Four Years

Time flowed on, and in the blink of an eye, it was gone.

Four years had passed before anyone noticed. In that time, Qin Tian had turned twelve and grown to a height of 1.9 meters.

His strength had also increased tremendously. He had grown from a level 45 Soul Ancestor to a level 59 Soul King, just one level away from becoming a Soul Emperor.

His fifth Soul Ring came from the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, and its age was as high as 55,000 years.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger was a super Soul Beast. It was said to have been born when the power of the God of Evil descended upon a White Tiger and mutated it.

It was a full eight meters long, its entire body pitch-black with not a single speck of another color. Its most unusual feature was its tail. Compared to ordinary tiger-type Soul Beasts, its tail was much longer and stood upright, made up of countless joints. At the very tip was a huge hook that shimmered with a sinister light.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger possessed six attributes: evil, time, space, lightning, wind, and strength.

None of these six attributes was ordinary. Qin Tian had chosen the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger as the source of his fifth Soul Ring because he coveted its six attributes.

Though the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's attributes were unrelated to those of his Martial Soul, the Holy Light Tiger King, he had insisted on making it his fifth Soul Ring despite the opposition. He wanted to gain its power, and also to confirm something.

At the time, Qian Daoliu, Golden Crocodile Douluo, and the other priests had all opposed him. If Qin Tian hadn't stood firm, then...

Six of the Worship Hall's seven priests had set out to hunt the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger. They searched the Star Dou Great Forest for more than a month.

Fortunately, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's Soul Ring hadn't disappointed him, and the Soul Skill it provided was extremely powerful.

Dark Demon Evil Thunder. It combined the power of evil with the power of thunder, making it an exceptionally powerful offensive Soul Skill.

And that wasn't all. The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger had also given him two External Soul Bones.

They were the Evil God Hook and the Evil God Wings. Both External Soul Bones possessed extraordinary Soul Skills, greatly increasing his strength.

Over these four years, Qin Tian's strength hadn't been the only thing to improve by leaps and bounds. Tian Yao, Qian Han, and the others had all made considerable progress as well.

Tian Yao, fourteen years old. Martial Soul: Golden Crocodile Dragon. Level 48 Soul Ancestor. Soul Rings: one yellow, two purple, and one black.

Qian Han, fourteen years old. Martial Soul: Azure Luan. Level 48 Soul Ancestor. Soul Rings: one yellow, two purple, and one black.

Xiong Sheng, thirteen years old. Martial Soul: Golden Flame Mad Lion. Level 47 Soul Ancestor. Soul Rings: one yellow, two purple, and one black.

Guang Yu, thirteen years old. Martial Soul: Ice Extreme Divine Art. Level 47 Soul Ancestor. Soul Rings: one yellow, two purple, and one black.

Qian Chengfen, thirteen years old. Martial Soul: Coiling Dragon Staff. Level 47 Soul Ancestor. Soul Rings: one yellow, two purple, and one black.

Qian Chengyun, thirteen years old. Martial Soul: Coiling Dragon Staff. Level 47 Soul Ancestor. Soul Rings: one yellow, two purple, and one black.

That was what four years of effort had brought them. Every member of his squad had reached the upper ranks of the Soul Ancestor level, and none was far from becoming a Soul King.

With the Worship Hall pouring so many resources into them, it would have been hard not to improve.

Over the past four years, Qin Tian and the others had been through a lot. First, they joined the Angel Legion and hunted Fallen Ones across the continent, living on the edge of life and death and growing amid blood and fire.

After a year of training with the Angel Legion, the seven were sent to the Extreme North under Qian Daoliu's arrangement, where they tempered their will.

Afterward, Qian Daoliu arranged for them to return to Spirit City and focus on cultivation.

Over those four years, Qin Tian had created a cultivation method of his own, which he named the White Tiger Roaring Heaven Art.

It wasn't a meditation method. Instead, it circulated Soul Power through the body, sending it through the extraordinary and standard meridians to form a Macrocosmic Orbit that cycled endlessly.

Cultivating with the White Tiger Roaring Heaven Art had further refined his Soul Power. Its purity now far surpassed that of others at the same level.

Qin Tian hadn't merely created the White Tiger Roaring Heaven Art. He had also developed several Soul Skills.

Some were offensive, some defensive, and others focused on movement.

His control over Soul Power had also reached an astonishing level.

He had even created a halberd art based on his Second Martial Soul, the Qingtian War Halberd, and named it the Seven Styles of the Azure Dragon.

That day, Qin Tian toyed with the bead in his hand, gazing into the distance as he silently counted the days.

The bead he held wasn't an ordinary one, but the Evil God Bead.

He had obtained the Evil God Bead after killing the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.

Qin Tian clearly remembered the theory he'd heard before transmigrating: the Evil God Bead was one of the ways the Evil God King could initiate his inheritance.

By refining the Evil God Bead, one could obtain the Evil God King's inheritance.

But Qin Tian hadn't refined it right away. The bead contained an immense amount of Evil Power, and he hesitated.

His Martial Soul was the Holy Light Tiger King, with the attributes of holiness and light—opposites to the Evil Power in the bead. If he refined it directly, would it...

He had no idea that the moment he killed the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger and obtained the Evil God Bead, he had attracted the attention of the Evil God King in the Divine Realm.

The Evil God King had yet to bestow a God Trial for two reasons: Qin Tian's strength, and the fact that the Evil God King was still observing him.

"Young Master Tian, a secret message has arrived from Nuoding City."

At the guard's words, Qin Tian came back to himself. He took the secret message the guard offered, then waved for him to leave.

Once the guard had disappeared, Qin Tian used a special method to remove the Soul Power sealing the message. He opened it and glanced over its contents. A cold smile touched his lips, and a chill glinted in his eyes.

"Nuoding City, Holy Soul Village, Tang San, Martial Soul: Blue Silver Grass, Innate Full Soul Power."

That was all the message contained.

"Whew!"

"Everything is beginning."

Qin Tian looked up at the sky and murmured softly.

"Are you really Asura's pawn? Or are you the chosen one of this world?"

With that, Soul Power surged in Qin Tian's hand, reducing the secret message to dust.

"Brother Tian!"

"Brother Tian!"

Tian Yao, Qian Han, and the others entered Qin Tian's courtyard, carrying various kinds of food.

Qin Tian glanced at the six of them and smiled.

"You're all here. Sit wherever you like."

He went to the table and sat down. Tian Yao and the others were just as casual, setting the boxes they carried on the table.

"Brother Tian, when does our next training plan start?"

"Yeah, Brother Tian. It's been two years of fighting the priest grandpas every day. I don't want to keep getting beaten up."

As Qin Tian listened, his gaze passed over each of their faces. Then he spoke in a low voice.

"You've all made plenty of progress over these two years of dedicated cultivation. From now on, I'll be making our training plans."

"Our teacher and the grandpas won't be arranging them for us anymore."

"None of us is weak. We're all upper-level Soul Ancestors now. The seven of us working together could kill even a high-level Soul Emperor. We could even take on a low-level Soul Saint."

"From now on, we'll officially travel the continent, fighting Soul Masters of all kinds. We'll improve our combat strength and broaden our horizons, learning more about the world as we go."

Tian Yao and the others exchanged glances, then nodded firmly.

"Brother Tian, I'm in!"

"Brother Tian, I agree!"

"Brother Tian, I'll follow your lead."

"Brother Tian, when do we leave?"

Excitement shone on all six of their faces. Their journey across the continent would be their chance to make a name for themselves.