On the other side, in the largest conference room on the top floor of the Spirit Pagoda, Leng Yaozhu and Qiangu Dongfeng sat facing each other.
Two top-tier Spirit Transmitters sat beside them.
However, the two Spirit Transmitters were standing off to the side, smiling ingratiatingly.
In the presence of these two figures in power, they didn't dare let their guard down in the slightest.
The footage playing in the conference room was divided across four screens.
They showed Qiangu Zhangting, Qiangu Chen Zhou, and a young man and woman.
One of the two was Zhang Geyang's disciple.
The other was the disciple of the mysterious final vice tower master.
The young man and woman were around thirteen or fourteen years old, and their strength was no less impressive.
Both of them had roughly the cultivation of three rings.
Even now, facing the rampaging Hundred-Year Soul Beasts, they could easily keep them in check.
However, their performances were far inferior to Chen Zhou's and Qiangu Zhangting's.
Qiangu Zhangting held the Coiling Dragon Staff in his hand. The terrifying Evil Dragon spread around him.
As his aura surged, the strength of a three-ring Soul Master erupted, and he easily killed the Hundred-Year Soul Beasts charging at him.
There was no need to mention Chen Zhou.
A single Soul Skill killed three Hundred-Year Soul Beasts.
What was more, Chen Zhou was now racing wildly through the rampaging Spirit Ascension Platform.
He was clearly trying to find the others.
Leng Yaozhu had noticed this, and so had Qiangu Dongfeng.
Looking at the boy from his own Qiangu Clan, Qiangu Dongfeng remained perfectly calm.
Yet no matter how composed he looked, the fingers tapping on the table gave away his irritation.
"He's the most outstanding genius among the collateral branches of your Qiangu Clan. I'm planning to take him as my adopted son after this."
Leng Yaozhu looked at Qiangu Dongfeng, her voice carrying a hint of amusement, but her words were full of mockery.
It was no secret that Qiangu Dongfeng liked her. You could almost say everyone knew.
The Qiangu Clan had even spread rumors in secret.
If Leng Yaozhu were willing to bear Qiangu Dongfeng a child, she could become the future heir to the Spirit Pagoda.
So by saying this now, Leng Yaozhu was clearly taunting him.
Wasn't this boy a member of the Qiangu Clan? And wasn't he going to be her adopted son?
Then shouldn't he become the future heir to the Spirit Pagoda?
Hearing Leng Yaozhu's mocking words, Qiangu Dongfeng remained calm.
His face still showed neither joy nor sorrow, but his eyes had also shifted to the boy running ahead.
"Quite interesting. I never expected such an outstanding youngster to come from a collateral branch of my Qiangu Clan. He's only six, yet he already has the strength of a two-ring Soul Master."
"At this rate, by the time he's as old as Zhangting, he might even reach four or five rings, don't you think?"
As he spoke, Qiangu Dongfeng turned his gaze to his own grandson.
His grandson wasn't weak. Having three rings at this age already made him a genius.
But fusing with the Evil Dragon Soul Spirit had cost him a great deal of cultivation time.
So for now, his strength could only be called outstanding among his peers, not truly top-tier.
Hearing Qiangu Dongfeng's unhurried words, Leng Yaozhu merely smiled without replying.
She thought Chen Zhou was clever.
Clever children were best at reading the situation.
Since he understood that the Qiangu Clan—or, more precisely, its main branch—would never direct its support toward him, he wouldn't cling to any unrealistic hopes.
His best choice was to pledge himself to her, or at least firmly stand on her side.
This would count as his show of loyalty.
Never mind whether she took him as an adopted son. As long as Chen Zhou displayed enough talent and strength,
Leng Yaozhu wouldn't mind devoting all her efforts to cultivating him, so that one day he could contend with the Qiangu Clan.
And as for blood ties—don't make me laugh.
This was the Douluo World. The one thing this world cared about least was family affection and bloodline.
Direct relatives were one thing.
But what sort of bloodline affection could there be between collateral relatives separated by several generations?
Inside the Spirit Ascension Platform, Chen Zhou was moving just as quickly, droplets of water gathering around him.
With the help of these droplets and his perception of the water element, he rapidly pinpointed the positions of the Soul Beasts and other people.
Unfortunately, Chen Zhou didn't find Qiangu Zhangting. Instead, he ran into a girl.
She had long, azure-blue hair.
When she saw Chen Zhou approach, a hint of wariness appeared in her eyes.
But more than wariness, she looked surprised.
They had been scattered to different locations, after all, and even she had no idea how Chen Zhou had managed to find her so easily.
But before the girl could speak, Chen Zhou was already at her side the next second.
The boy's pale left hand shot out, transforming in an instant into a huge sickle of water.
Then, in the next moment, the boy gripped the water sickle and slashed down.
The terrifying attack came too fast, and the sickle brimmed with destructive power.
The girl didn't even have time to react before it struck her. Her body then turned into specks of light.
Feeling a large amount of spiritual power flow into his body, Chen Zhou's expression didn't change at all.
He lightly tapped the ground with his foot and continued running toward another spot.
Their strength was generally around three or four rings, so the challenges arranged for them weren't difficult.
There were very few thousand-year Soul Beasts here. Most were simply frenzied Hundred-Year Soul Beasts.
Even the few powerful Soul Beasts that were eight or nine hundred years old posed no great difficulty for Chen Zhou.
Although Chen Zhou's target was Qiangu Zhangting, he didn't spare a single one of the vice tower masters' disciples or Spirit Transmitters' disciples he came across.
The second person he encountered was a young man.
The other boy was around ten years old and had also reached three rings.
They met for barely a moment.
Chen Zhou opened with another instant teleport, appearing at the other boy's side. It took just one slash.
Outside, one of the Spirit Transmitters watched his disciple get killed, his expression turning grim.
But he didn't say anything either, only watched in silence.
At this point, it was clear that Chen Zhou was very close to Qiangu Zhangting.
There was practically no distance between them anymore.
And now, not only could Chen Zhou sense Qiangu Zhangting's presence, Qiangu Zhangting could sense Chen Zhou as well.
Feeling the terrifying Evil Dragon Power, Chen Zhou didn't slow down in the slightest.
He glanced back, and the massive Water Dragon Martial Soul behind him threw its head back and let out a mighty dragon's roar.
The roar came completely out of nowhere.
Qiangu Zhangting had also been about to use his own dragon Wei to intimidate his opponent, but the sudden roar made his body seize up for an instant.
Before he could react, Chen Zhou was already charging toward him.
Two long swords took shape in the boy's hands, terrifying destructive power spreading wildly across their blades.
Watching Chen Zhou charge at him, Qiangu Zhangting's expression turned rigid as well.
Three purple Soul Rings crashed down from his body, and then a terrifying force descended.