Lu Fan continued channeling his Soul Power.
He could clearly feel that after his Martial Soul mutated, maintaining the awakening required much more Soul Power.
Still, he was a Soul Elder after all.
He could sustain this much Soul Power.
Moreover, the anxiety in his heart eased because of it.
In this situation, there was an extremely high chance that it was a beneficial mutation.
The only thing he needed to watch out for was whether it would turn out like Gangzi.
Though the mutation might be incredible, if the person himself was not up to par, the beneficial mutation could fail and turn into a harmful one.
A phantom silhouette began to solidify behind Xiao Mei.
A small tree two meters tall appeared behind her.
Its branches twisted and intertwined, covered in countless white plum blossoms.
Soon, the Martial Soul stabilized. The Martial Soul awakening had succeeded—it was a beneficial mutation.
Lu Fan looked at Xiao Mei with delight. "Your Martial Soul has undergone a beneficial mutation. It changed from a single plum blossom branch into a plum tree. In the future, you might become a control-type Soul Master."
As he spoke, Lu Fan held the crystal ball before Xiao Mei. "Come, test your Innate Soul Power."
As long as my talent is good enough, I can stay by Brother Fan's side...
Joy appeared on Xiao Mei's face as she looked at the blue crystal ball. Her heart filled with anticipation, but she was nervous as well.
She took a deep breath.
Xiao Mei abruptly pressed her hand against the crystal ball.
As Xiao Mei injected her Soul Power into it,
the crystal ball began to glow.
Very soon, brilliant azure light filled half of the crystal ball.
Lu Fan nodded encouragingly. "Innate Soul Power at level five. That's quite good."
As he spoke, he reached out and gently ruffled Xiao Mei's hair.
"Work hard. Surpassing the village chief and becoming a Soul King will be no problem in the future. You might even have a chance of becoming a Soul Emperor. Keep it up~"
At the same time, he wondered whether he should send Xiao Mei to Martial Soul Academy.
But given Xiao Mei's talent,
Lu Fan actually leaned more toward sending her to Plant Academy under Four Element Academy.
After all, if she attended Martial Soul Academy, her talent probably would not amount to much in the future.
But if she went to Plant Academy, obtaining a noble title from the Empire after graduation would be quite good.
However, when it came to something that concerned her future, Lu Fan naturally would not make the decision for her. He would only help analyze the pros and cons and offer recommendations. The final choice still depended on her.
"I'm going into the city tomorrow. I'll take you with me and register your Martial Soul at Spirit Hall in Suotuo City."
"Okay~"
Lu Fan put everything away and led Xiao Mei out of Spirit Hall by the hand.
"It's getting late. Hurry home. I'll come find you again at noon tomorrow."
After saying goodbye to Xiao Mei, Lu Fan returned to his little house.
Although he had been away for quite a long time,
his little house had not become filthy from being unoccupied for so long, nor was it covered in dust.
Instead, it was very clean, as if someone had regularly come by to clean it.
Seeing this, Lu Fan merely smiled knowingly, a hint of warmth rising in his heart.
He poured himself a glass of water at home and drank it to moisten his throat.
Then Lu Fan went to the windowsill.
There was a flowerpot on his windowsill, with a chrysanthemum planted inside.
Flower Grass Village had a village rule.
After awakening their Martial Soul, every villager had to plant a flower identical to their Martial Soul.
To the villagers, that flower was proof that the person had once existed.
If the owner of the flower left,
then their neighbors were responsible for helping care for it.
It was precisely because of rules of unity and cooperation like these
that the villagers of Flower Grass Village were exceptionally harmonious.
Lu Fan watered his chrysanthemum.
After standing there quietly watching it for a while, Lu Fan went inside to sleep.
Normally, he would meditate and cultivate at this time.
But today, he would treat it as a holiday~
The sun hung high in the sky, and the sunlight was brilliant.
The villagers of Flower Grass Village voluntarily brought watering cans, making sure not to miss a single flower in the village.
That morning, Lu Fan delivered the local specialties he had brought back to every household.
At noon, Lu Fan found Xiao Mei, and they boarded a carriage for Suotuo City together.
With Lu Fan accompanying her, Xiao Mei's parents were completely unconcerned about her safety.
Upon arriving in Suotuo City, Lu Fan headed straight for the local Spirit Hall branch.
The stewards inside were all stunned when they saw Lu Fan.
They did not dare forget Lu Fan's face.
Once they came to their senses, they hurried forward to greet him with smiles. "Young Master Lu Fan, your arrival honors us. Please forgive us for failing to welcome you properly."
Lu Fan waved a hand. "No need for that. Yesterday, I helped a junior from my hometown awaken her Martial Soul. I brought her here today to register her Martial Soul information."
"Understood, understood."
The entire process took less than three minutes, and the branch master personally handled it.
After finishing that,
Lu Fan said to Xiao Mei, "I still need to meet some friends later. I have some matters to deal with, and I may return to the village very late. I'll have someone take you home first."
Although Xiao Mei really wanted to continue following Lu Fan,
seeing that he had business to attend to, she was afraid of disturbing him. Though extremely reluctant, she still nodded in agreement.
Lu Fan beckoned with his hand.
A Soul Saint guard silently appeared.
"Take her back to the village."
The guard nodded and left with Xiao Mei.
Afterward, Lu Fan planned to head to the hotel where Qin Ming was staying and return to Shrek Academy with him to visit their teachers.
On the way,
Lu Fan suddenly spotted a sharp-eyed glimpse of a blond man with an arm around a pair of twins, while beside him was a red-haired fat man holding a woman in his arms as well.
Lu Fan recognized the two of them at once.
"Mu Bai, Fatty!"
He quickly walked over.
When Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun heard someone calling them, they both turned their heads curiously.
That one look was enough.
Both of them froze in shock.
"Y-you're Xiao Fan {Brother Fan}!"
The moment they saw Lu Fan, the two of them forgot all about the women.
The three brothers reunited.
Dai Mubai draped an arm over Lu Fan's shoulder and laughed as he scolded him, "You bastard, you left without even telling your brothers!"
Lu Fan smiled apologetically. "Hehehe, sorry, sorry. I just thought that it wasn't as though we would never meet again, so why make it so formal? What if you burst into tears because I left? I was afraid I wouldn't be able to bear leaving then~"
After the three chatted for a while,
"Come on, let's go back to the academy. Xiao Ao, the dean, and the others will definitely be thrilled to see you back."
Dai Mubai said with a grin, his arm still around Lu Fan's shoulder.
Lu Fan said, "No rush. Let's find one more person first."
"Who? Xiao Ao? He's at the academy today. You know he doesn't take part in activities like ours."
Ma Hongjun reminded him from the side.
Lu Fan shook his head. "No. On my way here, I met a senior. He's also a Shrek Academy graduate. I agreed to return to the academy with him today. He's still at the hotel now, so come with me and meet him."
"A senior?"
Hearing this, Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun both grew curious.
They had never met any of the senior brothers or sisters who had graduated from Shrek Academy, so they were instantly very curious.
Lu Fan beckoned to his two brothers.
"Let's go. Come meet him with me."
Before you continue