First Signs of the Truth

Looking at Dugu Bo, who was currently in deep meditation, Chen Jieqi gently rubbed the Heart of the Naaru between his brows, his eyes filled with certainty.

"Suppressing one's level is the most boring thing imaginable."

"Only by raising one's own soul power can one further improve their foundation, soul power capacity, and other aspects. After all, every additional soul ring means one more skill, one more variable, and one more layer of self-preservation."

At the same time, Chen Jieqi reviewed his advantages in his mind:

"My talent should be considered top-tier. Compared to Qian Renxue's innate full soul power of level 20, I shouldn't be any worse, perhaps even more advantageous. After all, even if I'm not at level 20 yet, I'm not far off. Plus, my second ring is guaranteed to be at least a thousand-year ring. This is what it means to be one step ahead, leading to every step ahead."

"Dugu Yan is seven years older than Tang San, and seven years older than me, which means I am the same age as him."

Chen Jieqi counted on his fingers, the corners of his mouth curling upward, "Being one step ahead means being ahead at every turn! What's more, Tang San's greatest opportunity, the immortal herbs, is already in my hands. Without the immortal herbs from the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, I'd like to see how he manages to defy the heavens and change his fate."

"As for that Tang Hao who loves to bully the weak with his strength? Once Dugu Bo condenses his 'Poison Sac' Soul Core, he could even go toe-to-toe with him. Not to mention, I still have the 'Snowy Swan Kiss' as my trump card—a literal nuclear weapon."

Thinking of this, a cold glint flashed in Chen Jieqi's eyes.

As for Tang San, as long as he dealt with the Blue Silver King in advance or cultivated the Blue Silver Emperor himself, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass would never awaken, effectively rendering him useless. Even if he successfully added ten-thousand-year soul rings to his Clear Sky Hammer later, there would be nothing to fear. After all, without the domain of the Blue Silver Emperor, without control and sustainability, relying solely on the burst damage of the Clear Sky Hammer would not be enough to overcome the consumption of my Heart of the Naaru.

In fact, when Chen Jieqi read the original work, he never understood why people thought the Clear Sky Hammer was as strong as they claimed. He always scoffed at the idea that Qian Daoliu lost to Tang Chen; fundamentally, it was just because he was too pedantic.

Qian Daoliu's Six-Winged Angel martial soul already possessed high mobility, and combined with the purification effect of the holy attribute, he should have fought a war of attrition against a high-burst martial soul like the Clear Sky Hammer. Why abandon his own advantages to go head-to-head with a Tang Chen who was detonating his rings?

Moreover, even if Tang Chen's attack power was slightly higher after detonating his rings, what was the point if he couldn't hit Qian Daoliu? Once the duration of the ring detonation ended, he would be at the mercy of others!

Taking a step back, even if Qian Daoliu wanted to fight head-on, he could have used his Angel Divine Power; there was no way he should have lost. Even before Tang Chen accepted the god trials, his soul ring configuration should have been two yellow, two purple, four black, and one red, while Qian Daoliu had eight black and one red!!!

As two level 99 Title Douluo, their soul power capacities were similar, but Qian Daoliu's soul skill multipliers were simply overwhelming. How could Qian Daoliu have lost?

Fundamentally, it was because he was too pedantic, ignoring the advantages of his own martial soul to clash head-on with a ring-detonating Tang Chen. Otherwise, why would Qian Daoliu and Tang Chen both be completely crushed by Bo Saixi? Setting aside the possibility of them being "simps," it was mostly because Bo Saixi utilized the advantages of her own martial soul.

Chen Jieqi sighed and continued his deduction.

Among the three, Tang Chen reached level 99 through his own cultivation, so his talent was undoubtedly the best, but in terms of combat power, he should be the worst. As for Bo Saixi and Qian Daoliu, it ultimately depended on the battlefield; in the sea, Bo Saixi could suppress Qian Daoliu, while in the sky, Qian Daoliu held the advantage.

As for Tang Chen, no matter how good his talent was, his soul ring configuration and martial soul advantages were inferior. If they really fought, he would be the weakest of the three.

Then there was Tang Hao. During his pursuit, he recovered to full state after receiving Ah Yin's sacrifice, but he would be at most level 92 or 93. Meanwhile, his opponents were the level 95 Qian Xunji, plus the level 93-94 Yue Guan and Gui Mei, who also had a control-type Martial Soul Fusion Skill. No matter how you looked at it, it was a death sentence. Who could have guessed...

The only explanation that barely made sense was that a "god" intervened behind Tang Hao. Based on his judgment, it was highly likely to be that old geezer, Asura.

According to the original trajectory, if nothing unexpected happened, the next step would be Tang San taking his hammer to smash Qian Renxue. Three generations of people using the same hammer—it was simply too bullying!

But now, the roles had reversed...

Speaking of that old geezer Asura, Chen Jieqi felt a strange tightness in his chest. He and Tang San had crossed centuries to arrive at the Douluo Continent together; could there be some kind of conspiracy?

Recalling the original work, "Asura, Sea God, Angel God, Rakshasa God... All the god trials were deliberately biased."

Tang San's journey was smooth sailing, while Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong were struggling at every turn.

Especially Qian Renxue's divine trials, even though they were bestowed by her own ancestor.

To say there wasn't something fishy going on...

Chen Jieqi shook his head vigorously.

"Thinking about these things is too far off for now; the priority is to improve my strength."

Chen Jieqi returned to Dugu Bo's side, watching him steadily circulate his Poison Core, and judged that it would take several more months to fully condense.

The most urgent matter now was to improve himself, so he took the crystalline Soul Power testing crystal ball from his Soul Tool and pressed his palm onto it.

"Level 18!"

Chen Jieqi couldn't help but be surprised, his eyes filled with astonishment.

"I thought an immortal herb that strengthens a martial soul would raise my level by one or two at most, but I didn't expect it to jump by 5 levels!"

Chen Jieqi recalled Tang San's experience from the original story:

"Back then, he consumed the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot, which weren't even specifically for increasing Soul Power.

Yet he still soared from level 31 to level 37, a full 6-level increase.

He was already a Soul Elder then, while I was only a level 13 Soul Master, so a 5-level increase doesn't seem like much..."

"As for the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot?

They are completely unnecessary for me."

Chen Jieqi whispered to himself, feeling the surging holy light power within his martial soul.

"My own holy and light attributes are already at the extreme, and even my fire attribute has been purified into an extreme light flame.

Ordinary martial soul flames pose no threat to me, and I can suppress other attributes with my extreme attributes.

If I were to consume the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, it might instead make my martial soul's attributes impure, which would be a loss that outweighs the gain."

Chen Jieqi looked toward the depths of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, calculating in his heart:

"Now at level 18, if I continue to steady my progress for another half year, I will definitely reach level 20.

By then, if I obtain a thousand-year second soul ring, so what if Qian Renxue has innate level 20 soul power?

Between my soul ring age and my Soul Power Level advantage, isn't every aspect of mine stronger than hers?

This is what it truly means to be in a league of my own!"

Watching the soul power crystal in Chen Jieqi's hand, Dugu Yan's eyes flashed with deep shock.

Although she had heard Chen Jieqi talk about how overbearing the effects of this immortal herb were, she hadn't expected it to jump directly to level 18.

It wasn't far from the threshold of a level 20 Soul Grand Master, and this magnitude of improvement was truly astonishing.

She then gently patted Chen Jieqi's head, her movements carrying a touch of intimacy and approval, the shock in her eyes already replaced by heartfelt joy:

"Congratulations, little brother Jieqi. You should consolidate your surging soul power first, then we can have a meal together."

"Alright, Sister Yanyan."

Chen Jieqi replied obediently, the names of those two flashing through his mind.

"Qian Renxue, Tang San... your paths may have already been paved by gods and fate."

But my path, Chen Jieqi's path, must be walked by myself!