Advancement Appraisal, Battle

Su Yuntao clearly didn't want to discuss the previous events with Bai Shu. He turned and asked Bai Shu, "How did you end up here? Have you thought it over and decided to join our Spirit Hall directly?"

Bai Shu felt a bit awkward being asked. He wasn't a traitorous fellow like Tang San, who took subsidies from the Spirit Hall while plotting its downfall. However, he also didn't want to be tied down to the Spirit Hall at this moment.

"Uh, I plan to finish my studies as a junior soul master before considering my future. I'm here today for my advancement assessment."

Su Yuntao was taken aback and looked Bai Shu up and down. "Advancement assessment? You've gotten your first spirit ring? On the very first day of school?"

Bai Shu nodded, offering no further explanation.

Su Yuntao was a straightforward person. Seeing Bai Shu nod, he didn't say another word and led him straight to Grandmaster Mathieu's office on the second floor.

"Wait here for a moment. Grandmaster Mathieu will be here soon, and he'll be in charge of your advancement assessment."

Just as Su Yuntao had said, after only a few minutes, an old man walked into the office, grumbling.

"Su Yuntao, you brat, you took someone away without telling anyone else, making me search the first floor for ages."

Su Yuntao was clearly a bit flustered by the scolding and pointed at himself innocently. "I kindly brought the person to your office to help you, and you're scolding me? Where's your conscience?"

Seeing this, Bai Shu quickly interrupted the two. After explaining the situation to Grandmaster Mathieu, the three of them headed to the assessment room.

The advancement assessment was simple: release your spirit ring and then have your soul power level measured.

When it came to displaying the spirit ring, Bai Shu stood at the center of the magic circle in the room. With a thought, a circle of bright yellow, hundred-year spirit ring rose from beneath his feet, pulsing.

A flicker of envy flashed in Su Yuntao and Mathieu's eyes, but they managed to remain composed.

After all, he was a promising talent with innate full soul power, and Notting Academy would surely provide some assistance.

However, when Bai Shu placed his palm on the yellow crystal ball used to test soul power, the two of them lost their composure.

As soon as Bai Shu placed his hand on the yellow crystal ball, which tested up to level twenty, it immediately lit up with a brilliant radiance.

"This, this is... level fourteen soul power? How is that possible!"

Mathieu had never seen anyone reach level fourteen right after breaking through. Normally, even with a four-hundred-year limit spirit ring, soul power would be pushed to twelve at most. Level fourteen? This was completely beyond the norm.

Su Yuntao exclaimed even louder, "Did you eat something wrong, kid? Using forbidden drugs that deplete potential to boost soul power, that's self-destruction!"

Bai Shu rolled his eyes, too lazy to bother with Su Yuntao's wild assumptions. He calmly dropped a bombshell, "Brother Tao, I'm not stupid. I went to hunt for a spirit ring immediately after awakening my martial soul. I was already level twelve after absorbing it. In these past three months, I just practiced casually and leveled up twice."

Bai Shu naturally wouldn't reveal the real reason, so he had to fabricate another one.

Moreover, what he said, while still somewhat outrageous, wasn't entirely impossible.

In the original story, Tang San and Xiao Wu could only advance one level in three months when they were in their twenties, and one of them didn't train seriously while the other had a corrupted martial soul, neither of them fully utilizing their innate full soul power talent.

"Three months? Two levels? And you say 'just'!" Su Yuntao felt as if a heavy hammer had struck his chest. It was true that comparing oneself to others could be maddening. Was being talented something to be proud of?

Mathieu took a deep breath beside him, suppressing the shock in his heart. He had lived for most of his life, and today he had truly witnessed what a monstrous talent was.

Such a genius would undoubtedly become a paramount figure standing at the pinnacle of the continent in the future.

After the minor incident of the soul power test, Bai Shu successfully completed his registration and received a subsidy of one gold soul coin from the Spirit Hall.

Tucking the gold coin into his pocket, Bai Shu walked out of the Spirit Hall in good spirits. His meal money was now secured.

Just as he was about to go buy some clothes to change into, the ground beneath his feet suddenly trembled violently.

"BOOM--!!"

A deafening roar, as if it could tear the sky apart, exploded from several miles outside the city. The violent shockwave even stirred up a visible gust of wind above Notting City, causing pedestrians to cower and cover their heads.

Bai Shu, however, stopped in his tracks, his gaze fixed on the outskirts of the city. 'This commotion... it seems Tang Hao has been pushed to his limit and is using the Great Sumeru Hammer.'

Since he had even used his ultimate move, the battle was likely nearing its end. Bai Shu abandoned his idea of shopping and found a bench in the small square in front of the Spirit Hall, sitting down to calmly await the outcome.

Meanwhile, three miles outside Notting City, in a desolate mountain range.

The originally continuous mountain range had been leveled, and the ground was littered with craters several meters deep and crisscrossing ravines.

"Pfft!"

A burly man in black robes suddenly spat out a large mouthful of black blood mixed with internal organ fragments. His body slid back dozens of meters like a tattered sack, his feet plowing two deep trenches in the ground.

It was none other than the Haotian Douluo, Tang Hao, who shook the continent.

At this moment, Tang Hao showed no trace of his former dominance. He gasped for air, his tiger's mouth cracked, and black blood dripped down his arm.

Just moments ago, he had pushed through his old injuries and used Ring Detonation and the Great Sumeru Hammer, thinking he could severely wound the person who had ambushed him.

However, the opponent not only withstood the attack but also aggravated the poison within him, causing a severe backlash.

"Who exactly are you?!" Tang Hao gritted his teeth.

When had such a peak expert with poison abilities appeared on the continent?

In mid-air, Xie Biyan stood with his hands behind his back, his robes fluttering in the wind. Although he had a few cuts from the forceful energy, his aura remained steady.

Xie Biyan looked down at Tang Hao, a cold smile playing on his lips.

He had to admit that the burst of power from the man before him was indeed astonishing.

If it were an ordinary Title Douluo, even one or two levels higher, they would have suffered a great loss if caught off guard.

Although he was only one level higher than Tang Hao, he had his own advantage, which was his soul core.

As his internal cultivation was converted into the cultivation system of this world, the poison-attribute Dou Qi crystal originally in his Dantian automatically transformed into a soul core. Judging from the knowledge that had appeared in his mind, other Title Douluo in this world did not possess soul cores.

This was also the reason why he was so confident in taking down Tang Hao.

"Interesting. This world is even more interesting than this old man imagined. Little fellow, this old man admits that you are indeed quite impressive." Xie Biyan's aged voice echoed in the air like a night owl.

"However, you should never, ever have offended the Young Master. Today, this old man can only grant you a decent way to die."

Before the words had even faded, the seventh soul ring on Xie Biyan's body suddenly shone brilliantly.

"Seventh Soul Skill: Avatar of the Martial Soul."

Accompanied by a blinding blood-red light, Xie Biyan's body instantly shot upward and elongated, transforming in the blink of an eye into a blood-colored giant scorpion over ten meters long.

The giant scorpion was covered in dark red magic patterns, its pair of compound eyes locked firmly onto Tang Hao.

This was the Dou Zong-level magical beast he had once sealed within his body, now the Blood Demon Scorpion Emperor that had become his martial soul!

Not only that, but the black soul ring ranked eighth also erupted with suffocating fluctuations.

"Eighth Soul Skill: Blood Demon Heart Devourer."

The giant scorpion's hideous mouthparts snapped open, and the energy between heaven and earth gathered frantically, transforming into a viscous, blood-colored beam of light as thick as a water vat. Carrying a foul wind that corroded everything in its path, it tore through the air and blasted straight toward Tang Hao's face!