"Hello, Teacher." Chen Zhou was also taken aback when he saw Shen Mo, then raised a hand and waved.
After all, Shen Mo was his teacher. He might not care much about Su Xin, but he was still very respectful toward Shen Mo.
Na'er looked at Shen Mo in a bit of a daze. Technically, she was also Shen Mo's disciple, but the little girl didn't understand that yet.
But when she saw her brother do the same, she waved too.
"Hello, Teacher."
"Hello to both of you. Sit down. There's plenty of food today."
Shen Mo smiled as he spoke, looking at the two children.
Neither of them stood on ceremony. Each took a seat, while Na'er paid no attention to anything else and immediately grabbed her oversized rice bowl, digging in with gusto.
Chen Zhou sat to one side, eating in small bites as he looked toward Shen Mo.
Seeing how differently the two children behaved, Shen Mo didn't mind.
Actually, Na'er was a year younger than Chen Zhou, yet she had awakened her Martial Soul too. That was something Shen Mo hadn't expected.
Children from ordinary families usually underwent Martial Soul Awakening at the age of six, but Na'er had possessed a Martial Soul at five.
What Shen Mo didn't know was that if they waited until she was six and awakened Na'er's Martial Soul again, she could still awaken one then.
Na'er currently had a Martial Soul, but if she didn't want to reveal it, she could simply act as though she had none.
Shen Mo looked at the two children and said warmly, "Do you know about the Spirit Ascension Platform? I'm planning to have you train there this afternoon."
"I do, Teacher. The Spirit Ascension Platform was independently developed by our Spirit Pagoda. It's a special place where Soul Masters can undergo training and improve their personal strength."
Chen Zhou gave a textbook answer, which surprised Shen Mo a little. Still, he smiled and nodded.
"That's right. And inside, Soul Masters can not only train themselves, but also experience the unique thrill of ancient Soul Masters hunting Soul Beasts."
Shen Mo spoke calmly, but when he said the words "hunting Soul Beasts," Na'er suddenly paused in the middle of her enthusiastic eating.
But she only stopped for a second before continuing to eat in big mouthfuls.
"The Spirit Ascension Platform was built with the participation of many Titled Douluos, and it brought together many top researchers."
Shen Mo gave a brief explanation, without going into detail.
After all, no amount of explanation could replace experiencing it firsthand. The best way was to go inside and see for themselves.
"The Primary Spirit Ascension Platform is limited to Soul Masters below three rings. Normally, someone should go in with you."
"But if you're going to train yourselves, you should put in the effort on your own. I'll set your pain levels to the minimum of five percent, and then you can go in and give it a try."
"If you really can't handle it, you can find someone to accompany you next time."
Shen Mo spoke casually.
For outsiders, a spot in the Spirit Ascension Platform could only be secured by calling in favors and offering all kinds of resources.
But to him, it was nothing. Arranging it for his two disciples was even easier. If they died, they could just be revived and go back in.
As long as their mental strength hadn't withered, the two children could enter whenever they liked. They might as well get familiar with the place in advance.
Shen Mo spoke casually, but Su Xin, standing nearby, and even the service staff holding dishes were all visibly surprised.
After all, one visit to the Spirit Ascension Platform cost 500,000 Federal Coins, and you still needed connections to get in.
Yet the Tower Master had spoken as though it were nothing. But once everyone considered the children's talents and identities, they all chose to keep quiet.
Shen Mo ate a few bites and left, leaving Su Xin to watch the two adorable children in silence.
Chen Zhou didn't eat much, just a normal portion, so he finished quickly.
Unlike Na'er, he still needed to choose a second profession.
He chose blacksmithing. Although the Water Dragon Martial Soul didn't provide a particularly large increase in strength,
as a dragon-type Martial Soul, its strength attribute was still boosted much more than that of other Martial Souls.
So for the time being, blacksmithing was the best choice.
Besides, metal he forged himself could provide additional improvements and bonuses to Battle Armor, which was exactly what Chen Zhou needed.
He hadn't wanted to compete with Tang Wulin or snatch anything from him, so his original choice had been mecha maintenance—the true slacker's profession, after all.
Once Battle Armor reached the three-word level, its minor problems could be fixed by the wearer. When a major problem came up, it was better to just replace the whole set.
Mecha maintenance—or Battle Armor maintenance—wasn't very useful. But since he'd decided to be a good, ambitious child, Chen Zhou was still planning to choose blacksmithing.
Of course, once he'd made his choice, finding a teacher would be easy.
The Spirit Pagoda's Tower Master Shen Mo, the Blacksmith Association, and the Tang Sect were all acquainted with one another. Arranging for him to become Mu Chen's apprentice wouldn't be difficult.
So after finishing his meal, Chen Zhou told Su Xin what he had chosen. She simply smiled and nodded; she didn't particularly mind.
After waiting a while and chatting for another ten minutes or so, Na'er finally finished eating and let out a satisfied burp.
Only then did Chen Zhou and Su Xin rise with smiles. Chen Zhou took Na'er by the hand, and the two of them went to the twentieth floor together.
Su Xin took the two of them to a private room. It wasn't very large.
But unlike an ordinary Spirit Ascension Platform control room, this one had no monitoring equipment or any kind of control consoles.
"Young Tower Master, Miss Na'er, this will be your private training room from now on."
As Su Xin spoke, she raised a hand slightly. A card appeared in it.
She gently touched the card to the black card in Chen Zhou's hand, and he gained full access to the door.
"From now on, the two of you can enter the Spirit Ascension Platform whenever you like. The Tower Master has also found two thousand-year-old spirit herbs for you."
"As for ten-thousand-year-old spirit herbs, the Tower Master is still looking. It may take a while before he can provide them."
As she spoke, Su Xin took out a wooden box and handed it to Chen Zhou, then took out another and handed it to Na'er.
Chen Zhou weighed his box in his hand. There really seemed to be two spirit herbs inside.
Na'er, however, was much more decisive. She opened her box right away, revealing a slender blade of grass and a fruit covered in scales.
Chen Zhou didn't recognize the slender grass, but the fruit was a Dragon Blood Fruit. It could greatly strengthen dragon-type Martial Souls.
After wearing and absorbing it over a long period, it could increase a dragon-type Martial Soul's bloodline level and rapidly raise Soul Power.
Thinking of this, Chen Zhou opened his own box too. Sure enough, it contained the exact same things.
Seeing this, Chen Zhou couldn't help sighing. Shen Mo really was a worthy Tower Master. He treated his two disciples equally.
Even though Na'er herself didn't have any prestigious identity, she had talent, and Chen Zhou had brought her back.
So Shen Mo had not only promptly accepted Na'er as his disciple, but had also provided her with spirit herbs without holding anything back.