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After helping Zhu Zhuqing resolve her soul ring issue, Master Li, who had been busy nonstop, thought he could finally rest and enjoy some quality family time.
However, Flender approached him and said that Liu Lan'er was six years old now—old enough to awaken her martial soul—and asked him to preside over the awakening ceremony.
So much for resting. Master Li, who had just begun to relax, was once again thrust into action.
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Shrek Academy, Martial Soul Awakening Room
At this moment, six-year-old Liu Lan'er was already in position, accompanied by her parents, Flender and Liu Erlong.
Also present were Zhao Wuji, Lu Qibin, Li Yusong, Shao Xin, Qin Ming, Mo Yu, Li Luochen, Dugu Yan, and others…
These were all people who had watched Liu Lan'er grow up.
Liu Lan'er was already brimming with excitement. Her uncles, aunts, older brothers, and sisters were all exceptionally powerful soul masters.
As the daughter of a Title Douluo and a Soul Douluo, she naturally believed her talent would be extraordinary. She had long dreamed of reaching the pinnacle of soul mastery.
Li Luochen stepped forward, holding six stones used for martial soul awakening.
"Lan'er, are you ready?"
"I'm ready, Brother Luochen!" Liu Lan'er inherited her mother Liu Erlong's straightforward personality, though unlike her mother's fiery temperament, Lan'er was much more delicate.
"Let's begin!"
Li Luochen tossed the six stones into the air, and a hexagram array appeared beneath Liu Lan'er's feet. Liu Lan'er felt something within her being drawn out as she sensed the changes in her body.
Li Luochen directly channeled his soul power to lift Liu Lan'er. Typically, martial soul awakenings were conducted by mid-level or high-level soul masters from the Spirit Hall.
For a Title Douluo like Li Luochen to personally oversee an awakening was an extremely rare occurrence. Most Title Douluos were incredibly aloof, and asking them to preside over such a ritual? Practically impossible.
At this moment, a powerful aura emanated from Liu Lan'er, accompanied by a dragon's roar. Suddenly, green scales began to grow on her body, and her eyes turned golden with vertical pupils.
The martial soul awakening was complete. Li Luochen withdrew his soul power, allowing Liu Lan'er to freely express her newfound abilities.
Lan'er waved her arms, marveling at the wonders her martial soul bestowed upon her. The excitement in her eyes was unmistakable.
She activated the soul power within her, and the fluctuations were incredibly strong—at least stronger than when Li Luochen himself had awakened his martial soul.
The wind around Liu Lan'er seemed to obey her commands, swirling continuously. But instead of feeling sharp or cutting, it carried a burning sensation.
Before long, a green flame suddenly appeared in the air. This green flame burned intensely.
Despite Lan'er's martial soul being purely wind-attribute, it somehow produced such a powerful green flame.
From her appearance, it was clear that Liu Lan'er had awakened a dragon-type martial soul, and its quality was exceptionally high—likely a true dragon-level martial soul, comparable to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.
After all, her mother Liu Erlong's martial soul, the Crimson Dragon, was also a true dragon martial soul. The only difference between it and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon was the lack of dragonification, which had been remedied later in life through the consumption of immortal herbs.
Judging by the extent of the dragon scales on Liu Lan'er's body, it was highly likely that she would undergo dragonification after obtaining her first dragon-type soul ring.
The only difference was that Liu Lan'er'sdragon-type martial soul wasn't fire-attribute like her mother's, nor lightning-attribute like her ancestors'. Instead, it was wind-attribute, inherited from her father, Flender.
"Lan'er, it seems you've awakened a variant martial soul—a beneficial mutation, at that—and your martial soul's level is very high. Let's test your innate soul power to confirm."
With that, Li Luochen tossed a blue orb used for testing soul power to Liu Lan'er.
When Lan'er grasped it, she felt her soul power being drawn into the orb. Instantly, the orb emitted its most dazzling glow.
"Full innate soul power!"
The teachers of Shrek Academy, along with Flender and Liu Erlong, were utterly shocked. Only Li Luochen and Dugu Yan remained calm.
After all, Liu Lan'er had grown up consuming rare medicinal herbs. If she couldn't achieve full innate soul power, those herbs might as well have perished.
Upon hearing this, Liu Lan'er burst into laughter. After all, she admired Brother Luochen and the elder siblings of the Shrek team deeply—they were all geniuses, and now she was one too.
Lan'er decided to set a goal for herself: surpass her older brothers and sisters!
"Lan'er, your martial soul might be a new type, so you can name it yourself."
Li Luochen spoke directly, as the green dragon martial soul felt somewhat familiar to him, though he couldn't quite recall where he'd seen it before.
"Hmm, my martial soul is green, and the flames are born from friction caused by wind pressure. How about calling it the Azure Flame Dragon? Yes, I'll call it the Azure Flame Dragon!"
After some thought, Liu Lan'er named her martial soul herself.
The Azure Flame Dragon? The Azure Flame Dragon! No wonder—it made sense now.
The Azure Flame Dragon was a variant martial soul. In the original timeline, thousands of years later, it would become the martial soul of Xian Lin'er, the head of Shrek Academy's Spirit Tool Department. It was a name Xian Lin'er herself had chosen.
The Azure Flame Dragon was a wind-attribute martial soul. When wind was compressed to an extreme degree, the intense friction generated azure flames with immense destructive power, manifesting as decomposition.
The Azure Flame Dragon was a type of flying dragon, and its ability was decomposition—but not through cutting or scattering.
Moreover, the Azure Flame Dragon seemed to belong to the Golden Dragon lineage. Xian Lin'er had possessed a dragon spear, so perhaps Lan'er would inherit something similar.
If that were the case, Li Luochen could directly help Liu Lan'er obtain a wind-attribute dragon-type soul beast.
"It's a wonderful name, Lan'er. Don't rush to obtain a soul ring yet—I'll personally take you to acquire one later. For now, I need to study your martial soul further.
I'll also select a suitable soul beast for you, which might take some time. Can you wait?"
Li Luochen stroked his chin as he spoke.
"Mm! I'll do whatever Brother says!" Liu Lan'er, still glowing from her martial soul awakening, bounced toward her parents, eager to show off her talent and receive praise.
After completing Liu Lan'er's martial soul awakening, everyone dispersed.
Li Luochen returned to his room, pulling out paper, pen, and the Compendium of Soul Beasts to begin researching soul beasts.
His top priority was wind-attribute dragon-type soul beasts, such as the Wind Demon Dragon, Wind Azure Dragon, Tornado Flying Dragon, and Wind Devouring Earth Dragon.
Given Liu Lan'er's current physical condition, absorbing a thousand-year soul ring wouldn't be a problem. While ten-thousand-year whale glue couldn't be consumed directly at her age, it could be gradually mixed into her meals.
Moreover, the medicinal baths Lan'er used were crafted from the rare herbs of the Ice Fire Yin Yang Well, personally prepared by Dugu Yan. As far as Li Luochen knew, no one could match Lan'er in terms of foundation-building.
Following this process, Lan'er's first soul ring might absorb a thousand-year soul ring, her second could aim for five thousand years, her third for nine thousand years, and her fourth could start at ten thousand years.
Unfortunately, there were too few rare herbs that enhanced spiritual power. The ones in the Ice Fire Yin Yang Well hadn't even fully grown yet.
Herbs containing spiritual power truly took an excruciatingly long time to mature.
Still, Lan'er achieving three consecutive thousand-year soul rings was already absurd. Based on this trajectory, her seventh soul ring might even absorb a hundred-thousand-year soul ring!
By the time she reached her twenties, she could become a Title Douluo. With such talent, Liu Lan'er might even reach the level of a god.
Li Luochen found the continent increasingly fascinating.
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