"Huff!"
Qin Qing awoke with a start.
His body was drenched in sweat as if he had been washed.
Pain!
A heart-wrenching, lung-splitting agony.
This pain didn't just come from his physical body but also from his soul!
Everything he had just experienced felt like a dream.
"No! That wasn't a dream!"
"How could it possibly be a dream?"
A glint of cold light flashed in Qin Qing's eyes before he quickly regained his composure.
He shook his body and tried to move his muscles and bones.
The injuries on his body had completely healed.
Even the wound on his chest, which had been pierced by the tip of a sword, had nearly completely healed.
As for the Heavenly Martial Soul----------
Qin Qing's eyes narrowed, and a space appeared behind him where a dragon, seemingly carved from jade, manifested, lifelike, emitting a dreadful ancient oppression, desolate through the ages.
Dragon Soul!
In legend, among heaven and earth, there exist Four Divine Beasts: Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise.
Similarly, these are also the strongest four Martial Souls that a human martial artist can awaken!
In the Great Qian Dynasty, the Martial Path Realm is divided into: Body Refining, Soul Refinement, Divine Might, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Divinity Transformation, and Tribulation Transition...
As for Martial Soul, it is broadly divided into nine levels:
First to Third Rank are considered Low Rank Martial Souls. Their ability to sense spiritual energy and communicate with the Heavenly Soul is poor, and their limit is usually reaching the Divine Might Realm.
Fourth to Sixth Rank are Mid Rank Martial Souls. Mid Rank Martial Souls have improved abilities to sense spiritual energy and communicate with the Heavenly Soul, and there's a great possibility to condense the Golden Core and even achieve the Nascent Soul Realm; however, reaching Divinity Transformation would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens.
Seventh to Ninth Rank are High Rank Martial Souls.
High Rank Martial Souls not only have a significant leap in sensing the Heavenly Soul, but also in comprehending cultivation techniques and absorbing spiritual energy. As long as they don't die prematurely, the majority's lower limit is within the Nascent Soul Realm, with a great probability of entering Divinity Transformation and even the chance to challenge the Tribulation Transition Realm...
As for the Martial Souls of the Four Divine Beasts----------they are the Tenth Rank Martial Souls that surpass the Ninth Rank Martial Souls.
They are also known as Legendary Martial Souls!
"Mu Yunlan, I regarded you as my true love, but you betrayed me, took my Martial Soul, and even tried to completely eliminate me!"
"But what you might never expect is that not only am I, Qin Qing, not dead, but I have also rebuilt my Soul Palace and awakened the Dragon Soul, the foremost among the legendary Four Divine Beasts Martial Souls!"
Qin Qing's eyes flickered, he was a person who dared to love and hate.
Since Mu Yunlan betrayed him, that love had come to an end.
From now on, the only things left between him and Mu Yunlan were vengeance and hatred.
Qin Qing took a deep breath, quickly left the place, and found a natural stone cave where he began to cultivate.
"Woosh woosh!"
As Qin Qing operated the Secret Technique, the spiritual energy from the surrounding area began to converge towards him furiously.
In just a few breaths' time, the stone cave where Qin Qing was situated filled with an abnormally rich spiritual energy.
Next, the spiritual energy around him crazily gathered around Qin Qing, and from the top of his head, it spiraled wildly into his body.
It was even visible to the naked eye, this spiritual energy formed a funnel-shaped vortex above Qin Qing's head!
"Emperor Dragon Secret Technique!"
As Qin Qing awakened the Dragon Soul, the Cultivation Secret Technique was perfected, and in his mind appeared this Cultivation Secret Technique known as the "Emperor Dragon Secret Technique."
Under the operation of the "Emperor Dragon Secret Technique," Qin Qing's cultivation speed could be described as advancing by leaps and bounds!
"Woosh, woosh..."
The momentum of the spiritual energy circulating within Qin Qing was even more startling.
Waves of spiritual energy cleansed and struck Qin Qing's meridians like raging waves in a vast ocean.
After being tempered and transformed by the Dragon Soul, Qin Qing's physical body underwent earth-shattering changes.
His meridians, whether in width or toughness, had undergone a great metamorphosis compared to before.
Three days later.
Qin Qing stopped.
The surrounding spiritual energy was still incredibly dense.
He extended his right hand, and within his palm, a clump of azure spiritual energy condensed into a flickering flame.
Spiritual energy leaving the body!
This is the sign of perfection in the Tempering Body Realm!
"In three days, I've broken through from the eighth level to the ninth level of the Tempering Body Realm, reaching perfection..."
"Is this the change brought about by awakening the Dragon Soul?"
If not for the awakening of the Dragon Soul, Qin Qing estimated that it would have taken at least a year to a year and a half to cultivate to his current realm.
Yet now, it had only taken three days!
The awakening of the Dragon Soul not only directly endowed Qin Qing with a vastly superior cultivation talent, but it also directly transformed his physical body.
Together with the mysterious and powerful Emperor Dragon Secret Technique.
This had allowed him to experience a leap in his cultivation realm in just a short span of three days.
...
Tianjue City.
Qin Residence.
"Ancestors above, Qin Qing has defied ancestral teachings, committed heinous and unforgivable acts, and from this day forth, he shall be stripped of the title Young Master of the Qin Family, to be replaced by Qin Lie as the new Young Master of the Qin Family..."
Inside the clan ancestral hall, a middle-aged man with a stern face loudly declared.
The middle-aged man was named Qin Zhen, and the young man dressed in a blue robe beside Qin Zhen was his son, Qin Lie.
A cold smile played on the corners of Qin Lie's lips.
In his view, the position of Young Master of the Qin Family rightfully belonged to him.
Qin Qing holding the title of Young Master was like a cuckoo occupying the nest of another—it was absurd! How could such a waste, who couldn't even awaken his Martial Soul, serve as the Young Master of the Qin Residence?
However, just at this moment, a tender voice tinged with a hint of timidity came through:
"You... "
"Why do you strip my brother of the title Young Master?"
At the entrance of the ancestral hall, a small girl about five or six years old stood with her head cocked to one side, a look of confusion on her face.
"Qin Shuang, why are you making a racket?" The middle-aged man immediately glared at the little girl and said sternly, "This is the family ancestral hall, women are not entitled to step foot in here, get out!"
Qin Shuang looked timidly at the middle-aged man and recoiled as if pricked by needles upon encountering his sharp glare.
But when she thought of her brother, she mustered up her courage and said, "Third Grandpa. What wrong has my brother done? Why do you strip him of the title Young Master?"
"Why?" Qin Lie scoffed from the side, "Your brother succumbed to lustful thoughts and attempted to defile Miss Mu Yun Lan. It just so happens that he, the good-for-nothing, lacked the strength to defend himself and was severely injured by Mu Yun Lan. Now, he is on the brink of life and death."
"Tell me, with such a beast holding the title of Young Master of the Qin Residence, wouldn't it bring shame upon our Qin Family?"
"Besides, your brother has been stuck in the late stage of the Tempering Body Realm for three years, never awakening his Martial Soul. What worth does such a useless person have to occupy the position of Young Master?"
Hearing Qin Lie call her brother useless, Qin Shuang's childish face flushed with anger.
In the eyes of this little girl, her brother was a hero who could reach the heavens and was capable of anything—how could he possibly be useless?
"No, my brother is not useless! You're the useless one!"
The words of Qin Shuang elicited a chill on Qin Lie's face. "Someone, slap this little brat's mouth!"
As soon as Qin Lie's words fell, a sly-eyed guard rushed in.
"You little brat, Qin Lie Young Master has an extraordinary talent, having awakened the Sixth Rank Martial Soul Howling Moon Silver Wolf. Your brother, that piece of trash, isn't even fit to carry shoes for Young Master Qin Lie!"
As the guard spoke, he raised his palm and fiercely slapped Qin Shuang's face back and forth more than a dozen times.
Poor Qin Shuang, only six years old and completely oblivious to the clan disputes, had to endure such cruelty.
Her tender cheeks quickly swelled up, and blood flowed continuously from her mouth.
But the little girl bit her teeth tightly, refusing to cry out in pain. Her eyes brimmed with tears that she stubbornly kept from falling, mumbling indistinctly through her sobs, "My brother is not useless... "
"Hmph! You and your brother, one sickly, the other worthless. It's shocking to think that Qin Yi, renowned for his wisdom, could produce two such incompetent offspring!" Qin Lie snorted coldly and waved his hand, "Take her out and break her dog legs, see if she dares to intrude into the family ancestral hall again!"
"Yes! Young Master, rest assured. I'll handle it!" The sly-eyed guard eagerly toadied up, making it clear he was eager to please.
With that, he grabbed Qin Shuang by the neck and started to stride boldy towards the exit of the ancestral hall.
Poor little Qin Shuang struggled with all her might, kicking wildly as her cheeks turned bright red, but she was held firmly by the guard.
"You little brat! Who gave you the right to displease the Young Master?" the guard sneered as he threw Qin Shuang to the ground and stepped forward, intent on viciously trampling on her little arms and legs.
Suddenly, a figure dashed over from the side.
"Bang!"
Following that, the figure kicked the guard hard in the chest.
The guard's chest caved in instantly, and with a heavy thud, he was flung against the outer wall of the ancestral hall.
"You lowly beast, who gave you the nerve to touch my sister?"
Qin Qing looked down at his sister on the ground, her mouth bleeding and her eyes filled with shock and fear, his entire being exuded murderous intent.