"Is this the so-called Indomitable Staff Technique? Fighting against heaven and earth... that certainly suits the life I lived in my previous life."
As Qian Jue watched the Coiling Dragon Staff come roaring toward him, there wasn't a trace of fear in his eyes. Instead, they glimmered with excitement.
He tightened his grip on the Coiling Dragon Staff and calmed his mind.
As Qiangu Zhangting's attack closed in, Qian Jue struck after him yet arrived first. He swung his staff across his chest and broke the fatal blow.
Bang!
Qiangu Zhangting took the horizontal strike to the chest. He flew backward as if he'd been hit by a Soul Guidance Train.
As for the first move of his Indomitable Staff Technique, Qian Jue had already broken it.
Qiangu Zhangting flew off the arena, his blood and qi churning in his chest.
What? How is this kid so strong?
If he hadn't been a three-ring Soul Elder, that one strike would've left him bedridden for at least ten days or half a month.
"You're too kind."
Qian Jue recalled his Martial Soul, then stepped down from the platform and reached out to pull Qiangu Zhangting to his feet.
Defeated in a single move by a younger brother in front of his grandfather, Qiangu Zhangting felt his blood and qi churning, his little face burning red with embarrassment.
But he wasn't the sort to take losing badly, especially since Qian Jue was family.
"Little brother, you're really strong. I admit defeat wholeheartedly."
Qiangu Dieyan nodded slightly. Being able to accept defeat and let it go—that was the mindset one needed to keep if one hoped to continue climbing to greater heights.
Back then, he himself had been unable to let go. He'd never forgotten how Yun Ming had knocked him from the summit above Ming Capital, and that was why it had taken him a full thirty years longer to break through to the Quasi-God realm.
Qiangu Dieyan stepped forward and rested a hand on Qiangu Zhangting's shoulder. Gentle Soul Power flowed into him, accelerating the recovery of his injuries and calming the blood and qi stirred by the Coiling Dragon Staff.
When he was done, his gaze settled on Qian Jue.
"Did you understand Zhangting's Indomitable Staff Technique?"
Qian Jue nodded. Only after quietly pondering it did he understand the profound principle behind the Indomitable Staff Technique.
"Battle Heaven Fight Earth, the so-called indomitable will—it means using oneself to defy the laws of an entire plane, breaking through them with force, then absorbing and transforming them to make them one's own."
Qiangu Dieyan was deeply shaken.
"You actually grasped the concept of laws?!"
That was a domain many Titled Douluo could barely touch.
Yet Qian Jue was only a one- or two-ring Soul Master, and Qiangu Dieyan had just heard him speak of laws.
Only now did Qiangu Dieyan truly understand why Dongfeng had made time in the middle of his busy schedule and resorted to every means possible to persuade him to come out of seclusion.
So the Qiangu Clan really had produced a dragon!
Qian Jue studied the Coiling Dragon Staff in his hands. The intertwined dragon patterns on its shaft seemed to give off a unique aura.
"The Indomitable Staff Technique is a way of resisting the laws of a plane. Combined with the Coiling Dragon Staff's special nature—the Martial Soul itself can conceal itself from the plane—that's how it can shatter the plane's laws and amplify its own power."
"Am I right, Great-grandfather?"
Qiangu Dieyan nodded. Every word Qian Jue had said was true. That was how their clan had used the Indomitable Staff Technique to thrive on the continent for ten thousand years.
Their lineage could be traced back as far as the Spirit Hall Elder Lineage, two thousand years ago.
Even then, the Coiling Dragon Staff had stood at the pinnacle of the Soul Master World. Its strength came from breaking the laws, transforming them, and making them one's own. Its explosive power ranked among the top three in the entire history of the Soul Master World.
But after Spirit Hall fell, their clan had fallen silent for a time. It wasn't until the past thousand years that they made their mark again within the Spirit Pagoda.
"But I can't help wondering—isn't this method a little too much of a shortcut?"
Qiangu Dieyan and Qiangu Zhangting both froze. They'd never considered that question while cultivating the Indomitable Staff Technique.
Qian Jue planted his staff on the ground and looked toward the orange-red sunset. "The Indomitable Staff Technique is supposed to Battle Heaven Fight Earth, and its core is the word 'break.' Yet it relies on the Martial Soul's special nature, never daring to face the 'heavens'—or the plane's fury—head-on."
"Then this so-called breaking of heaven can never reach its full potential."
"Only by stepping into the land of death can one find a path to life."
A fierce aura rippled out from Qian Jue. The air around him grew viscous and heavy.
He remembered his previous life, when he'd faced those powerful godly races in the vast universe.
Every brush with disaster. Every life-and-death battle.
Those memories of the past were the finest whetstone, sharpening Qian Jue's understanding.
Tell me, how many people on the Douluo Continent today had experienced a blood-soaked war that lasted ten thousand years?
This wasn't the pressure of Soul Power, but a will born from the spirit—unshakable as bedrock.
The Coiling Dragon Staff in his hand responded in kind, ringing with the roars of dragons.
Nine-colored light blazed, shooting straight into the heavens.
The second realm of the staff path: Staff Intent.
His spiritual power merged with the Coiling Dragon Staff. With a thought, a single strike could conceal killing intent and carry conviction. He was no longer bound by forms. Through sheer intent, he could disrupt an enemy's mind, dispel illusions, and steady his own spirit.
He had fully entered the realm of intent.
Qian Jue let out a long breath, then recalled the Coiling Dragon Staff.
Watching this, Qiangu Dieyan felt his memories drawn back several decades.
The Sky-Pillar spear had swept through the sky, dominating the battlefield and crushing all the world's heroes beneath its might.
At that moment, Qian Jue carried the very same presence Yun Ming had possessed back then!
He'd only just stepped into the realm of intent. His Staff Intent wasn't particularly powerful yet, and it was nowhere near shaking heaven and earth.
But its foundation was solid. It was as quiet as the earth and as unyielding as mountain ranges. Even if the heavens and earth crumbled before him, his expression would never change.
"Hahaha! Excellent, excellent! My Qiangu Clan is destined to flourish in this age!"
Qiangu Dieyan roared with laughter, joy surging from the bottom of his heart. After all these years, he'd finally seen in one of his descendants the hope of completing the final move of the Indomitable Staff Technique.
Exactly! If you'd decided to fight against heaven and earth, why hesitate and hold back?
If even your own mind wavered, how could you accomplish the unparalleled feat of breaking through and becoming a god?
"I'll stay at the Qingfeng Family's home for the next few days. You come home each weekend, and I'll personally teach and guide you. If you have any questions about cultivation, you can come ask me."
Qian Jue shook his head. "Great-grandfather, if you don't mind, could you teach my companions too? They're all quite talented."
Hearing this, Qiangu Dieyan was even more pleased with his great-grandson.
Loyalty and affection were rare and precious.
Suddenly, he remembered the two silver-haired girls who'd clung to Qian Jue along the way. He teased, "Is it for the sake of your little girlfriends? Hahaha, youth is wonderful."
"What's the story with those two young ladies? Great-grandfather will help you vet them. As someone who's been around, let me tell you: if you like them, take them both."
"As long as you treat them equally, everyone can be happy. That's what your grandfather did."
As he finished speaking, a proud expression crossed his face.
Qian Jue's mouth twitched. He'd known Qiangu Dieyan was a womanizer, but he hadn't expected him to teach Qian Jue how to build a harem. What kind of way was that to raise a grandson?
"I'll heed your teachings, Great-grandfather."