Baffling antics

"Dean, what did you need this old man for?"

Qian Chongling clearly wasn't visiting the dean's office for the first time. With practiced familiarity, he rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a small brown packet wrapped in the plastic packaging used on Blue Star, then casually grabbed two cups and poured some brown powder into them.

He made a cup each for himself and Shui Ning, the dean of Skywater Academy. Four large Chinese characters stood out boldly on the little brown packet.

Nescafé!

Naturally, this so-called coffee had come from a sign-in gift pack. After spotting him drinking it in his office on one occasion, Shui Ning had confiscated several packets.

Once he finished the whole routine, Qian Chongling stared intently at Shui Ning, who wore a sky-blue teacher's uniform. He had to admit that even by his standards, she ranked among the beauties of the Douluo Continent.

As for why-those legs, that face, those pandas.

Watching Qian Chongling make himself thoroughly at home, Shui Ning smiled faintly. "Three of our students have reached rank thirty, and two have reached rank forty. I'd like to ask you to take them to obtain soul rings, Teacher Qian-soul rings at their true limits."

"You should know that young Yue Wu's third ring has made plenty of teachers and students terribly envious." A hint of a smile curled Shui Ning's lips as she winked at Qian Chongling.

On the Douluo Continent, any soul master family with an established legacy knew what age of soul ring to absorb at each rank to maximize its benefits. Thus, conventional ranges for absorbing soul rings had emerged: three hundred to four hundred years for the first soul ring, six hundred to seven hundred years for the second, and so on.

Yet someone had compiled those figures, declared them the limits of soul ring age, and shamelessly claimed they were his own theory.

His theory went like this: 423 years for the first soul ring, 764 years for the second, 1,760 years for the third, 5,000 years for the fourth, 12,000 years for the fifth, 20,000 years for the sixth, 30,000-50,000 years for the seventh, over 50,000 years for the eighth, and over 100,000 years for the ninth.

The common knowledge was correct, but this so-called theory was only half right. The other half was wrong.

Everyone knew that if a soul master's body couldn't withstand the pressure of a soul ring, they would explode and die. Put another way, as long as their body was strong enough, they wouldn't explode and die.

Those with beast martial souls had stronger bodies than those with food-type martial souls, and male soul masters were generally physically stronger than female soul masters. These were innate factors.

That raised a question: what would happen if a male soul master with a beast martial soul and a female food system soul master both absorbed a 423-year-old first soul ring?

Most likely, the male soul master with the beast martial soul would absorb it successfully, while the female food system soul master would spiral straight up to heaven on the spot. Even supposing she could absorb that ring, wouldn't the male soul master, whose body could withstand more, be able to consider a five-hundred-year-old ring?

That was why soul master families with established legacies never took a certain king of hot air's theory seriously. After all, if everyone really followed his theory and absorbed soul rings according to the same standard regardless of their circumstances, who knew how many people would die?

What Shui Ning really wanted was for Qian Chongling to lead the team and help these students hunt soul rings at their actual limits. That included, but wasn't limited to, the so-called maximum ages.

Qian Chongling said, "If I trained them from their martial soul awakening onward, I'd be confident of making their second soul rings purple and their fourth black. But given the students' current circumstances, I can't guarantee that I can help them break those limits."

Seeing that Qian Chongling had agreed, Shui Ning smiled. "Just do your best, Teacher Qian. Where do you plan to take them?"

"Let's go to the Far North," Qian Chongling answered after a moment's thought.

There were several reasons Qian Chongling was willing to go.

First, in the original timeline, the future Skywater Academy had been beaten so badly by Shrek Academy that they questioned their very lives. Being so ruthless to those young ladies simply wouldn't do.

So, starting in this era, Qian Chongling could strengthen Skywater Academy's foundations. Leaving behind a few sword formations and other arrays, if nothing else, would probably let them thrash Shrek Academy when the time came.

Second, the Far North had three soul beasts over three hundred thousand years old: the Ice Empress, the Snow Empress, and our Brother Sky Dream. Qian Chongling rather wanted to visit the two empresses and have a little chat about life and their aspirations. As for Brother Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, he hadn't yet decided what to do with him.

Third, most of Skywater Academy's students had water-attribute martial souls, while some had ice-attribute martial souls. Besides, on the Douluo Continent, there didn't seem to be much difference between water and ice.

"The Far North? That works too," Shui Ning said after thinking for a moment.

After the two discussed some further details, Shui Ning notified the Skywater Academy students that they would depart for the Far North in a few days.

While Qian Chongling lazily passed his days at Skywater Academy, his own Spirit Hall hadn't been sitting idle either.

Spirit City, Douluo Hall.

Qian Daoliu stood solemnly with his drinking buddies-Golden Crocodile, Qian Jun, Jiang Mo, Demon Bear, Ghost Leopard, Holy Dragon, and the others. As for young Qian Xunji, who was around fourteen and whose instrument of mischief had only recently matured, he wasn't yet qualified to enter this place.

"Fellow worshippers, my great-great-grandfather has not returned for eight years. I fear he has passed on. Today, I intend to bury his clothes in Douluo Hall and erect a cenotaph. Does anyone object?"

Qian Daoliu posed the question to the drinking buddies beside him.

"The old master once gave me guidance. This is only right. I, Golden Crocodile Douluo Tian E, second the motion!" said Tian E, wearing a golden robe embroidered with a ferocious golden crocodile.

"Big Brother's great-great-grandfather is my great-great-grandfather," Holy Dragon Douluo said.

"Whether in cultivation or anything else, the old master was an example to us all. If even he cannot have a cenotaph erected in Douluo Hall, who among us could?" Demon Bear Douluo declared with righteous conviction.

"That's right."

"Good. Then it's settled."

Seeing that none of the Titled Douluos from the Worship Hall objected, Qian Daoliu's persistently gloomy expression gradually relaxed.

I've accomplished what Grandfather, Father, and all the other ancestors couldn't. If you round things off, doesn't that mean I, Qian Daoliu, am stronger than my ancestors?

Qian Bufan and Qian Xiye: "You unfilial descendant! We'll beat you within an inch of your life!"

Three days later, a new gravestone appeared inside Douluo Hall. Its inscription read:

Spirit Hall's eighth-generation ancestor and ninth Pope: Qian Chongling

Date of birth: unknown.

Age at death: over fourteen hundred.

Achievements: devoted his life to vigorously developing Spirit Hall's economy, suppressing evil soul masters, and treating commoners kindly. An ancestor of both virtue and talent, sincere and benevolent.

Ten thousand words omitted below.

Years later, Qian Chongling stared at his own gravestone, his face dark with exasperation, wishing he could string up that unfilial descendant and beat him.