Undercurrents in the Spirit Hall Branch, Source of the Aura

Spirit Hall's reception room was even more... plain than imagined.

There was no resplendent gold and jade, only a heavy set of rosewood table and chairs, along with a huge portrait of a Six-winged Archangel on the wall.

The angel's gaze was full of compassion for all living things.

Heh, quite the convincing act.

A white-haired old man sat in the seat of honor, yet he was full of vigor.

His face was lined with deep wrinkles, and when he smiled, he looked like an old chrysanthemum.

He was Ma Xiunuo, Hall Master of the Nuoding City Spirit Hall Branch, a rank forty-six Soul Ancestor.

The girl beside him was naturally his granddaughter, Sisi.

Her big eyes were still curiously glancing at me.

"Child, sit."

Ma Xiunuo's voice was kind, like an old grandfather basking in the sun next door.

He personally poured Han Yuchen a cup of warm water.

"Don't be nervous. I invited you here today because I wanted to see Nuoding City's once-in-a-century little genius."

Not bad rhetoric. Praise first, then probe.

Old fox.

Han Yuchen put on a flattered expression and accepted the cup with both hands.

"Thank you, Grandpa Ma Xiunuo."

His words were sweet, but his perception had already been pushed to its limit.

Like an invisible radar net, it swept through every speck of dust in the room.

Clean.

The old man's aura was pure. Though his Soul Power was not strong, it was stable.

That little girl called Sisi was even cleaner, like a blank sheet of paper.

Neither of them.

That disgusting aura was not here.

"I heard your Martial Soul underwent a beneficial mutation?"

Ma Xiunuo began getting to the point, his eyes filled with the intense curiosity of a scholar.

Han Yuchen nodded and recited the explanation he and Master had rehearsed countless times.

Something about Martial Soul hunger, something about Starlight Body Tempering. Half true, half false, confusing reality with fiction.

Ma Xiunuo and Sisi were both left dumbfounded.

The old man's eyes shone brightly as he nodded from time to time, muttering, "So that's how it is," and "Unbelievable."

He bought it.

I just love people like you who've never seen the world.

After a friendly and in-depth academic discussion.

Ma Xiunuo finally revealed his true intentions.

He leaned forward slightly, his tone full of temptation.

"Han Yuchen, with talent like yours, staying at Nuoding Academy is such a waste."

"Join our Spirit Hall."

"I guarantee you'll receive the best resources and the most systematic training. I can even write you a recommendation letter and send you directly to the headquarters in Spirit City!"

The headquarters in Spirit City?

What a beautifully painted pie.

Han Yuchen lowered his head, his little face turning red as he put on a conflicted look, as though he were caught in a fierce inner struggle.

Heh, trying to poach me already? Master isn't dead yet.

He raised his head, his gaze "sincere" yet "troubled."

"Grandpa Ma Xiunuo, I appreciate your kindness."

"But... I already promised Master that I would cooperate with his theoretical research. I can't... break my word."

Neither servile nor overbearing, while also elevating his own character.

Perfect.

A trace of approval flashed through Ma Xiunuo's eyes.

His talent was peerless, and his temperament was so steady. He valued loyalty and righteousness.

He had found a treasure!

He wanted Han Yuchen even more.

"No rush, no rush. Spirit Hall's doors will always be open to you."

He laughed heartily, preparing to chat about something else and deepen their rapport.

Just then.

Creak.

The reception room door was pushed open.

A faint chill instantly spread through the room as a middle-aged man in a black robe walked in.

His face was waxy yellow, his eye sockets deeply sunken, and the way he looked at others was like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows.

The Steward followed behind him and respectfully introduced him.

"Hall Master, Supervisor Xiao has arrived."

Han Yuchen's hand holding the cup did not move in the slightest.

But deep within his soul, the origin belonging to the Starlight Ruse King suddenly trembled!

Buzz!

It was him!

Found him.

This aura shared the same origin as the one that had watched me before!

Cold, chaotic, filled with decay and hatred.

It was like... garbage fermenting in a sewer for three months, crawling with maggots.

He hid it well, and his Soul Power fluctuations made him seem like an ordinary Soul Grandmaster.

But under my divine soul perception, that little disguise of his was more laughable than the emperor's new clothes.

You're that rat.

Supervisor Xiao's gaze stabbed into Han Yuchen like two icy needles.

With a smile that did not reach his eyes, he said to Ma Xiunuo:

"Hall Master, this is that little monster with a thousand-year first ring?"

He looked Han Yuchen up and down, making no attempt to hide the jealousy and malice in his tone.

"He looks so frail. Don't tell me he's all show and no substance?"

Oh, starting off by drawing aggro?

You're quite dedicated to playing the villain.

Han Yuchen's body cooperatively trembled.

He lowered his head, looking like a pitiful child who had been scared senseless.

Yet inwardly, he sneered.

A follower of Solonsen, or rather, a contaminated pawn.

His level was not high, and the chaotic power on his body was mixed and impure. He was clearly just bottom-tier cannon fodder.

But as a lead, he was enough.

"Supervisor Xiao!"

Sisi could not stand it any longer. She sprang to her feet, hands on her hips.

"Han Yuchen is Grandpa's guest! Please show some respect!"

The little girl had quite a sense of justice.

Ma Xiunuo also frowned, clearly dissatisfied with Supervisor Xiao's attitude.

"Xiao Mo! Watch your words!"

He shouted sternly, "This has nothing to do with you. Leave."

The supervisor called Xiao Mo's expression changed, but in the end, he still bowed with a dark face and withdrew unwillingly.

The small disturbance seemed to have settled down.

After Xiao Mo left, Ma Xiunuo's smile became even kinder as he tried to comfort Han Yuchen.

"I gave you a fright, child. Supervisor Xiao... usually handles combat training, so he speaks rather bluntly."

Blunt?

I'd say his brain is blunt and his mouth stinks.

"How about this? To make it up to you, I'll have Sisi show you around our Spirit Hall's Mimicry Training Environment. What do you say?"

"That is a fine place, greatly beneficial to a Soul Master's cultivation."

Just when I was getting sleepy, someone brought me a pillow.

I was worried about having no chance to investigate further.

Han Yuchen immediately looked up, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.

"Really? Thank you, Grandpa Ma Xiunuo!"

Led by Sisi, Han Yuchen left the reception room.

Like a proud little tour guide, the girl chattered all the way as she introduced the various areas of Spirit Hall.

"This way is the Gravity Room for Power Type Soul Masters."

"That way is the Obstacle Course for the Agility Attack System."

Han Yuchen nodded as he secretly merged an imperceptible wisp of Soul Power into the moisture in the air, tracking that lingering cold aura.

As they passed a water-element Mimicry Training Room.

The Barus Martial Soul within Han Yuchen's body seemed to be stirred.

The surrounding Water Element began to grow active, forming beautiful little whirlpools around him.

Water droplets floated in the air, refracting the light in a dreamlike display.

Sisi's eyes widened, and her mouth formed a tiny "O."

"Wow! You're amazing!"

The way she looked at Han Yuchen had changed from simple curiosity to starry-eyed admiration.

Mysterious and powerful.

Wasn't this exactly the template for the protagonist in a story?

Han Yuchen smiled faintly and withdrew his Soul Power.

The whirlpools vanished, and the droplets fell.

Calm and casual.

Just a small trick. No need to make a fuss.

Just then, the aura he had been tracking stopped at a secluded corner at the end of the corridor.

The opportunity had come.

He suddenly clutched his stomach, his little face turning pale.

"Sister Sisi, I... my stomach feels a little uncomfortable. I need to use the toilet."

Sisi immediately became nervous.

"Ah? Then hurry! It's right around that corner!"

Han Yuchen nodded and dashed away.

He did not go to the toilet.

Instead, following the lingering traces of that aura, he arrived at the entrance to a basement leading downward.

Two Spirit Hall Guards stood at the entrance like door gods.

A heavy iron door was tightly shut.

A faint layer of Soul Power fluctuations covered the door.

It was a seal.

The source of the aura was beneath it.

Force his way in?

Only an idiot would do that.

Han Yuchen hid in the shadows around the corner, a cold smile curling on his lips.

He activated his Martial Soul.

An extremely faint, tiny thread of water vapor separated from his fingertip.

This thread of vapor was invisible and colorless, lighter than air itself.

It silently drifted to the iron door and slipped through the crack, clinging to the inner side of the hinge.

Done.

This thread of water vapor would become my "eyes" and "ears."

As long as this door opened, as long as there were any sounds or energy fluctuations inside, none of it would escape my surveillance.

After finishing all this, he quietly withdrew.

Before anyone could discover him, he returned to Sisi's side, still wearing a slightly "weak" expression.

As though he had truly only gone to the toilet.

"Feeling better?" Sisi asked with concern.

"Mm, much better."

After the tour, Han Yuchen took his leave.

Ma Xiunuo once again expressed his admiration for him and even gave him an Honorary Badge from Spirit Hall.

He said Han Yuchen could come visit anytime in the future.

That old man still hadn't given up.

Sisi saw him to the entrance, a hint of reluctance on her face.

She puffed out her cheeks and said in a deliberately fierce tone:

"Hey, Sickly Child, you'd better... come play often!"

The way she addressed him had changed from "Han Yuchen" to "Sickly Child."

It seemed their relationship had grown a little closer.

Han Yuchen nodded, turned around, and walked down the steps.

The instant he completely left Spirit Hall and blended into the crowds on the street,

the innocent, harmless expression on his face vanished at once.

He turned back and glanced at the building, which looked incomparably sacred beneath the sunlight.

His gaze was like that of someone looking at a corpse already beginning to rot.

He had found it, and he had set everything in place.

Now, all he had to do was wait for the rats inside to show their tails.