Zhi Lin hesitated when he heard Meng Shenji's summons. "Is this really a good idea?"
He transmitted his voice in secret.
"Does that even matter now? Stop hemming and hawing."
Bai Baoshan urged him through a voice transmission.
Fine!
Zhi Lin gritted his teeth and stepped forward, joining Meng Shenji and Bai Baoshan in exerting pressure.
He knew that, no matter what happened, they had already disgraced themselves all the way to their ancestors' doorstep today.
Qin Xiao's eyes lit up. All three had finally joined in. He could already see more than twenty thousand years of Soul Ring age beckoning to him.
Time flew by.
Fine beads of sweat had already appeared on Zhi Lin's forehead.
By now, he had pushed his Soul Power pressure to its limit.
Level 83!
Beside him, Bai Baoshan and Meng Shenji were in even worse shape. Their faces were pale, and even Meng Shenji's lips had lost all color.
"Forget it. Let's stop."
Meng Shenji suddenly spoke in a low voice.
At this moment, he had finally calmed down.
Qin Xiao felt like a bottomless, icy pool. Even after giving it everything he had, Meng Shenji had failed to probe his depths.
"Can you tell me how you did it? What is your martial soul, and what level is your true strength?" Meng Shenji longed for an answer.
They had taken a tumble, but he still wanted to know exactly where the pit had been dug.
What a fucking trap.
At his words, Bai Baoshan and Zhi Lin also withdrew their pressure and stepped aside.
Neither said a word, but their eyes remained fixed on Qin Xiao.
They seemed to be seeking an answer as well.
However...
Qin Xiao did not answer them. He looked as though his mind had wandered beyond the heavens, and no one knew what he was thinking.
[Ding! Congratulations! Mission complete.] [Ding! Detected that the host endured the combined pressure of Meng Shenji (level 88), Bai Baoshan (level 85), and Zhi Lin (level 83). Reward increased for exceeding the mission requirements.] [Ding! Mission reward issued. Second Soul Ring age increased by: 25,600 years.]
Once the system's mechanical voice faded from Qin Xiao's mind, he felt a mysterious power pouring into his body.
Part of that power merged with his existing Soul Power.
It was like a fuse being lit, instantly setting his Soul Power boiling.
The next moment, he felt the Soul Power inside him erupt like a volcano!
Crack...
Qin Xiao heard a sharp crack from within his body, as though he had broken through some restraint. Immediately afterward, a sense of ease washed over him.
"I broke through. I finally reached level 93."
At that moment, Qin Xiao finally understood what had happened. This was the breakthrough he had dreamed of.
"That really wasn't easy."
Qin Xiao could not help sighing.
For a Titled Douluo like the Poison Douluo, absorbing a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and a Soul Bone would have raised his cultivation by at least two levels.
But that was not the case for Qin Xiao.
To use a simple analogy, if the human body were a container, an ordinary Titled Douluo's body would be a bucket, while Qin Xiao's would be a water vat.
In battle, he possessed several times as much Soul Power as others at his level. But breaking through was also several times harder for him.
After all, could filling a bucket and filling a vat possibly be the same?
Fortunately, Qin Xiao had the cheat of being struck by lightning. He could refine lightning for his own use, giving him an unparalleled cultivation speed. If he had cultivated normally, he seriously doubted whether he would even have become a Soul Grandmaster by now.
Boom!
At the same time, a powerful aura suddenly erupted from Qin Xiao, sweeping outward in every direction.
Thud, thud, thud...
Both the Shrek group and the three committee members of Heaven Dou Royal Academy could not help retreating.
"So powerful! This aura is unbelievably powerful!"
"What level is this kid, exactly? Could he be a Titled Douluo?"
Bai Baoshan and Zhi Lin spoke in shock.
As though to confirm their suspicions, nine Soul Rings appeared beneath Qin Xiao's feet.
Red, black, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black...
What the fuck kind of godlike configuration was that?
The three committee members' eyes nearly popped out and fell to the floor. Were these Soul Rings a human could possess?
"Your Holiness's Soul Rings have grown stronger again!"
Rather than Qin Xiao's increased cultivation, what shocked the Shrek group was his Soul Rings.
How had his Second Soul Ring turned black?
What exactly had it gone through?
"Hard as it is to accept, this is the truth."
Bitterness filled Meng Shenji's expression as he said, "So the person we were trying to suppress all this time was actually a Titled Douluo. How absurd..."
The truth was out.
Now he understood why Qin Xiao had dismissed their Soul Power pressure.
How could the light of fireflies compete with the radiant moon?
"Chairman, did we overestimate ourselves a little?"
"But I don't think we can really be blamed, can we? If His Holiness had revealed his name and strength earlier, I wouldn't have dared exert Soul Power pressure on him even if someone gave me several extra doses of courage."
Bai Baoshan spoke meekly.
"This really was unexpected. I considered so many possibilities, but never once thought he was... a Titled Douluo."
Zhi Lin was also left speechless with astonishment.
It was not that the thought could not occur to them, but that they had not dared entertain it.
"You have my thanks for your assistance, committee members."
By then, Qin Xiao had emerged from the state of his breakthrough.
He smiled faintly at the dumbstruck Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin.
We helped you?
Helped you with what?
The three exchanged looks, utterly puzzled.
"Your Holiness, you are far too kind. We were the ones who failed to recognize our limits and offended you earlier."
As chairman of the Education Committee, Meng Shenji was quick to adapt.
He shook his head repeatedly, not daring to claim any credit.
He even apologized for their earlier offense.
"Ha ha."
Qin Xiao smiled and shook his head, saying nothing more.
He knew that anything he said would only make Meng Shenji more apprehensive.
Then he turned to Flender. "Dean, please continue discussing our joining Heaven Dou Royal Academy with Chairman Meng."
"All right." Flender stepped out from among the others.
Qin Xiao returned to his earlier seat and closed his eyes to rest, consolidating his newly attained level.
The golden crow sank in the west.
After conferring, Meng Shenji and the other two committee members finally offered generous terms.
"Dean Flender, as long as you join Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Shrek's teachers and students will retain their original organization. We will not interfere with your teaching or training."
"As for benefits, the academy will cover all expenses incurred by Shrek's students within the academy. All teachers will receive Heaven Dou Grade benefits and a salary of three thousand Gold Soul Coins. I can also apply for special teaching allowances for Shrek's teachers."
"As for His Holiness Qin Xiao's benefits, we can only report the matter to His Majesty and let him decide..."
As Meng Shenji spoke, he instinctively glanced at Qin Xiao, only to withdraw his gaze swiftly like a startled rabbit.
He turned back to Flender and asked eagerly for his opinion. "Dean Flender, what do you think of these terms? If there's anything you're dissatisfied with, please say so. We can discuss it further."
"Oh, and in addition to these terms, we would also like to invite you to join the Education Committee as Heaven Dou Royal Academy's fourth committee member!"
Seemingly afraid that Flender would refuse, Meng Shenji offered another major incentive.
I had just started work today, and it was my editor's first day back after the National Day holiday, when I was suddenly informed that the novel would be going premium. It came very unexpectedly, and I hadn't prepared anything.
For today, I'll stick to the normal update schedule. Starting tomorrow, I'll add one extra update each day for three days. Consider those ten-thousand-word updates a thank-you to everyone for the premium launch.
My circumstances are limited, so I hope you'll understand. Thank you all for your support.
Before you continue