ji was cool by nature and disliked pointless chatter, but she would absolutely obey the Beast God's orders.

Di Tian briefly explained what had happened, including the terrifying dragon might and the child's features.

After listening, surprise flashed through Zi Ji's dragon eyes.

"Has Lord Dragon God's avatar been right beside us all this time?"

Di Tian nodded.

"I shouldn't have told you about our lord's existence. Our lord is still recovering from his injuries, and the fewer people who know, the better. So don't tell anyone about this—not even Bi Ji or the others."

Zi Ji nodded to show she understood. Though cool by nature, she wasn't stupid. Of course this kind of thing had to be kept secret.

Di Tian continued to remind her, "Remember, under no circumstances are you to offend that senior of the dragon race. If the senior doesn't want to come here, stay by his side and protect him for now. If anything comes up that you can't handle, contact me at once."

"What are his features? How am I supposed to find him if I don't even know what he looks like?"

Di Tian thought for a moment. "A Soul Beast saw that the senior of the dragon race had blue-green hair. That's one distinguishing feature."

"He carried a great seal, looked like a child, and had a dragon-type Martial Soul. There shouldn't be many people who fit all those features."

Zi Ji frowned. "The Star Dou Forest is so vast. He won't be easy to find."

Di Tian shook his head.

"I'll take charge of the forest. I need to guard Life Lake, so I can't go too far. You should go to the human towns. Don't head to a big city yet. Since the senior has started cultivating anew, he probably wouldn't go straight to a big city."

After discussing it, the two went their separate ways. Zi Ji transformed into a tall, coldly beautiful woman with waist-length purple hair, then left the forest and headed for the towns on its outskirts.

At that moment, Xuan Qing was enduring tremendous pressure. A Soul Ring close to nine hundred years old was extremely difficult to absorb.

After all, he hadn't started cultivating the Azure Dragon Mysterious Heaven Art yet. Although his physique was slightly stronger than that of Soul Masters at the same level, the difference was limited.

Fortunately, before absorbing the Soul Ring, he had dragged Little Qilin out to do the heavy lifting. A Martial Soul outside the body could share the burden, and he hadn't forgotten about that ability.

Little Qilin lay nearby, its body glowing with a nine-colored radiance as it stared at him with a deeply aggrieved look. Its expression clearly said:

"I may not be a person, but you're a real dog."

The process was long and painful. Xuan Qing sat there for a full day and night before successfully absorbing the Soul Ring.

When the last trace of energy merged into his body, his Soul Power surged straight to level twelve!

Xuan Qing collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. He was drenched in sweat from head to toe, as if he'd just been fished out of the water.

But his eyes shone.

"Success! My Soul Power went up two levels. What a windfall."

Once he had caught his breath, he carefully sensed his first Soul Skill, and information surfaced in his mind.

Azure Scale Rain and Marsh.

Effect One: Changes the weather in an area, making it rain. The area expands as Soul Power increases.

Effect Two: Those caught in the rain can choose to dispel negative effects, recover Soul Power, or heal injuries.

Effect Three: Drains enemies' Soul Power at a rate of one percent per second and converts it for the user's own use.

Effect Four: The target is affected unless they have a Soul Skill that grants immunity to negative effects. It can be immune to, but not resist, the effect.

Effect Five: Rain and marsh is the manifestation of energy, so it does not conduct electricity, meaning lightning-attribute attacks are ineffective.

Xuan Qing sucked in a sharp breath after reading it. This Soul Skill was practically a bug. It was far too unreasonable!

It covered almost every utility function: healing, removing control effects, recovery, and draining energy. On top of that, its effects were overwhelmingly powerful and comprehensive.

He wasn't lacking in attack power. Even without a single offensive Soul Skill, the Azure Sky Demon-Breaking Spear and the Qilin Seal were more than enough.

"Incredible!"

Xuan Qing couldn't help laughing aloud. His first Soul Skill was a perfect fit for his needs.

He left the space, knowing it wasn't safe to linger. He had to get back quickly.

This time, he went straight there at full speed and made it back to the town in just one hour.

What Xuan Qing didn't know was that Zi Ji had left the day before. She had spent a day in town gathering information.

A child who fit the description had briefly stopped there four or five days earlier, then entered the forest and never came back out. Some people suspected he had died in the forest.

But Zi Ji knew that was impossible. How could someone who had started cultivating anew fail to leave themselves a way out? And if he really had died, what had Di Tian seen?

So she left at once to investigate other towns, narrowly missing Xuan Qing.

Xuan Qing walked into the biggest restaurant in town, ordered a table full of food, and dug in.

He wasn't worried about the expense. He was about to have money anyway.

He found the biggest materials shop in town. The owner was a wiry old man wearing glasses.

"Do you buy Soul Beast materials?"

The old man pushed up his glasses. "We do. It depends on the quality. The more intact it is, the better the price."

Xuan Qing nodded and took all the Soul Beast corpses from his space. Twelve Hundred-Year Soul Beasts piled up across the floor.

Fortunately, the shop was large enough to hold them all. The old man's eyes lit up as he crouched down to inspect them carefully.

He ran his hand over the fur and exclaimed, "Tsk... The pelts are in great condition. There's hardly any damage."

"Trade secret," Xuan Qing said casually.

The old man glanced at him but didn't ask any more. He knew the rules. After carefully inspecting everything, he spent a long time calculating the price.

"One thousand five hundred Gold Soul Coins in total. That's a very fair price."

Xuan Qing nodded. The old man wasn't ripping him off. They weren't rare species, after all.

"Deal."

The old man swiftly counted out the money, put it in a purse, and handed it over. It was heavy. Xuan Qing pocketed it and turned to leave. He was well-off now, and he had confidence to match.

He headed to Scale Snake Village. He didn't plan to stay in Tianyuan City any longer. There was little point in lingering. It was time to go out and explore.

After two days on the road, he returned to the village. The village chief was drying grain in the courtyard and looked surprised to see him.

"Xiao Qing? Didn't you go to the city?"

Xuan Qing had already thought up an excuse.

"I found a master. These Gold Soul Coins are from him."

He took out the thousand Gold Soul Coins he had set aside earlier and pressed them into the village chief's hands.

"My master told me to come say a proper goodbye. I'll be cultivating with him from now on, so I probably won't be back for a while. Keep this and use it to improve life in the village."

The village chief stared at the heavy purse, his hands trembling. "Th-this is far too much!"

"It's not much. My master has plenty of money. Please keep it. I still have to go to school and take care of my graduation paperwork, though."

He didn't stay long. After another quarter of an hour, he reached Tianyuan Primary Soul Master Academy. It was still the school holidays, but not everyone went home, so Director Meng was still there.

Xuan Qing explained why he had come: he had obtained his first Soul Ring and found a master, and he wanted to apply for early graduation.

Director Meng was surprised, but she still tested his Soul Power. The crystal ball lit up and settled steadily at level twelve.

"Really, level twelve?"

Director Meng's voice was full of disbelief. Going from level five to level twelve in half a year was a frightening pace.

But when she remembered that Xuan Qing had improved the meditation method, she understood. It was dangerous, but the results were undeniably good.

"You meet the graduation requirements." She took out a graduation certificate, filled in the information, and stamped it.

Xuan Qing took the certificate and thanked her sincerely.

Director Meng waved a hand. "Study hard with your master. Don't waste your talent."

"I will." Xuan Qing bowed, then turned and left the office.

He walked out of the academy gates and looked back at the signboard, his feelings complicated. After all, he had spent more than half a year here. It would be a lie to say he felt nothing for the place.

This city meant a great deal to him. It was not only the first city he had reached after coming to this world.

It was also close to his home. The house was shabby, but it was still his home, and that kind of attachment might be impossible for others to understand.