Holy Soul Village

After listening to Meow Meow, Bibi Dong tapped her fingertips lightly on the desk.

"Notting City?"

"Mm."

Meow Meow sprawled on the cushion, his tail swaying lazily.

"The Martial Soul Hall Branch over in Fasinuo Province isn't weak, but its local schools still need work. If ordinary children can only figure things out on their own after awakening their Martial Souls, a lot of talent will go to waste."

Bibi Dong looked at Meow Meow, her gaze shifting slightly.

Over the years, many of Meow Meow's arrangements for Spirit Hall had seemed casual, but in reality, they had all benefited ordinary Soul Masters.

The Soul Pact Academy was like that.

So was the Basic Formation Academy.

Now he had even set his sights on a remote place like Notting City.

"Are you doing this for that child with Innate Full Soul Power?"

Meow Meow blinked.

"Just a side effect."

Bibi Dong didn't call him out.

She knew Meow Meow too well by now.

The more casually this cat spoke, the more he had planned in advance.

"Yue Guan."

Bibi Dong spoke.

A gentle voice soon came from outside the hall.

"Your Holiness the Pope."

Yue Guan entered the hall. His gaze first fell on Meow Meow, then quickly moved away.

Though Bibi Dong issued many of the orders in the Pope's Palace, the real source of them was often this little orange-red cat.

"Send an order to the Notting City Branch," Bibi Dong said.

"Establish a Martial Soul Hall Primary Academy near Notting City. It will admit only ordinary Soul Masters, and tuition will be waived for the first year after awakening."

"Also send over a batch of textbooks on basic Soul Master theory, Martial Soul fundamentals, and identifying Soul Beasts."

Yue Guan paused.

"Only in Notting City?"

Bibi Dong looked at Meow Meow.

Meow Meow thought for a moment. "Let's try it in Notting City first. If it works well, we can gradually expand it."

"You have to eat one bite at a time."

"If we build too many schools, we won't have enough teachers, and they'll end up sitting empty."

Yue Guan nodded.

"Understood."

Meow Meow added, "Don't just look for people who can teach theory. Find a few Soul Masters who have actually hunted Soul Beasts, too."

"The children are just starting to cultivate. Knowing the names of Soul Beasts won't help them on its own. They need to know how to survive if they encounter one."

Yue Guan made a careful note.

Bibi Dong said, "Go take care of it."

After Yue Guan left, Meow Meow rolled over on the cushion.

"Hope we're not too late."

Bibi Dong asked, "Too late for what?"

Meow Meow buried his face in his paws, his voice muffled.

"Nothing. I just have a feeling that someone might soon start leading that child down a certain path."

Bibi Dong didn't press him.

She lowered her eyes to the documents in her hand and, after a moment, said, "If you think it matters, go take a look."

Meow Meow's ears twitched.

"Now?"

"Mm."

Bibi Dong said coolly, "If you don't go, you probably won't sleep well tonight."

Meow Meow looked up at her.

She might be right.

He'd thought he would just take a look at Holy Soul Village, then come back and make the necessary arrangements.

But for some reason, the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.

He couldn't leave Tang San's path entirely to chance.

But he couldn't cut it off by force, either.

The best approach was to make sure Spirit Hall appeared on his path, too.

Not to block it.

But to walk alongside him.

Then it would be up to each of them to see how far they could go.

The more Meow Meow thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.

"Then this cat will make another trip."

Bibi Dong nodded.

"Don't cause too much of a scene."

Meow Meow had just leaped onto the windowsill when he nearly slipped at her words.

"Does this cat look like the sort to cause trouble?"

Bibi Dong looked at him without answering.

Meow Meow coughed.

"Well, that depends on the situation."

With that, he vanished through the window in a streak of orange-red light.

Outside Notting City.

Holy Soul Village.

Tang San stood at the entrance to the blacksmith's shop, holding the certificate issued by the Spirit Hall deacon.

Old Jack was still trying to persuade Tang Hao.

"Tang Hao, Little San has Soul Power, and it's Innate Full Soul Power, no less!"

"What a wonderful opportunity!"

"If he studies at Notting Junior Soul Master Academy, he'll have a chance to become a Soul Master someday."

Tang Hao sat inside, holding a wine jug, his expression listless.

"Blue Silver Grass. A Trash Martial Soul."

Old Jack was so angry his mustache bristled.

"So what if it's a Trash Martial Soul? Having Soul Power means there's hope!"

"You've made nothing of yourself. Do you really want to hold Little San back for the rest of his life, too?"

Tang San lowered his head without saying a word.

He was used to his father acting this way.

Still, Old Jack's words had stirred something in him.

Soul Masters.

They were the most extraordinary people in this world.

If he could become a Soul Master, he could learn more about Martial Souls, Soul Power, and the secrets of this world.

A small orange cat crouched quietly on the roof.

Meow Meow hadn't gotten too close.

Tang Hao seemed listless, but the wariness buried deep in his bones was still there.

Especially when it came to Tang San—this Clear Sky Douluo was anything but truly muddleheaded.

"Old Jack really is a good man."

Meow Meow watched the old village chief argue until his face turned red, and nodded to himself.

Old Jack genuinely wanted Tang San to see the world beyond the village.

Even if he didn't understand the true significance of Innate Full Soul Power, he knew it was a rare opportunity for the village.

Tang Hao stayed silent for a long while, then finally waved his hand.

"Do what you want."

Old Jack froze.

Tang San looked up, too.

"Father?"

Tang Hao glanced at him.

"If you want to go, then go."

Tang San's eyes lit up.

"Thank you, Father."

Old Jack let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "That's more like it. With talent like Little San's, we can't let it go to waste."

Tang Hao said nothing more. He just lowered his head and drank.

Meow Meow watched him for a while.

Tang Hao wasn't indifferent to Tang San.

He had just hidden too much away.

He'd hidden so much that, in the end, even Tang San couldn't understand him.

"What a mess."

Meow Meow shook his head.

When a father and son didn't speak openly, trouble was bound to follow.

But that wasn't his concern for now.

Meow Meow sprang lightly into the air and disappeared from the blacksmith's roof.

Notting City Spirit Hall.

Su Yuntao had just returned to the branch and hadn't even had a chance to drink some water when his superior summoned him.

"An order from Spirit City?"

Su Yuntao was stunned.

Notting City was just a remote little town. It rarely received direct orders from Spirit City.

The Branch Hall Master studied the scroll, looking even more serious than he did.

"An order from the Pope's Palace."

Su Yuntao immediately stood at attention.

The Branch Hall Master said slowly, "The Pope's Palace has ordered us to establish a Martial Soul Hall Primary Academy near Notting City to admit ordinary Soul Masters."

"The first students should be selected from among this year's newly awakened children."

Su Yuntao immediately thought of Tang San.

Innate Full Soul Power.

Blue Silver Grass.

In the past, he would have felt nothing but regret.

But now that the Pope's Palace had suddenly ordered the construction of a school for ordinary Soul Masters, Su Yuntao had a feeling that there might be more to this than met the eye.

"Sir, there's a child in Holy Soul Village this year..."

The Branch Hall Master looked up.

"He has Soul Power?"

"He does."

"What's his Martial Soul?"

"Blue Silver Grass."

The Branch Hall Master frowned, but Su Yuntao added, "He has Innate Full Soul Power."

The scroll nearly slipped from the Branch Hall Master's hand.

"Blue Silver Grass, with Innate Full Soul Power?"

"Yes."

The Branch Hall Master fell silent for a moment.

If it had been ordinary Blue Silver Grass, there would have been no need to give it a second thought.

But with those four words—Innate Full Soul Power—even the weakest Martial Soul couldn't be dismissed.

"Put him on the first list of recommended students."

"Also, send someone to Holy Soul Village to inform them that he can enroll at Notting Junior Soul Master Academy until the Notting City Spirit Hall school is built. Spirit Hall will cover half the cost."

Su Yuntao was taken aback.

"An allowance?"

"The order from the Pope's Palace is clear: we are to support Soul Masters from commoner families."

The Branch Hall Master looked at him. "You'll handle this personally."

Su Yuntao nodded at once.

"Yes."

Just then, a little orange-red cat silently leaped down from the rafters.

"Nicely done."

The two men in the room were startled at the same time.

The Branch Hall Master was about to scold the intruder, but the moment he noticed the golden bell around the cat's neck, he froze.

There was probably only one cat on the entire continent who could appear so casually inside Spirit Hall.

"L-Lord Holy Cat?"

Su Yuntao's eyes widened too.

He had only just awakened the Holy Soul Village children's Martial Souls today, and now he'd met the legendary Lord Holy Cat on his way back.

Wasn't this all a bit sudden?

Meow Meow raised a paw to tell them not to worry.

"I was just passing by."

"Notting City will be important from now on."

"Do your jobs well."

The Branch Hall Master bowed at once.

"I'll do my utmost."

Meow Meow looked at Su Yuntao.

"Don't bother that child you awakened today too much."

"Follow the usual procedure."

"Give him the allowance if he's entitled to it, and record his details as usual."

"Don't hover around him just because he has Innate Full Soul Power."

Su Yuntao was a little confused, but he promptly agreed.

"Understood."

Meow Meow added, "One more thing: Blue Silver Grass isn't always a Trash Martial Soul."

Su Yuntao froze.

Meow Meow didn't elaborate.

"When you awaken Martial Souls in the future, don't judge them by their names alone."

"Sometimes, even two Martial Souls both called Blue Silver Grass can be different."

Su Yuntao pondered his words.

The Branch Hall Master, meanwhile, committed them to memory.

Lord Holy Cat had gone out of his way to give this warning. It was no casual remark.

Seeing that they were taking him seriously, Meow Meow nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright, I'm off."

With that, he vanished in a flash.

Su Yuntao stared blankly at the empty floor.

"Branch Hall Master, Lord Holy Cat..."

"Do as he said."

The Branch Hall Master drew a deep breath.

"Also, prepare a new report on the child from Holy Soul Village."

"Blue Silver Grass. Innate Full Soul Power."

"We can't record this as just another Trash Martial Soul."

Su Yuntao nodded.

But he still felt uneasy.

It seemed he really had misjudged things today.

After leaving Notting City, Meow Meow didn't return to Spirit City right away.

He ambled along the main road for a while.

Weeds crowded the roadside, and ordinary beasts occasionally darted out of the woods.

As he walked, Meow Meow suddenly stopped.

A faint, gentle presence lingered not far away.

It didn't feel human.

Nor did it feel like an ordinary Soul Beast.

There was a hint of liveliness to it, along with a deeply hidden trace of the plants and trees.

Meow Meow raised his head and looked toward a distant stretch of woodland.

"Xiao Wu?"

He didn't approach.

Xiao Wu was probably somewhere nearby, preparing to enter the human world.

For a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, Soul Beast Transformation was an extremely dangerous choice on the Douluo Continent.

If Meow Meow approached her rashly now, he might startle her instead.

More importantly, Xiao Wu was entangled in too many things.

She was both a Soul Beast undergoing Soul Beast Transformation and the most important person in Tang San's future.

And her mother was connected to Bibi Dong.

That thread was even more troublesome than Tang San's.

Meow Meow crouched by the road and thought for a while, his tail tapping lightly against the ground.

"No rushing."

"If I rush, things will get messy."

He still hadn't decided what to do about Xiao Wu.

Rescue her outright?

That would change too much.

Leave her alone?

That didn't sit right, either.

After all, Bibi Dong wasn't as extreme as she had been before. If that same tragedy happened in the future, it would make all of Meow Meow's efforts over the years seem pointless.

"I'll keep an eye on it for now."

Meow Meow raised a paw and gave the air a light tap.

A faint soul mark settled into the world, then quickly disappeared.

It wasn't for tracking.

It was just a warning.

If the aura of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast undergoing Soul Beast Transformation ever came up against a genuine threat, Meow Meow would sense it.

Satisfied, Meow Meow turned around.

But after only two steps, a faint voice suddenly reached his ears.

[Beep, the main Douluo storyline has begun.]

[Beep, the host has brought Spirit Hall's training system for Soul Masters from commoner families into effect ahead of schedule.]

[Beep, the host has altered a basic education Node in Notting City.]

[Reward: One Junior Soul Master Textbook Deduction Card, one Martial Soul Adaptation Atlas.]

Meow Meow's eyes lit up.

"Now that's useful."

The Junior Soul Master Textbook Deduction Card was just what he needed to improve the Martial Soul Hall School.

The Martial Soul Adaptation Atlas would come in handy too.

It would make the choices of Soul Pacts and Soul Rings more reliable in the future.

Meow Meow's mood improved considerably.

"Looks like this trip wasn't for nothing."

He was about to head back to Spirit City when he suddenly looked toward Holy Soul Village.

Tang San had already returned to the blacksmith's shop.

Tang Hao sat by the entrance, a jug of liquor beside him.

Neither father nor son spoke.

The sun sank toward the horizon, stretching their shadows long across the ground before the shop.

Meow Meow glanced over, then looked away.

Everyone had their own path.

Tang San would walk his.

Spirit Hall would walk its own.

It was far too soon to say who would be right or wrong, who would win or lose.

But one thing was clear to Meow Meow.

This time, Spirit Hall wouldn't just stand by and wait to be overthrown.

Bibi Dong wouldn't.

Qian Renxue wouldn't.

Hu Liena wouldn't.

Neither would the commoner Soul Masters Spirit Hall had helped raise.

Meow Meow became a streak of orange-red light and disappeared into the night.

Spirit City.

When Meow Meow returned to the Pope's Palace, Bibi Dong was still awake.

As if she'd known he would be back, she had left a small plate of dried fish on the table.

Meow Meow's eyes lit up.

"Who put these out?"

Bibi Dong replied coolly, "They're not for you."

Meow Meow had already jumped onto the table and picked up a piece of dried fish.

"Then I'll eat them for whoever they're for."

Bibi Dong looked at him, a hint of amusement in her eyes.

"How was Notting City?"

"It's all taken care of."

Meow Meow chewed on the dried fish as he spoke, his words muffled. "That child really is something."

Bibi Dong didn't ask his name.

If Meow Meow hadn't brought it up himself, then the time wasn't right yet.

"Is he a threat to Spirit Hall?"

Meow Meow thought for a moment.

"Not right now."

"Can't say what the future holds."

Bibi Dong's gaze turned cold.

"If he becomes a threat in the future, there's no reason we can't deal with him in advance."

Meow Meow hurriedly shook his head.

"Don't."

"It's too soon."

"And he has someone backing him."

A flicker passed through Bibi Dong's eyes.

"Tang Hao?"

Meow Meow looked up.

Bibi Dong spoke evenly. "Blue Silver Grass, Innate Full Soul Power, Holy Soul Village in Fasinuo Province."

"Add to that your saying he's no ordinary child."

"It's not hard to guess."

Meow Meow blinked.

"You knew?"

"Tang Hao disappeared for many years after the Clear Sky Sect withdrew from the world."

Bibi Dong's voice remained calm.

"If he really is in Holy Soul Village, that wouldn't be all that surprising."

Meow Meow lowered his head and bit into the dried fish.

It seemed His Holiness the Pope was even more perceptive than he'd thought.

"Don't touch him for now."

Meow Meow said.

"Tang Hao is like a hammer buried in rags right now. Whoever touches him will get hurt."

"Besides, our focus right now isn't Tang San."

Bibi Dong looked at him.

Meow Meow said seriously, "It's the Spirit Hall itself."

"As long as the Spirit Hall becomes strong enough and stable enough, even if Tang San grows powerful in the future, he won't be able to shake the entire Spirit Hall as easily as he did before."

Bibi Dong fell silent for a moment.

"You saw that kind of future?"

Meow Meow fell silent too.

He didn't answer directly.

He simply swallowed the last bite of dried fish.

"I saw some of it."

"But things are different now."

Bibi Dong looked at Meow Meow.

After a long while, she nodded gently.

"Then let's keep making things different."

Meow Meow smiled.

"Mm."

He thought for a moment, then said, "By the way, I'll organize the textbooks for the Notting City school tonight."

Bibi Dong raised an eyebrow.

"You're not going to sleep?"

Meow Meow stiffened.

That question hit a cat where it hurt.

"This cat is doing it for the Spirit Hall."

"And for the future."

Bibi Dong looked at him with a faintly amused expression.

Meow Meow felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze and quickly raised a paw to summon the system reward.

"Textbook Deduction Card!"

A faint glow fell onto the table, turning into a thick stack of books.

Martial Soul Basic Identification

Soul Power Introduction and Meditation

Low-Level Soul Beast Illustrated Handbook

Soul Hunting Safety Regulations

Commoner Soul Master Cultivation Common Sense

Soul Master Ethics and Martial Soul Hall Statutes

Meow Meow looked at the last book, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"This one too?"

Bibi Dong picked up Soul Master Ethics and Martial Soul Hall Statutes and flipped through it.

"Not bad."

Meow Meow: "..."

He had a feeling those kids in Notting City were going to have a hard time.

But then again, maybe that was for the best.

At least they could establish some basic rules first.

They shouldn't all learn to bully the weak before they even became strong.

For the Spirit Hall to improve, it couldn't just be the upper ranks who changed.

Those below had to change too.

Meow Meow sprawled across the table, looking at the stack of textbooks. Suddenly, he felt a little sleepy.

"Is this cat starting to seem more and more like some old schoolteacher?"

Bibi Dong said, "No."

Meow Meow breathed a sigh of relief.

Bibi Dong continued, "An old schoolteacher isn't as lazy as you."

Meow Meow: "..."

He silently buried his head in his paws.

Not listening, not listening.

This cat is going to sleep.