Chapter 125: Thunderbolt Canyon, the Secret Art of the Heavenly Thunder Guide

One year later, in the valley of Dragon Valley.

Dragon beast carcasses littered the ground, and the furious wind and rain howled mercilessly.

A blond-haired girl sat cross-legged in an open space, a golden long sword laid across her lap, a green snake over ten meters long and half a meter thick coiled quietly around her, its eyes fixed on her, as if waiting for the girl to finish her cultivation.

Strangely, with this green snake present, ordinary wind and rain could not approach; the area encircled by the snake had not a trace of moisture.

The splendid golden hair suddenly floated up without wind.

Qian Renxue suddenly opened her green sword pupils; in a flash, a shocking sonic boom burst forth, the wind and waves shook the heavens, and the ground within a hundred meters outside the green snake collapsed violently.

In that instant, a green sword blade pierced the clouds, and myriad sword qi shot forth from Qian Renxue's body.

Her green sword pupils burst with unparalleled light, and a circular green tornado centered on the green snake spread out, covering a radius of a hundred meters.

Qian Renxue's breath, cherry lips, pupils, and golden long sword simultaneously inhaled and exhaled the sword qi storm surrounding her.

After a year of nurturing by that wine gourd, the storm sword qi domain formed! She entered a new level, the Sword Domain Realm! This is a sight ordinary swordsmen could never comprehend.

Qian Renxue had always practiced the invincible Fire Phoenix Heart Technique; thus, even though the wind-element sword qi condensed with the help of the wine gourd, her sword qi leaned more toward gales and storms rather than gentle breezes.

Seeing her awaken, the green snake poked its head out, affectionately rubbed against Qian Renxue's embrace, then shrank into a small snake coiled around her wrist.

At this moment, Yu Yuanzhen and Tang Yuehua, wearing straw raincoats and bamboo hats, stood outside Dragon Valley waiting.

Just one month ago, Qian Renxue had finished tempering her physique, a full eleven months; each time she felt she could smoothly complete the training, Yu Yuanzhen would start messing with the training content, always having various bizarre methods to throw obstacles at Qian Renxue.

Such as increasing the load, provoking the drakes in Dragon Valley, raising the route difficulty, and the concealment of items.

Even making her tie a balloon, during the trial in Dragon Valley she must not let the balloon be punctured, nor let it be smashed by dragon beasts.

Even the trial of balancing a full cup of water on her head while crossing Dragon Valley existed.

In short, Qian Renxue's bodily balance reached an astonishing degree, or rather, her utilization of her own body had reached the human limit.

Qian Renxue could even bite a small stick with her teeth, balance a water cup on it, and cross Dragon Valley.

Her adaptability to various trials that would make one's brain burst had already reached an inhuman level.

Tang Yuehua muttered to herself, 'Why hasn't Tianlin come out yet? Nothing unexpected happened, right?'

Yu Yuanzhen said lightly, 'You greatly underestimate her; after completing the trial, Tianlin possesses adaptability and advantages beyond ordinary people anywhere, her body is perfect! She, whose whole body is pink muscle, will surely become the strongest soul master!'

Tang Yuehua asked, somewhat puzzled, 'I always hear you talk about this pink muscle, but isn't pink muscle not completely alterable? Why can Tianlin cultivate it? Besides medicinal ingredients, I haven't seen you use any special divine object to change her body.'

Yu Yuanzhen suddenly burst into laughter, his eyes blazing, as if he had thought of something.

'This is because her body is too different; the day I first brought her back to the sect, I noticed that the proportion of pink muscle in ordinary people is indeed destined and rare, less than 0.5%, or even nonexistent; before Tianlin appeared, pink muscle was merely a conceptual theory.'

'But Tianlin is different; the proportion of pink muscle on her body reaches as high as sixty percent!'

'Do you understand what this means?'

'I even thought I had seen a god; indeed, it is just like a god walking in the mortal world! This body is an existence blessed by a god! She is too perfect, so I wanted to give it a try.'

Tang Yuehua gave Yu Yuanzhen a strange look, 'So, no soul master has ever cultivated this before? Not even you—are you deceiving Tianlin?'

Yu Yuanzhen snorted, 'What are you saying? Before there was none, but now someone has cultivated it? I am merely an ordinary Title Douluo, unable to achieve such a monstrous feat, but my granddaughter is the first to succeed; her bodily potential has been fully unleashed, a hundred percent pink muscle! The perfect body!'

'Setting aside the improvement in physical quality, her recovery power alone can no longer be called human; even I don't know what effects a hundred percent pink muscle has.'

'The only thing I can be certain of is that she is now a dragon! A genuine dragon wearing human skin! Hahaha!'

Tang Yuehua muttered, 'A dragon? To me she looks more like a succubus; Yu Tianheng and Yu Tianxin are practically made to look like they have upturned mouths by her, especially your grandson—I've never seen Tianlin give him a pleasant face, and I didn't expect Yu Tianheng to just put on a show of anger, always trailing behind her with a sullen expression.'

There are also rumors on the Douluo Continent of this fantastical species, the succubus; although no one has truly seen it, disciples of various sects can still see it in books.

It seems the Douluo Continent once had such an abyssal species; although we don't know what the abyss is, books have recorded it, and now it has become an indispensable part of adult literature.

Yu Yuanzhen's laughter trailed off, he fell silent for a moment, then muttered, 'That's just sibling roughhousing; Tang Yuehua, don't look at people with colored glasses! Yu Tianheng knows his limits, and besides, this isn't something you taught him, what does it have to do with Yu Tianheng?'

Tang Yuehua let out a light sigh, 'Her external conditions are somewhat too excellent; plus what she learns from me, I only worry that Tianlin's birth won't cause any major chaos.'

'What's there to fear? She can settle things; she won't let anyone dare to force her! Moreover, I, Yu Yuanzhen, am not a vegetarian!'

Tang Yuehua remained silent; that's not what she meant. Yu Tianlin's character is too wicked, everything follows her own likes; she clearly fears that the Douluo Continent will be thrown into boundless war by Yu Tianlin acting on whim—this child is certainly no obedient one.

"Boom——"

The sudden explosive sound startled Tang Yuehua; after a moment, she saw a blue-clad blond girl walk out slowly, the girl's body untouched by rain, her skirt fluttering, amidst the raging wind and rain she actually bore an air of carefree elegance.

Tang Yuehua's face lit up with joy, she hurriedly waved at Qian Renxue, 'Tianlin! Over here!'

The next moment, Qian Renxue's figure appeared before Tang Yuehua and Yu Yuanzhen.

Yu Yuanzhen clicked his tongue in wonder, 'This trick of yours is really interesting—rain doesn't touch you—how did you do it?'

Qian Renxue calmly said, 'Are you sure you want to stand in the rain and talk to me?'

Besides its innate poison, Little Green also has the ability to control water and wind, naturally able to shield Qian Renxue from rain.

The three left Dragon Valley and returned to the courtyard.

Ripples spread across the lake near the courtyard, caused by the rain.

Yu Tianheng had been waiting in the room, eyes pleading, holding three towels and eagerly handing one to each person.

Tang Yuehua gently took it, then nodded at him.

"Sister, towel."

Qian Renxue snapped at him, 'Did you train your eyes to malfunction? Look, am I wet?'

Yu Tianheng snorted angrily, turned away from her, 'Don't count on it—I don't even want to give you one!'

Yu Yuanzhen shook off the rain from his straw hat and complained to Qian Renxue, 'Between us grandfather and grandson, who is really the Title Douluo? Rain doesn't touch you, yet your swagger just now surpassed mine.'

Qian Renxue sat on the sofa, legs crossed, calmly said, 'If you want swagger, just use soul power to evaporate the rain.'

Yu Yuanzhen waved his hand, 'Using soul power to glow all over on a rainy day is like a light bulb—nothing as cool as you.'

'By the way, you can also go try the Thunderbolt Canyon.'

Yu Tianheng, who had been lounging on the sofa, stiffened, 'Grandfather, sister just came back—is it really necessary to rush this?'

He then turned, opened his arms to Qian Renxue with a reluctant expression, 'If you're tired, you can rest in my embrace; seeing as you're my sister, I can reluctantly lend you my shoulder for a while.'

But the nervousness and anticipation in his eyes didn't seem as reluctant as his words suggested.

However, in Yutianheng's gaze, Qian Renxue's calm mouth corner twitched slightly downward, changing from an expressionless face to extreme disgust and aversion, until finally, even her exquisite face bore a subtle look as if gazing at maggots.

「。」

「。」

「。」

Tianheng! You must cheer up! Even if your sister dislikes you, don't be discouraged! Face it with a smile! After all, you've always been disliked by your sister! As a man, you'd better get used to it!

Yuyuanzhen shook the already grayish Yutianheng, who wished he could dig a hole in the ground right away, cheering him up—after all, this wasn't the first time.

Tang Yuehua twitched the corner of her mouth, 'Your words are even more hurtful, aren't they?' However, compared to Yuyuanzhen, Yutianlin seems to actually despise Yutianheng even more than usual.

Yutianheng broke free from Yuyuanzhen's large hands, glared hatefully at Qian Renxue, then covered his face with his arms and ran away sadly.

Yutianlin! I hate you the most! You hateful wretch!!

Yutianheng felt utterly wronged; it was fine that she usually ignored him, but he never expected that, in front of his grandfather and Aunt Yuehua, she would be even more harsh! How could she look at her own brother with that gaze? Yutianheng felt his self-esteem shatter into pieces.

Seeing Yutianheng's retreating back, Yuyuanzhen suddenly shouted at Qian Renxue, afraid Yutianheng wouldn't hear: 'Yutianlin, how can you despise your own brother? How heartbroken Tianheng must be!'

The loud voice was practically deafening; even anyone standing in the courtyard could hear it.

Qian Renxue opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end she said nothing, merely turning her head slightly, looking reluctant to answer.

The atmosphere suddenly fell silent for a few seconds.

「Wow—」

A wail suddenly came from outside the door, then gradually faded away.

Hearing that wail, Yuyuanzhen couldn't hold back either: 'What's the point of this grandson caring so much about Yutianlin's opinion? Just be happy yourself!' He felt like vomiting.

After Yutianheng's crying completely faded, Yuyuanzhen rubbed his head and continued:

Then let's go to Thunderclap Canyon, Yutianlin—after all, you also find it annoying that Tianheng follows you around all the time.

He suddenly glanced outside, then whispered: 'Actually, grandfather understands too; this little follower Tianheng is annoying even to me—you'd better hurry to Thunderclap Canyon to take refuge.'

Cough, Thunderclap Canyon is a special place; it got its name because the canyon is filled with thunderclap power year-round. It was originally a small gathering place for soul beasts, later occupied by our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family.

The first patriarch of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family discovered that this place greatly enhanced the cultivation of Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Soul Masters, so he designated it as the family's private territory.

The thunderclap power in Thunderclap Canyon grows stronger the deeper you go; even the deepest part is one of the few places on the Douluo Continent that can threaten a Title Douluo. It is also the best place to cultivate your Purple Electric Holy Light Tyrant Dragon martial soul. For those possessing a lightning-type martial soul, it can be said to be an auspicious feng shui spot.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect's supreme treasure is obtained from Thunderclap Canyon.

Grandfather urges you to train your body so you have sufficient physical quality to stay in Thunderclap Canyon for extended periods; some rare resources of the sect are also brought back from Thunderclap Canyon, and during your training you can also undertake sect missions.

Qian Renxue's eyes flickered; the sect's supreme treasure, which Yuyuanzhen had already told her about this past year, is the True Dragon Nine Crowns hidden beneath the nine mountain peaks within the sect. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect stands on Crouching Dragon Mountain, also the most complete hiding place for the Snow Jade Crown.

At least she still didn't know where it was placed.

Over the past year, Qian Renxue also gained a sufficient understanding of Yuyuanzhen's strength; his strength is indeed terrifying, his soul power level is ninety-five, and after dragon transformation he can jump two levels, comparable to a peak ninety-seven. With the True Dragon Nine Crowns added, he might even advance to the invincible human level of ninety-nine.

He once said that, if not for fearing an endless feud with the Spirit Hall, he could truly kill two Title Douluo in close combat—no exaggeration—at least Uncle Porcupine and Uncle Snake Spear would surely not survive.

Qian Renxue nodded, 'If that's the case, then I'll set out tomorrow to take a look.'

Yuyuanzhen chuckled, 'Thunderclap Canyon holds great opportunities, but whether you obtain them depends on yourself. Moreover, your soul power level has reached thirty, right? How do you prepare to absorb how many years of soul ring?'

Qian Renxue's face remained calm as she softly said, 'Ten-thousand-year.'

Those two light words made Tang Yuehua beside her feel immensely heavy; the teacup in her hand emitted a crisp clink, as this child actually wanted to absorb a ten-thousand-year third soul ring—again and again, she shattered her notion of genius.

Tang Yuehua had nothing to say; as a Soul Master with only soul power level nine, she didn't understand cultivation matters.

Yuyuanzhen also fell silent for a moment, then said, 'From grandfather's perspective, absorbing a nine-thousand-year soul ring would be best for you; given your talent, barring any accident, you are destined to become the future number one under heaven. But given your personality, you certainly wouldn't want to wrong yourself—body training isn't for nothing, and your current physical condition is definitely sufficient to absorb a ten-thousand-year soul ring.'

However, a soul beast breaking through ten thousand years is entirely different from a thousand-year soul beast; the shift from hundred to thousand is a qualitative change, and so is the shift from thousand to ten thousand. Grandfather doesn't worry about the body, but when a ten-thousand-year soul beast dies and you absorb it, residual soul tremor will appear.

「Soul tremor? What is that? 」

Tang Yuehua stared blankly, wondering how she had never heard of such a thing.

Yuyuanzhen chuckled lightly, 'You're only a level-nine Soul Scholar, so naturally you wouldn't know; only Soul Masters who have absorbed a ten-thousand-year soul ring know this, though they rarely mention it, since most high-level Soul Masters have no interest in theory and don't think there's anything worth saying.'

Soul tremor is a special ability produced by a high-level soul beast upon death before its soul dissipates; only soul beasts of ten thousand years or more possess it. Generally, absorbing a ten-thousand-year soul beast's soul ring requires at least a soul power level of fifty; upon reaching level fifty, a Soul Master's various functions have already reached a certain degree, and mental power has also grown to a certain extent.

But even so, when absorbing a ten-thousand-year soul ring one must be especially cautious; besides the energy contained in the soul ring, there is also the danger of this soul tremor. For adults, and for Soul Masters of level fifty or above, the full maturation of body and mental power greatly reduces the effect of this soul tremor; generally, Soul Masters do not suffer harm from it.

But Yutianlin is only ten years old, with a soul power level of just thirty; although her body can withstand the impact of the soul ring's energy, if her mental power is insufficient, once her mental world is damaged by the soul tremor, she would become an idiot. Do you still want to choose a ten-thousand-year soul ring?

Qian Renxue said nothing; a faint ring of reddish-gold light spread outward from her body, the golden light sweeping over, and all the cultivated plants around the yard seemed to tremble as if touched.

Tang Yuehua had little reaction, but Yuyuanzhen could keenly sense this mental power.

'It's actually a tangible yet intangible mental power level; perhaps you could indeed gain recognition from that exalted one,' Yuyuanzhen muttered to himself.

Reaching such a tangible yet intangible mental power level at age ten is already astonishing beyond belief, but Qian Renxue has brought him too many surprises this past year, causing Yuyuanzhen to now have little reaction; he's become numb from shock, or perhaps that's just what geniuses are like.

'Grandfather has no objections—go ahead. You have the capability to absorb a ten-thousand-year soul beast; I'll have Yujingcheng and the others take you to Thunderclap Canyon. After they help you hunt down the ten-thousand-year soul ring, you can train there on your own, but don't go too deep—that's not a place your soul power level can reach.'

'If you can obtain the inheritance, that's best; if not, it's fine. As long as Yutianlin returns safely, grandfather will be content.'

Yuyuanzhen then produced an antiquated blue booklet and handed it over; the cover bore the three characters 'Heavenly Thunder Guide' written in flying dragon, phoenix-dancing cursive script, so messy that Qian Renxue stared at it for a while before recognizing it.

'This Heavenly Thunder Guide is a method specifically used in Thunderclap Canyon; take it with you—it will benefit you. Whether your overbearing purple lightning can advance further in Thunderclap Canyon depends on it.'

Seeing Qian Renxue's gaze, Yuyuanzhen chuckled lightly, 'Rest assured, the contents are written clearly; it's not the original cursive script.'

Qian Renxue took the 'Heavenly Thunder Guide' and asked, 'Is it only mine, or does every clansperson have one?'

Yuyuanzhen grinned, 'Naturally, only you have it; it's a secret art that only the sect leader of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect can learn, the elders don't possess it. When you use it, don't let the clanspeople discover it, otherwise grandfather would have a hard time explaining to the elders, and you'd have to listen to their nagging about etiquette and rules.'

(End of chapter)