Chrysanthemum Guan and Gui Mei Advance to Titled Douluo

At first, the Soul Ring's age was manageable, but once it reached ninety thousand years, the true test began for Gui Mei. Sweat streamed down his cheeks, and as the Soul Ring's age continued to rise, so did the pressure he had to endure.

When it reached the threshold of 99,999 years, Gui Mei encountered another barrier. What seeped from his pores was no longer merely sweat, but sweat tinged with blood.

100000

Gui Mei ultimately endured that stage. The Soul Ring's color changed directly from black to red. Yet he still did not stop, choosing to continue absorbing it until he reached his limit at 115,000 years.

The age of this Soul Ring was ultimately fixed at 115,000 years.

Gui Mei opened his eyes and looked at the crimson Soul Ring among his rings, his heart surging with excitement.

It was said that to become a Limit Douluo, one needed at least one red Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. Gui Mei did not believe he would become a legendary Limit Douluo, but a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring would also raise the upper limit of his potential after becoming a Titled Douluo.

On the other side, Yue Guan was immensely envious of Gui Mei. Not every Soul Master on the verge of becoming a Titled Douluo possessed the physical constitution needed to absorb a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. Now that Gui Mei had crossed the threshold of absorbing one, his future achievements would at least reach the level of the Worship Hall's offerings.

Some of the offerings in the Worship Hall did not even possess Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings.

"Tell me, what skills did this Soul Ring grant you?" Qian Xunji asked.

Gui Mei could barely conceal his excitement. "Reporting to Pope Your Majesty, this Soul Ring condensed two soul skills for me."

"The first soul skill is Infinite Ghost Shadow Bombardment. As long as I have enough Soul Power, I can split into endless ghost shadows and bombard my enemies. The targets struck by my ghost shadows can have their physical defenses ignored, with the attacks striking the spiritual level instead," Gui Mei said.

"A spiritual-type skill. What about the second soul skill?" Qian Xunji asked.

"This..." Gui Mei hesitated.

Qian Xunji said, "Speak."

"My second soul skill is Soul Domination," Gui Mei said. "This soul skill grants me the ability to control the souls of the dead. I can extract the souls of the deceased and turn them into puppets for my use, or devour and refine them into nourishment to strengthen myself."

After saying that, Gui Mei looked cautiously at Qian Xunji.

The soul skill he had developed fit the definition of an Evil Soul Master perfectly. Spirit Hall had zero tolerance for Evil Soul Masters.

Qian Xunji smiled. "If that is what worries you, Elder Gui Mei, then you need not be concerned. Have you forgotten my Good Disciple's martial soul? An Evil Soul Master is not simply someone who possesses an Evil Martial Soul. Power itself has no distinction between good and evil; what matters is the person wielding it. If you abuse this power, then you are an Evil Soul Master."

Gui Mei smiled in relief. "Pope Your Majesty, I will never abuse this power. Even if I use it, it will become a sharp blade in your hand."

Qian Xunji nodded in satisfaction. He suddenly had an arrangement in mind for Gui Mei.

"Alright, it's your turn." Qian Xunji looked at Yue Guan. "You know what to do now, don't you?"

Yue Guan nodded. "Pope Your Majesty, Yue Guan understands."

As he spoke, Yue Guan sat cross-legged, took out the Soul Ring Pearl, and began refining and absorbing it.

Qian Xunji watched Yue Guan's changes.

When absorbing Soul Rings below ten thousand years, one only needed to consider physical constitution. But above ten thousand years, one would suffer impacts to the soul. Therefore, absorbing higher-aged Soul Rings depended on two aspects.

One was physical constitution, and the other was one's spiritual level.

Of the two, Yue Guan possessed the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum martial soul, which could cultivate an Indestructible Body, while Gui Mei possessed the Gui Mei martial soul. Yue Guan excelled in physical constitution, while Gui Mei excelled spiritually. However, Gui Mei had three Soul Bones, whereas Yue Guan only had the two Soul Bones Qian Xunji had given him. Whether he could withstand a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring remained uncertain.

Under the watchful eyes of Gui Mei and Qian Xunji, the Soul Ring Yue Guan was absorbing reached ten thousand years.

Gui Mei had only begun to struggle at ninety thousand years, but Yue Guan encountered difficulties once it reached eighty-five thousand years.

Ninety thousand, ninety-one thousand, ninety-two thousand...

"Hold on, Chrysanthemum Guan!" Gui Mei said.

Yue Guan said nothing, merely gritting his teeth and nodding.

He had not expected that being short a single Soul Bone compared to Gui Mei would create such a great gap between them.

But whether it was to repay the Pope or for his own future, Yue Guan could not allow his Soul Ring absorption to stop below one hundred thousand years.

Finally, through Yue Guan's gritted persistence, the black Soul Ring transformed into a red Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. He held on for quite some time longer before stopping.

100,400 years—this was the final age of Yue Guan's Soul Ring. It was slightly lower than Gui Mei's, but at the level of Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings, the difference was not significant.

Yue Guan opened his eyes, looked at the final ring among his Soul Rings, and excitedly threw his arms around Gui Mei.

"Old Ghost, did you see that? I have a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring too."

"Alright, Chrysanthemum Guan, stop disgustingly clinging to me. Hurry up and tell us about your soul skills," Gui Mei said.

Chrysanthemum Guan reluctantly released Gui Mei, then sensed his soul skills. "This is..."

"What is it?" Qian Xunji asked.

Yue Guan directly unleashed his Martial Soul Avatar. A chrysanthemum bloomed, followed by the release of a golden domain that enveloped Gui Mei and Qian Xunji.

Gui Mei said in shock, "This is... a domain?"

"Pope Your Majesty, this is my domain, the Golden Chrysanthemum Domain. Allied members within my domain will condense an Indestructible Body Golden Light Shield around themselves. The Golden Light Shield is formed along with the domain; unless the domain is broken or my Soul Power is depleted, my golden light defense will be difficult to destroy," Yue Guan said.

"I'm jealous," Gui Mei said enviously.

"A defensive domain. Not bad." Qian Xunji nodded.

This domain was decent, though it was not top-tier. If Yue Guan had unlimited Soul Power, then everyone within the domain's range would possess Indestructible Bodies. But his Soul Power was not unlimited. Perhaps this domain would be quite effective when defending against some of Tang San's hidden weapons.

After absorbing their Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings, Yue Guan and Gui Mei both rose to rank 92, officially becoming Titled Douluo.

"Decide on your Titles. I will report them to the Worship Hall and have you crowned."

"Pope Your Majesty, my Title will be a single character: Chrysanthemum," Yue Guan said.

"Pope Your Majesty, my Title will also be a single character: Ghost," Gui Mei said.