"I heard that little friend Su defeated Yu Tianheng. He really is a genius youth."
Ning Fengzhi looked at the boy before him, who showed no trace of timidity, and felt a measure of admiration rise in his heart.
As the sect master of the second-largest sect in the world, he was used to even ordinary Soul Douluo showing him obsequiousness and fear.
Yet this boy, who was about the same age as Rong Rong, could face him with such composure.
He truly had an admirable temperament.
"You're too kind, Sect Master Ning. I was just lucky."
Su Ze calmly answered Ning Fengzhi's praise.
Su Ze's opinion of Ning Fengzhi was that he was a gambler.
As the sect master of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi was, according to the Original Plot, a pure gambler.
And the kind who would go all in, staking everything without a second thought.
In the Original Plot, the Clear Sky Sect was undoubtedly the ultimate winner. It reaped both fame and fortune, and firmly established its reputation as the continent's number one sect.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had been wiped out in advance, leaving only a handful of survivors. It had suffered a crushing defeat.
And the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect? In both the early and middle stages, as well as the later stages, it had contributed money and manpower.
It had even lost its two Super Douluo.
In the end, though, it did receive two gods.
And the empty title of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
In short, after staking everything, Ning Fengzhi had gained nothing but an empty title.
The two gods couldn't descend to the mortal realm, and the sect's actual high-level combat strength had been wiped out.
So, in Su Ze's eyes, Ning Fengzhi had gambled away everything and gained very little in return.
He was not a good gambler.
"Little friend Su, your talent is so exceptional, and you have such a fine temperament. Truly impressive."
"Rong Rong, come and meet your Su Ze Gege."
Ning Fengzhi's eyes held even more admiration. As he spoke, he beckoned to someone behind him.
A pink-haired little girl promptly emerged from behind him.
She was none other than the future Nine-Colored Goddess.
Ning Rongrong!
"So you're the Su Ze my father told me about? Why is your Soul Power so high when you're the same age as me?"
"How do you train?"
Ning Rongrong gazed at Su Ze with curiosity.
"It's nothing. You just have to train hard. When I was at Nuoding Academy, I usually cultivated for at least ten hours a day."
Su Ze was telling the truth. When he was at Nuoding Academy, he had made sure to meditate every day.
Except when he had to deal with Tang San in Soul Duels, he usually meditated for ten hours.
That was why his body was so exceptionally strong.
At Su Ze's words, Ning Rongrong's cute little face immediately filled with astonishment.
She stared at him as though he were some strange object.
Ten hours of cultivation a day—didn't he need to rest?
Sword Douluo, who had been standing behind Ning Fengzhi, now turned his gaze to Su Ze.
He sensed Su Ze's cultivation, and his eyes narrowed. Unable to hold back, he spoke.
"You're Su Ze, right? You're so young, yet your cultivation has already reached such a level. You'll surely have a place in the Soul World one day."
"If you run into any difficulties in the future, you can come to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and look for me. As long as it isn't something wicked, our sect will help you."
As a Super Douluo, Sword Douluo could easily sense Su Ze's Soul Power.
A super-genius like this—
The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect had to befriend him.
What Sword Douluo admired even more was Su Ze's dedication to cultivation.
He could sense how strong Su Ze's body was. Combined with his Soul Power, that strength was enough to prove that Su Ze was telling the truth about meditating for at least ten hours a day.
Despite his extraordinary talent, he still worked so hard.
If nothing unexpected happened, Douluo Continent would have a new Titled Douluo within twenty years at most.
"Brother Su Ze, shouldn't you thank Sword Douluo?"
Qian Renxue and Ning Fengzhi both looked at Sword Douluo in surprise.
Qian Renxue, especially, had never expected this usually aloof Super Douluo to think so highly of Su Zhe.
He had even gone so far as to make him a promise.
Su Ze was a little surprised by Sword Douluo's words, but he still bowed. "Thank you, Sword Douluo. I'll remember your kindness!"
After Sword Douluo spoke up, Ning Fengzhi gave Su Ze a token from the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.
According to Ning Fengzhi, the token allowed him to take one million Gold Soul Coins from the Seven Treasures Chamber of Commerce for free every year.
The gesture gave Su Ze, a penniless man, a good look at how the rich behaved.
They practically didn't treat money like money.
If he didn't have an even better option in the Silver Dragon King, he would have been ready to join the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.
"Uncle Jian, you seem to think very highly of that boy Su Ze."
"You even made him a promise."
On the way back to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda after seeing Su Ze off, Ning Fengzhi asked Sword Douluo curiously.
"Yeah, Grandpa Jian. That Su Zhe kid was obviously bragging."
"He says he cultivates for at least ten hours a day. Doesn't he need to rest?"
"I bet he was lying. Grandpa Jian, don't you agree?"
Ning Rongrong gave an adorable little eye roll, then snuggled into Sword Douluo's arms and spoke coquettishly.
In Ning Rongrong's eyes, no Soul Master could possibly work that hard, no matter how diligent he was.
There were so many fun things in the world. Cultivation was so dull and tedious.
"Fengzhi, Rong Rong, do your best to maintain a good relationship with this boy Su Ze."
"You may not be able to sense his exact cultivation, but I can tell you for certain—"
"As long as he doesn't die young, this boy will become a Titled Douluo in the future."
"He even has a very good chance of surpassing me and becoming as powerful as my father and grandfather."
Sword Douluo rubbed Ning Rongrong's head, his face utterly serious.
Ning Fengzhi's pupils contracted, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.
Sword Douluo Chen Xin was at rank 95. His father and grandfather had both been Super Douluo.
Yet Chen Xin's assessment of this boy Su Ze was already so high.
Ning Rongrong, who was only a little over seven years old, was also stunned.
Grandpa Jian thought so highly of that boy named Su Ze.
Was that Su Zhe really so impressive?
A year passed in the blink of an eye!
Over the course of that year, with only a few months left until he turned ten, Su Ze successfully absorbed all the medicinal power of the Immortal Herbs within his body.
He also raised his cultivation to rank 40.
Reaching rank 40 at around nine years old—Su Ze had set a new record on Douluo Continent.
If there were an award for the fastest-cultivating young Soul Master, Su Ze would undoubtedly win it.
Even Qian Renxue, the future Angel God and a genius with Innate Full Level Twenty Soul Power—
Su Ze was confident that when she was his age, her Soul Power couldn't possibly have been higher than his.
In other words, Su Ze had not only caught up with the protagonists of the Original Plot.
He had even started to pull half a divine position ahead.
"I finally broke through to rank 40, and I've completely absorbed the medicinal power."
"Now I can finally try absorbing the Water Dragon King and Fire Dragon King's Soul Bones."
Su Ze slowly let out a breath. The Immortal Herbs had raised his attributes to Extreme Thunder and unlocked the Storm Dragon King.
Although they had strengthened him, they had also slowed his cultivation.
Otherwise, at his previous pace, he should have advanced ten ranks in a year.
But everything came with a trade-off. Su Ze thought the extra time was worth it for the sake of greater strength.
The Dugu Family.
"You broke through to rank 40."
Dugu Bo stared at Su Ze in disbelief, his emerald-green eyes wide and his face full of shock.
He had expected it.
But seeing Su Ze break through with his own eyes still left him shaken.
A child not yet ten years old had reached rank 40. What kind of talent was that?
No wonder he had judged him to have Potential for Godhood.
"Senior Dugu, what's so surprising? I took quite a few Immortal Herbs, so a lot of medicinal power accumulated in my body."
"If my Martial Soul hadn't evolved, I would have reached rank 40 half a year earlier."
Su Ze spoke calmly.
On his journey so far, he had eaten Immortal Herbs and absorbed a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.
It would have been strange if he hadn't reached rank 40.
"No need to act surprised, you brat. By your standards, you're showing off again."
"The higher a Soul Master's rank, the slower their cultivation becomes. Advancing five ranks in a little over a year already makes you a genius."
"Sometimes I even wonder if you're a Soul Beast who has taken human form."
Dugu Bo rolled his eyes. He found Su Ze's remarks as a genius utterly exasperating.
As a Titled Douluo—and a renowned genius on Douluo Continent—
He had been nearly twenty when he reached rank 40.
Compared to this brat Su Ze,
Dugu Bo felt like a fool.
At Dugu Bo's words, Su Ze smiled.
The real Soul Beast who had taken human form, Xiao Wu, had only just reached rank 30 at the age of twelve.
Before he was ten, he was already rank 40.
How could she compare?
Thinking of all the things that rabbit Xiao Wu had done at Nuoding Academy, a cold glint flashed through Su Ze's eyes.
That damn rabbit. When he ran into her,
he wouldn't hold back.
"Ah, I'm getting old. It's not just you—Yan Yan and that girl from the Ye Family aren't far from rank 40 either."
"I feel like the times have left me behind!"
Dugu Bo's voice was full of complicated feelings.
Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan had both taken Immortal Herbs, so their Soul Power had risen rapidly with the herbs' help.
They were about to break through to rank 40 as well.
A Soul Elder at around fifteen years old might not compare to Su Ze,
but it still counted as a well-known genius on the continent.
Even so, it left Dugu Bo feeling a sense of crisis. There were so many geniuses.
"All right, Senior Dugu. Once I've stabilized my cultivation, let's pick out a suitable Soul Beast for my Fourth Soul Ring."
Su Ze planned to use the time to consider which Soul Beast he should choose for his Fourth Soul Ring.
He also intended to start absorbing the two Soul Bones, each of which was at least a million years old.
They belonged to the two Dragon Kings.
Because some of the medicinal energy had remained in his body, he hadn't tried absorbing them before.
Now he finally had the time.
"Ah, you brat. All right, go pick one out, and let me know when you've decided."
After bidding Dugu Bo farewell, Su Ze went to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye.
It was the most suitable place to absorb the two Dragon Kings' Soul Bones.
The Ice Fire Dragon Kings' Soul Bones were both arm bones.
One was a left arm bone, and the other was a right arm bone.
Su Ze took the two Soul Bones out of his storage space. Sunlight shone on them, and dazzling light glimmered in their Dragon Marks.
Just holding them, Su Ze could feel the powerful force contained within.
It was as though two dragon souls were roaring toward the sky beside his ears.
Looking at the Water Dragon King's right arm bone in his hand, Su Zhe took a deep breath and pressed the Soul Bone directly against his right arm.
Drawn by his Soul Power, the Water Dragon King's right arm bone soon released waves of True Dragon Pressure.
Extreme Water Element spread out from the Soul Bone as well.
Under the power of the Ultimate energy, Su Ze's entire right arm was left covered in blood.
Intense pain kept assaulting Su Ze's senses.
These were Soul Bones left behind by a True God.
To absorb them, he had to endure indescribable pain.
Fortunately, years of arduous cultivation had made Su Ze's Willpower incredibly strong.
Faced with the intense pain, Su Zhe gritted his teeth and held on.
After a long while, the completely destroyed bone began to reconstruct under the power of Ultimate Water.
As the water elements rebuilt it, a wave of blissful comfort washed over him.
Su Ze slowly opened his eyes.
A trace of excitement showed in them.
First, after absorbing the Water Dragon King's Soul Bone, the Storm Dragon King Martial Soul had unlocked its second stage.
The ability of Soul Ring Evolution had also begun to emerge.
At the same time, he had also gained a Soul Skill.
It was called Extreme Healing.
With it, he could become immune to abnormal conditions and use his own attributes to heal his injuries.
Specifically, if he encountered attacks with the Water Attribute or Lightning Attribute, then, provided their strength was equal to his, Su Ze could use those attributes to heal his injuries.
Moreover, it wasn't only his enemies' attributes. Su Ze's own Lightning Attribute and Water Attribute could also heal his injuries.
Thinking of the Soul Skill he'd gained, Su Ze was immediately thrilled.
In the future, the lightning he summoned could not only attack his enemies but also heal his injuries.
Su Ze had once been very envious of Tang San.
With the Blue Silver Emperor and the Clear Sky Hammer, if Tang San hadn't taken the wrong path, he could have become a berserker who healed himself.
Now that he had the Water Dragon King's Soul Skill, Su Ze had achieved that.
From now on, his lightning could both attack others and heal his injuries.
Tang San hadn't managed it, but he had.
Next, Su Ze began absorbing the Fire Dragon King's left arm bone.
After enduring a wave of pain, Su Ze successfully absorbed the left arm bone.
Just like with the Water Dragon King's Soul Bone, Su Ze mastered the Ultimate Water Attribute and Fire Attribute.
His body, immune to both water and fire, evolved once more.
He also gained a flying skill.
He could condense a pair of wings from his own attributes and fly through the sky at tremendous speed.
It was a very useful skill for Su Ze.
As Su Ze absorbed the Water Fire Dragon King's Soul Bones,
deep in the Star Dou Great Forest, inside a mysterious space,
two enormous eyes suddenly opened, their Golden Pupils glittering with delight.
"The Storm Dragon King incarnation mentioned by the Water Fire Dragon King has finally appeared."
The mysterious space rippled and warped. The elements of the world grew chaotic, and light shone upon the figure with the Golden Pupils.
It was a Silver Dragon thousands of meters long.
"Di Tian, find this human and bring him here."
"Remember to be kind to him."
The Silver Dragon King's majestic voice echoed out from the mysterious space.
Above the Lake of Life, a tall, imposing man with black hair opened his eyes.
His eyes were a rare shade of dark gold.
"As you command!"
Before you continue