Elder Token in Hand

Elder Token in Hand

The next day, Qian Xunjie was waiting at the entrance to the camp early in the morning. The difference was that today, two additional people stood beside him.

"Your Holiness, the person accompanying us on this hunt sure has some nerve, making us wait this long," said a man dressed entirely in black and wearing a mask.

"Ghost, don't underestimate that fellow, or you'll suffer a major loss," Qian Xunjie patiently explained to Ghost.

"Understood, Your Holiness!"

"This hunt will be extremely difficult. We must be careful when facing a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Soul Beasts of that level are exceptionally hard to deal with." Qian Xunjie knew the limits of his group's strength.

To face a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, one needed to be at least a Super Douluo. Qian Xunjie naturally understood such basic common sense.

Yet Qian Xunjie wanted to take a gamble. If they succeeded, it would be a tremendous leap in strength. A Titled Douluo with a hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring was vastly different from one without it.

Ghost and Yue Guan, the two future Level 95 Titled Douluo, were only around Level 85 at present.

A lineup like this would definitely be wiped out against a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Ghost and Yue Guan had known from the very beginning how arduous this mission would be.

But they had no choice. They could not disobey the Pope's orders, and as the Pope's personal guards, they could only grit their teeth and go along with it.

Not long ago, an extraordinarily gifted Soul Master had emerged: Tang Hao. Tang Hao was truly far too young. At barely over thirty, he had already broken through to the Soul Douluo level.

This placed immense pressure on Qian Xunjie and was also the primary trigger behind this operation.

"Good morning, everyone~"

Rota appeared before Qian Xunjie and the others with that distinctive voice of his.

"Speak properly, please!" Qian Xunjie took this operation very seriously and had no desire to joke around with Kizaru.

"My, my~, Your Holiness is so cold~"

It was Ghost and Yue Guan's first time meeting Rota. Seeing how tall he was, they were immediately suppressed by his sheer presence.

"And these two are?" Rota naturally noticed the unfamiliar people beside Qian Xunjie.

"These two are my personal guards, Ghost and Yue Guan. Both are Level 85 Soul Douluo," Qian Xunjie introduced the two people beside him to Rota.

"Ghost, Yue Guan, this is Borsalino. You can also call him Kizaru!" Qian Xunjie likewise introduced Rota to Ghost and Yue Guan.

Hearing those two familiar names, Rota understood. So these were the future Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo.

What Rota truly wanted to complain about was that without him, Qian Xunjie and the other two trying to hunt a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast with this lineup was practically a fool's dream.

Two Level 85s and one Level 90, without even a single Titled Douluo—where did they get the confidence to hunt a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast? A Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast would be more like it!

Rota genuinely wondered whether Qian Xunjie had suffered some kind of stimulation. It was true that one had to take risks in life. Qian Xunjie could be considered an ambitious man, but this plan was utterly baffling.

Rota had originally thought Qian Xunjie's helpers would be Titled Douluo much stronger than himself. Instead, these two guards were even weaker than Qian Xunjie.

"Your Holiness, forgive this old man for speaking frankly, but are you sure this lineup is meant to hunt a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?" Rota wanted to know what Qian Xunjie was thinking.

"What, do you look down on the strength of this Pope and my two personal guards?" Qian Xunjie's expression darkened slightly. Since they had not even begun, he did not want to hear discouraging words, even if they were true.

"Yes, indeed~"

Upon hearing Kizaru say that, Ghost and Yue Guan inwardly cried, That's badass!

"You..." Qian Xunjie did not know what to do. He had absolutely no way to deal with Kizaru.

Qian Xunjie had never expected Kizaru to be so disrespectful, but it was also the truth, leaving him unable to refute it.

"Without strength, you can't accomplish the things you want to do~ It's better to be practical!"

Ding. Kizaru's imitation rate has increased to 49%.

A scene like this had also occurred during the Summit War. It was one of undercover Kizaru's famous moments.

"This old man believes Your Holiness cannot possibly lack this basic knowledge. At the very least, you should have brought your father, Qian Daoliu, to assist you. Do you think that merely posting a commission will really draw so many experts here?"

Ghost and Yue Guan did not know what to do either. They understood the situation perfectly well, but they did not dare say it outright. It was their first time witnessing someone educate the Pope to his face like Rota was doing.

Ghost and Yue Guan did not want to casually throw away their lives in the Life Forbidden Zone either.

Even if they looked at things optimistically, even if they somehow managed to defeat a disgrace among Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, they would surely end up mutually devastated.

The Life Forbidden Zone within the Star Dou Great Forest was filled with dangers. If things went badly, their entire group could really be wiped out.

On this matter, Ghost and Yue Guan surprisingly agreed strongly with Rota's approach.

"Take this old man's advice and stay grounded. Finding a ninety-thousand-year one should be enough. You won't suffer such devastating losses, either."

Qian Xunjie was extremely unwilling, but he could find no reason to refute Kizaru. Every word Kizaru said was true, and there was simply no angle from which he could argue back.

But Qian Xunjie did not want to compromise just like that. Ghost and Yue Guan were watching from the side. If he yielded to an outsider, would he have any dignity left?

"Fine, Kizaru! This Pope can listen to you, but you must join Spirit Hall as an elder. If you refuse..."

"This old man agrees!"

"If you refuse, I will... Wait, you agree?"

Qian Xunjie had never expected Kizaru to agree so readily. He had suspected that Kizaru might be interested in joining Spirit Hall, but could it really be this easy?

"Fine. Then this Pope will listen to you once. We won't seek a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast."

If Kizaru joined Spirit Hall, then Qian Xunjie would not lose face by compromising. He could simply say he was following an elder's advice.

Just like that, Rota, who had originally needed to go to Heaven Dou Imperial City to participate in the selection, completed his objective in one stroke.

Ding. Kizaru's imitation rate has increased to 52%. Kizaru's strength has been fully unlocked.

At last, Kizaru's imitation rate had exceeded 50%, and Kizaru's strength was fully released. Any further increase in imitation rate would provide additional boosts.

"Here, this is your Elder Token." Qian Xunjie took out an exceptionally noble token and tossed it to Rota.

As for why he tossed it rather than handed it over, it was entirely because Qian Xunjie grew irritated just looking at Kizaru.

Rota caught the token and looked it over. Sure enough, it bore six engraved patterns. Six patterns represented Spirit Hall's highest-grade Elder Token.

"Oh my, this token suits this old man's temperament quite well~"

Receiving the highest-grade Elder Token signified recognition of Kizaru's strength. Under the usual process, obtaining such a token involved rather cumbersome procedures, requiring specialized assessments and noble approval.

But Qian Xunjie held great authority, so he settled it in an instant. Although Qian Xunjie did not know Kizaru's exact level, one thing was certain: his strength had at least surpassed that of ordinary Titled Douluo.

Though Qian Xunjie had not yet reached the Titled Douluo level, he was only one Soul Ring short. Yet Kizaru could still crush him one-sidedly, which was enough to show that Kizaru's strength was unfathomable.

Although Kizaru's personality truly irritated Qian Xunjie, recruiting a powerful expert for Spirit Hall was still quite a gain.