Qian Daoliu's soul ring configuration was nothing short of jaw-dropping—it shattered the worldview of everyone present.
Even the eighty-thousand-year Evil Demon Killer Whale among the Evil Orca pod, along with its kin, were taken aback. While their intelligence hadn't reached human levels, they still understood the terrifying significance behind the nine glowing spirit rings beneath this human's feet.
The eighty-thousand-year Evil Orca had once been fortunate enough to witness a legendary battle between the High Priest of Sea God Island and the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King.
And now, the aura radiating from this human wasn't the least bit inferior to that High Priest—before he had even invoked the power of the Sea God.
"Not good! A Limit Douluo—run!"
The Evil Orca couldn't speak human language, but its cries were understood by its kin.
With that roar, the entire pod of Evil Orcas immediately turned tail and fled in tight formation.
"Hmph. Trying to run?"
Qian Daoliu's voice echoed like the decree of a god from the heavens, laced with a terrifying spiritual pressure.
Under the immense soul power suppression, he didn't even need to activate a single soul skill—his mere presence was enough to subdue the pod effortlessly.
"ROAR!!"
The Evil Orcas howled in fury, but deep within, they were consumed by fear.
No matter how much they struggled, Qian Daoliu's soul pressure rendered them powerless.
"Angelic Holy Sword!"
A radiant, majestic sword materialized in Qian Daoliu's hand. With a single slash, a blinding golden blade of energy fell, instantly slaying several ten-thousand-year Evil Orcas. The sea itself was split open, leaving behind a deep chasm in its surface.
The residual energy of the strike rippled outward, killing several lower-level thousand-year Evil Orcas instantly.
Qian Daoliu didn't go out of his way to slaughter the entire pod. After delivering a single devastating blow, he ceased his attack, allowing the survivors to flee into the distance.
His original purpose for this trip had only been to hunt one beast. He hadn't expected to encounter an entire soul beast pod. Since he had, he figured he might as well bring a bit more back with him.
Perhaps some of it could be useful to a few Soul Douluo close to breaking through to Titled Douluo, or even to his son's two disciples.
Of course, those two youngsters might not be able to absorb the energy from ten-thousand-year Whale Jelly, but the thousand-year ones were still viable.
Qian Daoliu cast his gaze over the corpses of the Evil Orcas floating on the ocean's surface. With a flick of his sword, several precise slashes split their skulls open.
He extended one hand, summoning over a dozen soul beast jellies into his grasp.
Among them were five ten-thousand-year Whale Jellies, and ten thousand-year ones.
Unsurprisingly, the highest quality one came from the eighty-thousand-year Evil Orca—it possessed both the finest purity and the richest energy.
Looking down at the stunned, speechless crew aboard the ship, Qian Daoliu said calmly, "This journey is over. Let's return."
Only then did the ship's crew snap out of their shock.
"Y-Yes, understood…"
Though Qian Daoliu seemed like a lofty, untouchable figure, he was, in truth, a benevolent man. To ensure the crew wouldn't be targeted for revenge after he left, he decided to escort the ship back to port.
Upon their return, Qian Daoliu instructed them not to set sail again for the next six months and then quietly departed.
"We… we actually met the legendary His Holiness the Pope…"
"No wonder he's the Pope—his strength is terrifying! One sword was all it took to slay so many ten-thousand-year Evil Orcas."
"Of course! He's a Titled Douluo, after all. That's a level countless soul masters can only dream of reaching. Of course he's strong!"
"Heh, we're gonna have quite the story to brag about now!"
The crew finally recovered from their earlier stupor, and conversation erupted among them. None of them had expected to encounter the legendary Pope of the Spirit Hall.
Naturally, they would likely never know that the man they met wasn't the current Pope—but the former one, and the current Grand Worship of Spirit Hall, Qian Daoliu himself.
---
Spirit Hall Academy – Training Grounds
Gu Han had quickly integrated into the group. Though his soul power was the lowest among the twenty students here, the Academy's learning environment was excellent—no one discriminated against him for his lower rank or suspected him of pulling strings to get in.
Of course, competition was inevitable.
At this moment, the training ground was cleared as two students prepared to spar. Gu Han stood with his Frostblade Sword in hand, two yellow soul rings pulsing beneath his feet.
His opponent was a spear-wielding youth, with three soul rings—two yellow and one purple—shimmering beneath him.
"Gu Han, martial soul: Frostblade Sword. Rank 23, Attack Type Soul Grandmaster. Please give me your guidance."
"Wang Bo, martial soul: Flame Spear. Rank 31, Attack Type Soul Elder. Let's begin."
The two bowed in mutual respect, introducing their martial souls and respective ranks, then assumed combat stances.
"First Soul Skill—Flame Thrust!"
Wang Bo launched the first attack. His soul skill enveloped his spear in a layer of blazing flames, boosting its attack power by ten percent.
The flames blazed brilliantly, but hidden within them was a faint glint of cold steel as the thrust streaked toward Gu Han with lightning speed.
"First Soul Skill—Frostblade Sword Qi!"
"Second Soul Skill—Ice Spirit Guard!"
Both of Gu Han's soul rings lit up at once. Frost formed on the blade of his sword, gleaming sharply.
Before him, a thick ice shield emerged. His second soul skill, drawn from an eight-hundred-year-old Mystic Tortoise beast, possessed variable defensive strength depending on his soul power—a very practical defensive ability.
Of course, Gu Han didn't activate this skill purely for defense. He was also after the ten percent all-attribute enhancement it provided.
CLANG!!
The flaming spear struck the ice shield. At the moment of impact, Wang Bo's eyes widened—an immense counterforce surged back through his spear, forcing him to pull back and spin away to regain balance.
"He actually repelled Wang Bo, who's eight ranks higher than him!"
Even Ghost Leopard, a teacher overseeing the match, looked shocked. He had heard of Gu Han—a gifted and hardworking student who once achieved a hundred-win streak in the Great Spirit Arena.
But in his eyes, those opponents—though Soul Elders—had possessed weak martial souls not worth mentioning.
Wang Bo's Flame Spear, however, was a high-tier martial soul. At the same level, it was vastly superior to the trashy spirits Gu Han had previously faced.
And yet, Wang Bo had lost the advantage even after striking first.
"Slash!"
Gu Han transformed the ice shield into a layer of armor and charged forward. His Frostblade Sword swept horizontally in a sharp arc.
Wang Bo was caught off guard. He hastily leapt backward and countered with another spear thrust aimed at Gu Han's vital point.
Gu Han twisted his sword, striking the shaft of the Flame Spear directly.
From the very first exchange, Gu Han realized that this Soul Elder was far stronger than any opponent he'd faced before.
He had no idea what Wang Bo's next soul skills would be, but he had no intention of giving him the chance to use them. His offense was unrelenting, completely smothering Wang Bo's ability to respond.
Gu Han's sword strikes varied in speed—sometimes lightning-quick, other times deceptively slow—creating an unpredictable rhythm that overwhelmed Wang Bo. Every move struck at the perfect angle, leaving Wang Bo feeling like he had strength but nowhere to use it.
They say "reach gives power," and Wang Bo's spear indeed had the advantage in range. But Gu Han closed in with agile, elusive footwork, locking down the distance and neutralizing Wang Bo's advantage entirely.
What's more, his attacks were too swift. Wang Bo quickly fell behind, and in a sudden opening, Gu Han knocked his martial soul out of his hands with a precise slash.
"Wha—?!"
Wang Bo was shocked and instinctively reached to retrieve his martial soul—but before he could react, the tip of Gu Han's Frostblade Sword was already pointed at his throat.
"Thank you for the match."