A Piece of News

"Three hundred and sixty years? Wasn't it four hundred?"

Yan frowned slightly upon hearing this. He was not surprised that Little Fatty's father had captured a century-old Earth Dragon Lizard. Tuo Ba Hong's father was, after all, a high-ranking Soul Ancestor, and he could also draw upon the White Armor Earth Dragon Clan's strength.

There was a saying in the Soul Master world that soul beasts were difficult to capture and keep for hunters to obtain soul rings from. In truth, this was a matter of cost-effectiveness.

Generally speaking, to capture a soul beast and transport it out of the forest, one first needed strength far surpassing that of the soul beast, enough to subdue it while giving it no chance to kill itself. Furthermore, transporting the soul beast out of the forest and all the way to Spirit City required even greater effort.

However, there were quite a few powerful figures in Fatty's family. For this matter, Tuo Ba Hong's father had personally invited a Soul Saint clan elder to accompany them. When the elder heard that this was a clansman who had reached level ten in his first year, a genius, he readily did a small favor and made the trip.

Since Fatty's father had already obtained precise information, the group moved swiftly both ways and returned to the White Armor Earth Dragon Clan's territory outside Spirit City in less than three days.

Because he knew the approximate strength of the Tuo Ba Clan, Yan was not surprised that they had captured an Earth Dragon Lizard. It was just that the Earth Dragon Lizard was somewhat too young. He had clearly said before that it would be best if it was over four hundred years old.

"Boss, three hundred and sixty years and over four hundred years are only fifty years apart. My dad and the elders said there was no need to deliberately pursue a soul ring age close to the limit. Besides, this was already the most suitable one my dad could find in such a short time."

Tuo Ba Hong scratched his head as he spoke. There was actually another reason: Little Fatty himself did not have much confidence in absorbing a soul ring close to the limit. Of course, he did not dare say that somewhat cowardly reason aloud, for fear Yan would give him a beating.

"Boss, there aren't many one-ring Soul Masters among students our age in all the Junior Soul Master Academies in Spirit City. And in our third class, aside from you, there's no one else."

With a fawning expression, Little Fatty then said rather proudly, "As your underling, Boss, I'm also the second one-ring Soul Master in our class. That makes me a little genius too, right?"

"Your sights are limited to the Junior Soul Master Academy. Forget it."

Yan replied noncommittally, then shook his head before speaking again. "By the way, you said last time that a major figure from Spirit Hall might come to inspect the academy at the end of the year. Have you gotten clearer information?"

Although Yan cared about Tuo Ba Hong obtaining his soul ring, it had not reached the point where he needed to deliberately interfere. What concerned him more was the news Fatty had casually mentioned to him two days ago.

At the time, Little Fatty had just broken through to level ten Soul Power. After informing his family, his father had not taken him to the Soul Hunting Forest to obtain a soul ring, instead telling him not to hurry. It was not until yesterday that he finally received a definite answer.

At first, Little Fatty had not understood his father's arrangements. He had been anxious because there was no clear answer, so he secretly inquired about many things. From the clan, he learned that near the end of the year, Spirit Hall higher-ups seemed likely to come to the academy for an inspection and ceremony.

Tuo Ba Hong looked around, then secretly lowered his voice. "Boss, I secretly asked my dad yesterday. He told me that the Pope seems to be preparing to inspect Spirit City, and our academy is very likely to be selected."

"The Pope? Are you sure?"

Yan was somewhat surprised when he heard this. He lowered his head and slowly walked as he pondered, muttering to himself, "The Pope took office only a year ago. By now, she should have stabilized her cultivation, and next comes consolidating power.

She moved the Papal Hall to Spirit City, which means she intends to cultivate her own trusted followers here and win over the various factions within Spirit Hall.

Though she bears the title of Pope and was the successor appointed by the previous Pope, because of Qian Xunji's death, Qian Daoliu and the Worship Hall might not oppose her, but they would not support her either.

At a time like this, she needs to rely on her own methods to win over the various factional forces within Spirit Hall, especially those experts above Soul Saint level.

Most of the families under Spirit Hall send their descendants to study at Spirit Hall's academies. Only after graduating from an Advanced Academy are they assigned their own paths of development.

Is she preparing to inspect the various sides of Spirit City and extend goodwill to win them over? Perhaps she has other plans as well, but there is too little information at the moment, and it probably has nothing to do with me. I only need to confirm this news. Bibi Dong..."

"Boss, what are you talking about? Wait for me..."

Tuo Ba Hong became somewhat worried when he saw Yan muttering so mysteriously to himself. Mainly because he could not understand those disjointed words at all. Unfortunately, Yan was immersed in his own analysis and did not respond in the slightest. As he thought, he unconsciously quickened his pace, leaving Little Fatty no choice but to jog after him.

Yan and Little Fatty were quick on their feet and soon arrived outside the Junior Soul Master Academy. It was close to the start of morning classes, and many students were heading into the academy. Yan and Little Fatty blended into the crowd.

"Fatty, what else did your dad tell you? If it's just a simple inspection, there'd be no need for him to go to such lengths."

Yan suddenly stopped before the classroom and turned around. The slightly out-of-breath Tuo Ba Hong jolted, nearly frightened to death, but when Yan looked at him, he quickly gathered his thoughts.

Panting heavily, he patted his chest to catch his breath and spoke hurriedly. "Boss, my dad told me to perform well at the end of the year. It would be best if I could become something like a representative of the first-year students."

"Oh, is that so? I wonder how the academy will select them."

Yan's eyes flickered. He turned his head to look at the bustling training ground, then beckoned to Little Fatty again. "Fatty, I have a task for you. Over the next couple of days, find out everything about the academy's top students, especially those who have already obtained their second soul rings.

Also, did you get any results on the information I asked you to look into last time?"

"Yes, Boss."

Tuo Ba Hong nodded hurriedly, then continued, "Boss, you asked me to look into a brother and sister around our age, right? The brother is called Xie Yue, and the sister is called Hu Liena. One has the Twin Blades Spirit, and the other has the Demon Fox Spirit. Is that right?"

"Mm. Did you find anything?"

Yan nodded. The information he had asked Tuo Ba Hong to investigate was naturally about the other two members of the Golden Generation from the original story. He wanted to learn about them to confirm certain things, such as the relationship between Hu Liena and Bibi Dong at this point in time.

"Boss, you didn't know? They attend our academy. They're in Class One. Both brother and sister are geniuses, and they're also among the few students our age who have already obtained soul rings."

Tuo Ba Hong's answer surprised Yan greatly. He had not expected things to be such a coincidence. The two of them actually attended the same Soul Master Academy as him, merely in a different class. He had always lived a routine life, going back and forth between the same few places and rarely interacting with others, which was probably why he had never noticed.

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