Soul Master Rank Advancement Appraisal

The slightly plump woman politely shook her head, then led Qian Bing up the nearby stairs to the second floor of Spirit Hall.

Once they reached the second-floor corridor, he realized there was a long row of rooms up there.

Looking down from the second floor, he could directly see the first-floor hall as well. There was no need to ask—this was where Spirit Hall truly conducted its business.

The slightly plump woman led Qian Bing to a room. She did not even dare knock on the door, merely pointing at it as she said to him:

"This is Master Mashuno's office. Please go in yourself. I still have work to do, so I'll be leaving first."

"Thank you!"

After politely seeing the slightly plump woman off, Qian Bing went to knock on the door.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Who is it? Come in."

An elderly voice soon sounded from inside. Only after receiving permission did Qian Bing carefully push open the door and enter.

It was a bright office. An elderly man sat behind a broad desk.

He wore neat Soul Master attire, with the standard three-sword insignia pinned to his chest, indicating that he was a Great Soul Master with three soul rings.

Qian Bing politely bowed, then directly explained his purpose to Mashuno.

"Hello, Master. I'm here for a Soul Master rank advancement appraisal."

Hearing this, Mashuno looked at Qian Bing with some surprise and confirmed:

"Young man, you're here for an advancement appraisal, not Spirit Awakening?"

"Yes, Master. I've already obtained my first soul ring, so I'll have to trouble you."

After confirming that Qian Bing had not misspoken about his purpose, Mashuno's suspicion faded, and he said with a smile:

"Child, there's no need to call me Master. I'm hardly worthy of that title. Just call me Grandpa Mashuno."

The old man's warm and kindly voice immediately made Qian Bing feel much more favorably toward him, and he quickly called out again:

"Hello, Grandpa Mashuno."

A hint of appreciation appeared in Mashuno's eyes as he said:

"You obtained your first soul ring at such a young age. You must be one of the two children Su Yuntao mentioned to me—the ones who underwent Spirit Awakening this year and possessed Innate Full Spirit Power.

Come, I'll take you for your advancement appraisal."

As he spoke, Mashuno took Qian Bing's hand as though leading his own grandson and walked out of the office, heading deeper into Spirit Hall along the second-floor corridor.

When they reached the end of the corridor, three towering arched doors appeared before Qian Bing.

Mashuno explained:

"This is Spirit Hall's Spirit Laboratory for advancement appraisals. Come in, child."

As he spoke, he pushed open the leftmost door and led Qian Bing inside.

The room was spacious and lofty, covering a full two hundred square meters. A huge floor-to-ceiling window provided ample light.

The moment he entered, Qian Bing sensed something unusual. The spirit power within his body seemed to pulse faintly in a special rhythm.

He looked around and quickly found the cause that was stirring his spirit power.

Five black stones, each as large as a fist, were embedded in the surrounding walls. Judging by their material, they seemed to be the same kind of stones Su Yuntao had used to help him awaken his spirit.

A huge token-shaped emblem had been etched into the floor. A longsword hung straight down at its center, pointing directly toward the entrance.

This emblem was identical to the one hanging outside Spirit Hall.

Seeing that Qian Bing had noticed the pattern on the floor, Great Soul Master Mashuno smiled and said:

"We are the lowest level of Spirit Hall, also known as a Spirit Sub-Hall. Across the continent, even the smallest cities have Spirit Halls on our scale.

Above the Sub-Halls are Spirit Branch Halls, and one level higher are Spirit Main Halls. Only large cities possess Spirit Main Halls.

The capitals of the two great empires have the fourth-level Spirit Holy Halls. The fifth level is Pope Hall, the most sacred place in all of Spirit Hall.

Above Pope Hall, there is only the legendary Douluo Offering Hall. Only Soul Masters who have reached the Douluo rank are qualified to enter it.

It is also the final destination for all Soul Masters above the Douluo rank registered with Spirit Hall, a place all Soul Masters dream of."

For the time being, Qian Bing was not particularly concerned with such distant matters. Besides, influenced by the novels, he held no particular longing for Spirit Hall. Instead, he asked:

"Thank you for telling me all that, Grandpa Mashuno. Can we begin now?"

Mashuno smiled faintly and said:

"Young people these days are all so impatient. Fine, let's begin. Summon your spirit and release your soul ring."

Qian Bing walked to the center of the pattern on the floor and stood still. Raising his right hand, he silently called out in his heart. At once, the Spirit Ball Spirit slowly emerged from his palm amid a warm current.

Glowing red, the Spirit Ball Spirit instantly grew from the size of a longan to the size of a bowl, then gently settled into Qian Bing's palm.

At the same time, a yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet, floating up and down around his body.

Mashuno had originally worn a gentle smile, but when he saw Qian Bing's spirit and soul ring, his expression turned to astonishment.

"Th-This... what kind of spirit is that? And your soul ring is actually a Hundred-Year Soul Ring. That's truly remarkable!"

"Grandpa Mashuno, my martial soul is a Spirit Ball. It can summon a... a special spirit beast to serve me."

Hearing Qian Bing's explanation, Mashuno's shock reached its peak.

The reason he had not thought much of Qian Bing's Innate Full Spirit Power was that Su Yuntao had told him that the two children with Innate Full Spirit Power this year both possessed utterly useless martial souls.

"Ah! Your martial soul can actually summon spirit beasts? That is an extremely rare ability, and it proves that your martial soul is well worth cultivating.

"A Hundred-Year Soul Ring, Innate Full Spirit Power... Child, I still don't know your name."

"My name is Qian Bing."

Mashuno let out a long breath, calming the excitement in his heart.

"Child, your martial soul has only been awakened for a few months, yet you've already reached this level. If you cultivate diligently in the future, you may even become a great Soul Master."

As he spoke, Mashuno picked up a yellow crystal ball from a nearby table and walked over to him.

"Pour your spirit power into it and let me see what level you've reached. In theory, you should be level eleven—"

Before Mashuno could finish the word "level," the crystal ball he had handed to Tang San was already glowing with a hazy yellow light.

The glow was not especially brilliant, but it was exceptionally clear.

"This... this is... level fourteen spirit power."

Mashuno looked at Qian Bing as though he were looking at a little monster.

"Could it be that the soul ring itself was powerful and brought an increase in spirit power with it? But even so, it shouldn't have jumped four levels at once.

"Child, can you tell me what spirit beast you hunted to obtain this soul ring?"

"This..."

That question truly stumped Qian Bing. For a moment, he did not know how to answer.