Spirit Hall's Spirit Master Academy was called Spirit Hall Academy. It was located in the center of Spirit City, not too far from Pope Mountain.
When Spirit Hall's Spirit Masters awakened the talents of commoners, they invited any children whose Innate Soul Power was above Level 2 to join them.
The higher a child's Innate Soul Power, the more attention the deacons paid to them.
All students who decided to enter Spirit Hall Academy, regardless of their talent, were placed together in the Primary Academy.
There, the teachers treated every student equally and taught them the same basic theoretical knowledge about Spirit Masters.
Before the age of twelve, students could graduate and advance to an Intermediate Spirit Master Academy if their Soul Power reached Level 15.
The real watershed began at the intermediate level.
The Intermediate Academy was divided into ordinary and elite classes.
Both studied more advanced theory, but when it came to Martial Soul instruction, the two classes were worlds apart.
Only students whose Soul Power had reached Level 20 and whose Soul Rings were optimally configured could advance to the elite class, where they would receive better resources and a superior cultivation environment.
Every deacon and bishop in Spirit Hall had graduated from Spirit Hall Academy.
With Bibi Dong's talent, she could advance to the Intermediate Academy at the fastest pace, or even enter the advanced academy, which accepted only students under fifteen with Soul Power above Level 30.
There was no need for her to deliberately suppress the speed of her cultivation.
After all, she was going there to broaden her horizons, not to waste her talent.
Qian Daoliu had once planned to send Huo Yuhao to Spirit Hall Academy, but after Huo Yuhao returned from obtaining his Soul Ring, he abandoned the idea completely.
What would he go there for? To bully children?
That would simply be a waste of Huo Yuhao's time.
There was a three-month gap between Martial Soul Awakening and the start of the Spirit Master Academy term.
During those three months, Qian Xunji swiftly settled his marriage and got Huo Yuhao a new senior sister-in-law.
That senior sister-in-law was Yan Xi, the woman Qian Xunji had mentioned to Huo Yuhao before.
A short-haired woman of just twenty-three, with a lovely face, had married Qian Xunji at lightning speed.
It happened so quickly that Huo Yuhao hadn't even had time to react.
The name Yan Xi meant nothing to Huo Yuhao, but he found her face oddly familiar.
It wasn't until Qian Xunji told him what Yan Xi's Martial Soul was that Huo Yuhao finally realized who she was.
Blazing Spirit Kite—wasn't she the future Spirit Kite Douluo?
His senior brother never did anything by halves. When he made a move, it shook the heavens.
Even Qian Daoliu hadn't expected it. He had only recently stepped down as Pope and become Grand Elder, yet his son, who might otherwise have waited until his forties or fifties to consider marriage, was already preparing to wed!
"What on earth is Ji'er thinking?"
Qian Daoliu asked, puzzled, the person closest to Qian Xunji: Huo Yuhao.
"Senior Brother..." Huo Yuhao began, then hesitated. "He took Bibi Dong as his disciple and thinks it wouldn't be very convenient for a man to look after a young girl, so he wanted to find someone suitable to take care of her."
Qian Daoliu furrowed his brow.
Bibi Dong certainly had good talent, but was that really enough to make Ji'er act so rashly about marriage?
Huo Yuhao fell silent.
Only when Qian Daoliu looked at him again did he continue with the rest of the truth.
"Senior Brother is afraid that one day Bibi Dong... might get there first and steal his son-in-law away... It concerns Spirit Hall's future succession..."
Huo Yuhao spoke haltingly, but Qian Daoliu understood perfectly.
Qian Daoliu: "!!!"
Ji'er was serious!
He had actually put his plan into action: "Have a daughter and marry her to Huo Yuhao, so their future child can inherit Spirit Hall"!
It wasn't that Qian Xunji planned to treat Bibi Dong and his future daughter differently because one was not his biological child.
When he took Bibi Dong as his disciple, he had genuinely regarded her as his daughter.
But that was precisely why he needed to hurry.
Who would want both their little darlings to marry the same man?
Even if that man was his junior brother, it still wouldn't do!
"You don't need to concern yourself with him," Qian Daoliu sighed. "Who you like and who you choose to be with should be up to you. Don't let your relationship with Ji'er bind you."
If Huo Yuhao wished, Qian Daoliu could hand the position of Pope back to the Qian Family after they achieved their goal.
If Huo Yuhao didn't want it, then nothing would come of it—not even if the person in question were Qian Daoliu's own child.
When Qian Daoliu had agreed to Qian Xunji's proposal, he had already prepared for the possibility that Spirit Hall might one day change hands.
Since that was the case, there was no reason to create a rift between them.
"This disciple may have to disappoint Senior Brother. The Sovereign of the Soul Beasts wants me to... carry on the bloodline as much as possible..."
Gu Yuena had told Huo Yuhao this not long after the day he awakened Huo Yun'er's Martial Soul. She had found an opportunity to speak with him.
"You're more suited than I am to be Co-Sovereign of Soul Beasts."
Gu Yuena had laid her cards on the table from the outset, stating her true intentions.
"Next time I return to the Star Dou Great Forest, I'll make you another Co-Sovereign of Soul Beasts."
"I believe that under your leadership, the Soul Beast Clan can escape its current predicament."
"Once you come of age, I'll bear you a child, and that child will fulfill my wish for me."
Even if Huo Yuhao became Co-Sovereign of Soul Beasts, that wouldn't have much to do with Gu Yuena.
But if it were Gu Yuena's own child, then that meant she, Gu Yuena, had played a major part in it!
In the future, if her child stormed the Divine Realm, it would be no different from storming it herself!
"As Co-Sovereign of Soul Beasts, I also hope your bloodline will flourish in the future and become the mightiest clan among the Soul Beasts!"
This was the most perfect decision Gu Yuena could devise with her astonishing wisdom.
It had nothing to do with affection. She was thinking solely of the clan.
Huo Yuhao, who still looked only eight years old and was just a child: "..."
He had imagined the dreadful Asura scenario of getting caught being a playboy in the future, but he had never imagined there could be a path like this!
As expected of you, Silver Dragon King!
You always find ways to surprise people.
Huo Yuhao couldn't resist Gu Yuena's decision at the moment. Of course, he didn't want to resist it either.
But that meant his senior brother would probably be heartbroken.
Qian Daoliu sighed as well. "Given how much the Sovereign values you, I'd already considered this possibility. Don't worry. I'll explain it to Ji'er."
When Qian Daoliu told Qian Xunji the news, Qian Xunji stared at his father in astonishment.
"I know," Qian Xunji said matter-of-factly. "A Martial Soul as powerful as Yuhao's naturally needs to grow and flourish."
The first thing the great sects had done, before founding their sects, was find people to have children with.
Otherwise, how could they have gathered so many Spirit Masters with the same Martial Soul?
He didn't want both his daughters to marry the same man. That didn't mean he didn't want to be Huo Yuhao's father-in-law.
Before you continue