1.2 Kun Years Later

Time flew like a fleeting white colt; in the blink of an eye, three years had passed.

Over those three years, Qi Ji's fame had resounded throughout the entire Douluo Federation. After all, he was a genius the Federation had spared no effort to support.

From the War God Temple to the military, from the parliament to civilian media, the overwhelming publicity and hype had made "Qi Ji" almost synonymous with genius.

The Federation needed a young face capable of countering Shrek's halo, and Qi Ji happened to be the perfect answer.

Thus, over the past few years, Qi Ji had received the Federation's finest resources. Whether Soul Tools, cultivation techniques, heavenly treasures, or guidance from top-tier mentors, everything had been provided at the highest standard.

His strength had advanced at an astonishing pace, with him breaking through a minor rank almost every month or two. This cultivation speed had drawn the attention of even the War God Temple' upper echelon.

However, many irreplaceable top-tier resources on the current Douluo Continent were controlled by the Tang Sect. Even a premier Federation power like the War God Temple could only snatch up scraps at auctions held by the Tang Sect.

Over the three years, Qi Ji had only consumed one Thousand-Year Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum that the Tang Sect had put up for auction. Yu Guanzhi had personally stepped in to secure it.

The remaining truly top-tier resources—such as Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Spirits, rare immortal herbs, and ancient secret troves—were basically beyond the War God Temple' reach.

Qi Ji sat cross-legged atop the Soul Power Gathering Array in the center of the cultivation room. Three Soul Rings, black as ink, circled him, each radiating dense and solid Soul Power fluctuations.

His golden dragon eyes were closed, and his breathing was long and even. The Soul Power within him seemed to be drawn by something as it circulated along an almost perfect cycle.

As the final barrier shattered, the Soul Power within his body surged sharply.

The barrier in Qi Ji's cultivation gradually broke apart, meeting not the slightest obstruction throughout the process.

"Nine years old, rank forty... Even in the era of Douluo IV, when monsters emerged in droves, that should count as decent, right?"

Qi Ji slowly opened his eyes. The instant his golden dragon pupils opened, they burst forth with brilliant light, like two glass lamps that would never be extinguished.

Those eyes were the most striking feature about him. As he cultivated, his pupils had completely transformed into a dragon's vertical slits and retained that golden hue forever, impossible to alter no matter how he tried to conceal them.

"Qi Ji... You're awake?!"

Before Qi Ji, a tall young girl who had grown graceful and slender leaned close. Her exquisite face was filled with delight and anticipation.

She was none other than Tang Wuling, who had followed Sea Dragon Douluo Gu Chaosheng to Mingdu not long after that incident.

Over the past three years, she had come running over to see Qi Ji every other day. Later, Gu Chaosheng had simply settled down in Mingdu, and she had put down roots there as well, becoming Qi Ji's closest childhood sweetheart.

Three years later, Tang Wuling's figure had grown increasingly mature under the constant tempering of Soul Power. She had a tall, slender frame, well-proportioned and powerful limbs, and a face that still retained some childishness but already hinted at future breathtaking beauty.

She looked nothing like a nine-year-old girl. Instead, she resembled a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old high school student.

All that could be said was that Hormone Continent truly lived up to its reputation. Aside from the childish softness still lingering in the contours of her face, her figure had completely outgrown what a nine-year-old should possess.

"Yeah, I broke through to rank forty." Qi Ji smiled, rose to his feet, and stretched his body. His joints let out soft crackling sounds.

"Rank forty?!" Tang Wuling's eyes instantly widened as she cried out, "Qi Ji, you're amazing! I'm only rank twenty-nine now!"

Hearing that her childhood sweetheart had pulled ahead by an entire major rank, Tang Wuling could not help sighing in amazement.

Rank forty at nine years old—there were only a handful like that in the entire history of Douluo Continent. Qi Ji was undoubtedly the greatest genius in history, wasn't he?

"Nothing special." Qi Ji waved a hand, his tone calm.

"Actually, much of my cultivation after rank thirty was piled up with heavenly treasures. My current progress isn't all that fast. After all, I have four ultimate attributes now, and cultivating them is far more difficult than cultivating an ordinary ultimate martial soul."

He spread his hand. The four great attributes of earth, water, wind, and fire emerged in succession within his palm, flowing and merging. The radiance of four different elements intertwined into a magnificent yet harmonious sight.

Over the past three years, as his cultivation had increased, the seven colored attributes of his Dragon God Crown Prince martial soul had gradually awakened. At present, he had unlocked four ultimate attributes.

Cultivating each ultimate attribute required Soul Power far beyond that of ordinary people. With all four attributes operating within his body at once, the difficulty of his cultivation had risen geometrically.

If not for the Federation's vast resources supporting him, he could not possibly have reached rank forty at the age of nine.

At the same time, the four Soul Rings on his body had long since changed from their initial purple and white to the current Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings, black as ink.

When he was in his twenties, he had gone to the Spirit Ascension Platform of the Spirit Pagoda and used Soul Spirit ascension to raise his Soul Rings to the ten-thousand-year level.

After all, the spiritual power and Soul Power consumed by ascending four rings were on an entirely different level from ascending two rings. Yet Qi Ji had possessed strength no weaker than a Soul King while he only had two rings.

Because of his martial soul, even the simulated soul beasts within the Spirit Ascension Platform only dared tuck their tails and flee under his attacks.

Therefore, the entire ascension process had gone so smoothly it was outrageous, without a single problem.

"Oh, right, Qi Ji." As if remembering something, Tang Wuling suddenly clapped her hands. "There's someone who wants to challenge you!"

"What random nobody is this?" Qi Ji raised a brow, his tone carrying undisguised confusion and disdain.

"Um... I think he's the second place on that Genius Youth Ranking," Tang Wuling said after tilting her head in thought.

"That guy got pushed down by you last year, didn't he? He's always refused to accept it. But instead of challenging you, he kept dragging it out until he was nearly eighteen before issuing the challenge. How shameless. He's already chosen the road to death!"

Tang Wuling spoke viciously, clenching her little hand into a fist with a gritted-teeth expression.

If she had not only possessed two rings and lacked the strength, she would have gone up and beaten that guy to a pulp herself.

In her eyes, anyone who dared act against Qi Ji deserved a vicious lesson.

Listening to Tang Wuling, Qi Ji could not help giving her a sidelong glance as he silently complained, Had the inherently evil bloodline of the Tang God King finally awakened?

"Right, what was that guy's name again?" Qi Ji had never cared about that wild ranking, nor had he held the slightest interest in anyone he had pushed down. He could not even be bothered to remember the name.

"Um... I think it was something like Yu Xiaogang," Tang Wuling said slowly after thinking for a moment.

"It has the same pronunciation as that Master from twenty thousand years ago. His martial soul is the Golden Holy Dragon, and he's a rank sixty-eight Soul Emperor."

Qi Ji could not help laughing when he heard that name.

Yu Xiaogang? Golden Holy Dragon? That name... For some reason, it felt like Yu Xiaogang was the version of himself that Gangzi dreamed of becoming.

Still, if he were a Soul Emperor with a weapon martial soul and a two-word Battle Armor, Qi Ji might have taken him a little more seriously.

But since he was a Dragon Clan Soul Emperor, there was nothing to worry about.

If he did not kneel within three seconds, Qi Ji would consider it a loss.