The words "you can't" seemed to be a man's natural enemy.
Regardless of age or status, once someone said he couldn't, he would feel compelled to prove he could!
And that he could do it very well.
Qin Xiao's actions provoked Meng Shenji.
He increased his Soul Power pressure again, instantly raising it to rank seventy!
"Isn't this increase a little slow?"
Qin Xiao couldn't help frowning. He had thought that provoking Meng Shenji would make him show some backbone and raise his pressure straight to its peak.
Yet he still wasn't showing much backbone.
Then Qin Xiao yawned again.
"Damn it, I refuse to believe I can't handle a brat like you."
Meng Shenji was furious at the sight and increased his Soul Power pressure again.
Rank seventy-five, seventy-six, seventy-seven...
"Chairman, are you sure nothing will go wrong if you keep this up?"
Bai Baoshan secretly transmitted his voice to Meng Shenji, asking with some concern.
He felt Meng Shenji was getting carried away.
"What could go wrong? Look at that brat. Isn't he perfectly fine? Who knows what kind of freak he is?"
Meng Shenji replied irritably.
He had made up his mind. Whatever happened today, he would put Qin Xiao in his place.
"Rank eighty!"
"This should finally do it!"
Meng Shenji raised his Soul Power pressure to rank eighty, then fixed his eyes on Qin Xiao.
The moment Qin Xiao showed anything unusual, he would stop.
However...
Qin Xiao spoke just then. "Chairman Meng, I'm ready. You can start now."
Pfft...
At those words, Meng Shenji was so frustrated he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.
Meanwhile, everyone on Shrek's side struggled to hold back their laughter.
"Those words from His Holiness the Thunder Emperor were downright insulting..."
Zhao Wuji's expression, in particular, grew rather awkward.
He recalled some unpleasant memories. Back at Shrek Academy, hadn't he also treated Qin Xiao like a worthless rookie, only to end up beaten like a dog?
There was no helping it.
It wasn't that they had no brains. Qin Xiao was simply too young.
Even if they racked their brains dry, they would never have imagined that Qin Xiao, still in his teens, already possessed the cultivation of a Titled Douluo.
His achievements were so great that even Tang Hao, once hailed as the youngest Titled Douluo on the Douluo Continent, was nothing but a joke before him.
He wasn't even fit to carry Qin Xiao's shoes.
"Rank eighty-eight..."
"What kind of monster is this brat? He can actually withstand rank eighty-eight Soul Power pressure?"
"That's already the limit of the chairman's cultivation."
As Meng Shenji continued increasing the pressure, Bai Baoshan and Zhi Lin were both astonished.
"Chairman, could he be..." Bai Baoshan suddenly thought of a possibility.
Before he could finish, however, Zhi Lin interrupted him. "You think this brat is also a powerhouse? Someone who can stand shoulder to shoulder with us? Don't joke around. Even if he started cultivating in his mother's womb, he couldn't have reached that level."
"Then how do you explain what's going on with him?"
"I stand by my earlier opinion. This brat possesses a mental-type Martial Soul, and most likely a Head Soul Bone that helps him greatly reduce this Soul Power pressure."
Zhi Lin spoke calmly.
Could that be it? Bai Baoshan frowned. Zhi Lin's explanation seemed well-founded and was probably the truth.
Yet he still felt something was off.
"You two, stop standing around. Come help me."
Meng Shenji transmitted his voice to them just then.
"Chairman, we're all senior elders. Isn't it inappropriate for us to join forces to test a junior?"
Bai Baoshan hesitated.
"Do you think it's any more dignified for the esteemed chairman of the Education Committee to be unable to handle one brat?"
Meng Shenji replied irritably.
That does seem to make sense...
Bai Baoshan immediately joined Meng Shenji in putting pressure on Qin Xiao.
Finally, someone else has stepped in.
Qin Xiao was delighted. Meng Shenji and Bai Baoshan together were enough to increase his Second Soul Ring's age by over ten thousand years...
But even that did not satisfy him.
Zhi Lin was still standing nearby. He had to get him involved as well.
After all, that would mean another eight thousand years...
Zhi Lin was even crucial to whether Qin Xiao could reach rank ninety-three through the Soul Power fed back to him.
I can't leave them without even a glimmer of hope. That would drive them to despair.
Qin Xiao decided to give them a little hope this time.
The next moment, a strained expression appeared on his face.
It's working!
Meng Shenji's eyes lit up. "Baoshan, your help is making a difference. Push harder. This brat is almost at his limit."
He secretly transmitted his voice to Bai Baoshan, unable to conceal his delighted surprise.
"Mm."
Bai Baoshan responded firmly and increased his Soul Power pressure.
Rank fifty, sixty, seventy...
Yet he increasingly felt something was wrong. Why did this brat always look as though he was just a hair away from being unable to bear it?
Elsewhere.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Sensing something, Bone Douluo came out before the sect's main hall. Sure enough, Sword Douluo was slowly descending on his sword with Ning Fengzhi.
"Sect Master, you're finally back. I've missed you terribly."
Though Bone Douluo spoke of missing them, his eyes kept darting behind the two men.
"Old Bone, stop looking. Rongrong didn't come back."
As Bone Douluo's closest brother, Sword Douluo naturally knew what he was thinking.
"What? She didn't come back?"
"It's so dangerous out there. Is it really right for you to leave Rongrong wandering outside alone?"
Bone Douluo spoke with righteous indignation.
"Uh..."
Hearing this, Sword Douluo gave Ning Fengzhi a complicated look, then shook his head with a wry smile. "Old Bone, you may have wronged the Sect Master and me. It's not that we wouldn't let Rongrong return. She refused to come back. I even feel that her Grandpa Sword and Ning Fengzhi, her own father, no longer matter to her."
"That's enough, Uncle Jian. Don't say any more..."
"She's grown up. She should have her own ideas. I don't blame her."
As Ning Fengzhi spoke, he covered his heart with his right hand.
Bringing this up really stabbed him in the heart.
After Shrek was destroyed, he had asked Ning Rongrong to return to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect with him.
Ning Rongrong's answer had been simple. Just one word: no!
From Ning Rongrong's eyes, Ning Fengzhi had understood that wherever Qin Xiao went, she would follow...
At that moment, a jumble of emotions had filled Ning Fengzhi's heart. He knew the pearl he treasured in his palm had probably been stolen away.
"Heh, it seems I've asked something I shouldn't have."
Seeing Ning Fengzhi's reaction, Bone Douluo understood that something had happened between the Little Demoness, Ning Fengzhi, and Sword Douluo.
He decided to wait until the wound in Ning Fengzhi's heart had eased before asking.
"Hehe, you're right about that, Old Bone. Stop poking at the Sect Master's sore spot."
Sword Douluo chuckled. "Actually, the Sect Master and I gained quite a lot on this trip, and we brought you an important gift."
"A gift?"
Bone Douluo first froze, then said rather listlessly, "You'd have done better to bring Rongrong back to keep me company."
Sword Douluo raised an eyebrow and teased him. "Aren't you being shallow, Old Bone? Don't speak in such absolutes! I'm sure you won't say that once you see the gift."
Of the six Soul Bones Ning Fengzhi had purchased this time, he had not refined a single one. He was waiting for Bone Douluo to pick the suitable ones first before making his own selection.
He believed Bone Douluo could hardly remain unmoved by six Soul Bones capable of making up for his shortcomings.
"Heh, you don't believe me?"
Bone Douluo laughed. "My heart reached a state free of desires long ago. Even if the Sect Master wanted to give me a Soul Bone, I wouldn't be tempted. I'd rather have that little girl Rongrong stay in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and keep these old bones company."
As soon as he said this, everything fell silent.
Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo stopped speaking.
At the sight, Bone Douluo's heart trembled. "Sect Master, you didn't really bring back Soul Bones suitable for me, did you?"
"Actually, I think it's quite good for Rongrong to gain some experience out in the world sometimes."
Before you continue