"A thousand-year Flame-Devouring Beast possesses powerful innate devouring power. I never expected you to awaken a ranged attack skill!"
After seeing it, Meng Zhongqi spoke with considerable regret.
"Devouring ability?"
"The Manggu Vermilion Toad innately possesses an extremely powerful devouring ability. It can swallow poisonous creatures and poisonous herbs and turn them to its own use."
"Grandfather, you don't need to worry too much about that!"
Meng Qianqiu spoke at once. Had the Manggu Vermilion Toad not possessed this trait, he would not have rashly fed it the Snow-Color Swan Kiss.
"Gasp!"
"A thousand-year second ring!"
"Qiu'er, you've pioneered an era, a brand-new era! One day, your name will resound throughout the Douluo Continent, and as a pioneer, you will be remembered by the world!"
Beside him, Nangong Wan'er was immensely excited. This was a thousand-year second ring. Before this, almost no one had ever possessed one.
"It's only a little empty fame!"
"I merely stood on the shoulders of giants. Without the family's protection, how could I have achieved what I have today?"
Meng Qianqiu did not care about a little empty fame. What mattered to him was tangible strength. Empty fame burdened people and served no other purpose.
"You're still young!"
"When you grow up, you'll understand the benefits of a reputation!"
Meng Zhongqi smiled without another word. Sometimes, empty fame could be immensely useful. With the corresponding strength, empty fame would turn into power.
When a reputation exceeded one's abilities, empty fame was merely empty fame. But when one lived up to that reputation, empty fame would transform into supreme faith!
After obtaining his second Soul Ring, Meng Qianqiu did not choose to go home. Instead, he headed straight to the junior Soul Master Academy.
"Gasp, you succeeded?"
Everyone looked at Meng Qianqiu and asked in disbelief.
"Nothing in this world is difficult, so long as you're willing to climb."
"As long as I wish to walk, the road lies beneath my feet!"
Meng Qianqiu spoke at once. Two Soul Rings appeared beneath his feet, one yellow and one purple, layered over one another and plainly visible before everyone's eyes.
"A thousand-year second ring!"
At the sight, everyone's faces instantly flushed red!
Even Gui Mei, who never let joy or anger show on his face, could no longer remain composed. Such was the allure of a thousand-year second Soul Ring.
"A thousand-year second ring, a ten-thousand-year fourth ring!"
"Following that pattern, when a Soul Master breaks through to rank eighty, theoretically, they could absorb a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring as their eighth ring."
"One yellow, two purple, four black, and two red!"
"Such a terrifying Soul Ring configuration already far surpasses two yellow, two purple, four black, and one red. You've pioneered a new era!"
Yue Guan looked at Meng Qianqiu. At that moment, he too was won over by Meng Qianqiu's brilliance. This was a man of great talent, with peerless potential.
"I've already forged my own path!"
"Next, it all depends on your own choices!"
Luring people with benefits was the lowest means of manipulating their hearts. To win someone over, one had to make them acknowledge you from the bottom of their heart.
Meng Qianqiu's methods were undeniably masterful!
Promise them fame, entice them with benefits!
Meng Qianqiu had displayed his peerless brilliance while also revealing his outstanding aptitude. These were his assets for recruiting others.
After this flurry of combination punches, Dugu Bo, Yue Guan, Gui Mei, and Wang Zhan all declared their allegiance to him and became his followers.
The sun in the sky rose and fell, and the weeds in the courtyard turned green, then yellow. Time slipped by, swift as an arrow, and the years turned without end.
Five years passed, and Meng Qianqiu transformed from an eight-year-old child into a handsome youth.
Thirteen-year-old Meng Qianqiu wore red robes with a jade pendant hanging at his waist. A miniature pet about two inches long lay atop his right shoulder. This little creature was none other than the Manggu Vermilion Toad.
"Five years have passed. We've finally graduated!"
In the dormitory, Wang Zhan spoke with considerable emotion. After living here for six or seven years, truthfully, he was rather reluctant to leave.
"What are your plans after graduation?"
Dugu Bo had graduated two years earlier. His Soul Power was now as high as rank thirty-four, and his Soul Ring configuration was one yellow and two purple. Among ordinary Soul Masters, this Soul Ring configuration was particularly striking.
"I plan to follow Boss!"
"Wherever he goes, Old Ghost and I will go!"
"What about you, Old Poison? What plans do you have?"
Yue Guan spread his hands. After five years of arduous cultivation, his Soul Power had reached rank thirty-three, making him a model of someone who caught up from behind.
"What plans could I have?"
"I'm about to graduate from the Exotic Beast Academy too!"
Dugu Bo spread his hands. Having graduated two years earlier, he had transferred to the Exotic Beast Academy to study, and now he was about to graduate again.
The Exotic Beast Academy's graduation requirement was precisely the Four-Ring Soul Ancestor level!
"Ah, I really do envy you all!"
"Dugu Bo, a top student of the Exotic Beast Academy, with Soul Power as high as rank thirty-four. Yue Guan's Soul Power is also as high as rank thirty-three."
"Gui Mei's Soul Power has broken through to rank thirty-two too!"
"Unlike me! I cultivated hard at the junior Soul Master Academy for five years, and my Soul Power is still only rank twenty-seven. Ah, how pitiful!"
Wang Zhan clowned around at the side, his expression utterly comical.
"Over these five years, everyone's growth has been practically visible to the naked eye. Compared to ordinary people, we've already been very fortunate."
Meng Qianqiu spoke. Over these five years, with the Meng Family investing regardless of cost, the five of them had seen their Soul Power shoot upward.
During these five years, the Meng Family had supplied vast quantities of cultivation resources, with a total value of no less than roughly ten million Gold Soul Coins.
Even Wang Zhan, whose natural aptitude was the poorest, could raise his Soul Power by about three ranks a year, in no way inferior to someone with innate full Soul Power.
Ultimately, this was all thanks to whale rubber!
Ten-thousand-year whale glue cleansed the marrow and tempered the bones, bringing a thorough transformation. Not only could it increase Soul Power, but it could also raise the age limit of Soul Rings one could absorb.
With the help of ten-thousand-year whale glue and over-limit Soul Rings, the five of them grew far beyond everyone's expectations, practically changing with every passing year.
Meng Qianqiu had changed the most among them. After five years, his Soul Power had quietly reached rank thirty-nine.
With the support of immortal herbs, whale rubber, over-limit Soul Rings, and even a mimicry cultivation environment, Meng Qianqiu could raise his Soul Power by about five ranks a year.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei both possessed innate rank-nine aptitude. With the support of immense resources, they too could raise their Soul Power by about four ranks a year.
"Time really flies!"
"Five years have passed in the blink of an eye!"
Gui Mei quietly spoke from the side. Over these five years, he had grown familiar with the other four, and his personality had become somewhat more cheerful.
"Boss, where are we planning to go next?"
Wang Zhan looked at Meng Qianqiu and asked, rubbing his hands eagerly.
Although Wang Zhan ranked at the bottom among the five of them, out in the wider world, he too would be considered a genius.
The current Wang Zhan was no inferior to a genius with innate full Soul Power. A thirteen-year-old rank-twenty-seven Soul Grandmaster was exceedingly rare in the outside world too.
"Generally speaking, after Soul Masters graduate from a junior Soul Master Academy, they either join Spirit Hall or join the Heaven Dou Empire!"
"Or they go to a higher-level Soul Master Academy to study."
"Clearly, Dugu Bo is the latter. He chose to pursue further studies at the Exotic Beast Academy, and after leaving, he'll be granted a high noble title."
"Of course, some Soul Masters lack the aptitude to enter an advanced Soul Master Academy and can only attend an intermediate Soul Master Academy."
"But even after graduating from there, they can still have good prospects!"
Once graduates of an intermediate Soul Master Academy joined Spirit Hall, they would become yellow-robed chief deacons or purple-robed bishops.
After graduating from an intermediate Soul Master Academy, Soul Masters who joined the Heaven Dou Empire would be granted minor local noble titles by the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.
These minor nobles would establish themselves in a locality, and as the years passed, they would eventually form one small hereditary clan after another.
"However, those are merely the choices of ordinary people!"
"My aspirations lie elsewhere. We were born extraordinary and are destined to soar through the skies one day. How could we squander our years here?"
"I plan to sign up for Spirit Hall's elite selection. Once I pass, I'll be able to ride the wind straight upward, all the way to the throne!"
Meng Qianqiu spoke calmly, then addressed everyone again.
"Spirit Hall's elite selection?"
Upon hearing this, Yue Guan was immediately taken aback.
Spirit Hall's elite selection aimed to select outstanding talents from across the world. The winners would receive the titles of Spirit Hall's Holy Son and Holy Maiden.
But these titles were not so easily obtained!
The road to the throne was usually paved with endless blood and corpses strewn across mountains and plains. It was a cruel road.
"I will carve a bloody path straight to the throne!"
Meng Qianqiu narrowed his eyes slightly. He would defeat Qian Xunji in the elite selection tournament, secure the Holy Son position, then ride that overwhelming momentum to ascend the Pope's throne!