"Cough!"
After being teased by his son and disciple, Qian Daoliu coughed to interrupt the two, whose banter was getting more and more outrageous.
Even if he had indeed been a little impulsive back then, you two brats didn't have to say it so bluntly to his face!
At least talk behind his back. Just don't let him hear you!
Qian Xunji had respected Qian Daoliu for so many years. The moment he heard his father cough, his beaming expression turned stern, and he fell silent.
Huo Yuhao also lowered his head, doing his best to keep from laughing.
Being able to gossip to the face of one of the three strongest people in the world while still a weakling himself was quite an impressive achievement!
Seeing that Qian Xunji and Huo Yuhao had both quieted down, Qian Daoliu's slightly awkward expression finally returned to normal.
"Since your First Soul Ring has so many skills, I imagine your Second Soul Ring is no less impressive."
Huo Yuhao obediently nodded, then told Qian Daoliu and Qian Xunji about all four of his Second Soul Ring's Soul Skills.
"Eight Soul Skills!"
Qian Xunji stared up at the sky, speechless.
He was thirty-six years old, had reached level eighty, and had become a Soul Douluo—and he had only eight Soul Skills in total!
His junior brother had only two Soul Rings, yet already had eight Soul Skills!
Wasn't this cheat of his a little too outrageous?
Even if two of those Soul Skills seemed useless, they were still life-saving divine skills when you thought about it!
Whether it was Simulation or Breath Concealment, they'd be perfect for a sneak attack. One strike, one hit!
In a proper Spirit Master tournament at school, as long as Huo Yuhao took the field, there'd be no contest.
You couldn't even see where your opponent was. How were you supposed to fight?
And Huo Yuhao? Even if his opponent used all sorts of methods to conceal their whereabouts, one Spirit Detection from him would reveal everything. He could even share it with his teammates in real time!
The battlefield was actually where Huo Yuhao's abilities could be put to the best use.
But the Spirit Hall had no desire to dominate Douluo Continent, so Huo Yuhao would probably only get to bully students at a Soul Master Academy.
"Sigh... The people born in the same era as Yuhao are going to have a hard time."
A mountain they could never climb over loomed above their heads.
Forget the kids of his generation. Even the generation before them would probably feel the pressure.
Qian Daoliu could see what Qian Xunji had in mind, and he could see even further.
"Yuhao, a million-year Soul Beast from the Soul Beast Clan sacrificed itself for you and raised your Martial Soul's abilities to such a level. You must feel grateful to them."
A million-year Soul Beast was practically on par with a god.
The Soul Beast Clan had invested so much in Huo Yuhao. What they wanted in return was probably no small thing.
Huo Yuhao understood the deeper meaning behind Qian Daoliu's words. He slowly nodded. "A little."
"Yuhao, do you know what the relationship is between humans and Soul Beasts?"
Huo Yuhao was silent for a moment before answering, "I do. Teacher told me before. Humans and Soul Beasts have an irreconcilable conflict."
The main source of this conflict was how Spirit Masters grew stronger.
Every Spirit Master needed nine Soul Rings in their lifetime, which meant at least nine Soul Beasts had to die for them.
Each Soul Beast they needed had to be older than the last.
Humans and Soul Beasts were locked in a relationship where one side had to die for the other to survive.
"Then in your heart, which matters more: humans or Soul Beasts?" Qian Daoliu let out a long sigh. "Your bloodline is so unusual, the Beast God calls you 'sir,' and that 'Sovereign' personally went to great lengths to secure your Soul Rings. Your future standing in the Soul Beast Clan will be extraordinary."
Huo Yuhao's position was far too important.
And Qian Daoliu couldn't take action against Huo Yuhao.
The Soul Beasts had told Huo Yuhao to inform him about the Soul Rings precisely so that he would understand how important Huo Yuhao was to the Soul Beast Clan.
If anything happened to Huo Yuhao, the Soul Beast Clan might take its fury out not just on the Spirit Hall, but on all of humanity.
Among the Soul Beasts, there was still a mysterious god, after all.
Their cards were on the table. Qian Daoliu had no choice but to accept.
All Qian Daoliu could do for now was guide Huo Yuhao toward favoring humanity while he was still young, before his temperament and beliefs had fully taken shape.
"Teacher." Huo Yuhao's voice was calm and clear. "I am human."
There might not be much human blood left in Huo Yuhao's body at this point, but his belief in being human had never changed.
That made him human.
Qian Daoliu said nothing, waiting for him to continue.
"Spirit Masters cannot cultivate without Soul Rings. And Soul Rings come from Soul Beasts. Teacher, have you ever considered what Spirit Masters would do if, one day, Soul Beasts went extinct?"
The remark made Qian Xunji, who had been silent on the sidelines because he didn't think it was his place to butt in, glance over in surprise.
Thinking of the Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest, Qian Xunji couldn't help speaking up. "There are so many Soul Beasts. How could they go extinct?"
Aside from a few species that were difficult to reproduce, many Soul Beasts gave birth to large litters.
"Not now. But what about ten thousand years from now? A hundred thousand? Humans hunt Soul Beasts not only for their Soul Rings, but also slaughter them to obtain Soul Bones. Can Soul Beasts really grow fast enough to keep up with how many humans consume?"
Soul Beasts cultivated more slowly than humans. But the more talented a Spirit Master was, and the faster they grew, the more they needed high-year Soul Beasts.
They wouldn't even have to wait a hundred thousand years. In twenty thousand years, Soul Beasts would already be a rare species.
Was this really something a seven-year-old child should be thinking about?
Was he, the next Pope of the Spirit Hall, that unfit for the role?
Qian Daoliu sighed. "The Spirit Master cultivation system is cruel by nature. As long as it remains unchanged, humans and Soul Beasts will never be able to coexist."
"Why not?"
"Because we don't have the ability. Perhaps becoming a god might make it possible to solve the flaws in the cultivation system, but becoming a god is hardly simple."
No, perhaps even becoming a god wouldn't solve it.
Couldn't the 'Sovereign' on the Soul Beasts' side only watch this happen without being able to change it?
"Teacher, didn't you ask how I think humans and Soul Beasts should coexist? I think the two can coexist!"
Even Qian Daoliu was stunned for a moment when Huo Yuhao said this.
"How can they coexist? What would coexistence look like?"
"The million-year Soul Beast that sacrificed itself to me isn't really dead. It came up with the method itself and called it a Wisdom Spirit Ring. Its body is gone, but its soul remains in the Soul Ring, where it can exist alongside a Spirit Master."
As Huo Yuhao spoke, he reached out to Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, who had only recently awakened in his Sea of Spirit.
A seven-meter-long, white jade-like worm appeared abruptly before Qian Daoliu and Qian Xunji.
As soon as it appeared, it raised the upper half of its body and smiled at Qian Daoliu and Qian Xunji, who were staring at it in shock.
"I hear you admire me and wanted to see my majestic figure."
As Tianmeng Ice Silkworm spoke, it wiggled its body to show off its plump figure even better.
Huo Yuhao's mouth twitched. The million-year Soul Beast's imposing aura had vanished the moment it opened its mouth.
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