Forever a Child

Spirit City.

Three days had passed since Yun Chuan returned here after dealing with that vampire Evil Soul Master.

Over those three days, he had made a decision.

He would go out and train.

With his current strength, ordinary training methods were no longer effective. He had to seek other opportunities. Besides, Yun Chuan had barely left Spirit City in the twelve years since he had been born into this world. Every time he went out, it was to serve as an image ambassador at a designated location and, while he was at it, offer aid to those suffering commoners. Once it was over, he would return to Spirit Hall surrounded by a large entourage of attendants.

He could not simply go wherever he wanted.

He was twelve this year.

By this world's standards, that was no longer such a young age.

Yun Chuan wanted to become truly independent. He did not want to keep hiding beneath the Female Pope's wings. If he continued like that, he would never grow up. Only by truly enduring the trials of wind and rain, measuring the land with his own feet, reading ten thousand books, and traveling ten thousand miles could he become a real man!

Bathed in the morning sunlight, Yun Chuan, whose appearance and bearing were so perfect that he seemed not of this world, arrived before the Pope's Palace.

"Holy Son."

At the entrance to the Pope's Palace, two Hall Knights in silver armor dropped to one knee upon seeing the youth who appeared to be fifteen or sixteen approaching.

"Mm."

Yun Chuan gave them a slight nod in greeting, then walked through the gates with practiced ease toward where the Female Pope was likely to be.

Inside the magnificent, resplendent office hall.

A noblewoman in an extravagant black robe embroidered with golden patterns sat upon a grand seat, wearing a Nine Twists Purple Gold Crown. Her head was slightly lowered as she focused on reviewing and approving documents.

Footsteps came from the corridor outside.

The Female Pope was startled from her work. She slowly set down the document in her hand and looked toward the doorway. When she saw the youth seemingly walking in on rays of light, the sharpness in her gaze immediately softened.

"Chuan Er, what is it?" A faint smile appeared on the Female Pope's breathtakingly beautiful face as she said gently, "Come here."

"Mom, I'm not that little anymore." Seeing the Female Pope beckoning to him, Yun Chuan could not help but reveal a wry smile. Yet his body honestly walked forward. He came to her side and crouched down, then rested his upper body against her soft, jade-like lap, just like a child acting spoiled before his mother.

Of course, if one considered only his age and not his appearance, twelve-year-old Yun Chuan truly was still a child. Although he was now as tall as a youth of fifteen or sixteen, in Bibi Dong's eyes, he was still a child who had not grown up.

Looking at the youth lying across her lap, Bibi Dong reached out with her jade-like hand and affectionately stroked his head. "Tell me, what did you come to see Mom about?"

"Mom, I want to go out and train by myself..." Before Yun Chuan could even finish, the Female Pope immediately said without a second thought, "No! I don't agree!"

"Mom, why?"

Yun Chuan's face immediately filled with confusion at this unexpected answer.

"Chuan Er, you're still too young. The outside world is dangerous, and it would be too risky for you to go out alone..." The Female Pope stroked his head and said earnestly, "Mom is worried that you'll run into danger."

"But... Mom, I'm already a Soul Saint. Isn't that enough strength to protect myself?" Yun Chuan immediately looked unconvinced and argued reasonably, "People from other great clans and major sects are allowed to go out and train when they're only Soul Ancestors or Soul Kings. Why can't I, when I'm already a Soul Saint?"

"..."

Faced with the ironclad facts he had laid out, the Female Pope was briefly at a loss for words. She could hardly tell him that she simply could not bear to let him leave so early.

"Since you insist on going out, then prove to Mom that you have the strength to protect yourself." As Bibi Dong's beautiful eyes shifted, an idea immediately came to her. Her tone softened somewhat as she said, "As long as you complete one test, I'll allow you to go out and train."

"What test?" A wary look appeared in Yun Chuan's eyes. He felt that the Female Pope agreeing so readily could not possibly be that simple. There had to be a trap waiting for him.

"You'll find out tomorrow." Bibi Dong did not answer his question, making Yun Chuan even more uneasy. He had a feeling that tomorrow's so-called test would definitely not be simple.

The next day.

In a desolate wilderness not far from Spirit City.

Looking at Chrysanthemum Douluo standing beside Bibi Dong, Yun Chuan said in a voice on the verge of tears, "Mom, if you don't want to let me go, just say so. Did you have to beat around the bush like this?"

Just moments ago, Bibi Dong had stated the condition for allowing him to leave: he had to fight Chrysanthemum Douluo!

Upon hearing that condition, Yun Chuan finally understood. His dear mother was determined not to let him go out and train at all.

This was a Titled Douluo. Although he was an Unprecedented Seven-Ring All-Black Soul Saint, with Soul Power far more abundant than that of an ordinary Soul Saint, and possessed many immensely powerful Self-Created Soul Skills, giving him actual combat strength conservatively comparable to a Soul Douluo.

But although Soul Douluos and Titled Douluos were separated by only one major rank, that single rank was the difference between heaven and earth. How could a mere Soul Saint like him possibly defeat a Titled Douluo? Even activating the Plant Domain would be useless. The gap in strength was simply too vast. No matter what plants he created, no matter how many there were, a Titled Douluo could easily tear them apart. They could not threaten a Titled Douluo at all.

Of course, a Titled Douluo could not do anything to him while he was within his domain either. But Bibi Dong required him to defeat a Titled Douluo, not emerge unscathed under a Titled Douluo's attacks. Those were entirely different things.

Seeing Yun Chuan's mournful expression, the Female Pope merely chuckled and comforted him, "All right, I'm not asking you to defeat Elder Yue Guan. You only need to remain undefeated for half an hour under Elder Yue Guan's attacks. If you do, you'll have passed the test."

"Remain undefeated for half an hour!" Yun Chuan's expression brightened after hearing that. This would be easy. All he had to do was activate the Plant Domain, spread it across a hundred-mile radius, and merge his aura with the plants. Even Chrysanthemum Douluo, a Titled Douluo, would never find his true body. At that point, let alone half an hour, he could hold out for half a year without a problem.

However, as though she had seen through his thoughts, the Female Pope immediately added, "But during this time, you may not use the Plant Domain to cheat. You can only face him head-on."

"Huh? Face a Titled Douluo head-on and remain undefeated for half an hour?" Yun Chuan's delighted expression immediately collapsed. With dark lines across his forehead, he said, "Mom, how is that any different from asking me to defeat Elder Yue Guan?"

This was a Titled Douluo. If he faced a Titled Douluo head-on, then as a mere Soul Saint, he probably could not even withstand a few moves. The gap between their strengths was simply too enormous. His attacks could not break the opponent's defenses, while one hit from the opponent might seriously injure him. How was he supposed to fight like that?

"Hehe, don't worry. Mom isn't so unreasonable." Seeing his little face scrunched up in misery, the Female Pope chuckled. "When fighting you, Elder Yue Guan will only use his first six soul skills. If you can force him to use any one of his last three soul skills, that will also count as passing. Well? Do you dare accept the challenge?"

"Only using his first six soul skills..." Yun Chuan's expression eased upon hearing this. After thinking it over and analyzing both sides' circumstances, he felt that passing the test might not be impossible. After all, a Soul Master's strength mostly came from soul skills. Even for a Titled Douluo, being forbidden from using their last three soul skills would certainly greatly reduce their strength.

Under such circumstances, he certainly would not be casually defeated within a few moves when fighting him. Holding out for half an hour, or forcing him to use any one of his last three soul skills, might not be impossible.

"All right!"

After carefully analyzing the situation, Yun Chuan raised his head and declared firmly, "I accept the test!"

"Heh, very good."

A faint smile immediately appeared on the Female Pope's lovely face. Clearly, she did not think Yun Chuan would pass the test. Even though a Titled Douluo was restricted from using their last three soul skills, a Soul Master who had reached that level—a mighty Titled Douluo—even if he could only use his first six soul skills.

His battle experience forged through countless trials, his years of skill in wielding power, and the abundance and purity of the Soul Power within his body had not been diminished in the slightest.

Under such circumstances, when a Titled Douluo-level Soul Master faced a Soul Saint-level Soul Master, even if he could not use his last three soul skills, his actual combat power would not have decreased much. After all, his Soul Power and the might of his soul skills were still at the Titled Douluo level under the enhancement of his rank.

And when facing the attacks of a Titled Douluo, what could a Soul Saint use to resist?

Especially Elder Yue Guan. This was the renowned Chrysanthemum Douluo, an elder whose Martial Soul could serve as the emblem on the Pope Decree. As a Level 95 Titled Douluo, his strength far surpassed that of ordinary Titled Douluos.

One had to know that no Titled Douluo was ordinary.

Once one's strength reached the Titled Douluo stage, one would theoretically possess a base lifespan of three hundred years. After that, every additional level of Soul Power would add one hundred years to one's lifespan. In other words, if one reached the Level 99 Limit Douluo realm, one's lifespan would reach more than a thousand years!

Of course, that was only the theoretical limit.

In reality, after a Soul Master advanced to the Titled Douluo realm, the decline of their bodily functions would slow drastically. Therefore, the earlier a Soul Master became a Titled Douluo, the longer they could live and the more likely they were to reach their theoretical lifespan limit.

But if one only became a Titled Douluo at seventy or eighty, bodily aging would already be unavoidable. So even after becoming a Titled Douluo, their actual lifespan would not increase by much. Living to a hundred and something would already count as longevity.

P.S. In the Soul Land I setting, Titled Douluos had a base lifespan of three hundred years, gaining one hundred years for every additional level, while Limit Douluos could live for over a thousand years. The Sea God used those thousand years to subdue the seas and spread his faith, thus attaining the Sea God Position!

But throughout the original Soul Land I novel, there was not a single Titled Douluo who lived past two hundred. That was far too unreasonable. So here is a patch for the original setting, providing a reasonable explanation: there were simply too few who became Titled Douluos in their twenties or thirties. They all became Titled Douluos in their seventies or eighties, so bodily aging was unavoidable. Their lifespans could be no more than one or two hundred years. That makes it seem somewhat more reasonable.