They Were Only a Few Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Rings

"Bzzzz—"

The space inside the entire chamber twisted violently as Fallen Angel Soul Power surged wildly.

Qian Xunji closed his eyes. The original color faded, and a heart-stirring crimson began to spread across his Spirit Rings.

After just the time it took an incense stick to burn,

Qian Xunji suddenly opened his eyes, and twelve dark-golden, black-feathered wings burst open behind him.

Four black, five red!

Five full Hundred Thousand Year red Spirit Rings slowly pulsed beneath his feet, illuminating the entire chamber until it resembled the depths of hell.

Rank 95!

"Fantastic!"

Qian Xunji couldn't help letting out a long roar.

But immediately afterward, as he looked at the five Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Rings beneath his feet, his brows gradually furrowed.

Normally, a Titled Douluo who replaced four Spirit Rings with Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Rings would gain at least five ranks in Soul Power. But the quality of this Fallen Angel was simply too high, and the energy it needed was a bottomless pit...

And every Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Ring inevitably came with two Soul Skills.

He'd already had a ninth Spirit Ring, and now his first, second, third, and fourth Spirit Rings had all been upgraded to Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Rings. That meant he'd gained eight additional Hundred Thousand Year Soul Skills out of thin air! And that was on top of the abilities from his Spirit Bones...

"That adds up to more than a dozen skills."

Qian Xunji rubbed his brow.

"It's too chaotic, too cluttered. Having too many skills not only wastes Soul Power, it also makes you hesitate when you need to react on the spot."

"System, is there a way to fuse these eight new Soul Skills for me?"

[Host's request detected. The 'Origin Soul Skill Furnace' function is now active.]

[The host may spend 5,000 Subversion Points to reforge the eight newly generated Hundred Thousand Year Soul Skills, fusing them into four Soul Skills that perfectly match the host's Martial Soul traits. Activate?]

"There's actually something this good? Activate it. Right now!" Qian Xunji's eyes lit up. Five thousand points for four top-tier Soul Skills tailored just for him—this was an absolute bargain.

[5,000 Subversion Points deducted. Host's current balance: 12,000 Subversion Points. Furnace activated.]

In an instant, the four newly upgraded red Spirit Rings beneath Qian Xunji's feet lit up.

Who knew how long had passed before the soul furnace within the Sea of Consciousness suddenly erupted. Four dark-golden runes were deeply branded into the depths of his soul.

[Soul Skill fusion and reconstruction complete. Congratulations, host! You have obtained four Original Sin Soul Skills+]

Qian Xunji's eyes snapped open. He lightly swiped a finger through the air, and four skill panels appeared before him.

First Soul Skill: [Envy: Void Leap]

Effect: Ignores any spatial seal or restraint below God Level. As long as the host can see a location or cover it with his spiritual power, he can instantly leap there.

The instant he arrives, he also inflicts unavoidable "spatial rending" damage on enemies within ten meters.

(Wherever you are, I envy you for being there, so I'll take your place.)

Second Soul Skill: [Sloth: Wall of Sighs]

Effect: Upon activation, a wall of sighs formed from the power of absolute depravity condenses in front of the host.

Any energy attack, physical attack, or mental assault that touches the wall of sighs is forcibly imbued with the attribute of "sloth," instantly reducing its power by 70% and slowing it down.

(Even your attacks have grown lazy. How could they possibly hurt me?)

Third Soul Skill: [Pride: Original Sin Demon Sword]

Effect: A weapon-summoning Soul Skill. Draw a gigantic, dark-golden sword shaped like an inverted cross from the void. While wielding the demon sword, all the host's attacks gain "armor piercing" and "true soul damage."

After ascending to godhood, it can be solidified into an artifact.

(Pride looks down on all living things; with a single sword, it passes judgment on the world!)

Fourth Soul Skill: [Wrath: World-Extinguishing Light]

Effect: Purely offensive. Gather all the ultimate darkness and power of judgment in the host's body into a single point, then unleash it from his eyes as a beam of light that cannot be dodged or blocked.

Its power is sufficient to instantly pierce any defensive barrier of the same rank.

(Fury consumes me!)

[If the host later reaches God Level, the above Soul Skills can also affect gods.]

Looking at these four god-tier skills, he finally couldn't hold back and burst into wild laughter inside the chamber.

"Ke ke ke..."

Teleport right into their faces, absolute defense, a signature weapon, and long-range lock-on—on top of his disgustingly overpowered [Original Sin Thorn Crown] damage-reflecting passive, plus a second form that could switch at any moment into a holy "righteous and radiant" divine skin...

I was invincible!

Qian Xunji slowly rose to his feet and clenched his right hand in the air.

"Clang—"

A dark-golden [Original Sin Demon Sword], its hilt shaped like an inverted cross and its blade engraved with intricate depraved divine runes, appeared in his palm in an instant.

Qian Xunji wiped down the demon sword. His long, snow-white hair whipped wildly in the surging Soul Power, and undisguised killing intent shone in his dark-purple eyes.

"No, this leveling speed is way too much of a joyride."

Qian Xunji clenched his fist, his brows creasing slightly.

Although he'd reached Rank 95, he could clearly feel that the Soul Power inside him was like water just brought to a boil—surging and turbulent, yet carrying a restlessness he couldn't fully control.

The system had forcibly raised the ages of his Spirit Rings. Though it came with no side effects, his body and spiritual power still needed time to adapt to this sudden, massive influx of strength.

If the foundation wasn't solid, no matter how high you built the house, it would still be a dangerous structure.

Since he knew his cultivation was unstable, he would never go swaggering around the continent in a half-baked state.

"Seclusion. I'll temper my foundation!"

Qian Xunji slapped his thigh, sat cross-legged on the Cold Jade Bed again, and completely calmed his mind, beginning a long and tedious period of consolidating his cultivation.

There were no years in the mountains, and a thousand years passed in the world—or so the saying went. Of course, for Soul Masters, it wasn't quite that exaggerated.

Spring turned to autumn. For a full year, the door to this chamber in the deepest part of Pope Hall never opened even a crack.

Until one morning, a year later.

Rumble—

As the gears of the mechanism meshed, the heavy Dragon-Severing Stone slowly rose. An inward, unfathomable aura, like a spring breeze bringing rain, drifted serenely out of the chamber.

Qian Xunji stretched and strode out of the chamber with a swagger.

After a full year of relentless tempering and training, the Soul Power inside him—once restless and unstable from rising several ranks at once—had been completely tamed. Now, he controlled it as easily as moving his own limbs.

His Rank 95 peak cultivation was as steady as a rock. He was even absolutely confident that within six months at most, he could enter the realm of a Rank 96 Super Douluo without the slightest hindrance!

"Damn, I was suffocating in there. A life of asceticism like that is no way for a person to live."

Qian Xunji breathed in the fresh air outside. Even the birdsong in Spirit City sounded so pleasant. Just as he was about to head to the Side Hall to take a bath and change his clothes, a Red-Robed Cardinal on duty at the outer perimeter hurried over to him.

"Reporting to you, Your Holiness the Pope. You've finally emerged from seclusion." The Red-Robed Cardinal dropped to one knee, his expression carrying a hint of anxiety and something strange.

"What happened? If the sky falls, the Grand Pontiff will hold it up. What are you panicking for?" Qian Xunji nonchalantly straightened his cuff.

"Your Holiness, it's not the sky falling... It's the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's patriarch, Yu Yuanzhen. He's brought his son, Yu Xiaogang, and has been waiting outside Pope Hall for you for half a month."