The Dragon's Claw and the Tear in the Void
"Finally... it's finally over!"
It took Yao Xuan a full ten seconds to emerge from the aftershocks of the searing pain. He remained seated, breathing deeply until his heartbeat settled into a steady, powerful rhythm, before slowly pushing himself to his feet.
Unlocking the first limit of the Ancestral Dragon bloodline had been no brief trial. For a full, excruciating hour, his body had been a battleground, wracked with torment as primordial power reforged him from the inside out. Even with the stabilizing presence of the Ancestral Dragon Martial Soul, the agony had been so intense that he had teetered on the edge of unconsciousness multiple times. Only his iron will, forged in the fires of his resolve to protect Na'er, had allowed him to cling to consciousness and maintain control.
Now, standing on steady legs, the evidence of his struggle was clear. His clothes were plastered to his skin with cold sweat. Two deep, crimson marks from where he had bitten his lip stained the corners of his mouth, and the backs of his hands were etched with half-moon indentations from his clenched fists.
But as he felt the new power humming within him, he knew the suffering had been a price worth paying. The rewards were nothing short of revolutionary.
With the first limit broken, the qi and blood within him had perfectly coalesced into a complete, self-sustaining circulatory system. The raw power of his life force had tripled, granting him a recovery rate and combat endurance that defied his level. More crucially, this established foundation had unlocked his first true bloodline ability—Ancestral Dragon Shattering Void Step. It was a technique fueled purely by his qi and blood, demanding no soul power, making it a devastating and sustainable trump card.
Furthermore, the breakthrough had granted him a new passive ability: the power to channel his qi and blood to completely transform his right hand and arm into that of a dragon's, granting him monstrous strength and devastating destructive power.
Finally, his physical attributes had undergone a meteoric rise. His base strength had skyrocketed by approximately a thousand kilograms, settling at a staggering two thousand kilograms. When augmented by his Martial Soul Possession, his strength could exceed three thousand kilograms—a level of raw power that could shatter mountains.
"Now, let me see the specific effects of these two bloodline abilities!"
Satisfaction warmed his chest, washing away the last vestiges of pain. He headed to the bathroom, washing away the grime and sweat of his transformation, and returned to his room feeling renewed and focused.
"Right Claw Dragon Transformation!"
He willed it, and his qi and blood surged. A brilliant, nine-colored light condensed around his right arm, and in an instant, a layer of iridescent dragon scales shimmered into existence, sheathing his entire arm from shoulder to wrist in an armor of living legend.
Simultaneously, his right hand underwent a dramatic change. It enlarged, his fingers thickening and elongating, transforming into a set of wickedly sharp, gleaming dragon claws nearly fifteen centimeters long. They looked ferocious, radiating an aura of primal destruction.
"Such... immense power!"
A thrill of exhilaration shot through him. The feeling was incredible. With the Right Claw Dragon Transformation active, the strength in his right arm had increased by more than 50%. That meant, when combined with his Martial Soul Possession, the destructive force he could unleash with that single arm could reach an apocalyptic five thousand kilograms!
Five thousand kilograms. The number itself was terrifying. In terms of pure, unadulterated physical power, he could now overwhelm not just Soul Masters, but even ordinary Soul Grandmasters. It was absolute, crushing dominance.
"Let's test the sharpness of this dragon claw!"
From his system's spatial storage, he retrieved a block of hundred-refined iron. Holding it firmly in his left hand, he gently swiped his transformed right claw across its surface.
SHNICK!
The sound of rending metal was clean and sharp. Yao Xuan felt only the barest hint of resistance before the dense block of iron was cleanly sheared in two.
"Incredibly sharp!" he breathed, examining the perfectly smooth cut. "If this claw tore into an enemy, it would be instantly fatal." While hundred-refined iron was a common metal, the defensive capabilities of most Soul Masters were far inferior. Few could hope to withstand such an attack.
"Now, to test the defense of the dragon-transformed arm."
Picking up the sharpened piece of iron he had just created, he gripped it tightly and thrust it with considerable force into the scaled flesh of his right forearm.
CLANG!
The sound was not of flesh tearing, but of metal striking unbreakable armor. A faint, tingling numbness was the only sensation that traveled up his arm. Where the point had struck, only a tiny, barely visible white mark remained on the vibrant scales.
"A perfect balance of offense and defense! As expected of an ability born from the Ancestral Dragon bloodline. Truly extraordinary!" he marveled. With a thought, he willed the transformation to recede, his arm returning to its human form.
"Now, for the Ancestral Dragon Shattering Void Step."
Once again, he activated his qi and blood, triggering the active ability granted by his breakthrough. The moment the Ancestral Dragon Shattering Void Step engaged, he felt the world around him shift. His speed explosively increased by at least half. But more than that, he felt a profound synchronization with the very space around him. Every movement became fluid, effortless, as if the air itself parted to make way for him, offering zero resistance. It was a feeling of unparalleled agility and freedom.
To properly test this new power, he left his home and headed for a nearby empty playground.
Under the effect of the Shattering Void Step, his movements became a blur. He weaved between the silent play equipment with impossible grace. He felt a mysterious connection to the fabric of space, each step and leap subtly aided by its latent power, making him elusive and incredibly fast.
And then, he felt it—a deeper potential. A intuition that, if he willed it, he could do more than just move fast; he could step through space itself.
"Let's try it!"
Seizing that fleeting sensation, he focused his will and lunged forward.
The next moment, the impossible happened. Yao Xuan's body vanished from his original position. There was no blur of motion, no rushing wind. In one instant, he was here; in the very next, he had reappeared a full meter away, as if he had simply skipped over the intervening space.
"This... this is the feeling of traversing space? It's... amazing!"
Landing softly, Yao Xuan stood in stunned silence for a moment, before a slow, wondrous smile spread across his face. For a breathtaking instant, he had felt a mysterious spatial force envelop him, gently carrying him through a fold in the world. It was a miraculous experience, a tiny glimpse into the boundless potential that now lay before him. Each new power was not just a weapon; it was a stepping stone on the path to becoming someone capable of standing beside Gu Yuena, of shielding her from any storm. The thought made the dragon's power within him thrum with anticipation.