Qian Daoliu: "It is no courtesy to strike at a funeral, nor is it right to disturb a celebration."

"Father..."

With that, Qian Daoliu strode toward the hall's exit.

Seeing this, Qian Xunji hurried after him, still wanting to say something. But Qian Daoliu shut him down with a single sentence: "Stay in Spirit City. Don't go wandering around."

"You'd be no help with something like this, even if you went."

Qian Xunji: "..."

That made a lot of sense, so why did it feel like he'd just taken ten thousand points of damage?

Ignoring Qian Xunji's wandering thoughts, Qian Daoliu soon disappeared from his sight.

Meanwhile,

neither Qian Daoliu as he left nor Qian Xunji remaining at the Angel Temple noticed that—

deep within the lowered eyelids of the Angel Statue that Qian Daoliu had just been facing, a faint crimson light seemed to flicker.

It moved as fast as a flash of reflected light, vanishing almost as soon as it appeared.

Then everything returned to normal.

As if nothing had happened...

The mountain gate of the Seven Kill Sect.

The news that Chen Fan was publicly seeking a bride had already spread throughout the Seven Kill Sect. Fresh red silk had been hung along both sides of the main road leading up from the foot of the mountain to the sect.

Though it was called "seeking a bride," everyone in the sect knew it was more of an announcement!

The Seven Kill Sect was reopening its gates!

Generally speaking, when a sect that had lived in seclusion emerged, it needed a world-shaking battle to announce itself to the world.

But

the two great empires were at peace, while Spirit Hall was only concerned with searching for Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. There was nowhere for a conflict to start.

So

using a public search for a bride as an excuse was good enough.

Of course,

not everyone could imitate the Seven Kill Sect's approach.

After all, this stir had been caused by Chen Jianjun's sword, which had slain two Titled Douluo and announced the sect's return to the world.

Otherwise, how could so many people have come?

They might not all be here to compete for the bride, but they were certainly here to probe the Seven Kill Sect's strength!

At that moment,

Chen Jianjun stood on the stone steps before the mountain gate, watching several elders direct the disciples as they prepared the grounds.

He was in a very good mood. The clarity brought by his Martial Soul Evolution had relaxed him considerably, and even the lines of his face seemed softer than usual.

Just then,

an extremely faint aura, yet one that sent a chill down the spine, slowly spread from beyond the mountain gate.

Chen Jianjun's brows drew together.

He turned, his gaze passing over layers of tree shadows and mountain paths until it settled on a figure standing still on the narrow trail beyond the gate, hands behind his back, seemingly gazing at him from several hundred meters away.

"Grand Sect Master?"

The First Elder beside him noticed his unusual expression and couldn't help asking, "What's wrong?"

"We have a guest."

Chen Jianjun said it mildly and strode toward the mountain gate.

The First Elder froze, then hurried after him.

Outside the mountain gate,

a figure in a plain gray robe stood waiting, long black hair hanging loose down his back.

Chen Jianjun soon came into view.

"This..."

The Seven Kill Sect's First Elder, following behind Chen Jianjun, eyed the gray-robed figure with uncertainty and wariness.

He didn't recognize the man, and the other gave off no trace of Soul Power. Yet the pressure he felt from him far surpassed that of Chen Xin, a Titled Douluo...

"Qian Daoliu?"

The gray-robed figure was none other than Qian Daoliu, who had come all the way from Spirit City!

At Chen Jianjun's greeting, Qian Daoliu nodded slightly, then dipped his head. "Chen Jianjun, I've long admired your reputation!"

Chen Jianjun was about the same age as Golden Crocodile Douluo. More than seventy years ago, he had been a renowned figure in the Soul Master World, a towering presence of his generation.

It was only after the rise of younger talents like Qian Daoliu and Tang Chen that men of his generation gradually withdrew from the world.

Compared to Golden Crocodile Douluo, Qian Daoliu was a generation younger, by roughly thirty years. So compared to Chen Jianjun, who was of Golden Crocodile Douluo's generation, Qian Daoliu was a junior.

"Q-Qian Daoliu?"

At those words, the Seven Kill Sect's First Elder's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He sucked in a sharp breath and almost lost his balance.

A man's name cast a shadow as great as his own.

During Qian Daoliu's tenure as Adjudicator Elder of Spirit Hall, he had spilled countless amounts of blood. Throughout the Soul Master World, he was known as a butcher.

At that time, anyone with any standing had heard his name!

"Go back and oversee the preparations."

"Yes, yes..."

Standing face-to-face with a butcher like this had the Seven Kill Sect's First Elder on edge. At Chen Jianjun's words, he fled as if granted a pardon.

Standing face-to-face with Qian Daoliu was no less nerve-racking than standing across from Hitler or the Butcher Bai Qi.

"Qian Daoliu, are you here to spoil the festivities?"

Chen Jianjun stopped five meters away, sized him up, and spoke slowly.

At a time like this, Chen Jianjun couldn't think of any other reason for Qian Daoliu to come all this way.

"No."

To his surprise, Qian Daoliu shook his head slightly. "It is no courtesy to strike at a funeral, nor is it right to disturb a celebration."

"Your sect is discussing a marriage alliance. I won't do such a thing."

Qian Daoliu might be a butcher, but that didn't conflict with his status as Douluo I's most virtuous man.

" Butcher" meant he had killed many people; it didn't mean that having high moral standards stopped him from killing.

In a fantasy world, no one could become a Titled Douluo without getting blood on their hands, much less a Peerless Douluo.

"Then why are you here...?"

"The whole continent is talking about how you cut down two Titled Douluo from the Dai Family with three strikes. It would be hard not to hear about it."

"And?"

Chen Jianjun raised an eyebrow. "You came all the way from Spirit City just to tell me that?"

"Not at all."

Qian Daoliu shook his head slightly. "I'm simply curious how your Martial Soul evolved."

"I remember that half a month ago, you had only just reached level ninety-seven."

"Even with Martial Soul Evolution, you couldn't have gained two levels in such a short time."

Chen Jianjun shrugged. "Believe it or not, that's up to you."

"If today weren't such an inopportune time, I'd like to seek your guidance in swordsmanship."

Qian Daoliu glanced at the red silk hanging everywhere in the distance. The corner of his mouth twitched. "...You certainly know how to get to the point."

He didn't refuse.

He was curious about Chen Jianjun's strength, too.

So far, apart from Tang Chen and Bo Saixi, Chen Jianjun was the only other Peerless Douluo he had ever met.

And he was a newly risen Peerless Douluo, at that.

"Since that's the case, shall we arrange a duel a month from now?"

"Up to you."

Chen Jianjun waved a hand, his tone casual. "But I'll say this in advance: if I'm still busy then, you can wait at the foot of the mountain."

Qian Daoliu: "..."

He glanced at Chen Jianjun. He wasn't angered; he only narrowed his eyes slightly. "Fine."