A man in azure robes stood silently in Qian Ye's courtyard, hands clasped behind his back. His long, light-blue hair rippled in the gentle breeze, carrying a faint shimmer like flowing water beneath sunlight.He seemed less a man than an immortal descended to earth.
Qian Ye recognized him immediately — Azure Luan Douluo, the Third Elder of the Spirit Hall.
"Uncle Azure Luan!" Qian Ye called respectfully.
The elder turned, his calm smile tinged with warmth. "Little Ye, you're back?"
"Yes, I just returned," Qian Ye replied.
Azure Luan Douluo's eyes softened. "I heard you've awakened your Martial Soul — and even obtained a Soul Ring?"
Qian Ye nodded. "Yes."
"The Grand Elder is occupied these next few days," Azure Luan Douluo said. "He asked me to oversee your training."
Qian Ye blinked in surprise, then bowed.To be trained by a Title Douluo — especially one as revered as the wielder of the Azure Sky Giant Luan, a rank-97 powerhouse — was an honor beyond measure.
Azure Luan Douluo chuckled, patting him gently on the head."Get some rest tonight. At dawn tomorrow, we begin your special training. Don't worry, Little Ye — I won't go easy on you."
The Next Morning
Before the first light touched the horizon, Qian Ye was awakened by the elder's voice.
"Up," Azure Luan Douluo said simply. "We climb."
The rule was clear — no Martial Soul, no Soul Power.He was to keep pace with the elder's effortless glide up the mountain.
Azure Luan Douluo moved as if carried by the wind, feet barely brushing the earth, robes trailing like drifting clouds.Qian Ye followed, jogging steadily behind, his breath controlled, his focus unbroken.
He didn't ask why. He didn't need to. He trusted Uncle Azure Luan completely.
Since his adoption, the seven elders had treated him like family. They gave him the best food, the best guidance, the warmth his blood kin never could.To Qian Ye, they were his true family.
For over two hours they climbed. The sky paled to gray, then gold. When they reached the summit, the sun was just rising, spilling molten light across the vast horizon.
Azure Luan Douluo stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze fixed on the dawn. "Tired?" he asked.
Qian Ye nodded faintly. "A little. It's harder without soul power."
"Good." The elder smiled. "Now — close your eyes. Feel this moment."
Qian Ye obeyed.
Warm light brushed his face. The chill of morning softened under the newborn sun.He felt the pulse of life awakening in the mountains below — the quiet breath of the world itself.Every gust of wind, every spark of light carried the rhythm of creation.
The sensation drew him inward. His mind emptied. The stillness felt endless.
Slowly, Qian Ye sensed it — strands of pure soul power drifting in the air, flowing toward him, merging with his body.It wasn't cultivation by effort; it was cultivation by harmony.
Time slipped away.
When he opened his eyes again, the valley below was flooded in gold.
Azure Luan Douluo smiled. "Well? How do you feel?"
Qian Ye exhaled softly. "Today's cultivation… felt smoother than ever before."
The elder nodded. "The plan for the year begins in spring; the plan for the day begins in morning. When the sun first rises, the world's soul power is purest. This is the best time to meditate."
Qian Ye's mind turned.
He looked up. "Uncle Azure Luan, did you bring me here just to meditate?"
Azure Luan Douluo's smile deepened, a faint gleam of mischief in his eyes. "Of course not — that was only the beginning."
He motioned toward the cliff's edge. "Come."
They approached the precipice. Beneath them, clouds churned like a vast, white ocean. The drop vanished into mist — no bottom in sight.
To fall here was to vanish into the abyss.
"Little Ye," Azure Luan Douluo said softly, "release your Martial Soul."
Qian Ye didn't hesitate.
Dark energy erupted around him, rolling like a tide of shadow. The mountain air thickened as six black wings unfurled from his back, spreading wide and silent like blades of night.
The elder's eyes widened. "A dark-attribute Martial Soul?"
Then he saw the purple ring encircling Qian Ye — its light pulsing with the weight of a thousand years."A thousand-year first spirit ring…"
Astonishment flickered across his refined features.Impossible… and yet here he stands.
He let out a low laugh. "Hah! The Grand Elder was right. Little Ye, you are a genius unlike any the continent has seen — a genius among geniuses!"
Qian Ye inclined his head. "Thank you, Uncle Azure Luan."
The elder's smile returned, tinged with admiration. "Do you know your Martial Soul's greatest strength?"
"Darkness?" Qian Ye guessed.
Azure Luan Douluo shook his head. "That's part of it. But more importantly—" his wings unfolded in a flash of azure light "—you can fly. Just like me."
Qian Ye's eyes gleamed with sudden understanding.The Angel, the Dark Angel, the Luan — all beings of the sky.And in battle, flight meant freedom, dominance, survival.
Azure Luan's expression grew calm again. "Then our training today has only one task."
He paused, his voice soft as wind — yet brimming with power.
"Learn to fly."
Before Qian Ye could respond, Azure Luan Douluo vanished from sight — and a gentle palm pressed against his back.
Push.
The world inverted.
The cliff fell away.
Air roared past his ears as he plunged into the endless white below.
For the briefest instant, fear flashed through him — then it hardened into resolve.
If I fall, I die. If I rise… I begin to rule the sky.