Vine Dragon Awakening

Winter gave way to spring, and in the blink of an eye, three months had passed.

It was early spring once again.

The rains gradually increased, and the thunder of Awakening of Insects resounded.

On a spring rainy night eight years ago, Lin Rong had been born into this world from his mother's womb.

In the blink of an eye, eight years had already passed.

Deep within the Manor, before an old wooden cabin.

Lin Rong looked up at the tender new buds sprouting from the banyan branches. He reached out, snapped off a green twig, and planted it in the soil.

Pure life force flowed from Lin Rong's body into the green twig, causing it to take root and sprout, transforming from a banyan twig into a banyan sapling.

Lowering his head, Lin Rong admired his handiwork for a moment before withdrawing the life force he had poured into the twig, reverting it from a banyan sapling back into a green twig.

Then, he used his spiritual power to control the green twig and reattach it to its original place.

There was no visible seam between the twig and the banyan branch, as though nothing had happened at all.

"It has already been two years since the day I awakened my martial soul on my own."

"Now, I am no longer the helpless child I was two years ago."

Lin Rong murmured softly. The Nine Bend Vine Dragon silently appeared behind him, while a multitude of banyan roots took root in the void.

Yellow, yellow, purple.

Three soul rings appeared beneath Lin Rong's feet in sequence, pulsing rhythmically and displaying the cultivation of a three-ring Soul Elder.

The First Soul Ring came from a five-hundred-and-twenty-five-year-old Thousand Leaf Banyan.

The Second Soul Ring came from a nine-hundred-and-eighty-one-year-old Kongqing Bamboo.

As for the Third Soul Ring, which served as the bridge between the two, it came from a three-thousand-three-hundred-and-thirty-three-year-old Azure Vine.

The Nine Bend Vine Dragon martial soul had been formed through the fusion and mutation of the Dragon Soul Vine and Thousand Leaf Banyan.

Now, after absorbing the Thousand Leaf Banyan, as well as the Azure Vine—a soul beast from his past life that had mutated from the Dragon Soul Vine—

The Nine Bend Vine Dragon had finally awakened completely!

Because it had absorbed the soul ring of the Kongqing Bamboo, the Nine Bend Vine Dragon had gained spatial properties.

The subsidiary plants within the Banyan Forest vanished into the void, leaving only the banyan's main body in the outside world.

Across the banyan's trunk, both the bark patterns and leaf veins emitted an almost imperceptible pale golden glow.

A closer look revealed faint golden threads flowing through the bark patterns and leaf veins.

These golden threads flowed through every part of the banyan's body, invisibly adding an air of nobility and holiness.

The banyan's main root, shaped like a true dragon and coiled around the trunk, was no longer wrapped motionlessly around it.

Instead, as though awakening from slumber, it opened its previously closed dragon eyes and moved freely across the banyan tree.

The azure true dragon's eyes gleamed with liveliness, seventy percent similar to the light in Lin Rong's own eyes.

This was a new, independent consciousness born from the Nine Bend Vine Dragon martial soul, based on Lin Rong's own consciousness.

Because the Nine Bend Vine Dragon's consciousness had been born from Lin Rong, it was entirely controlled by Lin Rong's own will.

It was equivalent to an External Avatar with independent thoughts, though Lin Rong could take over control of the External Avatar at any time if he wished.

At the same time.

Because the Nine Bend Vine Dragon had fully awakened, its innate Talent Domain had also evolved in advance to the Second Stage.

Within the coverage of the Vine Dragon Domain, all allied attributes increased by twenty percent, while all enemy attributes were reduced by twenty percent.

The domain-exclusive effect, "Life Dragon Soul," had been strengthened. Its speed of converting attacks into pure life force had increased dramatically, becoming more than ten times faster than before.

It had also awakened a domain soul skill—Evil-Breaking Dragon's Roar:

A wide-range soul and spiritual-type soul skill.

The instant it was unleashed, it removed all negative effects from every target within range and inflicted soul tremors and Spiritual Impact upon designated targets.

The power of the soul tremors and Spiritual Impact depended on the strength of Lin Rong's own soul and spiritual power, as well as the soul and spiritual power of the targets struck.

Lin Rong was somewhat dissatisfied with the domain soul skill, "Evil-Breaking Dragon's Roar."

It would have been perfect if, at the instant the skill was released, he could also selectively remove negative effects from designated targets, rather than indiscriminately removing them from everyone, friend or foe.

Compared to the slightly flawed domain soul skill, the soul skill granted by the Third Soul Ring was perfectly impeccable.

Lin Rong's third soul skill was called "Azure River Shines Upon Azure Sky," an all-attribute amplification soul skill.

Its amplification was thirty percent, with an additional ten percent increase for every extra soul ring.

Lin Rong currently had three soul rings. After using his third soul skill, "Azure River Shines Upon Azure Sky," all his attributes would be amplified by sixty percent.

Upon reaching the rank of Titled Douluo and possessing nine soul rings, the amplification could reach an astonishing one hundred and twenty percent.

As for Soul Power consumption, while it could not compare to the nearly negligible cost of his first soul skill, "Dragon Soul Awakening," it was still entirely within Lin Rong's acceptable range.

Once his third soul skill, "Azure River Shines Upon Azure Sky," was activated, it consumed a fixed ten percent of his Soul Power for every minute it remained active.

Setting aside all other factors, Lin Rong could sustain his third soul skill for ten minutes while at full Soul Power.

Putting away his martial soul, Lin Rong took out a jade bottle. Of the original twelve Dragon Rhyme Immortal Ganoderma Pills, nine remained.

The missing three had naturally been consumed by Lin Rong.

Because his own Soul Power was exceptionally abundant, each level-up required far more Soul Power than an ordinary soul master.

Moreover, the Dragon Rhyme Immortal Ganoderma Pills had diminishing effects; with every additional pill consumed, its potency would be halved.

After taking three pills in succession, their combined medicinal effect was only equivalent to 1.75 Dragon Rhyme Immortal Ganoderma Pills.

Thus, the three Dragon Rhyme Immortal Ganoderma Pills Lin Rong had taken had only raised his Soul Power by three levels.

Three months ago, Lin Rong's Soul Power had been at level twenty-seven.

And over the past three months of cultivation, he had gained a little over one additional level of Soul Power.

Therefore, after absorbing the three-thousand-three-hundred-and-thirty-three-year Azure Vine Soul Ring, Lin Rong's Soul Power had directly reached level thirty-four.

An eight-year-old level thirty-four Soul Elder—this record could probably only be broken by other Transmigrators in parallel dimensions.

There were still nine Dragon Rhyme Immortal Ganoderma Pills remaining.

Three of them were certainly meant for Ma Hongjun, but they could not be handed to him directly, nor could they be given too early.

Give someone a bowl of rice, and they repay you with gratitude; give them a bucket of rice, and they may come to resent you.

Ma Hongjun was not yet nine years old, and many habits had yet to take shape.

If every good thing were simply handed to him, it would be easy for him to develop a mindset of expecting rewards without effort and demanding whatever he wanted.

Those were not qualities a qualified blade should possess.

The earlier Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower had been a case of sooner being better than later—the earlier it was absorbed, the better the effect—so giving it to him had been fine.

But the Dragon Rhyme Immortal Ganoderma Pills were different; they would remain effective for Ma Hongjun until he reached level fifty.

Therefore, if those three Dragon Rhyme Immortal Ganoderma Pills were to be given to Ma Hongjun, he had to complete a mission first and receive them as a reward.

And that mission was crucial to Lin Rong's successful seizure of the Heaven Dou Empire's throne. Failure was absolutely not an option.

Ma Hongjun was the chief executor of that mission, while Xu Pan would remain at Ma Hongjun's side as his assistant.

Only with Xu Pan, the Guard captain loyal to the Lin Family, staying beside Ma Hongjun and constantly instilling in him the idea of loyalty to the Lin Family could Lin Rong rest at ease.