The Strange Child

At the same time that Zhou You was visiting the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and arguing with the Ning family about the Immortal Herb, in a small village of just over three hundred households south of Nuoding City in the Fanos Province in the far west of the continent, the Spirit Hall completed another Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony.

Nuoding City Spirit Hall Branch.

Several years have passed, and Zhou Chengjie, the Soul Master who helped Zhou You awaken his Martial Soul in Yingyang Village, has been promoted to the local bishop and his cultivation has broken through to the Soul Ancestor, officially becoming a backbone force of the Spirit Hall.

On this day, Zhou Chengjie was handling business in his office when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Zhou Chengjie said without even looking up.

A young man in his twenties walked in.

Zhou Chengjie glanced at it, then buried himself in the documents on the table again.

"Yuntao, are there any promising young talents this year?" Zhou Chengjie asked casually, a question that had almost become his catchphrase.

Su Yuntao was not surprised to hear this. He had heard long ago that Bishop Zhou had once discovered a genius Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power, and was promoted as a result.

Perhaps because of that experience, Zhou Chengjie attaches great importance to the annual awakening ceremony and inquires about it every time.

But to be realistic, a genius like Zhou You might not appear even once every ten years. The reality is that most awakened young Soul Scholar only have innate Soul Power of around level two or three, which is already considered quite good.

More often than not, Su Yuntao would go with high hopes but return disappointed, and he might not be able to discover a single child with the Talent of Soul Master even after several years.

The Fanos Province, where they live, is not as densely populated as those regions; due to environmental constraints, the survival rate of timber is often lower.

Over the years, Zhou Chengjie has gone from being ambitious at the beginning to being numb now.

If it weren't for that clansman who had already established himself in Spirit City and still valued the past, Zhou Chengjie might have given up long ago, and he wouldn't have been able to be promoted to the local bishop at his current age.

Despite its remoteness and poverty, this place is still a branch bishop's domain, and he wields considerable power within this small area.

Small places have their advantages. Because of their remote location, local departments often have to rely on the power of the Spirit Hall, which has led to Zhou Chengjie having power here that is almost equal to that of the local city lord.

However, Zhou Chengjie still has a strong drive for advancement. He still longs to return to the center of power— Spirit City —to realize his ambitions.

The Spirit Hall's primary duty is to manage Soul Masters. Therefore, the greatest achievement of a branch hall's bishop is undoubtedly to discover more talented Soul Masters and supply talent to the Main Hall.

Therefore, Zhou Chengjie has always been very concerned about this aspect and has paid close attention to the local Soul Master education situation. He has even thought of many ways to attract young Soul Masters from other places to come here, hoping to find a true gem among the many.

He didn't even dare to hope to discover another genius like Zhou You; even someone slightly less talented, someone at the seventh or eighth level of the Innate Realm, would be fine!

Unfortunately, over the years, his expectations were repeatedly dashed, and as disappointment became a habit, Zhou Chengjie's enthusiasm for the job gradually waned.

Asking questions now is just a subconscious act; he doesn't expect to hear good news from Su Yuntao.

However, this time the situation was different from usual.

"Reporting to the Bishop, a strange thing happened during this Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony." Su Yuntao hesitated for a moment, but still decided to tell him about it.

Zhou Chengjie put down his pen, looked up, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I found a strange child in Holy Soul Village." Su Yuntao didn't dare to keep them in suspense and quickly said, "I performed an awakening ceremony for him, and his Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass..."

Upon hearing the words "Blue Silver Grass," Zhou Chengjie's eyes revealed a visible disappointment.

Despite the emergence of new theories and the unprecedented prosperity of academia in recent years, the idea that "Blue Silver Grass = Trash Martial Soul" remains deeply ingrained.

But what Su Yuntao said next shocked Zhou Chengjie.

"But that child possesses Innate Full Soul Power."

No sooner had Su Yuntao finished speaking than Zhou Chengjie appeared before him in a flash.

"Are you telling the truth!" Zhou Chengjie stared intently at him, his Soul Ancestor aura radiating outwards, startling Su Yuntao so much that his heart nearly jumped out of his chest.

Seeing this, Zhou Chengjie realized he had overreacted and immediately calmed his breathing, but his attitude remained aggressive and domineering.

"Tell me about the child's situation in detail!"

Su Yuntao could only recount the whole story with trepidation, not daring to hold back any details.

"You mean, after that child awakened his Martial Soul, he asked to have his Soul Power tested?" Zhou Chengjie keenly noticed this small detail.

Su Yuntao nodded quickly. "Yes, when I saw that Blue Silver Grass, I wanted to leave, but that child stopped me and insisted that I test his Soul Power."

"A persistent child," Zhou Chengjie murmured to himself, his eyes shining.

An ordinary child who had almost never left his village was not afraid of a Soul Grandmaster from the city. Instead, he persistently made his demands.

Although "Soul Grandmaster" belong to the bottom of the Soul Master society, only slightly better than Soul Masters with a first ring, they are still considered important figures that ordinary people cannot reach.

In this situation, Zhou Chengjie inevitably thought of Zhou You.

Back then, Zhou You didn't seem to take him very seriously, and even treated him as an equal.

Zhou Chengjie had never known the source of his opponent's confidence, but over the years, he had witnessed how his opponent rose from a Soul Master Soul Scholar, eventually surpassing him.

From Soul Scholar to Soul Ancestor, Zhou You only took five years to complete this journey.

Looking back now, Zhou Chengjie could understand Zhou You's attitude towards Zhou You back then. It was clear that Zhou You had absolute confidence in himself, confidence that he could realize his Talent and surpass Zhou Chengjie in a short period of time.

Given this premise, Zhou Chengjie naturally couldn't help but connect the child Su Yuntao encountered with Zhou You.

"Why didn't you bring that child back?" Zhou Chengjie immediately questioned the other party upon thinking of this.

He Innate Full Soul Power! How could you not bring such a promising talent back?

Facing Zhou Chengjie's piercing gaze, Su Yuntao weakly said, "But, that child's Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass, a Trash Martial Soul..."

"Trash Martial Soul?" Zhou Chengjie sneered, his tone tinged with disappointment. "I told you all to read the 'Spirit City Communications' more often and read more books, but you all ignored me."

"If it only has Blue Silver Grass, then it is undoubtedly a Trash Martial Soul. But with Innate Full Soul Power, it's a different story. Tell me, when have you ever seen Trash Martial Soul possess Innate Full Soul Power?"

Zhou Chengjie's eyes sharpened. "Top-tier Talent usually requires a top-tier Martial Soul to support it. Historically, there has never been a case of Trash Martial Soul possessing Innate Full Soul Power!"

"So either that child's Martial Soul Mutation, and he just looks like a Blue Silver Grass but actually has a different kind of Mutated Martial Soul, or..."

"Either he has another top-tier Martial Soul."

"Hiss~" Su Yuntao gasped, exclaiming, "Twin Martial Souls!"