Inheritance Land

The setting sun's lingering glow gilded the Imperial Palace's glazed tiles in gold and crimson, while the aroma of roasted fish drifting from the imperial kitchen mingled with the fragrance of sweet osmanthus brew.

Shen Lian sat below Xu Tianxiang, watching his grandfather personally place a piece of fish as smooth as mutton-fat jade into his bowl. The fish tail was still adorned with the Purple Imperial Heaven-Extinguishing Dragon pattern that symbolized the imperial family.

Xu Ningxin occasionally placed peeled shrimp into her son's bowl. The jade nail guards on her fingertips glowed softly beneath the candlelight, complementing the newly acquired Red Gold Twin Dragon Bracelet on Shen Lian's wrist.

After dinner, as dusk deepened, the rumble of carriage wheels rolling over the Imperial City's bluestone streets became especially distinct.

Shen Lian leaned against the carriage's cushioned seat, watching the fading shadows of palace lanterns sweep past the window. The Vermilion Bird wings on his back flickered in and out of sight with the fluctuations of his Soul Power. Whenever they brushed against the velvet curtains, they left behind charred marks.

Xu Ningxin laughed softly at the sight and took out a brocade handkerchief embroidered with twin lotus blossoms to gently wipe them.

"These wings will probably burn right through all the screens in the house someday."

When the bronze door knocker of the Duke of the State Mansion sounded, Shen Meng was already waiting outside the ornate inner gate with a jar of wine in hand.

Moonlight stretched his shadow long, and the words "Celebration Feast" on the wine jar had been traced in cinnabar, red enough to seem as though they might drip blood.

Shen Long stood before the steps, leaning on a dragon-headed cane. Beneath his brocade robe patterned with pythons, the Dragon-Slaying Blade Martial Soul seemed to have sensed its master's joy as well.

"Come, let Grandpa see your new soul skill!"

Shen Long's voice carried an unquestionable urgency.

When Shen Lian unleashed Flame Sparrow Peerless, the Vermilion Bird phantom formed from blade light circled the night sky above the Martial Arts Arena three times before dispersing, shaking the Ice Spikes beneath the eaves loose in a shower.

Upon hearing about the External Soul Bone, the wine jar in Shen Meng's hand fell to the ground with a clang. Wine mixed with shattered porcelain, glinting silver beneath the moonlight, yet he did not notice at all. He merely slapped his son hard on the shoulder.

"Good lad! Our Shen Family is going to produce an ancestor who can fly!"

Over the next three years, the Martial Arts Arena of the Duke of the State Mansion witnessed Shen Lian's transformation.

Every day at dawn, Shen Lian's blade light startled the cold crows perched on the eaves. The sound of his Black Iron Blade cleaving through the morning mist intertwined with Shen Long's shouted instructions and scoldings, becoming a unique morning song.

The afternoon combat training grew increasingly dangerous. Shen Long even invited one of his old comrades from the battlefield—a Soul Douluo skilled in poison-type Martial Souls. Dark green poison mist often blanketed the Martial Arts Arena like the underworld.

At night, Shen Lian raised his Soul Power through meditation and consumed Whale Rubber every three days.

Then, when Shen Lian was ten years old, a torrential rain fell one day.

Within the secluded cultivation chamber, Shen Lian broke through the level-thirty bottleneck. Surging Soul Power burst through the restraints of his meridians like a flood, making the Mystic Iron walls around the chamber hum.

Upon receiving the news, Shen Long immediately assembled three hundred elite men and personally charged into the core region of the Evil Demon Forest.

When he returned three days later, the dust and exhaustion of the journey were evident on the old man's brocade robe patterned with pythons.

Inside the iron cage behind him was a six-thousand-year Flame Dragon Wolf King.

The process of absorbing the Spirit Ring was not particularly perilous.

The Flame Dragon Wolf King's Spirit Ring turned into a crimson-gold torrent and poured into his body, resonating violently with the Vermilion Bird External Soul Bone.

Two entirely different flames ignited around Shen Lian. The Purple Imperial Heaven-Extinguishing Dragon Martial Soul unexpectedly manifested as a phantom amid the blaze, dragon claws and sparrow wings reflecting one another.

When the third purple Spirit Ring stabilized, his Soul Power reached level thirty-two as well. The Vermilion Bird wings on Shen Lian's back suddenly expanded, and sparks dripping from their tips melted deep, bottomless holes into the chamber floor.

When Shen Lian stepped out of the chamber, his robe still bore charred marks from the battle, but the light in his eyes was brighter than ever.

Shen Lian had long since shown his family his third soul skill: Crimson Flame Gale Slash.

He unleashed three consecutive strikes at incredible speed, each one stronger than the last, every slash carrying the searing burn of flames.

His body flashed like lightning, leaving three afterimages across the courtyard. Every swing tore through the air with a shriek. Wherever the blade light passed, scorched black ravines were carved into the ground, while heat waves carried sparks high into the air.

The Shen Mansion servants watching from the sidelines sucked in cold breaths. A ten-year-old Soul Elder was a once-in-a-century rarity on Douluo Continent, and this terrifyingly powerful third soul skill proclaimed his frightening talent even more clearly.

After demonstrating his soul skill, Shen Lian did not rest. He immediately ordered the servants to prepare the family's fastest carriage, because he was going to the Imperial Palace.

The wheels rolled across the bluestone streets, kicking up dust all the way. Shen Lian tightly gripped the jade pendant Xu Tianxiang had given him and recalled his grandfather's earlier instruction.

"When you break through level thirty, come to the Imperial Palace and find me at once."

Deep within the Imperial Palace, the bronze doors of an unnamed palace slowly opened beneath Shen Lian's palm.

Inside, candle flames flickered, stretching Xu Tianxiang's shadow long. The white-haired old man wore a brocade robe embroidered with dragons and was gazing at the faded portraits of his ancestors on the wall.

The moment the doors closed, the air seemed to freeze. Only the crackling of candlewicks snapping sounded especially clear in the silence.

"Grandfather!"

Shen Lian cupped his fists in salute, his voice echoing through the empty hall.

Xu Tianxiang turned around, his eyes full of gratification, and spoke to Shen Lian.

"Xiao Lian, I never expected you to truly enter the Soul Elder realm at the age of ten. You truly are the number one genius of our Sun-Moon Empire."

Xu Tianxiang stroked his beard. A smile appeared on his aged face, only to turn serious in an instant as he continued speaking to Shen Lian.

"But now is not the time to reminisce. Do you know why I summoned you here at this moment?"

Shen Lian shook his head, his gaze filled with confusion.

Xu Tianxiang paced to the center of the hall, his fingertips brushing over a cold stone pillar as he spoke in a low voice.

"Our Xu Family guards an Inheritance Land of a Divine Seat. This secret is known only to emperors and those who awaken the Purple Imperial Heaven-Extinguishing Dragon with Innate Soul Power above level nine."

Shen Lian's pupils contracted sharply. He understood better than anyone what a Divine Seat inheritance meant. It was the supreme realm pursued throughout the lives of all soul masters on Douluo Continent.

"Several hundred years ago, after your ancestor Xu Zhantian broke through to become a level-ninety-nine Peerless Douluo, he embarked on a journey to seek a Divine Seat."

Xu Tianxiang's voice carried traces of remembrance as he continued.

"He crossed the Endless Star Sea and endured countless hardships. At last, at the end of the Sun-Moon Continent, he found that legendary Divine Palace. However..."

The old man paused, regret flashing through his eyes as he continued speaking to Shen Lian.

"The inheritance trial did not favor him. He obtained only the qualification for three tests. Just as he was disheartened and preparing to leave, a dragon's roar came from the depths of the Inheritance Land—the million-year Soul Beast, the Purple Imperial Heaven-Extinguishing Dragon, appeared."

Shen Lian held his breath, imagining the scene of that Peerless ancestor confronting a Divine Beast.

"The Purple Imperial Heaven-Extinguishing Dragon took pity on our ancestor's determination and revealed the truth: the Sun Martial Soul was not compatible with the origin of the Divine Seat. Yet it could not bear to see such a peerless genius buried in obscurity, so it actually fused its own vital essence blood into our ancestor's body. From then on, the Xu Family's descendants awakened the Purple Imperial Heaven-Extinguishing Dragon Martial Soul."

Shen Lian looked at the grave expression on his grandfather's face, his throat tightening.

"What happened afterward?"