A Strange Battle: How Can a Ring Explosion Last Three Days?

Pope Hall, Pope's bedchamber.

A young man with golden hair, wearing a white robe and bearing a seven-to-eight-part resemblance to Qian Daoliu, leaned against the bed. The young man's face was deathly pale, and his chest was visibly sunken.

This young man was none other than Qian Xunji, nicknamed Ji'er.

Standing before Qian Xunji were two women, one older and one younger. The older one had long purple hair, appeared to be in her mid-twenties, and wore a pale purple dress. Her features were near-perfect, her skin as fair as snow.

Every movement and smile of hers was heart-stirring and breathtaking, though a closer look revealed a hint of artificiality in her expression.

The other was a young girl dressed in an archaic palace gown. She had a delicate, slightly chubby face, thin lips, arched willow-leaf brows, and a pair of clear, limpid azure eyes that seemed capable of speech. Her skin was fairer than snow, and her golden hair was tied into a single braid hanging down her back.

Although there was still a touch of childishness in her features, one could easily imagine that this girl would grow up to be a great beauty, no less stunning than the woman beside her.

These two were Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue.

"Teacher, it is time for your medicine."

With a gentle smile on her face, Bibi Dong picked up the bowl of medicinal soup, blew on it, and held it to Qian Xunji's lips.

Qian Xunji was filled with joy as he drank the medicine, saying, "Good disciple, go and cultivate. Your cultivation is what matters most; leave these chores to the maids."

Bibi Dong said softly, "Teacher, let me do it. Your injuries are severe. You are the Pope of our Martial Soul Hall; we cannot afford any mishaps."

Qian Xunji sighed, "Disciple, it is all because my strength was insufficient. I lost to Tang Hao and failed to bring back that Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form to serve as your ninth soul ring."

Is that really just a lack of strength? You are nothing but a weakling. You led two Title Douluo and so many Martial Soul Hall elites, only to be hammered into the ground by Tang Hao, who had just broken through to the Title Douluo realm.

A flash of mockery and disdain crossed the depths of Bibi Dong's eyes, yet her voice remained incredibly gentle and sweet, "Teacher, it does not matter. There is more than one Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. The Star Dou Great Forest still exists; if this one is gone, we shall simply find another."

"Once I break through to the Title Douluo realm and cultivate with focus, I will surely avenge your injuries against Tang Hao."

"Me too, Papa."

Qian Renxue chimed in immediately.

Qian Xunji smiled kindly and ruffled Qian Renxue's hair, "Xiao Xue's talent far surpasses Papa's. You are the first person in our Angel Clan in ten thousand years to possess Innate Full Soul Power of level twenty. You will certainly surpass Papa in the future."

At this moment, Qian Daoliu walked in. His gaze swept over Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue before settling on Qian Xunji.

"Grandfather."

"Father."

"Great Elder."

Qian Daoliu felt a bit of internal discomfort at suddenly becoming a father and grandfather, given his seniority, but Qian Xunji would eventually have to offer himself as a sacrifice. A Limit Douluo in the first era had a lifespan of a thousand years, and with his body tempered by divine power, he was still young and powerful, which lessened the sting.

"Xiao Xue, Bibi Dong, you two may leave first. I have some matters to discuss with the Pope."

Bibi Dong performed the junior's farewell gesture to her elder once more and left the bedchamber with Qian Renxue.

Outside the bedchamber.

"Mama."

Qian Renxue asked cautiously.

Bibi Dong suppressed the extreme disgust in her heart, looked at Qian Renxue, and asked, "What is it, Xiao Xue?"

Qian Renxue asked with a mix of anticipation and nervousness, "Mama, I want you to play with me."

Must play the part to the end. Bibi Dong crouched down and patted Qian Renxue's head, "Xiao Xue, you just told Papa that you would work hard to cultivate and avenge him against Tang Hao, so why do you want to play now? Go and cultivate properly; once you break through, Mama will play with you, alright?"

"Alright," Qian Renxue replied obediently.

Her acting is truly mediocre, stiff in every way. It's only enough to fool this pair of father and daughter.

Qian Daoliu used his spiritual power to observe Bibi Dong's performance and gave his own assessment.

His gaze returned to Qian Xunji, a hint of dark humor flashing in his eyes as he spoke, "Little Ji'er."

Qian Xunji's mouth twitched slightly, "Father, you can just call me Ji'er. Could you please stop adding the 'Little'? I am not little anymore."

Qian Daoliu looked utterly ashamed, "You are a level 95 Title Douluo, leading two other level 95 Title Douluo and a large group of Martial Soul Hall soul masters, and you couldn't even defeat Tang Hao, who had just broken through to the Title Douluo realm. You have brought shame upon Martial Soul Hall and the Angel Clan."

"I will drop the 'Little' only when you have regained our honor."

Qian Xunji looked helpless, "Father, you don't understand. Tang Hao is simply a freak. The power of his Ring Detonation lasted for three full days. For those three days, it was as if his soul power was infinite, while the soul power of the two elders and myself was constantly drained. Our strength kept dwindling until we were finally defeated by Tang Hao's hammer."

Qian Xunji was filled with confusion and misery, unable to understand why Tang Hao was so fierce. Had he improved the Great Sumeru Hammer's Ring Detonation technique, or had that Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, upon sacrificing herself, also gifted her hundred-thousand-year mana bar to Tang Hao?

Otherwise, the combined soul power of three level 95 Title Douluo and a large group of Martial Soul Hall soul masters should have exhausted Tang Hao to death.

Qian Daoliu frowned, "Is this true?"

"It is the absolute truth, Father. How would I dare lie to you?" Qian Xunji replied hastily. Even if he were to lie, he wouldn't choose such an absurd story.

Everything Tang Hao knew, Tang Chen also knew, and Tang Chen had fought his father countless times. His father knew Tang Chen as well as he knew Tang Hao.

Qian Daoliu's eyes narrowed. If what Qian Xunji said was true, then this battle was indeed suspicious.

According to the content of the two conversations between Tang Hao and Tang San, Tang Hao had fought the three of them for three days and three nights, using Ring Detonation to severely injure Qian Xunji.

As a divine technique, Ring Detonation provided a massive boost to combat power once unleashed. It could be said that a Tang Hao using Ring Detonation, if he detonated enough rings, could completely crush a Tang Hao who wasn't using it in a head-on collision.

With his wife having just sacrificed herself and died, Tang Hao would surely have been completely crazed, desperate to kill Qian Xunji for revenge. He would have used every means at his disposal, detonating rings frantically and outputting power like a madman. It was impossible for him to calmly analyze the battle, exhaust most of his soul power, and then turn the tide with a final detonation.

If Tang Hao could remain that calm while fighting, it could only mean that he didn't love the Blue Silver Emperor at all, or at least, not very much.

Following this logic, Tang Hao did indeed detonate his rings for three days.

But then another question arose: how could Ring Detonation last for three days?

Ring Detonation was equivalent to shattering a soul ring, releasing all the soul power contained within it to attach to the martial soul, and once used, it was gone. It was an extreme move with high burst and high consumption.

In the midst of an all-out battle, the soul power of a single ring lasting for one minute would be impressive. Tang Hao certainly wouldn't have detonated them one by one; after all, the power of a hundred-year soul ring detonation would surely not exceed a ten-thousand-year soul skill. One might ask, could a Soul Grand Master's self-detonation kill a Soul King?