Soul Master Registration

The old man led Dai Yao and Zhu Zhuqing into a palace.

The palace was spacious, with antique tables and chairs. Judging by the furnishings, it was used as a reception hall.

"Your Highness, please sit here and wait a moment." The old man spoke respectfully, then instructed the Servant to hurry and bring tea.

The old man passed through a winding corridor and arrived at a huge, luxurious palace.

This was where the bishop worked.

Knock, knock—

The old man knocked on the door.

"Come in."

A deep voice came from inside the palace.

As soon as the voice fell, the two guards stationed beside the palace hall pushed open the heavy doors with all their strength.

The old man entered the hall with small, careful steps. Looking up, he saw the portly bishop handling the mountain of Documents piled on his desk.

As the highest-ranking bishop of Spirit Hall in the Star Luo Empire, this was Bishop Ferdinand's daily duty.

"What is it?" Bishop Ferdinand raised his head and looked at the old man in confusion.

Although the old man lacked ability, he had no problem handling ordinary affairs.

The bishop thought for a moment. It seemed there were no arrangements for today, nor any important person who required his personal attention.

"Bishop, the empire's Fourth Highness has arrived and is waiting in the Reception Hall," the old man replied.

Bishop Ferdinand lowered his head and continued handling his official business, answering casually:

"Isn't he merely the Fourth Highness? The throne will never be his, so there's no need to make such a fuss. Besides, our relationship with the empire has always been poor. Getting too close to the Fourth Prince would only invite criticism."

"Take care of his business as quickly as possible. Don't let him stay here too long."

"Yes." The old man answered respectfully.

After turning around and taking only a few steps, Bishop Ferdinand suddenly called out to him.

"Wait."

"Is there anything else you wish to order, Bishop?" the old man asked in confusion.

Ferdinand paused, stood up, and walked to the edge of the desk. Frowning, he asked, "Did the Fourth Prince say why he came?"

"He said he wanted Soul Master Registration."

"Soul Master Registration?" Bishop Ferdinand repeated in astonishment, as though he had heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.

Since ancient times, no prince had ever registered as a Soul Master at Spirit Hall.

Most of the Soul Masters registered at Spirit Hall were Commoner Soul Masters, impoverished Noble Soul Masters, and Soul Masters from vassal principalities.

Although Spirit Hall nominally led all Soul Masters, both the Heaven Dou Imperial Family and the Star Luo Imperial Family paid lip service to this fact while secretly defying it.

The Upper Three Sects ignored Spirit Hall as well.

The Soul Masters of these major forces would never register at Spirit Hall.

"This is getting interesting." Bishop Ferdinand gradually understood the situation and began to smile.

His memories from three years ago had grown somewhat hazy, but he still remembered Dai Yao's astonishing talent clearly. Anyone who might have an impact on Spirit Hall would be recorded in his files.

Especially a few days ago, when news arrived that Dai Yao had defeated a Soul Grandmaster as a One-Ring Soul Master. It had piqued his interest in Dai Yao, so he had deliberately looked into him.

"Take me to meet the young fellow," Ferdinand ordered.

····· the Reception Hall.

Zhu Zhuqing sat gracefully, taking a small sip of tea from her cup, but irritation had already risen in her heart.

She and Dai Yao had gone out today. She had thought it would be a sweet date, but unexpectedly, they had ended up at Spirit Hall.

The Soul Masters of the Douluo Continent tended to mature early. Ma Hongjun, who was only in his teens, already frequented brothels. In such an atmosphere, although Zhu Zhuqing spent most of her time painstakingly cultivating, she had still learned a thing or two about romance.

When Dai Yao invited her out today, she had thought this blockhead who cultivated all day had finally come to his senses! She asked doubtfully, "Yao Ge, why are we going to Spirit Hall today?"

Dai Yao merely smiled and said, "Soul Master Registration!"

The Imperial Family had no tradition of registering at Spirit Hall. Seeing that Dai Yao clearly would not explain, Zhu Zhuqing turned her head away and decided to ignore him.

Just then, the doors opened.

A mountain-like, massively obese figure walked in. His face wore a fake smile that Fifth Elder found irritating, and he appeared somewhat lazy, completely different from his calm and serious appearance while handling official documents moments ago. As he walked, he said:

"Isn't the Fourth Prince supposed to duel the Second Prince in a few days? How do you have time to visit my Spirit Hall today?"

Hearing this, Dai Yao knew that Bishop Ferdinand had certainly been paying close attention to him. He immediately relaxed. Achieving his goal would be much easier now.

"Of course it's for Soul Master Registration. As a Soul Master, shouldn't I come to Spirit Hall?" Dai Yao replied with a smile.

Bishop Ferdinand burst out laughing.

Looks like this kid wants to draw closer to our Spirit Hall. He has the intention of joining us without fawning over us, and is using Soul Master Registration as an excuse to cover it up. The Imperial Family certainly did not raise him simply, the bishop thought.

Over the course of ten thousand years, countless princes had chosen to defect to Spirit Hall because they could not endure the Imperial Family's cruel rules.

But these princes were either of wildly varying quality or spies deliberately planted in Spirit Hall by the Imperial Family, causing Spirit Hall significant losses.

Of course, there had also been extraordinary individuals who, after being nurtured by Spirit Hall, became Titled Douluo and gave the Star Luo Empire endless headaches.

However, the Star Luo Imperial Family had never changed its clan rules. Compared to the occasional appearance of a Titled Douluo, the emperors selected through those cruel clan rules were the true reason the empire had maintained its rule for ten thousand years.

Ferdinand had once been extremely wary of Dai Yao. After all, being able to create a Self-Created Soul Skill immediately after obtaining his first Spirit Ring was a level of talent never before seen in Spirit Hall's records.

If Dai Yao won the competition for the throne, he would certainly pose a tremendous threat to Spirit Hall.

But today, Dai Yao had taken the initiative to come to Spirit Hall. In the space of a thought, Ferdinand understood Dai Yao's purpose and came up with a way to deal with him.

That was to cultivate a Titled Douluo who would give the Star Luo Empire a headache.

"Since you're here for Soul Master Registration, come with me." Bishop Ferdinand gestured for Dai Yao to follow him.

Spirit Hall occupied an enormous area. After walking for quite a while, they finally arrived at the Soul Master Registration area.

Along the way, the many Soul Masters all bowed deeply in respect upon seeing Bishop Ferdinand, while he merely nodded lightly.

This showed just how imposing Bishop Ferdinand was.

The Soul Master Registration palace was extremely tall, standing more than two hundred meters high. A huge floor-to-ceiling window provided the palace with ample illumination.

As soon as he entered the room, Dai Yao felt something strange. The Soul Power within his body seemed to be pulsing to a peculiar rhythm.

After sweeping his gaze around, Dai Yao quickly discovered what was drawing his Soul Power.

At the very center of the palace sat a fist-sized black stone, identical to the stone used when he had awakened his Martial Soul.

A huge portrait was carved into the wall. It depicted a beautiful woman with six wings growing from her back, holding a shield in one hand and raising a sword high in the other.

It was the Six-Winged Angel, the God-level Spirit inherited by Spirit Hall.

"Fourth Prince, were you drawn to this portrait as well?" Bishop Ferdinand asked with a smile.