Soul Grand Master

Xu Mingxi followed his grandfather back home. While his parents were out, he asked his grandfather about the two soul beasts he had just seen.

"Mingxi, from now on, you must show those two old seniors proper respect. They have existed since the very founding of our Star Crown Sect.

Or rather, it was because of them that the First Generation Star Crown Douluo chose this place as the sect's site."

"So that's how it is. Grandpa, what kind of soul beasts are they? Why haven't I seen them in any books?"

"Tree Elder is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Starry Tree, and Vine Elder is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Star Seeking Vine. The two were born in companionship.

Starfall Mountain is rich in starlight because of their existence.

For us owners of the Star Crown Martial Soul, this place is a natural Mimetic Environment."

"But Grandpa, aren't they soul beasts? Can we humans really live in peace with soul beasts?"

Xu Mingxi spoke those slightly naive, probing words, only to be sternly rejected by his grandfather.

"Absolutely not. When the First Generation Star Crown Douluo first encountered them, they were not even Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts yet.

If the First Generation Star Crown Douluo had not already obtained his Ninth Soul Ring back then, they would never have survived.

It was only later, with the establishment of the Star Crown Sect, and after the two of them became Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, that keeping them alive became far more beneficial to the Star Crown Sect.

We provided them with some flesh and blood from Star Bearing Oxen, and they transformed the environment of Starfall Mountain.

After both sides passed several thousand years in peace, our relationship gradually improved."

"Then, Grandpa, why were they so interested in me today?"

When Xu Mingxi thought of the vines that had suddenly appeared in front of him during the day, he still felt a little lingering fear.

"Grandpa doesn't know that either. Perhaps it's also because of your Star Affinity Physique. Maybe when you are by their side, their cultivation speed can increase as well."

Soul beasts also needed to cultivate. A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast did not mean it had truly lived for a hundred thousand years.

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had absolutely not lived longer than the Ice Empress, but if one put aside strength and spoke only of cultivation, his cultivation absolutely far surpassed the Ice Empress's.

If it really took a hundred thousand years for a single Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast to appear, then high-level soul beasts would have been hunted to extinction long ago.

Xu Mingxi fell into thought, but knowing that Tree Elder and Vine Elder would not harm him was enough. As for the rest, he believed the Sect Master would arrange everything properly.

"Oh, right, Mingxi. Is there always such a huge disturbance every time you cultivate?"

The scene of starlight pouring down from the sky like flowing water was something the First Elder had never seen before in all his years.

"No, Grandpa. That was only the effect of my soul skill. As long as I don't use my First Soul Skill, it won't be like that."

"Then will it affect your cultivation speed?"

"Well, it doesn't seem to affect it much."

After sensing carefully, Xu Mingxi felt that whether he used this First Soul Skill or not seemed to make no difference to him.

It was just that after using it, the surrounding Starlight Concentration would increase, which seemed to offer some help to others who possessed the Star Crown Martial Soul.

The next day, Xu Mingxi said goodbye to his parents and moved directly to the Back Mountain to live beneath the Starry Tree.

The Sect Master built a small wooden house beneath the Starry Tree for the two brothers, Xu Mingxi and Xu Mingguang, and he personally delivered their meals as well.

Xu Mingguang was rather happy, since he could often see his father here.

Xu Fangxing was in charge of caring for the two old seniors in the Back Mountain, and every day he was responsible for transporting the flesh and blood of Star Bearing Oxen.

The benefit was that he could also take advantage of this superb cultivation site.

Xu's father often complained at home, suspecting that the Sect Master had been giving his son special treatment.

Otherwise, at about the same age, with Xu Fangxing's Innate Soul Power only one rank higher than his own, how could he possibly be almost an entire major rank above him now?

The area near the Starry Tree had been deliberately planted full of Gathering Star Grass.

Once night fell, endless starlight scattered down, shone upon the Gathering Star Grass, and then converged onto the Starry Tree.

Starlight flowed and turned, incomparably beautiful.

This place was not only for the two brothers, Mingguang and Mingxi, to use, but was also a cultivation place for the Sect Master and several elders.

Xu Mingxi rested during the day, and in the afternoon, he received instruction from the various elders and the Sect Master.

At night, he sat cross-legged directly beneath the Starry Tree, guiding down the starlight in the sky to cultivate.

The Sect Master and several elders sat around him, while the Starry Tree and Xu Mingxi's First Soul Skill overlapped.

Specks of light shimmered all around them, making everyone feel as though they were immersed in an ocean of stars.

Of course, this was merely an external effect. The Sect Master did not feel that his own cultivation speed had increased after Xu Mingxi arrived.

"Mingxi, don't be disappointed. Perhaps the gap in rank between you and the elders is too great. Once you reach Soul King or Soul Emperor, it should work."

Those words only made Xu Mingxi even sadder. Right now, he was only an eleventh-rank Soul Master, and his First Soul Skill was even one that boosted cultivation.

"Sect Master, can I go home on weekends?"

Although Xu Mingxi had made up his mind to cultivate hard, he still wanted to have a little of his own life.

"Of course you can. Only by balancing work and rest can one cultivate further in the long run."

The Sect Master looked at Xu Mingxi with a cheerful smile. Cultivating single-mindedly would not do. It was better for him to interact more with the people in the sect.

He could not end up like Old Dragon's Son, arrogant and condescending, only to awaken a useless martial soul and then be treated coldly by the people of his clan.

Just look at our Star Crown Sect. Under my leadership, it truly was a good sect, united and full of love.

Just a few days ago, word had spread across the continent that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's Sect Master's Son, from one of the Upper Three Sects, had awakened a useless martial soul.

At the time, the Sect Master had scoffed, believing it was nothing more than false news spread by Spirit Hall to strike at the prestige of the Upper Three Sects, and that it would soon be clarified.

Who would have thought that after several days passed, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan showed no intention of clarifying it at all?

Only then did the Sect Master have no choice but to believe that a dragon's child was not necessarily a dragon.

Xu Mingxi spent his second childhood in study and cultivation.

Compared to his previous life, he liked life on Douluo Continent more.

Here, he had parents who doted on him, friends who cared about him, and the sect disciples played together and helped one another.

He wanted to protect all of this.

More importantly, the feeling of constantly growing stronger was truly wonderful.

To Xu Mingxi, who was striving hard to improve himself, time seemed to pass very quickly. In the blink of an eye, two years had gone by.

With the help of his First Soul Skill and the Starry Tree, eight-year-old Xu Mingxi successfully reached level twenty.

Xu Mingguang, who was with him, had also reached level nineteen. The two of them had agreed to go obtain their second soul rings together.

The sect had records stating that in the past, some predecessors had been delayed in obtaining their soul rings because of certain matters.

In the end, after a relatively long period of time passed, their Soul Power actually rose by two levels after absorbing a soul ring.

From then on, the Star Crown Sect deliberately arranged for some people to conduct experiments, and the absence of a soul ring indeed did not prevent Soul Power from continuing to rise.

The Sect Master simply let the two little brats' agreement be. In any case, Mingguang's breakthrough would be within the next month or two, so it was not a problem.

What worried him was something else. The Star Ancestor had left some records in his notes.

Back then, the Star Ancestor had been stuck at level 98 and had been unable to break through for a long time. In his later years, he had constantly muttered that his second through sixth soul rings had been chosen wrongly.

As the Sect Master looked at Xu Mingxi sitting cross-legged beneath the Starry Tree in cultivation, he even felt a little afraid. He was afraid of ruining this child.

"No, I have to go back and look through the Soul Beast Encyclopedia again. I must find Mingxi a good soul ring."

A month and a half later, Xu Mingguang successfully broke through to level twenty, and the two little ones walked into the Sect Master Hall one after the other.

"Grandpa, I broke through. When are you taking us to hunt soul rings?"

The Sect Master, who already had slight dark circles under his eyes, lifted his head from the pile of books.

"Mingguang broke through too, huh? But this time, Grandpa won't be leading the team.

This time, you're going to the Star Dou Great Forest. Grandpa needs to stay in the sect and handle sect affairs. When the time comes, the First Elder and Second Elder will take you."

The Sect Master had consulted a great deal of information and decided on several kinds of soul beasts suitable for Xu Mingxi, most of which lived in the Star Dou Great Forest.

As for Xu Mingguang, there were also soul beasts suitable for him in the Star Dou Great Forest. If it really did not work out, they could return to the sect and absorb a soul ring then.

The Star Crown Sect had long since developed a suitable set of templates for the first four soul skills in the three development directions of assault, control, and support.

The soul beasts that produced the first and second soul skills were only a few hundred years old. With the Star Crown Sect's foundation, it could still afford to raise them.

Naturally, the Star Dou Great Forest had them too, and since the two children had already made their agreement, at most they would waste a little time.

As the Sect Master, Xu Chunxing could not leave the sect for a long period of time, and no one knew how long it would take to find suitable soul beasts.

Besides, the two elders—one a Titled Douluo and the other a Soul Douluo—were more than enough.

If Xu Mingguang and Xu Mingxi were not so important to the Star Crown Sect, they would never have sent out such a lineup.

The next day, Xu Mingxi followed behind his grandfather to the Training Field, where Xu Mingguang and the Second Elder had long since been waiting.

Only four people were traveling this time. The less the outside world knew about the information of the two brothers, Xu Mingguang and Xu Mingxi, the better.

Douluo Continent was in the era of the Two Great Empires, with constant warfare. Add to that the sparse population of the western mountains, and the roads here were full of potholes.

Or rather, there were no roads at all—only wild paths worn out by people walking them. Xu Mingxi nearly tripped several times while walking on them.

In the end, the two elders simply picked up the two little brats, used Soul Power to protect their bodies, and flew forward.

If they let the two children walk by themselves, who knew how many days it would take to arrive?

The two elders' speeds were naturally different, but in just a few days, they arrived outside the Star Dou Great Forest.