Ma Xiunuo said warmly, "By the way, what's your Martial Spirit? Su Yuntao said it was a Green Lotus Flower, some kind of new plant-type Martial Spirit shaped like a flower. Could you show it to me?"
"This boy is so handsome... even more handsome than I am now." Grandpa Ma Xiunuo sprang to his feet, overcome with excitement and at a loss for words. "Yuntao, hurry and report this to the bishop of the Spirit Main Hall in Suotuo City."
"Is there anything above the Pope Palace?"
Ma Xiunuo hurriedly bowed to Jie Ke, but Jie Ke waved him off. "All right, have the boy release his Spirit Ring so we can take a look. A Thousand-Year Soul Ring, no less. And while we're at it, tell me his Soul Power Level."
"Okay..." Wang Feng opened his hand, revealing a delicate little Golden Lotus Flower.
Almost in the same instant, Wang Feng revealed his Spirit Ring. A moment later, he withdrew it.
Ma Xiunuo and Su Yuntao stared at Wang Feng, their eyes filled with deep astonishment!
Unparalleled astonishment!
Ma Xiunuo paused, then smiled. "Child, you're clever, just as I thought. That's right. The Spirit Hall runs its own academies. If you join the Spirit Hall, you'll become a Spirit Master of the Spirit Hall, and naturally you'll attend one of its academies for formal training."
Notting City wasn't big, but it wasn't small either. There were always people from the Spirit Hall around.
Ma Xiunuo's expression suddenly turned serious, and his tone grew deeply respectful. "The Douluo Consecrated Hall is a place all Spirit Masters aspire to reach. Only Spirit Masters who've attained the Douluo level are qualified to enter."
The flower was beautiful, but it was hard to say what use it might have.
Su Yuntao shot Wang Feng a stunned glance, then hurried out, his heart pounding with excitement.
"No problem."
Ma Xiunuo furrowed his brow, finding it a little strange.
Even so, Xiao Feng was still a genius!
"Your name is Wang Feng, right? Xiao Feng, before I test you, I'd like to ask you something."
After weighing his options, Wang Feng decided not to hide his Spirit Ring.
Wang Feng smiled. "I haven't started studying at Notting Academy yet... I know Master Su quite well, too. Joining the Spirit Hall would be pretty good."
It was an extremely spacious room!
"Lord Jie Ke, this way, please."
Before long, Bishop Jie Ke and the mysterious young man arrived at the Spirit testing room, where Ma Xiunuo and Wang Feng were waiting.
Wang Feng continued asking questions.
Wang Feng nodded.
It seemed he'd been wrong about compressing and purifying his Soul Power. He was only at level fifteen, but that was fine, too... Heh.
The Spirit Hall in Notting City was only the lowest-level Spirit Hall Branch. For Ma Xiunuo to report directly to the Spirit Main Hall, skipping a level, was already considered overstepping his authority.
Bishop Jie Ke first addressed the mysterious young man beside him with considerable deference.
Wang Feng nodded.
Ma Xiunuo led Wang Feng toward the Spirit testing room in the side hall, explaining patiently as they went:
The young man beside him, however, struck Wang Feng as rather intriguing.
Although Ma Xiunuo had never seen a Spirit Master whose First Soul Ring was a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, he'd conducted countless Soul Power tests at the Spirit Hall and had plenty of experience!
Who in a small place like Notting City had ever seen a Thousand-Year Soul Ring?
"By rights, the Soul Power that comes with your Thousand-Year Soul Ring should be extremely powerful... And since you have Innate Full Soul Power, you should've reached level twenty right away..."
Ma Xiunuo froze for a moment.
"Sure, sure!"
"Is that enough?"
Even he was being this respectful. The mysterious young man's identity was clearly anything but ordinary.
Su Yuntao thought, Who knows what kind of figure this young man is? He's unbelievably handsome, and even Lord Jie Ke, bishop of the Spirit Main Hall, treats him with such deference.
Wang Feng looked at the stone chips embedded in the walls all around them—the same ones Su Yuntao had used to test Martial Spirits—and fell into thought.
As he spoke, Wang Feng looked at the two men, a glimmer in his eyes.
The moment Wang Feng stepped into the room, the Soul Power inside him trembled faintly, as though something in the room were pulling at it.
How intriguing, he thought.
"Grandpa Ma Xiunuo, what's the Spirit Main Hall?"
Wang Feng continued asking.
"Our Spirit Hall here is only the lowest-level Spirit Hall Branch. Above it are the Spirit Sub-Hall and the Spirit Main Hall. The capitals of the two great empires also have Spirit Temples! The highest level is the Pope Palace!"
A Thousand-Year Soul Ring, once absorbed, would surely push this child's Soul Power straight to level twenty!
Ma Xiunuo smiled as he spoke.
You had to use your Martial Spirit to reveal your Spirit Ring, and Spirit Master evaluations required you to show both. There was no way around it. Unless you skipped the evaluation altogether, in which case you probably wouldn't even graduate!
"Hahaha, all right, all right! Come on, child, let's test your Soul Power."
"What's the question?" Wang Feng replied.
"Would you be willing to join the Spirit Hall?" Ma Xiunuo continued. "You've just enrolled at Notting Academy, right? You haven't chosen a mentor yet. If you're willing, you can join the Spirit Hall directly."
Wang Feng looked at the two newcomers. He didn't know who they were, but the middle-aged man had to be from the Spirit Main Hall.
Wang Feng nodded.
"Lord Jie Ke, this is..."
Su Yuntao introduced them.
"Grandpa Ma Xiunuo, the Martial Spirit Main Hall is..."
Wang Feng asked again.
Ma Xiunuo hurried over to Wang Feng and whispered a few words to him.
This was Holy Soul Village again.
If the mysterious young man beside him hadn't happened to be visiting the Spirit Main Hall, heard the news, and insisted on coming to see for himself, a dignified bishop of the Spirit Main Hall would never have come to a backwater like this!
A Thousand-Year Soul Ring!
When he finished speaking, Ma Xiunuo fixed his gaze on Wang Feng.
These details about Douluo Continent had slipped his mind, but hearing Ma Xiunuo explain them brought them back.
"Of course there is."
The young man seemed quite young, only about fifteen or sixteen. He let out a soft sound, and even that was strangely melodious.
Wang Feng had reconstructed his body. His features, skin, and everything else about him were now extraordinary.
Although this child hadn't been tested yet, Ma Xiunuo could already guess that his Soul Power was no ordinary amount.
"That's right, you can gain even more than that. You'll find out once you enter a higher-level Spirit Hall. Grandpa has already reported you to the Spirit Main Hall two levels above us. Someone should be here soon."
A Thousand-Year Soul Ring! The first Spirit Ring, and it was already a thousand years old!
What kind of monster was this?
"Come on, I'll take you to the test!" Ma Xiunuo said, hurrying over to Wang Feng.
Ma Xiunuo didn't ask further questions. He chatted with Wang Feng about a few other things instead.
As for the rest, that would have to wait until the evening.
Su Yuntao said, exhausted from running around all day, but his manner was deeply respectful.
The Soul Ring was impossible to hide.
A Thousand-Year Soul Ring was simply unbelievable!
Ordinary Spirit Masters could only manage a few hundred years at most for their first Spirit Ring!
He'd already controlled himself, keeping it from taking its full form and shrinking it considerably.
A Spirit Main Hall should have at least a Spirit Saint, right?
Wang Feng withdrew his Soul Power and smiled.
"Mm."
The mysterious young man beside him seemed even more handsome, with an unusual air about him.
Wang Feng furrowed his brow. "Using my Spirit Ring is... difficult for me... Grandpa Ma Xiunuo, can I go take the Soul Power test now?"
A thousand years?
"Where is he? Where's the child whose first Spirit Ring is a thousand years old? If I find out you made a false report, everyone in this Spirit Hall Branch will be punished!"
Just after Ma Xiunuo finished speaking, he led Wang Feng into the Spirit testing room.
Wang Feng walked to the center of the room and looked at a yellow crystal ball floating in the air. "All right, inject your Soul Power into it."
"Good... I'll go right away..."
Ma Xiunuo began to speak, but before he could finish—
Then he injected his Soul Power into the yellow crystal ball.
Innate Full Soul Power, and his first Spirit Ring was a Thousand-Year Soul Ring!
What kind of monster was this?!
The moment he used his Martial Spirit, there was no way to avoid being discovered. And a Spirit Master evaluation required him to reveal both his Martial Spirit and Spirit Ring.
There was no way to get around it.
Unless he skipped the evaluation. Then he probably couldn't even graduate!
Ma Xiunuo also knew of four-hundred-year Spirit Rings that had boosted a Spirit Master by two or three levels.
How could this be...
The yellow crystal ball suddenly burst into clear rings of light, though they weren't dazzling.
"Hmm... level fifteen? How are you only at level fifteen? That's still quite high, but a Thousand-Year Soul Ring should be extraordinary..."
Even now, they were both staring in a daze!
By the time Su Yuntao returned, he had brought two men with him. One was very young, dressed in an extremely luxurious robe, with an imposing bearing, striking brows, and exquisitely refined features, as if a master craftsman had spent countless years carving him!
Wang Feng glanced at the two of them, then lowered his head.
Running around all day had worn him out.
This Thousand-Year Soul Ring—and judging by its color, it might even be older than a thousand years—should have raised his Soul Power to level twenty. That would've been entirely normal!
"Right." The boy wasn't much older than fifteen or sixteen. A single soft syllable left his lips, yet it sounded strangely beautiful.
Ma Xiunuo quickly walked over to Wang Feng and muttered a few words.
Even if the kid's Martial Spirit was useless, he was still a genuine genius, wasn't he?
Forget Innate Full Soul Power—he'd actually claimed his first Spirit Ring was a Thousand-Year Soul Ring!
Something like that was simply bizarre!
Several gazes met in midair!
Could a genius of this caliber really come from a tiny place like this?
It was absurd!
Bishop Jie Ke looked at Su Yuntao, his expression turning impatient.
"Any problem, Grandpa Ma Xiunuo?"
"Please, go ahead."
"Normally, Xiao Feng's Soul Power Level should be twenty."
Just then, Ma Xiunuo had already led Wang Feng to the Spirit testing room.
This was the Spirit Hall Branch of Notting City, the lowest level of the Spirit Hall.
You had to use your Martial Spirit to reveal your Spirit Ring. There was no way to hide it, and no point trying.
At the earlier Martial Spirit Awakening in Holy Soul Village, he'd been able to control the energy in his body and keep his test result below Innate Full Soul Power. But he couldn't hide his Spirit Ring.
He couldn't exactly dye it to change its color, could he?
Ma Xiunuo led Wang Feng to the center of the room. A yellow crystal ball floated there. "Come on, inject your Soul Power into it..."
"Of course I am. What difference does it make?" Wang Feng asked in surprise. "If I join the Spirit Hall, will I become an exclusive Spirit Master of the Spirit Hall? Would I have to leave Notting Academy?"
Su Yuntao forgot his astonishment long enough to shoot Wang Feng a horrified glance, then hurried out, nearly bursting with excitement.
As soon as Ma Xiunuo had finished speaking, he led Wang Feng into the Spirit testing room.
"Good, good, good! Come on, child, let's test your Soul Power."
"Does that mean I can go now?"
"Is this the one? The child whose first Spirit Ring is a thousand years old?"
The youth beside him was quite handsome, but the other man wore the robe of a Spirit Hall bishop. He had a cold expression and radiated an oppressive presence.
Wang Feng smiled. "I haven't started studying at Notting Academy yet... I know Master Su quite well, too. Joining the Spirit Hall would be pretty good."
The three of them waited until evening.
Su Yuntao said, "Master Ma Xiunuo, this is Bishop Jie Ke."
"Your Excellency, please go ahead."
Ma Xiunuo smiled. "All right, child, come test your Soul Power."
He added, "Would you be willing to join the Spirit Hall?"
Ma Xiunuo continued, "You've just enrolled at Notting Academy, haven't you? You haven't chosen a mentor yet. If you're willing, you can join the Spirit Hall directly."
The Spirit Ring was impossible to hide.
"Of course there's more," Ma Xiunuo said.
When Ma Xiunuo finished speaking, he simply stared at Wang Feng.
Ma Xiunuo sighed and shook his head. "A flower-type Martial Spirit like that is usually only useful for contributing to a city's development—growing flowers and plants..."
This flower was beautiful, but its usefulness was hard to say.
Su Yuntao looked at Wang Feng in shock, then hurried out, his heart pounding with excitement.
Wang Feng smiled. "I haven't started studying at Notting Academy yet... I know Master Su quite well, too. Joining the Spirit Hall would be pretty good."
That day's running around had worn him out.
The young man beside the middle-aged bishop caught Wang Feng's interest.
He looked no older than fifteen or sixteen, yet a soft sound from his lips was strangely melodious.
After Wang Feng entered the room, the Soul Power inside him trembled faintly, as if pulled by a force within.
How intriguing, he thought.
The yellow crystal ball suddenly flared with clear rings of light, though they weren't dazzling.
"Hmm... level fifteen? How are you only at level fifteen? That's still quite high, but a Thousand-Year Soul Ring should be extraordinary..."
"That can't be..."
Both Ma Xiunuo and Su Yuntao were still staring in a daze!
Before you continue