Qin Xuan's Speculation

Seeing that Qian Xunji intended to give Qin Xuan a Soul Bone, Douluo Jiang Mo was delighted as well. He stepped forward and laughed heartily.

"Ha ha, His Holiness the Pope, this old man will thank you on Xuan'er's behalf. Xuan'er, hurry up and thank your big brother." He patted Qin Xuan on the shoulder.

Qian Daoliu aside.

Although the other six great offerings were all proud and full of themselves, they were undoubtedly loyal and deeply sentimental.

It was precisely because they had received kindness from Qian Daoliu or the Qian Family when they were weak that they remained loyal to Qian Daoliu, loyal to the Angel Lineage, and devoted their entire lives to Spirit Hall.

Their loyalty was so absolute that, in the original story, they had even been willing to self-destruct to buy time while covering Qian Renxue's retreat.

Before this, Qin Xuan might not have done Douluo Jiang Mo any favors. Even their master-disciple relationship had only come about through Qian Daoliu's arrangement. There had not been much affection between them.

But things were different now.

Because of Qin Xuan's Eight Directions Throughstrike, the two had completed a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, allowing Douluo Jiang Mo to fortuitously touch the Level-Ninety-Seven bottleneck that he might never have reached in his lifetime.

For someone at Douluo Jiang Mo's level, this was a favor akin to being given a new life.

Clearly, he owed Qin Xuan for this.

"Thank you, Big Brother."

Qin Xuan had no idea what Douluo Jiang Mo was thinking, but with a single thank-you, he had obtained from Qian Xunji the Wisdom Skull that Tang San had received in the original story's Soul Master Tournament—a genuine sixty-thousand-year Soul Bone.

What an absolute steal. Only an idiot would refuse to thank him.

Not to mention that the man had also given him over seventy thousand Emotion Points.

Where else could he find such a bargain big brother?

Not long after, Qian Xunji ordered someone to retrieve the Spirit-Concentrating Wisdom Skull from the Papal Hall treasury. Only then did he ask about that surge of Soul Power.

Qian Daoliu had originally thought that, now that the two had become brothers, Qian Xunji would not make a move against Qin Xuan, so he had intended to tell the truth.

Who would have thought that Douluo Jiang Mo would step forward and declare that he had already touched the Level-Ninety-Seven bottleneck and would definitely break through within five years?

Afterward, he did not forget to shoot Qian Daoliu a look he considered wise.

It was as though he were saying, How was that, Big Brother? I did well, right? I helped you hide it from your son.

This left Qian Daoliu both amused and exasperated.

Yet he was not angry. On the contrary, he felt gratified and delighted that his foolishly straightforward seventh brother had hope of advancing another step.

Though Qian Xunji was somewhat doubtful, he did not ask further. There was no need for the other man to lie to him about such a thing.

Besides, with his father Qian Daoliu present, he was not worried about being deceived.

The other five offerings, however, wore rather strange expressions. Golden Crocodile, Azure Luan, and Lion were fine.

Even if Douluo Jiang Mo broke through, they would still remain second, third, and fourth.

Guang Ling and Qian Jun, on the other hand, were in an awkward spot.

Especially Guang Ling.

Though he was the Fifth Worship, his Soul Power was also Level-Ninety-Six, just like Qian Jun and Douluo Jiang Mo.

He had merely broken through earlier than they had.

Before this, he had been regarded as the person most likely to break through to Level-Ninety-Seven after the Third Offering and Fourth Worship.

But actually making that breakthrough still seemed infinitely far away.

No matter where one was, strength reigned supreme.

Once Douluo Jiang Mo broke through, barring any surprises, Guang Ling would become the Sixth Worship. He would have to call Douluo Jiang Mo big brother.

It was not that he cared about being the Fifth Worship. The gap was simply too hard to accept.

Put yourself in his shoes. That dimwitted little brother who used to call you Fifth Brother every day suddenly turned the tables one day and made you call him big brother. Who could stand that?

Compared to Guang Ling, Qian Jun was slightly better off.

Although the prospect of his foolish younger brother surpassing him would make his position somewhat awkward, he felt more happiness than anything else.

He was happy not only that his younger brother had hope of breaking through, but even more so because he had found a path to a breakthrough himself.

They had the same Coiling Dragon Staff and could both draw each other's Martial Souls into resonance with the Everbright Sword.

Since even his foolish younger brother could find an opportunity to break through after fusing, why could he not?

As long as he broke through too, he could still be the big brother.

After the offerings and the pope exchanged pleasantries, Qian Xunji offered a few congratulatory words and left.

The moment Qian Xunji left.

The Elder Hall returned to the same silent atmosphere it had possessed when Qin Xuan first arrived.

Only one person remained, along with two wolf-like pairs of eyes that seemed to be staring at a peerless beauty.

The person was Qin Xuan.

The wolves were Guangling Douluo and Douluo Qian Jun.

At this moment, only the three of them remained in the vast Elder Hall.

Though the seven great offerings did not involve themselves in political affairs, none of them were idle. They had long since returned to their rooms to cultivate.

Without a doubt, Douluo Jiang Mo had run off the fastest.

After Qian Xunji left, he eagerly greeted his elder brothers and announced that he was entering secluded cultivation. Unless he broke through to Level-Ninety-Seven, he would never emerge.

Then Qian Daoliu, Golden Crocodile, Azure Luan, and Lion left as well.

Their goal was to advance further in their lifetimes and reach a higher realm.

Even Qian Daoliu was no exception in this regard.

Although he knew it was impossible, he still wanted to do everything in his power to break through to Level-Hundred during his lifetime, so that he could see his Xixi.

"Uh..." Qin Xuan's scalp tingled under their gazes. "Um, Guang Ling, Master, do you need something?"

He was still in a hurry to return and refine the Soul Bone and Immortal Herb.

"Calling me an offering is so distant." Guang Ling, whose appearance and voice resembled those of an adolescent boy, stepped forward and draped an arm over Qin Xuan's shoulders. "Call me Brother."

Standing together, they looked exactly like a pair of brothers. Qin Xuan was the elder brother, while Guang Ling was the younger.

"Go, go. Guang Ling, Xuan'er doesn't have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with you. Why are you butting in? If you have so much free time, you should spend more of it cultivating. Otherwise, once Jiang Mo and I break through to Level-Ninety-Seven, you'll become number seven."

Before Qin Xuan could answer, the usually steady Qian Jun no longer called Guang Ling Fifth Brother. He shoved Guang Ling away, stepped forward, and put an arm around Qin Xuan's shoulders. "Come, good disciple. Come to my room, and let's properly discuss our Martial Soul Fusion Skill."

"Damn it, Qian Jun. You win." Guang Ling pouted, flicked his sleeve, unfurled icy wings from his back, and flew back to his room like a child throwing a tantrum.

Goosebumps rose all over Qin Xuan. "I think we should forget it, Master. My Soul Power was already nearly depleted after my battle with Senior Yue Guan."

After saying that, Qin Xuan could not help sinking into thought.

Recalling the scene from earlier, when he had used Eight Directions Throughstrike to summon a red Fire Dragon, he guessed that Qian Jun and Douluo Jiang Mo's Martial Souls shared the same origin. Their only difference was that their cultivation had focused in different directions.

Since Eight Directions Throughstrike could grant a soul to Douluo Jiang Mo's Coiling Dragon Staff and complete a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

Then could Hundred-Pace Flying Sword also...?

"It's fine. Master will help you recover." After saying this, Qian Jun did not care whether Qin Xuan agreed. He grabbed Qin Xuan and returned to his room to discuss Martial Soul Fusion Skills. (P.S. Don't misunderstand. They were purely discussing Martial Soul Fusion Skills.)

The result was unsurprising. Although the Fire Dragon summoned by Eight Directions Throughstrike had shown much greater progress than in their previous Martial Soul Fusions, it still failed.

Qin Xuan knew full well that before one possessed absolute strength, rashly exposing all one's abilities was a grave taboo.

In the end, he still held something back.

What he had displayed today was already stunning enough.

Eight Directions Throughstrike could be passed off as something he had fortunately created himself.

But if he revealed Hundred-Pace Flying Sword as well, there would truly be no way to explain it.

At the very least, he needed to keep a low profile until after leaving Slaughter City.