Ryan Bennett reached out without hesitation and, with a “swish,” tore off all the seals!

“Whoosh!”

A blood-red light rose up, the lid of the cauldron flew open, and an old man with white hair and beard soared out from the cauldron, floating in midair, looking at Ryan Bennett with a peaceful expression.

“Ah?!”

Ryan Bennett jumped back several steps in fright—there really was something sealed inside!

“Child, don’t be afraid!”

The old man smiled gently and said, “Tell me, what era is this?”

Ryan Bennett swallowed and replied, “The Qin Dynasty!”

“Oh?” The old man mused, then asked, “How long has it been since the era of the Azure Emperor Fuxi?”

Ryan Bennett was stunned for a while, then murmured, “A... about more than 7,000 years later...”

“Oh, I didn’t expect so many years have passed already...” The old man sighed softly and said, “Child, you don’t need to be afraid. I won’t harm you, nor can I harm you. I am only a soul.”

Ryan Bennett nodded, but still felt a chill in his heart. A soul—so that means a ghost?

As if seeing through Ryan Bennett’s thoughts, the old man stroked his beard and smiled, “Child, to tell you the truth, I was sealed in this cauldron more than 7,000 years ago. As for my identity, haha, I was once the most outstanding craftsman on the continent, under the Azure Emperor Fuxi. Frank Foster is my name!”

“Frank Foster?” Ryan Bennett asked suspiciously, “Who sealed you in the cauldron?”

“Sigh...”

The old man let out a sigh, “That was a long time ago, best not to mention it! But you, child, how did you know I was hidden deep underground?”

Ryan Bennett said, “I sensed a trace of spiritual presence here!”

“Oh?”

Frank Foster was astonished and said, “Unless you are a Tianchen-level expert, it’s impossible to sense the spiritual presence inside the Divine Dragon Cauldron! Could it be... you are a descendant of the Fire God? No, the Fire God’s Art was altered long ago, that’s unlikely...”

Ryan Bennett was confused: “Descendant of the Fire God? The Fire God’s Art was altered?”

Frank Foster nodded and said, “That’s right. I am the founder of the Fire God clan. Thousands of years ago, after a great war between gods and men, the Fire God’s Art was too powerful, so the Azure Emperor modified it, and its power was greatly reduced. Over generations, it evolved into the current Fire God’s Art, but the original Fire God’s True Art could sense my soul’s existence!”

“Haha, child, it seems I should be your ancestor!”

Ryan Bennett was stunned. Could it be that the Fire God’s fragment he practiced is the Fire God’s True Art Frank Foster mentioned? If so, everything makes sense—after cultivating the Fire God’s fragment, his fire power became strange and more powerful, and he could sense Frank Foster’s spiritual presence!

Taking out the Fire God’s fragment from his chest, Ryan Bennett said, “Grandpa Frank Foster, is this the Fire God’s True Art?”

Frank Foster’s eyes lit up and he exclaimed, “Child, how did you get this? In my memory, the Fire God’s fragment was destroyed long ago!”

“It was inside the green stone statue in the ancestral hall.”

“Oh, so that’s it. That must be the Azure Emperor’s statue. I didn’t expect the Azure Emperor’s statue to have fallen into such a dilapidated place...”

Frank Foster looked around. Ryan Bennett’s family house was considered quite good locally, but in Frank Foster’s eyes, it was no better than a pile of dirt.

Chapter 8: True Dragon Flame

“Ryan Bennett, after the Azure Emperor Fuxi, how did the land change?”

Frank Foster had grown quite familiar with this descendant and finally asked the question he had been holding back.

Ryan Bennett pondered for a moment. He wasn’t very knowledgeable about history, since much of ancient history had merged with myth, making it hard to tell truth from fiction.

“Grandpa Frank Foster, after Fuxi, there were several emperors like the Yellow Emperor and Shaohao. Then, for the next 5,000 years, there were the three dynasties of Xia, Shang, and Zhou. After that, the Central Plains went through the chaotic Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and finally, the Qin state unified everything. Now, it’s the era of the Great Qin Empire.”

Frank Foster nodded, full of emotion, and said, “I didn’t expect that in the blink of an eye, thousands of years have passed. The Azure Emperor is long gone, and I am left with only a wisp of soul. Sigh...”

Ryan Bennett couldn’t hold back anymore and asked, “Grandpa Frank Foster, why were you sealed inside this cauldron?”

“To forge weapons!”

Frank Foster looked up at the sky and sighed deeply, “To tell you the truth, 7,000 years ago, I was already the greatest divine craftsman in the world. I once forged divine weapons for Emperor Fuxi. Later, when the war between gods and demons broke out, I was sealed inside this cauldron!”

Frank Foster still didn’t say who exactly sealed him, and Ryan Bennett didn’t ask further.

Circling the cauldron, Ryan Bennett patted it and laughed, “This thing would actually make a pretty good furnace for forging weapons...”

Frank Foster said, “Ryan Bennett, do you know, this Divine Dragon Cauldron was the very vessel I used to forge weapons back then. Now, after absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for thousands of years, it has gained a spirit of its own. It’s indeed excellent for forging weapons.”

Ryan Bennett said excitedly, “Can it forge grade-9 weapons?”

Frank Foster was taken aback, then couldn’t help but burst out laughing, “Wha... what a joke! Do you think my Divine Dragon Cauldron can only forge grade-9 weapons?”

“Then... what kind of weapons can it forge?”

Frank Foster pondered for a moment and said, “In this Divine Dragon Cauldron, I once forged 14 grade-1 divine weapons, 7 earth-grade divine weapons, 3 heaven-grade divine weapons, and countless grade-2 and grade-3 divine weapons. So, do you think it can forge grade-9 weapons?”