Eighteen-Year-Old Soul Douluo!

Eighteen years slipped away like sand running through fingers.

Deep within a grand and imposing residence in Heaven Dou City, the courtyard was tranquil beneath the faint morning light.

"Whew..."

Having finished his morning cultivation, Zhang Qingxuan slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

He rose to his feet and stretched lazily, his joints giving off faint crackling sounds.

He looked up at the rising sun, but a trace of imperceptible melancholy passed through his deep eyes.

"Eighteen years... I wonder if Master and my senior brothers are well now?"

To him, these eighteen years had been both a new life and a period of accumulation.

From the age of three, he had resumed the cultivation methods from his previous life and tempered his foundation. At six, he awakened the rare Body Martial Soul and possessed Innate Full Soul Power, shocking the entire residence.

With the profound experience and insight accumulated in his previous life, his path of cultivation had been nearly unobstructed, his progress advancing at godlike speed.

Just yesterday, the barrier to his realm had shattered with a bang, and he had officially stepped into the realm of Soul Douluo.

Achieving Soul Douluo at eighteen was astonishing not only in the Heaven Dou Empire, but across the entire continent.

His adoptive father, Li Yuntian, had long ago used the Li Family's influence to conceal all information about him, fearing that a tall tree would catch the wind.

The courtyard remained quiet, with only the soft rustling of bamboo leaves in the breeze.

Suddenly, a bright, silver-bell-like call approached from afar, breaking the stillness.

"Brother Qingxuan! Brother Qingxuan! I've come to see you!"

Before the words had faded, a graceful figure skipped into the courtyard like a fluttering butterfly.

Li Yingxue!

She was the biological daughter of Zhang Qingxuan's adoptive parents, Li Yuntian and Yang Wanqing, born three years after he had been adopted.

Both Zhang Qingxuan and the Li Yuntian couple treasured and doted on this younger sister.

"Did you finish your morning training?" Zhang Qingxuan smiled faintly and naturally reached out to gently ruffle Li Yingxue's soft hair. His tone was mild, yet carried a hint of firmness that could not be evaded.

"Uh... well..." Li Yingxue blushed, stuck out her tongue, and let her eyes wander as she tried to act cute her way out of it.

"Hehe, Brother Qingxuan, the weather's so nice today. Wouldn't it be such a waste to train...?"

Zhang Qingxuan shook his head helplessly and flicked her smooth forehead, neither too hard nor too lightly. "You always want to slack off. Cultivation is like rowing against the current—if you do not advance, you fall behind. Your talent is not lacking, but if you remain so lax, you will fall behind others."

"I know, I know!" Li Yingxue covered her forehead, but her smile was as bright as a flower as she hugged Zhang Qingxuan's arm and swayed it.

"Besides, Brother's here. Even if the sky falls, you'll hold it up!"

She paused, then suddenly remembered something and said excitedly, "Oh, right, Brother, I have good news for you! Mother came out of seclusion yesterday and successfully broke through to the Soul Douluo realm!"

Just then!

A voice devoid of emotion, yet incomparably clear, suddenly rang out in the deepest part of Zhang Qingxuan's mind:

[ Ding! Host cultivation has met the standard. Conditions fulfilled. ]

[ Sign-In System officially activated! ]

[ Initial sign-in location refreshed: Star Dou Great Forest Core Area. ]

Zhang Qingxuan's gaze sharpened as his consciousness instantly sank into his sea of awareness.

At the center of that vast and boundless sea of awareness, a previously dim orb of light was slowly rotating, emitting a gentle and mysterious glow. Countless intricate and profound runes flickered within it.

As he stared at the newly appeared "system," there was little shock or alarm on his face. Instead, he felt a calm sense of it has finally come.

For eighteen years, he had long noticed this foreign object lurking within his sea of awareness, but he had never been able to touch it. Now that his cultivation had broken through, it had indeed revealed itself on its own.

"Oh? Then that makes it a double celebration."

Zhang Qingxuan swiftly withdrew his consciousness from his sea of awareness, revealing not the slightest abnormality as he smiled along with Li Yingxue's words. "I happened to break through as well, so I need to obtain my Eighth Soul Ring."

"When the time comes, I may accompany Mother to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt a suitable Soul Beast."

"What?!!!"

The smile on Li Yingxue's face froze instantly. Her beautiful eyes widened, and her little mouth fell open unconsciously, as if she had heard some absurd fantasy.

She abruptly jumped back half a step and carefully examined this brother of hers, who shared neither blood nor parents with her, as though she were seeing him for the first time.

"Brother! You... you're a Soul Douluo too?! An eighteen-year-old Soul Douluo?!"

Her voice rose from extreme shock, trembling with disbelief. "You... are you even human?! With this cultivation speed, even a legendary god reincarnated would be no more impressive than this, right?!"

After the shock passed, Li Yingxue quickly calmed down. She patted her chest, looking as though she had suddenly understood everything. "Whew... I think I suddenly understand why Father and Mother insisted on keeping your information tightly hidden all these years, even going to every length to conceal it from the imperial family and Spirit Hall..."

She leaned closer and lowered her voice. Her large eyes gleamed with mischief and lingering fear. "With your cultivation speed and talent, if word got out, the whole world outside would explode."

"Yes. Now that I have reached Soul Douluo and possess considerable means of self-preservation, there is no need to deliberately hide every trace of my edge as I did before."

Zhang Qingxuan nodded, acknowledging Li Yingxue's guess.

At this level, unless he faced a top-tier Title Douluo, even if he could not win, he was confident he could escape.

Besides, his true trump cards went far beyond the cultivation level he showed others.

Others cultivated Soul Power, but he cultivated Qi!

If not for the restrictions of this world's laws, he could not even be bothered to obtain Soul Rings!

"Really? That's wonderful!"

Li Yingxue's eyes lit up. She seemed to have thought of something interesting, but quickly shook her head, swallowed the words at her lips, and waved her hand with a smile. "It's nothing, it's nothing! I was just asking!"

Just then—

A cool, pleasant voice came from the courtyard entrance, making Li Yingxue frown slightly at once.

"Young Master."

The two turned toward the sound and saw a woman walking gracefully into the courtyard. She wore a moon-white gown, her figure graceful and slender.

What drew the eye most was her long silver hair, as pure and flawless as snow.

Her face was exceptionally beautiful, her skin so fair it seemed almost translucent, and her features as exquisite as a painting. In particular, the corners of her eyes tilted slightly upward, giving her a natural air of languid charm and seduction. Her irises were a pale icy blue.

The newcomer was none other than Xiao Bai, a transformed Soul Beast—the hundred-thousand-year Ice Snow White Fox.

Xiao Bai! A hundred-thousand-year Ice Snow White Fox transformed Soul Beast!

A few years ago, Zhang Qingxuan had traveled to the Far North in search of medicinal herbs and accidentally encountered her shortly after she had transformed.

Under the threat of Zhang Qingxuan's Thunder Method, Xiao Bai decisively surrendered!

She had transformed precisely to avoid being struck by lightning. If she still got struck by lightning after transforming, then wouldn't the transformation have been for nothing?!

After Zhang Qingxuan brought Xiao Bai back, Li Yuntian had recognized her identity as a transformed Soul Beast at a glance. However, he said nothing more and merely gave a few reminders.

As for Xiao Bai, when she first arrived at the Li Family, she had already prepared herself to be killed, yet in the end, nothing happened!

Zhang Qingxuan had even personally helped her conceal her Soul Beast aura, then entrusted some businesses to her management.

If she managed them well, he would even guide her cultivation!

Gradually, Xiao Bai lowered her guard and became part of the family.

The only thing was that she often quarreled with Li Yingxue, and every reason somehow had to do with Zhang Qingxuan!