Huo Yun'er didn't know how Spirit Masters obtained their Soul Rings, but Yuhao was willing to explain, and she enjoyed listening.
Looking at her cheerful, lively son, Huo Yun'er once again felt that leaving the White Tiger Duke Mansion had been the right choice.
"I never imagined the world ten thousand years ago was so convenient. The Spirit Hall would awaken Martial Souls for commoners for free. Why had such a wonderful organization disappeared ten thousand years later?"
Huo Yun'er's expression dimmed. Her family had been so poor that she couldn't afford to have her Martial Soul awakened, so she had no idea what her Martial Soul was or whether she had the potential to become a Spirit Master.
Later, Huo Yun'er had entered the White Tiger Duke Mansion as Dai Hao's maid and completely put the matter of Martial Souls out of her mind.
"Mother, don't be sad. Once I've studied the Martial Soul Awakening ceremony, I'll find a time to help you awaken your Martial Soul too!"
Though Huo Yuhao knew plenty about the story, he only had a vague understanding of the Spirit Master system.
But that was fine. He still had a top researcher with him, after all.
Once Huo Yuhao filled in the gaps in his basic knowledge, he and Electrolux together would achieve an effect greater than the sum of their parts.
For now, though, everything still depended on Elder Yi.
Huo Yun'er laughed and ruffled Huo Yuhao's hair. "I'm too old to awaken a Martial Soul."
"Spirit Masters live much longer than ordinary people. Even if you don't have Soul Power, it doesn't matter, Mother. Immortal Herbs exist in this world."
For one, the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid Tang San had given Oscar was an excellent fit.
But it was too soon to talk about that. Judging by his own Martial Soul, his mother Huo Yun'er should have the talent to become a Spirit Master too.
Huo Yun'er didn't dampen Huo Yuhao's enthusiasm. It was his way of showing filial devotion, and all she had to do was accept it.
"After you left today, I asked the village chief what happened after a Martial Soul Awakening. He said that anyone with Innate Soul Power could use a work-study student position to attend the Junior Soul Master Academy in the nearest town. Four villages share one spot. Hao'er, since you have Innate Soul Power, you can go to school next year."
Though Huo Yun'er couldn't bear to be apart from Huo Yuhao, this was good for him, and she would support him wholeheartedly.
But the thought also made her worry.
"But Hao'er, you've already awakened your Martial Soul once. What if the Spirit Master in charge of the ceremony notices?"
Huo Yun'er understood why Huo Yuhao had concealed that his Martial Soul had already awakened. She knew all too well that the fact that she and her son had come from ten thousand years in the future had to remain absolutely secret.
Lately, Huo Yun'er had been constantly hypnotizing herself.
She was the concubine of a royal family member from the Star Luo Empire. The legitimate wife had always mistreated her, and her son was constantly beaten by the legitimate wife's children. That was why she had finally resolved to leave the Star Luo Empire.
The journey had taken so long that they had missed the Spirit Hall's annual Martial Soul Awakening ceremony.
She knew nothing about the White Tiger Duke Mansion or the White Tiger Duke.
"Mother, you don't need to worry about that. My Soul Skill can hide my Soul Rings and imitate what happens when an ordinary person awakens their Martial Soul."
The Spirit Masters sent into the countryside to awaken commoners' Martial Souls usually weren't very strong. At most, they'd be Soul Elders in their thirties, so fooling them wouldn't be difficult.
"If someone displays high Innate Soul Power, they'll be invited to join an academy run by the Spirit Hall. I heard that students there don't have to pay tuition or room and board."
Huo Yun'er couldn't help exclaiming when she heard how good the Spirit Hall Academy's benefits were. "Even the Spirit Hall, which treated commoners so well, disappeared over the course of ten thousand years?"
Huo Yuhao: "..."
That wasn't quite right.
It had disappeared ten thousand years ago.
A deranged, lovesick maniac who was hell-bent on destroying the Spirit Hall and wiping out the Angel Clan had come along.
And Buddha Tang had acted out of personal grudges, without caring at all about what would happen to commoners in the future.
Together, they'd created a world where Evil Spirit Masters ran rampant ten thousand years later, ordinary people couldn't even afford to awaken their Martial Souls, and the lower classes had no hope for the future.
"Then Hao'er, you must work hard at your cultivation and become a powerful Spirit Master one day!"
While Huo Yuhao was grumbling to himself, Huo Yun'er offered him her encouragement.
Whatever had happened to the Spirit Hall, it still existed now.
"No wonder you wanted a Simulation Soul Skill back then. It was to get through next year's Martial Soul Awakening ceremony."
Tian Meng didn't think a Simulation Soul Skill was very useful. It hadn't even considered giving Huo Yuhao one of the four Soul Skills it had prepared for him.
A Simulation Soul Skill was a waste of a million-year Soul Skill.
"Wait, are there Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest that can use Simulation Skills?"
Tian Meng went through the Soul Beasts it knew of, and after a moment, managed to find a few.
"Those Soul Beasts are rare. Most of them live in the mixed zone."
Huo Yuhao: "..."
Tian Meng had suddenly started using its brain!
Just then, Electrolux, who had been silent until now, appeared and changed the subject.
"You could reveal your Twin Martial Souls during the awakening ceremony. The Spirit Hall would be willing to provide you with resources and train you. On the Douluo Continent, no one understands Spirit Masters better than the Spirit Hall."
Electrolux had once seen Bibi Dong hunting Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest. For someone her age to reach that level, the Spirit Hall must have invested considerable resources in her.
Besides, a Titled Douluo had protected Bibi Dong every step of the way during the hunt. They couldn't have been more attentive.
"That was what I thought too."
The villagers in the countryside didn't know the Spirit Hall Pope's name, but Ye Cangwu's identity offered a way to work it out.
Ye Lingling had lived in Tang San's era, and her mother had been the previous generation's Nine-Heart Begonia owner. So Ye Cangwu must have been Ye Lingling's grandfather—or perhaps her great-grandfather.
That meant the current Pope was either Qian Daoliu or Qian Xunji.
Neither had done anything especially noteworthy during his time as Pope, and even Bibi Dong seemed fairly normal in her early years.
The Spirit Hall really was the right place for him to grow stronger in the early stages.
"Besides, I want to establish an organization of my own. Joining the Spirit Hall would make things more convenient."
Electrolux nodded. He knew what Huo Yuhao meant.
"If that's the case, you'd better raise your Soul Power to level twenty before your next Martial Soul Awakening."
That way, Huo Yuhao could absorb his Second Soul Ring as his First Soul Ring.
Tian Meng had been left out of the conversation, and the two continued talking in riddles, making its head spin.
Now that it had heard the key phrase, it perked right up.
"Yuhao, it doesn't matter what age your Second Soul Ring is—pick whatever you like. The power I've sealed away can raise the age of your Soul Ring. How's that? Your big brother's amazing, right?"
Huo Yuhao could practically see the smug look on the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's face.
"My Martial Soul has not only the Mental Attribute, but time and space too?"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm nodded. "It must be because of that door. It caused your Martial Soul to mutate. But Soul Beasts with time and space attributes are even harder to find than ones with the Mental Attribute."
Of the few Tian Meng knew, using them for Soul Rings would be worse than figuring out how to sneak back and steal its own younger self from ten thousand years ago.
Before you continue