Head Soul Bone

Head Soul Bone

Papal Hall.

Qian Daoliu held the Papal Scepter, clad in gleaming golden armor. His shoulder guards resembled the Six-Winged Angel, and he stood over two meters tall. Like Qian Xunji, he had gleaming golden hair.

"F-Father." Though Qian Xunji was somewhat unwilling, he had accepted his new identity during those ten days. He still had to call him Father.

"Ji'er."

Ji'er.

Qian Xunji's facial muscles twitched slightly. How had Qian Daoliu given his son a name that was nearly ten years ahead of its time?

Qian Daoliu did not get angry that Qian Xunji had disobeyed him upon leaving seclusion and had not come to see him immediately. Instead, he said gently, "Ji'er, don't become discouraged just because your father spoke a little harshly. Although your aptitude is lacking among our Angel Clan, with your talent, you can still cultivate to Rank 96 even without relying on the God Ancestor's power. Such cultivation already surpasses ninety percent of the geniuses in the outside world capable of becoming Titled Douluo."

"I understand, Father."

Qian Xunji sighed inwardly. He knew Qian Daoliu had misunderstood the Soul Power fluctuations he had released while trying to master his strength in the secret chamber over the past ten days, thinking he had been venting because he could not accept those words.

Qian Xunji guessed that part of the reason the original Qian Xunji had been so radical was probably Qian Daoliu's words.

Qian Daoliu waved his hand, and two figures suddenly appeared. Both wore golden armor and looked extremely alike—they were twins. One wore a blue headscarf and seemed steady and composed from the look of his facial muscles, while the other had a somewhat unruly expression. Before Qian Daoliu, however, he could only behave himself.

"Qian Jun, Jiang Mo, take the Young Master to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt a soul ring."

"As you command, Your Holiness the Pope." ×2

Qian Jun and Jiang Mo were twin brothers. Their cultivation was currently only Rank 91, and their spirits were Coiling Dragon Staffs. It would still be fifty years before their official appearance in the original work.

After absorbing their ninth soul rings and breaking through to the Titled Douluo realm, their spirits had unusually gained domains. Such domains unfolded when they used their ninth soul skills, doubling the skills' power. Only the most top-tier spirits had a chance of gaining them when absorbing their ninth soul rings.

After years of near-perfect coordination, the brothers' combined strength had long surpassed the sum of one plus one. With the top-tier Coiling Dragon Staff spirits, exquisite teamwork, and fusion soul skills, they could fight even a Rank 95 Titled Douluo with an equally top-tier spirit.

As the sole descendant of the Six-Winged Angel line, Qian Xunji's protection had to be handled properly. Otherwise, Qian Daoliu would have to return to his old trade.

When they reached the entrance to Pope Palace, two yellow, two purple, and three black soul rings emerged. Two pairs of wings spread from behind Qian Xunji.

The instant his spirit appeared, Qianjun Douluo, Jiangmo Douluo, and the Hall Knights before Pope Palace all dropped to one knee. Their eyes were filled with fervor as they looked at the Six-Winged Angel Spirit. The Six-Winged Angel Spirit was not only Spirit Hall's inherited spirit—it was also Spirit Hall's faith.

While everyone's attention was on the Six-Winged Angel Spirit, Qian Xunji stared rather embarrassingly at the seven monotonous soul rings. It was not that, as the protagonist, he looked down on them out of a sense of superiority. After all, protagonists who transmigrated into Douluo Continent started with cheats; at minimum, their second ring was purple, their fourth ring black, and their seventh ring red.

Rather, as the owner of a Six-Winged Angel Spirit, with Innate Soul Power above Rank 10 and every resource maxed out, these seven rings were truly too ordinary.

Even if his Spiritual Power was insufficient for a black fourth ring, shouldn't his second ring at least have been purple?

Qian Xunji sighed again and flew toward the Star Dou Great Forest, with Qian Jun and Jiang Mo following behind him.

Star Dou Great Forest.

One of the three most famous soul beast habitats on Douluo Continent, it covered an area nearly equal to the Balak Kingdom's entire territory. It spanned the borders of the Heaven Dou Empire and Star Luo Empire. Two-fifths of it lay within the Heaven Dou Empire, while the other three-fifths lay within the Star Luo Empire. It was a vast primeval forest with complex terrain, including wetlands and swamps. The soul beasts there were also exceptionally terrifying. The closer one got to the forest's center, the stronger the soul beasts became. There were even Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts within it. Any soul master, provided they were strong enough and lucky enough, could find the soul ring best suited to them there.

Upon arriving at the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, Qian Xunji, Jiang Mo, and Qian Jun landed.

No one knew how many Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, or even Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, were hidden within the Star Dou Great Forest. Once soul beasts reached ten thousand years, they basically possessed intelligence. Hundred-thousand-year soul beasts were as intelligent as humans. These soul beasts hated humans to the bone. Aside from a few with something wrong in their heads, they all wished to kill humans as quickly as possible.

Flying through the sky with the Angel Spirit's sunlight-like radiance would immediately draw a great deal of attention. If they were focused down by a beast tide of Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, even Qian Jun and Jiang Mo working together would likely find it difficult to protect Qian Xunji completely.

"Young Master, please wait here." Qianjun Douluo spoke respectfully. Seeing the teasing look on Jiangmo Douluo's face, he said sternly, "Jiang Mo, don't fool around. Protect the Young Master!"

Jiangmo Douluo waved a hand. "I know, Brother. Go and come back quickly."

As soon as he finished speaking, Qianjun Douluo turned into a streak of blue light and vanished from before Qian Xunji's eyes.

According to his memories, Qianjun Douluo should be going to find a suitable soul beast, beat it until it was barely alive, and throw it to Qian Xunji for the kill.

That was the advantage of a great clan. There was no risk in killing soul beasts to obtain soul rings; one could rely on the family elders. Every year, when soul-hunting teams entered the forest to kill soul beasts, no one knew how many would die. Sometimes, not a single person from a team survived.

An hour later, Qianjun Douluo returned carrying a soul beast more than six meters long. It was barely alive, every bone in its body shattered, beaten until it was almost unrecognizable as a beast.

Qianjun Douluo said respectfully, "Young Master, this is a sixty-five-thousand-year top-tier soul beast, best suited for your Eighth Soul Ring. Kill it and absorb it."

Qian Xunji considered it. "Elder Qianjun, find one that is seventy-five thousand years old. I'll deal with that soul beast myself."

"But Young Master, absorbing a seventy-five-thousand-year soul ring may be dangerous for you."

Qianjun Douluo spoke seriously. A soul ring of around seventy thousand years for an eighth ring was basically the limit. At most, one could add a few thousand more years. Absorbing a soul ring was a matter of life and death; there could not be the slightest carelessness. No one knew how many people had traded their lives for those figures on soul ring limits.

"I know, Elder Qianjun, but my mind is made up. If my god-grade spirit, cultivated with top-tier resources, cannot even exceed ordinary people by this little amount, then what right do I have to be Spirit Hall's Young Master?"

Qian Xunji spoke resolutely. If he succeeded in absorbing it, then everyone would be happy. If he could not, the two elders could interrupt the process. Though he would probably be crippled afterward, it would not matter much. He could simply live as a pleasure-seeking rich heir in Spirit Hall, a little Liu Shan, and make more little angels. This body's talent had not met the standard to begin with, and Qian Daoliu had not held much hope for him anyway. Qian Daoliu would surely be glad to see him work hard at expanding the Qian family line.

Seeing Qian Xunji's determined tone, Qian Jun and Jiang Mo did not know how to persuade him.

Qian Xunji condensed his Soul Power into a golden holy sword and killed the soul beast, wanting to see whether it would drop a soul bone.

This was not Qian Xunji being wasteful. On the contrary, he was not wasting anything at all. Qianjun Douluo had beaten the soul beast into this state; unless the current head of the Nine Heart Begonia Clan arrived, not even immortals could save it.

Its fate was certainly to become some soul beast's excrement. Since it would die and become excrement either way, he might as well maximize the benefits.

As the soul beast died, a pitch-black soul ring filled with dense resentment from the soul beast emerged from its corpse. At the same time, blue light flashed from its head.

Qian Xunji, Qianjun Douluo, and Jiangmo Douluo's eyes all lit up. A soul bone! And a head soul bone at that!