Inside the secret realm chamber.
Lin Dong blinked.
That was it?
Why didn't I feel anything?
Lin Dong glanced at his left hand again. The poison had nearly caused it to necrotize. Couldn't the Heavenly Blessing cleanse it while it was at it?
"This..."
Lin Dong blinked hard. Just what use was this Heavenly Blessing?
[Ding! You have consumed the Azure Dragon Fruit!] [Ding! Your Azure Dragon Fruit has gained Heaven's favor!] [Ding! Your Azure Dragon Fruit has been blessed by Heaven!]
Before Lin Dong could think any further, the system began flooding him with notifications. Thrilled, he hurriedly opened the stats panel:
[Azure Dragon Fruit (Heavenly Blessing edition)] [Effect one: unique!] [The only one in the world. No other Azure Dragon Fruit will ever appear in this world!] [Effect two: weakness removal!] [The Devil Fruit's weakness to seawater will be removed!] [Effect three: unlock 'awakening'!] [The Azure Dragon Fruit's 'awakening' mode will be unlocked. You can evolve to a higher stage!] [Effect four: ???]
"So this is Heavenly Blessing?!"
Looking at the almost extravagant blessing effects, Lin Dong felt he had overstepped. He shouldn't have questioned Heaven.
These effects were just... insane!
The only one in the world!
That needed no explanation. It instantly made Lin Dong as rare as could be!
Weakness removal!
This was the bane of every Devil Fruit user!
Fighting on water had always been their weakness!
Other people knew how to exploit that against Devil Fruit users, too.
Now that Lin Dong's weakness was gone, not only would his combat strength soar, but he could also catch his enemies off guard at a critical moment!
This blessing was far too important!
As for 'awakening'?
Only after seeing Heaven's blessing did Lin Dong finally feel certain that Kaido in the original story hadn't lacked the ability to awaken. Rather, Heaven had locked his evolution panel, leaving him unable to advance any further.
Otherwise, with Kaido's abilities, he would surely have developed the Azure Dragon Fruit to the point of awakening.
Thinking about it, that made sense.
Even without awakening, Kaido could fly, command lightning, control wind, unleash fire, and wield limitless strength. Dragging an entire island around by himself was child's play.
He had knocked the protagonist down over and over, until the author had no choice but to give the protagonist a cheat.
And it had taken the ugliest sort of deus ex machina just to barely defeat Kaido.
If Kaido had truly awakened, Onigashima would probably have been the end of the road for the protagonists.
Now, Heavenly Blessing had broken that shackle!
That meant Lin Dong's future ceiling would be at least a whole tier above Kaido's!
"So this is what it feels like to be Heaven's chosen!"
Only now did Lin Dong understand what it felt like to be favored by Heaven.
No wonder everyone wanted to curry favor with Heaven's chosen!
With rewards like these, who wouldn't lose their head?!
Amazing!
Without even looking at the fourth effect, Lin Dong went straight to the Azure Dragon Fruit's panel:
[Azure Dragon Fruit (Heavenly Blessing edition)] [Effects: stamina +50, strength +50, speed +50, spirit +30] [Currently unlocked forms: partial beast transformation, human form] [Locked forms: hybrid form, Azure Dragon Form, awakened form, ???]
The smile on Lin Dong's face grew wider!
At that moment, he felt that everything he had suffered in Train to Busan had been worth it!
Even the drop in Xiao Yan's favor didn't seem so upsetting anymore!
A single fruit had increased his base stats by 180 points!
Even on a worldwide scale, that was utterly staggering!
The Azure Dragon Fruit!
It truly lived up to its name!
With a thought from Lin Dong, his poisoned left arm began to grow. Azure dragon scales gleaming with an eerie light gradually emerged, and his five fingers grew sharp.
In an instant!
Lin Dong's poisoned left arm, which had been on the verge of necrosis, became a razor-sharp dragon claw glowing with an eerie blue-violet sheen!
[Ding! Partial beast transformation: strength +30!]
The Azure Dragon Fruit's immense vitality directly counteracted the poison's hold!
Although it hadn't removed the poison, Lin Dong could now move his left arm freely, without restriction!
Slash!
Lin Dong stepped forward and viciously swept his dragon claw through the air. His blade-sharp fingertips instantly tore through space, producing a mournful, vibrating whine!
"What overwhelming power!"
Feeling the power surging through his fingertips, Lin Dong's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help exclaiming in genuine admiration!
"Even a partial beast transformation gives me this much strength. I wonder how big the strength bonus will be for a full transformation."
Lin Dong clicked on the locked forms to inspect them:
[Hybrid form (locked)] [Unlock requirements: stamina 100, strength 250, speed 100, spirit 80] [Azure Dragon Form (locked)] [Unlock requirements: please unlock the previous form before viewing.]
"Two hundred and fifty strength?!"
Lin Dong had known unlocking it would be difficult, but he hadn't expected anything this outrageous. Reaching 250 points through leveling alone would require at least level 40!
With that thought, Lin Dong couldn't help checking his personal stats panel:
[Awakened: Lin Dong] [Level: 9 (1/2964)] [Stamina: 65] [Spirit: 53] [Strength: 145] [Speed: 65] [Stat points: 8] [Learning points: 2] [Skills: Breath Concealment Art, True Sight Eye] [Equipped fruit: Azure Dragon Fruit (Heavenly Blessing edition)] [Bound world: Battle Through the Heavens] [Items owned: Zombie Tears, Silent Sleeve Arrow, ???'s silver coin]
Not bad.
Aside from strength, the other three requirements would be relatively easy to meet.
With that in mind, Lin Dong put all eight stat points left over from last time into spirit.
[Ding! Your spirit has increased by 8!] [53 → 61]
Lin Dong nodded. After confirming that everything was in order, he finally stopped hesitating and opened the Battle Through the Heavens secret realm!
[Ding! You are entering the Battle Through the Heavens secret realm!]
Outside Wutan City.
On a main road near the Magical Beast Forest.
Ge Ye looked at the girl beside him, sighed, and instructed her earnestly:
"Yanran, although the sect master has agreed to breaking off the engagement, don't say too much once we reach the Xiao Clan. Just let me handle it."
"Xiao Zhan of the Xiao Clan may only be a clan leader in a small city, but he's still a Da Dou Shi. We should show him some respect."
Dressed in a moon-white gown, her expression aloof and proud, Nalan Yanran nodded and said:
"Sorry for the trouble, Uncle Ge Ye."
"It's no trouble for me."
Ge Ye thought for a moment, then smiled. "The real concern is your father and grandfather. If word gets out that the Nalan Family took the initiative to break off the engagement, it won't reflect well on them."
"I don't care about them!"
Nalan Yanran proudly lifted her delicate chin. "If they want to get married, they can marry him themselves. I'm not marrying someone I don't like!"
"Fair enough."
Ge Ye nodded in agreement. "How could a prodigy of our Misty Cloud Sect, the sect master's personal disciple, marry a good-for-nothing who can't even condense Dou Qi?"
"If that got out, how could our Misty Cloud Sect ever show its face again?!"
Nalan Yanran was just about to reply when an icy voice suddenly rang out:
"Just how much face does your Misty Cloud Sect think it has?"
"Who are you calling a good-for-nothing? You'd better explain yourself!"
Alarm bells rang in Ge Ye's mind, and he instinctively shielded Nalan Yanran behind him. "Who's there?!"
Before you continue