"Is that a soul ring configuration a human can achieve?" Ning Fengzhi abruptly rose to his feet.
If Dugu Feng's thousand-year second soul ring earlier had been an exception, then this person's six ten thousand year soul rings were nothing short of a tale from the Arabian Nights!
"Across the sea... could there be some treasure or secret art that lets people exceed the age limits?"
That was Ning Fengzhi's first thought.
Of course, there was another possibility briefly recorded in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's ancient texts, but Ning Fengzhi leaned more toward a treasure.
"No matter how heaven-defying someone is, how could they defy heaven to this extent?!"
"Never mind having nothing but ten thousand year soul rings-even a ten thousand year fourth soul ring would be unheard of!"
Even Chen Xin and Gu Rong, two usually composed Titled Douluo, stared in near disbelief at the figure in the footage, especially those six soul rings as black as ink.
"With such a heaven-defying soul ring configuration, would his body really not explode and kill him?"
"Judging by his appearance, he's no older than twenty... if he had innate full soul power and made up the rest entirely with the soul power provided by ten thousand year soul rings, he might even be a little younger."
"Has a genius of this caliber already emerged out on the seas?"
Ning Fengzhi felt his horizons broaden.
He had thought Dugu Feng, an eight-year-old Soul Elder, was extraordinary enough. He had never expected an even greater expert.
"If Rongrong could also absorb seven ten thousand year soul rings, could she reach the legendary realm of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda?"
Ning Fengzhi had already begun considering whether to fund a massive fleet to sail out to sea.
And Ning Fengzhi was not alone in thinking this. Almost every top power, including the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and the Clear Sky Sect, had begun planning to head out to sea.
Except...
"Six ten thousand year soul rings? Could someone capable of inheriting the Sea God Godhood have appeared on Sea God Island?"
On a hill outside the Worship Hall, Qian Daoliu narrowed his eyes slightly as an indescribable feeling rose within him.
"It seems you've found a suitable successor too, old friend... but sneaking onto the continent to attack a genius of my Spirit Hall-isn't that going a little too far!"
Although Qian Daoliu had his grievances with that woman Bibi Dong, that did not mean he could sit by and watch outsiders hunt down Spirit Hall's people.
Even if that person belonged to Bibi Dong's faction.
"Damn it! Nana, take me along the next time you go hunting soul beasts!" At a training ground in Spirit Hall Academy, a red-haired boy stood impatiently before the girl beside him, like a ball of fire.
"...That's right. Nana, you'd better stop coming with me to hunt soul beasts. Or when you go hunting for a soul ring, just ask His Holiness the Pope to send a few more titled elders!" Xie Yue, Hu Liena's older brother, also looked rather grim.
He did not want to get his only remaining family member killed merely for the sake of hunting a soul ring someday.
Oh, he had almost forgotten.
He was already missing from the scene. Most likely, that Six-Ring Soul Emperor had killed him in an instant.
"With a Titled Douluo accompanying him and such formidable strength of his own, this person is probably a genius raised by some power too."
Hu Liena's face was also a little pale. After all, seeing herself so badly wounded in the footage was still quite a shock.
The Celestial Screen's sense of immersion was too powerful.
"Across the sea... are there really geniuses that formidable?"
"How is that possible? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!!"
At Nuoding Academy, Yu Xiaogang watched the Celestial Screen with bloodshot eyes, panting like an ox, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on those six ink-black soul rings.
"According to Spirit Hall's... according to my theories... according to my theories... humans cannot possibly possess such a soul ring configuration. My theories are absolutely never wrong!"
Grandmaster felt that this Celestial Screen was targeting him.
He could have let it slide when Dugu Feng appeared with a thousand-year second soul ring in the first vision of the future.
He could have let it slide when Yu Tiansheng insulted him the second time.
But now, a Soul Emperor whose six soul rings were all ten thousand year soul rings had actually appeared.
Yu Xiaogang felt as though nearly every one of his theories had been refuted.
It made no sense!
None of Spirit Hall's texts recorded any cases or possibilities of soul masters absorbing soul rings beyond their age limits!
"No! I must investigate the secret behind this, or people really will dismiss my theories as garbage!"
Yu Xiaogang looked at the pile of books before him, fire kindling in his eyes.
"Yu Xiaogang! You have to prove you're not useless!"
["Are you acting this way because you intend to involve yourself in this matter?"]
[As the black-clad boy's words fell, a boy in plain clothes walked out of the woods, cradling a sword, his expression cold. It was none other than Dugu Feng.]
[At the same time, another figure emerged from the woods, scratching his head.]
[The newcomer was a purple-haired young man who looked to be in his early twenties at most. His delicate face was incomparably beautiful, making it almost impossible to tell whether he was male or female.]
[At that moment, the youth held a scythe formed from a spider's leg. Five soul rings in the standard configuration appeared around him; he was clearly preparing to attack.]
[He had merely been stopped by the black-clad boy.]
["...Teacher?"]
[At the sight of that somewhat familiar face, Hu Liena's beautiful eyes shifted slightly. She instinctively wanted to ask something, but this was clearly not the right moment.]
["You two look... as though you have no connection to Spirit Hall, do you? Leave now, and no one will get hurt."]
["Spirit Hall, Dugu Feng."]
[Dugu Feng stared at the six ten thousand year soul rings behind the black-clad boy, then summoned his own one yellow and two purple rings to compare them.]
[Hmm... they couldn't measure up on either count.]
["Are you really human?" Dugu Feng asked bluntly.]
["...A Soul Elder at merely ten years old, with a second soul ring beyond the age limit?"]
[Ignoring Dugu Feng, who was, after all, merely a Soul Elder, the black-clad boy turned toward the other person.]
["Spirit Hall helped me awaken my martial soul, and its subsidies over the years at least kept me from ending up on the streets. If I stood by and let someone die now, my mind would never be at ease."]
[The purple-haired young man lifted his gaze with a soft chuckle. His unusually alluring face looked even more uncanny now, and he slowly raised the scythe in his hand.]
["Besides, my good fellow."]
["Which do you think is better at catching rats, cats or dogs?"]
["...Dogs. Because cats love to toy with their prey, they're far less efficient at catching rats than dogs."]
["So you truly intend to interfere?!"]
["Didn't you say it yourself? A dog catching rats hardly counts as meddling!" In an instant, he activated Martial Soul Possession. A black carapace covered the purple-haired young man's entire body, and his lower body transformed into that of a spider in the blink of an eye.]
[The beautiful, graceful youth had actually transformed straight into a somewhat ferocious-looking spider monster.]
[But on closer inspection, the youth's face above his spider-armored upper body remained unchanged. The armor even lent him a measure of martial valor.]
[The contrast between his upper and lower halves actually gave the impression of a devil and an angel united in one body.]
["Bi Shuo. Martial soul: Death Spider Emperor. Level sixty-six Power Attack System Battle Soul Emperor." His soft voice rang out slowly as Bi Shuo stared intently at the enemy before him.]
["In that case..."]
[The black-clad boy assumed a stance with both hands. Between his palms, a character shaped like the word 'void' glimmered with flecks of red light.]
["Xie Guhong. Martial soul: Space-Shifting Hand. Level sixty-three Control System Battle Soul Emperor!"]
Before you continue