—
There was something mysterious going on.
The six elders of the older generation, along with Chen Xun and Chen Xiaojun, followed in silence.
Inside the side hall (Council Chamber), two seats stood at the head of the room. The central seat belonged to Clan Leader Chen Yu, and beside it—slightly forward and off to the side—was the seat of the Grand Elder, just one rank lower. This arrangement was a sign of respect toward Title Douluo. In fact, across the continent, it was common practice for Title Douluo to be seated at the top.
On the lower level, there were two rows of seats on each side. The elders and Chen Xun took their places. On the left were Chen Cong, Mu Lingyun, and Chen Hanxin; on the right were Chen Wenchao, Ling Yunxiao, and Young Clan Leader Chen Xun—arranged according to the traditional order: "literary on the left, martial on the right." Chen Xiaojun stood in the center.
A brief word on Chenlin Village: after more than 200 years of development, even though only a few dozen people in the village had inherited the Seven Kill Sword martial soul, the entire village was made up of people related to the Chen family—relatives, loyal retainers, and their descendants. In truth, it was more appropriate to call it Chen Fortress.
Within the village, the Chen clan's division of power was as follows:
Chen Yu was the clan leader, responsible for overseeing all clan affairs.
Chen Xun was the young clan leader, assisting the clan head and mainly handling external relations and representing the Chen clan at events.
Chen Hong, the Grand Elder, was in charge of punishments, the ancestral shrine, and managing the clan treasury, and also served as acting clan leader in the clan head's absence.
Chen Cong oversaw education and martial soul inheritance, leading a team of teachers and scholarly-type soul masters.
Mu Lingyun managed the clan's finances and economy.
Chen Wenchao was in charge of intelligence and espionage, commanding a small team.
Ling Yunxiao handled village security and defense.
Chen Hanxin managed welfare and logistics, caring for the elderly, women, and children—including soul masters.
These seven were effectively the decision-making core of the Chen family. However, according to regulations, any soul master who had reached the Soul Saint level was permitted to attend clan meetings, propose motions, or listen in—this included members of follower families.
It's worth noting that the Chen family also owned assets outside the village. For example, Chen Xiaojun's second uncle—Chen Xun's younger brother Chen Zhang—was stationed elsewhere to oversee one such domain.
The village's local income was sufficient only to support the basic living needs of ordinary folk. Cultivation resources had to be funded entirely through the external ventures of the Chen clan.
"Old Yam Head, what are you thinking?" Chen Hong asked with a touch of hesitation.
Chen Yu's expression darkened as he slowly replied,
"Just to be safe. With the blessing of our ancestors, we've now welcomed the second innate full soul power genius since the time of Ancestor Chen Xili and the revitalizing Ancestor Chen Feiyi."
Chen Xun frowned in puzzlement,
"Father, I know innate full soul power is rare, but it's not unheard of. Other factions don't exactly hide it—why are you acting so cautious?"
"They are them; we are us," Chen Yu said firmly.
"In middle or minor factions, innate full soul power isn't a big deal. Even in major sects, it's manageable. But for us—a family with a top-tier martial soul but not much power to back it up—things are different. If someone with ill intent notices, they might not care about our retaliation later. And let's be honest—would we even be able to find out who was behind it?"
Chen Xun's face darkened.
"How bold!"
"They are bold!" Chen Yu rebuked.
"And what can you do about it?!"
"Old Yam, are you saying... that incident all those years ago—when Wenchao's grandfather, Duke Chen Jinwen, fell into that ambush—wasn't an accident?" Chen Hong asked grimly.
"An accident?" Chen Wenchao said softly.
"My father never believed that."
"My brother spent over ten years investigating," added Chen Hanxin quietly.
"Though it was the Crimson Church that made the move, that whole thing… it was a setup."
...
Everyone fell into a heavy silence.
Then Chen Xiaojun spoke up:
"Grandfather, why is innate full soul power so dangerous in our family?"
"Well then," Chen Yu asked calmly, "let me test you. What does innate soul power represent?"
"It means cultivation efficiency," Xiaojun replied.
"The higher the innate soul power, the faster the cultivation. Younger soul masters have a stronger life force, so they advance more quickly and are better at breaking through bottlenecks."
"Correct," Chen Yu nodded.
"But you're missing something."
"What is it?"
"Innate soul power not only determines training speed and breakthrough potential but also defines a soul master's upper limit of potential."
"Huh?"
"They say innate Level 9 means you're a super genius, and full soul power (Level 10) is a peerless genius. A soul master with Level 9 might become a Super Douluo.
"The soul master world refers to levels 90–95 as standard Title Douluo. Once you pass Level 96, the game changes. Although people still group them under 'Super Douluo', the power gap between levels becomes massive.
"That's why each level has its name:
Level 96: Super Douluo
Level 97: Peak Douluo
Level 98: Supreme Douluo
Level 99: Peerless Douluo, also called Ultimate Douluo
"So when we say 'super genius' or 'peerless genius', these aren't just compliments—they're literal descriptions. A super genius can become a Super Douluo, and a peerless genius has a sliver of hope to reach Peerless Douluo.
"Also, innate soul power is directly tied to martial soul quality, and vice versa. Soul masters with innate full soul power almost always possess top-tier martial souls, and in some cases, these can even evolve into super martial souls. Only when both conditions are met can one be said to possess peerless potential.
Peerless. A peerless genius. That's what it truly means to have peerless talent."
...
Seeing Chen Xiaojun fall silent, Chen Yu gave him a moment to absorb it all before continuing thoughtfully:
"Do you know the circumstances under which innate full soul power can appear?"
"Please enlighten me, Grandfather."
"First: in normal martial soul inheritance, full soul power is extremely rare—just a few cases every hundred years. Among all the top-tier martial soul clans, when will it ever be our turn? Including you, the Chen clan has only produced four full-soul-power soul masters in over a thousand years—and not all of them even had the Seven Kill Sword. That shows you how rare it is—truly one in a million.
"Second: beneficial mutations. These can cause a major spike in innate soul power—but not all beneficial mutations result in full soul power. Take Ma Hongjun and Qin Ming's Fiery Wolf, for example. Among beneficial mutations, very few reach full power. Still, these cases make up over half of all known full soul power cases.
"Third: God-level martial souls. In almost all cases, their users have full soul power. Even if they don't, it's at least Level 9+. These souls are gifts from heaven.
"Fourth: Twin Martial Souls. These are even rarer than full soul power. They only appear when both parents possess equally powerful top-tier martial souls. If the parents merely have high-grade martial souls, it won't happen."
"Grandfather, why is it that even if both parents have high-grade martial souls, they can't produce twin martial souls?"
"Because martial souls are usually inherited from one parent. One soul will devour the other. If the two souls are too different, it's fine—one dominates. But the closer they are in strength, the more likely they are to mutate.
"If the two souls are perfectly balanced, unable to devour each other, then—and only then—can both be passed on.
"According to Ancestor Chen Feiyi's research, twin martial souls are essentially a form of beneficial mutation, just so rare and unique that they are classified separately.
"There are two key characteristics of beneficial mutations:
The martial soul jumps a whole tier, not just a rank. If both parents have high-grade souls, a mutation might elevate it to a top-tier soul. But if both parents already have top-tier martial souls—even lower top-tier—it's impossible to evolve to super martial souls, so both get passed on as twins.
As I said, beneficial mutations often cause a massive spike in innate soul power. In twin martial soul cases, both parents already have top-tier souls. The resulting surge is even greater—making innate full soul power nearly guaranteed."
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