Seeing the number of Soul Rings, even Ye Xishui couldn't help praising him.
"Teacher, have you still not condensed your Tenth Soul Ring?"
Yang Hao asked about his teacher's progress. Her Soul Power had already broken through Level 100 and was slowly transforming into Divine Power.
Strictly speaking, though, she was only a demigod at this stage, not yet a true god. She had yet to obtain her Tenth Soul Ring, so she was comparable to a million-year Soul Beast—or to Electrolux.
But a Soul Beast's Soul Ring couldn't bear a Tenth Soul Ring, because it was a god-level Soul Ring containing the power of laws.
And a god-level Soul Ring was crucial. It was the foundation for evolving a godhood in the future.
Back then, God King Tang had obtained his Tenth Soul Ring with the help of two Godhood Inheritances. Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong had done the same.
Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue could only offer guidance based on their past experiences and the inheritance knowledge contained in their godhoods. In the end, Ye Xishui still had to condense it through her own efforts.
Fortunately, Ye Xishui had obtained the Ice Fire Dragon King's remains and remnant soul. They had belonged to a true god-level being, so they were enough to form a god-level Soul Ring. Even so, evolving one would still be difficult.
"It'll take a little more time."
Ye Xishui shook her head slightly. She wasn't in a hurry.
Besides, she was already very powerful—stronger than before, in fact.
That was because she had become a Level 10 Soul Engineer, created two Level 10 Soul Tools and fused them with her Martial Soul to form a Life Soul Tool. Under the refinement of Divine Power, it was even evolving into an artifact.
"Teacher, I once heard a legend. You must know the story of the Dragon God, the source of the Soul Beasts. In ancient times, there was a Phoenix God who could stand alongside the Dragon God. The two fought, and the Phoenix God fell. The Phoenix God controlled the Power of Creation and could simulate any ability.
"Your Second Martial Soul is the Bright Phoenix. Perhaps you could develop it in that direction. I just don't know whether the myth is true.
"Oh, and I think there's a Soul Beast called the Blue Demon Bird that's connected to the Phoenix God. It has spatial and temporal attributes."
Yang Hao brought up something from the setting of Douluo IV. He didn't know whether it existed in this world.
"A Phoenix God who could stand alongside the Dragon God?"
Ye Xishui murmured the words, committing them to memory so she could look into it later.
"Take this with you. It can block a full-power strike from a Limit Douluo. If you're in danger, I'll come as quickly as I can."
She handed him a fist-sized sphere. It was a Defensive Soul Tool she had made. Although it could only be used once, it was powerful enough to withstand a Limit Douluo's full-force attack.
A thread of her Divine Sense was attached to it as well. The moment it was triggered, she would sense it immediately.
"Teacher, I'll miss you."
Taking it in both hands, Yang Hao put it away solemnly. He hugged Ye Xishui, then turned and left.
When he arrived at Feng Ling's place, she was already waiting. Zhongli Wu showed up soon after.
"This is the latest intelligence from the Ming Capital. Keep a close eye on the Sun Moon Crown Prince. He's our point of entry for working with the Sun Moon Empire."
Zhongli Wu took the matter very seriously. For the Holy Spirit Cult to grow quickly, cooperating with a state was the best choice.
"Attacked, crippled legs... Can he really hold on to the crown prince's position?"
Yang Hao took the intelligence and read it carefully, feigning surprise and doubt, as though he couldn't understand why Zhongli Wu had chosen a crippled crown prince.
"That's exactly why we chose him. Only when he needs us can we step in more easily and get more out of it."
Zhongli Wu smiled confidently. A crown prince in perfect health wouldn't have been so easy for them to approach.
"I understand."
Yang Hao put on a look of sudden realization.
"What's this?"
At the bottom of the document, Yang Hao found another file and looked puzzled.
"That's your new identity. The Holy Spirit Cult needs to keep a deeper cover. From now on, we won't deal with the crown prince directly.
"To that end, we've established the Bright Cult. You're its Young Sect Leader, while Wan Hun and Sleep Nightmare are the Left and Right Protectors. They'll protect you in public."
Zhongli Wu had been considering this for years. It was also one of the Holy Spirit Cult's plans for growth.
Simply put, they would set up several public-facing shells to distract people. Otherwise, they'd inevitably draw attention and suspicion if they all operated together, which would hinder their growth.
"The Bright Cult."
Yang Hao's eyelid twitched. He knew that name all too well. For a moment, he even wanted to ask Zhongli Wu if he was a fellow transmigrator.
He carefully studied the file about his new identity and discussed it with Zhongli Wu and Feng Ling.
There wasn't much fixed information about the identity. It didn't specify his Martial Soul or Soul Power Level; the emphasis was on mystery. Even within the Bright Cult, the shell organization, people only knew that a Young Sect Leader existed.
That suited him perfectly. The first thing he needed to do was come up with a name.
Thinking of a name brought Yang Hao's Chaos Eight Wings to mind, and ideas for his new identity gradually took shape.
Chapter 52: Imperial Academy
"That rich, golden look really puts you at ease!"
Standing before the gates of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, Yang Hao gazed up at the massive entrance and couldn't help exclaiming. It really was an academy for Soul Engineers backed by the royal family.
"Young Sect Leader, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy is very powerful. We won't be able to go any farther."
Wan Hun spoke up. His appearance had changed dramatically. Nurtured by that life force, he had grown much younger. On top of that, his intense training had built up his frame and muscles.
His strength had improved the most, of course. He was now a Titled Douluo.
The main reason was that the hunting expedition last time had yielded so much. And as an Evil Soul Master, he had already been able to advance rapidly.
Of course, he had used that life force to purge his evil attributes and was no longer an Evil Soul Master. That had made his foundation much more stable.
Besides, their Bright Cult was an upright sect. There was no way it would have any Evil Soul Masters. Its Left Bright Envoy certainly couldn't be one.
Yang Hao had changed his build and appearance, too. He had used Metal Control to guide his bones into a new shape, changed his hairstyle and hair color, and even altered his vocal cords slightly. Even Ma Xiaotao would have had a hard time recognizing him.
"Contact me if anything happens."
After saying that, Yang Hao headed for the gates.
"I'm here to enroll."
He spoke to the royal guard stationed at the entrance, who stared at him in astonishment.
The burly youth standing before him was half a head taller than the guard. It was the first time the guard had ever seen an applicant so big.
"Our Royal Soul Master Academy only accepts applicants under twelve."
The guard reminded him. Soul Masters' bodies developed quickly, especially when they absorbed Soul Rings, which could spur rapid growth.
Some powerful Beast Martial Soul Soul Masters developed even faster, but this boy was simply too large.
"I know. But I'm a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor."
Yang Hao thought he deserved special admission.
"So what if you're a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor? We—"
The royal guard was getting impatient, but before he could finish, he froze. He stared blankly at the four Soul Rings Yang Hao had revealed.
"F-Four purple Soul Rings?"
How could anyone have a set like that?
"Please wait a moment."
Another royal guard quickly spoke up on his behalf, then took out a Soul Tool to report the situation to the academy.
The academy had its admission rules, but rules were dead and people were alive.
Never mind the potential represented by four Thousand-Year Soul Rings. The mere fact that he had thousand-year Soul Rings in his first and second slots was enough to warrant serious attention.
A middle-aged man soon flew out of the academy on a Flying Soul Tool. He stopped in front of Yang Hao and stared at the four purple Soul Rings.
"They really are all thousand-year Soul Rings."
It was unbelievable.
"Child, how did you manage to absorb a thousand-year Soul Ring for your First Soul Ring?"
The middle-aged man's gaze burned. After all, this boy had four thousand-year Soul Rings.
"I ate a lot of Whale Rubber."
Yang Hao claimed that his achievement was all thanks to Whale Rubber.
"High-year Whale Rubber?"
The middle-aged man was a little disappointed. High-year Whale Rubber was hard to come by.
"My name is Lin Jiayi. I'm the academy's dean of studies. What's your name, and what's your Martial Soul?"
As he led Yang Hao into the academy, Lin Jiayi asked him in a friendly tone.
Nothing else mattered; those four thousand-year Soul Rings alone were enough to make him take Yang Hao seriously.
"My name is Luo Feng. My Martial Soul is the Holy Sword."
"This feeling... Is your Martial Soul of the Holy Attribute?"
Studying the battle sword glowing with golden light, Lin Jiayi realized that it possessed the Holy Attribute, an extremely rare attribute.
Until that moment, he had been focused on the Soul Rings and had overlooked the Martial Soul.
"No, that isn't your Martial Soul."
He suddenly noticed something wrong with the sword. It wasn't a Martial Soul at all, but a Soul Tool. As a high-level Soul Engineer, he couldn't be mistaken.
"By chance, I fused my Martial Soul with this Soul Tool and formed this new state. I came to the Royal Soul Master Academy to study it. I don't know whether it'll affect my future cultivation."
Yang Hao gave a helpless, worried expression.
"You fused your Martial Soul, too? And with a finished Soul Tool!"
Lin Jiayi was even more astonished. He thought of another student at the academy.
That student had fused her Martial Soul with a Meteor Iron Sword and was highly valued.
The fusion touched on the ultimate theory of their Soul Engineer system: the Life Soul Tool. It was also the foundation for becoming a Level 10 Soul Engineer.
He hadn't expected an even more talented student to show up now, one who had directly fused his Martial Soul with a finished Soul Tool. This was a true Life Soul Tool.
"Child, this is your fortune. As long as you come to our Royal Soul Master Academy, we can make you an unprecedented Level 10 Soul Engineer, one who'll stand above all Level 9 Soul Engineers..."
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