Su Chen took his first step.
His black-and-gold Holy Son Ceremonial Robe shimmered beneath the sunlight.
There were ninety-nine white jade steps in all.
He walked at an unhurried pace.
He showed not the slightest trace of stage fright.
Even with representatives of every top power on the Douluo Continent gathered below,
the gazes of hundreds of thousands of elite Spirit Hall Soul Masters formed a tangible pressure.
Ordinary children would have gone weak in the knees beneath such scrutiny.
But Su Chen's expression was as calm as still water.
The Million-Year Head Soul Bone stirred faintly.
His tangible spiritual power formed an invisible barrier around his body,
blocking every probing gaze and oppressive force from the outside.
On the right side of the viewing stands,
in the Heaven Dou Empire's delegation area,
the group was led by Prince Xue Xing of the Heaven Dou imperial family.
Two Soul Douluos of rank eighty or higher sat beside him.
Prince Xue Xing narrowed his eyes.
He watched the six-year-old boy steadily descend the steps.
A flicker of suspicion and disdain crossed his eyes.
To him, Spirit Hall's grand spectacle of naming a snot-nosed brat its Holy Son
was nothing more than a political show meant to bluff its rivals.
"Go test him,"
Prince Xue Xing sent to the old man beside him.
"Teach him a little lesson. Make Spirit Hall embarrass itself in front of everyone."
The old man gave a slight nod.
He was a high-ranking Soul Douluo in the Heaven Dou Empire's service.
His right hand, hidden beneath his robe, curled slightly.
A subtle wave of Soul Power crept soundlessly along the ground,
forming an invisible tripwire
that lashed straight toward Su Chen's descending right leg.
The technique was extremely discreet.
At this distance,
even the Titled Douluos on the high platform would have struggled to notice and stop it in time.
Su Chen's right foot hung in midair.
His spiritual senses had already locked onto the Soul Power attacking him from the shadows.
He neither dodged nor evaded.
His right foot came down heavily along its original path.
The instant his sole touched the stone step,
the terrifying physical strength of his two-thousand-jin body, reforged by the Marrow Cleansing Pill, erupted.
Boom!
An exceedingly muffled crash exploded across the steps.
The sturdy white jade stair shattered into a sprawling web of cracks.
The invisible Soul Power tripwire was crushed outright by that brute physical force,
bursting apart into a violent gust that scattered in every direction.
At the same time,
a storm suddenly surged through Su Chen's Sea of Consciousness.
A sharp mental blade followed the path of the attacking Soul Power
and viciously drove backward into the Heaven Dou elder's mind.
The old man let out a tightly stifled scream.
His face turned deathly pale in an instant.
A streak of dazzling blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
His body swayed violently in his chair,
and he nearly toppled straight off the viewing platform.
The sudden turn of events caught the attention of the surrounding powers.
"What happened?"
Prince Xue Xing cried out in alarm.
"There's something strange about him,"
the old man murmured,
his eyes wide with shock as he stared at the figure on the steps.
"His spiritual power is terrifying. He can even wound me with a counterattack. That's absolutely not the strength a six-year-old should have."
Bibi Dong on the high platform had seen everything.
A cold curve lifted the corner of her mouth.
The Heaven Dou Empire had wanted to see Spirit Hall make a fool of itself.
Instead, they had kicked an iron plate.
Su Chen's response satisfied her.
He had shown not the slightest weakness,
striking back with the most ruthless method.
Su Chen took the final step down the stone staircase.
He reached the red carpet at the center of the plaza,
standing directly before Pope Bibi Dong, seated on the high platform.
Hundreds of thousands of Spirit Hall Soul Masters straightened their backs at once.
The clashing of armor rang to the heavens.
Bibi Dong slowly rose to her feet.
She brought the scepter in her hand down hard against the ground.
Purple Soul Power spread outward like a tidal wave.
The immense pressure made every faction in the viewing stands hold its breath.
"Today,"
Bibi Dong's voice, carried by Soul Power, rang across the entire plaza.
"Spirit Hall has welcomed a new hope."
"Su Chen awakened twin supreme god-level Martial Souls and possesses innate full Soul Power at level twenty. He has won over his peers through sheer strength."
"By the authority of the Pope, I hereby proclaim Su Chen the Holy Son of Spirit Hall, effective immediately."
Innate full Soul Power at level twenty.
Twin god-level Martial Souls.
The moment those two phrases were spoken,
the envoys of the two great empires and representatives of the major sects in the viewing stands could no longer stay seated.
Many rose straight from their chairs,
their eyes filled with shock.
They had assumed Spirit Hall had merely produced a gifted genius.
They had never imagined this was a monster capable of shattering the historical records of the Douluo Continent.
Twin Martial Souls were already rare.
Add innate full Soul Power at level twenty,
and as long as he survived to maturity,
his potential would surely make him a terrifying existence surpassing even a Peerless Douluo.
The Star Luo Empire's envoy wore a face like thunder.
Prince Xue Xing of the Heaven Dou Empire felt a chill run through his entire body.
Spirit Hall was already powerful enough.
If they let this monster grow,
the two empires would have no room to resist in the future.
Bibi Dong ignored the hostile, wary gazes.
She descended from the high platform
and came before Su Chen.
A Cardinal stepped forward with a purple-gold tray.
Resting on it was the Dark Gold Crown, a symbol of the Holy Son's status.
Bibi Dong picked up the crown
and placed it on Su Chen's head herself.
"From this day forth, the Holy Son of Spirit Hall shall hold a status equal to the Pope."
Bibi Dong turned to face the hundreds of thousands of troops.
"Whoever sees the Holy Son shall regard him as they would me."
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo were the first to kneel on one knee.
"We pay our respects to Your Highness the Holy Son."
The two Titled Douluos had led the way,
and the crowd's emotions erupted in an instant.
The elders of the Elder Hall and Worship Hall bowed in greeting one after another.
Hundreds of thousands of Cardinals, Temple Knights, and ordinary Soul Masters in the plaza dropped to their knees in wave after wave.
"We pay our respects to Your Highness the Holy Son!"
The earth-shaking cry made all of Spirit City tremble.
Its roar surged straight into the heavens,
ripping the clouds above completely apart.
Su Chen stood at the center of the red carpet.
The Dark Gold Crown rested on his head.
His black brocade robe snapped in the wind.
He accepted the earth-shaking salute of hundreds of thousands.
Then he turned,
casting his gaze toward the various powers in the viewing stands.
The representatives of the Star Luo Empire and Heaven Dou Empire felt as if they sat on pins and needles.
They did not want to bow their heads to a six-year-old child.
But on Spirit Hall's home ground,
under the terrifying pressure of hundreds of thousands of Soul Masters,
they had no choice.
Prince Xue Xing clenched his teeth.
He stood with the Heaven Dou Empire's delegation
and gave Su Chen a deeply reluctant bow.
The sect masters of the Lower Four Sects left their seats outright
and bowed deeply to Su Chen.
Su Chen looked at the bowed nobles.
He said nothing.
He knew they were not convinced.
They feared Spirit Hall's power,
not Su Chen himself.
To shatter their wishful thinking once and for all,
Su Chen raised both hands.
He decided to give these outside powers a real show of force.
Buzz.
With a powerful surge of energy,
the innate full Soul Power at level twenty lying dormant within Su Chen erupted in full.
Golden light blazed in his right hand.
The Judgment Holy Sword took shape in an instant.
Blazing golden holy flames shot into the sky,
dyeing half the heavens a blinding white.
Black mist roiled in his left hand.
God-Slaying Magic Spear gathered an endless aura of destruction.
Dark red dragon-scale patterns shimmered along its shaft.
Even the light around it was forcibly devoured.
Ultimate Light and Ultimate Darkness.
Two supreme attributes, utterly opposed to each other, fused perfectly within the same person.
The terrifying pressure of his Martial Soul crashed toward the viewing stands like a colossal wave made solid.
The young disciples brought by the various sects collapsed to the ground under that pressure.
Even the Soul Saints among them felt their chests tighten.
Their Martial Souls trembled uncontrollably within them.
Prince Xue Xing's eyes widened.
Only now did he finally understand.
That Soul Douluo who'd suffered a backlash from his spiritual power earlier had lost fair and square.
This was power no human should possess.
"A Martial Soul of this quality... It completely surpasses the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon and Clear Sky Hammer."
The sect master of the White Armored Earth Dragon Sect, one of the Lower Four Sects, swallowed hard.
The awe in his eyes was impossible to hide.
Su Chen displayed his Twin Martial Souls for a full ten seconds.
He looked at the remarkable expressions on the faces of the representatives from every faction.
His goal had been achieved.
He clenched both hands.
The holy sword and magic spear simultaneously dissolved into points of light.
The suffocating pressure vanished with them.
Everyone gasped for breath.
Cold sweat had soaked through their backs.
That concluded the central part of the investiture ceremony.
Spirit Hall had successfully revealed its most terrifying trump card to the entire continent.
Bibi Dong returned to the Pope Throne.
She could find no words to praise Su Chen's performance today.
It had been perfect.
Bibi Dong gave the order.
The army began an orderly withdrawal.
The various factions in the viewing stands also hurriedly took their leave.
They had to send this terrifying news back to their empires and sects at once.
The balance of power across the Douluo Continent would be completely rewritten by the arrival of this young man.
After the ceremony ended,
Su Chen followed Bibi Dong back to the Main Hall of the Pope Palace.
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo followed close behind.
The doors of the Main Hall shut.
After sitting down, Bibi Dong looked at Su Chen.
"You made a strong impression today. Neither of the two great empires will dare make a move anytime soon."
Bibi Dong picked up the teacup on the table.
"What are your plans now? Will you continue consolidating your Soul Power at Cloud Condensing Pavilion, or study systematic theory at the Martial Soul Academy?"
Su Chen answered without hesitation.
He gave her a straightforward reply.
"Teacher, theoretical knowledge is meaningless to me. My only bottleneck now is my Soul Ring."
Su Chen looked at the two Titled Douluo standing to one side, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo.
"I want to set out immediately for the Star Dou Great Forest and obtain my First Soul Ring."
Bibi Dong furrowed her brows slightly.
"The ceremony just ended today, and you've been exerting yourself for days. Don't you need a few days' rest?"
"No. I'm in peak condition right now."
Su Chen's tone was firm.
"I said before that I would break the limit on the age of the First Soul Ring."
Hearing this,
Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan couldn't help speaking up.
"Your Highness the Holy Son, your talent may be unparalleled throughout history, but absorbing a Soul Ring beyond your rank is extremely dangerous. Though Yu Xiaogang's theories are rigid, his research into age limits is backed by a great many hard-earned lessons paid for in blood."
"Four hundred years is already the limit of an ordinary person's body. Even if your physique far surpasses that of ordinary people, the energy of a thousand-year Soul Beast could still burst the meridians of a typical Soul Elder."
Su Chen turned to look at Yue Guan.
Absolute confidence showed in his eyes.
"Elder Ju, measuring me by data on mediocrities is a waste of my talent."
"That useless man Yu Xiaogang couldn't even break through level thirty. His theories are nothing but scrap paper."
Su Chen's voice was resolute.
"My First Soul Ring must start at fifteen hundred years."
As soon as he said this,
the Main Hall fell into a long silence.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei drew in sharp breaths.
Fifteen hundred years.
That was already the standard for a normal Soul Master's Third Soul Ring.
Absorbing one two major ranks above his own—
to them, it was pure madness.
Bibi Dong set down her teacup.
She drew a deep breath.
She'd long known how reckless Su Chen was at heart.
But she had already agreed to this. There was no taking it back.
"Fine."
Bibi Dong rose abruptly.
Her gaze swept over Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo.
"You two, prepare a carriage at once and escort the Holy Son to the Star Dou Great Forest."
"Whichever Soul Beast he chooses, even if it's a ten-thousand-year one, you must help him capture it alive."
"If anything goes wrong, you'll answer with your heads."
The two Titled Douluo shuddered.
They immediately dropped to one knee.
"As you command."
The corners of Su Chen's mouth lifted slightly.
His hunt for a Soul Ring in the Star Dou Great Forest was about to begin.
He couldn't wait to see
what kind of terrifying god-level skill the system's third option
would bring him.
Before you continue