Sword Douluo fell silent.
The words "I hardly ever cultivate" were like sharp swords, each one piercing the talent he had always been so proud of.
At that moment, he finally understood how ordinary people of his generation had felt when they looked at him.
So effort really was worthless in the face of talent...
But even as he sank into self-doubt, one of his earlier suspicions became clear.
This kid's Martial Soul really did seem to help Soul Beasts grow. What he hadn't expected was that after helping them grow, the kid could also raise his own cultivation.
"I really am getting old. I can barely keep up with the development of Martial Souls..."
With a sigh in his heart, Sword Douluo kept his expression composed and reached out to grab Xu Bai by the back of the neck.
Xu Bai froze. Before he could react, Sword Douluo summoned the Seven Kill Sword and shot straight into the sky, lifting Xu Bai in one hand like a little cub.
By the time Xu Bai came to his senses, he was already high above the clouds.
The weather was clear, without a cloud in sight. Looking down, he could see hills rolling like folds in the earth and rivers winding like thin streams. Even the peaks below were all laid out before his eyes.
He was truly experiencing the breathtaking view of "looking down on all the other mountains from the summit." But Xu Bai didn't like it one bit.
He was afraid of heights, and badly so...
"Kid, you've grown this big without ever experiencing the thrill of flying, haven't you? How does it feel?"
Sword Douluo held Xu Bai with one hand and tucked the other behind his back. Gazing toward the distant horizon, he spoke in a grand, lofty manner.
But Xu Bai gave him no face at all, refusing to humor this Super Douluo at level ninety-six.
Sword Douluo asked, puzzled, "Kid, don't you like flying? Or do you have a bird-type Soul Beast?"
Xu Bai remained stubbornly silent.
Sword Douluo furrowed his brow slightly. Even if Xu Bai was reluctant, ignoring him after he'd asked twice was going a bit too far. It showed no respect for a Super Douluo like him...
"Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. I'll give you one last chance, kid. Otherwise, don't blame me for teaching you why you should fear the strong when you have no strength but do have powerful backing."
Thinking this, he lowered his eyes to Xu Bai dangling in his hand. "K—uh?"
The words caught in his throat before he could finish.
It turned out Xu Bai hadn't been stubbornly snubbing Sword Douluo at all. He'd already been unconscious for some time.
Yes, he'd fainted from fright.
Sword Douluo: ?????
Seven Treasure City lay a great distance from Heaven Dou City. But flying straight across at a Super Douluo's speed, it took Sword Douluo only a short while to reach the skies above Seven Treasure City.
A great city built around the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Seven Treasure City might not have been as grand as Heaven Dou City, but it was even more prosperous. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the richest city on the continent.
Everywhere one looked, carriages streamed along the roads and shops stood in rows, filling the air with the heady stench of money. Unfortunately, Xu Bai was unconscious and missed what might have been his only chance to see such a splendid sight for a long time.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was built against the mountains, to the north of Seven Treasure City.
As the sect's guardian Douluo, Sword Douluo was known to nearly everyone in the sect.
So no one stopped him as he flew in. Holding Xu Bai, he made his way unhindered to the sect's main hall.
"Uncle Jian, you're back. How did things go?"
A gentle voice rang out. A young man in a pale blue brocade robe, his hair held up by a jade hairpin and his face refined and scholarly, walked toward them.
Had Xu Bai been awake, he would have recognized from the surroundings that this man was Ning Fengzhi, the current Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
He would also have shot him an envious look. This was the richest man on the entire continent—an absolute idol.
"Very smoothly. Nothing unexpected happened, and I even came across an interesting little fellow."
Sword Douluo lifted Xu Bai's pale face slightly as he spoke with a smile.
"Oh?"
Ning Fengzhi looked intrigued. There weren't many children Uncle Jian found interesting.
But looking at the child's complexion...
He frowned slightly and glanced at Sword Douluo. "Uncle Jian, did you frighten him?"
"It had nothing to do with me. The kid's afraid of heights. He scared himself into this state."
Sword Douluo gave Xu Bai a disdainful glance.
A Soul Master, and afraid of heights.
It would be one thing if his talent were merely average. He'd never reach the Titled Douluo realm, and barring some unexpected turn of events, he'd never experience flight in his life.
But not only was he talented, he was a prodigy. Becoming a Titled Douluo was all but certain...
A Titled Douluo who couldn't fly would become a laughingstock across the world.
"Afraid of heights?"
Ning Fengzhi chuckled and shook his head, then asked, "Uncle Jian, what's so special about this child that made you bring him straight here to meet me?"
At the mention of business, Sword Douluo's expression turned serious. "Fengzhi, first sense this kid's Soul Power Level."
Ning Fengzhi raised an eyebrow and carefully sensed it. Then he praised him: "Level thirty-two. To reach this level at ten years old, he truly is a monstrous genius."
"Uncle Jian, what's this child's Martial Soul? If it's suitable, we could raise him to become Rongrong's guardian."
"That's exactly why I brought him straight to you."
Sword Douluo's expression was complicated. "This kid's Martial Soul is very special. He can form contracts with Soul Beasts and have them fight for him."
"Form contracts with Soul Beasts... There's actually a Martial Soul like that in this world?" Ning Fengzhi exclaimed in surprise.
"How effective are the contracts? If he's properly nurtured, given time, he'll surely become a pillar that holds up the sky for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
"I'm not sure about the specifics, but this kid's Martial Soul seems to have a way to accelerate Soul Beast growth, and the effect is significant."
Sword Douluo looked down at Xu Bai. He thought of the thousand-year Soul Beast that had followed the boy—a tiger, no less.
Tiger-type Soul Beasts were so proud. For one to willingly become another's tamed beast, it couldn't have formed its contract with the kid when it was only a thousand years old.
To take an even wilder guess, perhaps that tiger-type Soul Beast had still been a ten-year Soul Beast when it contracted with the kid.
In just four years at most, he could raise a ten-year Soul Beast into a thousand-year one. Just thinking about that ability sent a chill down one's spine.
"So it's really true..."
Ning Fengzhi was deeply shocked as well. In his mind, even if Xu Bai could only contract Soul Beasts whose age matched the limits other Soul Masters could absorb for Soul Rings, then once Xu Bai became a Titled Douluo, he and Uncle Jian and Uncle Bone could join forces to help him forcibly contract a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
Then, anyone who fought Xu Bai would face a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast and four Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.
He just hadn't expected Xu Bai to be so monstrously gifted that he could even accelerate Soul Beast growth.
The only question was how significant "significant" really meant...
Ning Fengzhi's eyes flickered as a bold conjecture took shape in his mind.
In the future, he might witness a Titled Douluo commanding nine Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.