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Douluo Dalu_ Legend of the Ancestral Dragon_chapter_0034
Chapter 34
Chapter 34: The Mysterious Aotian (Fourth Update)
This was the very same horse Aotian had used for travel when he went from Spirit City to Nuoding City a year ago.
It was pure white, tall, and strong—a Thousand-Mile Horse that Aotian had specially selected in Spirit City.
After Aotian sent a cluster of Dragon Energy containing Dragon Blood into its body, it began to change rapidly.
Xiao Wu exclaimed, "Aotian, look! Something seems to be breaking out of the horse's back."
With a gentle wave of his hand, Aotian set up an invisible barrier, concealing the area.
Not only was the horse's back changing, but its white fur also began to fall out, rapidly replaced by a dense layer of scales.
*Poof!* The flesh on the horse's back tore open, and two snow-white wings burst out, stretching to a length of two meters.
Aotian untied the carriage ropes from the horse. It neighed excitedly, its cry having changed, now sounding somewhat like a dragon roar.
Before Xiao Wu's stunned eyes, the horse spread its wings and took flight. It was wobbly at first, but it quickly found its balance, circling in the air above their heads.
"Aotian, pinch me," Xiao Wu murmured.
"Why would I pinch you?"
"To see if I'm dreaming."
Aotian reached out and gave Xiao Wu's cheek a firm squeeze.
"Ouch! Why'd you do it so hard?" Xiao Wu cried out in pain. The spot Aotian had pinched was already red.
Snapped back to her senses, she said in shock, "How did this horse suddenly turn into... this?"
She was absolutely certain that this horse had been just an ordinary horse before, albeit a bit stronger than most.
But now, it was radiating the aura of a soul beast.
She had just witnessed an ordinary horse evolve into a soul beast with her own eyes. This was the first time she had ever seen such a thing.
Soul beasts were typically born from other soul beasts. For an ordinary animal to evolve into a soul beast was extremely rare.
Aotian didn't answer Xiao Wu's question. He looked up at the soaring horse, nodding in satisfaction as if admiring a piece of art he had created himself.
The horse landed and walked slowly to Aotian, bending its four legs and kneeling.
Aotian stroked its head and said, "From now on, your name will be Long Ma."
Long Ma whickered softly a few times, very happy that its master had given it a name.
"Can you return to your original form?" Aotian asked.
Long Ma stood up. Its large body shrank slightly, the dragon scales vanished, and its wings retracted without a trace.
*Very good.* Aotian nodded in satisfaction. He tapped his finger in the air a few times, and golden characters flew from his fingertip, merging into Long Ma's body and sealing its soul beast aura.
Even a Titled Douluo using their spiritual power to probe it would not be able to discover that this horse was a soul beast.
Xiao Wu watched this scene blankly. If Aotian hadn't pinched her just now, and if her face wasn't still stinging, she would have certainly thought this was an illusion.
Also, what were those golden characters that flew from Aotian's fingertip? Why did the horse's soul beast aura suddenly disappear?
Xiao Wu was very sensitive to the aura of a soul beast, but now, no matter how she tried to sense it, she couldn't detect any soul beast aura on Long Ma.
She stared at Aotian with a bewildered expression, waiting for his answer.
Aotian smiled at her and said, "I was the one who made it evolve into a soul beast, and I was also the one who concealed its soul beast aura."
"How is that possible? How did you do it?" Xiao Wu's eyes widened, her face a picture of cute bewilderment.
A seven-year-old child, whose cultivation was only at the Soul Master level, could actually make an ordinary animal evolve into a soul beast and even conceal its aura.
If word got out, it would sound like a complete fantasy. No one would believe it.
"I'm not telling you."
Xiao Wu pouted. "You don't consider me a friend."
"You'll know when you're supposed to know. When you're not supposed to know, you never will," Aotian said.
With a thought, he sent Long Ma and the carriage into his personal space.
"Where's Long Ma?" Xiao Wu cried out.
"I put it in my space," Aotian said with a faint smile. He then dispelled the barrier and started walking toward the small town ahead.
"How is that possible? Aren't storage soul tools only able to store inanimate objects?" Xiao Wu asked, catching up to him.
"Who told you storage soul tools can only store inanimate objects?" Aotian glanced at Xiao Wu.
He thought of Dugu Bo's Ruyi Treasure Pouch, which was a soul tool that could store living things.
If even humans could create such a soul tool, it was even less difficult for him.
His space was almost indistinguishable from a world. It just lacked living beings. Aotian was certain that once his cultivation broke through to a higher realm, that space might evolve into a true world.
Xiao Wu's lips were pursed in a high pout. She followed behind Aotian without another word, a look of displeasure on her face.
Only now did she realize how mysterious Aotian was, understanding that what she knew about him was just the tip of the iceberg.
As they neared the town gate, Xiao Wu grabbed Aotian and asked in a low voice, "Can you help me conceal my soul beast aura?"
She looked at Aotian expectantly. If her soul beast aura could be hidden, she wouldn't have to fear being discovered by human experts in the future.
"Alright," Aotian stopped and helped Xiao Wu seal her soul beast aura.
They might encounter human experts on this trip into the Star Dou Great Forest. If Xiao Wu's identity was recognized, it would surely lead to bloodshed.
While Aotian wasn't afraid of trouble, he despised it.
"Is that all it takes?" Xiao Wu asked in amazement.
The golden characters entered her body like a warm current, flowing through her before finally gathering in her head and disappearing.
Aotian nodded with a smile. "From now on, not even a Titled Douluo will be able to see through your identity. However, the effect will only last for about a month."
"That's wonderful!" Xiao Wu cheered, suddenly leaning in to give Aotian a kiss, but he dodged it.
"What's gotten into you?"
"I just wanted to express my gratitude."
"..."
The two entered the small town. Although it was already dark, the streets were unusually bustling.
Soul Masters were coming and going everywhere. Aotian noticed there were actually many Soul Saint and Soul Douluo level Soul Masters here.
He had been here before, but the last time he came, there weren't this many experts.
With her soul beast aura sealed, Xiao Wu seemed to have shed a heavy burden, her entire demeanor becoming light and cheerful.
"Aotian, there's a soul tool shop over there!" Xiao Wu cried out excitedly and ran inside.
She had long wanted a soul tool of her own, but unfortunately, a small place like Nuoding City didn't have any.
Although this was just a small city, it was a place with a high concentration of Soul Master activity, so it wasn't strange for it to have a soul tool shop.
Aotian shook his head with a smile and followed her in.
Inside, a sweet-looking girl who appeared to be in her twenties was enthusiastically introducing the shop's merchandise to Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu leaned against a glass display case taller than her, her eyes shining as she looked at the exquisitely crafted female soul tools.
Rings, necklaces, bracelets, belts...
(end of chapter)
This was the very same horse Aotian had used for travel when he went from Spirit City to Nuoding City a year ago.
It was pure white, tall, and strong—a Thousand-Mile Horse that Aotian had specially selected in Spirit City.
After Aotian sent a cluster of Dragon Energy containing Dragon Blood into its body, it began to change rapidly.
Xiao Wu exclaimed, "Aotian, look! Something seems to be breaking out of the horse's back."
With a gentle wave of his hand, Aotian set up an invisible barrier, concealing the area.
Not only was the horse's back changing, but its white fur also began to fall out, rapidly replaced by a dense layer of scales.
*Poof!* The flesh on the horse's back tore open, and two snow-white wings burst out, stretching to a length of two meters.
Aotian untied the carriage ropes from the horse. It neighed excitedly, its cry having changed, now sounding somewhat like a dragon roar.
Before Xiao Wu's stunned eyes, the horse spread its wings and took flight. It was wobbly at first, but it quickly found its balance, circling in the air above their heads.
"Aotian, pinch me," Xiao Wu murmured.
"Why would I pinch you?"
"To see if I'm dreaming."
Aotian reached out and gave Xiao Wu's cheek a firm squeeze.
"Ouch! Why'd you do it so hard?" Xiao Wu cried out in pain. The spot Aotian had pinched was already red.
Snapped back to her senses, she said in shock, "How did this horse suddenly turn into... this?"
She was absolutely certain that this horse had been just an ordinary horse before, albeit a bit stronger than most.
But now, it was radiating the aura of a soul beast.
She had just witnessed an ordinary horse evolve into a soul beast with her own eyes. This was the first time she had ever seen such a thing.
Soul beasts were typically born from other soul beasts. For an ordinary animal to evolve into a soul beast was extremely rare.
Aotian didn't answer Xiao Wu's question. He looked up at the soaring horse, nodding in satisfaction as if admiring a piece of art he had created himself.
The horse landed and walked slowly to Aotian, bending its four legs and kneeling.
Aotian stroked its head and said, "From now on, your name will be Long Ma."
Long Ma whickered softly a few times, very happy that its master had given it a name.
"Can you return to your original form?" Aotian asked.
Long Ma stood up. Its large body shrank slightly, the dragon scales vanished, and its wings retracted without a trace.
*Very good.* Aotian nodded in satisfaction. He tapped his finger in the air a few times, and golden characters flew from his fingertip, merging into Long Ma's body and sealing its soul beast aura.
Even a Titled Douluo using their spiritual power to probe it would not be able to discover that this horse was a soul beast.
Xiao Wu watched this scene blankly. If Aotian hadn't pinched her just now, and if her face wasn't still stinging, she would have certainly thought this was an illusion.
Also, what were those golden characters that flew from Aotian's fingertip? Why did the horse's soul beast aura suddenly disappear?
Xiao Wu was very sensitive to the aura of a soul beast, but now, no matter how she tried to sense it, she couldn't detect any soul beast aura on Long Ma.
She stared at Aotian with a bewildered expression, waiting for his answer.
Aotian smiled at her and said, "I was the one who made it evolve into a soul beast, and I was also the one who concealed its soul beast aura."
"How is that possible? How did you do it?" Xiao Wu's eyes widened, her face a picture of cute bewilderment.
A seven-year-old child, whose cultivation was only at the Soul Master level, could actually make an ordinary animal evolve into a soul beast and even conceal its aura.
If word got out, it would sound like a complete fantasy. No one would believe it.
"I'm not telling you."
Xiao Wu pouted. "You don't consider me a friend."
"You'll know when you're supposed to know. When you're not supposed to know, you never will," Aotian said.
With a thought, he sent Long Ma and the carriage into his personal space.
"Where's Long Ma?" Xiao Wu cried out.
"I put it in my space," Aotian said with a faint smile. He then dispelled the barrier and started walking toward the small town ahead.
"How is that possible? Aren't storage soul tools only able to store inanimate objects?" Xiao Wu asked, catching up to him.
"Who told you storage soul tools can only store inanimate objects?" Aotian glanced at Xiao Wu.
He thought of Dugu Bo's Ruyi Treasure Pouch, which was a soul tool that could store living things.
If even humans could create such a soul tool, it was even less difficult for him.
His space was almost indistinguishable from a world. It just lacked living beings. Aotian was certain that once his cultivation broke through to a higher realm, that space might evolve into a true world.
Xiao Wu's lips were pursed in a high pout. She followed behind Aotian without another word, a look of displeasure on her face.
Only now did she realize how mysterious Aotian was, understanding that what she knew about him was just the tip of the iceberg.
As they neared the town gate, Xiao Wu grabbed Aotian and asked in a low voice, "Can you help me conceal my soul beast aura?"
She looked at Aotian expectantly. If her soul beast aura could be hidden, she wouldn't have to fear being discovered by human experts in the future.
"Alright," Aotian stopped and helped Xiao Wu seal her soul beast aura.
They might encounter human experts on this trip into the Star Dou Great Forest. If Xiao Wu's identity was recognized, it would surely lead to bloodshed.
While Aotian wasn't afraid of trouble, he despised it.
"Is that all it takes?" Xiao Wu asked in amazement.
The golden characters entered her body like a warm current, flowing through her before finally gathering in her head and disappearing.
Aotian nodded with a smile. "From now on, not even a Titled Douluo will be able to see through your identity. However, the effect will only last for about a month."
"That's wonderful!" Xiao Wu cheered, suddenly leaning in to give Aotian a kiss, but he dodged it.
"What's gotten into you?"
"I just wanted to express my gratitude."
"..."
The two entered the small town. Although it was already dark, the streets were unusually bustling.
Soul Masters were coming and going everywhere. Aotian noticed there were actually many Soul Saint and Soul Douluo level Soul Masters here.
He had been here before, but the last time he came, there weren't this many experts.
With her soul beast aura sealed, Xiao Wu seemed to have shed a heavy burden, her entire demeanor becoming light and cheerful.
"Aotian, there's a soul tool shop over there!" Xiao Wu cried out excitedly and ran inside.
She had long wanted a soul tool of her own, but unfortunately, a small place like Nuoding City didn't have any.
Although this was just a small city, it was a place with a high concentration of Soul Master activity, so it wasn't strange for it to have a soul tool shop.
Aotian shook his head with a smile and followed her in.
Inside, a sweet-looking girl who appeared to be in her twenties was enthusiastically introducing the shop's merchandise to Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu leaned against a glass display case taller than her, her eyes shining as she looked at the exquisitely crafted female soul tools.
Rings, necklaces, bracelets, belts...
(end of chapter)
