"Chen Jianjun killed two Titled Douluo with three strikes in Star Luo City?"
Inside the Pope Palace, Spirit City.
Qian Xunji sat in the seat of honor, gripping a freshly delivered intelligence report. His brows knitted into a deep frown.
He read the report over and over three times, put it down, picked it up again, then set it down once more. The expression on his face shifted from initial indifference to growing doubt and alarm, finally settling into profound disbelief.
"Are you certain... this information is reliable?"
At last, he raised his head and looked at Demon Bear Douluo standing below. His voice carried an unmistakable tremor.
"Your Holiness the Pope!"
Demon Bear Douluo knelt on one knee, head lowered. Fine beads of sweat had appeared on his forehead. "This information came from Star Luo City and has been cross-verified through three separate channels. It is absolutely reliable."
He paused and swallowed, his voice trembling slightly. "There was more than one person in Taihe Hall that night. Several ministers who were present witnessed the whole thing with their own eyes."
"According to their accounts, Chen Jianjun only struck three times."
"His first strike killed Zhu Buchun, a Level 95 Agility Attack System Titled Douluo, with a single blow to the throat."
"His second strike shattered Dai Renfeng's eighth Soul Skill, White Tiger Light Shield, and crippled both his hands."
"His third strike... cut Dai Renfeng's head clean off!"
By the time Demon Bear Douluo finished those last few words, his voice was trembling faintly.
It wasn't that he had never seen a Titled Douluo fight, but killing two Titled Douluo with three strikes... and one of them had been a Level 96 peak Power Attack System fighter!
That was completely beyond his understanding!
Even he had never seen a Titled Douluo this damn powerful!
Could someone this damn powerful really exist on the Douluo Continent?
Qian Xunji was silent for a long time.
His fingers tapped lightly on the table, his eyes shifting with uncertainty. Only after a while did he speak. "Chen Jianjun... how old is he this year?"
Demon Bear Douluo was taken aback, then answered, "According to Spirit Hall's records, he should be one hundred and eight years old."
"One hundred and eight..."
Qian Xunji murmured the number again, the apprehension in his eyes deepening.
A Titled Douluo who was one hundred and eight years old was nothing unusual. In fact, he could be called perfectly ordinary.
But!
To be able to kill a Level 96 peak Douluo with three strikes at the age of one hundred and eight was an entirely different matter!
This man was probably at least a Level 98 peak Douluo, an existence even three parts stronger than Golden Crocodile Douluo!
And!
Qian Xunji had a premonition that this wasn't merely a Level 98 peak Douluo. It was entirely possible that Chen Jianjun had already reached Level 99, the rank of Limit Douluo—or even Level 99 peak, the realm of a Peerless Douluo!
At this thought,
Qian Xunji couldn't sit still. He stood up, then turned back. Under Demon Bear Douluo's puzzled gaze, he paced around the room twice before finally stopping. Gritting his teeth, he headed outside.
"No, I have to report this to Father!"
Inside the Pope Palace stood a massive white-stone gate that separated it from the Worship Hall.
Qian Xunji hurried along the corridors. The guards at the Worship Hall's entrance bowed as he approached, but he ignored them and strode straight into the deepest part of the complex: Douluo Hall.
In other words, the Angel Temple!
"Father!"
The hall was brightly lit. Large panes of colored glass were embedded in the dome, filtering the sunlight into soft golden halos that spilled over the enormous Angel Statue at the center.
The statue was carved entirely from white jade. Its six wings spread out in layers, and its face was sculpted with exquisite detail. Its eyes were lowered, as though gazing down at the mortals below.
A figure stood before the statue.
He wore a simple gray robe, and his long black hair fell behind him, neatly combed.
His hands rested naturally at his sides. Not a trace of Soul Power stirred around him, and yet his plain appearance somehow inspired an urge to prostrate oneself before him.
He was none other than one of the three Peerless Douluo of the Douluo I era, Qian Daoliu, famed as the unmatched ruler of the skies!
"Father!"
As Qian Xunji hurried into the temple, he couldn't help but be soothed by the calm, tranquil aura surrounding Qian Daoliu. He gradually settled down.
Qian Daoliu slowly turned around.
He looked no older than his early thirties, with handsome features. Standing beside Qian Xunji, he even seemed younger than his son.
But...
His eyes were exceptionally bright, like two unfathomably deep pools, yet seeming to have weathered all things. They held a depth utterly at odds with his youthful appearance.
"I've already stepped down as Adjudicator Elder and handed everything over to you."
Qian Daoliu spoke calmly, with a trace of displeasure at being disturbed during his quiet cultivation. "I also told you not to bother me unless it concerns a crisis threatening Spirit Hall's survival."
"Did you just let my words go in one ear and out the other?"
Qian Daoliu was, in truth, deeply dissatisfied with his son, Qian Xunji. His age was already approaching sixty, yet he still hadn't crossed the threshold into the ranks of Level 96 Super Douluo.
It was simply...
If Qian Xunji hadn't been his only son, and if Qian Daoliu had any desire to train another, he would have beaten him senseless long ago.
"Uh..."
Realizing that his fatherly love was about to take the form of a beating, Qian Xunji's face stiffened. He hurriedly recounted the contents of the report.
"...He killed Dai Renfeng and Zhu Buchun with three strikes!"
Qian Daoliu's expression remained unchanged until he heard that sentence. Then his gaze sharpened.
"It was said that when he killed Zhu Buchun with a single strike, a layer of frost appeared to form on the ground!"
At that, Qian Daoliu's eyes narrowed slightly. "Frost?"
Then he looked directly at Qian Xunji, his tone tinged with surprise. "You're certain... it was frost?"
"That's what the report says."
Qian Xunji nodded. "Afterward, several sword marks were found on the floor tiles of Taihe Hall. A thin layer of ice covered the area around each mark, and it hadn't melted even by dawn the next day."
Qian Daoliu didn't answer at once.
He turned back to face the Angel Statue and stood silently for a long while before finally speaking. "The Seven Kill Sword should be a pure weapon of slaughter, unaffiliated with any elemental attribute."
"Father, you mean..."
"A realization brought on by a Martial Soul Mutation must have allowed him to break through and become a Limit Douluo."
Qian Xunji opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed his words.
He felt that, compared with his father, Qian Daoliu, he was lacking in every way—he was practically a little girl...
"Then, Father, what should we..."
"I'll personally pay a visit to the Seven Kill Sect."
"Father?!"
Qian Xunji was stunned by Qian Daoliu's words. "Didn't you say you were going into seclusion soon to pursue enlightenment?"
"That can wait."
Qian Daoliu's tone remained calm. "But a Titled Douluo who may be Level 99 is worth meeting in person!"