After witnessing Yue Guan's powerful soul skill, Gui Mei began looking forward to his own first soul skill as well.
The power of a thousand-year soul skill had deeply captivated Gui Mei. Wasn't it just ninety days?
He could wait. Besides, he could cultivate during that time, so it would not delay anything.
For Gui Mei and Yue Guan now, time was the least valuable thing they had.
They could also take this time to cultivate properly and make up for the drawback that their eldest brother's soul skills could not be augmented with Soul Power.
The drawback of Soul Power had little impact in the early stages, but its effects would become apparent later on.
When others absorbed a ninety-thousand-year Soul Ring as their ninth Soul Ring, they might even rise one or two levels. Even at the Titled Douluo level, differences in rank could still be reflected in one's strength.
Who would not want a higher Soul Power Level and faster advancement?
Xu Xiao looked at his two brothers and gently patted both of them on the shoulder. "At the moment, it does seem like there isn't much time."
"But later on, it will become rather long."
Xu Xiao had thought quite far ahead. Once his strength rose, he would definitely establish a force. At that time, he would certainly need to nurture trusted subordinates and talented individuals.
If many geniuses emerged at the same time and he could not provide them with Soul Rings promptly, it would slow down their progress as well.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei exchanged a glance. Two years was not that long.
"Big Brother, two years isn't too bad, right? Why do you seem so anxious?" Gui Mei asked softly.
Yue Guan had also heard the concern in Xu Xiao's words.
Xu Xiao looked toward Spirit Hall, as though he could see the Angel Statue standing within it.
He saw the glory of the present-day Spirit Hall, unrivaled beneath heaven.
"If there were only the three of us brothers, I naturally would not worry about so much."
"But if we establish a force, there will be much more to consider."
Establish a force?
Yue Guan and Gui Mei's eyes lit up. This was good. This would definitely be good.
With their eldest brother's support, the two of them would certainly become Titled Douluo.
By then, the entire force would be ruled by the three of them. They would not need to act according to anyone else's expressions either. Good, very good.
Gui Mei said, "Big Brother, I think this force should be established."
Yue Guan said, "That's right, Big Brother. We should establish a force, but there's no need to rush right now."
"We're still young."
"There's no need to hurry over this moment."
Xu Xiao nodded as well. "I naturally know that, but we must start planning from now."
"Don't tell me you two still want to return to that school?"
As soon as those words were spoken, Gui Mei and Yue Guan's expressions darkened. Due to Xu Xiao's intrusion, the two of them had coincidentally ended up in the same school.
Both of them came from poor backgrounds. One was withdrawn, while the other was not particularly masculine. Thus, they became targets of bullying at the academy. If Xu Xiao had not stepped in to help, they did not know how much more bullying they would have endured.
Now that Xu Xiao had raised such a question, the two hesitated.
After thinking for a moment, Yue Guan said, "Big Brother, how about we join a force?"
Gui Mei continued, "That's right, Big Brother. We can join a force, and once our strength reaches a certain level, we can leave it."
Xu Xiao merely shook his head. He understood their thoughts. After being bullied for so long, anyone would want someone to rely on.
Xu Xiao smiled helplessly inwardly. If they joined a force, leaving it later would be extremely difficult.
Xu Xiao still understood the principle that an ordinary man was guilty simply for possessing a treasure.
Without absolute strength, Xu Xiao would not reveal himself so easily.
With such excellent talent, no matter which force they joined, did they think the other side would let them leave so easily? Not to mention that this was still the era of Tang Chen and Qian Daoliu.
Those people were powerhouses. They could suppress the three of them with ease.
They were nothing like those brainless rulers who came later.
The ungrateful Bibi Dong, Ning Fengzhi, whom the Angel invested in, Yu Yuanzhen, who was destroyed, and the reclusive Clear Sky Sect—if it were that era, Xu Xiao might consider it, but only consider it.
But things were different now. The world was not yet in chaos. Tang Chen had not disappeared, Qian Daoliu had not yet passed down his position, and Qian Xunji had not yet assaulted Bibi Dong in the secret chamber.
"Third Brother, once your first purple Soul Ring appears, the three of us will be hunted down. Joining any force won't help. Don't hold overly favorable thoughts toward those forces."
"Only by holding our fate in our own hands can we truly be secure."
It was not that Xu Xiao insisted on being this way, but his Martial Soul was simply too special. Even he did not dare guarantee what people's hearts would be like.
Even Qian Daoliu, who claimed to uphold morality and justice, could allow his own son to assault Bibi Dong in a secret chamber.
If Qian Daoliu was like that, how could anyone else be trusted?
Qian Daoliu was also powerful. What if he suppressed Xu Xiao, forced him to become a breeding stud, continuously bestow Soul Rings upon Spirit Hall, and imprisoned him?
Xu Xiao did not dare gamble on it. He preferred freedom and did not like being restrained.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei did not yet have such complicated thoughts and had not considered so much. But after Xu Xiao explained it, they quickly understood.
"Big Brother, tell us what we should do now. We'll follow you in everything."
Gui Mei did not want to rack his brains anymore. It was better to leave such matters to his eldest brother.
Yue Guan nodded repeatedly and gently stroked the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum in his hand.
"Find a treasured place, one hidden enough for us to establish a force there." Xu Xiao spoke softly, his gaze turning toward Sunset Forest.
Surely no one had discovered that place yet. Even Dugu Bo's whereabouts were unknown at present.
Since he had arrived early, he should take what needed taking. Rather than let enemies benefit from it, he might as well enrich himself.
"Big Brother, if there were such a treasured place, those forces would have seized it long ago. How could it possibly be our turn?" Yue Guan patted the chrysanthemum in his hand, feeling that it was rather unlikely.
But Xu Xiao's expression was different. He was extremely confident. No one would discover that place now. It was waiting for him.
"Third Brother, I guarantee you'll like that treasured place very much."
Xu Xiao smiled as he watched Yue Guan cherish his Martial Soul.
Perhaps because of his Martial Soul, Yue Guan was especially fond of flowers and plants. This also made him seem less masculine, and even his speech carried a somewhat soft tone.
That was also why he had been bullied at school.
Xu Xiao could tell that he liked flowers and plants. That place would definitely suit Yue Guan's tastes.
Xu Xiao still did not know whether Yue Guan understood Immortal Herbs at this time.
He remembered that Chrysanthemum Douluo in the original story knew about Immortal Herbs.
Now that the timeline had been disrupted, everything was unknown.
Based on what Xu Xiao had learned about Yue Guan over the past three years, he had not noticed any sign that Yue Guan knew about Immortal Herbs.
Still, with a probing mindset, Xu Xiao asked, "Third Brother, do you know Immortal Herbs?"