Qian Xunji

One morning, just after Huo Yuhao finished cultivating and stepped out of the cultivation room, he saw a handsome young man with long golden hair following behind Qian Daoliu as they walked toward him.

The young man looked to be around twenty-five or twenty-six, and there was a hint of uncertainty on his face.

He looked about seventy percent like Qian Daoliu. He was none other than Qian Daoliu's only son, Qian Xunji, the next Pope, known as Secret Chamber Douluo.

Qian Xunji had just returned from the Star Dou Great Forest and hadn't had much time to rest before Qian Daoliu summoned him.

Was his father trying to find out about his eighth Soul Skill?

With that question in mind, Qian Xunji went to meet his still-imposing father.

But before he could tell Qian Daoliu about his trip to the Star Dou Great Forest, let alone mention his eighth Soul Skill, his old man—his dear father—hit him with some earth-shattering news.

"Ji'er, I've taken on a disciple. His name is Huo Yuhao, and he's a genius with Twin Martial Souls and Innate Full Soul Power."

His father had taken on a disciple?

Had there been any Twin Martial Soul geniuses on the continent in the past two years?

Wait, wasn't this the time of year when Spirit Hall awakened the Martial Souls of children who had just turned six?

"Father! The disciple you mentioned—could it be..."

Qian Daoliu nodded unhurriedly.

Ji'er, I know you're in a hurry, but don't be in a hurry just yet.

"He awakened his Martial Soul a little while ago."

Qian Xunji's mouth twitched.

He was thirty-six, old enough to take on disciples himself, and now he'd gained a junior brother nearly thirty years younger than him?

"You're about to step down. Why take him on as a disciple at a time like this..."

Could a disciple of an Elder be the same as a disciple of the Pope?

Qian Daoliu looked at Qian Xunji with exasperation.

"If you'd broken through to Soul Douluo sooner, I would have passed the position of Pope on to you long ago, and this exceptionally talented disciple would have been yours."

Compared to ordinary people, Qian Xunji was a genius whose talent was beyond their reach.

But among the Qian Family, where Innate Soul Power began at level twenty, Qian Xunji's talent was admittedly a bit of a drag.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was the least talented person in the Qian Family.

Qian Daoliu told Qian Xunji about both of Huo Yuhao's Martial Souls.

"His future achievements are boundless. He'll surpass even Tang Chen in his prime. If anyone in this world has a chance of becoming a god, it's undoubtedly Yuhao."

"I understand, Father." Qian Xunji nodded solemnly. "I'll treat him like my own little brother."

He'd just have to think of it as his father having a child in his old age!

Come to think of it, being the Pope's junior brother seemed to rank a bit higher than being the Pope's disciple.

Geniuses always had privileges.

"Yuhao, come here. Let me introduce you."

Qian Daoliu smiled and waved to Huo Yuhao, who was walking toward them.

Huo Yuhao hurried over. "Teacher."

He glanced at Qian Xunji beside him and didn't pretend not to know. "Is this my senior brother?"

The father and son looked so much alike that there was no point pretending he couldn't tell.

Qian Daoliu's smile was warm, but Qian Xunji was staring at him as if he were a ghost!

Had someone replaced the old man with an impostor?

He actually had such a gentle side?

"That's right. This is your senior brother, Qian Xunji. He's just returned from the Star Dou Great Forest and knows the current situation there better. He'll be the right person to accompany you in searching for a spirit-type Soul Beast."

With Qian Xunji's strength and the unique qualities of their family's Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, Huo Yuhao would be perfectly safe, as long as Qian Xunji didn't take him into the territory of the few Ferocious Beasts in the forest's core region.

At Qian Daoliu's words, Huo Yuhao's lips twitched slightly.

He'd just returned from the Star Dou Great Forest, and now he had to go back?

That was the sort of thing only a real father would do: work his son to the bone.

"Teacher, how about... letting Senior Brother rest for a couple of days?"

It wouldn't do if he started dragging his feet once they reached the Star Dou Great Forest.

At that, Qian Xunji looked at his younger brother—no, his junior brother—and found him much more likable.

He had to show the boy what a reliable big brother was like!

"For a Spirit Master, a trip like this isn't exhausting. Your first Soul Ring is more important, Junior Brother."

Without the provocation of Bibi Dong, whose head was full of romance, Qian Xunji was a decent man.

Huo Yuhao quickly looked up, wearing an obedient expression. "Then I'll be troubling you, Senior Brother."

He'd known it. Having one more junior brother wasn't the same as making a six-year-old brat his Martial Uncle. There was nothing so hard to accept about it!

Watching the two of them, Qian Daoliu's eyes flickered with amusement.

"Ji'er, I'll leave Yuhao in your hands. Be sure to keep him safe."

Besides Qian Xunji, two Elders from the Elder Hall would secretly protect them this time, just in case.

Huo Yuhao's Second Martial Soul would surely keep most Soul Beasts at bay, but there was no guarantee it wouldn't draw the attention of that absurdly powerful Soul Beast.

"The spirit-type Soul Beasts we're looking for on this trip are extremely rare. We may not find one suitable for you for days, or even more than ten days."

"Let's buy some food in the city before we leave. Yuhao, what do you like to eat?"

Before they left Spirit City, Qian Xunji asked Huo Yuhao, who looked like he'd never been out in the world before.

"We only need to bring a little dried food. We can buy some fish and put them in a Soul Tool. As for meat, we can just hunt for it along the way."

Qian Xunji looked helplessly at his junior brother, who seemed to think they were going on a picnic.

"Junior Brother, if we buy all that, it'll just go to waste."

Did he look like the sort of person who knew how to cook?

Huo Yuhao hadn't expected him to. It would have been strange if someone like Qian Xunji knew how to cook.

"Senior Brother, I can cook. My grilled fish and meat are delicious!"

He'd be counting on Qian Xunji to do the hard work soon.

As the saying went, if you wanted a horse to run, you had to feed it grass.

With his grilled fish and meat as bait, his senior brother would surely be full of enthusiasm!

Qian Xunji was skeptical, but seeing how confident Huo Yuhao looked, he didn't have the heart to discourage him.

"Then I'll look forward to Yuhao's cooking."

They'd better stock up on plenty of food. And they should get extra candy, too, so he could cheer his junior brother up like a child when he was feeling down.

That afternoon, Huo Yuhao brought out his specially made grill. He skewered the fish the fishmonger had already cleaned and started a fire.

The practiced way he moved unexpectedly gave Qian Xunji a little more confidence.

He flipped the fish and sprinkled on the seasoning. The motions looked perfectly ordinary, yet the aroma of the grilled fish grew stronger and stronger, drifting farther and farther away.

"Mmm!"

Qian Xunji took a bite, and his eyes lit up.

"Yuhao, this is the best grilled fish I've ever tasted!"

His senior brother praised it to the skies.

"Have you made it for my father, too?"

With grilled fish this good, surely his father would have said something about it.

Huo Yuhao shook his head. "Ever since I arrived in Spirit City, I've been cultivating. I hardly ever get time to rest."

Qian Xunji suddenly thought the grilled fish smelled even better!

Huo Yuhao was eating his grilled meat unhurriedly, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt there had been something just a tiny bit off about Qian Xunji's question.

He thought it over carefully. No, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with it after all.