Taking Huo Yuhao as Disciple

[Ding, congratulations to the host, Huo Yuhao's recognition of Martial Soul Hall has increased significantly!]

[Current mission progress: 1/1, Academy Construction Card has been issued.]

[Rewards have been sent to the System Space, please check them.]

Shen Zhou curled his lips into a smile.

The first step had finally been taken.

Next...

It was time to rebuild the glory of Martial Soul Hall in this Douluo Continent!

Inside the woodshed, the candlelight flickered.

Huo Yun'er leaned in her son's arms; although her face remained pale, her breathing had already steadied significantly.

Qian Daoliu's Angel Holy Light had not only healed her external ailments but also nourished her meridians, which had been withered for years.

If she could recuperate properly, it was only a matter of time before she recovered completely.

Huo Yuhao held his mother tightly, his vision blurred by tears. He had never imagined that there would come a day when his mother could sit up again.

"Thank you, my lord... thank you, my lords..."

The boy let go of his mother and turned to kneel.

Shen Zhou reached out to support him, shaking his head slightly.

"There is no need for that. Martial Soul Hall never demands kneeling in gratitude."

"Martial... Soul Hall?"

Huo Yuhao looked up, his eyes filled with confusion.

He had never heard of this name before.

Shen Zhou did not rush to explain, instead taking a handkerchief from his robe and handing it over.

"Wipe your tears; I have something to tell you."

Huo Yuhao took the handkerchief, wiped his face messily, and looked at Shen Zhou with red eyes.

This lord gave him a strange feeling.

He was clearly a high and mighty existence, yet his tone was like that of an elder brother from next door.

As for those following behind him, each one exuded an oppressive aura that made it hard for him to breathe, especially the golden-haired middle-aged man who had just saved his mother—he was practically a deity.

"I intend to open an academy."

Shen Zhou got straight to the point.

Huo Yuhao was stunned.

"An academy?"

"Correct." Shen Zhou nodded. "An academy open to all commoners."

"Free martial soul awakening, free instruction in cultivation methods, and those who excel will even be rewarded with soul rings, soul bones, and even Soul Tool."

As these words were spoken, not only was Huo Yuhao dumbfounded, but even Huo Yun'er, leaning against the head of the bed, widened her eyes.

In this era, martial soul awakening was firmly controlled by nobles and sects.

If commoners wanted to awaken their martial souls, they either had to pay exorbitant fees or sell themselves as vassals to the nobility.

As for cultivation resources, they didn't even dare to dream of them.

Look at the genius Jiang Nannan with Innate Full Soul Power; if she had been born ten thousand years ago, would she have needed to suffer like this?

But now, this lord was saying... free?

"My lord, what you said... is it true?"

Huo Yuhao's voice trembled.

"Absolutely true." Shen Zhou smiled slightly. "Furthermore, I have already decided on the name of the academy: Martial Soul Academy."

"However, before that..."

He paused, his right hand gripping the air, and a long spear appeared in his palm out of nowhere.

It was a spear with a highly peculiar design—the tip was divided into three prongs, shaped like a three-pointed, double-edged blade, the edges gleaming with a chilling, cold light.

The shaft was entirely silver-white, engraved with intricate, mysterious patterns that flowed slowly as if they were alive.

The entire spear exuded an extremely sharp aura; just by holding it, the air in the woodshed seemed to be sliced into fragments.

At the same time, nine soul rings rose from beneath Shen Zhou's feet, slowly rotating around his body.

One yellow, two purple, four black, and two red!

The moment those two red soul rings appeared, the entire woodshed was bathed in an eerie, blood-red glow.

Huo Yuhao's pupils constricted, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit an egg.

Two... hundred-thousand-year soul rings?!

Although he had not yet officially become a Spirit Master, having grown up in the White Tiger Duke Mansion, he was well-versed in the meaning of spirit ring colors.

Yellow represented a century, purple a millennium, black ten millennia, and red...

That was a spirit ring that only a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast could possess!

Across the entire continent, the number of Titled Douluo who possessed a red spirit ring could be counted on one hand.

Yet, the young man before him, who looked no older than twenty, actually had two!

What was even more terrifying was that those two red spirit rings were not merely the lowest tier of hundred-thousand-year rings; their color was as deep as blood, with golden light faintly swirling within, clearly indicating they were entities that had surpassed the two-hundred-thousand-year level.

"This is my martial soul, the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear."

Shen Zhou spoke indifferently. With a gentle twist of his right hand, the long spear hummed, and the three blades at the tip simultaneously flashed with a cold light.

"Nine rings, Titled Douluo. Spirit ring configuration: century, millennium, ten-millennium, and hundred-thousand-year rings all present."

Huo Yuhao's legs went weak. This time, he truly couldn't hold himself up and collapsed onto the ground.

It wasn't fear, but shock.

A nine-ring Titled Douluo!

And with the most top-tier spirit ring configuration!

He had never seen such a powerful Spirit Master; even the strongest guest elder in the White Tiger Duke Mansion was only at the Spirit Douluo level, and their spirit rings were quite ordinary.

"Master is above, please accept this disciple's kowtow!"

Huo Yuhao didn't hesitate; he threw himself onto his knees and knocked his head against the floor three times.

Though he didn't know why this great person wanted to take him as a disciple, he knew this was the greatest opportunity of his life.

Shen Zhou did not stop him, waiting until he finished before reaching out to pull him up.

"You're quite sharp. I hadn't even said I would take you in, yet you've already bowed."

Huo Yuhao scratched his head and gave a silly grin.

"However..."

Shen Zhou changed the subject, "Aren't you afraid that I might be a bad person?"

Huo Yuhao shook his head and looked at his mother on the bed.

"If you can save my mother and even give me Gold Soul Coin to buy medicine, how could you be a bad person?"

"Besides..."

He snuck a glance at the group of imposing men behind Shen Zhou and muttered softly, "Bad people wouldn't have so many impressive big brothers around them."

"Hahahaha!"

Guangling Douluo was the first to laugh out loud, stepping forward to pat Huo Yuhao on the head.

"This kid has a good eye!"

Qian Daoliu also nodded slightly, a hint of approval appearing in his eyes.

Shen Zhou retracted his martial soul, the nine spirit rings dissipated, and the pressure inside the woodshed vanished along with them.

"Yuhao, I possess Twin Martial Souls. The Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear is my first martial soul, which I have already cultivated to the Titled Douluo level."

"My second martial soul is called the Heavenly Eye."

A golden light suddenly shone from his forehead.

The light was not blinding, but it carried a profound sense of piercing through all things.

Huo Yuhao instinctively looked at that eye, feeling as if his very soul were about to be sucked in.

Heavenly Eye, activate!

On Shen Zhou's forehead, a golden vertical line slowly emerged, then split to the sides, revealing a brilliant golden vertical pupil.

Within that vertical pupil, it seemed to contain a sea of stars, vast and mysterious.

However, unlike the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear, there were no spirit rings circling the Heavenly Eye martial soul.

"The Heavenly Eye martial soul has not yet been imbued with any spirit rings."

Shen Zhou explained, "Because I am waiting—waiting for the right moment, and for the right soul beast."

"There are thousands of martial souls in this world, but eye-type martial souls are extremely rare, and your Spirit Eye is of the same origin as my Heavenly Eye."

"That is why I wish to take you as my disciple and impart my cultivation methods to you. Once you grow up, you and I, master and disciple, will be invincible in this world."

Huo Yuhao felt his blood boil as he listened, and he nodded heavily.

"This disciple will definitely cultivate diligently and will never fail Master's expectations!"

Shen Zhou nodded in satisfaction and turned to look at Qian Daoliu.

"Big brother, I have taken this child in."

Qian Daoliu gave a hum of acknowledgment without saying anything more.

He could naturally see the extraordinary nature of Huo Yuhao, and he understood that Shen Zhou was laying the groundwork for the future of Martial Soul Hall.