"First Soul Skill, Dark Fire Wind Blade!"
Seeing the Holy Demon Iron Rhino unable to get back up, Qin Xuan launched an attack without hesitation.
As soon as he finished speaking,
a several-foot-long, dark-red blade of flame formed in midair and shot straight toward the Holy Demon Iron Rhino's face.
—Whoosh!
With a sharp slicing sound, the Holy Demon Iron Rhino's head was cleanly severed from its body.
Even when it was at full strength, the Holy Demon Iron Rhino would have had to work hard to block this "Dark Fire Wind Blade," let alone now, after Yue Guan had beaten it to the brink of death.
Before long,
a purple Soul Ring emerged from the corpse.
Qin Xuan quickly sat down on the spot and began absorbing the Soul Ring.
At the same time, the Nine Nether Evil God Tiger flew out of his body, devouring the Holy Demon Iron Rhino's remaining flesh and blood with its "Evil Emperor Hook."
The Holy Demon Iron Rhino was, after all, a Soul Beast with three thousand years of cultivation. Its Soul Ring contained several times more energy than the Shadow Mantis's, so it was naturally much harder to absorb.
Even with the Nine Nether Evil God Tiger's powerful abilities, after a short while Qin Xuan's face had still turned pale, and pain showed in his expression.
After all, he was only a level-twenty-two Soul Grandmaster.
Seeing this, Yue Guan withdrew his Martial Soul Avatar and landed beside Qin Xuan, his expression grave.
The Holy Demon Iron Rhino far surpassed ordinary three-thousand-year Soul Beasts.
Even though Qin Xuan's talent was heaven-defying, Yue Guan couldn't help worrying at that moment.
The Holy Demon Iron Rhino's Soul Ring energy was indeed exceptionally fierce. Qin Xuan took a full three hours to absorb it successfully.
He slowly opened his eyes, the corners of his mouth curling into a faint smile.
"After absorbing my second Soul Ring, my Soul Power has risen two more levels."
"My second Soul Skill is called Nine Nether Evil God Transformation. It's a skill that enhances my abilities."
"When I activate it, my entire body will be covered in dark armor. For half an hour, it will clear all negative effects, strengthen my defense, enhance my Soul Skills, and triple all my attributes!"
Hearing this, Yue Guan's eyes widened in shock. "What an incredibly powerful enhancement Soul Skill! Even a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Skill would be no better!"
Qin Xuan smiled, making no effort to be modest. "With the power of my two Soul Rings, I already have what it takes to fight a Soul Ancestor!"
Yue Guan nodded with deep satisfaction. "Good, very good!"
"With a peerless genius like you guarding Spirit Hall, it will surely reign supreme for all eternity, through generation after generation!"
Hearing this, Qin Xuan didn't let the praise go to his head. Instead, he replied calmly:
"Elder Chrysanthemum, there's no need to praise a junior so highly. How could I be called a peerless genius? I was simply lucky enough to awaken the mutated Nine Nether Evil God Tiger."
Yue Guan waved his hand and laughed it off.
"You're quite the modest one, kid. This place isn't safe to linger in. We should hurry."
"Otherwise, if we disturb the Holy Demon Rhino King, even I may not be able to get away unscathed!"
As soon as he finished speaking,
Qin Xuan gave a quiet "Mm," said nothing more, and headed toward the outskirts first.
Watching his retreating figure, Yue Guan sighed with emotion.
"Qin Xuan never shows off his abilities, and he's steady beyond his years."
"Though he's only six, there's a weathered air about him, as if he has a whole world of plans in his heart. Could that just be my imagination?"
There was no time to dwell on it.
Yue Guan turned into a streak of golden light and caught up with Qin Xuan.
At the exit on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, the luxurious carriage drawn by Scale Horses had been waiting for a long time.
Once the two were seated inside, they began chatting.
After spending this time together, they had grown much more familiar, and spoke casually in private, without any sense of rank between them.
"Qin, do you plan to keep cultivating by His Holiness the Pope's side?" Yue Guan asked curiously.
Qin Xuan looked out the window at the scenery and answered calmly, "No. I'm going to enroll at the Spirit Hall Primary Academy."
"With my talent and resources, even by His Holiness the Pope's side, my Soul Power wouldn't improve much faster."
"Rather than that, I'd be better off traveling the continent and making more friends."
Yue Guan didn't say much in response.
After this trip, he had witnessed the Nine Nether Evil God Tiger's heaven-defying power with his own eyes. He felt that Qin Xuan's words were no exaggeration.
"Xiao Xuan, are you still coming back to Pope Hall with me?"
"No." Qin Xuan smiled and declined. "I plan to visit the young mistress. I'll get off in Heaven Dou City."
"Thank you, Elder Chrysanthemum, for accompanying me to hunt a Soul Beast."
"What's there to thank me for?" Yue Guan said with a laugh. Then he sighed softly and continued, "I'll pass your decision along to His Holiness the Pope."
Qin Xuan nodded, then gazed at the scenery rushing past the window, lost in thought.
Actually, he didn't have much fondness for this effeminate Titled Douluo.
But after spending the past few days together, he had found Yue Guan wasn't quite as irritating as he'd thought.
Yue Guan was indeed utterly loyal to Spirit Hall. It was just a pity that he had ended up serving Bibi Dong.
In the original story, after Tang San killed Gui Mei with the Sea God Trident, Yue Guan's combat strength plummeted, and he was no longer of any use. Bibi Dong then sent him to his death. It was a truly tragic end.
In the end, Yue Guan was just a pitiful man who had lived his whole life in Bibi Dong's shadow.
As for traveling the continent, Qin Xuan had naturally given it some thought.
The world of Douluo Continent was vast and full of wonders. The people and Soul Beasts that had appeared in the original story were merely the tip of the iceberg.
If he wanted to crush the Tang family's destiny in every way in the future, he would need more than formidable strength. He would also have to build up his own forces. Sects, academies, and even an imperial system—all were indispensable.
And there were many talents on Douluo Continent who had yet to be discovered.
Qin Xuan's purpose in traveling the continent was to bring those talents under his command.
Several days passed.
At dawn, the sun had just risen.
After parting ways with Yue Guan, Qin Xuan headed for Heaven Dou City alone.
As the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou City was exceptionally prosperous, though it still fell short of Spirit City.
Walking down the street, Qin Xuan noticed the shops along the way gradually opening for business.
Now that I have an incredible Soul Tool like a storage ring, I should stock up on supplies in case something unexpected happens.
After thinking it over, he began an extravagant shopping spree, buying provisions, wine, black iron, rope, emergency medicine, and anything else that might come in handy.
He spent two whole hours shopping, yet had only used up five thousand Gold Soul Coins.
Along the way, he passed a flower shop.
On the counter in the center of the shop sat ninety-nine golden roses, which caught his eye.
After all, there were no golden roses on Blue Star.
"Shopkeeper, how much are these roses?" Qin Xuan asked, striding into the flower shop and pointing at the golden roses.
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