There wasn't much braised food left today, just a few pig tails, two pig ears, three rabbit heads, and a few chicken feet.
They were all things Huo Yun'er liked to eat. Before going out, she always left a few of her favorites at home, so what had happened last time wouldn't happen again: someone had bought it all, leaving her with nothing.
"Mm!"
Drawn in by the aroma, Gu Yuena's eyes lit up after her first bite. She stopped caring about appearances and quickly began eating.
Seeing how much Gu Yuena was enjoying the food, Huo Yuhao said to the two people at the table, "Mother, Sister Nana, I'll go see my teacher first."
Gu Yuena didn't even turn her head. She merely nodded, looking as aloof as ever.
That is, if you ignored the pig tail she was munching on.
Spirit City had the best public security in all of Douluo Continent, and their home was very close to Pope's Palace. There was no need to tell him to be careful on the way.
As soon as Huo Yuhao returned to Spirit City, a guard reported it to Qian Xunji.
Knowing that Huo Yuhao would surely come to see his teacher, Qian Daoliu, Qian Xunji went straight to the side hall where the Pope handled his affairs.
Qian Daoliu was still dealing with paperwork. He looked up at Qian Xunji, who kept glancing impatiently toward the door.
"Since you're here, help me with some of these duties. At the latest, you'll be doing this work next year."
Why did the Pope wait until his successor became a Soul Douluo before considering handing over the position? Because these tedious affairs seriously got in the way of cultivation!
Qian Xunji was already at level eighty. It was time for him to take on this heavy burden and let the old man, who was a hundred years old, enjoy his retirement.
Qian Xunji: "..."
"Father, your son believes that being only a Soul Douluo isn't enough to serve as the Pope of our Spirit Hall. This time, I discovered that there are far too many people in this world stronger than I am. I need to cultivate harder so I can protect Spirit Hall in the future."
Qian Xunji spoke with righteous conviction.
Qian Daoliu: "..."
"Ji'er, I'm only stepping down in your favor. I'll become an elder in the Worship Hall. I'm not going to die."
If Qian Xunji encountered someone he couldn't beat, wouldn't his father still be there to help?
"Teacher, Senior Brother, what are you talking about?"
Huo Yuhao had caught the tail end of their conversation as he entered. Why were they talking about someone dying?
Who had died?
"We were talking about having your senior brother take over as Pope in a little while."
Qian Daoliu set down his pen. His tone was gentle, but Qian Xunji shivered from head to toe.
A moment ago, it was next year. Now it was "in a little while"?
"Then congratulations, Senior Brother!"
Being Pope was tiring, but the position carried great prestige!
He was revered by the people of Douluo Continent and ranked above the imperial families of the Two Great Empires, with a status beyond the ordinary.
Huo Yuhao had never understood, either, where an organization like Spirit Hall found so much paperwork.
Qian Xunji gave a faint, forced smile and took the initiative to change the subject.
"Yuhao, you seem to have changed quite a bit."
Huo Yuhao's hair had grown long, smooth and lustrous.
His features had also become gentler and more refined. His already clear blue eyes seemed to hold the stars, drawing people in without them even realizing it.
He had grown taller, too, and now stood at one meter forty.
Compared to his somewhat thin frame before, he now had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs.
This wasn't merely changing quite a bit. It was a complete transformation.
Huo Yuhao scratched his long hair, looking rather helpless.
"After I was taken to the Core Circle, Di Tian's Sovereign had me undergo Martial Soul Possession. Then I turned into this, and I didn't change back even after the possession ended."
All that was missing was a pair of dragon horns, and with them, a little of his domineering aura that seemed to look down on the world.
Qian Daoliu pondered for a moment. "Since the Spirit Master system first appeared, nothing like this has ever happened. Did that person explain why?"
Huo Yuhao immediately told them the explanation Gu Yuena had given: that his bloodline had awakened.
Even Spirit Hall, with its long history, had no records of how Martial Souls or Soul Beasts had come into being.
"The Beast God's Sovereign seems to have been a deity herself. If that was what she said, it should be true."
Qian Xunji also realized something important. "When a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast takes human form and has a child with a human, the child is born human, but the Martial Soul carries on the Soul Beast's true form and is inherited through the bloodline. In the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the bloodline is the only way it can be passed down. Doesn't that mean their ancestor was also a Soul Beast in human form?"
Ever since the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan first appeared, wild Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Souls had emerged from time to time.
But in the end, they had all proven by their results that they weren't wild—they were born in the wild.
Every child could be traced back to one of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's disciples.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had proven with hard facts that the saying "the dragon nature is lustful" was true.
"But I've never heard of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan having a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone."
When it came to Soul Bones, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was far behind the Clear Sky Sect.
"When a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast takes human form and then offers itself as a sacrifice or dies by accident, it leaves behind a Soul Bone. If it dies naturally, the Soul Bone dissipates along with its body."
Huo Yuhao had learned this from Gu Yuena during one of their casual conversations.
"A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that survives the Heavenly Tribulation can keep cultivating. Those that take human form and cultivate again aren't much different from humans, but they don't live as long as Soul Beasts that survive the tribulation. They have a maximum lifespan of only a thousand years, about the same as a Peerless Douluo."
Whether to be reduced to ashes at once in the Heavenly Tribulation or take human form and eke out another thousand years—every clever Soul Beast had its own choice.
Only a minority of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were willing to take human form. After learning this, Qian Xunji didn't give it much more thought.
There was something else he wanted to know more.
"Yuhao, what's the story with your First Soul Ring? The man in black who came to inform us earlier didn't explain anything clearly."
Qian Daoliu also looked over.
Since Huo Yuhao had awakened his bloodline, the Soul Beast Clan would surely attach great importance to his Soul Ring.
Qian Daoliu was curious, too, about what kind of Soul Ring could make a deity personally intervene.
"The Star Dou Great Forest captured an Ice Silkworm from the Far North. Its essence is pure, and it has a Mental Attribute, so it's very compatible with my First Martial Soul."
"It's only ten thousand years away from breaking through to a million years. This time, it was to raise its strength so I could obtain a Million-Year Soul Ring, the first of its kind."
Huo Yuhao smiled bashfully.
"A million years?!"
Qian Xunji cried out in shock. Even Qian Daoliu, who had seen and heard so much, couldn't help exclaiming.
The maximum age of a god-given Soul Ring was only a hundred thousand years.
Just how incredible would Huo Yuhao's Soul Skills be with a million-year Soul Ring?!
"Actually, it's not that incredible yet. My body isn't strong enough, so there's a limit to the age of the Soul Ring I can bear. I'll only be able to fully unseal it in the future."
"Still, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm has given me a huge boost. It can provide me with two Soul Ring slots, and I've already become a level twenty-seven Soul Grandmaster."
Qian Xunji silently turned his head away.
His Innate Soul Power had been level twenty, yet he hadn't even reached level twenty-seven by the time he was seven.
And he didn't have a Million-Year Soul Ring, either!
Not even a hundred-thousand-year one.
His Dao Heart was a little shattered.
Before you continue