Soul Power Test

"Hmph! Fine, then I won't call you that. It's not like I care." Xiao Wu was clearly unhappy that her request had been refused.

She deliberately turned her head away from Chen Feng, putting on an "I'm ignoring you" expression.

Chen Feng glanced at her thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, I have some ideas about what Spirit Ring you should choose next."

"What ideas?" Xiao Wu's attention was immediately drawn in.

But Chen Feng sighed. "Sigh, since no one is calling me Bro Feng, my memory has suddenly gotten worse. I can't remember at the moment."

"You... you're taking advantage of me!" Xiao Wu said angrily.

"Am I?" Chen Feng looked utterly puzzled. He turned to Tang San and asked, "Xiao San, am I taking advantage of her?"

Tang San glanced at Xiao Wu and held back a laugh. "Xiao Wu only just obtained her First Spirit Ring. She won't need to consider her second Spirit Ring until she reaches level twenty, so strictly speaking, you aren't taking advantage of her."

"See? Even Xiao San says I'm not taking advantage of you." Chen Feng gave Xiao Wu a Little Bear Shrug, his face innocent.

"You—hmph! I'm not even level twenty yet. I'm not letting you threaten me." Xiao Wu said indignantly.

"Alright, alright. We can talk about it when we get back. This soul hunt has ended perfectly, and this isn't exactly a nice place. We should head back early," Su Yuntao said, trying to smooth things over.

Then he sighed again. "Come to think of it, it seems like I didn't help at all during this soul hunt."

At first, Chen Yun had served as their bodyguard. After Chen Yun left, Xiao Wu had dealt with her Soul Beast by herself. Su Yuntao had basically just tagged along.

"Brother Su, don't say that. Those skilled in battle achieve no dazzling feats. You don't have to personally fight for it to count as having played a role," Chen Feng said.

The reason Su Yuntao had merely tagged along was because this soul hunt had gone off course from the very beginning. None of them had expected to run into Dai Mubai and the other two.

And simply encountering them would not have been enough. If Chen Feng's knowledge had not impressed Dai Mubai and the others, Chen Yun would not have stepped in to help them.

Grandmaster spoke as well:

"Xiao Feng is right. Those skilled in battle achieve no dazzling feats. I know my own strength. If you hadn't been with us, to say nothing else, we wouldn't have dared to camp where we were last night. We definitely would have retreated to the outskirts of Sand Gold Valley to rest, wasting quite a bit of time. Xiao Wu might not have found that Moon-Drawing Fox either. You saved us several days' time, all told."

Hearing this, Su Yuntao finally felt much better. He immediately packed up their camping gear and led Chen Feng and the others back to Nuoding City.

Two days later, Chen Feng, driving the carriage under Su Yuntao's guidance, finally caught sight of Nuoding City's gates.

Chen Feng had thoroughly enjoyed himself along the way, fulfilling his dream of racing along in a horse-drawn carriage.

Honestly, for a six-year-old child driving a carriage for the first time without overturning it, that was quite an accomplishment.

Chen Feng drove the carriage to the entrance of Nuoding Academy and let Grandmaster off, then continued toward Spirit Hall.

Tang San, Xiao Wu, and he were going to Spirit Hall for their Advancement Appraisal and to collect this month's subsidy.

When they arrived at Spirit Hall, Su Yuntao led the three of them to Ma Xiunuo. "Master Ma Xiunuo, we're back."

"Oh, Yuntao. Did your soul hunt go smoothly?" Ma Xiunuo, who had been handling paperwork, looked up and asked.

"Very smoothly. Xiao Feng and the other two all obtained their First Spirit Rings. They've come for their Advancement Appraisal," Su Yuntao said with a nod.

"They all obtained their First Spirit Rings? Not bad, not bad. You three little ones, come with me." Ma Xiunuo left his desk and brought Chen Feng and the others to the Martial Soul Laboratory.

He picked up a yellow crystal ball and looked at the three children. "Who wants to go first?"

"Me." Xiao Wu could no longer wait.

She summoned her Martial Soul Possession, and a yellow Spirit Ring slowly pulsed around her.

"A hundred-year Spirit Ring?" Ma Xiunuo was startled, but he soon realized he had been surprised too early. Xiao Wu's soul power was not the level eleven expected after a breakthrough, but level twelve.

Could it be because this little girl had absorbed an exceptionally powerful First Spirit Ring, causing her soul power to increase by an extra level? Ma Xiunuo pondered inwardly.

Tang San went after Xiao Wu. If Ma Xiunuo could still understand Xiao Wu's situation, then Tang San's Blue Silver Grass utterly shocked him.

"Th-this is Blue Silver Grass?" Ma Xiunuo stared at the blue plant, its broad, thick leaves spreading out like an umbrella and its stalks sturdy, feeling as if his entire worldview had been overturned.

Tang San did not explain. After all, he was not familiar with Ma Xiunuo. He merely placed his hand on the crystal ball and poured his soul power into it.

At once, the crystal ball lit up with a glow slightly brighter than Xiao Wu's.

"Level thirteen!" Ma Xiunuo looked at Tang San as though he were a little monster. "Child, what Soul Beast did you hunt for your Spirit Ring?"

"An Umbrella Crown Sunflower," Tang San answered.

"An Umbrella Crown Sunflower? That Soul Beast isn't particularly special. Why did your soul power rise to level thirteen?" Ma Xiunuo could not understand it.

Perhaps it was because of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, Tang San thought, but outwardly, he only shook his head.

"I'm not too sure either."

"Alright, you two children have truly shocked this old man today." Ma Xiunuo gave a wry smile, then looked at the last child among the three—the cleverest one.

"Xiao Feng, your turn. Let me see what's special about you."

"Then you may be disappointed, Grandpa Ma Xiunuo. I can't compare to those two." Chen Feng summoned his Tai Chi Bagua Sword, then poured his soul power into the crystal ball.

Just as expected, the light emitted by the crystal ball was dimmer than Tang San's and Xiao Wu's. This showed that his soul power was the normal level eleven.

Chen Feng had long expected this result. After all, he was neither a Soul Beast transformed into a human nor protected by some divine technique.

On the contrary, his Martial Soul was still incomplete at the moment. The fact that he possessed Innate Full Soul Power was already surprising enough. What more could he ask for?

"Whew, finally, a normal person—no, that's not right. You're not normal either." Ma Xiunuo recalled Chen Feng's previous performance at Spirit Hall and instantly realized that what set Chen Feng apart was not his Martial Soul, but his intelligence.

Moreover, Chen Feng's talent in terms of martial souls was hardly lacking—pah, what did he mean, "hardly lacking"? It should be called exceptionally outstanding. After all, Innate Full Soul Power was something one might not encounter even after many years.

Ma Xiunuo felt that these three children had completely thrown his worldview into chaos. He had actually described the dignified Innate Full Soul Power as merely "not bad."

If word got out, people would surely say he had gone senile.

But what could he do? Each of these three children possessed extraordinary abilities, and Chen Feng—the one who seemed the most normal—was still a prodigy.

Ma Xiunuo's worldview had no choice but to fall into disarray.