Titled Douluo

After Xue Hen obtained his first Soul Ring, the images on the Sky Screen began changing noticeably faster.

He traveled from place to place, training, battling mercenaries and Soul Beasts... Then he hunted another Soul Beast and obtained another Soul Ring.

The second Soul Ring he added to the Sword Martial Soul in his hand came from the Eight-Spear Spider Emperor, a Soul Beast with over seven hundred years of cultivation. The Soul Skill he gained was called Eight-Direction Sword Lock.

Its effect was to release eight streams of sword energy that sealed off the space and restricted the enemy's movements. The sword energy could be detonated at any time.

Next, using the Gold Soul Coins he earned from selling Soul Beast corpses, he bought false identification papers from an official at a Martial Soul Branch Hall. He renamed himself Jian Hen, named his Martial Soul the Imperial Power Sword, registered as a Soul Master at Spirit Hall, and began receiving Soul Master subsidies.

After that, under the name Jian Hen, he signed up for Soul Fighting and continued challenging Soul Masters from all walks of life. The sun rose and set, and the years passed in a flash.

Ten years after his Martial Soul Awakening.

A line of text appeared on the Sky Screen.

Then.

[On a Soul Fighting platform, a man wearing a silver mask swept his longsword through the air. Sword energy crisscrossed the arena, and in an instant, the defense of the Black Tortoise Soul Master opposite him was shattered. The man was sent flying off the platform.

He had grown much taller than he'd been as a boy, but countless spectators in the real world still recognized him.

He—was Xue Hen!

A line of small text appeared beside him: Level 73 Power Attack System Battle Soul Saint, Xue Hen.]

Across the continent, the real world fell into an unspoken silence.

Then a string of cries of disbelief rang out in one place after another.

"Holy crap, level 73?!"

"This... how is that possible?" Before Pope's Palace, Bibi Dong's eyes widened. The hand gripping her scepter trembled slightly.

It wasn't fear, but shock.

A level 73 Soul Saint at sixteen... This kid was far too monstrous!

"We absolutely cannot let him keep growing. He must join Spirit Hall. Otherwise... he can only die!" Bibi Dong said coldly.

Shrek Academy.

Yu Xiaogang, who had still been hoping to take Xue Hen as his disciple, was now at a loss for words.

His own disciple, Tang San, was about to turn thirteen and was still only a level 29 Soul Grandmaster. Yu Xiaogang had assumed Xue Hen could be no more than a level 59 Soul King by now, but what did the Sky Screen say?

A Soul Saint? That kid had already been a level 73 Power Attack System Battle Soul Saint several years ago?!

How could he possibly take him on as a disciple now?

"That kid must have broken the old record. He's the youngest Soul Saint on the entire continent!" Beside him, Flender gazed up at the Sky Screen and exclaimed in astonishment.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Ning Fengzhi's brows furrowed deeply. Behind him stood Sword Douluo Chen Xin and Bone Douluo Gu Rong.

"Fengzhi, that kid has a grudge against your cousin. He probably hates our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, too. Judging by the timing in these images, he was already a Soul Saint more than five years ago. With his talent, he must have reached the Soul Douluo realm by now. We can't let him keep growing. We have to find a way to eliminate him now!" Gu Rong said to Ning Fengzhi.

"Though that's true, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family probably won't stand by and watch us go after him. And it would be a pity to kill such a genius," Ning Fengzhi said, hesitating.

"You..."

Gu Rong was about to say more when the Sky Screen showed Xue Hen becoming a Soul Saint and displaying his prowess on the Soul Fighting platform. Yet the images did not stop there; they continued playing.

[Four years later.]

Those three words appeared on the Sky Screen.

Then, a series of images unfolded once more.

[On the boundless ocean, a giant whale Soul Beast thrashed about in the water. Dark clouds gathered overhead, and lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. Even through the Sky Screen, everyone could faintly feel an utterly terrifying pressure.

"Human brat, considering how hard you've worked to cultivate, I'll let you leave!" the giant whale Soul Beast said.

Clearly, this was a mighty Soul Beast with a hundred thousand years of cultivation!

Not far in front of it, a solitary white figure stood proudly upon the sea, holding a longsword. The sun, moon, and stars were engraved on one side of the blade, and mountains, rivers, plants, and trees on the other. One Soul Ring after another rose from beneath his feet.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, red, red.

He was a Titled Douluo, and he even possessed two 100,000-Year Soul Rings!

And the Martial Soul in his hand was...]

In the real world, countless spectators' eyes widened. At that moment, they unconsciously held their breath.

Then a somewhat low voice came from the Sky Screen.

["Your cultivation is impressive, too. And, Life Giant Whale, your Soul Ring is perfectly suited to my Second Martial Soul, so... I can't let you leave!"

As he spoke, the figure raised his chin, and his face came into view.

His features were striking, though not in a showy way. His brows were straight, and his eyes calm, like a deep pool that had swallowed all the light from the sky. Those who looked into them saw only their own reflections. His nose was high and fine, his lips thin and pressed together. Though he was clearly in his early twenties, he had already learned to bury every ripple beneath that composed exterior.

He was none other than Xue Hen!

Though he had changed beyond recognition as he grew up, traces of his childhood self could still be seen in his face.]

"Hiss! A Titled Douluo at twenty!" No one knew where on the continent the first gasp came from, but soon they echoed across the land, followed by cries of astonishment.

Before Pope's Palace.

Bibi Dong was completely stunned.

She had just said that Xue Hen either had to join Spirit Hall or die. Then, in the blink of an eye, these images had told her that he was already a Titled Douluo, and had two 100,000-Year Soul Rings. How... how could she possibly make him die now?

"Your Holiness, this kid's nothing like Dugu Bo. I wouldn't dare go after him." Beside Bibi Dong, Chrysanthemum Douluo's eyelids twitched as he watched the scene. He hurriedly spoke up.

As a rule, whenever Bibi Dong wanted someone dead, she sent him and Old Ghost to do the job. She had sent them after Dugu Bo before, too. But this kid, Xue Hen—heavens! Never mind that he had Twin Martial Souls; one was for attack and the other for support. And now he had reached the Titled Douluo realm.

That much might still have been manageable, but damn it... he had two 100,000-Year Soul Rings. How were they supposed to fight him?

After all, neither he nor Old Ghost had even one 100,000-Year Soul Ring!

Bibi Dong said nothing in response to Chrysanthemum Douluo. Her brows knit tightly. She was deeply uncomfortable with the feeling that something had slipped beyond her control.

Her gaze remained fixed on the sky.

["Roar! You're asking for death!" When the 100,000-year Soul Beast Life Giant Whale heard Xue Hen's words, the entire creature flew into a rage and let out a furious roar. It unleashed its Soul Skill—Great Tsunami.

It twisted its body. Blue light flashed, and in an instant, it unleashed a massive tsunami that surged toward Xue Hen from every direction, covering several miles around it.

Facing such overwhelming power, Xue Hen stood proudly on the churning sea, his expression calm. His lips parted slightly as he said, "Not bad. You're stronger than that monkey."

With that, he raised the Imperial Power Sword in his hand. A dazzling, sacred light radiated from the blade.

"Sixth Soul Skill: Sword Settles Mountains and Rivers!"

"Vmmm—" The sixth Soul Ring beneath his feet blazed with black light. The sword seemed to possess a life of its own. It shot forward and plunged into the tsunami. In an instant, an enormous seaquake and sword energy erupted around the point of impact, tangling with the tsunami unleashed by the Life Giant Whale.

After dozens of breaths, the tremors and explosions stopped. The towering waves on the sea subsided, revealing the scene before them.

The enormous Soul Beast's shattered corpse floated on the sea, blood pouring from its body and staining the surrounding waters red.

The 100,000-year Soul Beast, Life Giant Whale, had fallen!]

In the real world, everyone's hearts quaked.