Qian Juechen: "Greetings, Grand Priest!"

Even so, the pressure Qian Juechen faced had not eased in the slightest.

After using Martial Soul Possession, he climbed nearly another hundred steps in one breath.

By the final fifty steps, the so-called pressure from Qian Daoliu had changed entirely. It was less like pressure and more like one invisible barrier after another, standing in his way.

To take another step, he would have to break the barrier before him by force.

In that case, he would use a sword.

As a capable sword cultivator, his strongest means of attack was naturally the Elemental Swords in his Elemental Sword Casket, each representing one of the seven ultimate elements.

Nearly everyone in Spirit Hall was watching him now.

They all wanted to see what other shocks he had in store for them.

Qian Juechen clasped his hands behind his back. The Elemental Sword Casket behind him rose silently. It held only seven swords.

He drew just one. He formed a sword gesture, and his first black soul ring lit up.

Humm! A clear sword cry rang through the clouds.

An Elemental Sword brimming with ultimate fire shot out of the casket.

Scorching heat spread from Qian Juechen in every direction. Even the air visibly warped beneath it.

In an instant, waves of heat and flame filled the entire Holy Mountain.

The crimson sword hovered quietly before Qian Juechen, flames rising from its blade. It was his first sword: the Heaven-Burning Fire Sword.

At a thought from Qian Juechen, the Heaven-Burning Fire Sword slashed forward with thunderous force. The invisible barriers before him dissolved one after another beneath its fierce assault.

Qian Juechen ascended step by step, his expression composed once more.

Inside the Worship Hall, Mighty Lion Douluo, who ranked fourth, suddenly stood up.

His martial soul, the Blazing Lion, was one of the finest beast martial souls in the world. It gave him formidable strength and offensive power, and few could rival his affinity for and control over fire.

That was why he could sense just how terrifying the fire sword hovering before Qian Juechen was as it swept aside the barriers in his path.

Its scorching fire element far surpassed that of his Blazing Lion. In all his years, he had never encountered a martial soul with fire this powerful.

Golden Crocodile turned toward Mighty Lion. Noticing the shock on his face, he could not help asking, "Fourth Brother, what is it? Is something wrong?"

At Golden Crocodile Douluo's voice, the other priests also looked toward Mighty Lion Douluo.

Feeling the immense force of the flames, Mighty Lion looked at his old brothers and said gravely, "I can sense a terrifying fire element in that sword, unlike anything I've ever encountered. Its purity and quality far surpass my Blazing Lion—and every fire-element martial soul I've seen on this continent."

His words left the Worship Hall briefly silent.

No one doubted Mighty Lion.

As Spirit Hall's Fourth Priest, he was a level-ninety-seven assault-type Douluo and the only one of the seven priests who possessed the fire element. No one would question his understanding of his own abilities or of fire.

The fact that even he said his fire-attribute martial soul could not compare to Qian Juechen's sword was astonishing enough.

And he was not alone. Guang Ling Douluo, the Fifth Priest, who sat nearby with his Lightfeather Divine Bow, had also sensed that the flames were extraordinary.

His Lightfeather Divine Bow possessed both light and ice attributes.

He understood both deeply. From the moment the fire sword appeared, he had felt its superior power suppressing his own—not ice overpowering ice, but fire overpowering ice. That meant the quality of its fire element far exceeded the ice element in his bow.

Everyone looked again at the Heaven-Burning Fire Sword, blazing fiercely, and then at the unremarkable casket behind Qian Juechen.

His first soul skill alone had summoned a fire-attribute Elemental Sword of such terrifying power.

It was hard to imagine that his casket held seven swords. Could each one represent an element of similarly exceptional quality?

The question lingered in everyone's mind, deepening their curiosity about the young man.

With only the Heaven-Burning Fire Sword and his first soul skill, Qian Juechen broke through the barriers on the last fifty steps and reached the sacred Worship Hall.

Its doors stood open. When the guards beside them saw Qian Juechen arrive, they dropped to one knee in salute. His status as Spirit Hall's eldest young master was beyond question.

Qian Juechen paid them no heed. He put away the Heaven-Burning Fire Sword, drew the Elemental Sword Casket back into his body, and walked step by step into a hall both familiar and strange.

He had come here countless times. As a child, he had often followed his grandfather here to strengthen his body, learn to fight, and build a solid foundation.

He had once known every priest here intimately. They had practically watched him grow up, and each of them had regarded him as Spirit Hall's next successor.

But that had been twenty years ago.

Twenty years had turned a child into a young man. They had also cast an indefinable distance over relationships that had once been close.

Qian Juechen continued through the hall until he reached its center.

The first thing he saw was the statue of the Angel God at the heart of the hall, worshipped for generations by the Qian family and Spirit Hall.

The statue was solemn and sacred, as though it would forever watch over everything in Spirit Hall.

Beneath it stood a white-haired old man. His hair was meticulously combed, and the aura around him was impossible to fathom.

He said nothing. He simply watched Qian Juechen approach him, step by step, deeper into the Worship Hall.

Then their eyes met, and something stirred in both grandfather and grandson.

Around the hall, the other priests seated in meditation turned to look as well. Their expressions varied, but most held a mixture of complicated feelings and relief.

They had waited a long time for this child to return, and had spent no small amount of effort searching for him over the years.

At last, Qian Juechen stopped in the center of the hall. Looking at the face he knew so well, he bowed slightly. "Qian Juechen of the Qian family greets the Grand Priest."

His voice was calm, without the slightest tremor. Yet those quiet words silenced the Worship Hall, where the mood had been almost cheerful just moments before.

There would have been nothing strange about anyone else calling him Grand Priest.

But for Qian Juechen, this was the first time he had seen his grandfather in twenty years.

After twenty years, Qian Juechen had returned to the place where he had grown up. Yet before his own grandfather, he showed no joy at their reunion, no warmth at seeing family again.

Instead, he had respectfully and properly addressed him as Grand Priest.

How tragic. How absurd.