The Underworld Soul Skill, the Underworld Person

"As you can see, I had already gained a preliminary grasp of the power of the Law of Time. The three soul rings Shu gave me were the manifestation of that power."

With a thought from Qian Jue, Shu vanished from beside him, replaced by three silvery-white soul rings revolving around his body.

White ten-year soul rings?

No. Based on the knowledge of Qiangu Dongfeng and the others, Shu was very likely a legendary million-year soul beast.

She might even be a divine beast.

According to the historical records of the Spirit Pagoda, the first Soul Spirit of Huo Yuhao, the Spirit Ice Douluo and first Tower Master, had been the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, a million-year soul beast. The soul rings it granted had been platinum in color.

Shu's status was certainly above that of the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, so the rank of Qian Jue's soul rings might well be supreme throughout the entire history of soul masters.

The kind with no predecessor and no successor.

Qian Jue raised the Coiling Dragon Staff in his hand and pointed it at Qiangu Dongfeng.

"If you wish to test my soul skills, would Tower Master Qiangu be willing to serve as my sparring partner?"

Qiangu Dongfeng chuckled, raised a hand, and tore off the cloak on his body before tossing it aside. Golden light flashed, and an even more ancient and imposing Coiling Dragon Staff appeared in his hand.

"Why not? I'd also like to see just how far you've grown, Xiao Qian."

Watching the fighting spirit rise in the two of them, Leng Yaozhu felt rather speechless.

She had to admit that Qian Jue truly was descended from the Qiangu line. Battle Heaven Fight Earth flowed in his blood. He clearly looked harmless and adorable, yet inside, he was an out-and-out battle maniac.

"If you want to fight, at least look at where you are, all right? This is the Spirit Pagoda's forbidden grounds, where the Spirit Ascension Platform's main control room is located. Aren't you afraid of damaging the precision instruments and Soul Tool facilities here if you two start fighting?"

"If you want to fight, go to the combat testing grounds. That place is sturdy and spacious enough for you to cut loose."

In the end, Qiangu Dongfeng and Qian Jue obediently listened to Leng Yaozhu. After all, she had a point.

The combat testing grounds were not underground, but inside another building outside the Spirit Pagoda headquarters.

The site's durability standards were benchmarked against Super Douluo, and it was a testing venue reserved for internal personnel of the Spirit Pagoda.

During simulated battles or matches in the arena, the various Soul Tool instruments below could accurately measure all manner of data from the simulated battle, allowing testers to quickly identify their weak points and improve them.

Generally speaking, so long as an Ultimate Douluo did not attack at full force, or several ninth-grade fixed-installed Soul Tool shells did not explode, this testing ground could withstand it completely.

Qiangu Dongfeng summoned his Coiling Dragon Staff martial soul. Six black and three red soul rings—nine in total—surrounded him. Though his configuration was inferior to Qiangu Dieyan's, it was still an exceptionally luxurious soul ring setup.

In comparison, Qian Jue on the other side had far fewer soul rings than Qiangu Dongfeng.

Yet those three special silvery-white soul rings, bright as the moon, were just as eye-catching, and their aura did not lose to Qiangu Dongfeng's in the slightest.

"Xiao Qian, get ready."

The instant he finished speaking, Qiangu Dongfeng swung the Coiling Dragon Staff in his hand. The surrounding space shattered in response, and terrifying energy ripples surged rapidly toward Qian Jue.

Leng Yaozhu, watching from the stands, could not help but break out in a cold sweat for her disciple.

On the way to the testing grounds, Qian Jue had asked Qiangu Dongfeng to keep his Soul Power output at around the level of a Titled Douluo.

If Xiao Qian failed to block this move, then even with defensive Soul Tools protecting him, he would probably still suffer some minor injuries.

Faced with this mountain-toppling, sea-overturning strike, Qian Jue had little time to react and evade.

Just as the energy ripples came within seven zhang of him, his second soul ring blazed brilliantly.

In the next instant—almost in the blink of an eye—Leng Yaozhu and Qiangu Dongfeng both witnessed Qian Jue leap high into the air at the very last moment, avoiding the attack.

One had to know that the speed of that attack was not something a Soul Elder could evade. Even a Soul Sage might not necessarily have been able to react in time at a distance of less than a hundred meters.

A strange feeling lingered in their hearts as the two tried to make sense of the situation.

Qian Jue explained, "This is the effect of my second soul skill, A Thousand Years of Memories. It can rewind everything within seven zhang around me, returning its trajectory to where it was three seconds earlier."

"It can also freeze time for three seconds. After those three seconds, the enemy's position or soul skill will arrive at the position it should have reached three seconds earlier."

Qian Jue smiled, then dropped another bombshell. "This soul skill is absolute. No matter how high your cultivation is, so long as you do not—"

Leng Yaozhu and Qiangu Dongfeng both sucked in a sharp breath.

They knew perfectly well what this meant.

Battles between high-level soul masters often came down to finding an opening, then ending things in a single strike.

Only a few soul masters possessed martial soul traits that made their vitality extraordinarily tenacious, requiring damage to accumulate continuously before they could be defeated.

This was especially true for top-tier powerhouses. At the level of Ultimate Douluo, the gap between everyone was generally not great, and victory or defeat was often decided within one or two moves.

Qian Jue smiled faintly. He was quite satisfied with this sinister soul skill of his.

Especially its absolute nature. In terms of quality, it was even more sinister than Xu Xiaoyan's. So long as the opponent's strength did not surpass Shu at the peak of her power—that was, God King level—the effect of this soul skill would be absolute.

Like a Law of Time that belonged to him alone.

"Hahahaha, then what about your other soul skills? Bring them all out. This old body of mine is tough enough—I can take all of them."

Hearing this, Leng Yaozhu's eye twitched from outside the arena, and she grumbled inwardly for quite a while.

An Ultimate Douluo serving as a testing sandbag? Those really were rare.

"Alright then, here I come."

The next moment, Qian Jue activated his first soul ring and shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. He raised the Coiling Dragon Staff high, then brought it down in a vertical smash straight at Qiangu Dongfeng's face.

Watching the Coiling Dragon Staff rapidly fill his vision, Qiangu Dongfeng was utterly speechless.

Hey, don't hit people in the face! Are you telling me to let go or not?

Forget it. He was an Ultimate Douluo, after all. Was he really going to have his defenses broken by some tiny Soul Elder?

With that thought, Qiangu Dongfeng did not dodge. He merely used a layer of Soul Power for basic defense.

As Qian Jue's first soul skill activated, the Coiling Dragon Staff came crashing down onto Qiangu Dongfeng's face.

And then...

Nothing happened.

Qiangu Dongfeng swiftly checked his body with his spiritual power, yet found nothing unusual. His Soul Power defense had not been breached either.

But the next second, pain suddenly bloomed across his cheek.

Seeing the left side of Qiangu Dongfeng's face gradually redden, swell, and puff up, Leng Yaozhu could not hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! You... what kind of pig-headed look is that?"

Qiangu Dongfeng was equally stunned. He hurriedly borrowed a mirror from Leng Yaozhu.

The spot on the right side that had been struck by the Coiling Dragon Staff was beginning to congest and swell. Everything had happened within seconds. Most bizarre of all, he had clearly used Soul Power to defend himself—and had successfully blocked that strike.

"My first soul skill is called Time Waiting Syndrome."

"It is a curse of 'reversed causality.' The part struck by the Coiling Dragon Staff will first display the wound it will have a day later."

"Or rather, my attack does not act upon the present, but on the Tower Master in the future timeline. How can your current defense deal with an attack from a day in the future? Unless you consciously maintain your Soul Power defense until a day later, this strike is bound to take effect."

"As my Soul Power cultivation rises, the effect of my first soul skill will gradually be amplified."

The more Qian Jue spoke, the more he felt just how sinister it was.

"When the time comes, if my enemies want to defend against my attacks, they should prepare themselves for the enormous expenditure of using Soul Power nonstop for several consecutive days."