Before the world's powerhouses could recover from their shock, the light on the sky screen surged and shifted once more.
Scene after scene swept across the heavens like flowing water, accompanied by an aged, dignified voice. It was Qian Daoliu's own monologue.
[My name is Qian Daoliu. I am the Great Enshrined of Spirit Hall, guardian of the Angel God, a level ninety-nine Peerless Douluo with the title 'Angel'.]
[Looking back on my life, there was glory, guilt, obsession, and regrets that could never be made whole...]
[I was born into the Qian Clan of Spirit Hall. Since Spirit Hall's founding, the glory of the Six-Winged Angel has flowed in the blood of the Qian Family.]
[Anyone who awakens the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul is certain to awaken with level twenty Innate Soul Power!]
[This divine favor belongs to our Qian Family alone, and it is also the bane of all evil Martial Souls.]
[That was why, from the moment I was born, I understood my duty: to protect the Angel God and protect Spirit Hall!]
As soon as the sky screen showed this, an uproar swept across the entire continent. Everyone began discussing it all at once.
"What the hell? Wasn't Innate Full Soul Power only level ten? How can someone awaken with level twenty Innate Soul Power just by awakening the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul?!"
"Exactly! That's ridiculous. So there really is a Martial Soul in this world that defies the heavens!"
"With an inherited Martial Soul like that, no wonder Spirit Hall has flourished to this day!"
"..."
Very few people knew the secret of the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul.
And those few were almost all among Spirit Hall's upper ranks. Hardly anyone from other factions knew.
In the original story, the only reason Yu Xiaogang had been able to tell Tang San this secret was that he had benefited from his connection to Bibi Dong. Otherwise, how could he have learned of it?
But now, everyone on the Douluo Continent knew.
Suotuo City, Shrek Academy.
"Teacher, can the gap between people really be so vast?!" Mu En looked at the sky screen, his face bitter.
His Innate Soul Power had been only half a level. Only after untold effort and hardship, and the consumption of a vast amount of resources, had his Soul Power cultivation reached the Soul Grandmaster level.
Every step of the way had been like walking on thin ice, and whether he could even break through the level thirty bottleneck remained unknown.
But what of the Qian Family, who possessed the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul?
They awakened with level twenty Innate Soul Power and were certain to become Titled Douluo in the future.
Comparing oneself to others could really drive a person mad. It was enough to make one despair.
Beside him, Yu Xiaogang comforted his disciple:
"Innate aptitude can't decide everything, Xiao En. What you've achieved now is the best proof of that."
"The plan we devised back then has already met with initial success. As long as we keep it up, let alone breaking through the level thirty bottleneck, even becoming a Titled Douluo isn't impossible."
Eight years ago, he had taken in this disciple who shared his plight.
Eight years later, they were going to strive for even greater cultivation and prove it all to the world.
"Mm!" Mu En nodded firmly.
No matter how difficult the road was, he would keep walking it.
He knew all too well what perseverance could achieve.
If he hadn't persevered back then, eventually becoming his teacher's student and gaining access to the resources behind his teacher to make up for his lack of talent,
perhaps he still wouldn't even be a Soul Master!
[That was also why, from childhood, I regarded myself as the embodiment of justice, determined to drive out all evil for Spirit Hall and for the entire continent.]
[When the elders of the Elder Hall taught me, they often told me that strength reigned supreme in this world, and that a genius who had yet to grow was no genius at all.]
[So even with level twenty Innate Soul Power, I never grew arrogant. I remained devoted to cultivation, undisturbed by the outside world.]
[The inherited Martial Soul exclusive to our Qian Family truly was extraordinary. My Soul Power rose with scarcely any sense of stagnation, and I never once felt a so-called bottleneck.]
[But as my strength grew, I gradually realized that shutting myself away to build a cart would not do. Only through tempering and battle could I grow.]
[So I decided to leave Spirit Hall and travel the Douluo Continent, experiencing the pressure that came from desperate situations.]
[It is no exaggeration to say that the Douluo Continent of that era was full of conflict and friction. It was the perfect training ground.]
[And in the future, what I had to do was put an end to all this chaos!]
"Yes, we've only had a little over ten years of peaceful days," someone couldn't help remarking at this point.
The Douluo Continent today could be said to be at its most peaceful in history, apart from the occasional minor friction on the surface between the two great empires.
There were no major disputes, only peace and a chance to rest and recover.
Within the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Sect Master Ning Fengzhi sighed. "It may look peaceful, but beneath the surface, undercurrents are surging."
It looked calm and peaceful, but in truth, every faction had its own private designs, and grievances had accumulated.
All that was missing was a lit fuse.
When that time came, the turmoil would probably be even worse than it had been decades ago.
[Thanks to the power of the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, many people fell to me.]
[The outside world called these people geniuses, but to me, they were no different from ordinary people.]
[My name gradually resounded throughout the Soul Master World, and many people had already begun to believe in private that I had the potential to become the strongest person on the continent.]
[At the time, I thought so too. After all, no one of my generation was my match.]
[Until I learned of that one person...]
Tang Chen... As Qian Daoliu watched the sky screen, a trace of remembrance flashed through his eyes for the first time in a long while.
Although the sky screen had yet to reveal it, many people could guess that the man was Tang Chen, the Clear Sky Sect's sect master from two generations ago.
As far as Qian Daoliu was concerned, across the entire continent, Tang Chen was the only person worthy of his regard.
A man who was both enemy and friend.
He had led Spirit Hall to become the world's foremost power, suppressing the entire Douluo Continent, while Tang Chen had led the Clear Sky Sect to become the world's foremost sect...
Most importantly, though they were both Peerless Douluo, he was inferior to Tang Chen.
Unfortunately, Tang Chen had been missing for years, his whereabouts unknown.
Meanwhile, the elders of the Clear Sky Sect were also recalling their ancestor Tang Chen.
One elder said resentfully, "If Ancestor Tang Chen were still here, how could our Clear Sky Sect have fallen to such a state?"
"Yes! If Ancestor Tang Chen had still been holding the fort at the Clear Sky Sect back then, how would Spirit Hall have dared to act so arrogantly?!"
These words struck a chord with many of the elders.
It couldn't be helped. The Clear Sky Sect had once been the world's foremost sect.
But what had happened afterward? Tang Hao's actions had completely ignited the conflict between the Clear Sky Sect and Spirit Hall.
The previous sect master had died of anger, countless disciples had been killed or wounded... and in the end, they had even been forced into seclusion.
For the Clear Sky Sect, it was unbearably humiliating.