Hu Liena's Curiosity

"Lord Chrysanthemum Douluo, can I really participate in the training for next year's Soul Master Tournament team?"

A girl whose appearance was not quite top-tier, but whose brows and eyes held a hint of Charm, asked Chrysanthemum Douluo.

Her voice was filled with surprise. She had never expected that, having only just reached the Soul Grandmaster realm, she would have the chance to participate in the training for Spirit Hall's team competing in next year's Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.

Although the girl knew very well that, given her strength, what she called training would really only amount to visiting and observing, being able to go would still greatly benefit her cultivation.

Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan said kindly, "Don't worry, Na'er. This was Pope's idea. She hopes you can learn something from it."

Hearing that it had been arranged by Bibi Dong, Hu Liena immediately agreed in her heart. She nodded and began, "All right, I—"

"Little sister, it's time for class." A crisp young man's voice came from outside, accompanied by the sound of the door being pushed open.

"Little sister, you'll be late. I brought some steamed buns. Eat them while you walk." Xie Yue, carrying a bag of steamed buns, pushed open the door and entered the room. He immediately saw Yue Guan speaking with his younger sister, Hu Liena. "Greetings, Lord Chrysanthemum Douluo."

Yue Guan smiled and said kindly, "Ah, Xie Yue, you came at just the right time."

He smoothed his hair with one hand before continuing, "Pope ordered me to take Na'er somewhere to cultivate. She won't be attending classes at the academy for a while. Help her ask for leave."

After speaking, Yue Guan glanced at Hu Liena. Hu Liena nodded and said, "Don't worry, big brother. I'll come back after I finish cultivating. Maybe I'll be stronger than you by then."

"Give me a break. Lord Chrysanthemum Douluo, I'll take my leave first."

Yue Guan waved his hand. Xie Yue bowed, put down the steamed buns, and turned to leave.

After Xie Yue left, Hu Liena picked up the buns he had put down. She quickly finished them, then followed Chrysanthemum Douluo to the training grounds of the Martial Soul Hall Team.

The team leader was flipping through the article Ghost Douluo had given him with one hand while writing something on white paper with the other.

The team leader suddenly sensed a burst of Soul Power fluctuations above him. He looked up and saw Chrysanthemum Douluo flying over with Hu Liena.

The team leader hurriedly stood and cupped his hands. "Greetings, Lord Chrysanthemum Douluo. May I ask why you have come?"

Chrysanthemum Douluo gave a slight nod and said, "I came on Pope's orders. This child will cultivate under you from now on, and she will also study this." As he spoke, Chrysanthemum Douluo pointed toward the article by Gu You beside the team leader.

The team leader looked at Hu Liena. "Little girl, what's your name?"

Hu Liena spoke in a voice that was not especially crisp, yet strangely carried a hint of Charm. "Hello, teacher. My name is Hu Liena. I'm ten years old, a level-21 Control System Soul Grandmaster, and my Martial Soul is Demon Fox."

The team leader nodded and introduced himself as well. "My name is Yang Shan. I'm a level-72 Control System Soul Saint and the chief leader of the Martial Soul Hall Team for this tournament."

Chrysanthemum Douluo said to Hu Liena, "Na'er, from now on, study under Leader Yang. Ask him whenever you encounter something you don't understand. Leader Yang has abundant teaching experience, and he's also a Control System Soul Master like you. He should be able to teach you many things."

"I have other matters to attend to. Stay here and study diligently under Leader Yang." After saying this, Chrysanthemum Douluo nodded to Yang Shan and flew away.

Yang Shan gave Hu Liena a brief tour, explaining the purpose of each area.

"Hu Liena, how does your Martial Soul, Demon Fox, achieve control as a Control System Martial Soul?"

Hearing Yang Shan's question, Hu Liena answered, "My Demon Fox controls the battlefield by Charming the enemy."

"Mm, Charm abilities?" Yang Shan nodded. He took out paper and a pen and began writing and sketching.

After a while, Hu Liena saw that Yang Shan was still writing and softly called, "Teacher Yang Shan?"

Yang Shan suddenly came to his senses and stored the paper he had just written in his Soul Tool. "Come with me." As he spoke, Yang Shan led Hu Liena into an empty classroom.

Yang Shan took out Gu You's article and handed it to Hu Liena. "Pope's order is for you to learn the contents of this article. Read it once first, then tell me when you're finished."

After saying that, Yang Shan stopped paying attention to Hu Liena and continued writing on the sheet of paper from earlier.

Hu Liena blinked as she watched Yang Shan write, then lowered her head to look at the article in her hands.

"A New Method of Soul Master Type Classification and Changes in Soul Master Team Tactics After the New Classification? What an audacious title. The current team composition of three Attack System, one Control System, one Agility Attack System, one Support System, and one Food System has been honed for several hundred years and established as the strongest possible formation. I want to see what you can say."

Hu Liena lightly furrowed her brows and let out a soft "Hmph" before sitting down to read.

As she read more deeply, Hu Liena's expression changed from careless indifference at the beginning to complete concentration later on. At times, she even flipped back to reread sections she felt she had not fully understood.

"Well?" Yang Shan's voice startled Hu Liena. "What do you think of the article's contents?"

Hu Liena thought for a moment before answering, "The author has a very creative mind. Through the Six-Dimensional Chart he designed, one can intuitively measure the strengths and weaknesses of each Martial Soul. It will be an enormous help when choosing a Soul Master's path of development."

"Then there's the classification of Martial Soul types. It truly is a genius idea. Compared with his design, the current classification of Martial Soul types is indeed far too crude. Even though we're both Control System Soul Masters, the ways my classmates and I control the battlefield are clearly very different."

"The Martial Soul Six-Dimensional Chart and the new Soul Master classification—either one of these would be shocking enough to publish as a separate article. But the most important part is the final section."

Clap, clap, clap.

Yang Shan applauded a few times.

"You're right, Hu Liena. That's precisely why you're here."

Seeing the confusion in Hu Liena's eyes, Yang Shan continued explaining. "You're a Control System Soul Master. As far as I know, among your generation throughout Spirit Hall Academy, you have the greatest talent. In other words, barring any accidents, you'll become the brains of the Martial Soul Hall Team in the future."

"Pope arranged for you to come here so that you could begin mastering the tactical combinations mentioned by this author in advance."

"This year, I'll use my experience to bring out the author's tactical intentions as fully as possible. You need to do your utmost to learn everything in it."

"This article will be published after next year's Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament. That means we'll have a tactical advantage only during this tournament. By the time you become a member of the team in the future, that advantage will be gone."

"For the glory of Spirit Hall, you must fully grasp the author's ideas this year. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Teacher Yang."

Afterward, the corner of Hu Liena's eye happened to catch sight of the article's cover.

"Gu You...? What kind of person are you, to be able to write an article like this?"

"Emm, does it feel strange? Reading it myself, I feel that something isn't quite right either. (Frustrated.) Please recommend this book, add it to your collection, and vote for it monthly."