"Ahh!"
A Titled Douluo at Level 92 collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
And just like that, the second person to ascend to the Titled Douluo realm emerged.
Dai Mubai looked at the scene and chuckled silently.
"Little Ao, I knew it — you were always one step ahead of Fatty."
"Congratulations on breaking through to the Titled Douluo realm!"
Wearing a fitted black battle outfit, Oscar managed to squeeze out a smile as he looked at Dai Mubai.
"Boss Dai, your physical strength is on another level," he replied.
"Even though I now possess the Blood Dragon Martial Spirit, I still can't compare to you!"
As he spoke, a long, red creature appeared in Oscar's hand. It was slender and serpent-like, entirely crimson, with no horns on its head. Rather than a dragon, it looked more like a giant snake.
Dai Mubai frowned in confusion — he couldn't understand how that thing had become Oscar's martial spirit.
"Little Ao?"
"Do you have twin martial spirits? No… that can't be right!"
"If you had twin martial spirits, your growth rate wouldn't have been this slow!"
"Is this... the doing of the Twin Holy Sect?"
Oscar lowered his head slightly and nodded — silently confirming it.
It was indeed a method of the Twin Holy Sect.
Just like the promise they'd made to Ning Rongrong — they had helped her manifest a second martial spirit.
"This secret art… comes at a cost," Oscar said solemnly.
"They forcefully fuse a chosen soul beast into our bodies, binding it as a second martial spirit."
"To do this, a Titled Douluo must be sacrificed — one whose martial spirit is similar to the chosen soul beast."
Dai Mubai was taken aback. The price was steep… but in the world of evil soul masters, maybe not unthinkable.
If this method truly worked—
Countless ancient clans would probably be willing to sacrifice aging Titled Douluo, just to ensure their descendants became twin martial spirit geniuses.
"Are there any side effects?"
Oscar nodded again.
"After the ritual, we can no longer absorb one-hundred-thousand-year soul rings."
"Those soul beasts possess human-level intelligence, and so do their rings."
"If our second martial spirit were to absorb one, we'd completely lose control over it."
"Also…"
"After the ritual, we only have five years left to live."
"So this accelerated advancement technique was meant for Rongrong and me."
"But your sect also lent a hand, letting you all enjoy the benefits."
"However, Boss Dai — your life span will now also shorten drastically."
"You might never reach that legendary realm… and likely won't live more than twenty years."
Dai Mubai said nothing.
All the sect leaders had explained this earlier. There's no such thing as power without cost.
And the fact that they still went through with it showed — they had already accepted the price.
"A hundred years is too long — so we seize the day."
As the words fell—
Another Titled Douluo collapsed and died, and Ma Hongjun — the Phoenix Douluo — slowly rose to his feet.
His body was engulfed in blazing evil fire, which raged uncontrollably throughout the hall.
Qian Renfeng opened his eyes, glanced at the scene, and closed them again.
As expected — five Titled Douluo lives would be the price for these five to ascend.
Though the five had now reached Titled Douluo level, they still lacked proper soul rings.
To Qian Renfeng, this trade-off was a huge gain.
Twenty-five Titled Douluo had now become just twenty, significantly reducing the pressure.
And the remaining twenty were mostly drained of soul power, nearly depleted.
"Go ahead and trade. Let's see if your soul power reserves can match mine."
"Mubai!"
"Boss Dai!"
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing both stood up and called out in excitement.
With five Titled Douluo already dead, Hanhai Douluo rose, smiling toward the five newly ascended Saint Sons and Saint Daughters.
"Congratulations, all of you, on stepping into the realm of Titled Douluo."
"From now on, the skies and seas are yours to roam freely."
At the same time, the three sect leaders standing beside Qian Renfeng also rose, smiling politely.
"We hope the Shura God Master won't take offense."
"Since we didn't know your background, we had to take some precautions. We hope you'll understand."
With the Twin Holy Sect Master now dead, only one Limit Douluo remained in the hall — Qian Renfeng.
Naturally, their tone had to become more respectful.
Qian Renfeng shook his head and stood as well.
His soul power had dropped to just under 70%. When he glanced toward his two followers, the Coiling Dragon Staff brothers, he saw that their reserves were under 20%.
Still, they weren't in too bad a state.
Compared to the other Titled Douluo, they looked about the same.
But the three sect leaders near Qian Renfeng looked completely untouched — almost no soul power consumed at all.
Their only task seemed to be watching Qian Renfeng, making sure he didn't interfere.
What they hadn't expected was that his soul power was like a vast ocean — seemingly endless.
"You flatter me, Sect Leaders."
"It seems that since I arrived, my soul power has been used to offset yours."
"Had I not come, I imagine that responsibility would've fallen on all of you, yes?"
The God Master of the Demonic God Sect lowered his head, a bit ashamed.
Qian Renfeng's contribution wasn't just supporting the other three.
Originally, the plan had included sacrificing two more Titled Douluo to make up for the energy needed.
But because Qian Renfeng and two Super Douluo arrived—
They were spared from making those extra sacrifices.
None of them had expected Qian Renfeng to possess such immense soul reserves. Not only did he fill the gap, he also allowed the three sect leaders to conserve nearly all their power.
According to their estimates, this ritual should've drained 80% of his soul power.
Even if he wanted to rebel now, he'd have no chance.
What could a Limit Douluo at half strength do against three fully-charged Level 98 opponents?
So, they didn't bother guarding against him anymore.
Once this conference ended, everyone would return to their sects.
Alliance Leader?
Just a title.
The Spirit Hall has a Pope — who listens to her?!
Qian Renfeng didn't argue.
He just kept his eyes fixed on the five newly ascended figures and shook his head slightly.
Godlike potential? Accelerated growth through sacrifice?
They were too focused on immediate gains.
In the end, only the one who laughs last is the real winner.
"Since everyone's ready…"
"Let's begin the second phase of the ritual."
"Otherwise, Spirit Hall will catch wind of this."
The Hanhai Sect Master reminded everyone, a hint of urgency in his tone.