"In my previous life, quite a few people analyzed this. The Zhu Family's Nether Civet Martial Soul might originally have been a top-tier beast Martial Soul with dark-attribute power. It was only through intermarriage with the Imperial Family that its strength gradually declined, ultimately regressing into its current form, focused on agility and offense."
As Yu Tianling thought this over, he now found himself rather convinced by the idea.
During his years studying at Spirit Hall Academy, he had carefully analyzed the lineages of top-tier Martial Soul clans and discovered that once a clan began intermarrying with outsiders on a large scale, the strength of its Martial Soul would inevitably decline across the board within just two or three generations.
One reason was that the bloodline became mixed; the other was the choice of soul rings.
These Soul Master clans had extensive experience passed down regarding soul ring selection. Almost every stage's soul ring choices had long since been decided. Had Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing in the original story not left their clans so early, their choices of Soul Beasts and soul rings would probably have been much the same as Dai Weisi's and Zhu Zhuyun's.
So, according to Yu Tianling's analysis, Zhu Zhuqing very likely once had an ancestor whose Martial Soul had regressed through intermarriage with an outsider, but whose innate Soul Power was still decent. Then, when choosing soul rings, that ancestor abandoned the tradition of selecting shadow-attribute soul rings to better suit their new Martial Soul, and passed down this new soul ring configuration. That would explain everything. The dark attribute must have been gradually discarded through this process of inheritance.
Time truly was a butcher's knife. If a clan's lineage stretched back far enough, changes in bloodline strength would inevitably cause Martial Soul regression. This was irreversible, and it was also why the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had wanted to drag Yu Xuanyu back to the clan. Yu Xuanyu's Martial Soul was simply too powerful, almost indistinguishable in strength from the first-generation Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul. How could that not drive the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan mad? And once they went mad, there was nothing they would not do.
After thinking this through, Yu Tianling already had a plan. When Zhu Zhuqing next absorbed a soul ring, she would choose one with a dark attribute and pair it with a suitable immortal herb. According to his conception, this should be able to trigger a second evolution of the Hell Spirit Cat.
"But there's no rush. Zhu Zhuqing's Soul Power level is only fourteen right now. She still has quite a way to go before level twenty."
Watching little Zhu Zhuqing sitting on the sofa ahead, utterly engrossed in the matches, Yu Tianling could not help smiling.
After watching a few more Soul Elder matches, the two left the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena together. They returned to the hotel, ate, and both went back to their rooms to cultivate and meditate.
Time flew, and two months passed in the blink of an eye.
During those two months, Yu Tianling went to the Great Soul Arena to compete every day. In the Soul Ancestor matches, no one had ever forced him to use his Martial Soul, while Soul King opponents were too hard to come by. Thus, Yu Tianling had already earned the title of Ever-Victorious King at the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena. Often, his opponents would choose to forfeit almost as soon as they saw it was him.
Thanks to that undefeated record, Yu Tianling had earned a Diamond Soul Fighting Badge in just two months. No one knew exactly how powerful the person codenamed Dragon Phoenix was, but everyone knew he was absolutely not someone to provoke.
"Mr. Dragon Phoenix, here is your Diamond Soul Fighting Badge."
Inside a VIP room at the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena, the person in charge personally and courteously handed Yu Tianling the badge, while trying to see through his mask to learn more about him.
"If any Soul Kings are going to compete in the near future, just send someone to notify me at the Forest Hotel."
Yu Tianling naturally noticed the man's little actions, but did not mind. He calmly accepted the badge and put it in his storage ring.
"Certainly. Please rest assured."
The man hurriedly nodded to show he understood.
Then, accompanied by the man in charge, Yu Tianling and Zhu Zhuqing left the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena.
By Yu Tianling's reckoning, Ghost Douluo, his senior sister Hu Liena, and the others would be arriving soon.
"Uncle Liu, why were you so polite to that kid? With your status, who in Heaven Dou City wouldn't show you respect?"
The young man beside the man in charge glanced at the departing pair, then asked in bewilderment.
"Tianjiao, I've told you before: don't judge people only by appearances."
The man in charge looked at the young man earnestly. Seeing that he still seemed confused, he could not help sighing and continued, "Based on my observations during this time, I suspect this Soul Ancestor whose background we know nothing about may be no more than ten years old. Do you think an ordinary clan or faction could nurture a genius like that?"
"What?! A Soul Ancestor under ten!"
This time, not only the young man but all the staff present wore looks of disbelief.
After all, Tang San breaking through to Soul Elder at twelve could earn him praise as an unprecedented prodigy, let alone a Soul Ancestor under ten like Yu Tianling. This was a realm countless people could never reach even after a lifetime of effort.
"So you understand why I did that now, right? My attitude wasn't entirely for that boy to see. It was more for the people behind him. After all, sometimes people like that really might not think anything of us."
With that, the man in charge turned and left, paying no further attention to everyone's reactions.
"If I had talent that good, perhaps I wouldn't have been sent here."
The young man named Tianjiao glanced at Yu Tianling's retreating back, a trace of envy flashing through his eyes. He clenched his fists in resentment and returned dejectedly to the Soul Fighting Arena.
"Brother Tianling, I'm already level fifteen now."
On the way back to the hotel, Yu Tianling held Zhu Zhuqing's little hand. The girl's expression remained unchanged as she continued chatting and laughing. When she mentioned her current Soul Power level, her words were full of joy.
Lately, watching Yu Tianling sweep through every opponent had made her terribly envious. However, the minimum requirement for soul fighting at the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena was to be a level-twenty Soul Grandmaster, so no matter how much Zhu Zhuqing wanted to compete, there was nothing she could do.
"Really? It looks like you've made quite some progress, Qing'er."
Seeing the girl looking as though she wanted praise, Yu Tianling naturally would not belittle her for her low Soul Power. Instead, he put on a very surprised expression to play along with her.
Sure enough, this delighted the girl immensely. She pulled her hand free and ran excitedly toward the hotel.
Watching her running figure, Yu Tianling suddenly felt as though he were back in his previous life, helping look after his niece at home after graduating from university.
"Be careful. Don't run into anyone."
"Mm, I know! How could I possibly run into anyone?"
Zhu Zhuqing turned her head and called back with a smile.
"Ow!"
No sooner had she spoken than Zhu Zhuqing accidentally collided with a burly man walking toward her and landed on her bottom.
"I'm sorry. My little sister accidentally bumped into you just now."
Noticing Zhu Zhuqing's mishap, Yu Tianling pushed off the ground and arrived beside her. He first apologized to the burly man she had bumped into, then hurriedly pulled the girl up from the ground.
"Are you all right, Qing'er?"