Spirit City, Pope's Palace.
By the time Qian Anci landed, it was already noon.
He withdrew his martial soul, straightened his robes, and headed for the Worship Hall.
He walked at an unhurried pace the whole way.
The Spirit Hall members he passed bowed respectfully.
Qian Anci quite enjoyed the feeling. In his previous life, he'd been worked like an ox and a horse. If he still couldn't stand above everyone but one after transmigrating, then what was the point of transmigrating?
Inside the Worship Hall, Qian Daoliu stood before the window with his hands clasped behind his back.
He didn't turn around, but his voice carried clearly to Qian Anci.
"You're back?"
"Yes."
Qian Anci dropped to one knee and bowed respectfully.
"Your grandson has broken through to level forty and successfully obtained his fourth Soul Ring. The Fallen Soul Master group has been completely wiped out, and their leader, a Soul Saint, is confirmed dead."
Qian Daoliu turned around and looked him over.
"Level forty-five?"
"Yes."
Qian Daoliu fell silent for a moment.
"You were only level thirty-nine before you left. In half a month, you jumped all the way to level forty-five?"
His voice was calm, but he looked somewhat dazed.
"Anci, don't you think you owe your grandfather an explanation?"
Qian Anci lifted his head and met those golden eyes.
"Your grandson ran into Poison Douluo Dugu Bo in Sunset Forest."
Qian Daoliu raised an eyebrow.
"Dugu Bo? That old venomous snake?"
"Yes."
Qian Anci rose to his feet, his tone even.
"Your grandson made a deal with him."
"What deal?"
"Your grandson helped suppress the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison in his body and also cured his granddaughter's poison. In exchange, that blessed land belongs to your grandson from now on."
Qian Daoliu froze for a moment.
"The Ice Fire Yin Yang Well?"
"The place where the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King fell lies deep in Sunset Forest, surrounded by poisonous miasma that keeps outsiders away."
Qian Anci paused.
"Dugu Bo occupied that place for years and used the Ice Fire Yin Yang Well's unique environment to grow many Immortal Herbs."
Qian Daoliu's gaze grew complicated.
"You used his Ice Fire Yin Yang Well, and went from level forty to level forty-five?"
"Yes. At the bottom of the spring, your grandson found the remains of the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King."
Qian Anci lowered his eyes.
"Your grandson's Second Martial Soul... is connected to the Dragon Clan. The residual power within those two dragon skeletons was completely absorbed by my martial soul."
He raised his right hand, and the Scythe of Death coalesced in his palm.
Four Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet.
Purple, black, black, and a half-red, half-blue Dual-Colored Soul Ring.
Qian Daoliu's pupils contracted sharply.
He stared at the Soul Ring woven from red and blue, saying nothing for a long while.
"This is..."
"It was formed from the Origin Essence of the Ice Fire Dragon Kings."
Qian Anci tightened his grip on the scythe, his expression calm.
"My fourth Soul Ring."
Qian Daoliu drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out.
"What about the Soul Rings for your Second Martial Soul?"
Qian Anci had known all along that Qian Daoliu would question him as soon as he returned, so he hadn't tried to hide anything.
He'd only concealed Castorice's existence.
"My Second Martial Soul is rather special. Whenever my First Martial Soul absorbs a Soul Ring, my Second Martial Soul automatically condenses one as well."
At a thought, the Shadow of Pollux appeared behind him.
The gray-white Death Dragon crouched on the ground, its bone wings folded. Faint ice-blue and scarlet patterns shimmered across its body.
"Fourth Soul Skill: Dragon Transformation: Ice and Fire Dual Form."
Qian Anci's voice remained calm.
"The Bone Dragon's breath can switch between ice and fire attributes. Used alongside my First Martial Soul, it doubles the power."
The Worship Hall remained silent for a long time.
Qian Daoliu stared blankly at that oddly colored Soul Ring. He seemed lost in thought, but his mind had already wandered far away.
Automatically condensing Soul Rings? How did that not sound like a God-Bestowed Soul Ring? But in a Divine Inheritance, a god only bestowed one after the heir passed the trials.
After a long while, he suddenly smiled, finally at peace.
He'd been right to take this kid in all those years ago!
My grandson Anci has the makings of a god.
"Anci, you've brought your grandfather far too many surprises on this trip."
He stepped forward and placed a firm hand on Qian Anci's shoulder.
"Go get some rest. Tomorrow, your grandfather has something to discuss with you."
Qian Anci bowed respectfully and left the Worship Hall.
As he stepped outside, he happened upon a golden figure.
Qian Renxue leaned against a pillar in the corridor, her white dress immaculate, her golden hair burning like flames in the afternoon sun.
She didn't look at him, gazing instead at the distant dome of the Pope's Palace.
"You're back?"
Her voice was very soft, almost as if she were talking to herself.
"I'm back."
Qian Anci went to stand beside her, and together they looked toward the dome.
Qian Renxue was silent for a while, then suddenly spoke.
"You finally decided to come back?"
"I finished the mission, then took the opportunity to get my fourth Soul Ring, so it took a little longer."
"You're already level forty-one?"
Qian Renxue finally turned her head, her golden eyes sweeping over him.
Her gaze landed on the Red and Blue Dragon Mark at his brow, which had yet to fade completely, and paused.
"Your forehead..."
"It's an effect of my fourth Soul Ring. It's nothing to worry about."
Qian Anci raised a hand and touched his brow.
The dragon mark had faded until it was almost invisible after his return to Spirit City, but Qian Renxue had a sharp eye.
"What kind of Soul Ring has an effect like that?"
Qian Renxue furrowed her brows.
"What Soul Beast did you hunt?"
Qian Anci fell silent for a moment.
He didn't hide it from her.
"Not a Soul Beast. The remains of the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King."
Qian Renxue's golden eyes widened slightly.
"The Ice Dragon King? The Fire Dragon King?"
"Two Ancient Giant Dragons that fell deep in Sunset Forest. I borrowed Dugu Bo's Ice Fire Yin Yang Well and absorbed the residual Origin Essence in their dragon bones."
Qian Renxue stared at him for a long time, her gaze complicated.
"You're always doing things that could get you killed."
"Fortune favors the bold."
"And did you find fortune?"
Qian Anci raised his right hand, and the Scythe of Death coalesced in his palm.
Four Soul Rings rose slowly.
When the half-red, half-blue Dual-Colored Soul Ring appeared, Qian Renxue's breathing visibly caught.
"That's your fourth Soul Ring?"
"Mm."
Qian Renxue fell silent.
She was also a three-ring Soul Elder, with the Six-Winged Angel martial soul and innate level-twenty full Soul Power.
Across the whole continent, she had almost no rivals among her peers.
But as she looked at the Dual-Colored Soul Ring behind Qian Anci, she suddenly felt that her younger brother had already pulled ahead of her.
"Big Sister?"
Seeing her lost in thought, Qian Anci called to her softly.
Qian Renxue came back to herself and turned her face away.
"It's nothing."
She paused, then added,
"Just... I'm glad you're all right."
Qian Anci laughed and withdrew his martial soul.
"Were you worried about me, Big Sister?"
"Who was worried about you?"
Qian Renxue folded her arms and leaned against the pillar, chin lifted slightly.
"I just... don't want you dying. Then I'd have no one to cultivate with."
Qian Anci saw the faint blush at the tips of her ears but didn't call attention to it.
"Then I'll make sure to stay alive."
Qian Renxue gave a soft snort and said nothing.
They stood side by side beneath the corridor, gazing at the distant dome of the Pope's Palace.
The sunlight stretched their two shadows long.
"Anci."
Qian Renxue suddenly spoke, her voice a little lower than before.
"Mm?"
"Do you know about the Clear Sky Sect?"
Qian Anci glanced at her.
"Of course."
"The Clear Sky Hammer is known as the greatest weapon martial soul, and the Clear Sky Sect is called the greatest sect under heaven. Its previous leader, Tang Chen, was a Level 99 Limit Douluo, equal in fame to Grandfather."
"More or less. You've been away from Spirit Hall, so you don't know that my father took people to hunt down Tang Hao."
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