A challenge

[You listened quietly to the end, your expression betraying not the slightest ripple.]

[The evening breeze swept the fragrance of chrysanthemums past the hem of your clothes. You met his gaze without a word of defense, merely taking two steps back onto the open ground beside the flower beds as your soul power quietly began to circulate.]

[Six soul rings rose from beneath your feet in succession-yellow, purple, purple, black, dark red, black.]

[The fifth soul ring was particularly striking-dark red as a sunken abyss, its edge wreathed in an extremely faint halo of blood-red light. Within it, however, shone the gentle luster of life, pulsing heavily as it flowed, utterly unlike an ordinary soul ring.]

[Chrysanthemum Douluo's pupils abruptly contracted, his gaze nailed firmly to that dark-red soul ring, its uncanny blood-red hue reflected in the depths of his pale-gold eyes.]

["This is..." His Adam's apple bobbed, and his dry voice carried a tremor he could scarcely conceal. "Dark red... a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring?"]

["That isn't the case." You shook your head, explaining calmly, "The age of the soul ring a soul master can absorb is directly related to their physical constitution."]

["In my earlier years, I consumed Infernal Delicate Apricot and Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass. Those two immortal herbs not only reshaped the foundations of my body, but also greatly raised the limit of what my meridians could bear."]

["That was precisely why I could absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring for my second soul ring and a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring for my fourth."]

["As for this dark-red fifth soul ring, I traveled personally to the Blue Silver Ancestral Land and, drawing on a kindness from long ago, begged Senior Blue Silver King to act personally. He expended a great deal of the Ancestral Land's vital energy to condense this Life-bound Soul Ring for me."]

["A Life-bound Soul Ring?" Chrysanthemum Douluo's brows stirred slightly. He could not help recalling how, during a casual conversation, you had once mentioned raising an unusual stalk of Blue Silver Grass in your early years. Presumably, the formation of this special soul ring was most likely connected to that stalk of Blue Silver Grass.]

["Yes." You nodded slightly. "This Life-bound Soul Ring is linked to my bloodline and attuned to my soul, and it can continue growing as my cultivation improves. It has now grown close to the hundred-thousand-year level, which is why its color has become such a deep, dark red."]

[After hearing this explanation, Chrysanthemum Douluo looked at you with a complicated gaze. Emotions churned in his eyes-seemingly wonder, seemingly admiration, along with a measure of sentiment difficult to put into words.]

[He did not probe the origins and particulars of this fortunate encounter, merely sighing softly. "I've lived most of my life, yet I've never seen a soul master possess foundations like yours at the Soul Emperor stage."]

[At this point, he paused, his brow still not entirely relaxed, and said gravely, "But even so, with your current strength, you're still no match for Her Highness."]

["The gap between a Soul Emperor and a Soul Saint is far more than a single major realm. Once the Martial Soul Avatar is activated, the difference in strength is like that between heaven and earth."]

["What's more, the angel martial soul is already one of the continent's highest inheritances and naturally suppresses ordinary martial souls. However unusual your Blue Silver Grass may be, beneath the angel's sacred light, it will inevitably lose some of its edge."]

["Senior," you picked up the conversation, your tone steady but certain, "as far as I know, Her Highness Qian Renxue has spent these past years secretly investigating the culprit who exposed her identity. What happened back then was like a hidden thorn, embedded deep in her heart. By now, I fear it has long since become an obsession."]

["If I come forward now and invite Her Highness to fight under the banner of a challenge, it would be just the chance to settle this burden on her heart."]

[Chrysanthemum Douluo's brows stirred slightly. Without speaking, he motioned for you to continue.]

["If I'm lucky enough to win, it would be a chance to blunt Her Highness's edge and let her understand that beyond every person stands someone greater, and beyond every heaven lies another, lest she stumble someday through arrogance and underestimating an opponent."]

["And if I lose-" You raised your eyes, your gaze settling on Chrysanthemum Douluo's face, and grinned. "Wouldn't I still have you, Senior? With your strength as a rank-ninety-six Titled Douluo, wouldn't rescuing me from her be as easy as turning your hand?"]

["Besides, Her Highness is proud and conscious of her status. She has always disdained bullying the young with age or the weak with strength, so she may not truly strike to kill."]

[Chrysanthemum Douluo froze at your words, then let out a derisive laugh and pointed an index finger at you. "You've certainly worked out a fine little abacus. So you get all the benefits, and I'm left covering all the losses?"]

["I wouldn't dare." Smiling, you cupped your hands and scratched the back of your head, displaying a rare trace of youthful embarrassment. "It's just that, after turning it over in my mind, I could only dare to tug at Her Highness's tiger whiskers with a mountain like you at my back, Senior."]

[Chrysanthemum Douluo shook his head, a hint of warmth spreading through his eyes. "At least you know yourself well enough to realize those are tiger whiskers you're tugging."]

[He stood with his hands behind his back and fell silent for a moment, shifting his gaze away from you toward the gradually darkening horizon.]

[Dusk was slowly draping itself over the entire Chrysanthemum Garden like a thin veil.]

[Then he began pacing slowly beside the flower beds, the toe of his boot crushing a fallen, withered chrysanthemum petal with a faint rustle.]

[The setting sun sank completely behind the distant mountains, leaving only a streak of dark-purple afterglow on the horizon and shrouding the entire courtyard in hazy dusk. A bronze bell beneath the corner of the eaves swayed gently in the wind, its clear notes lingering far into the distance.]

[After a long while, he stopped and turned around. His pale-gold eyes glimmered in the dim light. Some of his customary reserved elegance had receded, and solemnity settled between his brows, with a little hesitation showing through his contemplation.]

["I can help you," he said slowly. "But you must promise me two things. First, the duel cannot take place inside the city, and no one besides me may be present."]

[You nodded slightly. Naturally, you understood the reasoning-]

[The city was the heartland of Spirit Hall, with eyes and ears everywhere. Even if Chrysanthemum Douluo wanted to protect you, his position would inevitably place many restraints on him. Moreover, there were other consecrators in the Elder Hall; if they were alerted, Chrysanthemum Douluo might not be able to stop them.]

[Outside the city, however, things would be entirely different. Beneath the high sky and across the broad land, there would be room to advance or retreat at ease. More importantly, even if Qian Renxue lost, she would not lose the dignity of the angel's successor before everyone's eyes.]

["Second-" Chrysanthemum Douluo fixed his gaze on you, his tone growing still graver. "The moment I judge that the situation has gone wrong, you must stop and concede immediately. Your life comes first. Don't give in to a moment's pride."]

[You smiled without arguing, merely nodding earnestly. "I agree to both. Once I'm actually on the field, if I truly can't match her, I absolutely won't force myself to hold on."]

[At your words, the caution and concern in Chrysanthemum Douluo's gaze finally eased somewhat.]

[He looked at you again, his lips pulling into a somewhat helpless curve. "Very well. Since your mind is made up, I'll pass on this message for you."]

[You smiled and took a letter you had prepared long beforehand from inside your clothes.]

[The envelope was made of the most ordinary hemp paper, without a mark or signature, its opening secured with a plain wax seal. Its simplicity seemed almost deliberate, leaving not the slightest trace that could be followed.]

["This is a challenge written in my own hand. Please deliver it to Her Highness Qian Renxue for me, Senior. Once she sees this letter, she will naturally understand why I've come."]

[Chrysanthemum Douluo accepted the letter, his fingertips brushing over the rough surface of the hemp paper. He did not open it, merely weighing it in his hand before slipping it into his sleeve and nodding.]