The lightning tribulation finally dissipated. The churning dark clouds were completely wiped away, vanishing without a trace in an instant.
The Far North's eternally pale sky reappeared, clear for thousands of miles, pristine as if freshly washed—as though the world-destroying lightning tribulation from moments ago had been nothing but an illusion.
Xue Chen hovered in midair, his small body radiating a vast aura that no one could ignore.
The Radiant Thunder Dragon Spear in his hand pointed diagonally down at the frozen plain. Its tip glinted with a cold light, and faint dragon-shaped currents of air coiled around it, rumbling softly.
Behind him, the enormous phantom of the Thunder Dragon Emperor had not yet faded. Its majestic dragon eyes swept across the surroundings, bearing the air of a ruler surveying the world.
That strange Soul Ring encircled him, its edges alive with brilliant blue-gold lightning!
The Soul Ring slowly revolved, resonating with the Bloodline Power surging through his body. It radiated an existence that belonged to no known Soul Ring system.
Sunlight fell over him, gilding him with a golden sheen. Set against the blue Soul Ring and the Dragon Emperor's phantom, Xue Chen looked like a divine child who had descended from the highest heavens, destined to command thunder!
He slowly lowered his head. Excitement and confusion mingled in his azure eyes as he looked at Snow Empress and Ice Empress below, who were still in shock.
He grinned, his smile a mixture of excitement and bewilderment, breaking the silence that had frozen the scene.
He looked at Snow Empress, his clear voice carrying a hint of childish dependence—a curious contrast to the figure who had just summoned a lightning tribulation:
"Mother, put me down first."
His call instantly roused Snow Empress from her shock and the many questions crowding her mind.
A fleeting daze crossed her exquisite face, as though she had only just realized that she was still holding Xue Chen aloft.
"Oh... all right."
Snow Empress answered almost instinctively, her voice carrying a trace of bewilderment she could not quite conceal.
Her slender fingers moved slightly. The Soul Power supporting Xue Chen gradually withdrew, carefully lowering him from the air.
Xue Chen touched down on the ground, littered with ice shards and broken stones.
At a thought from him, the Thunder Dragon Emperor's phantom behind his back gave a deep dragon's rumble, then slowly faded into the air. The Radiant Thunder Dragon Spear in his hand turned into specks of blue lightning and returned to his body.
Only the deep-blue Soul Ring remained, stubbornly circling him as it slowly revolved, making its presence known.
Ice Empress finally snapped out of her stunned silence. With a single flash, she was in front of Xue Chen, her jade-green eyes fixed on the blue Soul Ring as if she meant to see right through it.
She reached out a finger, wanting to touch it but not daring to. Her voice brimmed with incredulous amazement:
"Kid... what... what exactly is this thing?
A Soul Ring? What kind of Soul Ring is this?! It isn't even attached to a Martial Soul—it's circling around you?!"
Snow Empress also descended slowly and came to Xue Chen's side.
She did not ask anything right away. Instead, she placed her cool fingers gently against Xue Chen's wrist, carefully sending a gentle strand of spiritual power into him to examine his condition.
His Bloodline Power surged like a dragon, rushing endlessly—several times stronger than before!
His meridians were broad and resilient, shimmering with a faint blue-gold sheen, as if they had been reforged by thunder.
And the source of the blue Soul Ring's energy was unmistakably linked to his life essence and his immense Bloodline Power. It was an integral part of him, perfectly natural!
Snow Empress withdrew her hand. Shock still lingered in her icy-blue eyes, but beneath it lay deep contemplation and an even more intense curiosity.
She looked at Xue Chen and asked softly, "Chen'er, how are you feeling now? Is there... anything wrong with your body?
Or have you gained any special new senses?"
Xue Chen clenched his fist, feeling the strength inside him, as if he could shatter a mountain with one punch. Excited, he shook his head.
"I'm fine, Mother! I feel great! I'm full of strength!"
He pointed to the blue Soul Ring beside himb
"It feels like it's part of me. I can sense that it's full of power.
But... I still don't know what kind of ability it's given me."
He looked up at Snow Empress and Ice Empress, his small face just as bewildered.
"Mother, Aunt Ice Empress, have you ever seen a Soul Ring like this? Does this... even count as a Soul Ring?"
Snow Empress and Ice Empress exchanged another look. They saw the same answer in each other's eyes—unheard of and never before seen!
Snow Empress drew in a slow breath of cold air, suppressing the turmoil in her heart. She looked at Xue Chen, her expression impossibly complicated.
Everything that had happened was far beyond what could be explained by a human child.
The cold winds of the Far North swept over the ruins, stirring up a little frost.
Snow Empress turned her gaze to the distant horizon. The question in her heart about Xue Chen's true origins had grown clearer—and heavier.
Chen'er, where... did you come from?
Xiao Bai's deep, resonant voice rang out, filled with curiosity and anticipation, breaking the brief silence:
"Xiao Chen, you... you should try using that Soul Ring!"
Xue Chen was already itching to try it himself. At those words, he nodded at once, his little face alight with anticipation. "Okay!"
He did not even need to deliberately learn or adapt. It was as if the Soul Ring's abilities had been engraved in his instincts from the start.
With the slightest shift of thought, his Soul Power and Bloodline Power flowed naturally, connecting with the slowly revolving blue Soul Ring around him.
"Vmmm—!"
The Soul Ring blazed with blue light, and the blue-gold lightning coiling along its edges suddenly grew brighter!
A surge of Bloodline Power burst from within him!
Beginning at his shoulder, fine blue dragon scales quickly appeared and spread, covering his entire arm like living creatures, all the way to his wrist.
His left hand transformed into a Dragon Claw, its surface gleaming with a faint, deep-blue metallic sheen!
Flecks of blue lightning flickered and danced between the scales on the Dragon Claw.
Xue Chen curiously raised the arm that was no longer quite human and lightly clenched his fist, feeling the immense strength flowing through the Dragon Claw.
"Damn, that's badass. Let's try it..."
He murmured to himself, turning his gaze toward a slab of black ice that had fallen from the roof of the hall some distance away.
He made no grand movement. He merely raised his Dragon Claw, extended his index finger toward the slab, focused his thoughts on his fingertip, and gave a light tap.
There was no incantation, no Soul Skill name, and not even a noticeable surge of Soul Power.
"Fsssh..."
A thin streak of blue lightning suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the air before the tip of his Dragon Claw!
"Crack!"
The streak of blue lightning struck the center of the black ice with perfect accuracy.
Countless cracks instantly spread across the hard ice from the point of impact, and then it shattered.
Xue Chen looked at his Dragon Claw, then at the heap of broken ice on the ground. Surprise first flickered across his small face, quickly replaced by excitement and a sense of control.
Using this power felt so effortless!
Xue Chen stared at his Dragon Claw, brow creasing as his thoughts returned to his origins:
"I'm this damn powerful. My birth parents must be unbelievably strong!
"But why would they abandon me in the Far North? Could they have had some unspoken reason?"
He was now utterly bewildered by his origins, and intensely curious about them.
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