The Azure Scales and the Rainy Marsh

Di Tian arrived at the territory of Zi Ji, where a massive purple dragon lay coiled within the depths of a cavern.

Zi Ji was sleeping, but sensing Di Tian's arrival, she opened her dragon eyes.

"Di Tian, speak your mind."

Zi Ji was cold by nature and disliked idle chatter, but she would absolutely obey the Beast God's commands.

Di Tian briefly recounted the situation, including the terrifying dragon might and the child's characteristics.

Upon hearing this, a flash of surprise crossed Zi Ji's dragon eyes.

"The Dragon God's avatar—has he been by our side all this time?"

Di Tian nodded.

"I shouldn't have told you about the Lord's existence, but since the Lord is still recovering, the fewer people who know, the better. Keep this a secret; even Bi Ji and the others must not know."

Zi Ji nodded to show she understood. Though cold, she was not foolish; such matters naturally required absolute discretion.

Di Tian continued to instruct: "Remember, you must never offend that dragon senior. If the senior is unwilling to come, stay by his side to protect him for the time being. If you encounter anything you cannot handle, contact me immediately."

"What about his features? How am I supposed to find him without even a description?"

Di Tian thought for a moment: "Some soul beasts saw that the dragon senior has azure-blue hair; that counts as a feature."

"Holding a large seal, the appearance of a child, a dragon-type martial soul—there shouldn't be many who fit all these criteria."

Zi Ji frowned and said, "The Star Dou Forest is so vast; it won't be easy to find him."

Di Tian shook his head.

"I am responsible for the forest side, and I must guard the Life Lake, so I cannot travel too far. You should head to the human towns. Don't go to the major cities first; since the senior is undergoing re-cultivation, he shouldn't head straight to a large city."

After discussing, the two split up. Zi Ji transformed into a cold, stunning woman with waist-length purple hair and a tall figure. She left the forest and headed toward the outer towns.

At this moment, Xuan Qing was enduring immense pressure; absorbing a soul ring nearing nine hundred years was quite a struggle.

After all, he had not yet begun practicing the Azure Dragon Mysterious Heaven Art, and while his physique was slightly stronger than a soul master of the same level, the advantage was limited.

Fortunately, before absorbing the soul ring, he had dragged the Little Qilin out to act as manual labor. He hadn't forgotten that his detached martial soul could share the burden.

The Little Qilin lay to the side, radiating a nine-colored halo, staring at him with a resentful expression that clearly said:

"I may not be human, but you are truly a dog."

The process was long and agonizing; Xuan Qing sat for an entire day and night before successfully absorbing it.

As the final thread of energy merged into his body, his soul power broke through directly to level twelve!

Xuan Qing collapsed to the ground, gasping for air, drenched in sweat as if he had just been fished out of water.

But his eyes were bright.

"Success! My soul power jumped two levels; that's a huge profit."

Once he caught his breath, he carefully sensed his first soul skill, and information surfaced in his mind.

Azure Scale Rain and Marsh.

Effect 1: Alters the weather in a specific area to create rain; the range expands with soul power.

Effect 2: Those caught in the rain can selectively remove negative effects, restore soul power, or heal injuries.

Effect 3: Drains the enemy's soul power at a rate of one percent per second for personal use.

Effect 4: Any soul skill without immunity to negative effects will be affected; it can be nullified, but not resisted.

Effect 5: The rain is a manifestation of energy, meaning it is non-conductive, rendering lightning-attribute attacks ineffective.

Xuan Qing gasped after reading this; this soul skill was practically a bug—it was completely unreasonable!

Healing, debuff removal, restoration, and absorption—it covered almost every functional ability, and the effects were too overbearing and comprehensive.

He didn't lack offensive capabilities, and even if he didn't have a single attack-type soul skill, the Azure Sky Demon-Breaking Spear and the Qilin Seal were more than enough.

"Incredible!"

Xuan Qing couldn't help but laugh out loud; his first soul skill perfectly matched his needs.

He exited the space, knowing this place was not for lingering, and needed to return quickly.

This time, he traveled in a straight line at full speed, returning to the small town in just one hour.

What Xuan Qing didn't know was that Zi Ji had only left this place yesterday after spending a day in the town gathering information.

A child fitting the description had stayed briefly four or five days ago, then entered the forest and never came out; some speculated he had already died inside.

But Zi Ji knew this was impossible. How could someone re-cultivating not leave a contingency plan? And if he were truly dead, what was it that Di Tian had seen?

So she left directly to investigate other towns, missing Xuan Qing by a hair's breadth.

Xuan Qing walked into the largest restaurant in town, ordered a table full of food, and gorged himself.

Xuan Qing didn't feel the pinch, as he would have money soon enough.

He found the town's largest material acquisition station, where the owner was a lean old man wearing glasses.

"Do you buy soul beast materials?"

The old man pushed up his glasses. "I'll take them, but it depends on the quality. The higher the integrity, the better the price."

Xuan Qing nodded and emptied his storage space, piling twelve century-old soul beast carcasses onto the floor.

Fortunately, the shop was spacious enough, or they wouldn't have fit. The old man's eyes lit up as he crouched down to inspect them carefully.

He stroked the fur and sighed, "Hiss... the integrity of these pelts is remarkably high. There's almost no damage at all."

"A secret family recipe," Xuan Qing said nonchalantly.

The old man glanced at him but didn't pry; he knew the rules. After a thorough inspection and a long calculation, he spoke.

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

Xuan Qing nodded. It wasn't a rip-off, after all, they weren't exactly rare species.

"Deal."

The old man deftly counted the money, packed it into a pouch, and handed it over. It felt heavy. Xuan Qing took the pouch and turned to leave, feeling wealthy and confident.

He headed toward Scale Snake Village. He didn't plan on staying in Tianyuan City any longer; there was little point, and it was time to set out on a journey.

It took two days to return to the village. The village chief was in the courtyard drying grain and looked quite surprised to see him.

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

Xuan Qing had already prepared an excuse.

"I've taken on a master, and these Gold Soul Coin were given to me by him."

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

"My master told me to come back and say a proper goodbye. I'll be following him to cultivate, so I won't be back for a while. Take this to improve the village's living conditions."

The village chief looked at the heavy pouch, his hands trembling. "This... isn't this too much?"

"It's not much. My master is wealthy, so just take it. I still need to go to the Soul Master Academy to handle my graduation paperwork."

He didn't stay long, taking another quarter of an hour to reach the Tianyuan City Primary Soul Master Academy. Although it was currently break time, not everyone had gone home, so Director Meng was still there.

Xuan Qing explained his purpose: he had already obtained his first soul ring and taken on a master, so he wanted to apply for early graduation.

Director Meng was astonished, but she still tested his soul power. The crystal ball lit up, stabilizing at level twelve.

"It really is level twelve?"

Director Meng's voice was filled with disbelief. Going from level five to level twelve in half a year was a terrifying speed.

But thinking of Xuan Qing's work on improving meditation techniques, she felt relieved. It was dangerous, but the results were undeniably effective.

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

Xuan Qing took the certificate and thanked her solemnly.

Director Meng waved her hand. "Learn well from your master. Don't waste your talent."

"I will." Xuan Qing bowed and turned to leave the office.

He walked out of the academy gates and looked back at the plaque, his mood complex. He had spent over half a year here, and to say he had no feelings for the place would be a lie.

After all, this city held special meaning for him; it wasn't just the first city he reached after arriving in this world.

It was also because it was close to his home. Even though the house was dilapidated, it was still his home, a sentiment others might never truly understand.