Time flew by, and a year passed in the blink of an eye.
Xu Hanfeng had turned nine years old, and his Soul Power had reached level 39.
Over the past year, he had obtained six Permanent Cards.
Three soul bones, one soul skill, and two weapons.
The three soul bones were the Jade Poison Heart Right Arm Bone, the Holy Light Unicorn Right Arm Bone, and the Silver Dragon Inverse Scale Skull.
Among them, the Silver Dragon Inverse Scale Skull was a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.
Xu Hanfeng had drawn it in an incredible burst of luck.
He gave this skull bone to Na'er.
As a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, the Silver Dragon Inverse Scale Skull possessed two soul skills.
The first soul skill was Silver Dragon Tear Space.
Upon activation, silver light burst from her eyes as three Space Dragon Claws were summoned from the void to tear through the target area, dealing slashing damage that ignored physical defense.
This soul skill was incredibly powerful. Its attack power was absurdly high, and it ignored defense.
Na'er was now a Soul Elder. Even a Soul King would not dare take this attack head-on.
The second soul skill was Inverse Scale Guard.
The dragon scales on her head stood on end, forming a silver barrier that lasted five seconds.
It granted immunity to all spiritual attacks and blocked 50% of physical attacks.
The second soul skill was equally outrageous.
Its defense was absolute. It could nullify all spiritual attacks, though attacks from someone far stronger than Na'er could not be completely negated.
It could only be considered relative immunity.
Still, blocking half of all physical damage was quite impressive.
Besides that, Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling also received support from the Ye Family and Dugu Family, obtaining their first Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone.
The two of them, along with Ye Lingtong, Na'er, and Jiang Nannan, had all reached 1 star.
Moreover, everyone had completed all the special requirements for 2 stars. They only lacked soul bones.
The soul skill Xu Hanfeng obtained was Void Slash.
It could condense into a massive Void Blade.
By swinging the Void Blade, it dealt heavy damage to all enemies within a fan-shaped area ahead.
For Xu Hanfeng, the most important thing was that he had obtained two Exclusive Soul Tool Cards.
These cards were specifically for Character Cards and could grant them their exclusive Soul Tools.
Xu Hanfeng knew that exclusive Soul Tools had been developed by the Douluo Compendium itself. Otherwise, there had never been any mention of exclusive Soul Tools in the original story.
Xu Hanfeng did not use these two Exclusive Soul Tool Cards for the time being. They might have other uses later.
Xu Hanfeng realized that the Douluo Compendium wanted to raise these Character Cards to perfection.
Soul bones, Soul Tools—perhaps there would even be domains and battle armor later on.
Xu Hanfeng was growing more and more expectant.
Suddenly, a pair of fair, rosy hands covered Xu Hanfeng's eyes.
A faint fragrance lingered around his nose, sweet and pleasant.
"Guess who I am?"
"Sister Meng, we've played this game so many times already."
Xu Hanfeng caught Meng Hongchen's little hand.
"Ugh, you're no fun at all."
Meng Hongchen pouted.
Xu Hanfeng turned around. Meng Hongchen was the one he had activated this year.
Her wine-red hair cascaded down her back.
Her eyes were mesmerizing. Unlike her hair, they were ice-blue.
Her long hair and eyes matched her martial soul.
The Crimson Clear Ice Toad was ice-attributed all over, yet its eyes were fire-attributed, making it exceptionally unique.
Meng Hongchen wore a silver-white fitted outfit today. Its hollowed-out waist exposed her fair skin, while a sapphire shaped like a Crimson Clear Ice Toad was set into her chest.
Below, she wore a dark-blue short skirt paired with over-the-knee boots.
An ice crystal earring also dangled from her left ear.
"Sister Meng, what is it?"
"Didn't you say a few days ago that you were going to challenge the Five Elemental Academies? The sisters are all ready."
"Alright."
The main reason Xu Hanfeng wanted to challenge the Five Elemental Academies was to draw Qian Renxue's attention.
His martial soul had determined that if he wanted to become powerful, he had to gather women with potential from Douluo 1.
As the future Angel God, Qian Renxue's potential went without saying.
Moreover, Bibi Dong, Hu Liena, and even Spirit Kite Douluo of Spirit Hall were all excellent choices.
They were first-rate and super first-rate women of this era.
It would be best if he could win them over. Even if he could not, he could still catch Spirit Hall's eye.
Perhaps he could even spend some time in Spirit Hall later.
He could not possibly remain in the Heaven Dou Empire forever.
Neither the Dugu Family nor the Ye Family had much sense of allegiance to the Heaven Dou Empire.
Of course, although he had now established his own faction, it was still too weak.
He needed to take things slowly.
Before long, all the girls had assembled.
"Young Master, we should return to your martial soul. Otherwise, we won't be able to take the stage together." Ma Xiaotao smiled.
"What bad idea have you come up with this time?"
Ya Li tapped Ma Xiaotao's nose.
Among all the women, Ya Li was the oldest and the most mature.
Only her appearance was somewhat youthful.
Still, Ye Liuli was usually the one closest to Ya Li.
That showed just how mature Ya Li was.
"Although Young Master has Consumable Soul Skill Cards that can hide soul rings, our soul rings can't be concealed."
"We might as well display them openly. We also have Grandpa Dugu protecting us. As long as no Super Douluo appears, we'll be safe."
"At present, the only factions with Super Douluo are Spirit Hall, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, and the Clear Sky Sect. It is unclear whether the two empires have any."
"But the Clear Sky Sect has sealed itself away, and we're in the Heaven Dou Empire. So basically, no one will interfere with us. If we want to make a name for ourselves, we'll go straight for the top."
Ma Xiaotao waved her little pink fist.
"That makes sense." Xu Hanfeng nodded.
He no longer planned to hide. At this point, he possessed a certain degree of strength.
As a Soul Elder, defeating a Soul Emperor would not be a problem, not to mention that he also had Consumable Cards for battle armor.
If everyone used battle armor together, they could even kill a Spirit Douluo.
Anyone above a Title Douluo would have to be dealt with by Grandpa Dugu.
The group left Heaven Dou City and headed for Blazing Fire City.
Other than Lightning Academy, all of the Five Elemental Academies had their own cities.
Blazing Fire City lay south of Heaven Dou City. It was a magnificent fortress, with tall, thick city walls.
When they entered the city, they found broad streets and bustling traffic. It was just as lively as Heaven Dou City.
The city's architecture was unique, constructed from red bricks and stone, giving it a blazing, passionate atmosphere.
As the heart of Blazing Fire City, Blazing Academy stood in the city's central district. It covered a vast area, and its gate was tall and imposing.
Above the entrance hung an emblem of flames.
"Who are you?"
Two soul masters wearing fiery-red academy uniforms stopped Xu Hanfeng.
"Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Xu Hanfeng. I'm here to challenge Blazing Academy."
"Huh?"
The two were somewhat dumbfounded. This was the first time they had encountered such a challenge.
"Uh... fellow student, I need to report this first."
"No problem."
Soon, the two arrived at the principal's office.
"What?! You're saying someone from Heaven Dou Royal Academy has come to challenge our academy at the gate?" Huo Yaoyang was stunned.
"Yes, Principal."
"Interesting. Let them in!"