Hanhai City — at the harbor, a golden figure descended from the sky.
The man was tall and imposing, with flowing golden hair draped over his shoulders. His golden eyes held a gaze that seemed to look down upon all things. Clad in a white and platinum robe, he exuded a noble and commanding presence.
"Hanhai City… this is the first time I've ever set foot here."
Qian Daoliu stood at the edge of the dock, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon across the sea.
In all his years, this was truly his first time visiting. He had only heard of the place before, never seen it for himself.
In his youth, he had remained active only within the mainland. After becoming the Grand Worshiper of Spirit Hall, he spent his days serving the Angel God in the *Hall of Consecration, rarely stepping outside. On the rare occasions that he did, it was usually to spar with Tang Chen.
*(TL/N - Perhaps I should Use Hall of Consecration instead of Hall of Worship. Let me know your thoughts!)
He had no intention of buying whale jelly (a rare medicinal material derived from whale-type soul beasts) within the city.
Even Spirit City and the two great empires lacked ten-thousand-year-old whale jelly. Despite Hanhai City's coastal location, its strongest soul master was merely a Rank 83 Soul Douluo.
Hunting a ten-thousand-year whale-type soul beast came with a steep price— even a Soul Sage risked death attempting such a feat.
Without knowing the rare and alternative uses of whale jelly, no one would risk their life for what seemed to be a mere tonic.
Qian Daoliu soon approached the captain of a fleet— a Soul King with spirit power around rank 50.
"Captain," Qian Daoliu asked, "do you know which sea region has the greatest concentration of whale-type soul beasts?"
The ocean was vast and boundless. Even someone like Qian Daoliu needed intel to establish a target before taking action.
Fishermen and soul hunters who sailed the seas regularly were naturally the best sources of information.
"I do know," the man replied, though his expression turned hesitant. "But whale-type soul beasts usually dwell in the deep seas. It's not easy for us to reach those waters."
Qian Daoliu casually brushed a hand over the jade pendant at his waist and tossed a golden card into the man's arms.
"There are ten thousand gold soul coins inside. Just sail us there. You don't need to worry about anything else."
The moment he verified the hefty pouch of golden soul coins, the captain's brows rose in surprise. A joyful grin quickly spread across his face.
"Very well! Please board the ship, sir. I'll have my men make the preparations immediately."
"Mm."
Qian Daoliu gave a slight nod, then walked up the gangway with his hands clasped behind his back.
It wasn't long before the ship departed the harbor and headed into open waters.
Standing at the bow, Qian Daoliu kept his arms behind his back, his gaze calm as he stared straight ahead.
A few curious crewmates edged closer to their captain, whispering among themselves.
"Boss… he's been standing there for three days straight. Doesn't he get tired?"
The captain shot his younger crewmate a sharp look. "Shut it. That man is our biggest patron on this voyage. He can do whatever he wants. Why are you asking so many questions?"
"R-Right, you're right, Boss," the younger one chuckled awkwardly. "I'm just worried that standing out there so long might wear him down."
Qian Daoliu, with his immense cultivation, naturally heard every word of their exchange— but he had no intention of responding.
Through his spiritual perception, he had already detected the presence of a massive creature drawing near— its soul power was equivalent to ninety thousand years. Surrounding it were several soul beasts at the forty-to-fifty-thousand-year level, and even more in the several-thousand-year range.
The aura of these beasts was similar— they belonged to the same species.
Yet this location was still over a thousand li away from the sea region the captain had described. Why were they appearing here now?
Typically, soul beasts that lived in groups rarely left their territory— oceanic soul beasts were no exception.
There were only two possible explanations.
One: they had encountered a powerful threat and were forced to relocate.
Two: they were hunting.
Qian Daoliu turned and addressed the ship captain. "The target has arrived. In a moment, steer the ship back to a safe distance. Leave the rest to me."
"Huh?"
The captain was stunned— but then he sensed something unusual in the surrounding waters. His eyes widened in horror.
"No… this is bad. It's a ten-thousand-year soul beast tide!"
His sailing experience was vast, and he had once accompanied Soul Sages on expeditions. He had witnessed the warning signs of a ten-thousand-year beast tide before.
But this… this was far worse than anything he had ever seen. The scale was staggering.
This wasn't just a few soul beasts—it was a full-blown beast tide!
"A soul beast tide! A ten-thousand-year tide!!"
The rest of the crew also realized what was happening. Fear took hold of them as they stared in disbelief. No one had expected to encounter such a calamity in a region typically home to only thousand-year soul beasts.
"H-How could this happen…?"
"Boss! What do we do?!"
"N-No! I don't want to die here!"
The crew collapsed in terror— even the captain sank to the deck, trembling violently, his eyes filled with despair.
Qian Daoliu simply shook his head at the scene. He wasn't surprised. These men were just ordinary soul masters making a living off the sea— expecting them to remain composed in the face of a soul beast tide of this magnitude was unrealistic.
Their fear was understandable.
"ROAR!!"
Sensing the presence of the human vessel, the lead beast in the group— a Evil Demon Killer Whale— let out a thunderous roar. Waves of soul power erupted, sending a tidal wave surging across the sea.
Though it wasn't the King of its kind, this Evil Demon Killer Whale was still powerful enough to rival ordinary Titled Douluo in the ocean.
The water split as several hundred-meter-long Demon Killer Whales emerged, their blood-red eyes locking onto the ship below like predators eyeing prey.
Everyone on board was frozen in despair, mouths open but unable to scream— as if time itself had stopped.
At that moment, Qian Daoliu's eyes sharpened.
A radiant golden domain burst forth, forming a protective field that stopped the looming crisis dead in its tracks— the Angel Domain.
Six golden wings unfurled behind him. A towering, fifty-meter-tall Seraph— the avatar of his martial soul— appeared at his back, cradling him gently in its glowing hands.
Black. Black. Black. Black. Black. Black. Black. Black. Red.
Nine soul rings appeared at his feet— each one radiating terrifying power. Eight were black, ten-thousand-year soul rings, and the last was red— a one-hundred-thousand-year soul ring.
Sacred soul power surged, sweeping across the sea. Countless golden feathers fell like snow, lighting up the air.
"T-T-Titled Douluo!!!"
Everyone stared in awe, their previous fear replaced by pure shock.
Their eyes were fixed on the nine majestic soul rings beneath Qian Daoliu's feet, and the legendary Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul behind him. Their lips trembled as they tried to form words.
"It's the Six-Winged Angel…"
"The… the Pope. He's His Holiness, the Pope!"
Decades had passed since Qian Daoliu's prime. Most of the older generation had already faded away. Few now knew of his existence— especially not these ordinary soul masters.
They simply knew that the Six-Winged Angel was the ancestral martial soul of the Spirit Hall's Papal lineage. Seeing it now, they naturally mistook him for the current Pope, Qian Xunji.
"Eight ten-thousand-year soul rings… and one hundred-thousand-year soul ring… H-How is that possible!?"
Some had even noticed the exact configuration of his soul rings— a miraculous eight black, one red lineup.
Everyone knew that soul masters could only begin accepting ten-thousand-year soul rings starting from the fifth ring— any earlier, and the beast's spiritual pressure would crush their minds.
But the man before them had defied all logic— all eight of his rings before the ninth were ten-thousand-year level.
"This… this can't be real…"
~~~
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