Two days later, Feng Qingluan obtained a seventy-thousand-year Spirit Bone from the treasury of the Worship Hall.
It was a Right Arm Soul Bone produced by an Emerald Demon Bird. Not only did it grant Feng Qingluan the Emerald Demon Strike, a Soul Skill that ignored defense, it also let him break through the Barrier in one fell swoop and reach rank 97!
"Is this the effect of a seventy-thousand-year Spirit Bone?" Feng Qingluan felt the improvement in his strength and couldn't help saying, "I feel like I could take on three of my former selves now!"
Feng Qingluan's feeling was right. Apart from increasing his cultivation by one rank, the Emerald Demon Strike that ignored defense was even more powerful than his ninth Soul Skill!
With the two effects combined, he felt frighteningly strong. His second brother, Golden Crocodile Douluo, couldn't even withstand this strike!
"Congratulations, Grandpa." Seeing his grandfather reach rank 97, Feng Baiyu was overjoyed.
Cultivation after rank 95 was already fraught with difficulties, so his grandfather reaching rank 97 was naturally cause for celebration.
Feng Baiyu thought of the opportunities that lay ahead. Perhaps they really could raise his grandfather to rank 99, the Peak Douluo level!
The stronger his grandfather was, the fewer disadvantages Feng Baiyu would face from revealing his Phoenix God Deityhood.
"Haha, Grandpa has you to thank for this." Feng Qingluan patted his grandson's head and said, "Rank 97 is a wonderful realm! Baiyu, stay home and cultivate diligently for the next few days. I'll go look for a more suitable Second Soul Ring for you."
"Mm." Feng Baiyu didn't refuse. "Sorry for the trouble, Grandpa."
Feng Baiyu was only rank 14, but finding a suitable Soul Ring was too difficult. Birds with Phoenix bloodlines would be easy enough to find, but a Pure-Blooded Phoenix would be best for Feng Baiyu!
As for its age—
For a truly top-quality Soul Ring, it didn't matter if its age was a little lower.
"Third Brother, congratulations on your breakthrough!"
"Congratulations, Third Brother! Congratulations on reaching rank 97!"
The next day, news of Feng Qingluan reaching rank 97 spread far and wide. Several of Spirit Hall's Offerings arrived together, bearing gifts.
But their gifts weren't just to congratulate Feng Qingluan on reaching rank 97. More importantly, they wanted to thank Feng Baiyu for discovering a way to improve physical fitness and increase the age limit for obtaining Soul Rings.
"Same to you, same to you." Feng Qingluan understood the purpose of his old friends' visit, but he didn't mind.
It was far more practical for these old fellows to owe Feng Baiyu a favor than to thank him.
It was just that the gifts those old fellows had brought were rather childish: a Storage Soul Tool, a fine sword forged by Lou Gao—what use were those things to his grandson?
And those twin cat girls sent by Sixth and Seventh, too—his grandson was so young. What was he supposed to do with them?
The most practical gift was the Gold Soul Card his second brother had sent, loaded with a million Gold Soul Coins.
Feng Qingluan felt rather helpless, but still accepted everything.
He brought his grandson to meet a few of his old friends. Feng Baiyu was very polite. Looking at the old gentlemen, he bowed and said, "Greetings, Second Worship, Fourth Offering, Fifth Offering, Sixth Offering, and Seventh Offering."
"Don't call us Offerings!" Seeing how well-mannered Feng Baiyu was, Golden Crocodile Douluo was actually a little displeased. They were all rough men; formalities could be skipped whenever possible. He said, "We've been friends with your grandfather for decades. Just call us Grandpa!"
Feng Baiyu seized the opportunity and immediately said, "Greetings, Second Grandpa, Fourth Grandpa, Fifth Grandpa, Sixth Grandpa, and Seventh Grandpa."
"As expected of Third Brother's child—a young hero indeed!" Golden Crocodile Douluo looked at Feng Baiyu with affection in his eyes. "It's a pity this old man doesn't have a beautiful granddaughter. Otherwise, I'd make sure to claim you as my grandson-in-law."
The others agreed with Golden Crocodile Douluo. Those old fellows all had descendants, but few of them were close in age to Feng Qingluan.
It wasn't that they had no girls in the family, but they were either born to concubines or from collateral branches. If they had good talent, that might have been acceptable, but their talent was mediocre. How could they qualify to be the wife of the Feng Family's eldest son?
They knew their own circumstances and didn't bring it up.
Feng Baiyu wasn't disappointed. He was only six and a half; it was still too early to look for a wife.
After formally meeting, they could consider one another family from then on.
But Feng Baiyu wasn't suited to a gathering of grandfathers who were all over a hundred years old. After greeting everyone, he went back to cultivate.
The elders of the Worship Hall didn't stop him and let Feng Baiyu leave.
At that point, the old friends began discussing matters among themselves.
"Now that we're using Whale Rubber on our descendants, there's no way to keep this secret from that woman, Bibi Dong." Golden Crocodile Douluo looked at Feng Qingluan and said, "Third Brother, what do you think? Should we hunt some ten-thousand-year whale Soul Beasts? No matter what anyone else does, we should first meet the needs of our own families."
"Third Brother, Second Brother is right!" Mad Lion Douluo said. "If we wait too long, plenty of people will go hunting whale Soul Beasts in the ocean. If that woman notices, we could suffer heavy losses!"
Feng Qingluan knew that by "that woman," Mad Lion Douluo meant Sea God Douluo Bo Saixi. If the six of them fought her together, they still wouldn't be her match.
He needed to prepare Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue for his grandson anyway. With a few old brothers helping, they could get twice the result with half the effort.
After thinking it over, Feng Qingluan decided to get Whale Glue for his grandson first, then search for Soul Beasts for him. He said, "We can't all leave at once. Let's discuss who should go and who should stay. When we get back, we'll split the Whale Glue seven ways, so none of us gets left out."
The seventh share was, of course, for their eldest brother's granddaughter, Qian Renxue. They had all watched her grow up, so naturally, they had no objections.
After a brief discussion, they finally decided that Third Offering Azure Luan Douluo and Fifth Offering Guangling Douluo would go.
Taking the opportunity, Feng Qingluan also made a request: "Baiyu's talent isn't very good, so he can only make up for it with Soul Rings and improve the quality of his Martial Soul as much as possible. Brothers, if you come across any Pure-Blooded Phoenix Soul Beasts, remember to bring one back for him. Its age doesn't matter. What matters is that it can benefit his Martial Soul."
Hearing Feng Qingluan's words, the others readily agreed.
Feng Baiyu had brought them such a pleasant surprise. Those gifts weren't enough to show their gratitude. Bringing him a Pure-Blooded Phoenix as a Soul Ring would be a fine gift.
Meanwhile, as the Offerings drank and chatted, Feng Baiyu had already returned to cultivating.
"Made by Lou Gao?" Feng Baiyu toyed with the sword and thought of the "God of Craftsmen," Lou Gao.
Whatever else could be said about him, his craftsmanship was indeed excellent. But it was a shame that he eventually ended up on the opposing side of Spirit Hall.
Feng Baiyu felt he should bring Lou Gao over to his side before the man went astray. Even if he couldn't win him over, he couldn't let him become an enemy—he would have to cripple him.
But Feng Baiyu wasn't in a hurry. He could visit Gengxin City when he had time.
The most important thing right now was to cultivate, and cultivate some more.
Before you continue