Ninety-Nine

Feeling the genuine killing intent, Dugu Bo broke into a cold sweat and hurriedly knelt on one knee once more.

"I would never dare! You have bestowed upon me the grace of a second life, and now you trust me so deeply. How could I, Dugu Bo, ever commit such a treacherous, ungrateful, and disloyal act?"

"You had better be right." Qian Xunji looked down at him from his superior position.

"To prevent any future trouble, I will place a mark on your granddaughter shortly. If you dare to harbor even the slightest disloyalty, or if you harbor any twisted intentions toward my son's companion, I guarantee that both you and your granddaughter will die without even a speck of ash remaining."

Dugu Bo's entire body shuddered. A flicker of struggle flashed through his eyes, but it quickly solidified into determination. "...I shall strictly obey your decree, Senior."

He knew clearly in his heart that the so-called inhuman companion was likely a hundred-thousand-year transformed soul beast. But so what? No matter how tempting a hundred-thousand-year soul ring might be, it could not compare to his own life or his granddaughter's! If he could not cure his granddaughter's poison, even ten hundred-thousand-year soul rings would be worthless to him!

Seeing that Dugu Bo had completely submitted, Qian Xunji withdrew his pressure and took him along as they left the valley.

A moment later, under Dugu Bo's complex and awe-filled gaze, Qian Xunji raised his hand and planted a hidden golden Six-Winged Angel mark between Dugu Yan's eyebrows, then transformed into a brilliant streak of light and departed...

In the dark and damp underground cavern, which never saw the light of day, only the occasional cold water dripping from the stalactites above echoed as it struck the rock floor.

Qian Xunji softened his footsteps and stopped at a dry stone platform in the deepest part of the cavern.

There, a pitch-blue spider cocoon lay silently. A faint silver light flickered across the surface of the silk from time to time, resembling the breathing of some slumbering creature.

Qian Xunji suppressed all his emotions, his eyes returning to a state of stillness like an ancient well. He walked to the other side of the cavern and set up a barrier to ensure that the coming commotion would not affect A-Dong's cocoon.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, he took out a jade box carved from cold jade from his storage ring.

Inside was a celestial herb shaped like a lotus, yet burning with a brilliant golden sacred flame—the Nine-Radiance Golden Glazed Stamen.

Qian Xunji did not hesitate in the slightest; he pulled it up by the roots and swallowed it whole.

Boom—

The moment the celestial herb hit his throat, it did not slide down his esophagus but instead transformed into a scorching stream of light, hot enough to melt refined iron. It violently smashed through his extraordinary meridians. Qian Xunji let out a muffled groan, his veins bulging all over his body, and his long golden hair danced wildly in the violent shockwaves.

He immediately sat cross-legged, desperately guarding his mind. The massive medicinal power rampaged within him, constantly tearing at the meridians that had only just healed, yet they were rapidly reconstructed by the self-healing ability of his Angel Martial Soul. With every cycle of destruction and rebirth, his meridians became wider and tougher, like tempered steel.

As the medicinal power dug deeper, the sacred phantom of the Six-Winged Angel suddenly unfolded behind Qian Xunji. However, under the infusion of that ultimate light origin, the area beneath his two shoulder blades began to bulge violently.

Crack—

The sound of bones dislocating echoed within the barrier. Qian Xunji bit his teeth together, his cold sweat instantly evaporating into white mist. He allowed the excruciating pain of his flesh being forcibly torn apart to spread behind him. Amidst a blinding interweaving of blood-red light and golden radiance, a fourth pair of flawless white wings forcibly broke through his body!

Eight-Winged Angel!

The leap in his Martial Soul origin brought about a fountain-like eruption of soul power without any bottlenecks.

Level 96 peak... Level 97... It smashed through the barriers like a hot knife through butter, finally stopping steadily at Level 98!

Feeling the unfathomable, ocean-like soul power within his body, Qian Xunji did not rush to open his eyes. Level 98 was indeed a level where one could walk sideways across the continent, but for the first trial issued by the Angel God King, it was not enough.

The requirement of the God Trial was to reach the absolute peak—a Level 99 Peerless Douluo.

The distance from 98 to 99 seemed like a single step, but it was like a natural chasm. Qian Xunji did not slacken; since the medicinal power of the Nine-Radiance Golden Glazed Stamen still remained, he would strike while the iron was hot and use this momentum to knock on the door of the limit!

Time passed unnoticed in the cave. As spring turned to autumn, Qian Xunji remained like a golden statue, his aura constantly cycling between violent turbulence and deathly stillness.

It was not until the fourth and a half year of his seclusion that his previously steady aura suddenly became violently disordered, with traces of blood even seeping from his skin. The path to challenging the limit was even more dangerous than he had imagined.

At this critical moment, Qian Xunji opened his eyes and, without hesitation, took out another celestial herb from his ring—the Great Profound Heaven-Blending Spirit Ginseng. This was a top-tier celestial herb for strengthening the foundation and nourishing the origin. It had no attribute bias; its only effect was to suppress backlash and stabilize the origin.

He bit into the spirit ginseng, and its warm, mellow medicinal power instantly transformed into countless clear streams, surging into his limbs and bones, firmly soothing and suppressing the boiling, rampaging soul power, and forcibly repairing his damaged foundation.

With the help of the Great Profound Heaven-Blending Spirit Ginseng, Qian Xunji pulled his sanity back from the brink of cultivation deviation and fell once again into a deep state of enlightenment.

Time moved on, until the fifth year and four months of his seclusion.

"Hum—"

The air in the cavern suddenly stagnated for a fleeting moment. The next second, a colorless and formless terrifying pressure erupted from the center of the cavern. Qian Xunji slowly opened his eyes.

Level 99, Peerless Douluo!

Almost at the exact moment he broke through, the golden Angel Martial Soul mark between his eyebrows suddenly grew hot, and the grand voice of the Angel God King rang out in his mind right on cue:

[Angel First Trial partially completed]

Qian Xunji let out a long breath of pale golden turbid air, stood up, and stretched his joints, which had been stiff for five and a half years.

Breaking through to Level 99 was truly not easy. He had only managed to break through by relying on the celestial herbs and his Martial Soul Evolution, yet even so, it had taken nearly six years. In the end, it was all about the accumulation of energy; wasn't the so-called cultivation infusion from the God Trial based on the same principle?

"The cultivation target for the first trial is complete. Next, it depends on Xiao San. Calculating the time, the kid should be nearly twelve this year. It's time to go see him."

Removing the barrier, Qian Xunji took one last look at A-Dong's cocoon, then his figure flickered. He instantly transformed into an imperceptible streak of light and tore through the air toward the direction of Nuoding Academy.

Behind the Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy, the night was as dark as ink.

Dugu Bo was lounging in the canopy of a towering ancient tree, bored. While munching on fruit, he used his spiritual power to keep an eye on the movements in the dormitory building not far away. For the past five and a half years, he had been dutifully performing his role as the most diligent invisible security guard in Nuoding Academy.

Suddenly, Dugu Bo's fruit-munching motion froze, and every hair on his body stood on end! He was horrified to discover that the surrounding space seemed to be completely locked by some irresistible force, and even the Red Heaven Python Emperor Martial Soul within him was trembling.

"Old Poison, thank you for your hard work."