Gold-Funded Cultivation, a Soul Elder at Nine!

Cough, cough!

"Could you two stop laughing already?"

"Anyway, I'm now a Level 43 Battle Soul Ancestor. Save me some face!"

After Xia Feng absorbed this nine-thousand-year Earth Demon Bull Soul Ring, his Soul Power actually surged three levels in one go.

Not only that, he gained an exceptional Soul Skill called Bull Demon Power Fist!

This Soul Skill specialized in fierce offense, truly embodying the saying: high damage with the left fist, and high damage with the right fist.

Xia Feng was now only two Soul Power levels below Liu Yuer. In terms of actual combat strength, he was more than capable of overpowering her.

That was right, a Body Martial Soul was just this overpowered!

"This time, we owe the Dugu Family a huge favor. We can repay it slowly when the chance comes!"

Liu Yuer sighed and spoke.

"Indeed!"

"When traveling outside, never treat others like fools. If you do, you'll be the real fool!"

"The Soul Master world is full of deceit and scheming. This time, others saw through our plans. They all understood perfectly well; they simply chose not to expose us!"

"No matter what, at the very least, the Dugu Family bears us goodwill. Everyone has their own little secrets, after all. We should leave people some privacy!"

Liu Yuer nodded. Some things were best left unspoken even when both sides understood them. That was better for everyone.

Meanwhile, at the Dugu Family.

"A nine-thousand-year Earth Demon Bull?"

"This soul beast's age is neither too high nor too low, landing right between the fourth and fifth Soul Rings!"

"If it were a fifth Soul Ring, that would be such a waste. But then again, if it were a fourth Soul Ring..."

"Hiss..."

"A nine-thousand-year fourth ring!"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

"If that were true, wouldn't it defy all common sense?"

Dugu Bo shook his head. There was likely no one in the world who dared challenge a nine-thousand-year fourth ring!

Absorbing a Soul Ring beyond one's level could get someone killed!

Some Soul Masters with shallow foundations did not dare absorb ten-thousand-year fifth rings, so they chose thousand-year Soul Rings instead.

Who could say for certain what hidden reasons lay behind that?

"Father!"

"They are my friends, and even more so, the great benefactors of the Dugu Family. You should know, my fourth Soul Ring—"

Before Dugu Xin could finish, Dugu Bo waved his hand and forcibly cut him off.

"Hmph!"

"I, Dugu Bo, have always been clear about gratitude and grudges!"

"Whether it was a nine-thousand-year fourth ring or a fifth ring, none of that has anything to do with us!"

"Who doesn't have a few secrets?"

"However, Xiner!"

"That sworn elder brother of yours is no ordinary man. You should grow closer to him in the future!"

"The poison in my body cannot be suppressed for many more years."

"In recent years, the poison in my body has erupted with increasing severity. I don't even know how many more years I have left. Since you have formed a bond with him, if something happens to me in the future, you will at least have someone to turn to."

"How many true friends can one have in a lifetime?"

"The friendship of gentlemen is as light as water!"

"You and Xia Feng are like Ye Renxin and me. That fellow is also a man with a bitter fate. The secrets hidden by the Nine-Heart Begonia Clan are no fewer than ours!"

"There are things we both understand perfectly well, yet the unspoken understanding between us has never been broken!"

Dugu Bo spoke with some emotion.

Though he was very curious about the truth the Xia Family had concealed and wished to uncover the secret behind it, out of consideration for their relationship, he could only pretend not to know.

The floating world was like falling flowers and flowing water!

Time flew like a horse whipped into a gallop!

In the blink of an eye, another year passed.

Many major events occurred during that year. First, Tuoba Xuanfeng, the Platinum Bishop of Spirit Hall, advanced to become a Titled Douluo and was made an elder of Spirit Hall.

Second, Chen Xin, the peerless prodigy of the Seven Kill Sword Lineage, broke through to Titled Douluo and was bestowed the title Sword Douluo!

The Seven Kill Sword Lineage had always been rich in talent!

The Seven Kill Sword, once the continent's number one weapon Martial Soul, was of extremely high quality and ranked among the finest weapon Martial Souls!

Chen Xun, the previous master of the Seven Kill Sword, had been a Level 98 Peak Douluo, with earth-shaking combat power!

Unfortunately, Chen Xun had been born at the wrong time. During his lifetime, prodigies rose one after another in the Soul Master world, including two towering mountains.

The first was Tang Chen, the Sect Master of the Clear Sky Sect!

He was known as the strongest on land, his cultivation crushing the age. He was also one of the two great mountains of the Soul Master world.

Tang Chen's Soul Power had reached Level 99!

This man was extraordinarily talented and created the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes and the Great Sumeru Hammer. Combined, the two could make him invincible beneath the heavens!

The second was Qian Daoliu, the strongest in the sky!

He was the head of the Seraphim lineage, the Pope of Spirit Hall, and possessed a God-Level Martial Soul from the very beginning.

Qian Daoliu's strength was comparable to Tang Chen's!

No matter how strong Chen Xun was, he could not surpass those two!

Rumor had it that Chen Xun once challenged Tang Chen, only to be hammered into doubting his life. He eventually died in depression!

The current master of the Seven Kill Sword was Chen Xun's son, Chen Jianjun, a Level 97 Peak Douluo.

Now that Chen Jianjun's son, Chen Xin, had broken through to Titled Douluo, the Seven Kill Sword Lineage had a worthy successor. Before long, Chen Jianjun would likely follow in Chen Xun's footsteps!

The weak drew their swords against those weaker than themselves!

Only the strong drew their swords against those stronger than themselves!

Live toward death, temper the heart through a hundred battles!

That was the essence of the Seven Kill Sword: slay the heavens, slay the earth, slay all living beings, and carve out a bright and clear world!

Unlike the outside world, Heaven Dou City remained prosperous throughout the year, its streets packed with carriages and horses.

After a year of cultivation, Xia Mu's Soul Power had reached Level 30, making him a Quasi-Soul Elder!

After a year of steady progress, the three members of Xia Mu's family had advanced rapidly in strength, to an almost unimaginable degree!

Liu Yuer cultivated from Level 45 to Level 49, gaining four levels of Soul Power in a single year!

Xia Feng, meanwhile, cultivated from Level 43 to Level 48, gaining a full five levels of Soul Power in one year.

Over the past year, Xia Feng and Liu Yuer consumed more than ten pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue.

Other than the seventy-thousand-year Whale Glue that remained unused, the Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue in their possession was almost gone.

Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue commanded an exorbitant price on the market!

Having tasted the benefits, the couple embarked on the path of gold-funded cultivation, leaving Xia Mu incredibly envious.

There was no helping it. Xia Mu had only celebrated his ninth birthday a few days ago, and his body had yet to fully develop!

If he consumed Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue now, its immense vitality and blood energy would overwhelm his body. He was too weak to handle such powerful nourishment!

"I've heard before!"

"Soul Masters grow rapidly in strength during their golden period!"

"I never really believed it before, but now I do. As long as there are sufficient cultivation resources, Soul Masters in their golden growth period can hope to gain five levels of Soul Power in a year. That is no joke at all!"

"But more than ten pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue a year, along with medicinal baths and nutritional supplements... that's all money!"

"Gold-funded cultivation? I could do it too!"

For their daily cultivation, Xia Mu had even specially built a dedicated simulated cultivation environment for the two of them!

With the support of all that money, the two had achieved what they had today. It had all been bought with gold.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk!"

"Money doesn't lie!"

"Soul Master truly is the profession that burns the most money!"

Xia Mu commented from the side.

Now that Liu Yuer and Xia Feng had made up for their innate deficiencies, they showed every sign of catching up from behind and surpassing others.

"You brat, don't worry!"

"We saved you a superb seventy-thousand-year Whale Glue. Once you come of age, you can absorb and refine it!"

"Your body is still too weak and has not fully matured, so you cannot consume Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue for now!"

"So, you'll just have to endure for a few more years!"

"Besides, you awakened your Martial Soul at six, and you're now nine. You became a Soul Elder in three years. That speed isn't slow at all!"

"Those geniuses with Innate Full Soul Power were probably still stuck around Level 20 at nine!"

Seeing Xia Mu's unhappiness, Xia Feng comforted him again.