Chapter 62: Energy Vortex — The Soul Core Is Complete
"You seem very afraid of me. I don't recall ever beating you up, do I?"
Qian Daoliu looked at Fan Chen, who appeared restless and uneasy before him, and rather unusually took the initiative to ask.
Compared to the other six Worshipers, he should be the only one who had never laid a hand on this kid.
So why was it that every time Fan Chen saw him, he would instinctively keep his distance?
"Afraid you'll beat me."
It was true that Qian Daoliu had never beaten him like Golden Crocodile Douluo did—but that didn't mean he hadn't wanted to.
Golden Crocodile Douluo and the others were like being smacked with a feather duster—superficial injuries at most, just some pain.
But Qian Daoliu was different. Even though he hadn't actually struck him, the threat was always there, lingering between action and restraint.
Fan Chen had to stay on guard constantly. Who knew when the beating might suddenly come?
"Is that so?"
Hearing this reason, Qian Daoliu couldn't help but smile faintly.
He was in a fairly good mood at the moment and didn't actually dislike Fan Chen.
In fact, comparatively speaking, Fan Chen was someone he found rather agreeable.
If not for that one incident involving Xiao Bai's stream of urine, perhaps their relationship would have been even more harmonious.
"I don't have the habit of hitting children. You can rest assured on that point."
"As for the previous incident, I originally intended to trouble you over it. However, the Angel God issued a divine decree ordering that the matter not be pursued. So you don't need to worry."
Qian Daoliu laid everything out plainly, clearly intending to ease the tension between them.
And the reason he did so lay primarily with Fan Chen himself.
Whether it was his twin martial souls or the various eye-catching special abilities he possessed, any of these was enough to draw Qian Daoliu's attention.
But what concerned him the most was Fan Chen's relationship with Qian Renxue.
Qian Renxue was the chosen one acknowledged by the Angel God, a potential future inheritor of the Angel God's divine position.
Qian Daoliu valued her above all else—even above himself.
As the guardian of the Angel God, he knew better than anyone what kind of price must be paid to inherit the Angel God's throne.
In his eyes, Qian Xunji was already considered a lost cause. Fortunately, the appearance of Qian Renxue had brought him a measure of comfort.
If one day in the future, Qian Renxue successfully inherited the Angel God's divine position, she would ascend to the God Realm and become the new Angel God. By then, he himself would already be gone.
And Qian Xunji would be essentially incapable of succeeding him as the next Grand Worshiper.
Thus, he needed to find a suitable candidate—and Fan Chen was currently the one who best matched his expectations.
His background was clean, he was Golden Crocodile Douluo's disciple, his talent was outstanding, and his relationship with Xiao Xue was extremely close.
With a bit of careful cultivation and no unexpected mishaps, he would be fully capable of taking over Qian Daoliu's position and overseeing the entire Douluo Hall.
As for the position of Pope of Spirit Hall, he could just let his disappointing son sit there.
To him, it didn't really matter who became Pope. After all, the Douluo Hall was the true backbone of Spirit Hall.
This idea had never been shared with anyone—not even with Golden Crocodile Douluo.
"So you're not angry? You should've said that earlier. You had me worried all this time, thinking you'd come looking for payback."
Fan Chen hadn't expected things to turn out this way. If he'd known earlier, he wouldn't have spent so long in constant anxiety.
Turns out he'd been scaring himself all along.
"Didn't you also never ask? Usually, your brain works just fine—how did you fail to think this through?"
"I didn't dare gamble on it. What if I lost?"
"You little brat…"
Qian Daoliu shook his head helplessly.
With the misunderstanding cleared up, Fan Chen finally relaxed and began chatting with Qian Daoliu more naturally.
"By the way, since you already knew about this kind of thing, why didn't you condense one yourself?"
Fan Chen was genuinely puzzled. Qian Daoliu understood the principle behind it and knew far more than most—so why hadn't he compressed his soul power to condense a soul core himself?
After all, a soul core could massively enhance one's combat strength.
Even without a soul core, Qian Daoliu had already reached rank ninety-nine.
If he successfully condensed one, just how strong would he become? At the very least, he'd be half a god, right?
"It's not as simple as you imagine. If it really were that easy, there wouldn't be only a tiny fraction of soul beasts capable of condensing a core."
Hearing this, Fan Chen fell silent.
This was something he had indeed overlooked.
Since Qian Daoliu knew about it, there was no reason he wouldn't try to condense one himself.
Soul cores only gradually became widespread among Titled Douluo over many years.
And by that time, the number of Titled Douluo far exceeded the present era.
The birth of the soul core was likely the result of long-term exploration over countless years.
Much like the steam engine, modern people see it as nothing more than boiling water.
But to ancient people, wouldn't that look exactly like witchcraft?
"However, in the past, there were no examples to reference. Now, that might no longer be the case."
Seeing Fan Chen's expression, Qian Daoliu smiled and shifted his gaze toward Qian Renxue.
Going from zero to one was indeed extremely difficult—but that 'one' was about to be broken through.
As long as Qian Renxue successfully condensed a soul core, Qian Daoliu, as her grandfather—with soul power and martial soul of the same type—could practically copy her method.
By then, through adapting it to his own condition, he could develop a complete and refined method for condensing a soul core.
After hearing Qian Daoliu's explanation, Fan Chen was left speechless.
Good grief—no wonder he was an old monster who'd lived this long.
While Fan Chen was still wondering why he hadn't condensed a soul core, Qian Daoliu had already planned out the entire process.
As the saying goes, ancient people weren't stupid—they just had outdated thinking.
And so, Fan Chen and Qian Daoliu continued chatting about matters related to soul cores.
Qian Renxue focused on condensing the energy within her body into a soul core, while Xiao Bai lay nearby, fast asleep.
Yet while he slept, a faint glow radiated from the twin horns atop his head.
The light gathered into thin threads, connecting to Qian Renxue not far away.
As time passed, Qian Renxue's soul core condensation neared completion.
A small energy vortex appeared around her, as the surrounding ambient energy began converging toward her body.
Both Qian Daoliu and Fan Chen watched her situation closely.
They were equally nervous—after all, neither of them had ever condensed a soul core before.
Who knew whether unforeseen variables might arise?
Compared to the tense pair, Xiao Bai remained sprawled on the ground, sleeping soundly, drool pooling beneath his mouth.
"Has it not succeeded yet?"
First Soul Skill: Heart Clarity and True Nature
The purple soul ring behind Fan Chen flashed, strange light flickering within his eyes.
He now had a clear view of Qian Renxue's internal condition.
At this moment, the soul core within her body had already taken on a definite shape.
The external vortex connected to the internal soul core, like a bottomless abyss, madly devouring energy from the air.
Qian Renxue's own soul power flowed back and forth through the soul core, merging within it with the energy drawn in from the outside vortex.
However, this process did not last long.
Soon, the energy vortex beside Qian Renxue began to shrink continuously until it completely vanished.
At the same time, Qian Renxue's aura gradually stabilized.
Yet Fan Chen could clearly sense that her aura was different now.
As her aura fully settled, the soul power within her body began circulating in an orderly manner.
Her closed eyes slowly opened, and faint energy fluctuations burst forth from within her body—instantly waking Xiao Bai, who had been sleeping on the floor.
A sharp glint flashed through Xiao Bai's eyes.
He yawned, shook his head to clear his mind, then looked toward Qian Renxue.
His watery little eyes stared unblinkingly at her.
"Huh? There's an egg inside Sister now."
End of Chapter