The skill Neuvillette bestowed on Chen Zhou—or, more precisely, his elemental skill—was called "Primordial Sea."
The name was as simple and straightforward as it got.
Its effect was just as simple: through a connection between himself and the Primordial Sea, he could draw a wisp of primordial water directly from its source.
This was not "Primordial Sea Water" that Chen Zhou had weakened by several levels. It was a genuine stream of water from the Primordial Sea of Teyvat.
The stream was tiny, but if he could condense it, its destructive power would be beyond imagination.
It was like being handed a deadly weapon—one that could serve as an offensive weapon, a defensive weapon, or even a means of escape.
After all, given the Primordial Sea Water's strength, even a Limit Douluo would find it difficult to destroy that tiny stream.
And with Chen Zhou's absolute control over water elements, he could use it as a shield or as an attack capable of shattering anything in its path.
Or he could simply condense a small clone to serve as a stand-in. Any of those possibilities would be a tremendous boon.
And that was not even the most terrifying part. That was the Primordial Sea itself.
The skill was extremely useful. Not only could it summon the Primordial Sea, it could also establish a genuine connection to it.
If Chen Zhou ever wanted to strengthen Douluo Planet—or destroy it—he could use this Soul Skill to forcibly summon the Primordial Sea's power.
This, too, was an ability that could grow stronger over time.
As Chen Zhou's strength grew, so would the power of the Primordial Sea he could wield.
It was as if a passage had been forcibly opened inside his body, allowing the Primordial Sea Water, which would otherwise have great difficulty reaching him, to trickle through in small quantities into the Douluo World.
Seeing the light flare in Chen Zhou's eyes, Neuvillette remained calm.
"I still have Fontaine's affairs to attend to. Make good use of this ability."
"This ability will benefit you greatly. And though I modified this Soul Bone so it isn't quite indestructible, its defensive strength has improved considerably."
Neuvillette raised a hand. He was not good at explaining things.
So a terrifying stream of water shot straight into Chen Zhou.
Chen Zhou's body instantly turned to water. With his original abilities, though, even in that form the Primordial Sea Water would have swept him apart, forcing him to die and then revive.
But this time, when the water struck him, it did not scatter him right away.
It took less than two seconds for the stream to break through his body, but if Chen Zhou had seized that brief window, those two seconds would have been enough for him to evade Neuvillette's fatal strike.
"Teacher, the Titan Snow Demon King's Soul Bone has strengthened my resistance to water currents, as well as the strength of my watery form."
"Mm. It's well suited for keeping you alive."
Neuvillette said it casually. Then, without lingering, he turned and left.
Watching Neuvillette walk away, Chen Zhou let out a breath.
Aside from his water-form ability, which was his ultimate means of staying alive, this Soul Bone had further enhanced his ability to survive.
"My teacher really does think highly of me. Most of the abilities he's given me have something to do with staying alive—or are mainly for that, anyway?"
Chen Zhou muttered to himself. He was a little puzzled, too; he did not understand why his teacher had taught him nothing but survival skills.
Still, it was a good thing for him.
As Chen Zhou took a deep breath in his room, night had already fallen outside.
His stomach was growling, so he stood up, left his room, and went to the living room.
There was no food left in the living room, but when he came over, someone still served him a bowl.
Chen Zhou ate, his expression calm.
He planned to speak with his uncle in a little while and explain the crisis of destruction he had brought upon the family.
But before he could finish eating, the front door opened, and his uncle walked in slowly.
His uncle's gaze fell on him. The child of his youngest brother had a complicated look in his eyes.
"You've brought the family a lot of trouble."
"The Young Tower Master said that if we don't want to die, we have to sever our parent-child relationship with you."
The man looked at Chen Zhou and spoke calmly.
He was the head of this branch, and by saying this, he was conveying the decision of the entire branch.
Hearing him, Chen Zhou showed no sadness or confusion. He simply gave a casual "Oh."
"Fine. Then let's sever our relationship."
"Can I sleep here one more night? I'll head back to Eastsea City tomorrow."
Chen Zhou spoke casually.
After all, he could not feel any so-called familial affection. These "uncles" had never meant anything to him, either.
As for his cousins, he had refrained from killing them himself only because he did not want to bear the infamy of murdering his own kin.
Seeing Chen Zhou's unconcerned expression, the man's gaze grew complicated.
Ever since his youngest brother died, he had never paid much attention to the child he'd left behind.
After all, the family's resources were limited. Giving some to this child meant his own children and the children of his other brothers would each receive less.
But he did not feel guilty. His youngest brother was dead, after all. With the man gone, those resources naturally ought to be kept for his own children.
In fact, when Qiangu Qingzhou's parents died, they had left behind a large amount of resources. The man had simply pocketed all of them.
He thought Chen Zhou did not know, but Chen Zhou knew the truth.
The biggest difference between him and an ordinary six-year-old was that he had an adult's soul.
So, although he had the same obstacles as an ordinary baby—being unable to see clearly or hear clearly—he could still remember things.
But Chen Zhou did not care about any of that right now. No one would bother arguing over such things with the dead.
Of course, he was still too young. So he had only given them a slight punishment rather than directly deciding to kill them and wipe out the entire branch.
The man took out a piece of paper. It contained the terms for severing their parent-child relationship.
Chen Zhou did not care and casually signed it.
The document probably also said that all the resources left by his parents would belong to their branch.
But Chen Zhou could not be bothered to dance around the issue or argue with the other man.
After quickly finishing his bowl of noodles, he stood up calmly and returned to his room.
The night passed in a flash.
Early the next morning, carrying the few sets of clothes and odds and ends he had kept, he calmly moved out of the Qiangu Clan's residence.
From that day on, he would have no connection to the Qiangu Clan.