"Congratulations, Young Master!"
Qianjun and Jiangmo looked at Qian Xunji in utter shock. A top-tier 75,000-year-old light-type soul beast had been slain—by someone who hadn't even absorbed his eighth soul ring yet! At level 80, Qian Xunji had done what even most Title Douluo would struggle with in a one-on-one fight.
The Angel Martial Soul truly lives up to its title as the most powerful martial soul on the continent!
Once Qian Xunji absorbed his eighth soul ring, his strength might very well surpass that of the two brothers.
After adjusting his breath slightly, Qian Xunji said, "Elders, please stand guard for me."
"As you command!" ×2
Qian Xunji sat down cross-legged. With a mental command, the soul ring of the Two-Winged Radiant Tiger wrapped around him. In an instant, a surge of vast and pure soul power flooded his body, rampaging through his meridians. Simultaneously, the tiger's spiritual resentment manifested within his mind, wildly wreaking havoc in his spiritual sea, attempting to crush his consciousness and reduce him to a mindless husk.
Thanks to the superior attribute suppression of his Angel Martial Soul, he could bear the physical pressure from the soul ring. Though the tiger's resentment violently shook his spiritual sea, Qian Xunji held firm. Before this, he had killed a 65,000-year soul beast and obtained a spirit bone for his head, significantly boosting his mental power. That enhancement was what allowed him to withstand the spiritual onslaught.
It must be said—the knowledge painstakingly compiled by the elders of the past through blood and sacrifice was truly invaluable. For soul masters without "golden fingers," this was the very limit of their ability.
After nearly half a day, Qian Xunji finally completed the soul ring absorption, and his soul power soared to level 83.
Normally, absorbing a 75,000-year soul ring would only bring him close to level 82 at most. But the spiritual concentration from the head spirit bone had also boosted his cultivation. Now, with the eighth ring absorbed, his power leapt forth in full.
With a flash from his soul tool, Qian Xunji stored the corpse of the Two-Winged Radiant Tiger.
The body of a 75,000-year soul beast still contained immense soul energy. Meat from such a beast was not only a delicacy but a rare cultivation resource. It would be a waste not to preserve it.
"Elders, let us head to the Sunset Forest."
Seeing the confusion in their eyes, Qian Xunji explained, "Before hunting for the soul ring, I happened upon an ancient text that mentioned a treasure land within the Sunset Forest, one that rivals the Star Dou Forest. The Star Dou Forest is far too dangerous, but the Sunset Forest should be more manageable. With your strength, you two should be able to come and go freely."
"You flatter us, Young Master. At your current level, your strength may already rival ours."
After exchanging a round of polite compliments, Qian Xunji, Qianjun, and Jiangmo set off toward the Sunset Forest to begin their search.
Three days and nights passed, yet they found nothing.
Qianjun Douluo said, "Young Master, are you certain the information is reliable? We've combed the entire forest."
Qian Xunji frowned slightly. That shouldn't be right—they had circled the whole forest. So why hadn't they encountered Dugu Bo's poisonous miasma?
Then it hit him. What era is this again? It was still more than thirty years before the main storyline began.
Qian Xunji closed his eyes as clarity returned. He'd fallen into the trap of thinking like a reader of the original novel, rather than relying on the host body's memories. At this point in time, Dugu Bo was probably just a Soul King or Soul Emperor, wandering the continent in search of a way to cure the Jade Phosphor Serpent poison that plagued his family. He hadn't discovered the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well yet. Otherwise, he wouldn't be such a solitary figure later, apart from his granddaughter.
Also, in this timeline, Tang Chen was still the sect master of the Clear Sky Clan. Qian Xunji hadn't become the Pope yet, nor had he launched the attack on Sea God Island, which would push Qian Daoliu and Tang Chen to seek out Poseidon Douluo Bo Saixi. Everything was still in its early stages.
With that realization, all the loose threads clicked into place. He now understood why Qian Daoliu hadn't suppressed the Clear Sky Clan and instead focused on the newly discovered Sea God Island. Why he had abdicated so early, telling Qian Xunji things that hurt his pride—encouraging him to safeguard the Spirit Hall's foundation instead.
Qian Daoliu's goal was simple: stability. With the lingering favor of the divine progenitor, reaching Rank 99 was almost guaranteed. All he needed was time, and Qian Xunji would eventually outlast Tang Chen. Then the Spirit Hall would dominate the continent without challenge.
But Qian Xunji, hurt by his father's words, became aggressively ambitious after taking the Pope's seat. He was determined to achieve greatness—thus came the assault on Sea God Island, the PR around breaking through to Title Douluo before age 50, the image of the Spirit Hall's generation-defining prodigy… and so on.
Now that he had pieced everything together, Qian Xunji could only sum it all up with two big words:
Speechless.
Utterly, completely speechless. This had to be the dumbest strategic path ever taken by the Spirit Hall—thanks to this pair of eccentric father and son. And don't even get started on the next generation, where three love-obsessed fools would keep dragging the Spirit Hall into the ground.
"Elders, we've searched the general areas of the Sunset Forest. Let's now focus on the valleys between the mountains."
As soon as he spoke, Qian Xunji's eight soul rings—two yellow, two purple, four black—lit up beneath his feet. With a flap of his wings, he took to the skies, scanning the landscape from above. If they couldn't find the poison barrier, maybe they could just look for the mountain itself.
Amidst the dense and flourishing forest, one 500-meter hill stood out prominently.
Just as Qian Xunji, Qianjun, and Jiangmo approached the hill, a pair of faint white glows lit up from a crack in the mountain. Suddenly, two pale white soul power beams shot out at lightning speed.
"Young Master, look out!"
Qianjun and Jiangmo leapt to intercept, wielding their Coiling Dragon Staffs. When the beams struck the weapons, there wasn't much noise—but strangely, chunks of the staff began crumbling into stone and flaking off.
"What is this?!"
Qianjun Douluo swept his spiritual sense downward. There, in a crevice, lay a creature about eight meters long—a half-human, half-snake being with a strikingly seductive face and dark green eyes. The white beams had come from its eyes. Most terrifying of all were its "hair," which were actually tiny serpents—a horrifying sight.
"A 50,000-year Medusa Empress? You're courting death!"
Qianjun Douluo didn't hesitate in the slightest. He knew the Medusa Empress had attacked only because they'd trespassed into its territory and it assumed they were there to kill it.
But so what? In the world of soul masters, weakness is a sin. In front of the strong, the weak have no place. All you can do is grovel and beg for your life—your fate is entirely at the mercy of the powerful.
Facing soul masters, Qianjun Douluo might act with some basic decency. But toward soul beasts, they were no more than livestock—spared only for the sustainability of soul ring resources. If one was foolish enough to pick a fight, then it was only right to finish it off.
(End of Chapter)
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