Elemental Sword Casket, Qian Juechen!
Star Luo Empire, Wind-Gathering Mountains.
Amidst the clusters of mountains, clouds and mist coiled about. Mountain peaks that seemed as though they had been cleanly sliced flat by sharp swords stood towering here. Under the effect of the violent gales, the vegetation on the mountains clung to the peaks, resembling sword qi as it moved with the wind.
This was precisely the location of the Wind Sword Sect.
Inside the sect's council grand hall, a blond youth dressed in white was holding a portrait, conversing with the contemporary Wind Sword Sect master, Feng Bailong.
Upon the portrait was a benevolent old man.
"Uncle, Uncle Fu watched me grow up since I was little. After my mother passed away, I was young and without support, and wandering outside all these years relied entirely on Uncle Fu's care for me."
"Now that he has reached the end of his natural lifespan and passed away, in accordance with his last wish, fallen leaves return to their roots and his soul returns to his homeland, so I brought him back to personally handle his final arrangements."
Wind Sword Sect Master Feng Bailong looked at the young man before him, and then looked at the old man in the portrait within his arms. Not knowing what he had thought of, he let out a silent sigh.
"Juechen, rest assured, I will properly arrange matters for Uncle Fu. He is a person of our Wind Sword Sect, a meritorious official of our Wind Sword Sect, and I will not let his incense and ancestral worship be cut off."
Looking at the portrait before him and the young man by his side, looking at that familiar face, a trace of reminiscence flashed through Feng Bailong's eyes.
Uncle Fu was a steward he had originally assigned to his younger sister when she married out. Back then, their Wind Sword Sect surrendered to Spirit Hall, reaching an alliance with Spirit Hall, and his younger sister Feng Qingyao even married the pope of that era, Qian Xunji, becoming the lawful wife of the Spirit Hall pope.
Just how flourishing the Wind Sword Sect of that year was, and just how magnificent the wedding of that year had been.
With the help of Spirit Hall, the Wind Sword Sect's influence surged greatly in those years, even faintly showing the momentum to become the head of the lower four sects and rival the upper three sects.
Yet who could have anticipated that this reality resembling a dream would ultimately end in a tragedy.
In the very first year of marrying into Spirit Hall, his younger sister conceived flesh and blood for the Qian family. This was originally a joyous event that everyone celebrated, but who would have known that his younger sister would ultimately encounter a difficult labor during childbirth, tragically passing away in the end.
Fortunately, the grand priest of that time brought over the clan head of the Nine-Hearted Begonia Ye Family, which was how they barely managed to protect their only child.
Which was Qian Juechen, who now stood before him.
Looking at Qian Juechen before him, a trace of gratification flashed through Feng Bailong's eyes.
Although Qian Juechen did not inherit the Qian family's hereditary Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, missing out on the legendary divine inheritance and missing out on the pope's position.
Yet he inherited the bloodline of their Wind Sword Sect, and taking the Wind Sword Martial Soul as a foundation, it subsequently underwent a benign mutation into the extremely special Elemental Sword Casket Martial Soul. Every time he absorbed a soul ring, he could obtain a sword of ultimate elements from the sword casket representing ultimate elements.
Calculated by age, Qian Juechen today was barely a little over 20, yet he had already become a Soul Douluo powerhouse standing at the pyramid's peak of the continent, becoming an existence on the same level as himself.
Such an outstanding child could also be considered as comforting the spirit of his younger sister in heaven.
Feng Bailong patted Qian Juechen's shoulder, wanting to dispel this sorrowful atmosphere. He reminisced, "Juechen, the last time you and I met was still 10 years ago. At that time, Uncle Fu even brought you back to the sect to learn the swordsmanship passed down by our Wind Sword Sect. In the blink of an eye, so many years have actually passed."
"You have already become a Soul Douluo powerhouse, and your uncle now is probably no longer your match." Feng Bailong spoke in a teasing manner.
Hearing this, Qian Juechen merely smiled, then waved his hand. "Uncle, with these words of yours you are doing me a grave injustice. How could Juechen ever dare to cross hands with you? This swordsmanship of mine was all learned from you; a disciple fighting his master, how could it possibly be a win?"
"Stop that nonsense, you brat are still putting on an act with me here. Your uncle is a sect master after all, and can still analyze the strength between you and me. You don't need to be modest; the blue comes from the indigo and yet surpasses it, and this is what I am happy to see." Feng Bailong scolded with a smile, somewhat dissatisfied with Qian Juechen's feigned modesty.
"What is the plan? This time, will you continue to travel the continent, or are you prepared to go back?" Feng Bailong hesitated for a few seconds first, but when he thought of Spirit Hall's current state of affairs, he still couldn't help but ask.
Go back? Where could he go back to? Naturally, it was Spirit Hall.
Qian Juechen knew why his uncle would speak of this matter. His smile gradually faded, and his expression progressively grew serious.
Spirit Hall. This name was not unfamiliar to him; that was the place where he was born, his home.
It was just that ever since his mother passed away, he left that place for the sake of his own cultivation.
However, as someone familiar with the plot, before leaving, he hadn't done nothing either.
He had warned his father Qian Xunji more than once, and warned his grandfather Qian Daoliu, telling them they must be on guard against that woman who had awakened twin martial souls, and that was all he could do.
At that time, he was humble and of low position, and the words he spoke were simply impossible for anyone to believe, let alone the fact that Bibi Dong back then was an peerless prodigy cultivated by Spirit Hall by pouring in countless resources.
They would absolutely not raise doubts toward all their previous decisions and so many years of resource investment simply because of a single word from him.
It was precisely because Qian Juechen knew that he lacked the ability to change all of this at the time that he chose to leave Spirit Hall, stepping onto the journey of traveling the continent to seek his own path.
In order to ensure that he would have the ability in the future to change all of this and alter the trajectory of the future.
Throughout these dozen-plus years, Qian Juechen poured nearly all his time into cultivation because his martial soul was far too special.
The Elemental Sword Casket had extremely rigorous requirements for soul rings. Every time he acquired a soul ring, he could unlock a sword of ultimate elements. Therefore, these years, in order to search for opportunities related to the power of elements, and likewise guided by deities, he traveled to nearly every secret realm across the continent.
The volcanoes of the south, the ice fields of the Far North, the boundless deep sea, or the deserts of the center—those rarely trodden places of extreme peril that ordinary soul masters avoided like the plague instead became the places where he continuously explored and lived throughout these years.
And it was precisely because of the life-and-death bloody battles time and again within this hazardous environment, along with the limit-style breakthroughs time and again, that he ultimately completed the initial stage of the Seven-Element Divine Trial.
Fire, water, wind, earth, light, darkness, and space—seven distinct yet interconnected powers of ultimate elements were completely mastered by him.
As for his Elemental Sword Casket, it finally unlocked a full seven swords of ultimate elements.
Today's him was long no longer that young child from back then who could only stand before the gates of Spirit Hall and offer earnest advice to his father and grandfather.
He was a top-tier powerhouse who controlled the seven ultimate elements, possessed Soul Douluo cultivation, and could battle multiple hundred-thousand-year soul beasts with the strength of a single person.
Furthermore, before he left, the deity had already promised him that as long as he could completely master the power of the seven elements before the age of one hundred and successfully break through to rank 99 Limit Douluo, the divine position would belong to him.
Precisely because he possessed sufficient ability and lacked any worries for the future, Qian Juechen finally decided to end these nearly 20 years of travels and secluded cultivation.
His return this time was firstly to send Uncle Fu back to his roots, and secondly, to return to Spirit Hall and take a look.
Qian Juechen raised his head to look at Feng Bailong beside him. His gaze looked toward the distance, and he spoke softly, "It's time to go back and take a look, to see what kind of appearance Spirit Hall has ultimately turned into during these years of my absence."
Feng Bailong, standing beside him, turned stern of expression. He could sense that right after Qian Juechen spoke these words, the sharpness emanating from his body, along with that exuberant battle intent.
Feng Bailong instinctively felt somewhat worried. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but was interrupted by a wave of Qian Juechen's hand.
"Uncle doesn't need to worry. Spirit Hall is my home, the blood of the Qian family flows in my body, my grandfather is the grand priest of the Worship Hall, and my father is the pope, Qian Xunji. No one in Spirit Hall can defy the present me."
Right as these words were spoken, taking Qian Juechen as the center, seven distinct powers of ultimate elements surged straight into the sky from within his body.
Those powers of ultimate elements, independent yet fusing with one another, mapped out an extremely formidable elemental storm upon the summit of the Wind Sword Sect master's main hall.
Feng Bailong felt the aura on Qian Juechen's body, as well as the elemental storm above his head, and his pupils contracted sharply.
Even though he had long known that this nephew of his probably possessed strength no weaker than his own, when he genuinely felt his strength after all, he still couldn't help but feel alarmed and shocked.
Was this truly just a Soul Douluo? This oppressive feeling was something he had only ever felt from Titled Douluo figures like Qian Xunji, and it was even faintly stronger than the oppressive feeling Qian Xunji brought him.
The shock within Feng Bailong's eyes gradually transformed into wild joy. With such a nephew around, why worry about the future of the Wind Sword Sect failing to flourish?
Just as Juechen had said earlier, he was, after all, the only grandson of the current grand priest Qian Daoliu, and also the Qian family's sole male descendant, bearing the grand responsibility of the Qian family's bloodline inheritance.
I wonder what kind of expression the grand priest will wear when he sees this transformation in his grandson?
And that madwoman in the Papal Palace, it is also about time to surrender the position belonging to Juechen and return it to him!