"Break through to Rank Ninety-Seven within my lifetime?"
Qian Xunji lowered his eyes, secretly laughing bitterly to himself as he shook his head imperceptibly.
For ordinary Soul Masters, Titled Douluo were already unreachable legends.
But as the Pope of Spirit Hall and a descendant of the Qian Clan, he knew better than anyone just how insurmountable the threshold of Super Douluo truly was.
After cultivating to Rank Ninety-Five, every step forward no longer depended solely on accumulating Soul Power and piling up resources. More importantly, it required profound insight into the origins of one's Martial Soul, as well as that mysterious and elusive opportunity!
He had only managed to stumble his way to Rank Ninety-Five because of the Angel Martial Soul's terrifying cultivation speed.
As for breaking through the shackles, advancing further, and even cultivating to the realm of a Rank Ninety-Seven Super Douluo?
To be blunt, he was the most untalented and pathetic Pope in the Qian Clan's history.
For someone with his mediocre aptitude, Rank Ninety-Seven was practically harder than ascending to heaven.
"What?!"
Qian Wuji tilted his head slightly, his deep eyes carrying a trace of sharpness as he said teasingly, "As the current Pope of Spirit Hall and a man of the Qian Clan, you do not even have this much confidence? You are making a truly pathetic Pope."
"I-I do, Great-Uncle, I do!" He had been scolded to his face by a Rank Ninety-Ninth Rank Peerless Douluo Great-Uncle.
Qian Xunji felt like a quail hiding its head right now. He shuddered all over in fright and could only agree through gritted teeth.
Rank Ninety-Seven it was, then. Whether he could actually fulfill that boast could wait until later.
At worst, he would throw himself into seclusion and cultivate desperately. Maybe a blind cat would catch a dead mouse, and he might really make it?!
Only after seeing him state his position did Qian Wuji reluctantly withdraw his gaze.
He was not particularly interested in Qian Xunji. His talent was simply too poor; it was truly a waste for the Angel Martial Soul to be with him.
Compared to that mediocre Pope, he was clearly much more interested in the grandnephew who had been capable of reviving him.
Qian Wuji turned around and placed all his attention on Qian Renheng and Qian Renxue.
He had not realized it until he looked. Once he did, he was so shocked that he froze on the spot, unable to believe what he saw.
"Gasp—wait!"
Qian Wuji's eyes widened. He even rubbed them hard without regard for his image, his face filled with disbelief.
He stared fixedly at the two delicate, doll-like children before him, his voice trembling as a result.
"Rank Twenty-Seven? Your current Soul Power Levels are actually Rank Twenty-Seven?!
Qian Wuji felt as though his worldview had been struck by some unknown and terrifying blow. "Did Elder Brother not just say that you two only awakened your Martial Souls a few days ago?!"
"Even counting everything, it has been less than five days since you awakened your Martial Souls, right?! How did you cultivate?!"
"What did you even eat to cultivate this fast?!"
Rank Twenty-Seven! They were only three ranks away from the great threshold of Rank Thirty!
As long as they crossed those three ranks and absorbed their third Soul Rings, they would become genuine Soul Elders!
Soul Elder—this was the fourth major realm in the Soul Master system!
Two children barely six years old, who had not even lost their baby teeth, had cultivated to the threshold of Soul Elder? This was simply unheard of!
Qian Wuji frantically recalled his own incomparably glorious past.
After awakening his Martial Soul at six years old, he had cultivated desperately day and night, neglecting food and sleep. Even then, he had not cultivated at such an insane pace!
Seeing Qian Wuji's ghost-struck expression, Qian Wushuang and Qian Daoliu exchanged a subtle glance.
Both could see a trace of smugness in the other's eyes. It felt wonderful—absolutely wonderful!
So what if you, Qian Wuji, had been the most dazzling and outstanding peerless expert of your era?!
So what if you were proud and arrogant, having never suffered defeat in your life?
Before the terrifying talent of these siblings, the talent you were so proud of would still be ground mercilessly into the dirt.
In their hearts, these siblings' cultivation talent was absolutely the most heaven-defying and unreasonable in the history of Spirit Hall and even the entire Douluo Continent!
Their first and second Soul Rings were both Thousand-Year Soul Rings. The immense Soul Power gained from absorbing them alone had propelled their Soul Power Levels all the way to Rank Twenty-Seven.
Most importantly—and what they looked forward to most—was that these two little monsters were aiming for Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings for their third Soul Rings, something ordinary Soul Masters could only absorb as their fifth Soul Rings!
Once they successfully absorbed Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings, the energy contained within those Soul Rings would inevitably send the siblings' Soul Power Levels soaring once again!
If they continued calculating based on this rocket-like cultivation speed,
then these siblings breaking through to Soul King or even Soul Emperor before the age of twelve was practically guaranteed.
A twelve-year-old Soul King, a Soul Emperor.
Just imagining that scene made Qian Wushuang and Qian Daoliu practically explode with excitement.
Throughout the tens of thousands of years of Soul Master history on the Douluo Continent, such young and terrifying Soul Masters had never appeared before.
Just as Qian Wuji was still questioning his entire life because of their cultivation speed,
"Hehe—"
Seeing her uncle-grandfather's inexperienced expression, Qian Renxue could not help letting out a playful laugh.
The little girl raised her fair little chin and brightly dropped another bombshell.
"Great-Granduncle, we cultivated so quickly because of our first two Soul Rings. My older brother and I both absorbed Thousand-Year Soul Rings~"
"So that was why, because you absorbed Thousand-Year—wait?!" Qian Wuji nodded subconsciously along with Qian Renxue's words.
But the next second, his entire body froze.
He suddenly raised his head and looked at Qian Renxue with horror all over his face, his voice nearly rising eight octaves. "What? What did you just say?!"
"The first two Soul Rings of you two little ones were actually Thousand-Year Soul Rings?! That fucking works?!"
Qian Wuji even dug forcefully at his ears, seriously suspecting that after being revived, his ears had not fully grown back yet.
What nonsense had these two little ones just said? Their first two Soul Rings were Thousand-Year Soul Rings? How was that possible?!
One had to know that even Qian Wuji, a peerless genius of astonishing talent, had strictly followed the iron laws of the Soul Master world back then. His first two Soul Rings had honestly been Hundred-Year Soul Rings.
His set of nine Soul Rings followed the standard configuration: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red!
This was the optimal Soul Ring configuration universally recognized in the Soul Master world, and also the safest configuration for absorbing Soul Rings.
Before reaching the threshold of Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings, the maximum age of a Soul Ring that a Soul Master could absorb depended entirely on the Soul Master's physical endurance and the toughness of their meridians.
For a tender six-year-old child, even if they awakened the highest-grade beast Martial Soul and had their body strengthened by it,
their first Soul Ring could endure no more than five hundred years at most, while their second could only reach around eight or nine hundred years at the absolute limit. There was absolutely no way to break through the thousand-year threshold!
Before you continue