Each Harboring Ghostly Intentions

A few days later, in Martial Soul City.

Inside the Worship Hall.

The air was saturated with a violent surge of soul power, as if it could detonate at any moment.

The secret chamber deep within the Worship Hall, had become a massive, active volcano of soul power over the past few days.

If not for Qian Daoliu, a ninety-nine-level Peerless Douluo, personally intervening to seal off the space with his boundless soul power, the energy tides generated by the breakthroughs of those few titled douluo would have been enough to blow the roof off the building.

"BOOM--!"

Accompanied by a deafening roar, a brilliant beam of dark golden light suddenly pierced through the barrier set by Qian Daoliu, shooting straight into the clouds!

Inside the chamber, the bones throughout Golden Crocodile Douluo's body popped like exploding beans. The phantom of the Golden Crocodile King behind him, already immensely massive, underwent a subtle transformation. Two protrusions resembling dragon horns faintly emerged atop the crocodile's head, and its original dark gold scales hardened into what looked like tangible golden armor.

Level ninety-nine—Peerless Douluo!

Golden Crocodile Douluo snapped his eyes open, feeling the terrifying power within his body that seemed capable of tearing the very heavens apart. This iron-blooded veteran, who had lived for over a hundred years and crawled his way out of piles of corpses, found his eye sockets turning red, and tears streamed uncontrollably down his wrinkled, aged face.

"Big Brother... I've broken through! This old man actually managed to touch this realm!"

Golden Crocodile Douluo was as excited as a three-hundred-pound child, grabbing onto Qian Daoliu's thigh.

"This life was worth it. Even if you let me go and challenge that old madman Tang Chen right now, I'd dare to pluck two hairs from his beard."

"Have some dignity,"

Qian Daoliu scolded him with a laugh and kicked him, but the amusement in the corners of his eyes could not be hidden.

It wasn't just Golden Crocodile Douluo; the other titled douluo in the chamber were also glowing with health, their auras deep and vast as the sea.

The tyrannical medicinal power of the immortal herbs, combined with the solid foundations they had polished for years, had brought about an unprecedented collective surge for this group of experts.

The Third Elder, Azure Luan Douluo, saw his soul power rise steadily from level ninety-seven to the threshold of level ninety-eight, just a hair's breadth away from the Peerless Douluo realm.

The Fourth Elder, Mighty Lion Douluo, the Fifth Elder, Guangling Douluo, and the Sixth and Seventh Elders all saw their soul power levels rise without exception, with those at level ninety-six jumping straight to level ninety-seven.

In a few more years, reaching level ninety-eight would be a certainty. The comprehensive high-end combat power of the entire Elder Hall had more than doubled in just a few short days.

Watching his old brothers whose strength had skyrocketed, Qian Daoliu stood with his hands behind his back, his heart filled with immense pride.

"What Upper Three Sects, what two great empires..." Qian Daoliu let out a cold snort, his eyes flashing with sharp light.

"With this divine gift brought back by Ji'er, my Martial Soul Hall shall, from this moment on, be the absolute hegemon of this continent."

And just as the Elder Hall was filled with a fanatical atmosphere of "excessive force,"

outside Martial Soul City, the winds and clouds were similarly gathering.

For the past few days, the main highway leading to Martial Soul City had been almost completely clogged by the most luxurious carriage processions on the continent.

Qian Xunji's letter of "public tender,"

was like a piece of bloody meat thrown into a pack of starving wolves, drawing out every influential force on the continent.

The first to arrive was the wealthy and powerful Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Ning Zhen, dressed in luxurious brocade robes, brought the young Ning Fengzhi into the city with great fanfare, escorted by the sect's protector, Yuan Lie.

Inside their storage soul tool was nearly half of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's liquid capital and various resources.

For the sake of this seedling with Twin Martial Souls, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had truly emptied their coffers, leaving only enough to maintain daily necessities.

Following closely behind was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, arriving amidst a series of earth-shaking thunderclaps.

Sect Master Yu Yuanzhen, clad in purple robes, walked with the stride of a dragon and the gait of a tiger, his eyes flashing with undisguised arrogance and dominance.

As the leader of the world's number one beast martial soul clan, the moment Yu Yuanzhen received the letter, he had already viewed the genius possessing the "Twin Spider Emperors" as his own property.

His own son, Yu Xiaogang, had failed his martial soul mutation, and he needed to find a way out for his child.

If he could bring in this genius and cultivate them, it would at least guarantee the sect's prosperity for a hundred years.

"Besides my Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, who else in this world is qualified to teach a top-tier beast martial soul?

Those weaklings from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect who only know how to provide support dare to join in the fun? It's a joke."

Yu Yuanzhen sneered repeatedly at the city gate, his booming voice making the eardrums of the surrounding guards ache.

These words happened to be heard by the current Sect Master of the Clear Sky Sect, Tang Zhen, who had just stepped off his carriage. Tang Zhen snorted coldly, his hand gripping his Clear Sky Hammer tightening slightly.

"Old Dragon Yu, don't speak too soon! Twin Martial Souls go to the highest bidder; this isn't the mud in your backyard that you can shape however you please."

Currently, in the younger generation of his sect, Tang Xiao and Tang Hao were both geniuses.

If this genius from the Martial Soul Hall turned out to be a girl, it would be even better.

The air at the city gate was thick with the scent of gunpowder.

Beyond that, the emperors of the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire had also arrived one after another.

Xue Ye and Dai Tianfeng both felt their chances were slim.

However, since the Pope had extended an invitation, they had to show some respect; besides, even if they couldn't secure the prize, they could at least gather some intelligence.

The high-level combat power of the two great empires was indeed inferior to the Three Sects.

But this was a strategic-level genius capable of changing the future landscape of the continent; even if they couldn't recruit them, they absolutely could not let their rivals succeed easily.

That evening, the reception hall of the Pope Hall was brilliantly illuminated.

To demonstrate the "magnanimity" and "hospitality" of the Martial Soul Hall, Qian Xunji had specially organized a high-profile banquet, gathering these fat sheep—ahem, these distinguished guests—who had traveled from afar.

Inside the hall, the various factions toasted one another and exchanged pleasantries on the surface, but beneath the calm, undercurrents surged, and sparks seemed to fly whenever their gazes met.

Just then, the heavy bronze doors at the far end of the hall slowly swung open to both sides.

"His Holiness the Pope has arrived—"

Following the loud announcement of the cardinal, the previously boisterous hall fell instantly silent, and everyone's eyes turned in unison toward the end of the red carpet.

What came into view was Qian Xunji, clad in a papal robe embroidered with intricate, sacred patterns and trimmed in dark gold.

However, when everyone saw Qian Xunji's current appearance, all the big shots present, including Yu Yuanzhen and Ning Zhen, felt their pupils constrict sharply, their hearts filled with horror.

This... was this really Qian Xunji?

The brilliant golden hair that once symbolized the sacred bloodline of the Angel clan was gone, replaced by long, frost-white hair that draped loosely over his broad shoulders.

On that incomparably handsome face, the gentle, hypocritical smile of compassion that he once wore had vanished, replaced by a profound sense of coldness and evil charm.

What was even more terrifying was his aura.

Qian Xunji clearly had not released his Martial Soul, nor was he intentionally leaking any soul power, yet as he simply walked forward, that hidden, extreme aura of darkness and judgment felt like an invisible mountain pressing down on the hearts of everyone present.

It was the innate pressure of the Twelve-Winged Original Sin Fallen Angel Martial Soul; it was not the pressure of soul power, but the suppressive force naturally radiated by the Martial Soul itself.