Chapter 2: Head Soul Bone
Inside the Pope's Hall.
Qian Daoliu held the Pope's scepter, dressed in a set of brilliant golden armor whose pauldrons resembled the shape of a Six-Winged Angel. He was very tall, over two meters, and like Qian Xunji, he had bright golden hair.
"F-Father…" Although Qian Xunji felt a bit unwilling, over those ten days he had already accepted his new identity, so he still had to address him as "Father."
"Jier."
Jie...er.
A slight twitch tugged at the muscles of Qian Xunji's face. He wondered how Qian Daoliu had come up with this kind of name for his son, which seemed almost ten years ahead of its time.
Qian Daoliu did not get angry that Qian Xunji had failed to come see him first thing after coming out of seclusion. Instead, he said warmly, "Jier, don't sink into despair just because I spoke a bit sternly. Even though your level doesn't measure up among our Angel Clan, with your talent, you can still reach rank 96 without relying on the power of the Divine Ancestor. Such cultivation has already surpassed ninety percent of the geniuses in the outside world who can reach Titled Douluo."
"I understand, Father."
Qian Xunji inwardly sighed. He knew that Qian Daoliu had been misled by the soul power fluctuations he gave off while trying to master his body's strength in the secret chamber during those ten days, believing he was venting anger over Qian Daoliu's earlier words. Qian Xunji guessed that part of the reason the original Qian Xunji was so extreme was due to what Qian Daoliu had told him.
Qian Daoliu waved his hand, and two figures abruptly appeared. Both wore golden armor and looked extremely alike; they were twin brothers. One wore a blue headscarf, and from the look of his facial muscles, his personality seemed steady and composed. The other wore a slightly rebellious expression, though in front of Qian Daoliu he had no choice but to behave properly.
"Qian Jun, Jiang Mo, take the Young Master to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt his soul ring."
"Yes, Your Holiness," they both answered.
Qian Jun and Jiang Mo were twin brothers, currently at rank 91, and their martial souls were Coiling Dragon Staffs. It would be another fifty years in the original story before they officially appeared. After they obtained their ninth soul rings and broke through to Titled Douluo, their martial souls had exceptionally awakened a domain. This domain would unfold when using their ninth soul skill, doubling its power. Only the most elite martial souls have a chance to gain such a domain upon acquiring the ninth soul ring.
For many years, the two brothers had cooperated almost like a single being, so their combined strength was far greater than just one plus one. With the top-tier Coiling Dragon Staff martial soul, their exquisite coordination, and their combo soul skill, they could even battle a rank 95 Titled Douluo who also possessed a top-tier martial soul.
Because Qian Xunji was the only successor of the Six-Winged Angel lineage, his security had to be handled with utmost caution; otherwise, Qian Daoliu would have to "return to his old ways" once again.
When they reached the steps of the Pope's Hall, Qian Xunji released two yellow, two purple, and three black soul rings—seven in total. Two pairs of wings spread open behind him. The moment his martial soul appeared, Qian Jun Douluo, Jiang Mo Douluo, and the knights guarding the Pope's Hall all dropped to one knee. Their eyes were filled with ardent reverence for the Six-Winged Angel martial soul. Not only was it the inheritance martial soul of the Wuhun Hall, it was also the faith of the Wuhun Hall.
While everyone else was fixated on the Six-Winged Angel, Qian Xunji's gaze somewhat embarrassingly fell on those seven monotonous soul rings. It wasn't that, as a main character, he looked down on having seven "mediocre" rings—though in some transmigration stories of Douluo, even the weakest leads tend to have their second ring as purple, their fourth as black, and their seventh as red.
The issue was that, as someone with a Six-Winged Angel martial soul, with innate soul power over ten ranks and every resource fully maxed out, these seven rings really did seem too ordinary. Even if his mental power at the fourth ring didn't meet the threshold for black rings, at least his second ring should have been purple.
Qian Xunji let out another quiet sigh and flew in the direction of the Star Dou Great Forest, with Qian Jun and Jiang Mo following behind.
Star Dou Great Forest.
One of the three major areas where soul beasts gathered most densely on the Douluo Continent. Its area was enormous, nearly equal in size to the entire Balak Kingdom. It straddled the borders of the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire. Two-fifths of it lay in the Heaven Dou Empire, while the other three-fifths were in the Star Luo Empire. It was a vast ancient forest with varied terrain, including wetlands and marshes. The soul beasts within were extremely fearsome; the closer one got to the center of the forest, the stronger the soul beasts became. There were even one hundred thousand-year soul beasts living there. Any soul master, as long as they were strong enough and lucky enough, could find the soul ring that best suited them there.
Upon reaching the outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest, Qian Xunji, Jiang Mo, and Qian Jun descended.
No one knew how many ten-thousand-year or even hundred-thousand-year soul beasts were hidden in the Star Dou Great Forest. Once they reached ten thousand years, soul beasts generally possessed intelligence. Upon reaching a hundred thousand years, they were no different from humans in terms of intellect. They hated humans to the core—unless they were slightly deranged, they typically wished to kill on sight.
Flying in midair while radiating the bright aura of the Angel Martial Soul—like a miniature sun—would instantly attract a wave of attention. If a crowd of ten-thousand-year soul beasts converged in a rage, it might prove difficult for even Qian Jun and Jiang Mo together to protect Qian Xunji.
"Please wait here, Young Master," Qian Jun Douluo said respectfully. Noticing the amused expression on Jiang Mo Douluo's face, he spoke in a severe tone. "Jiang Mo, don't get playful; protect the Young Master!"
Jiang Mo Douluo waved him off. "I understand, Brother. Make it quick."
With those words, Qian Jun Douluo turned into a beam of blue light and disappeared right before Qian Xunji's eyes.
According to his memories, Qian Jun Douluo was likely going to find a suitable soul beast, beat it to the brink of death, and throw it to Qian Xunji to kill. That's the benefit of being from a great clan—there's no risk involved in killing a soul beast to obtain a ring; everything is handled by one's elders. Each year, countless soul-hunting teams ventured into the forest to kill soul beasts, and often entire teams would perish.
An hour later, Qian Jun Douluo returned carrying a soul beast over six meters long, barely clinging to life, all its bones smashed, looking hardly like a beast anymore.
Qian Jun Douluo said respectfully, "Young Master, this soul beast is a top-tier one at sixty-five thousand years. It's perfect for your eighth soul ring. Finish it off and absorb it."
Qian Xunji considered this for a moment. "Elder Qian Jun, find me one at seventy-five thousand years. I'll take it down myself."
"But Young Master, absorbing a seventy-five-thousand-year soul ring might be dangerous for you."
Qian Jun Douluo spoke sternly. An eighth soul ring at around seventy thousand years was basically the limit, give or take a few thousand more. Absorbing a soul ring was a life-or-death matter, so one had to be extremely careful. The data on these limits had been built up at the cost of countless lives.
"I understand, Elder Qian Jun, but my mind is made up. If my god-level martial soul, with top-tier resources behind it, can't handle surpassing the average age by a bit, then what right do I have to be the Young Master of the Wuhun Hall?"
Qian Xunji spoke resolutely. If it worked, wonderful. If not, the two elders could step in. Although he would likely be crippled afterward, that was no big deal. He could just live out his days as a second-generation wastrel, eating, drinking, and having fun in the Wuhun Hall—a sort of Liu Shan, so to speak—and produce more little angels. Considering this body's talent was already deemed subpar, and Qian Daoliu didn't hold out much hope for him, surely Qian Daoliu would be happy to see him expand the Qian family line.
Seeing Qian Xunji's firm tone, neither Qian Jun nor Jiang Mo knew what else to say.
Qian Xunji formed a golden holy sword with his soul power and killed the soul beast, hoping it might drop a soul bone. He wasn't really wasting anything, because the soul beast was already half-dead. Apart from the Nine-Hearted Begonia Clan's current patriarch, not even an immortal could save it. It would have become fertilizer for some other beast anyway, so it was better to make the most of it.
When the soul beast died, a pitch-black ring laced with strong resentment rose from its corpse. At the same time, a blue glow radiated from its head.
Qian Xunji, Qian Jun Douluo, and Jiang Mo Douluo all lit up with excitement—a soul bone! And a head soul bone at that!
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