Another Two and a Half Years Had Passed

Another year has passed since the Skysea Alliance Grand Tournament.

Two and a half years is neither a long nor a short time, but for Qi Ji, this period of time was not easy.

He sat cross-legged in the center of the Soul Guidance Array, surrounded by a faint seven-colored halo. His breathing was long and even. Two and a half years of arduous cultivation had finally yielded results at this moment.

"Level 50... This Ultimate Element thing is a real rip-off... Wuling and Gu Yuena are almost catching up to me."

Qi Ji slowly opened his eyes. His golden dragon pupils shone for a moment in the dimly lit training room, like two suddenly lit glass lamps, before gradually returning to calm.

He felt the surging Soul Power flowing through his body. The bottleneck that had been holding him at the peak of level 49 finally shattered completely, and the Soul Power surged out like a flood bursting its banks, filling the new meridian channels.

He confirmed that he had officially crossed the threshold of level 50 and become a true Soul King.

But to be honest, he wasn't happy at all.

It took him two and a half years to advance from level 41 to level 50.

This speed would be considered genius among geniuses for an ordinary Soul Master, and quite an achievement for ordinary Soul Master with Ultimate Martial Soul. But for someone who is used to riding on a fast track and leveling up like a rocket, this is simply a frustrating torture.

Between levels 30 and 40, he could rely on Immortal Herb and various rare and precious materials to maintain rapid breakthroughs. However, between levels 40 and 50, the effects of those external items became increasingly limited, and he had to rely on himself to slowly grind his way up.

This process took a full two and a half years—although averaging four levels a year would be enough to leave any peers in the dust, for Qi Ji, who was used to getting ahead, this speed was still too slow.

After riding in a trailer truck, how could I possibly be content to remain an ordinary person?

What frustrated him even more was that Tang Wuling and Gu Yuena had both become Soul Ancestor last year, and their cultivation speed showed no signs of slowing down.

The two people were racing against him, chasing each other and moving forward side by side, completely unaffected by the bottleneck of his Ultimate Martial Soul.

Qi Ji couldn't help but feel a strong sense of being targeted—was he the only one suffering from the drawback of the Ultimate Martial Soul's cultivation speed slowing down from level 30 to 70?

Tang Wuling's Golden Dragon —or rather, the Golden Dragon King Bloodline gradually awakening within her—while touted as the Ultimate Strength, is merely "powerful."

That thing is essentially the ultimate form of a power attribute, and it's completely different from Ultimate Attribute like Ultimate Ice or Ultimate Fire, which require a lot of effort in compressing Soul Power.

Power does not need to be compressed or purified; it only needs to be continuously accumulated and released, and it does not involve the conversion of Soul Power quality at all.

Gu Yuena herself was a reincarnation of the Silver Dragon King. Her cultivation was essentially just "restoring" her former power. For her, there was no bottleneck problem of Ultimate Martial Soul. She was just taking back what originally belonged to her.

Thus, Qi Ji profited from this black market.

He bore all the costs of the Ultimate Martial Soul system alone, while Tang Wuling and Gu Yuena bypassed all obstacles as if they had special privileges.

Qi Ji sometimes even wondered if God thought he had too much of a smooth start, so He deliberately made things more difficult for him in the mid-game.

But in any case, he has finally broken through level 50.

The bottleneck has been broken, and the road ahead has become wide open again.

Qi Ji, who had broken through to level 50 and urgently needed a second Soul Spirit, began preparing for his bold idea from a few years ago—to go to the Dragon Tomb and find a Dragon Soul of the Dragon King level to use as his Soul Spirit.

Qi Ji only dared to think about having the Dragon God as his Soul Spirit for the time being.

If he really had the chance, he would certainly do it, but there was a high chance that he wouldn't have the chance—although he didn't know in what state the old Dragon God was lying deep in the Dragon Tomb, it probably wouldn't be so easy to get him to obediently become Soul Spirit.

Even so, the remnant souls of the Dragon King in the Dragon Tomb were enough to propel him to the heavens in one step. Even just Dragon King was far stronger than the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Spirit outside.

Therefore, the moment Qi Ji finished his seclusion, he called Chen Xinjie, the master of the War God Temple.

"Palace Master Chen," Qi Ji said.

Although he may be arrogant among the younger generation, he still needs to show due respect to a strong person like Chen Xinjie.

"Oh... it's Little Qi. Have you come out of seclusion?" Chen Xinjie's voice came through the receiver, his tone kind and steady, carrying the concern of an elder for a younger person.

As the Lord of the War God Temple, the Commander of the Sea God Legion, and one of the Federation's top experts, he naturally knew that Qi Ji had broken through to level 50 in seclusion, and had already been informed before Qi Ji went into seclusion.

"Yes, I've broken through level 50." Qi Ji paused, then cut straight to the point, "Palace Master, about that thing I mentioned to you before..."

The small world where the Dragon Tomb is located is a secret realm of the Tang Sect, hidden very tightly. Its location and access method are core secrets of the Tang Sect, and there is almost no accurate information about it outside.

The Tang Sect guarded that place so well that even the Federation's high command couldn't get involved.

Therefore, for Qi Ji to enter the Dragon Tomb, he needed someone of sufficient influence to negotiate with the Tang Sect.

Although he is known as the Federation's number one genius and enjoys immense popularity among the younger generation, in the world of Soul Master, strength is everything—he is not yet qualified to sit at the same table and negotiate with a top-tier power like the Tang Sect.

"You mean that secret realm related to the Tang Sect race that the Tang Dragon Clan possesses?" Chen Xinjie pondered for a moment.

"Indeed, that place is very suitable for a high-level Dragon Clan Martial Soul Master like yourself. Although the Tang Sect has never had a tradition of allowing other forces to encroach on their territory, you are, after all, a rising star of the Federation, so this matter might be negotiable."

If Qi Ji is a member of the Spirit Pagoda, then he indeed has absolutely no chance of entering the Dragon Tomb through normal means.

After all, although the relationship between the Tang Sect and the Spirit Pagoda was superficially amicable, they were always wary of each other in secret. The Tang Sect would never open its core secret realm to the people of the Spirit Pagoda.

Fortunately, Qi Ji is a member of the War God Temple of War God Temple —an official organization, and Qi Ji's identity is also official. In this respect, even if the Tang Sect wanted to refuse, it wouldn't be easy for them to be too ruthless.

"I'll talk to the Passionate Douluo," Chen Xinjie said, his tone carrying a sense of certainty that he would handle the matter.

As the master of a palace, his words carry far more weight than those of ordinary elders. If he were to negotiate this matter, the chances of success would be far greater than if Qi Ji were to go to the Tang Sect himself.

"Then thank you very much, Palace Master." Qi Ji couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, apart from his involvement with Long Yeyue, Chen Xinjie is otherwise quite normal and a reliable elder.

If it were a less reliable boss, this project would probably have fallen through.

"Okay... that's settled then. Just wait for news these next few days." Chen Xinjie said, then ended the call.

Qi Ji put down his phone, sat on the futon in the cultivation room, and gazed into the distance through the night outside the window.

The sky outside the meditation room was already beginning to lighten, a sign that several days of cultivation had brought a new beginning.

He silently plotted his next move, his golden dragon eyes gleaming faintly in the morning light.

The Dragon Tomb... for him, this must be the greatest opportunity in the Douluo Continent, right?