Is This Reasonable?

Spirit City was not very far from Yingyang Village. In fact, it could even be called close.

Zhou You only learned from the people of Spirit Hall that one could see Spirit City in the distance simply by crossing the Jincheng Mountains.

That cleared up a question Zhou You had been wondering about.

After killing the strange worm and obtaining its Soul Ring, he had wondered how a Hundred-Year Soul Beast had appeared in the Jincheng Mountains.

Even if the strange worm did not seem particularly aggressive, it was still a Hundred-Year Soul Beast, and it posed a danger to ordinary villagers.

And that was to say nothing of Feidian. By his estimate, the little creature probably had close to a hundred years of cultivation too.

If Spirit City was near the Jincheng Mountains, then it made sense.

Spirit City stood at the gateway to the Star Dou Great Forest, so the Jincheng Mountains were actually not far from the forest either. It was reasonable for one or two Soul Beasts to slip over from time to time.

A Soul Beast like the strange worm might survive better away from places where Soul Beasts gathered.

Seeing that Zhou You seemed to be thinking about something, a Spirit Hall Soul Master riding with him suddenly spoke.

"Child, what are you thinking about?"

Zhou You came back to his senses and responded quickly. "I was wondering why I haven't seen the Soul Master who helped me awaken my Martial Soul this time."

"You mean Zhou Chengjie, right? He was rewarded for recommending you and sent to the Nuoding City branch hall in Fasinuo Province to take up a post as its resident deacon."

"He got promoted?" Zhou You asked.

"He did," the man confirmed. Although Zhou Chengjie was farther from the center of power, on the surface, it was indeed a promotion.

Zhou You did not pursue the subject. Come to think of it, he had only met Zhou Chengjie once, so they were not really well acquainted.

Seeing that the Soul Master opposite him was friendly, he took something out of the bundle he carried.

"May I ask if you recognize what this is?"

"Oh?" The man took the object from Zhou You and was immediately startled.

"This is the back shell of an Ironclad King Worm. It looks fairly fresh, not a shed shell. Where did you pick it up?"

Zhou You thought for a moment. Once he reached the Central Academy, he would not be able to hide what had happened even if he wanted to, so he told the man what he could.

When he finished, the carriage fell silent for a moment. Zhou You looked at the Soul Master and saw him staring back with a strange expression.

There was shock, suspicion, disbelief, and some delight.

After a long while, he said in a dry voice, "You mean you killed a Hundred-Year Soul Beast on your own?"

Zhou You reminded him, "I wasn't alone. Like I just said, I had a pet, and it did most of the work! I just took advantage of the opportunity."

"Where's your pet, then?"

"I released it into the wild," Zhou You said without hesitation.

Actually, he had not. Before leaving, he had told Feidian to remain in the Jincheng Mountains and protect his parents in secret.

He knew how ordinary Soul Masters treated Soul Beasts: they generally killed them on sight. If Feidian really had more than a hundred years of cultivation, plenty of people at the Central Academy would surely set their sights on it.

Rather than put the little creature in danger, he might as well let it stay in the Jincheng Mountains and lord it over the place.

Once Zhou You's cultivation was higher, he could keep Feidian by his side, and no one would dare complain.

But his words made the Soul Master opposite him suspicious. Raising a Soul Beast capable of killing a hundred-year-old Ironclad King Worm was even harder than killing the worm outright.

Kid, you don't even know how to find a better excuse when you lie.

But why?

Was he hiding his strength and biding his time? Or concealing his abilities?

But in any case, he had managed to do such a thing on his own and still remained restrained and low-key. If no one had asked, the kid might not even have mentioned it, which showed just how extraordinary his character was.

That made the Soul Master opposite him even more optimistic about his future.

"Child, you don't know who I am yet, do you? Remember this: my name is She Long, my title is 'Snake Lance,' and I have the honor of serving as an elder of Spirit Hall."

Zhou You's heart stirred. "You're a Titled Douluo?"

"That's right." She Long smiled faintly at him. He was certain Zhou You would never have expected a Titled Douluo to be escorting him on this journey.

He waited for Zhou You's shock.

Zhou You, however, was thinking that it was no wonder he had not seen this man outside his home yesterday. The man probably had not gotten out of the carriage at all.

"Class" existed in every era, and it was especially evident in this world where strength reigned supreme.

The shock and admiration She Long had expected from Zhou You did not come, leaving him somewhat puzzled. Does this kid not know what a Titled Douluo is?

Only then did Zhou You notice that the Soul Master opposite him looked a little downcast. He immediately caught on and guessed some of what the man was thinking.

So he promptly said, "Wow, a Titled Douluo came to escort me in person! I'm trembling with fear, moved to tears with gratitude, overwhelmed by the honor, and ready to devote myself to Spirit Hall until my dying breath..."

The words themselves were flattering, but his delivery was so wooden that he sounded like a bot, leaving She Long not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"Stop, stop, stop!" She Long put an end to his utterly insincere flattery and said irritably, "Where did you pick up that rotten habit? Save those words for His Holiness the Pope!"

"So I'll meet the Pope this time?"

"Dream on, kid. His Holiness the Pope has a thousand affairs to attend to every day. How would he have time to meet one little Soul Scholar like you... no, wait, you're a Soul Master now."

At that, She Long glanced again at the worm shell in his hand and took another look at the markings on it.

He happened to know how to determine an Ironclad King Worm's age. The markings on its scales and armor were related to its years of cultivation, and this shell had a full seven wave patterns, meaning that the Ironclad King Worm had at least seven hundred years of cultivation.

It was downright strange!

Once a seven-hundred-year-old Ironclad King Worm entered a defensive state, even a Soul Grandmaster could not hurt it, and a Soul Elder would have a hard time chewing through it.

How had a mere Soul Scholar managed to hunt it down?

Not only that, but his first Soul Ring was seven hundred years old, and the kid had not exploded and died on the spot. It was simply unbelievable!

What kind of physique did that take?

She Long could not help saying, "Kid, bring out your Martial Soul and let me have a look."

At his words, Zhou You summoned his Martial Soul without another word. The Heaven- and Earth-Harmonizing Umbrella appeared in his hand, and the carriage suddenly sank.

Somewhat surprised, She Long looked at the unremarkable black umbrella, then could not help glancing at Zhou You again. The more he looked, the stranger the kid seemed.

When an ordinary Soul Master manifested their Martial Soul, fluctuations in their Soul Power would naturally spill out. She Long had intended to use that to sense Zhou You's Soul Power level.

Good grief, he had never expected the kid to be able to conceal his Soul Power so completely.

Not the slightest fluctuation in Soul Power had leaked out!

If he had not seen it with his own eyes, he surely would not have believed that the umbrella was Zhou You's Martial Soul.

What did that mean?

It meant that Zhou You's control over his own Soul Power had reached an inconceivable level.

Many Soul Douluo could not even achieve such a feat!

Was this how impressive Innate Full Soul Power was?

She Long kept feeling that something was wrong, but he could not say what.

What he was seeing clashed sharply with what he knew. He could not make sense of it, and it felt like something was lodged in his throat.

You're only a Soul Master. What gives you the ability to control Soul Power better than a Soul Douluo?

Is this reasonable?