Leaving Home

Qian Daoliu was taken aback at first, but he quickly realized that Bibi Dong had misunderstood him.

He had meant for Bibi Dong to yield the child with Innate Full Soul Power to the Elder Hall, in view of its deep foundations.

No matter how many differences there were between the Elder Hall and the Pope Hall, both ultimately acted for the sake of Spirit Hall.

Did he not know what sort of stuff the instructors at those Spirit Hall Academies were made of? Every last one of them was bent on quick success and instant gain. How could they properly teach such a genius?

The vast majority of Spirit Hall's Soul Masters came from common backgrounds. Not only did they lack deep foundations, but their education was also limited. In their daily cultivation, they pursued only bold, relentless progress, ignorant of the need to balance exertion with rest.

Only upon reaching Qian Daoliu's level of cultivation could one understand that cultivation could not be recklessly aggressive, that what was too rigid would easily break, and that hardness and softness had to complement each other.

Unfortunately, one look at Bibi Dong's expression told him that his daughter-in-law probably could not understand the pains he had taken.

Then again, that made sense. After all, she herself was a beneficiary of the radical faction.

Qian Daoliu shook his head inwardly. Within Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong's strength was undoubtedly second only to his own, making her unquestionably its second-strongest expert, and perhaps even the second strongest on the entire Douluo Continent.

But he knew Bibi Dong's weakness well. Her psyche was flawed, and her temperament was extreme. These were fatal flaws.

Yet when Qian Daoliu thought of the root cause of Bibi Dong's psychological flaws, his eyes dimmed, and for the moment, he lost the desire to argue.

So he took a step back.

"How about this? Since neither of us can convince the other, why don't we let the child choose for himself?"

"Let him choose..." Bibi Dong frowned. Could a six-year-old child make an informed choice?

But on second thought, her eyes lit up.

Huh? All the better if he doesn't understand!

If he doesn't understand, it'll be easier to win his favor.

Spirit Hall enjoyed tremendous support among the people. At the grassroots level, its reputation was even higher than that of the local officials.

If it came to fair competition, Bibi Dong could not imagine how she could lose.

So she immediately agreed. "All right! We'll do as the Great Enshrined says and let the child choose for himself."

Then she thought for a moment and added, "I'll send someone to bring the child here."

Qian Daoliu simply remained silent, tacitly accepting her arrangement.

There was only one academy in Spirit City: the Spirit Hall Advanced Academy Main Campus. As its name suggested, it was a Soul Master Academy under Spirit Hall, as well as a direct source of talent for its middle and upper ranks.

Originally, the Elder Hall had been responsible for managing the academy.

But ever since Bibi Dong had risen to power, the main campus had effectively fallen under the Pope Faction's control, and the Elder Hall's influence there had remained suppressed.

The reason was that the Elder Hall's Douluo simply did not concern themselves with such matters. They barely had enough time for cultivation as it was; who would want to bother with those mundane affairs?

Under the normal procedure, Spirit Hall students first advanced from the elementary to the intermediate level in their local areas. If they reached rank twenty before the age of twelve, they could obtain a letter of recommendation and gain direct admission to the main campus.

With the aptitude of Innate Full Soul Power, as long as one did not slack off, clearing that bar was as easy as lifting a leg.

But Bibi Dong was worried that, with the talented child so far away, the Elder Hall would interfere, so she wanted to keep him under her own nose.

Under normal procedure, news of the Innate Full Soul Power this time should never have reached the Elder Hall, yet it had leaked nonetheless. That meant the Elder Hall had a hidden agent in the Spirit Hall Branch in Hadrian City.

This filled Bibi Dong with inward resentment, and she resolved to investigate the Spirit Hall Branches everywhere thoroughly. She had no good way to deal with the Elder Hall, but she would never allow those beneath her to slip out of her control.

A few days later, Zhou You was refining Qi in the wild bamboo grove on the mountain behind the village, as he usually did, when he suddenly heard the faint sound of gongs and drums coming from the village.

With a thought, he emerged from his meditative state.

It was neither New Year nor a festival, so why were they beating gongs and drums? Most likely, they had come for him.

Zhou You grabbed Feidian, who lay sleeping on the ground like a "corpse," stuffed him whole into his robes, and sped off toward home.

A few minutes later, he saw that his home was as busy as a marketplace. The neighbors had come, along with all sorts of aunts and other relatives whose names he could not remember.

They stood in groups of three and five across from a line of armored soldiers, pointing and chattering away.

Two carriages stood side by side behind the soldiers, with several people in Spirit Hall uniforms standing beside them. The old village chief was keeping them company, his aged face creased into a chrysanthemum-like smile, looking thoroughly obsequious.

But those people paid the old village chief no attention. Instead, they treated Zhou You's visibly ill-at-ease parents kindly.

Zhou You strode forward, intending to pass the line of soldiers.

But the soldiers clearly did not recognize him. One of them, afraid he would offend the honored guests, reached out to grab him.

Soldiers serving as Spirit Hall guards were naturally no ordinary men, and their movements were quite agile.

Yet Zhou You seemed not to notice. He merely ducked and turned, his movements smooth and natural, easily leaving the soldier behind.

"Huh?" The soldier grasped at empty air. His face went blank for an instant before he looked behind him in alarm.

"Xiao You!"

"A You!"

"Xiao You, you're back!"

Father Zhou, Mother Zhou, and the old village chief immediately brightened and waved him over.

"Dad, Mom, Grandpa." Zhou You greeted them politely.

That one "Grandpa" made the old village chief feel wonderful all over.

That felt good!

"Good, good, good. Xiao You, these are Lord Soul Masters from Spirit Hall. They've come to see you."

"I wouldn't dare call myself a lord." One of the Soul Masters beamed at Zhou You. "Hello there. You're Zhou You, our Yingyang Village's little genius? You certainly do look like a fine young talent."

The remark was so awkward that Zhou You wanted to dig into the ground with his toes.

But when he saw Father and Mother Zhou beaming with pride, he could only endure the embarrassment and listen to the awkward praise.

"All right, it's getting late. Zhou You, if you have anything to pack, go ahead and pack it. Of course, it's fine if you don't. Spirit City can prepare everything for you."

"Spirit City?" Zhou You turned to his parents. "I'm going to Spirit City? Wasn't it supposed to be Hadrian City?"

The old village chief seized the chance to speak. "A big shot at the main hall gave the word, telling Xiao You to report directly to the main campus!"

Zhou You frowned. This was a little beyond his expectations. He had thought he would first study at an elementary Spirit Hall Academy for a while, but unexpectedly, he had been granted direct admission to the main campus.

He looked at the people from Spirit Hall and asked seriously, "What if I miss home?"

They had evidently done their homework and answered at once. "You can go home during the holidays. Students at the main campus have three breaks a year, each lasting nearly half a month."

Zhou You looked at his parents again. Though both were still smiling, he could tell they were reluctant to see him go. Even so, neither voiced any objection.

It seemed that before he had returned, the people from Spirit Hall had already spoken to them.

Zhou You fell silent. He had no further questions.

The people from Spirit Hall also seemed to know that today was not a good time to depart, so they gave Zhou You a day to put his affairs in order. They would stay in the village for the night and leave the next morning.

The next day, Zhou You said goodbye to his parents, boarded the carriage, and set off toward Spirit City.

Father and Mother Zhou stood at the village entrance, both their eyes slightly red, watching the carriage travel farther and farther away until it was out of sight.

At last, Mother Zhou could hold back no longer. She collapsed into Father Zhou's arms and wept bitterly.