Things Were Getting Interesting

Because with Cao Xin's current strength...

In the Junior Spirit Ascension Platform, as long as he did not act too recklessly, there would hardly be any major danger.

After all, after Cao Xin's Soul Power reached level twenty, he had gained two more Soul Rings.

Ruthless Sword's second Soul Ring was "Winter."

The second Soul Ring Eldest Dad had chosen for him also continued along the path of the Four Seasons Sword Intent, granting him the Sword Intent of "Winter."

Sentimental Sword's second Soul Ring was Traceback.

This was the Soul Ring Second Dad had found for him, granting him an entirely new Soul Skill that complemented "Once Upon a Time."

Traceback combined with Once Upon a Time was Second Dad's specialty.

And Cao Xin, who possessed these two Soul Skills...

Also possessed an unbeatable combined Soul Skill.

What was Traceback?

Its effect was simple.

After entering the Traceback state, he could become immune to all forms of energy-based attacks for an instant.

Once an energy attack struck him, Traceback would activate immediately, instantly placing him before his opponent along the trajectory of that energy attack.

This allowed Cao Xin to close in and attack instantly. Whether his opponent was a long-range Soul Master or someone hiding in the shadows preparing a sneak attack, they would expose their position the moment they attacked.

And Cao Xin would appear before them in that instant.

With the two great Sword Intents of "Autumn" and "Winter," Cao Xin's killing power far surpassed that of ordinary four- or five-ring Soul Masters.

Autumn's Withering and Harvest.

Winter's Slaughter and Silence.

The Sword Intents of the two seasons overlapped...

Already granting the Ruthless Sword in his hand considerable destructive power.

Even against a thousand-year Soul Beast...

He had enough confidence to confront it head-on.

At the same time.

Cao Xin's Soul Power had reached level twenty-six.

Half a month of cultivation, combined with the integration of two new Soul Rings, had allowed him to rise all the way from level nineteen to level twenty-six. Such speed was enough to leave any peer on the Douluo Continent far behind.

At that moment, a rustling sound came from the bushes ahead.

Cao Xin's gaze flickered slightly. With a gentle curl of the fingers on his right hand, the gleam of the Ruthless Sword flashed across his palm and vanished.

Meanwhile, outside.

Several enormous soul guidance screens displayed real-time scenes from different regions within the Junior Spirit Ascension Platform.

On one of the screens...

Cao Xin had just summoned the Ruthless Sword.

Qian Gu Dongfeng instinctively looked toward Zang Xin, his tone carrying undisguised surprise.

"Ruthless Sword?"

At that, Zang Xin nodded slightly.

His tone was calm, yet carried a faint smile.

"That's right."

Qian Gu Dongfeng immediately revealed a strange expression.

He turned his head, glanced at Zang Xin, then looked at the young figure on the screen. His expression shifted back and forth between surprise and amusement before finally settling into an indescribably subtle look.

It had to be known that Cao Dezhi's Ruthless Sword and Zang Xin's Sentimental Sword were both mutated Martial Souls.

In other words, Ruthless Sword and Sentimental Sword had not existed before them.

Therefore, since this boy could summon the Ruthless Sword Martial Soul, he had to be Cao Dezhi's descendant.

This was because Martial Soul inheritance followed clear bloodline laws.

Mutated Martial Souls were especially so.

Their inheritance was almost impossible to achieve across unrelated bloodlines.

After all...

The chance of mutating into the exact same Martial Soul was simply too low.

And throughout the tens of thousands of years of Douluo Continent's history...

No such case had ever appeared.

Therefore, those with identical Martial Souls...

Must share a bloodline connection.

Since this boy's Martial Soul was exactly the same as Cao Dezhi's Ruthless Sword, his familial relationship with Cao Dezhi was beyond dispute.

But as it happened, he knew very well about the relationship between Cao Dezhi and Zang Xin.

Qian Gu Dongfeng's mouth twitched slightly.

All sorts of rumors and things he had personally witnessed over the years regarding these two Tang Sect Masters surfaced in his mind.

The bond between the two was no secret among the circles of top experts. It was merely that, given their identities and status, no one would bring it out into the open.

So...

Things were getting interesting.

Qian Gu Dongfeng silently muttered to himself.

His gaze swept back and forth between the boy on the screen and Zang Xin beside him.

There was an added hint of gossip in his eyes.

But in the end, he said nothing.

Meanwhile, within the Junior Spirit Ascension Platform.

The rustling in the bushes suddenly intensified.

The next instant, a massive black shadow burst out from within, and the ground trembled.

It was a giant bear over three meters long.

Its body was covered in thick earth-brown fur, while layers of keratinous armor covered its shoulders, back, and the outer sides of its limbs, presenting a dark yellow hue like the earth itself.

A fierce red light glowed in its eyes.

The moment it saw Cao Xin, it did not pause at all. Waving a bear paw larger than Cao Xin's head, it smashed down at him amid a powerful gust of wind.

Outside.

Before the surveillance screens, Qian Gu Dongfeng's gaze lingered on the giant bear's movements for a moment before turning to Zang Xin, his tone carrying a cautious warning.

"A Century Earth Armor Bear."

"Although its potential is inferior to that of a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear."

"Its actual strength is no weaker than that of some thousand-year Soul Beasts with ordinary bloodlines."

He paused.

"How about I arrange for a four-ring Soul Master to go in and protect him?"

He was not mocking him.

After all, Cao Xin had been brought here by Zang Xin, and it was obvious at a glance that he was related by blood to Cao Dezhi.

Cao Dezhi was now...

The third Peak Quasi-God on the Douluo Continent.

And Zang Xin himself was also a Quasi-God.

His strength exceeded that of Qian Gu Dongfeng, a Demigod, by a considerable margin.

Two Quasi-Gods in one family.

That carried immense weight across the entire continent.

Therefore, if anything happened to Cao Xin on Spirit Pagoda territory, even if he merely suffered some injuries...

Qian Gu Dongfeng would find it difficult to explain.

Thus, he had no choice but to be more careful.

Hearing this, Zang Xin smiled and shook his head. Yet his gaze never left the small figure on the screen, and his tone was confident and relaxed.

"Don't underestimate Little Xin."

"His strength far exceeds your imagination."

Seeing this, Qian Gu Dongfeng said nothing further.

He had warned him already, anyway.

If something really happened later, it would not be his fault.

At this moment, within the Junior Spirit Ascension Platform.

The bear paw came crashing down amid a howling gale, its enormous shadow completely engulfing Cao Xin.

If this strike landed...

An ordinary Soul Grandmaster would likely be beaten to death on the spot.

Facing the bear paw hurtling toward him, Cao Xin took a deep breath as Soul Power surged through his body.

Two thousand-year Soul Rings emerged.

The first Soul Ring lit up.

A deep autumn hue spread across the Ruthless Sword.

It was as though the surroundings had entered autumn...

Making one feel immersed in autumn's chill.

Fallen leaves, withered grass, a decaying wilderness.

Though these images did not truly manifest, they spread like an invisible painted curtain across an area several yards wide.

Filling the air with a grim atmosphere, as though all things were nearing their end.

Then, the second Soul Ring lit up.

A biting chill suddenly seeped into the autumn hues, and a visible layer of frost formed upon the Ruthless Sword.