Pope Qian Daoliu

"I am Qian Daoliu, the Pope of Spirit Hall. Yuhao, would you be willing to take me as your teacher?"

Qian Daoliu's voice was warm and resonant, yet carried not the slightest hint of pressure.

These were the first words he had spoken to Huo Yuhao, and they left the boy rooted to the spot, his eyes brimming with astonishment.

"What, you don't want to?"

Seeing him lost in thought, Qian Daoliu's tone took on a faint hint of amusement.

This was a beginning Huo Yuhao had never imagined.

He knew Spirit Hall had always valued geniuses, but judging by the timeline, Qian Daoliu's retirement was not far off.

By all rights, it would have made the most sense for the next Pope, Qian Xunji, to take him as his disciple.

A disciple of the Pope naturally held a different status.

While enjoying the privileges that came with it, he would also be better positioned to serve Spirit Hall in the future.

He had never expected to leap straight to the top and become a senior by an entire generation.

In truth, Qian Daoliu had initially considered having Qian Xunji take him as a disciple.

But Qian Xunji had recently broken through to level eighty as a Soul Douluo and had taken two Spirit Hall elders with him to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain Soul Rings. He was not in Spirit City at the moment.

Now that Huo Yuhao had entered the Pope's Palace, leaving him unattended might make a sensitive young boy overthink things.

It would be better for Qian Daoliu to take him as his own disciple, then have Yuhao address Ji'er as his senior fellow disciple. With more time to get to know each other and grow accustomed to one another, the result would be much the same.

After a brief moment of thought, Huo Yuhao bent his knees and knelt, bowing respectfully. "Teacher."

He made his feelings clear through the most direct action possible.

To him, taking Qian Daoliu as his teacher was no bad thing. In fact, it was a very good choice.

At the very least, Huo Yuhao had a favorable impression of Qian Daoliu himself.

People said that a Martial Soul influenced a Spirit Master's temperament, and Qian Daoliu was the best proof. In the original story, he was a man who kept his word and honored his promises.

Back then, he and Tang Chen had made an agreement that no one from Spirit Hall would ever set foot within the gates of the Clear Sky Sect.

Even after Tang Chen disappeared and his fate became unknown, Qian Daoliu had always kept his promise.

Even when his own son, Qian Xunji, was grievously wounded by Tang Hao and ultimately died as a result, Qian Daoliu suppressed his grief and never made a show of force to demand answers from the Clear Sky Sect.

He had kept his word to the point of being almost stubborn.

What was more, he knew the true reason Qian Xunji had died.

For his granddaughter, Qian Renxue, he was willing to swallow the bitterness of losing his son and silently allow Bibi Dong, the woman who had killed him, to succeed him as Pope.

All so that Qian Renxue, already without a father, would not have to lose her mother as well.

Even though Bibi Dong had never fulfilled her duty as a mother.

But for that very reason, Qian Daoliu might actually make a good teacher.

As long as Huo Yuhao could grow into a force that benefited Spirit Hall, Qian Daoliu would become the firmest shield on his path to rising to power, standing between him and every storm.

As for whether their teacher-disciple bond involved some measure of mutual use, Huo Yuhao did not care in the slightest.

Hadn't he joined Spirit Hall of his own accord with the intention of making use of it?

They were simply each getting what they needed. There was no point in applying a double standard here.

Their original motives mattered less than whether they could offer each other genuine sincerity afterward.

If Qian Daoliu and Qian Xunji treated him sincerely, Huo Yuhao was no ungrateful, selfish person. He would surely repay their sincerity in kind.

"Good, good!"

Qian Daoliu's eyes filled with laughter as he personally bent down and helped him to his feet.

"Since you've taken me as your teacher, I can't simply do nothing for you."

He turned and walked to a rosewood cabinet at one side of the hall. Opening a drawer with a gentle motion, he took out a ring.

"This is a high-grade Space Soul Tool. It can store all kinds of items, and you only need to infuse it with a trace of Soul Power to activate it."

Qian Daoliu gently placed the ring in Huo Yuhao's palm.

"You have Innate Full Soul Power, so you'll soon be able to obtain your First Soul Ring. But remember: cultivating with Twin Martial Souls has always been perilous. The Soul Power can easily clash and cause you to explode and die, so you must be careful in your future cultivation."

"Don't worry about that. I'll find a reliable solution for you."

Holding the cool ring in his palm, Huo Yuhao had not yet had time to thank him when Qian Daoliu's words prompted him to ask a question.

"Teacher, why are people with Twin Martial Souls more likely to explode?"

Qian Daoliu smiled faintly and patiently explained.

"Spirit Masters are already bound by limits on the age of the Soul Rings they can absorb. If they exceed what their bodies can withstand, the Soul Power overload will make them explode and die. Someone with Twin Martial Souls has one more Martial Soul than an ordinary Spirit Master, so at each stage, they naturally need to absorb one extra Soul Ring."

Spirit Hall's legacy stretched back ten thousand years. It had always taken on the duty of awakening Martial Souls for people.

It had deep foundations and immense resources.

When it came to researching Spirit Masters' Martial Souls and Soul Beasts, there was no other organization on the whole continent that could surpass it.

Huo Yuhao nodded, then continued, "In that case, why don't I just leave my second Martial Soul without Soul Rings?"

Qian Daoliu stared at Huo Yuhao in brief astonishment.

"If my body can't withstand it now, I can wait until I'm strong enough and then think about Soul Rings for my Second Martial Soul. Wouldn't that keep me from exploding?"

Qian Daoliu came back to himself and chuckled softly. "It really is that simple."

What Huo Yuhao had suggested might truly be the best way to cultivate Twin Martial Souls!

A problem that had troubled the entire continent for so long had been solved so easily by a little boy.

Qian Daoliu patted Huo Yuhao's hair. "You're right."

"Treat your Twin Martial Souls as though you had only one. Once your body grows stronger, you can gradually add Soul Rings to your Second Martial Soul."

Seizing the opportunity, Qian Daoliu gave Huo Yuhao a brief lesson.

"Each Soul Ring a Spirit Master absorbs has an age limit. The First Soul Ring's limit is around four hundred years, and the second is around seven hundred..."

"These so-called limits are merely records from the Soul Rings people absorbed in the past. To ensure every Spirit Master's safety, everyone tacitly agrees not to exceed them."

"Once your cultivation and physical strength have improved, your Second Martial Soul could even have nothing but Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings."

Huo Yuhao showed just the right amount of delight.

He had brought up cultivating only one Martial Soul at this point precisely because of the special nature of his Second Martial Soul.

Why not cultivate his Second Martial Soul?

Wasn't it because he was afraid his body was too frail and he might accidentally explode and die?

Once his level had risen in the future and he was able to hunt Soul Beasts for Soul Rings himself, he could conceal the Soul Rings on his Second Martial Soul.

If all else failed, he could just say he had received a divine trial.

Whenever there was something a Martial Soul couldn't explain, a divine trial was the perfect alternative answer.

After all, it was a trial bestowed by a god. Whatever rewards he gained would only be natural!

As the Angel God's high priest, Qian Daoliu knew even better just how valuable a divine trial was.

As for what would happen if he used his Second Martial Soul in battle later and someone discovered it...

As long as he killed every opponent, wouldn't that mean no one would know?

If someone was willing to attack a disciple of Spirit Hall's Pope and force him to use his Second Martial Soul, what kind of good person could they be?