stjorthotic Chapter 8 Returning Home!
Chapter 8 Returning Home!
"Grandpa," Qing Mufeng suddenly spoke.
"Um."
"The Azure Dragon's corpse... is it alright to just leave it there like that?"
Qing Zhengyue glanced at his grandson, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"The corpse of the thousand-year-old soul beast will soon be devoured by other soul beasts. Once we leave, many soul beasts will come to eat it in this valley." The old man paused, "which will help us cover our tracks."
Qing Mufeng nodded thoughtfully.
"What about the vine dragon?"
"Same," Qing Zhengyue said. "The Star Dou Great Forest is a place of constant eating and being eaten. The corpses of two dragons don't even make a splash. No one will ever know what happened here."
Qing Mufeng remained silent for a moment, then said something that surprised Qing Zhengyue.
"So, when I hunt spirit beasts again in the future, should I handle it the same way? Without leaving a trace?"
Qing Zhengyue looked at his grandson with a hint of admiration in his eyes.
"Yes," the old man said, "unless you are so powerful that you don't need to hide."
Qing Mufeng remembered.
...
Silent all night.
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Qing Zhengyue got up.
He moved the rocks blocking the cave entrance, peeked out to observe for a moment, and only after confirming that there was no danger around did he turn back to call his wife and grandson.
"I'm gone."
The three left the cave and began their journey home.
The journey back was much faster than the journey there.
Qing Zhengyue did not linger on the road and headed straight for the outer edge of the Star Dou Great Forest with his wife and grandson.
Liu Yunlan was still holding her grandson's hand, but the old lady's steps were much lighter than when she arrived.
Qing Mufeng walked beside his grandmother, feeling the operation of the two soul rings in his body as he walked.
The first spirit ring was a deep yellow, and the second spirit ring was purple.
The two spirit rings slowly rotated, and the spirit power flowed through the meridians, becoming much stronger than before absorbing the second spirit ring.
Level 26.
This level, in Notting City, already surpasses most adult Soul Masters.
He was only six years old.
Qing Mufeng took a deep breath, suppressing the slight smugness in his heart.
Level 26 is already considered a high level in Notting City, the place where the Soul Clan is the strongest in the open.
But in the entire Douluo Continent, it's nothing.
The Golden Generation of the Spirit Hall, they were already Soul Masters and Soul Kings in their early twenties.
Those reclusive old monsters, titled Douluo-level powerhouses, could crush him with a single hand.
He still has a long way to go.
.....
Two days later.
Qing Family Manor.
Qing Hongyuan and Shen Wanqing stood at the entrance of the manor, waiting from dawn until noon.
When the three figures emerged from the forest, Shen Wanqing's eyes immediately reddened.
She hurried over, squatted down, and looked her son up and down, as if afraid that he was missing some part of his body.
"Wind, are you hurt?"
"No, Mother." Qing Mufeng shook his head with a smile. "Grandpa and Grandma protected me very well."
Shen Wanqing checked again to make sure her son was truly unharmed before standing up and bowing to her parents-in-law.
"Father, Mother, thank you for your hard work."
Qing Zhengyue waved his hand and strode into the manor.
"Hongyuan, come to the study with me," the old man said without turning his head.
Qing Hongyuan glanced at his wife, Shen Wanqing nodded to him, and he quickly followed.
...
Inside the study.
Qing Zhengyue sat behind his desk, picked up his teacup, and took a big gulp.
Qing Hongyuan stood in front of the table, waiting for his father to speak.
"Feng'er's first spirit ring is an 823-year-old vine dragon," Qing Zhengyue said. "Her second spirit ring is a 1670-year-old azure spirit dragon."
Qing Hongyuan gasped.
Although his father had mentioned this plan before, he was still shocked when he actually heard these two numbers.
"The absorption process..." Qing Hongyuan asked cautiously.
"The first step went smoothly," Qing Zhengyue said. "The second step had some twists and turns, but overall it was within expectations."
Qing Hongyuan breathed a sigh of relief.
"However," Qing Zhengyue put down his teacup and looked at his son, "I discovered something during this trip to the Star Dou Great Forest."
Qing Hongyuan's heart jumped again.
"After absorbing her first spirit ring, Feng'er awakened a... talent ability."
Qing Zhengyue carefully chose his words, "It's not a soul skill, it's the ability of the martial soul itself that has awakened. A set of armor appeared on his body, with extremely strong defense, amazing recovery ability, and it can also enhance mental strength and speed."
Qing Hongyuan was stunned.
"The ability of a martial soul to awaken itself?" he repeated. "This... my son has never heard of it."
"I've never heard of it either," Qing Zhengyue said. "I've looked through all the books in the Qing family's collection, and there isn't a single one that records this phenomenon."
He paused, his gaze becoming deep.
"Also, his first soul skill is called Azure Dragon Claw. Not an azure snake, but an azure dragon."
Qing Hongyuan's pupils suddenly contracted.
"He knows it himself," Qing Zhengyue said. "When he awakened, the inherited memories told him."
A long silence fell over the study.
Qing Hongyuan opened his mouth, then closed it again, repeating this several times before finally finding his voice.
"Father, that wind..."
"He is the Azure Dragon." Qing Zhengyue stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the verdant mountains and forests outside. "Not a green snake, but an Azure Dragon. The Azure Dragon of the East, the origin of wood."
He learned all of this from his family's ancient books.
Those ancient books were unearthed by our ancestors from some kind of historical site when they were fighting in the army.
Outsiders wouldn't know.
"This news must absolutely not get out."
Qing Hongyuan took a deep breath and nodded heavily.
"My son understands."
...
evening.
In Qing Mufeng's room.
Liu Yunlan and Shen Wanqing, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, busied themselves preparing water for Qing Mufeng's bath, changing his clothes, and brewing medicinal soup.
Shen Wanqing walked in carrying a bowl of medicine soup and saw her son sitting on the bed, looking down at his right hand.
"Feng'er, it's time to take your medicine."
Qing Mufeng took the medicine bowl, drank it all in one gulp, and didn't even flinch.
Looking at her son, Shen Wanqing suddenly felt that the child seemed to have grown up overnight.
It's not physical growth, but the look in their eyes.
The look in those eyes didn't seem like something a six-year-old child should have.
"Mother." Qing Mufeng put down the medicine bowl, looked up at his mother, and said, "Grandpa said that I have to stay in the manor from now on and can't go out."
Shen Wanqing was taken aback, then nodded gently.
"Your grandfather did it to protect you."
"I know," Qing Mufeng said. "I'm not upset."
He was indeed not unhappy.
He could stay at home, without having to go out for social events, participate in those boring competitions, or deal with those forces that coveted his talent.
Cultivate quietly and steadily to become stronger.
He should only go out when he becomes so powerful that no one can threaten him.
This is his favorite rhythm.
Shen Wanqing looked into her son's calm eyes and suddenly smiled.
She reached out and ruffled her son's hair.
"You're much smarter than your dad."
Qing Mufeng smiled too.
.....
Late at night.
The Qing family manor fell into a deep sleep.
Qing Mufeng lay on the bed with his eyes closed, but he couldn't fall asleep.
He was introspecting his own martial spirit.
The green snake... no, the green dragon floated silently in his sea of consciousness, several sizes larger than when he awakened.
Its scales shimmered with a faint bluish light, and the cloud-like patterns on its body were clearer than before.
Two spirit rings slowly rotated around it.
Deeper within the Azure Dragon, two more lights slumber.
Those were two innate divine abilities that had already been awakened.
Azure Dragon Armor and Azure Dragon Eye.
With a thought, he quietly activated the Azure Dragon Eye.
In the darkness, his eyes gleamed with a faint golden light.
Through the wall, he saw his grandparents sleeping soundly in the next room.
Grandpa's breathing was steady and strong, while Grandma's breathing was soft and long.
Further away, in the father's and mother's room.
The father's snoring was deafening. The mother turned over, mumbled something, and then fell into a deep sleep again.
Qing Mufeng withdrew his gaze and closed his eyes.
The golden light dissipated.
In the darkness, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
This world is dangerous.
But he has family.
It possesses the Azure Dragon Martial Soul.
It has the origin of wood.
It also contains memories and insights from more than twenty years of my previous life.
He doesn't need to rush.
Take it easy.
Take it one step at a time.
One day, he will become a true Azure Dragon.
On that day, he will make the entire Douluo Continent remember his name.
but not now.
Right now, he's just a six-year-old child.
Time to sleep.
Because he is already far ahead of his peers.
Therefore, it is necessary to balance work and rest.
.....