Attribute Advancement, the Qian Family's Legacy

Golden Crocodile Douluo did not reach out to poke the thing.

He merely extended his Soul Power toward it.

But the moment his Soul Power spread between Mu Tian'en's hands, he felt it being sucked in with unprecedented force.

Golden Crocodile Douluo watched as his golden Soul Power was captured in an instant by the so-called black hole, then vanished into the little pitch-black thing.

"Interesting!"

Golden Crocodile Douluo could no longer sense his Soul Power at all, as though it had entered an unknown world.

His Soul Power was definitely gone.

What about matter?

It took a while to describe, but happened in a flash. Golden Crocodile Douluo picked up the chopstick he had been holding and poked the pitch-black thing with it.

A considerable pulling force appeared.

Only when Golden Crocodile Douluo put strength into his arm did he pull the chopstick from between Mu Tian'en's hands. A corner was missing, but the exposed cross-section was unusually smooth.

"Indeed, interesting!"

Golden Crocodile Douluo, who had been frowning to some degree, now wore a faint smile.

Its destructive power was considerable.

If it caught them off guard, it might be able to seriously injure some Soul Elders before they could react.

Golden Crocodile Douluo, whose research usually leaned toward combat, drew on his past experience and devised several fighting methods for Mu Tian'en in almost an instant, each capable of catching and injuring someone who had yet to hunt down a fourth Soul Ring.

But before he could enjoy the moment for long, Ma Chengyuan's laughter brought Golden Crocodile Douluo back to reality.

At some point, Little Tian'en had been pulled over to Jin Huang and Ma Chengyuan.

The two men crouched in front of the pitch-black thing in Mu Tian'en's hands, constantly trying all sorts of objects to test its power. They only stopped when Mu Tian'en had completely run out of strength.

"The earth attribute can change like this?"

Jin Huang assumed the same pose as Mu Tian'en.

But he held his breath until the very end without producing anything like Mu Tian'en's.

For some reason, however, Golden Crocodile Douluo noticed that the light in his grandson's eyes was exactly the same as the light that had shone in his father's eyes back when he took beatings from Golden Crocodile Douluo but refused to change.

But before Golden Crocodile Douluo could think further, Ma Chengyuan's cheerful words drew his attention.

"This is a completely new record of an attribute. At last, there's a chance that part of Spirit Hall's old Attribute Advancement Theory can be completed."

Back then, a Soul Master of the Qian Family, whose Innate Soul Power was not particularly outstanding and whose Martial Soul was not the traditional Two-Winged Angel Martial Soul, had researched attributes related to Martial Souls.

At the time, however, Spirit Hall was more inclined to develop its members' own Martial Souls and did not conduct systematic research into the related attributes.

In the end, even after devoting his entire life to it, that Qian Family Soul Master left behind only a few books of miscellaneous thoughts on Soul Masters' Martial Soul attributes in Spirit Hall's library, as well as some books classifying Soul Beast attributes.

In the end-

They, the ones who came later, were the beneficiaries.

But they, the ones who came later, had ultimately failed to fulfill that senior's expectations.

Now-

At least as far as earth-attribute Martial Souls were concerned, Ma Chengyuan had verified that lord's conjecture.

Martial Soul attributes had the potential to advance.

Ma Chengyuan could hardly wait to write a theoretical article on the subject.

But just as Ma Chengyuan turned around, Old Xiu Nuo stopped him. "Old Ma, don't go running off at a time like this. We've determined the little fellow's attribute now, so we can go hunt a Sinking Sand Water Turtle."

"But Old Ma, are there any of those turtles near Vast Sea City?"

To be honest, if Old Ma had not mentioned it, Old Xiu Nuo would never have known that a Soul Beast capable of granting a Soul Master such a terrifying skill existed.

And since he had not even known its name before, Old Xiu Nuo naturally knew nothing of its appearance or characteristics.

That meant he could not determine its range from descriptions of the turtle, either.

But the next moment, Old Ma looked at Old Xiu Nuo with a calm smile that held a hint of mockery. "Old Xiu Nuo, if I were your ancestor, even if you were the highest-level cultivator in your family, I'd give you a good beating."

Old Xiu Nuo was taken aback.

When he recovered, Old Xiu Nuo prepared to have it out with Old Ma over what it meant to be the pride of the family. But the next moment, he fumbled to take a parchment scroll from Ma Chengyuan.

"This emblem?" Old Xiu Nuo stared at the family emblem on it, somewhat dumbfounded.

"This is a record left by a Soul Master of your family, so naturally it bears your family's emblem." Ma Chengyuan smiled faintly. "Just think, who would have hunted a water-attribute turtle in that era?"

Old Xiu Nuo slapped his forehead, delight spreading across his face. "So it was my ancestor!"

With that, Old Xiu Nuo immediately opened the scroll in his hands.

After racing through the scroll ten lines at a glance, Old Xiu Nuo was even more delighted.

"A few days ago, a patrolling deacon from some villages west of Vast Sea City reported that the beaches there were expanding, but after searching the sand for ages, they couldn't determine what kind of spirit beast had migrated there."

"Now, judging by their habits, my preliminary assessment is that it should be a population of Sinking Sand Water Turtles. They aren't very combative, but they're extremely destructive to the land."

Once the prey had been identified, Golden Crocodile Douluo pulled Mu Tian'en, whose Soul Power was nearly exhausted, into his arms.

Holding Mu Tian'en, he shot straight into the air. After checking the direction, he tossed out a "Follow behind me" and headed west of Vast Sea City, without even asking the village's exact name.

Jin Huang, Old Xiu Nuo, and the others were left looking at one another.

"Lord Envoy, is your ancestor always this hot-tempered?" Old Suolong had never dealt with Golden Crocodile Douluo, so he naturally turned to Jin Huang, who bore some resemblance to him, and asked tentatively.

"My ancestor, well, he's usually quite refined and easygoing." Recalling the valiant sight of his grandfather beating his father, Jin Huang, wisely following his heart, did not dare speak ill of his grandfather so soon after the old ancestor had left.

However-

His eyes flickered as he looked at Old Xiu Nuo, who stood to one side, his face rather stiff after Mu Tian'en had been taken away before he could finish speaking. "Bishop Xiunuo, could you arrange a relatively quiet room for me?"

"And send some people to find my grandfather."

"Also, there's no need to worry. My grandfather will certainly make sure the child Mu Tian'en returns safe and sound."

At the same time, Jin Huang gave Old Xiu Nuo a look that said he might soon have a junior fellow disciple, then strolled out of the dining hall.

Meanwhile, Old Ma did his best to hold on to his earlier inspiration. Once he was sure Old Xiu Nuo would not stop him again, he turned and headed for the library.

It had everything he needed.

Even so, he murmured about missing the little fellow's Soul Hunt.

He, too, had intended to chase after Golden Crocodile Douluo.

But for now, his inspiration was more important.