Settling In

Before long, Qian Xunji brought Lin Fan into a palace.

"This will be your home from now on." Qian Xunji's voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable authority.

Qian Xunji raised a hand and gave a gentle wave. A soft golden Soul Power enveloped Lin Fan as he carefully examined the Soul Power within him.

A moment later, satisfaction filled his eyes even more. "Lin Fan, since you're willing to become my disciple, do you understand that joining my tutelage means abiding by Spirit Hall's rules, devoting yourself to cultivation, and shouldering the glory of Spirit Hall in the future?"

Lin Fan's heart tightened. He quickly bowed and saluted, his expression resolute. "This disciple understands. I'll heed your teachings, Master, and swear to defend Spirit Hall's dignity to the death. I'll never let you down!"

Though Qian Xunji's image in Lin Fan's eyes was somewhat tarnished, he even looked down on him.

But there were major reasons for that.

Who wouldn't go mad if some good-for-nothing snatched away the heir they'd devoted themselves to nurturing?

Qian Xunji had indeed been disgusting in his efforts to keep Bibi Dong.

But he'd done it all for Spirit Hall's benefit!

Besides, none of it had happened yet. With Lin Fan stepping in, defeating that good-for-nothing Yu Xiaogang would be a piece of cake.

Seeing this, Qian Xunji nodded in satisfaction. "Very good. Your teacher still has many matters to attend to. If you need anything, we'll discuss it tomorrow."

As he spoke, Qian Xunji looked toward the woman standing nearby. "If you have any problems with daily life, ask the housekeeper."

Lin Fan nodded and glanced at the middle-aged woman nearby.

"Understood, Master."

Qian Xunji then left.

"Your Highness, please don't hesitate to give me your orders," the housekeeper said respectfully after Qian Xunji had gone.

The person before her was the future Pope's disciple—and his eldest disciple, no less!

The housekeeper would never dare offend him, even though she was a Soul Ancestor herself!

But even a Soul Ancestor was only a Soul Master with a bit of strength in Spirit Hall!

"What's your name?" Lin Fan asked with a smile.

"Wang Lian," the housekeeper replied.

"I'll call you Housekeeper Wang from now on," Lin Fan said. "Show me where I'll be resting."

"Of course, Your Highness." Wang Lian answered and led the way.

After taking a bath, Lin Fan lay on the soft, enormous bed, unable to help reflecting.

In this world, strength really was everything.

He'd awakened his Martial Soul less than half a day ago, yet he'd gone from a small bed in an orphanage to a grand bed in a palace, with people assigned to serve him!

The gap created by talent was enormous, even within Spirit Hall.

Just then, a panel appeared before Lin Fan, titled "Emotion Source."

At the bottom, more than thirty thousand emotion points had already been collected!

The largest share had come from the Martial Soul Awakening at the orphanage, followed by the assembly hall, and finally just now.

But thirty thousand or so emotion points still weren't enough to do much.

From what Lin Fan had observed, even the weakest Fire Element Spirit Seed required a full three million emotion points!

And that was the lowest-grade one.

As for the top-tier ones, who knew how many emotion points they'd require?

What's more, Lin Fan had Innate Dual Element: Lightning Element and Fire Element. He needed Spirit Seeds for both!

Although every Spirit Seed in the System Store cost the same, with no price increase for rare or precious ones,

the very best Spirit Seeds, which could boost power by up to three times, still cost six million emotion points each, regardless of their other qualities!

If he wanted two Spirit Seeds that powerful, he'd need twelve million emotion points!

And those were only Spirit Seeds, suited to Intermediate Mages.

At the advanced level, he'd need Soul Seeds!

At the super level, he could use Heavenly Seeds!

Thinking of how many emotion points he needed, Lin Fan couldn't help feeling troubled. He was already trying to figure out how to earn them quickly later on.

The way to earn emotion points was simple: whenever someone experienced an emotional fluctuation because of Lin Fan, he gained points.

The intensity of the emotion determined how many points he received.

Meanwhile, inside Pope Palace,

"How talented were the descendants this time?" Qian Daoliu asked calmly.

"Your Holiness the Pope, among those who awakened their Martial Souls this time, none had Innate Full Soul Power."

"Two had innate Soul Power at level nine."

"Eleven had innate Soul Power at level eight."

"Twenty-seven had innate Soul Power at level seven."

"These are the results of the Martial Soul awakenings among the descendants of Spirit City's Soul Masters. The records from the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire will be delivered within three days," Qian Xunji reported respectfully.

"This year's results are decent, much better than in previous years."

Qian Daoliu spoke slowly. "But it's still not enough. The Clear Sky Sect produced someone with Innate Full Soul Power seven years ago. His Soul Power has already reached level thirty-four."

"In the past two years, our Spirit Hall hasn't had anyone who could match him."

"With Xiaofan, our Spirit Hall has a better chance of winning in this generation," Qian Xunji said respectfully.

Qian Daoliu nodded slightly, indicating his agreement.

After all, Lin Fan had Innate Full Soul Power and Twin Martial Souls, as well as those unusual Star Seeds.

The Clear Sky Sect was powerful and had the secret techniques Tang Chen created, but one had to reach a certain level of strength before they could learn them.

After thinking it over, Qian Daoliu asked again, "How are preparations for the Soul Master Tournament a year from now?"

Qian Xunji bowed, his expression growing even more respectful. "Father, you can rest assured. I've already begun making arrangements."

"The students selected this time by Spirit Hall Academy are all outstanding members of Martial Soul Academy. Their cultivation is at least level forty, and each has the best Soul Ring configuration."

Qian Daoliu nodded. "Good. Make sure they're well trained. They'll all become pillars of Spirit Hall in the future!"

The next day,

at dawn,

a ray of sunlight slipped through a gap in the curtains and fell across Lin Fan's face as he sat cultivating with his legs crossed.

Lin Fan opened his eyes, got up, and washed.

"Your Highness, His Holiness the Pope is here." Wang Lian hurried over and bowed as she spoke.

"Take me to see my teacher," Lin Fan said with a smile.

They made their way to the main hall, where Qian Xunji stood looking at him with a smile.

Lin Fan greeted him respectfully. "Master."

"Disciple, your teacher has many affairs to attend to and likely won't be able to guide your cultivation all the time."

Qian Xunji rose to his feet. "But now that you're my disciple, studying at Martial Soul Academy is the best choice."

"At Martial Soul Academy, strength speaks for itself, and everything is fair. If you want resources, go fight for them!"

"Are you confident?"

Lin Fan smiled slightly. His eyes shone with unwavering resolve. "Master, I naturally won't lose to anyone else!"

"I'll make sure your reputation remains untarnished!"

"Good!" Qian Xunji clapped his hands in approval, then said, "In that case, get ready. I'll send you to Martial Soul Academy to study shortly!"

"It's not far from here, either. If you run into any problems, you can come back at any time."

Martial Soul Academy was the core institution where Spirit Hall trained its new generation of Soul Masters. It brought together the most talented young Soul Masters across the entire Douluo Continent.

It was a place where the strong preyed on the weak and strength reigned supreme—exactly the perfect place for him to earn emotion points and rapidly grow stronger.

With so many people around, wouldn't the rate at which he earned emotion points increase exponentially?

With enough emotion points, buying a magic artifact in the System Store to speed up cultivation wouldn't be a problem either.