In the blink of an eye, five years passed.
During that time, Han Xing occasionally fought Tang San, but the battles barely made a ripple.
Thinking back, Tang San's time at the junior academy had only been glossed over in a few strokes, and the anime had likewise barely mentioned it.
Han Xing realized that he wouldn't be earning any more Popularity Value over the next few years.
Still, the battles he'd had earlier had earned him quite a bit of Popularity Value over the years.
Han Xing now had a little over two thousand Popularity Value.
But it hadn't increased at all since last year.
During this time, Han Xing had also obtained his Second Soul Ring.
It came from an eight-hundred-year-old Morning Sun Brocade Chicken.
Although a strong body could allow someone to add a Thousand-Year Soul Ring as their Second Soul Ring, Han Xing had no intention of taking that risk.
He'd trained every day, but he hadn't taken any rare natural treasures to strengthen his constitution.
With a cheat at his disposal, risking his life for a slim chance at a temporary boost in strength would've been foolish.
More importantly, Han Xing didn't think the gap between a hundred-year and a thousand-year Soul Ring was as great as people imagined.
They were only the first two Soul Rings. Once he grew stronger, he'd barely use them anyway. As long as their age was sufficient, that was all that mattered.
For an ordinary Soul Master, the upper limit for a Second Soul Ring was just over seven hundred years.
Han Xing choosing an eight-hundred-year-old Soul Beast for his Soul Ring was already considered an extremely risky move by He Yuan and the hall master..
His Second Soul Skill was: Blazing Sun Flare..
It was an extremely powerful burst-type skill that made up for Han Xing's lack of explosive attacks.
Blazing Sun Flare: Compresses Sun True Fire into a miniature fireball. When it explodes, it instantly unleashes tremendous heat and releases Sun True Fire to incinerate everything..
Blazing Sun Flare can be detonated directly in the hand to unleash a fan-shaped shockwave, or condensed into a focused attack to increase the explosion's power and penetrating force.
Inside the Spirit Branch Hall.
He Yuan stood beside Han Xing and gently reminded him, "A Xing, an important figure from Spirit City will be arriving soon."
"When he gets here, remember to be respectful and polite. I heard that the person coming to take you to Spirit City is a Titled Douluo."
"Don't worry. We'll take care of everything here in Nuoding City. There won't be any problems with the orphanage."
"Then I'll have to trouble you with everything, Grandpa He." Han Xing nodded.
"It's fine. The fact that you've decided to go to Spirit City is the best thing," He Yuan said, shaking his head.
"Once you get there, don't disgrace the Spirit Branch Hall of Nuoding City."
Han Xing nodded. "Don't worry. I'll do my best."
Technically, Han Xing still had almost a year before graduation.
But ever since last year, when he could no longer milk any benefits from Tang San, Han Xing had already been thinking of leaving Nuoding City.
After all, Nuoding City was a small town, and with Tang Hao around, Han Xing didn't dare go all out even when he fought.
So, after the New Year, Han Xing directly applied to continue his studies in Spirit City.
His situation had been reported long ago, and now that he was willing to go to Spirit City to continue his studies,
this made the Pope, Bibi Dong, very pleased. She immediately dispatched a Titled Douluo to fetch him.
As they waited, a man with delicate, feminine features and luxurious robes walked into Spirit Hall.
Before Han Xing could react, He Yuan immediately bowed in greeting.
"Greetings, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan."
At this, Han Xing looked at the man and immediately noticed the chrysanthemum embroidered on his robe.
Then he saw the token at the man's waist, which marked him as a Titled Douluo. No wonder He Yuan had recognized him at once.
Of course, the main giveaway was his feminine bearing.
Across the entire Douluo Continent, there was no other Titled Douluo with such a manner besides Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan.
"Greetings, Your Excellency." Han Xing followed suit and bowed.
"Are you Han Xing? The owner of the Three-Legged Golden Crow Martial Soul? What's your current cultivation level?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo ignored He Yuan and looked only at Han Xing.
"Senior, I'm currently a level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster," Han Xing replied.
However, before he could say anything more,
a sudden, powerful pressure descended, making him feel as if he were sinking into the depths of the sea.
Han Xing felt as though an endless ocean were pressing down on his whole body, leaving him unable to move.
"Is he testing me?" Han Xing immediately realized the man's intent.
The information in the reports was, after all, only information.
To Spirit City, Nuoding City was just a small place.
In the eyes of Soul Masters from these small towns, a talented Soul Master might not be all that impressive in Spirit City.
Perhaps Chrysanthemum Douluo had been sent precisely because they wanted someone to test Han Xing's abilities.
Seeing that Han Xing couldn't move but showed no sign of strain, Chrysanthemum Douluo couldn't help feeling surprised.
His thoughts stirred, and he immediately increased the pressure.
Level thirty, level thirty-one, level thirty-two... level thirty-five...
"Can he really withstand this much pressure?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo's eyes lit up, but he had no intention of stopping. The pressure continued to rise.
Level thirty-seven... level thirty-eight... It wasn't until level thirty-nine that Chrysanthemum Douluo finally stopped.
It wasn't that Han Xing couldn't take any more. Rather, every ten levels marked a major threshold for Soul Masters.
As a level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster, Han Xing might be injured if he were subjected to the pressure of a Soul Ancestor.
Chrysanthemum Douluo had only come to test him. He didn't want to hurt Han Xing.
"Level twenty-nine at eleven years old. Not bad."
"And being able to withstand the pressure of level thirty-nine Soul Power proves that you're strong for someone at your level."
"Senior, you flatter me," Han Xing said modestly.
"Enough. Your grin's so wide it's about to get stuck," Chrysanthemum Douluo said, exasperated.
"I came here to test you and take you to Spirit Hall. You don't have to put on such a modest, polite act for me."
"I've always been lenient with geniuses. It's normal for a genius to take pride in himself."
Hearing this, Han Xing smiled helplessly. "You're too kind, Senior."
"Have you packed everything? If there's nothing else, I'll take you to Spirit City now," Chrysanthemum Douluo asked, glancing around.
"It's all packed. I can leave anytime." Han Xing nodded.
Considering how much the Spirit Branch Hall of Nuoding City valued him, there was no way he was worse off than Tang San.
Not long after he obtained his First Soul Ring, the hall master had given him a Storage Soul Tool.
It was a pity that the Storage Soul Tool he carried had less internal space than Tang San's.
But there was nothing he could do about that.
Though the hall master of the Spirit Branch Hall of Nuoding City was a Soul King, he might not actually have had rarer treasures than Yu Xiaogang.
After all, Yu Xiaogang had once been the young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, even if he'd been expelled from the sect.
And he'd once been the lover of Pope Bibi Dong, even if they'd since gone their separate ways.
With those two experiences, he was bound to have plenty of good things in his possession.
"Good. If you're all packed, then let's go."