Planning

When everyone emerged, Qin Chuan, as the village chief, immediately went up to greet them, but Nuo Si spoke first.

"Village Chief Qin Chuan, congratulations! Congratulations! Your village has produced a genius!" Nuo Si said with a broad smile as he clasped Qin Chuan's hand.

This enthusiasm left Qin Chuan somewhat at a loss, but he keenly caught the word "genius" in Nuo Si's remarks.

He abruptly looked past Nuo Si and immediately spotted Qin Ming smiling at him, while the other children who had awakened Martial Souls all hung their heads in dejection.

"Deacon Nuo Si, could that genius be...?" Qin Chuan's voice trembled with excitement. Anyone whom a Spirit Hall deacon like Nuo Si called a genius was obviously no ordinary person.

Nuo Si smiled and patted Qin Chuan on the shoulder. "Village Chief Qin Chuan, don't get so excited."

Nuo Si could not help chuckling wickedly to himself. During the awakening just now, he had been even more excited than Qin Chuan. But his excitement had already passed, and seeing this "old acquaintance" of his acting like this amused him somewhat.

"This young fellow awakened a Mutated Martial Soul and possesses Innate Level 8 Soul Power. Village Chief Qin Chuan should know him." Nuo Si did not say much more.

"Yes, Ming'er was raised by me." Qin Chuan had never married and naturally had no children. Over the past three years, he had long regarded Qin Ming, this unfortunate child, as his own son.

Having Innate Level 8 Soul Power, Qin Chuan, who had struggled in the Spirit Master world for more than a decade, knew that Qin Ming's future path would certainly be far smoother than his own.

"Qin Ming is a rare genius. If he enters Spirit Hall, he will definitely receive extremely high-level treatment, and there will be no shortage of cultivation resources. You should discuss it carefully with Qin Ming." As Nuo Si spoke, the hand on Qin Chuan's shoulder pressed down a little harder.

"Of course. We'll definitely think it over carefully." Qin Chuan hurriedly agreed. In truth, he already wanted to make the decision for Qin Ming and have him join Spirit Hall immediately.

But this was, after all, Qin Ming's own future path. He should explain the benefits of joining Spirit Hall clearly to Qin Ming first, then let him make his own choice.

"Mm, good, Village Chief Qin Chuan."

"I still need to conduct awakenings for the children in other villages, so I won't stay any longer. About half a month from now, after I finish all the awakenings, I'll return to Canglang Village. If Qin Ming wishes to join Spirit Hall, I'll take him directly to Suotuo City."

After saying that, Nuo Si turned and left.

Once he had settled everyone, Qin Chuan grabbed Qin Ming's hand and hurried toward his home.

The moment Qin Chuan entered, he locked the doors and windows.

"Uncle Chuan, why are you in such a hurry?" Qin Ming rubbed the arm that Qin Chuan had yanked painfully while muttering under his breath.

"In a hurry? How could I not be?"

"A top-tier Mutated Martial Soul, Innate Level 8 Soul Power!"

"Qin Ming, you really gave me one hell of a shock!" Qin Chuan paced around the room, trying to calm himself down.

"Let me see your Martial Soul."

"Alright. Inferno Grey Wolf, Martial Soul Possession."

As a flash of red light swept past, the temperature inside the room instantly rose by more than ten degrees. Under Martial Soul Possession, Qin Ming seemed like a completely different person.

His nails became longer and sharper, his entire body swelled with lean muscle, and his irises turned orange-red. In an instant, he went from a seemingly harmless little country brat to a humanoid ferocious beast.

This time, Qin Ming could clearly feel the strength surging through him. The explosive power even made him feel as though he could punch a cow to death.

"Uncle Chuan, this is my Martial Soul, the Inferno Grey Wolf," Qin Ming said with a smile.

Feeling the scorching heat wash over him, tears welled up in Qin Chuan's eyes. It was a kind of comfort, the comfort of seeing the child of his family finally grow up.

"Good, good, good. Uncle Chuan knows how impressive you are now. Put away your divine powers, or this little house of mine won't survive more than a few hits from you."

Qin Ming chuckled and withdrew his Martial Soul.

"So, what are your plans for the future? Do you intend to join Spirit Hall?" Qin Chuan put away his smile, pulled over a wooden chair to signal Qin Ming to sit, and then sat across from him.

Qin Ming knew that Qin Chuan was about to discuss serious matters, so he obediently sat down.

"I want to hear Uncle Chuan's opinion first."

"My opinion is that you should join, because that place has the best platform on the entire continent." Qin Chuan answered without the slightest hesitation.

"With your aptitude, if you join Spirit Hall, you will definitely be sent to Spirit City for training."

"Spirit City is the holy land of Spirit Masters across the continent. It has the most Title Douluo, the finest cultivation resources, the best Mimicry Cultivation Environment, and the best teachers!"

"Do you know about Mimicry Cultivation Environments? I've only read about them in books. Cultivating in a suitable mimicry environment can increase a Spirit Master's cultivation speed by twenty or even thirty percent!"

"Moreover, Qian Daoliu, the Rank 99 Limit Douluo and one of the two great peaks of the Spirit Master world, is currently in Spirit City as well."

In Qin Chuan's view, hesitating for even a second over whether to join Spirit Hall would be disrespectful to the number one power on the continent.

Countless Spirit Masters would fight tooth and nail for a chance to join. This was not yet the era when Bibi Dong had begun crazily expanding Spirit Hall's influence. For independent Spirit Masters of this time, joining Spirit Hall was extraordinarily difficult. Family background, talent, or strength—you needed at least one of them.

Qin Ming fell into thought. He had considered this question when his memories of his previous life had first awakened.

In the original story, Qin Ming joined Shrek Academy and broke through to Soul Emperor in his thirties. Spirit Hall called him the second-youngest Soul Emperor ever recorded. As for first place, that was naturally Tang Hao!

But anyone could tell that this title of "second-youngest in history" was as watered down as the Pacific Ocean. Even so, it was enough to prove Qin Ming's talent.

In the original story, Zhu Zhuqing of the Shrek Seven Devils only possessed Innate Level 7 Soul Power, while Qin Ming's was a whole level higher.

What made Qin Ming hesitate was Tang San, the protagonist favored by fate. Joining Spirit Hall would basically mean standing against Tang San.

Qin Ming still held Tang San, this protagonist favored by fate, in awe. After all, having read the original story, he knew that everything in Douluo Continent was basically under the surveillance of the God Realm.

Qin Ming had no doubt that Tang San's transmigration was the work of that Asura God King. Tang San was the predetermined inheritor of a divine position, and according to the current timeline, Tang Chen should already be undergoing the Asura God Examination in Slaughter City.

Meanwhile, although he too was a transmigrator, he had absolutely no backing.

Immortal Herbs were part of Qin Ming's plan. As the greatest opportunity in Douluo Dalu I and the foundation for becoming a god, they had to be under his control.

That also meant Qin Ming was bound to clash with Tang San.

Thinking of this, Qin Ming hardened his resolve.

"I've already transmigrated, so what kind of coward would I be if I kept shrinking back? I'm more than a decade ahead of Tang San. If I still can't become a god and clear Douluo Continent, I might as well smash my head into a wall and die!"

Qin Ming held so many advantages from his foreknowledge that he believed himself inferior to no one.

And as for whether to join Spirit Hall or Shrek Academy like in the original story, was there even a question? Of course it was Spirit Hall.

With Shrek Academy's teaching staff in the original story, they actually only let a genius like Qin Ming obtain a Thousand Year Soul Ring for his fifth ring.

No matter the reason, Qin Ming considered it a dereliction of duty on the teachers' part.

As for becoming an independent Spirit Master or building his own faction, those options were completely outside his consideration.

First of all, while he was talented, he was still just a weak little nobody with neither capital nor strength.

His foremost task now was to use a platform to rapidly increase his strength and prepare for the challenges to come.

Spirit Hall was undoubtedly the best choice.

"Uncle Chuan, I've decided. I want to join Spirit Hall!" Qin Ming looked at Qin Chuan, his gaze firm.

"Mm, that's more like it." Qin Chuan nodded in satisfaction, believing his persuasion had worked. What he did not know was that Qin Ming had just ruthlessly brainwashed himself in his heart.