"I, Xu Xiao!"
"I, Gui Mei!"
"I, Yue Guan!"
"Today, we willingly become sworn brothers."
"We ask not to be born in the same year, month, and day, but to die in the same year, month, and day!"
"Heaven above and earth below, bear witness!"
In the Sunset Forest, three figures knelt beneath a towering tree with a dense canopy.
A small clay statue stood before the tree. It held a Green Dragon Crescent Blade—it was Guan Gong.
Three sticks of incense burned before the statue.
The three figures bowed three times to Guan Gong.
With that, their oath was sealed. They had become sworn brothers—the first people on Douluo Continent to do so before a statue of Guan Gong.
Xu Xiao, one of the three brothers, had molded the statue himself. It was a little ugly, but it was still Guan Gong.
Swearing before anyone else had not felt right to Xu Xiao. Guan Gong put him at ease.
"Big Brother."
"Second Brother."
"Third Brother!"
"Second Brother!"
The three looked at one another and smiled.
Gui Mei approached Xu Xiao. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Big Brother, can we hunt for Soul Rings now?"
"Ever since we reached level ten three years ago, you've kept us from hunting for Soul Rings. You always say we should train our bodies a little more."
Yue Guan chimed in. "That's right, Big Brother. We've been stuck at level-ten Soul Power for over a year."
"It's time you took us to hunt for Soul Rings, isn't it?"
The two had kept those words to themselves for a long time. Now they could finally say them, and they were no longer afraid Xu Xiao would beat them for it.
Xu Xiao was not from this world. He had crossed over three years ago, awakened a Martial Soul with level-six Innate Soul Power, and reached level-ten Soul Power through cultivation.
He had held off hunting for a Soul Ring because he wanted a better one.
When he met Yue Guan and Gui Mei, Xu Xiao realized he had arrived early—many years early. Just how many, he did not know.
But arriving early had its advantages.
Xu Xiao looked at Yue Guan and Gui Mei, neither of whom had yet become a Titled Douluo, and could not stop smiling.
They were loyal bodyguards in the making. Why let Spirit Hall have them later when he could bring them over to his side now?
So Xu Xiao had become their sworn brother.
Seeing their excitement, Xu Xiao knew he had indeed delayed them for a long time.
Still, Soul Power continued to grow without a Soul Ring. That growth would show once they absorbed one.
Smiling, Xu Xiao shook his head and summoned his Martial Soul.
A spotless white pagoda appeared, giving off a faint glow, pure and noble.
"Big Brother, are you from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?" Yue Guan pursed his lips and stared at the pagoda in Xu Xiao's hand in disbelief.
As far as he knew, whose Martial Soul but someone's from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would be a pagoda that shone with such pure, noble light?
Xu Xiao waved the little white pagoda before them. "Look closely. Mine has nine floors. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda only has seven."
"Beside my Martial Soul, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda is nothing."
Xu Xiao spoke with complete confidence. Over the past three years, he had gradually come to understand his Martial Soul. Its power was beyond anything the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda could match.
"The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda?" Gui Mei blurted out in shock.
Speechless, Xu Xiao tapped Gui Mei on the head. "Does it have to be from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"
Yue Guan grinned. "Big Brother, if you were from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, we'd have someone powerful backing us, wouldn't we?"
"It might not compare to Spirit Hall or the Clear Sky Sect, but it would still give us somewhere to go," Yue Guan explained.
At present, Spirit Hall and the Clear Sky Sect were the strongest powers. Tang Chen, the mightiest on land, loomed so large that no one else could lift their heads; Qian Daoliu, lord of the skies, had a name renowned far and wide.
Anyone with a little talent was likely to join one of those two powers.
Xu Xiao was an exception. He had arrived at least several decades early, when both powers seemed to be at the height of their glory.
Later, though, some would retreat from the world and others would die. Few would meet good ends.
Even so, there was no denying that joining them now was the best choice.
But Xu Xiao's Martial Soul was too unusual for him to join any faction.
Xu Xiao said, "If my Martial Soul weren't so unusual, joining a faction would make sense. But it is."
"That's also why I've kept you two from hunting for Soul Rings."
Their interest piqued, curiosity filled both their eyes.
"Big Brother, what exactly is going on? Is your Martial Soul some incredibly powerful support type?" Yue Guan knew a little more than Gui Mei and tried to guess what Xu Xiao's Martial Soul could do.
"This little white pagoda is called the Spirit Pagoda."
"Over these past three years, I've come to understand it thoroughly."
"It has only one Soul Skill: Soul Attachment."
At that, Yue Guan cried out, "Like the Nine Heart Begonia? It can only have one Soul Skill?"
Gui Mei patted Yue Guan. "Third Brother, don't interrupt Big Brother. Let him finish."
Yue Guan and Gui Mei looked at Xu Xiao. He shook his head. "My Soul Skill lets me grant you Soul Rings!"
"What?" Both men cried out, then glanced around.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei exchanged a look. No wonder Big Brother had always stopped them from hunting for Soul Rings. He had been waiting for this.
Both immediately understood how serious this was.
"Big Brother, don't worry. From now on, this will be our greatest secret."
"Just as we swore: we ask not to be born on the same day, but to die on the same day!"
Both grew alert. If word of this Soul Skill got out, countless people would covet it.
Xu Xiao smiled. "Of course I trust you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have become your sworn brother or told you."
"Big Brother, if all it does is add Soul Rings, that wouldn't explain why you're so wary or why you take this so seriously, would it?" Yue Guan asked.
Xu Xiao nodded. "Of course not. My Soul Skill can grant you Soul Rings ten times the age of my own."
The two looked puzzled. They had not quite understood him.
Xu Xiao explained, "For example, if my First Soul Ring is four hundred years old, I can grant each of you a four-thousand-year Soul Ring."
"And it will suit your Martial Soul's attributes perfectly."
Both drew in a sharp breath. A four-thousand-year First Soul Ring! Four thousand years! Who in the world today had even a thousand-year First Soul Ring?
"B-Big Brother, can we pretend we never heard that? Your Martial Soul defies the heavens. It really does."
Yue Guan swallowed. In all his years, he had never heard of such a terrifying Martial Soul.
Hiss!
Gui Mei's heart surged too. No wonder Big Brother had always stopped them from hunting for Soul Rings. He truly had been looking out for them.
"B-Big Brother."
"Thank you, Big Brother!"
Gui Mei was not good with words, but even he could see how much Xu Xiao cared about them.
Yue Guan came to his senses and thanked Xu Xiao again and again.
Otherwise, Big Brother would have had no reason to stop them from hunting for Soul Rings.