Northern Darkness Breakthrough, Ma Xiaotao Loses Control, Absorbing Evil Fire

No more than two minutes had passed since Ji Feng entered the Magic Array and sat down to meditate.

Throughout those brief two minutes, Ji Feng remained in his meditative posture, carefully sensing the power of the Heavenly Soul Stones.

Thus, he did not see Yan Shaozhe's and Zhu Chen's stunned, frozen expressions.

When all the Heavenly Soul Stones lit up, he was still meditating at the center of the Magic Array.

All eight Heavenly Soul Stones shone, yet it still did not end.

The intense white light eclipsed the sun's brilliance. Once Yan Shaozhe recovered slightly, he realized that the light was still growing brighter!

His Martial Soul resonated incessantly, on the verge of escaping his control and bursting out of his body!

The white light was so intense that even he, a Titled Douluo, found it unbearably dazzling!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Eight shattering crashes nearly ruptured Yan Shaozhe's eardrums. Before his eyes, eight masses of white light expanded wildly, engulfing his entire body.

The world before him turned blinding white, and amid that radiance, an immense roar suddenly rang out!

ROOOAR!!!!

The tremendous roar nearly scattered Yan Shaozhe's protective Soul Power. His Bright Phoenix Martial Soul activated on its own, shielding his body.

He kept his eyes wide open, unwilling to miss even a second.

Yan Shaozhe clearly saw the silhouette of a Dragon roaring at the heavens flash past the instant the eight Heavenly Soul Stones shattered and white light erupted.

It was unmistakably a Dragon's roar that shook heaven and earth!

The intense white light faded rapidly, vanishing completely in the blink of an eye.

Though it lasted only briefly, the Dragon's roar also woke Ji Feng. He opened his eyes and looked at Yan Shaozhe in confusion.

The gentle white light was gone, and transparent crystal fragments covered the ground.

"What happened, Old Yan? Did a Soul Beast come over just now?"

He had already entered a meditative trance and sensed nothing outside himself, so he had no idea what had happened.

Only upon hearing Ji Feng's voice did Yan Shaozhe regain a little of his reason. His eyes bulged as he muttered.

"A Dragon... that was! A Dragon..."

The Heavenly Soul Stones, which legends claimed could withstand divine power, had actually shattered at the hands of a ten-year-old child without a Martial Soul!

Had he not witnessed it himself, Yan Shaozhe would never have believed it, even if someone beat him to death.

There was only one explanation.

The child before him had a Martial Soul containing a Dragon's power, and that power had reached the divine level!

The people in the square were outside the Magic Array, so the impact they experienced was far less intense.

"Is it over? What Martial Soul did he awaken? What a huge reaction!"

"He shattered eight stones. It looks pretty powerful!"

"Ji Feng, release your Martial Soul and show us! It was too bright just now—we couldn't see!"

Zhu Chen struggled to rise from the ground. A dignified Soul Saint, yet even now his hands were trembling like those of an old man nearing the end of his life.

"You... just what kind of monster are you?!"

Having managed to join Shrek Academy, he had seen his fair share of monsters.

Ma Xiaotao, currently the most terrifying monster in the inner court, was only fourteen. Possessing the Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul, she had already reached the level of a rank 59 Quasi-Soul Emperor, yet the shock she brought him fell far short of Ji Feng.

Not a trace of Zhu Chen's initial disdain remained. His face was now completely contorted by shock he could not suppress.

All eight Heavenly Soul Stones had shattered completely, yet the Martial Soul had still not awakened!

A monster among monsters!

"My name is Ji Feng. Didn't you already know me?" Ji Feng looked at Zhu Chen with a faint smile.

Yan Shaozhe had already withdrawn his Martial Soul into his body. He kept rolling Ji Feng's name around in his mouth.

"Ji Feng, Ji Feng... your Martial Soul may have something to do with dragons. Come back to Shrek with me. I'll ask my teacher to resolve your Martial Soul problem."

Without allowing any argument, Yan Shaozhe immediately released his Martial Soul!

Sacred light flashed, and Ji Feng and Yan Shaozhe vanished from the spot, leaving only the utterly bewildered onlookers in the square.

This time, Yan Shaozhe flew even faster. After activating his Martial Soul, he lifted Ji Feng with one hand and turned into a streak of golden light that vanished into the distance.

Within a single breath, the two reached Shrek Academy.

For the sake of speed, Yan Shaozhe had not even suppressed his Martial Soul's power, allowing the pressure of a Titled Douluo to spill out freely.

The academy's students felt a wave of heat sweep overhead and looked up one after another.

"Is that... the Bright Phoenix! It's Bright Phoenix Douluo! Is he holding someone?"

"It looks like... a child?"

"He's heading toward Sea God Pavilion? Why is he taking a child there?"

Wherever people gathered, stories abounded.

In his younger days, Yan Shaozhe had enjoyed no shortage of romantic escapades and had always been a central figure in campus gossip.

In Shrek's most popular campus publication, "Spring Pool’s Enchanting Charm," "Bright Phoenix Spring Scenery" had always been the most popular column.

It was especially popular in the Soul Tool Department.

In no time, rumors that the Martial Soul Department's dean had brought his illegitimate child back to Sea God Pavilion spread rapidly. Some people were already speculating about next week's "Bright Phoenix Spring Scenery."

Yan Shaozhe brought Ji Feng to the shore of Sea God Lake and withdrew his Martial Soul.

"Ji Feng, wait here for a while. I'll go into Sea God Pavilion and report your Martial Soul's condition to my teacher. Don't worry. Your Martial Soul can definitely awaken."

Fighting back the nausea from their high-speed flight, Ji Feng said, "Old Yan, make yourself useful. Don't let me suffer all that for nothing."

Yan Shaozhe did not take offense at the impolite child and flew straight toward Sea God Pavilion.

Sea God Island stood in Sea God Lake, and Sea God Pavilion stood on Sea God Island.

It was already noon, and the sun shone directly down on Ji Feng.

Fortunately, he was beside Sea God Lake, where a cool breeze stirred, so he did not feel particularly hot.

"I wonder how long I'll have to wait. The surroundings are pretty nice. I might as well break through the first level here. I've absorbed enough Soul Power anyway, and there's nothing dangerous about this first level."

Ji Feng sat cross-legged and began circulating the Northern Darkness Divine Skill.

The Northern Darkness Divine Skill differed greatly from other cultivation methods, and getting started was extremely difficult.

Its first level was called Primordial Taiyin Origin, and its true qi circulated along a route completely opposite to that of traditional internal arts.

Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill began circulating from the dantian and Yunmen Point at the center of the body, ending at the Shaoshang Point at the tip of the finger.

The Northern Darkness Divine Skill, however, began at the Shaoshang Point at the tip of the thumb and ended at Shanzhong in the chest. The former absorbed, while the latter stored.

Its internal energy flowed in the exact opposite direction from traditional internal arts, like the Northern Dipper hanging upside down and the celestial river pouring backward.

The entire meridian pathway from the Shaoshang Point to Shanzhong was called the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian. Cultivating it required absorbing sufficient Soul Power to nourish the meridian.

Once sufficient Soul Power had been absorbed, the practitioner faced the rising sun at noon, slightly bending both thumbs so their Shaoshang Points faced the sunlight, coordinating this with their breathing.

While inhaling, they visualized the pure qi of heaven and earth spiraling into the Shaoshang Points, flowing backward along the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian into the chest, and collecting within the Shanzhong Violet Residence.

Beginners needed to store thirty-six revolutions. The key lay in "inhaling without exhaling"—the inhaled qi entered but never left. The tip of the tongue rested lightly against the roof of the mouth to seal the airway, allowing the qi to settle on its own. If it dispersed with the exhalation, no foundation could be established.

This method ran completely counter to every art of "breathing and guiding qi" in the world. It marked the beginning of Northern Darkness defying heaven.

Ji Feng cultivated step by step. The pure qi of heaven and earth revolved continuously within his chest. Five minutes later, he had accumulated thirty-five revolutions and was about to complete his breakthrough.

He had entered a complete meditative trance, his awareness of the outside world reduced to the barest minimum. He did not sense the surrounding temperature gradually rising.

A red figure raced across the water at astonishing speed, reaching the center of the lake in the blink of an eye. Each time her toes touched the lake's surface, ripples spread outward, yet she used that slight buoyancy to keep accelerating, sweeping forward like a red cloud!

The thirty-sixth revolution was complete. Ji Feng finished his breakthrough and opened his eyes!

He saw the red figure's true appearance. She was blood-red from head to toe, with a slender build, and radiated a fierce, chilling menace like a terrifying Soul Beast!

"Scarlet Mask! Red Eyes! Intense heat—Ma Xiaotao!!"

Ji Feng cried out in alarm.