The Golden Generation of the Future

"Master, please accept your disciple's bow!" Dugu Yan performed the apprenticeship ceremony with crisp, decisive movements. This was the erudite and talented Pope herself—if she personally asked to take you as a disciple, hesitating for even a second would be a sign of disrespect toward your own future!

"Every cultivation method requires a solid foundation. This copy of Distraction Control was written by your teacher personally. It differs from the secret techniques of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect and offers a more comprehensive approach to developing mental power. Practice it daily alongside your soul power cultivation; within a month, you must at least reach the stage of being able to multitask!"

Having finally coaxed Dugu Yan into becoming her disciple, Qian Xunqian switched into "teacher mode" in a heartbeat. She set aside her smile and spoke to Dugu Yan with earnest, heartfelt gravity.

Qian Renxue thought to herself: Junior sister, that is exactly how your senior sister went through it...

"Alright, Yan Yan, just pick a suitable spot here in the Pope's Palace to sit and meditate. I can handle my official duties while keeping an eye on your progress, so feel free to ask your teacher if you have any questions..."

"Understood, thank you, Teacher!" After receiving Distraction Control, Dugu Yan hopped and skipped over to an open area to begin her meditation, entering a state of deep concentration almost immediately.

Dugu Bo was left standing there, feeling utterly bewildered. Sigh, I thought I'd get to see the wonders of an external martial soul! Why are the steps so tedious?

If Qian Xunqian could hear Dugu Bo's inner thoughts, she would surely burst into laughter. The development of all things proceeds from easy to difficult, from simple to complex; only by laying a solid foundation can one climb upward, step by step, with stability.

If one were to force the cultivation of high-level techniques without the corresponding strength, it would lead to a deviation in cultivation!

Back then, hadn't she first strengthened Dugu Bo's body—which had been eroded beyond recognition by toxins—before teaching him the poison arts?

"I shall leave Yan Yan to Your Majesty the Pope. I won't disturb the two of you and your deep master-disciple bond any longer. Farewell!" Dugu Bo chose to leave with great tact.

Qian Xunqian claimed to be handling official business, but in reality, she was slacking off. Dugu Bo's remark about being a "flower in his youth" had deeply inspired her. Being someone who excelled at seizing opportunities and thinking on her feet, she had quickly woven together an interesting love story.

Qian Xunqian stole a glance at Dugu Yan while she wrote, discovering that the little one hadn't noticed her slacking off, so she continued writing her novel.

Meanwhile, our Dugu Yan was busy practicing Distraction Control, currently attempting to use her mental power to communicate with the objects around her. She soon felt her teacher's gaze drifting toward her from time to time.

At this, the naive Dugu Yan was deeply moved. Her teacher was truly too good to her; she kept checking on her during practice just to confirm her progress! She absolutely had to cultivate diligently and not let her teacher's teachings go to waste!

"Your Majesty the Pope, one of the rewards for the top three finishers in this year's Spirit Hall Advanced Soul Master Academy freshman assessment is personal guidance from Your Majesty. Your subordinate has brought these three students."

Hearing the report from outside the hall, Qian Xunqian hurriedly grabbed a file and covered the novel she had just been writing. She composed her expression and said:

"Thank you for your hard work. Just have the three of them come in directly!"

Walking toward Qian Xunqian were the future Golden Generation of Spirit Hall: Xie Yue, Hu Liena, and Yan.

For Qian Xunqian, the child she liked most was Xie Yue. He was loyal to his friends, caring toward his sister, faithful to Spirit Hall, and came from humble beginnings—he was modest and diligent. Where else could one find such a good disciple!

Secondly, as a fan of pure romance, she felt deep sympathy for Yan. Sigh, what did the "simp" do wrong? He just happened to meet a "good sister" who only saw him as a brother!

Our national-server Lanling King, Feng Xiaotian, at least managed to woo Huo Wu, but this good brother Yan was kept on a leash indefinitely. Even when Hu Liena set her sights on Tang San—who was at odds with Spirit Hall—she didn't spare Yan a single glance. How could it be anything but tragic?

Finally, there was Hu Liena. With her Demon Fox martial soul, she had finally encountered a talented mental-type soul master, but given her performance in the original work, Qian Xunqian deducted a significant amount of points from her.

However, it was never too late to mend the fold. Hu Liena's "love-struck brain" could still be salvaged a little.

As she thought about this, Qian Xunqian couldn't help but sigh. She really wanted a disciple who could inherit her scientific research capabilities, and the three before her—including the newly accepted Dugu Yan—weren't quite suitable...

Facing the three children, Qian Xunqian revealed a kind smile and said gently:

"Come! Come to your teacher's side! Release your martial souls and tell me about their characteristics, as well as the direction you wish to develop in the future."

The three looked at one another. Xie Yue modestly said:

"Nana, Yan, you two go first. I'll go last."

Yan looked at Hu Liena and said, "Nana, you go first. You're a girl; ladies first!"

"Your Majesty the Pope, my martial soul is the Demon Fox, a level 29 control-type soul master. My first soul skill is Charm: through my eyes and voice, I release a mental shock that can force a charm effect, paralyzing the target. Soul masters with lower mental power than mine will be directly controlled. My second soul skill is Fox Fire: I release eerie fox fire that possesses both physical burning and mental tearing effects; it can attach to shields and continuously erode the target's soul power barrier. In the future, I plan to balance both control and power-attack types!"

Dugu Yan, who was practicing nearby, was shocked. Level 29! That was five whole levels higher than her! And they looked about the same age! I've embarrassed my teacher, wuwuwu...

"An interesting idea. Let your teacher take your pulse and see how your constitution is."

Hu Liena obediently offered her hand. Qian Xunqian carefully sensed the child's physique; her physical fitness was indeed excellent, no wonder she wanted to cultivate both power-attack and control.

"Hmm, your teacher has trained you quite well. If I had to offer some guidance, my suggestion is that your third soul ring should ideally be from a speed-type soul beast, such as a Lightning Leopard or a Ghost Tiger. Obtaining a speed-type or displacement-type soul skill would allow you to advance to attack or retreat to save your life during battle!"

Hu Liena thought: Wouldn't it be better to just crush the opponent? Why bother with a life-saving skill? Thus, she voiced her confusion: "Your Majesty the Pope, I feel that one should cultivate offense to the extreme. Displacement or speed-type soul skills don't help my attacks much, and instead, they occupy a soul ring slot. This..."

"Nana!" Xie Yue wanted to stop his sister from continuing. To contradict the Pope to her face was too rude!

Qian Xunqian rubbed her forehead, amused and frustrated. This was clearly just like Tang San; having fought too many matches, she failed to realize that on a small arena, life-saving skills like speed or displacement were indeed hard to utilize.

But a soul master didn't live just to fight in tournaments. In the future, when encountering danger, having a life-saving skill could at least help avoid a lot of damage—things like displacement, acceleration, stealth, flight, or healing.

Moreover, such life-saving soul skills were best placed within the first three rings; they consumed little soul power and didn't conflict with powerful offensive skills. By the time they reached the Title Douluo level, they wouldn't seem so useless!

Glancing at the proud and self-confident Hu Liena, Qian Xunqian thought: I can't handle a little kid like you?