Soul Power Level 10, Heading to Spirit Hall

Nuoding City, outside Spirit Hall.

"Stop right there, kid. This is Spirit Hall. You can't just barge in."

Lin Manshan had barely approached the entrance when a guard at the side stopped him.

"Big Brother, I'm a student of Nuoding Junior Spirit Master Academy. My Soul Power has now reached Level 10, and I came today to apply for an Order Token so I can enter the Soul Hunting Forest to hunt Spirit Beasts and obtain my First Soul Ring." Lin Manshan pointed at his school uniform and spoke politely.

After a year of cultivation, he had finally broken through to Level 10 Soul Power at the start of the new term, having spent his month-long holiday cultivating with all his might.

Ever since his Martial Soul Awakening, apart from the first month, when he had constantly cultivated his Soul Power to solve his headaches, he had needed only two more months to raise his Soul Power from Level 3 to Level 4. Back then, he had thought getting through the first ten levels would be quick.

But reality had dealt him a vicious slap.

Over the next few levels, he deeply experienced what a gap in talent truly meant.

First, it had taken three months to rise one level. Then four months for another. Later, he could not even advance one level after four whole months—and that was after he had improved his Meditation Method. Granted, while at the academy, he only cultivated Soul Power at night every day and also had to devote a small portion of his time to cultivating his Soul Power.

Still, Lin Manshan had never expected it to be this slow.

And this is only the first ten levels! How am I supposed to handle the rest?

"I suddenly understand why Yu Tianheng, Huo Wu, and the others were only a little over Level 40 in Soul Power despite being in their twenties," he often lamented.

When it came purely to Innate talent, it was simply too difficult for Commoners to rise to prominence. It had taken him a full two years to raise his Soul Power from Level 3 to Level 10, while people like Tang San and Feng Xiaotian, who possessed Innate Full Soul Power upon Martial Soul Awakening, had begun with Level 10 Soul Power.

Compared to him, they had directly skipped two years of bitter cultivation. The difference was anything but small.

"I see. Then go on in. Master Ma Xiunuo, who handles Soul Power certification and issues Order Tokens, is in the second-floor reception room. You can find him there." Though the guard was somewhat puzzled as to why a child like Lin Manshan had not sought help from a school mentor to hunt Spirit Beasts and had instead come to Spirit Hall himself to apply for an Order Token, he still pointed out the way according to procedure.

"Thank you, Big Brother." Lin Manshan gave a slight bow and walked straight inside.

"What a polite child." The guard smiled, puffed out his chest slightly, and resumed his guard duty.

As he entered the hall, the first things that met his eyes were murals covering the vaulted ceiling and enormous crystal windows all around. Sunlight refracted through the crystals, scattering dazzling golden light. The pristine white marble floor was dyed in brilliant colors, elegant and noble.

Who am I? Where am I? In such a vast and lavish hall, where are the stairs?

Seeing only a few servants cleaning the hall, Lin Manshan suddenly felt like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden.

By the way, where's Brother Tao? Why isn't he here either?

Could he have gone to the surrounding villages to help children awaken their Martial Souls?

Lin Manshan was rendered speechless and quickly walked toward the nearest servant.

After asking around, he finally learned where the stairs were.

He hurried up to the second-floor corridor and, with the help of the plaques embedded beside the doors, finally found the reception room.

He raised his right hand and lightly knocked on the doorframe. Knock, knock, knock.

"Come in!" a response quickly came from within.

Lin Manshan pushed open the door and entered. The simple, clean room was spacious and bright, with long sofas neatly arranged on both sides. A long wooden table stood directly ahead, behind which sat an old man dressed in white. He looked to be around sixty, full of vigor and in excellent health.

One look was enough to tell that he lived a comfortable life.

Seeing that the visitor was a child around 1.45 meters tall and dressed in Nuoding Academy's uniform, Ma Xiunuo rose and asked, "Kid, do you need something?"

"Master Ma Xiunuo, my name is A'man. I'm a third-year student at Nuoding Junior Spirit Master Academy. My Soul Power has just reached Level 10, and I came to apply to you for an Order Token to enter the Soul Hunting Forest." Lin Manshan gave a slight bow and replied politely.

"Oh? Doesn't Nuoding Academy have a permanent Order Token? And as far as I know, Nuoding Academy arranges for mentors to help new students hunt Soul Rings every month. Why not wait and have a mentor take you?" Ma Xiunuo asked in confusion.

"Because I want to hunt a Hundred-year Spirit Beast," Lin Manshan said bluntly. "But my Innate Soul Power is only Level 3."

He did not say that he wanted to hunt a Power Type Spirit Beast. If he did, the man before him would definitely think he was insane. Most Power Type Spirit Beasts were carnivorous predators with extremely fierce aggression. Against particularly formidable ones, even a two-ring Battle Soul Master at the optimal ring age might not be able to defeat them. Usually, it took several two-ring Spirit Masters or the assistance of a higher-level Spirit Master to reliably suppress one and let someone deliver the final blow.

"Hunting a Hundred-year Spirit Beast!?"

Ma Xiunuo's expression changed in shock. Nuoding Academy's mentors generally had Soul Power Levels of around 25, and their Soul Ring configurations were ordinary. Hunting a Hundred-year Spirit Beast was indeed extremely risky. Moreover, with Innate Soul Power of only Level 3, such talent was considered decent among Commoners, but among nobles, it could only be called passable. It would be difficult to persuade the Dean to intervene.

If he had some connections, perhaps there would still be a chance.

But if he had no connections or backing and was merely an Ordinary Commoner, it would be completely impossible.

Even noble children did not get the Dean's help to hunt Hundred-year Spirit Beasts, much less an Ordinary Commoner with mediocre talent.

Could this child be planning to hunt one with a team? he could not help thinking.

"A'man, do you know how dangerous it is to hunt a Hundred-year Spirit Beast? Does your family know?" Ma Xiunuo frowned slightly. "Besides, those who form teams to enter the Soul Hunting Forest are basically Spirit Masters who have already obtained Soul Rings. You don't even have your First Soul Ring yet. No one will let you join their team. Even if a team lets you tag along to make up the numbers, they probably won't risk helping you hunt a Hundred-year Spirit Beast."

"Master Ma Xiunuo, I'm an orphan," Lin Manshan said softly.

"An orphan..." Ma Xiunuo suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. His mouth opened and closed, as though something were stuck in his throat, and he could not speak. This was not going to hunt Spirit Beasts—this was going to commit suicide. If he succeeded, he would count himself lucky; if he failed, death was no great loss. After all, he had no attachments. Looking at Lin Manshan with pity, Ma Xiunuo suddenly asked, "Kid, what is your Martial Soul?"

"A firewood chopper," Lin Manshan answered truthfully.

A firewood chopper... Ma Xiunuo immediately fell silent. If Lin Manshan's Martial Soul had been a relatively rare food-type Martial Soul or support-type Martial Soul, he could have advised him to leave school and transfer into an academy under Spirit Hall.

Food-type and support-type Martial Souls had always been highly sought after by major academies and the Empire's armies. Even those with weaker Soul Power would receive focused training. But a firewood chopper was an ordinary, common Martial Soul. Even if he joined an academy under Spirit Hall, he would likely receive little attention, nor would anyone be sent to help him hunt a Hundred-year Soul Ring.

"Have you decided what Spirit Beast you want to hunt?" Ma Xiunuo asked again. Lin Manshan was, after all, a student of Nuoding Academy. Spirit Hall had neither a tradition of poaching talent nor any responsibility or obligation to help Spirit Masters unaffiliated with Spirit Hall hunt Spirit Beasts. Still, on a personal level, he did not want Lin Manshan to choose an overly powerful Hundred-year Spirit Beast and throw his life away.

If he merely intended to hunt a Hundred-year Spirit Beast with little offensive capability, Ma Xiunuo could at least accept it, because there was still hope. But if he chose a fierce and highly aggressive Power Type or Agile Attack System Spirit Beast, he would have to consider whether he should send the child back to Nuoding Academy, inform the academy's mentors of the situation, and let the mentors or the Dean make the decision.

That way, at least he could keep his eyes and ears clear.

"Master Yu Xiaogang from the academy once suggested that I hunt a hardwood Plant System Soul Beast," Lin Manshan blurted out almost immediately. Although Yu Xiaogang's advice was quite a trap, it really was a good way for him to conceal the fact that he possessed a Hundred-Year Spirit Ring.

Yu Xiaogang... a Plant System Soul Beast. Ma Xiunuo's cloudy expression cleared, and he nodded. Aside from their tough bark and thick bodies, Hundred-year hardwood Plant System Soul Beasts basically had no offensive ability. As long as one could be found, there was indeed a good chance of successfully hunting it.

"It can increase the hardness of your Martial Soul. That is indeed a good choice. A'man, did you bring Certification Documents from three nobles? Those must be prepared in advance. If you don't have them, you should go back and ask an academy mentor for help. Have the parents of noble students in your class issue them for you."

Besides testing one's Soul Power and confirming that it had truly reached Level 10, Spirit Hall also required the approval of three nobles before issuing an Order Token. The nobles did not need to appear in person—no one had that kind of spare time. They merely needed to write a document and stamp it with the Specialized Seal issued by the Empire to every noble.

"I brought them." Lin Manshan nodded and quickly pulled three documents from his bosom. His battle with Xiao Chenyu had made him somewhat famous at the academy, and with Xiao Wu from his dormitory running rampant through the school, the noble students at the academy were fairly polite to him. Asking three students to get documents from their families could not have been easier.