12 Chapter 12.

After bidding farewell to Su Yuntao, Old Jack returned to the Soul Hall and gazed at Wang Feng and Tang San with a kind expression.

"Good, good!" he exclaimed. 

One of the children had been raised by his side since childhood, while the other one also had been grown up under his care. Though environmental reasons might have prevented them from possessing a good martial soul, they were both innately full of soul power!

Old Jack couldn't help but rejoice in his heart, thinking of the two soul masters that will belong from Holy Soul Village in the future. He believed that with innate full soul power, these young ones would surely become strong soul masters.

"I didn't expect that Xiaofeng, to also be innately full of soul power," Old Jack said, looking at Wang Feng with a warm and somewhat surprised expression. It was as if he had witnessed a monkey popping out of a rock.

(E/N: Sun Wukong reference.) 

"..." Wang Feng felt a twinge of pain as he saw the ghostly look on Grandpa Jack's face as if he couldn't believe the outcome but nonetheless happy for him. 

He understood why the old man was so surprised. According to the original book, he should have been one of those special children—a somewhat clever little one with a different destiny from Tang San. So, it was no wonder Old Jack was taken aback after his grand reveal.

With three months left to register for Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy, Old Jack reassured the children that even though there was only one place available from their village, it didn't matter. His smile never faded.

"Xiao Feng don't say anything and stay here. Xiaosan, come with me. I'll visit your father at the forge," Old Jack said.

"Okay, Grandpa Jack" Tang San nodded.

As they left, Wang Feng stayed behind, letting the warmth of Old Jack's words sink in.

Because Grandpa Jack was expected to have a quarrel with Tang Hao later, Wang Feng didn't bother to stick around and watch. He ran outside the village to a familiar grove while deep in thought.

"In three months, brother Tao will should be above twenty-sixth-level beast soul master... With my current strength, it's going to be very difficult or near impossible to defeat him" Wang Feng pondered seroiusly.

Using Su Yuntao to gauge his own strength and applying some pressure on himself was Wang Feng's strategy to accelerate his own growth. However, Su Yuntao being from the Soul Hall, he didn't want to reveal too much about himself in this battle with Su Yuntao. His exceptional aptitude surpassing innate full soul power could draw unwanted attention from Soul Hall and even others.

Wang Feng was aware that the energy in his body now surpassed innate full soul power and might even have reached or surpassed level 20 as he hadn't even poured more than half of his soul power in the soul power testing orb and it had started showing visible cracks in it. But the specifics were still unclear. 

If the Martial Soul Hall got wind of this, they might send someone to capture him for examination to either recruit him or eliminate him.

In Douluo Dalu I, only Qian Renxue had surpassed the innate full soul power and reached level 20 at the awakening of her martial soul. She was the daughter of Bibi Dong, the supreme pontiff/pope of Soul Hall. As an unknown youngster from a small village, it would be strange if people didn't arrest him and scrutinize him.

"So, I can only use my innate soul power at level 10 and physical strength to fight Su Yuntao," Wang Feng clenched his fists. "Physical fitness is the foundation and the key to my victory. Chaos Green Lotus can also be used in tandem to achieve victory."

With this thought, Wang Feng looked around, took a deep breath and gently spread his right hand, allowing his consciousness to move slightly. A green lotus quietly blossomed atop his palm.

Seeing the green lotus, Wang Feng slowly directed about half of the energy in his body, his soul power, into his martial soul. As he injected soul power, the mysterious Choas Green Lotus burst into dazzling light.

Among the four lotus seeds in the center of the lotus platform, one of the smaller lotus seeds bloomed suddenly, releasing endless golden light. Wang Feng watched closely and continued to infuse energy into it.

A dazzling masterpiece unfolded before him! The lotus seed, nourished by his soul power, quickly swelled and expanded, eventually blooming fully from the lotus platform, radiating pure and dazzling gold light.

The soft and orthodox golden light enveloped Wang Feng's whole body, providing him warmth, healing, and extraordinary power, making him feel physically and mentally ecstatic.

"Is this the first form of Chaos Green Lotus, the twelfth-grade Golden Lotus?" Wang Feng took a slight breath, observing the little golden lotus that had bloomed from one of the four lotus seeds of Chaos Green Lotus.

A slight spring breeze surrounded him as he felt the energy in his body begin to flow violently. It was evident that evolving the green lotus into its first form required an unimaginable amount of soul power. 

But it was also expected, the more powerful the martial soul, the higher the soul power requirement when used.

Tang San's Clear Sky Hammer was very difficult to control for more than twenty seconds even after having innate soul power and it would collapse within ten seconds of manifestation because of his poor physique and lack of soul power needed to maintain it outwardly. 

Wang Feng was certain that using Chaos Green Lotus martial soul required even more astonishing amount of soul power.

"In Chinese mythology, the twelfth-grade merit Golden Lotus is an innate spiritual treasure born from the primordial chaos itself, I don't know its true capabilities since I have obviously never been to the ancient world. But the golden lotus presented as a martial soul gives me a very peculiar feeling... maybe..." Wang Feng pondered as he calculated the energy in his body, finding that thirty seconds was his limit.

Without hesitation, he scanned his surroundings, searching for something to experiment with. His eyes lit up when he spotted an injured bird not far away, lying in the distance.

"Let's try it out," he said, walking over to the injured bird, which he recognized as the same one he had saved from a poisonous snake a few days ago.

He was taken aback. How did the bird get injured again within such a short time? Its wings and abdomen were hurt and its internal organs were slightly visible. It seemed very close to death.

Meditating for a second, Wang Feng took control of the golden lotus in the center of his palm and directed its power towards the bird. The golden light enveloped the bird.

In the next moment, Wang Feng's eyes widened as he witnessed the scratches on the bird's wings rapidly healing before his eyes. The wound on its abdomen also quickly repaired and its previously closed eyes slowly opened.

In just a few seconds, the bird was fully restored to its former state. 

Wang Feng was left sweating, feeling as if he had been emptied out. The energy in his body was almost passively drawn into the golden lotus.

Originally, he could only control half of his energy usage because without a spirit ring, the rest of the energy couldn't be utilized. However, with the golden light behind the bird, all the energy in his body was directly absorbed.

At the same time, the Golden Lotus, his martial soul, now depleted of spirit power, reverted to the shape of a lotus seed, taking on the appearance of a Chaos Green Lotus again, floating quietly on the palm of his hand.

The little bird happily flew up, circling around Wang Feng.

"Can it really be restored like this?" Wang Feng was astonished, observing the little bird now full of vitality.

Was this the same bird that was nearly on the brink of death just a few moments ago?

Could the first form of the golden lotus really heal and resurrect creatures in such dire conditions?

Furthermore, Wang Feng noticed that the bird seemed to have become much stronger. Its bright bird eyes were full of agility, as if it had been granted new power.

The little bird flew to a nearby branch, frantically pecking at the trunk until it made a small hole. It seemed to be filled with excitement, flying in the air like crazy.

"Could it be... in heat?" 

Wang Feng was speechless. "Could I have used too much of the Golden Lotus power?"

Being inexperienced, he had unknowingly released an immense amount of energy to heal the birdy and might have provided a little too much.

....