Jade Blessing

As the winds of the second school year swept over Nuoding Academy's bluestone walls, Yan Zu happened to celebrate his eighth birthday.

Over the past year, he had shot up in height. His once-rounded baby fat had gradually faded, leaving the line of his jaw increasingly defined.

His black hair was simply tied behind his head, revealing a smooth forehead and eyes as calm as still water.

His coarse-cloth hunting clothes had been washed pale, but they could not hide a steady bearing beyond his years.

Just as the morning sunlight spilled into Dorm Seven, the system notification chimed right on time:

[Ding! Daily check-in successful!]

[Congratulations, host! You have reached the eight-year growth milestone, triggering an annual critical-hit reward!]

[Obtained: Seed of Civilization: Hundred Grains Compendium (foundation of the people's livelihood)]

[Effect: Unlocks complete cultivation techniques and high-quality seeds for high-yield crops (hybrid rice, cold-resistant wheat, high-yield potatoes/sweet potatoes), adapted to the soil and climate of Douluo Continent and ready for direct cultivation.]

Yan Zu traced his fingertips over the cultivation diagrams that appeared in his mind. From soaking seeds and raising seedlings to controlling pests and diseases, every detail was crystal clear.

This was not a simple gift of seeds, but a complete plan for agricultural revolution-one that fit his core goal of advancing civilization perfectly.

He carefully stored the seeds in his Storage Soul Tool, a plan already forming in his mind: the small courtyard at Su Medical Clinic would make an ideal test field. Once cultivation succeeded, he could spread the crops through the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's channels.

His strength had grown just as naturally.

By the end of the first school year, Yan Zu's Soul Power had broken through level twenty, leaving him only one step away from becoming a Soul Grandmaster. As planned, he set off with Xiao Wu and the couple, Yan Hu and Su Qing, into the depths of the Soul Hunting Forest to hunt for his Second Soul Ring.

"A-Zu, are you sure this is the place?" Yan Hu asked in a low voice, his Iron Axe held across his body. After more than a year of cultivation and nourishment from resources, this "Vajra Iron Axe" had steadily raised his Soul Power to level thirty-three, and his Third Soul Skill, Immovable Vajra, had even greater defensive power than before.

Su Qing stood at her husband's side, her Green Grain Martial Soul hovering faintly above her palm, pale green vitality lingering around her.

"According to the information Shopkeeper Chen provided, Jade Spirit Turtles often come to this hot spring valley in early spring."

Yan Zu unfolded a rough hand-drawn map, his Illusion-Breaking Spirit Eyes sweeping over the steaming valley ahead. "Its shell has extremely strong defenses, but it moves slowly and specializes in water- and earth-element Soul Skills. The one we're looking for has a cultivation age of nearly twenty-eight hundred years."

"Twenty-eight hundred years..." Su Qing frowned slightly. "A-Zu, wouldn't absorbing a twenty-eight-hundred-year Second Soul Ring be too risky?"

According to the theory accepted across Douluo Continent, the limit for a Second Soul Ring was around seven hundred years.

But Yan Zu merely smiled. "Mother, you know how strong my body is. The Qilin Martial Soul's auspicious origin can greatly ease the impact of the Soul Ring, and with the Nine Yin Manual's control over Soul Power, twenty-eight hundred years is... just right."

He paused, a hint of depth flashing in his eyes. "Besides, the Jade Spirit Turtle's 'endlessly renewing life' trait is highly compatible with the Qilin's life-nourishing properties.

"If I can obtain a group defense Soul Skill, it'll be useful in the future, whether for protecting our family or... doing something greater."

"A-Zu, there are Soul Power fluctuations three hundred meters ahead, by the pool. They're very gentle, but extremely abundant." Xiao Wu crouched on a treetop, her pink scorpion-tail braid swaying gently in the wind as her nose twitched.

After a year of cultivation, she had reached minor mastery of Wind God Legs, and her movements were as light as those of a real jade rabbit.

By the pool, a jade-green giant turtle over ten feet across lay quietly on a rock, basking in the sun.

Its shell was like the finest jadeite, a warm luster flowing across it-the Jade Spirit Turtle, a dual earth- and water-attribute Soul Beast renowned for its long life and terrifying defenses.

"Xiao Wu, lure it over," Yan Zu said in a low voice.

Xiao Wu flashed forward, her Phantom Jade Rabbit Martial Soul possessing her body. Her First Soul Ring's Waist Bow activated, and she shot out like a cannonball, kicking the Spirit Turtle squarely in the head.

Though she did no damage, she succeeded in enraging the thousand-year Soul Beast.

"Roar-!"

The Jade Spirit Turtle opened its mouth and spat out an arrow of water at a shockingly high speed. Xiao Wu was prepared. Her body twisted strangely in midair as she unleashed Wind God Legs' Catch the Wind and Seize the Shadow, narrowly dodging it.

"Immovable Vajra!"

Yan Hu roared, his Third Soul Ring lighting up. His body transformed like that of a vajra arhat as he blocked the space in front of Yan Zu, then viciously chopped his Iron Axe at the Spirit Turtle's flank.

The axe blade struck the shell with a metallic clang, yet left only a white mark.

"What a hard shell!" The web between Yan Hu's thumb and forefinger went numb.

Just then, Yan Zu moved. Instead of releasing his Qilin Martial Soul, he used Nine Palace Steps, circling behind the Spirit Turtle like a ghost.

With his Illusion-Breaking Spirit Eyes working at full power, he found a node in the flow of Soul Power amid the perfect patterns of the turtle's shell-the subtle opening and closing of the gaps between its scutes with each breath the Jade Spirit Turtle took.

"Now!"

Yan Zu held two fingers together like a sword, concentrating Nine Yin True Qi at their tips, and struck the node precisely. The Jade Spirit Turtle's enormous body suddenly stiffened, unable to move as though its acupoints had been sealed, leaving the soft armor on its belly completely exposed.

"Xiao Wu, back away!"

Xiao Wu flashed backward, using the momentum to retreat. At that very instant, a sharp light burst from Yan Zu's eyes. He loosely gripped his right hand, and the phantom of an ancient-looking short sword formed in his palm-it was the Xuanyuan Sword, not yet fully awakened!

Though it could not unleash its full power, the "evil-breaking" presence on the blade merged with Nine Yin True Qi, becoming a sharp blast of Sword Qi.

"Squelch-!"

The Sword Qi pierced precisely into a gap in the soft armor on the Jade Spirit Turtle's belly, its only fatal weakness. The Jade Spirit Turtle let out a mournful cry, its enormous body crashing to the ground as its life faded.

A purple Soul Ring slowly rose-it was a high-quality Soul Ring nearly three thousand years old!

"A-Zu, absorb it, quickly!" Yan Hu looked warily around. "The smell of blood is too strong here. I'm afraid it'll attract other Soul Beasts!"

Yan Zu sat cross-legged and released his Qilin Martial Soul. Little Jade became a jade-colored figure of light over ten feet tall and lay docilely behind him.

The instant the purple Soul Ring entered his body, a vast and gentle energy erupted.

Two hours later, Yan Zu opened his eyes, a jade-colored light seeming to flash through them.

"Did it work?" Xiao Wu rushed over and nervously checked his body.

"Level twenty-two."

Soul Power cultivated through the Nine Yin Manual was more condensed, so even though Yan Zu had absorbed a ring above his level, his Soul Power had only reached level twenty-two.

Yan Zu smiled and raised a hand to summon Little Jade. The Qilin's phantom was now more solid, and cloud patterns resembling those on the Jade Spirit Turtle had appeared on his back armor.

With a thought, he released his Second Soul Skill-

"Jade Blessing!"

A pale blue-green shield of light spread out from him, covering a radius of ten meters.

Inside the shield, Yan Hu felt his whole body grow lighter, as though he had put on a layer of invisible armor;

Su Qing's Soul Power recovery speed increased noticeably;

and Xiao Wu was delighted to discover that her Phantom Jade Rabbit felt unprecedentedly comfortable within the domain.

"A group shield that can cover multiple people. Its strength is equivalent to eighty percent of my own Soul Power; the more people it covers, the weaker its effect. It lasts five minutes," Yan Zu explained. "During that time, allies recover two percent of their Soul Power and stamina every second. If the shield is broken, it can briefly stun the attacker; if it isn't broken, once its duration ends, it turns into a 'vitality buff' that increases defense by twenty percent."

"This... this is practically a divine battlefield skill!" Yan Hu sucked in a sharp breath. In all his years of traveling far and wide, he had never seen such a comprehensive support Soul Skill.