The Great Stage of Douluo, My Name is Qian Xunji

Every little kid has a dream of saving the world and becoming a messenger of justice one day!

It's just that adults never seem to understand why children would believe in such foolish and impossible things.

Dugu Bo watched his granddaughter, who had been throwing a tantrum at him just a moment ago, now circling around Qian Xunji. He didn't think his granddaughter was stupid; he only thought Qian Xunji was insidious and cunning, deceiving an ignorant young girl.

When she was finally dragged away by Dugu Bo, Dugu Yan didn't forget to raise her hand to salute Qian Xunji, her voice impassioned and filled with confidence and heroism, "Goodnight, Your Excellency Pope!"

·························································

The old hall master had also reached an agreement with Elephant Armor Academy. The teammates helping to fill the roster, Huyan Qian and Huyan Shan, were the grandsons of an elder from the Elephant Armor Sect, both being level 41 Soul Ancestors.

Both men were already twenty-three years old, exceptionally tall, and covered in muscle. Their skin was bronze-colored, their faces painted with white patterns, and they wore very little clothing, exposing large, bulging muscles. They were so robust that they didn't look like young men in their early twenties at all.

And this was merely the standard state for members of the Huyan clan.

The Diamond Mammoth Martial Soul of the Huyan family in the Elephant Armor Sect is known as the "Number One Defense System Martial Soul." When the Martial Soul Avatar is activated, it produces features such as muscle expansion, dark yellow keratin covering the skin, and the extension of tusks.

Looking at them from afar, they were practically humanoid monsters.

They knew their mission this time and followed obediently behind the old hall master.

However, upon seeing Qian Renxue and the others who would be participating in the exchange tournament with them, they couldn't help but be shocked.

They suspected they might have seen wrong.

After blinking their eyes and pinching themselves, Huyan Qian and Huyan Shan finally accepted reality.

Qian Renxue also tilted her head to size up the three teammates who had been brought in temporarily.

Dugu Yan was the granddaughter of Poison Douluo, and thanks to that same green hair, Qian Renxue recognized her at a glance.

Qian Renxue had good grades and knew the characteristics of the Elephant Armor Sect's Martial Soul and its impact on the human body. Although she had been prepared, she was still a bit surprised.

From her perspective, these were like small black mountains.

Eight-year-old Qian Renxue looked like a dwarf in front of the two-meter-tall Huyan brothers.

"Hello, I am Qian Renxue, Soul Power Level 38, eight years old this year."

Chapter 74: Understanding

"Th-thirty-eight? Eight years old?" Dugu Yan had originally been looking down at this golden-haired girl a head shorter than her, feeling a bit of disdain in her heart.

Dugu Bo hadn't told her the levels of Qian Renxue and the others in advance.

Upon hearing Qian Renxue's self-introduction, her expression turned blank. She couldn't fathom how a level 38 Soul Elder and an eight-year-old girl could be linked together.

Even if one started cultivating the moment they were born, it would be impossible to become a level 38 Soul Elder at eight years old, right?

"Yes!" Qian Renxue nodded, already accustomed to the disbelief of others.

Then she introduced Xiang Yu and the others behind her: "This is my older brother Xiang Yu. His level is the same as mine, 38, and his Martial Soul is also the Six-Winged Angel."

As she introduced him, Xiang Yu's height and physique were the largest among the four children. Although he was only eight, he had developed quickly and well, looking already like a teenager. However, he took the initiative to explain, "Hello, my name is Xiang Yu. Except for Xiaoxue, we are all children adopted by His Excellency the Pope, and we are all eight years old this year."

"This is my older sister Dongfang Jing, whose Martial Soul is the Blazing Sun Divine Radiance Sword, and her Soul Power is level 29," Qian Renxue said, introducing Dongfang Jing.

The girl with short golden hair adorned with a sun headpiece looked at them with sharp eyes and nodded, acknowledging the greeting.

Finally, there was Arthur. His golden hair was smooth and lustrous, slightly curled. His features were deep, his nose bridge high, and he possessed a very three-dimensional, handsome bone structure. His azure eyes, paired with a gentle smile, were even more captivating, though there was a faint, dignified aura about him that made people afraid to overstep their bounds.

"My name is Arthur. My Martial Souls are the Holy Shield and the Holy Sword, and my Soul Power is level 29. It's a pleasure to meet you all!"

"Are you telling the truth?" Dugu Yan asked, unable to believe it. "Really eight years old? Really level 38 and level 29?"

She couldn't accept either level 38 or level 29.

Was she level 12 or 13 when she was eight?

"..." This time, Qian Renxue didn't speak again; she directly released her Soul Rings.

The optimal Soul Ring configuration of two yellow and one purple.

Qian Xunji was too lazy to bother with all that day-long physical training, pushing limits, and risking death to have two little brats absorb thousand-year Soul Beast rings. The so-called maximum limit was something predecessors had tested with their lives; before you died, you wouldn't know what the maximum Soul Ring age you could withstand was.

It wasn't worth the loss. With that time spent on physical training, one could focus on cultivation and level up several times to obtain the next Soul Ring.

Moreover, a god-level Martial Soul came with innate physical enhancement, so the absorbed Soul Rings were already superior to those of ordinary people. Qian Renxue's first Soul Ring was 554 years old, and her second was 901 years old—both within the safe range according to the Qian family's Six-Winged Angel records.

After eating immortal herbs and drinking Health Milk regularly, her physique was enhanced, so her third Soul Ring was 1,850 years old, just ten years above the safe limit.

Besides, Qian Daoliu wouldn't let Qian Renxue take too big a risk.

Xiang Yu, on the other hand, was born with divine strength and a physique different from ordinary people; he could lift a tripod. Coupled with the physical enhancement of his god-level Martial Soul, he could directly engage in hand-to-hand combat with some hundred-year Soul Beasts. His Soul Ring age was even higher than Qian Renxue's, with a two-yellow, one-purple configuration, and his second ring even had a hint of purple in the yellow.

Looking at the Soul Rings in front of her, Dugu Yan finally had to believe the fact.

Beside them, Huyan Qian and Huyan Shan had bright eyes. Their Elephant Armor Sect had long been secretly affiliated with Martial Soul Hall, but they had never officially joined.

For this team-up with the geniuses of Martial Soul Hall, their grandfather had given them repeated instructions to build good relationships and not waste this opportunity.

The four little ones in front of them—whether it was their Martial Souls, age, or Soul Power levels—all indicated that they were super geniuses specially cultivated by Martial Soul Hall. In particular, this little girl named Qian Renxue carried the surname Qian and possessed the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul; she was very likely the future Pope of Martial Soul Hall.

·················································································

The seven-member temporary squad began to introduce their Martial Souls and Soul Skills to each other, preparing for the upcoming exchange tournament.

However, when the three little ones explained their "Self-Created Soul Skills," especially Arthur's Martial Soul Fusion Skill, the other three—excluding Qian Renxue—even doubted their own ears for a moment.

"Self-Created Soul Skills" are not exactly rare; many powerful soul master families with long histories possess them.

However, having them is one thing, but being able to master them is quite another.

Furthermore, a soul master's energy is limited. They have their normal cultivation to attend to, basic academic studies to complete, and those from noble families must also learn etiquette and manage social obligations—where would they find the time to develop self-created soul skills?

In other words, those geniuses who create their own soul skills are, in reality, sacrificing their own cultivation time to do so.

Regardless of whether these self-created soul skills were passed down through their families or truly original, the three of them believed that after awakening one's martial soul, spending a massive amount of time on this before the age of twenty-five was an incredibly foolish act.

The period before twenty-five is the golden age for physical development and the best window for soul power cultivation; almost every soul master with the right conditions would focus entirely on cultivation during this stage.

Logically, Xiang Yu and the others, who were cultivating and even developing self-created soul skills, should have inevitably ended up with lower soul power levels than their peers.

Yet, the reality was the exact opposite: not only had the three of them not fallen behind, but their soul power levels had actually surpassed many soul masters older than them.

Only Qian Renxue knew that her older brothers and sister hadn't really spent much time developing these "self-created soul skills."

Dugu Yan was still quite young, so she asked directly when she had a question, "Since you've been distracted by creating your own soul skills, why is your soul power level rising so quickly?"

It was even higher than her own level, even though she was seven years older than them.

Qian Renxue could only repeat the answer she had given to her classmates countless times: "Because Brother Xiang Yu and I have Innate Soul Power of level twenty, and Sister Jing and Brother Arthur also have Innate Full Soul Power. According to Dad, we won't hit any bottlenecks until we become Soul Douluo or even Title Douluo, and our cultivation speed is very fast. Dad also specifically gave us immortal herbs to eat and provided us with Health Milk."

"I know about immortal herbs; they can improve soul power and aptitude, but what is Health Milk?" Poison Douluo had mentioned immortal herbs to Dugu Yan before.

"Health Milk is a supplement that strengthens the body, improves our physical constitution, and increases the age limit for absorbing soul rings." Seeing her new friend's curiosity, Qian Renxue took out a bottle to show them.

However, they could only look; this was specifically prepared by Dad for little Xue, and only she and her brothers and sister had it—it was impossible to share with others.

Though it was called milk, its color was actually amber, and it was semi-solid. It needed to be heated in hot water before consumption, emitting a sweet, cloying fragrance with a faint, bitter undertone of medicinal herbs.

Dugu Yan had learned a great deal of herbal knowledge from her grandfather. Although she couldn't identify the specific ingredients, she still recognized a few: Whale Rubber, Purple Ginseng...

These were all precious treasures!

The other party was using them as milk and drinking them every day!

"Your dad is really good to you!"

Qian Renxue was just about to agree proudly, but seeing the envy in the purple-haired girl's eyes, she became vigilant.

There were quite a few guys at Martial Soul Hall Academy who wanted to be Dad's children and steal Dad away from her.

Although she had beaten them into submission, Qian Renxue had been on guard ever since!

····················

Chapter 75 Genius?

After testing the waters, she discovered that Dugu Yan was truly just envious that she had a good father and didn't want to steal him away.

Qian Renxue breathed a sigh of relief.

Dugu Yan was also completely convinced by Qian Renxue and the others; whether it was Innate Soul Power of level 20 or Innate Full Soul Power, combined with Twin Martial Souls, they were all top-tier geniuses.

Although their rapid level growth was aided by immortal herbs and these supplements, the four of them possessed undeniable talent.

The other three had "self-created soul skills," and Qian Renxue had the inheritance of the Angel God—they were all cheaters!

By the time Qian Xunji arrived at Skywater Academy with his group, the seven of them had already gotten to know each other.

Stepping off the carriage, the people from Skywater Academy were already waiting at the main gate.

The intricately carved gates were wide open, and the path was lined with beautiful young female students and teachers. The students wore blue, form-fitting uniforms, and their hair and eye colors were mostly water-blue, likely due to the influence of their martial souls.

Skywater Academy was the only one among the Four Element Academies that accepted commoners. However, compared to other academies that looked at martial souls, attributes, and soul power levels, they added an extra requirement: gender. One had to be female.

Behind every absurd school rule lies an even more absurd incident.

Water-attribute soul masters were already predominantly female, and before this rule was implemented, over three-quarters of the soul masters in the academy were women.

The male students were exceptionally rare. With more women than men, and every girl being a beauty, the boys started to get carried away.

Some scandals broke out, and to prevent similar events from happening again, Skywater Academy simply steeled its heart and only recruited female students. To fill the vacancy left by the male students, they waived the requirement of only recruiting nobles and expanded their recruitment scope.

Although that scandal was well-covered up, it was no secret among peer factions.

A handsome male student had been juggling six relationships at once within the Skywater Academy team, eventually causing the entire team to fall apart. They had no chemistry whatsoever and took turns losing to the other major element academies.

What was even more terrifying was that this wasn't an isolated case. Many male students had shockingly rich romantic histories, and because of the closed-off management and teaching style, the female students spent every day with those boys, making it hard not to develop feelings.

The entire academy was in chaos, so the Dean simply steeled her heart and only recruited female students thereafter, even requiring the teachers to be female.

After getting through the initial chaos and opposition, this model turned out to be surprisingly effective.

······················································

Standing at the very front to welcome Qian Xunji, the Pope, was the Dean of Skywater Academy, who currently held the highest soul power in the school: the level 83 Soul Douluo, Shui Qing'er.

She came from the same family as Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er. She was not the clan head, but due to her strength and gender, she served as the current Dean of Skywater Academy.

She wore a luxurious ice-blue gown, her temperament cold and aloof. Her long blue hair was pinned up, making her look dignified and majestic without detracting from her beauty.