Bright Phoenix, Yan Shaozhe's Descendant

Inside a futuristic corridor at the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters.

The young woman said to Mu Tianchen, "Tianchen, I'm sure you heard just now that your teacher will be very busy for a while and won't have time to guide your cultivation one-on-one."

"So, for the next while, I'll be the one guiding your cultivation."

At this point, the young woman suddenly smiled brightly at Mu Tianchen. "I almost forgot to introduce myself. My name is Yan Qingling. I'm eighteen this year, a Level 69 Power Attack System Soul Emperor, and my Martial Soul is the Bright Phoenix."

"Ah? The Bright Phoenix?"

Mu Tianchen was slightly startled upon hearing that and looked at the young woman in surprise.

Wasn't the Bright Phoenix the Martial Soul of Yan Shaozhe, the dean of Shrek Academy's outer court ten thousand years ago? He had heard that this Martial Soul originated from Ye Xishui, the leader of the Holy Spirit Cult at the time. It was an exceptionally powerful top-tier Light Attribute Martial Soul.

Yan Qingling nodded with a smile. "That's right, the Bright Phoenix. I heard from the Pagoda Master that your Martial Soul is the Holy Dragon of Light. Come to think of it, our Martial Souls have quite a few similarities."

Only then did Mu Tianchen finally understand why he had sensed such a feeling of closeness from Yan Qingling earlier. Their Martial Souls were both Light Attribute, and both possessed Ultimate Light.

At that moment, Mu Tianchen stared at Yan Qingling in astonishment.

He had not expected Yan Qingling to reach Level 69 Soul Emperor at just eighteen years old. Her talent was probably even greater than that of the original story's main cast.

However, what puzzled him was that with talent like Yan Qingling's, she would certainly be able to break through to the level of a Title Douluo in the future, perhaps even a Super Douluo.

So why had there never been any mention of Yan Qingling in the original story?

Mu Tianchen shook his head. Douluo Continent was a vast world. How could a mere original story possibly cover every part of it? It seemed that he would have to experience and explore more for himself in the future.

As Yan Qingling led Mu Tianchen deeper into the Spirit Pagoda, she also observed this new disciple the Pagoda Master had taken in.

Any youth who could be accepted as the Pagoda Master's personal disciple was surely extraordinary. And indeed, this boy's level might be low, but he radiated an incomparably pure aura of light.

Her Bright Phoenix already possessed Ultimate Light, yet the light aura of this boy was actually even stronger than hers.

A trace of surprise arose in her heart.

Furthermore, according to the information the Pagoda Master had sent her, this white-blond-haired boy not only possessed the Holy Dragon of Light Martial Soul, but also unprecedented Innate Level 20 Soul Power.

Possessing the Holy Dragon of Light Martial Soul alone made him a top-tier prodigy. Now, with Innate Level 20 Soul Power as well, who knew what kind of reaction the two would produce together?

Seeing Mu Tianchen looking around curiously, Yan Qingling could not help opening her mouth.

Mu Tianchen truly was extremely curious about the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters.

In the original story, the Spirit Pagoda stood alongside the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy as one of the continent's three great top-tier powers. Its headquarters was a colossal building with eighty-one floors.

Yet the original story had never described this massive structure.

Now, looking at this towering building that reached into the clouds and brimmed with futuristic technology, Mu Tianchen could not help but be astonished. Douluo Continent truly deserved to be called a future world with an exceptionally advanced civilization.

At this moment, Yan Qingling brought Mu Tianchen to a highly futuristic room and said, "Tianchen, before I begin training you, I need to test your physique, strength, and spiritual power."

"Over the past ten thousand years, as soul beasts on Douluo Continent have become increasingly scarce, the method of obtaining Soul Rings by hunting soul beasts has gradually been phased out."

"Nowadays, people more often obtain Soul Rings by forming contracts with Soul Spirits."

"Soul Spirits are divided into six grades: white, yellow, purple, black, red, and orange. They correspond respectively to ten-year white Soul Rings, hundred-year yellow Soul Rings, thousand-year purple Soul Rings, ten-thousand-year black Soul Rings, red hundred-thousand-year Soul Rings, and orange-gold Beast King Soul Rings."

"A white ten-year Soul Spirit can provide one white ten-year Soul Ring. A yellow hundred-year Soul Spirit can provide two hundred-year Soul Rings, while a purple thousand-year Soul Spirit can provide three thousand-year Soul Rings."

"As for black ten-thousand-year Soul Spirits, they are already truly top-tier Soul Spirits. Even our Spirit Pagoda does not have many of them."

"A black ten-thousand-year Soul Spirit can grant a Soul Master four ten-thousand-year Soul Rings. Red and orange Soul Spirits also provide four Soul Rings."

"The higher a Soul Spirit's age, the more Soul Rings it can grant, and the more powerful those Soul Rings will be. However, if you want to contract a high-grade Soul Spirit, your physique and spiritual power must be strong enough."

"If your physique is not strong enough, your body may collapse. If your spiritual power is insufficient, your Sea of Consciousness may be struck, turning you into an idiot."

"You are the Pagoda Master's personal disciple and her hope for the future. You cannot make a mistake at any stage."

Mu Tianchen could sense the gravity of her words. He looked at Yan Qingling in surprise. What had she just said? He was his teacher Leng Yaozhu's hope?

Yan Qingling did not give Mu Tianchen much time to think. She first brought him beside a strength-testing machine.

"Strength is an extension of physique. While strength and physique cannot be considered exactly the same, they are closely connected. Tianchen, test your strength first. You cannot use Soul Power."

"When I was your age, I took a strength test too. But my results back then were utterly miserable. Now let's see what you can do."

"Yes, Sister Qingling." Mu Tianchen took a deep breath as he looked at the huge strength-testing machine before him.

"Sister Qingling?" Yan Qingling froze when she heard how Mu Tianchen addressed her, but a lovely smile soon appeared on her face.

However, she had always taken training seriously. Seeing that Mu Tianchen had not yet positioned himself properly, she immediately ordered, "Set your stance, focus your breath and mind, and strike with everything you have!"

Hearing that, Mu Tianchen fixed his gaze on the strength-testing machine in front of him. He took a step back to gather force, then stepped forward and delivered an all-out strike.

Boom! A thunderous sound instantly echoed through the room, deafeningly loud.

A somewhat startling number appeared on the strength-testing machine.

Five hundred and twenty-three kilograms!

A thousand pounds of force!

Even Yan Qingling, who had already advanced to Level 69 Soul Emperor, was utterly shocked when she saw the number. A thousand pounds of force was naturally nothing to her.

But for a child of only six years old, a thousand pounds of force meant something entirely different.

"Five hundred and twenty-three kilograms with your right hand, a thousand pounds of force. Not bad. Continue with your left hand."

"Yes."

Mu Tianchen tested himself again. This time, he used his left hand. He likewise stepped back to gather force before throwing a punch, but this strike was not as powerful as the one from his right hand.

Four hundred and thirty-five kilograms.

Compared to his right hand, his left hand had lost a full one hundred kilograms of strength. One hundred kilograms was two hundred pounds of force.

However, this was normal. For ninety-nine percent of people, the strength of their right hand far exceeded that of their left. This was related to the structure of the human body.

Of course, some people had stronger left hands than right hands, but such cases were too rare to have much reference value.

After the two strength tests were completed, Yan Qingling walked over to Mu Tianchen. With her bright eyes wide open, she pinched his slender little arm.

She looked at Mu Tianchen in surprise. "I never expected such a tiny arm of yours to unleash so much strength."

"Uh... it's alright."

Mu Tianchen immediately pulled his arm back. Though he looked like a child, his soul was that of an adult. How could he possibly endure a young woman casually kneading his arm like that?

Yan Qingling burst into laughter. "I didn't expect you, a little kid, to be so shy."

"Your strength test is complete. You are very strong. Judging by strength alone, you already have the ability to fuse with a roughly four-hundred-year yellow Soul Spirit. But whether you can fuse with a four-hundred-year Soul Spirit still depends on your spiritual power."

"Come on, let's proceed to the next test. This one measures resistance to impacts. Compared to a strength test, an impact-resistance test actually reflects a person's physical strength more clearly."

Over the following period, Mu Tianchen underwent several tests.

The first was the impact-resistance test. His tested impact resistance was one thousand kilograms, meaning that when he was first attacked, he could withstand an attack with one thousand kilograms of force.

A person's impact resistance gradually declined. For example, if someone had an impact resistance of one thousand kilograms, after suffering repeated blows, it would fall to eight hundred or even seven hundred kilograms.

Impact resistance was related to defense, but they could not be considered equivalent.

Because one was dynamic, while the other remained constant.

Mu Tianchen's impact-resistance result exceeded Yan Qingling's expectations. She had not expected this little fellow's body to be so strong. In terms of physical strength alone, he was already comparable to a two-ring Soul Grandmaster.

And that was without Martial Soul Possession. What if he used Martial Soul Possession? It would probably be even more terrifying.

Yan Qingling took a deep breath and said, "Next is the final test: spiritual power."

"Once the spiritual power test is complete, you'll know how many years of Soul Spirit your body can bear."