Encountering Tang San for the First Time

After Qian Xiao finished speaking, his eyes were filled with affection as he looked at Qian Bing. In his eyes, Qian Bing's innate full Soul Power was undoubtedly an exceptional talent. He might become Peach Forest Village's brightest star and greatest pride in the future.

Although Qian Bing had read the Douluo Continent novel in his previous life, he had long forgotten these common settings and details. He hurriedly took the opportunity to fill in the gaps in his knowledge and asked in confusion:

"Grandpa, are there Intermediate Soul Master Academies above Junior Soul Master Academies? Then are there Advanced Soul Master Academies above those? I've also heard of an academy called Shrek Monster Academy. Is it an Advanced Soul Master Academy?"

Qian Xiao laughed at Qian Bing's question, his expression filled with yearning and longing.

"Not just anyone can enter an Advanced Soul Master Academy. There are only two Advanced Soul Master Academies in our Heaven Dou Empire, and together they admit fewer than a hundred students each year. Once you get in, it means your future will be bright.

Any student who graduates from an Advanced Soul Master Academy will be fought over by both the state and Spirit Hall, and will be directly granted a noble title."

"A noble? The benefits are that good?"

Qian Bing asked in surprise.

Qian Xiao smiled. "Of course. Soul Masters are the noblest profession, and Advanced Soul Masters even more so. They are all rare talents.

So, if we commoners want to rise to the top in one step, becoming an Advanced Soul Master is the most convenient shortcut. But how many ordinary commoners are born with Martial Souls that have potential?

Even if they do, without sufficient resources and without a great clan to support them, it would still be difficult to graduate from an Advanced Soul Master Academy."

"Isn't the graduation exam something you handle yourself? Why would you need someone else's help?"

Qian Bing was utterly puzzled.

Qian Xiao sighed before launching into a lengthy explanation.

"This is the gap between the poor and the rich, between commoners and nobles. The graduation requirements for a Junior Soul Master Academy are simple. As long as your Soul Power reaches level ten and, under the guidance of an academy teacher, you obtain a Soul Ring and successfully advance to become a Soul Master, earning that title, you can graduate.

That isn't difficult. The ten levels from Soul Scholar to Soul Master are the easiest Soul Power levels to raise. Any child with Soul Power upon awakening can achieve it.

But at an Intermediate Soul Master Academy, the difficulty increases considerably. To graduate, a student's Martial Soul must reach level twenty, and they must obtain a second Soul Ring and earn the title of Great Soul Master.

From level ten to level twenty may seem like just another ten levels, but it is a height many Soul Masters can never reach in their entire lives.

And after reaching level twenty, obtaining another Soul Ring requires relying on your own strength to hunt Soul Beasts. That is an extremely dangerous undertaking.

Students born into noble families have clan warriors accompanying them, so the danger is naturally much lower. But Soul Masters of commoner birth like us can only rely on ourselves.

As for the graduation requirements of an Advanced Soul Master Academy, they are even harsher. You must break through the level-thirty Soul Power bottleneck, obtain your third Soul Ring, and rise from the title of Great Soul Master to Soul Elder.

It is said that level thirty is a threshold. Cross it, and you can become a true noble. Fail to cross it, and then...

Also, there seem to be some restrictions on obtaining a Soul Ring at level thirty. You should learn the specifics once you enter the academy. In any case, it seems that fewer than a third of the students at those Advanced Soul Master Academies can truly graduate."

After hearing Qian Xiao's explanation, Qian Bing finally gained a basic understanding of the Soul Master Academies on Douluo Continent.

You could graduate from an Advanced Soul Master Academy just by breaking through level 30 Soul Power? That didn't sound too difficult!

"Grandpa, I heard that Soul Masters have ten titles. Graduates of Advanced Soul Master Academies are only Soul Elders, so how do they earn the titles after that?"

Qian Xiao gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

"How would Grandpa know about those? Anyone who surpasses the title of Soul Elder can practically be considered a major figure.

I've only heard that Soul Master cultivation becomes harder and more dangerous the further you go. Very few people can truly reach the level of top-tier beings like Soul Douluo and Titled Douluo.

You could even say that no one is quite certain whether such beings currently exist in the Heaven Dou Empire or the Star Luo Empire."

Qian Xiao was merely the village chief of an ordinary village, so his understanding of Soul Masters was quite limited. Still, this had roughly filled in part of Qian Bing's knowledge of Douluo Continent. As for the deeper matters, he could slowly learn them at the academy later.

The two chatted as they traveled, and before they knew it, Notting City had come into view in the distance.

Notting City was not a major city, but because it was close to the border of the Heaven Dou Empire, its walls were built quite sturdily.

After Qian Xiao and Qian Bing underwent the same inspection as the other passing travelers, they entered the city.

Once inside, he headed straight in search of Notting Academy.

Notting Junior Soul Master Academy was located in the western part of Notting City. After asking for directions several times, he finally brought Qian Bing here.

From afar, they saw a towering archway. It was twenty meters wide and over ten meters tall, all constructed from solid stone.

Below it stood two iron-bar gates, dark and black, clearly forged from fine iron.

Through the iron bars, they could see winding paths leading into the quiet depths of the academy. A broad road stretched straight inward, lined on both sides with towering trees.

At the center of the archway were four large characters: "Notting Academy."

From the academy gates alone, one could see just how important the profession of Soul Master was on Douluo Continent. This was only a Junior Soul Master Academy, yet it was far grander than all the other buildings in Notting City.

Following Qian Xiao closer, Qian Bing noticed an old man and a young boy being stopped in front of Notting Academy's gates by a young gatekeeper.

Their clothing seemed much like Qian Bing's. Though clean and neat, city folk would surely see them as shabby, poor country bumpkins.

Sure enough, as Qian Bing gradually approached, he heard the young man say to the old man and boy with utter disdain:

"What are you doing here? Is this a place country folk like you can come to?"

Noticing the hostility in the young man's tone, the elderly man did not dare react. Instead, he forced a smile and said:

"Young brother, we're from Holy Soul Village. This child is the Work-Study Student our village sent over this year. Could you tell us what procedures we need to complete?"

The young gatekeeper frowned upon hearing this and said in a strange, mocking tone:

"Can a golden phoenix really emerge from a grass nest? A tiny village has someone with Soul Power? The academy hasn't had a Work-Study Student in years. You aren't frauds, are you?"

Upon hearing those familiar lines, Qian Bing felt as though lightning had struck his mind. In an instant, countless scenes from the novel were awakened from the depths of his memory.

"This old man is Old Jack, the village chief of Holy Soul Village, and the one beside him is Tang San!"

The next moment, Old Jack swallowed his anger and pulled a certificate from his robes, handing it to the gatekeeper.

The young man took the certificate, looked it over, and burst out laughing.

"Blue Silver Grass as a martial soul? And Innate Full Spirit Power? What a joke. I've worked as a gatekeeper at the academy for four years, and I've never heard of a student with Innate Full Spirit Power. This kid's martial soul is Blue Silver Grass, and you expect me to believe he has full spirit power? I'd say this certificate from Spirit Hall is definitely forged."

"You..."

Old Jack had endured again and again, but by now he could barely keep his emotions under control.

"You're deliberately making things difficult. Fine, just wait. I'll go find the steward of the Spirit Sub-Hall. Xiao San, let's go."

With that, Jack turned and led Tang San toward the city.