Back in Nuoding City.
Su Ming naturally went to Spirit Hall first. With his token in hand, he walked straight to the entrance and showed his Soul Ring. The guards naturally didn't stop him.
As Su Ming entered the main hall of Spirit Hall, he remembered that in his previous life, he'd been nothing but a failed author and had never seen such a towering hall. He was immediately swept up in its magnificent grandeur.
After asking a cleaner for directions, Su Ming headed straight to the reception room on the second floor.
He knocked on the door.
An old voice called from behind it, "Come in."
Su Ming pushed open the door and entered the reception room. It was a bright office, with an elderly man seated behind a large desk. He wore a neat Soul Master uniform and was probably the one who had just spoken.
Seeing the old man, Su Ming thought, This must be Master Ma Xiunuo.
"Hello, Master. My name is Su Ming, and I'm here to have my Martial Soul's advancement evaluated."
The old man in the chair raised his head and glanced at the student in the Nuoding City school uniform.
He stood up and smiled at him. "Child, my surname is Ma. Just call me Grandpa Ma."
"All right, Grandpa Ma."
"You said you're here to have your Martial Soul's advancement evaluated. Come with me."
Ma Xiunuo led Su Ming to the room at the end of the second-floor corridor. He opened the door, then turned and smiled at Su Ming behind him.
"This is the laboratory where Spirit Hall conducts Martial Soul advancement evaluations. Come on in."
The two entered. The room was spacious and very tall.
"Go ahead! Release your Martial Soul and Soul Ring."
Su Ming held out his right hand and channeled his Soul Power. A cloud appeared, followed by a yellow Soul Ring rising from beneath his feet.
Before Master Ma could ask, Su Ming spoke first.
"Grandpa Ma, my Martial Soul is a cloud. I hunted a 300-year-old Wind Splitting Falcon for my Soul Ring."
Seeing how Su Ming acted, Master Ma Xiunuo naturally realized the boy didn't want to chat and was probably eager to finish up and go home with the good news. He didn't waste any time and directly took out a crystal ball to test his Soul Power.
"Put away your Martial Soul. Let's test your Soul Power."
When Su Ming saw Master Ma Xiunuo take out the crystal ball, he put away his Martial Soul and Soul Ring, then slowly channeled his Soul Power into it.
The crystal ball in Su Ming's hands lit up with a hazy yellow glow. It wasn't particularly bright.
Master Ma Xiunuo glanced at it. "Level 12. That's about right. Give me the crystal ball."
Su Ming handed over the crystal ball. Master Ma Xiunuo took it and spoke.
"All right, your advancement evaluation is complete. From this moment on, you're an honorable Soul Master of the Heaven Dou Empire. Welcome to the ranks of Soul Masters."
"From now on, you can use the badge I'll give you in a moment to collect your monthly allowance from Spirit Hall. Soul Masters receive one Gold Soul Coin a month. Once you reach Soul Grandmaster, your allowance will increase to ten Gold Soul Coins."
"You look like you're in a hurry. Go home and share the good news."
Su Ming knew that Master Ma Xiunuo had misunderstood him.
"Thank you."
After thanking him, Su Ming left Spirit Hall. Half an hour had passed, and he now had a badge and a Gold Soul Coin in his hand.
Then Su Ming hurried to Nuoding Academy. Once inside, he went to the administration office to check in and cancel his leave.
He then headed to the dormitory. Since it was daytime, the dormitory door stood open. Wang Sheng spotted him at once and shouted,
"Su Ming's back!"
Su Ming walked into the dormitory, and a crowd gathered around him, eager to ask about his Soul Skill.
"Su Ming, you've been gone for almost four months. What kind of Soul Beast did you hunt, and how many years old was it?"
Seeing everyone crowd around him, Su Ming smiled and explained, "I hunted a Wind Splitting Falcon that was about 300 years old. I was lucky enough to find one that was injured."
"I found a Soul Hunting team with a pretty good reputation. Thanks to my decent healing abilities and my ability to fly, they agreed to help me hunt a Soul Ring first, then stay behind to help me for another three months."
"But it was worth it. My First Soul Skill is really effective, and I can control it freely. It boosts all of my attributes by 10%. Of course, with my current ability, I can only grant the power of flight to six people."
"Wow! A Soul Master team has seven people. Doesn't that make you just perfect for them? And on top of flight, you can boost all their attributes by 10%. You're practically a hot commodity!"
The one who spoke was Xiao Wu. She had been with Tang San for almost a year, and after soaking up so much around him, she had naturally learned quite a bit about the Soul Master world.
"Yeah, I didn't expect my Martial Soul to be able to boost other people's attributes, either. I want to get a better Second Soul Ring, so I'm going to graduate early and head to an advanced academy."
"Vacation starts in a little over a month. I'll come back when the next term begins and graduate early then."
"By the way, do you want to try flying?"
"I only have six cloud platforms, but you can share one in pairs or groups of three."
"My First Soul Skill lasts for 15 minutes, but you'll have to use your own Soul Power. The slower you fly, the less Soul Power you'll use. The faster you fly, the more you'll use, so take it easy."
Xiao Wu was the first to answer. "Sure! Tang San and I will share one. You guys can pair up for the rest."
When everyone saw Sister Xiao Wu claim a cloud, the others quickly formed groups.
After they'd grouped up, everyone walked out of the dormitory. Su Ming summoned his Martial Soul and released six clouds. Xiao Wu climbed onto one first, and Tang San followed. The others climbed aboard as well.
Su Ming was about to summon a cloud for himself when he turned and saw Wang Sheng still standing there.
"Wang Sheng, why aren't you flying with them?"
When Wang Sheng heard Su Ming ask him, he suddenly dropped to his knees in front of everyone.
Su Ming hurriedly helped him up and pulled him aside to ask what was going on. Once he understood, he learned that Wang Sheng had reached level 10 in Soul Power just after Su Ming had left to hunt for his Soul Ring. But the teacher-organized Soul Hunting Operation had already set out, and the next one wouldn't happen until six months later, when the next term began and there were more students.
Wang Sheng knew that the Soul Ring the teachers helped students obtain would only be a white Ten-Year Soul Ring. Seeing Su Ming's yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring and how powerful his Soul Skill was, he wanted a yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring for himself, too.
So he'd come up with a plan. Now, kneeling there, he kept flattering Su Ming, saying, "I'll work like an ox and a horse for you. I'll follow you for the rest of my life."
Su Ming saw his chance to conduct an experiment in Martial Soul Evolution, so he said, "If the experiment succeeds, you can follow me and evolve step by step—from someone who can't even become a Soul Elder to a Soul Sage. Once you're strong enough, you can establish your own sect and make a name for yourself."
"Fine. Since you've put it that way, I happen to have an experiment in Martial Soul Evolution to conduct. I guarantee you'll be able to hunt a Hundred-Year Soul Ring for your First Soul Ring. What do you say?"
Wang Sheng hesitated, but then he thought it over. With only level 2 innate Soul Power, he'd only ever reach Soul Elder, even if he trained until he died. If his First Soul Ring was white, he might not even become a Soul Elder. So he agreed.
Seeing this, Su Ming said, "All right, but vacation starts in a little over a month. If I help you hunt for a Soul Ring now, I won't have time to go home."
"Wait for me at the academy when the next term begins."
Before you continue