Loyalty

"Yes, Your Holiness the Holy Son."

Yan looked at Shang An with blazing eyes. His teacher beside him seemed somewhat anxious, yet did not dare step forward for fear of offending His Holiness the Holy Son. In some sense, the Holy Son's status even surpassed that of the elders, while he was merely a Platinum Bishop.

While speaking with his teacher, Yan had learned that Shang An had been appointed Holy Son and that he had defeated a Spirit King. Yet he still wanted to challenge Shang An—not to win, but because of an obsession.

"Please, Your Holiness the Holy Son, grant my request, regardless of the outcome."

Since he had already said that much, Shang An naturally would not refuse.

"Then I shall grant you defeat."

The words sounded overwhelmingly arrogant, yet coming from Shang An, no one found them out of place. Even Hu Liena's eyes began to sparkle.

Even Yan saw nothing wrong with them. Instead, he looked at Shang An with even greater admiration.

"Please instruct me, Holy Son."

The two walked to an open area, and the people around them automatically moved aside.

Shang An did not waste any more words. They had not seen each other for three years, and he still needed to spend some time strengthening his bond with the little fox later.

He activated his First Spirit Skill. Purple light surged, and a Taiyi Staff appeared in his hand.

With Tiangang Bagua Steps beneath his feet, he vanished in a flash.

Yan only felt danger closing in. Relying on the instincts forged through three years of day-and-night fighting, he immediately unleashed his second spirit skill, Granite Rock, and raised his right arm across his back to block.

Sure enough, a mysterious and gorgeous staff struck from behind his right side, slamming heavily into Yan's right arm. Even with his spirit skill active, Yan was still forced back seven or eight steps. His right hand trembled uncontrollably. What tremendous strength! What terrifying speed!

"Oh? You've improved a little."

Shang An gave Yan no time to react. He closed in, circulating his spiritual power and unleashing the Demon Subduing Staff Technique's Qin King Whips the Stones. The force behind his staff increased by more than a level.

Yan could only raise his left arm to block, but Shang An had no intention of tangling with him for long. With one strike, Yan was sent flying dozens of meters away. Blood poured from his left arm, and he no longer had the strength to fight.

A healing-type Spirit Master hurried over and used a spirit skill. Yan's injuries were stabilized, and he barely regained the ability to move. After all, this was only a spar, and Yan was still part of Spirit Hall. Shang An had exercised considerable restraint.

It would have been different if a certain Third Brother had made the move. He would have directly ruined someone's potential, causing Spirit Hall's clearly gifted Golden Generation to gradually fall behind their peers.

Supported by his teacher, Yan rose to his feet. Under his teacher's worried gaze, he struggled over to Shang An.

Shang An looked at him in confusion. Was he... unwilling to accept this?

Yan placed his right hand over his heart.

Then, with a thud, he dropped to one knee and lowered his head. This was a great rite usually performed only before the Pope.

"Your Holiness the Holy Son, I, Yan, swear here that I will serve you unto death, honor your will, safeguard your dignity, and fight for you for the rest of my life."

Serve him?

Shang An had not expected Yan to be so decisive, pledging his loyalty on the spot. Moreover, he could sense Yan beginning to form a Seed of Heart of his own accord. In other words, this was sincere submission.

Could it be that he had protagonist's luck too? He had only beaten Yan twice, and Yan had immediately bowed his head, willing to become his little brother?

Shaking off his increasingly scattered thoughts, he looked at Yan kneeling on one knee and reached out to help him up.

"Rise, Yan. I accept your loyalty."

Yan was a genius, after all. With Spirit Hall's cultivation, becoming a Title Douluo would not be a problem. Shang An naturally would not refuse such a little brother.

Surrounded by the crowd, they returned to Spirit City.

A side hall of the Pope Palace.

Bibi Dong, Shang An, and Hu Liena sat around a small table.

"Come, Xiao An, eat more."

Bibi Dong placed another piece of Spirit Beast meat into Shang An's bowl.

Looking at Shang An's bowl piled high with food, then at Bibi Dong who was still constantly serving him dishes, Hu Liena suddenly felt like life had been a failure. Who exactly was this welcome feast for today?!

"Hmph, Teacher is playing favorites."

Hu Liena muttered, voicing her dissatisfaction.

Seeing Hu Liena's expression, Shang An immediately felt delighted.

"Come, Senior Sister, you should eat too."

As Shang An spoke, he placed a piece of steamed bear paw meat into Hu Liena's bowl, then put another piece into Bibi Dong's bowl.

"Teacher, you should eat too. You don't need to keep serving me food."

"Xiao An is still the best. Nana, you should learn more from Xiao An. And you're the senior sister, so you need to give way to your junior brother, understand?"

Bibi Dong said with a beaming smile.

"Got it."

Hu Liena answered reluctantly, her face full of resentment. Her stiff expression made the other two burst into laughter again.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill,

Bibi Dong began discussing serious matters.

"Nana, you've only just come out of the Devil Training Camp, and your mental state is somewhat unstable. For the next two months, you will stay in the Bookstore and finish the thirty advanced Spirit Master theory books I assigned."

"Ah! Teacher~"

Hu Liena's face immediately filled with horror, revealing the struggle of a poor student.

"No refusing. In two months, I will personally test your Spirit Master theory knowledge."

Bibi Dong was extremely firm and gave Hu Liena no chance to refuse.

"Becoming a powerful Spirit Master requires more than strength. You also need extensive theoretical knowledge."

Seeing that Bibi Dong would not let her refuse, Hu Liena turned toward Shang An with teary eyes.

"Junior Brother~"

Clearly, she wanted to take a roundabout route and have Shang An persuade Bibi Dong for her.

If Shang An pleaded on her behalf, Bibi Dong would certainly listen. But this was truly for Hu Liena's own good. Even though the little fox looked pitiful with tears in her eyes, he would not act impulsively.

"Nana, Teacher has already made her decision, and this will help you as well."

Shang An shook his head, then patted Hu Liena's head.

"If there's anything you don't understand, you can come ask me."

Seeing that pleading was useless and Shang An would not help her, Hu Liena could only helplessly accept the fact.

Hu Liena actually knew this was for her own good. Unfortunately, she was simply terrible at theory. Although her cultivation talent was outstanding, she had absolutely no feel for theoretical knowledge.

Now, being asked to finish thirty dull theory books within two months, she would rather spend another two months at the Devil Training Camp.

Suddenly, Shang An stepped forward and took Hu Liena's soft, slender hand.

"Senior Sister, I happen to have a difficult problem recently and need to visit the Bookstore to search for information. For these two months, I'll study with you."

Having her hand held by Shang An in front of their teacher, and under his "affectionate" gaze, Hu Liena's face suddenly turned red.

"I-I'm willing!"

"Then, for the next two months, I'll be in your care, Senior Sister."

Only then did Hu Liena realize Shang An had been talking about studying. In her excitement, she had not heard him clearly and thought he was confessing to her in front of their teacher. Thinking of that, her face reddened even more, like a ripe apple.

Bibi Dong and Shang An did not expose her, and the matter was settled.

The little fox was slightly disappointed, but when she thought about studying in the Bookstore with her junior brother, those two months did not seem quite so hard to endure.

Afterward, Bibi Dong discussed cultivation matters, mainly concerning Hu Liena. Shang An had his own unique ideas about cultivation, so as his teacher, she could only offer him some suggestions.

Hu Liena had reached � level and was only one step away from � level. As long as she obtained her fourth Spirit Ring within three months, she would become the youngest Soul Ancestor of Spirit Hall's younger generation aside from Shang An.

Xie Yue and Yan had already reached � level, but they were both a year older than Hu Liena and had already �.

The two of them, together with Hu Liena, were the top three of the Devil Training Camp—the so-called Golden Generation.

Although the Golden Generation became mere background characters in the later parts of the original work, their talent was absolutely among the best on the continent.

Take Tang Hao, once praised as the youngest Title Douluo on the Douluo Continent. He became a Title Douluo at � years old.

Hu Liena, meanwhile, became a �-level Spirit King at � years old. At her cultivation speed, she even had a chance of becoming a Title Douluo before the age of �.

Xie Yue also had the potential to become a Super Douluo. It was only because Tang San had played dirty during the Spirit Master Tournament, damaging his potential with the poison of the Eight Spider Lances, that Feng Xiaotian later overtook him.

But in truth, without Immortal Herbs, aside from Tang San and Oscar, the other members of the Shrek Seven Devils were far less talented than Spirit Hall's Golden Generation.

After encouraging Hu Liena a few more times, Bibi Dong sent her away.

With this disciple here, she was in the way.

"Xiao An, your Saint Son Token has already been made."

As Bibi Dong spoke, she took an exquisite purple box from her storage Soul Tool.

Shang An accepted the box. Inside were three silver tokens, each about half the size of a palm, and their design resembled the Pope Token.

One side bore Spirit Hall's insignia: six great patterns of chrysanthemum, ghost, sword, dragon, hammer, and crown. The other side had the emblem of a Taiyi Bead, with the character Shang engraved beneath it to represent the token's owner.

Shang An played with one in his hand. The token was not heavy, roughly the weight of a phone, but its material was extremely hard. He did not know what metal it was made from. He had just tested it, and even with his current physical strength, he could not bend the token.

Seeing Shang An's interest, Bibi Dong continued,

"This token was forged from Qingling Dark Iron. Wearing it has the effect of calming the mind and clearing the heart."

But thinking of Shang An's miraculous cultivation methods, Bibi Dong added,

"It also provides some assistance in cultivation for those below Spirit Saint, though it probably won't be of much use to you."