Martial Soul Test, Crossing the Sea Under Camouflage

"Tang San, Master Matthew Nuo has come personally to conduct your advancement appraisal."

The moment the director finished speaking, the students gathered outside the Academic Affairs Office immediately moved aside.

Xiao Chenyu had originally wanted to use the City Lord's Manor's name to pressure them, but upon hearing the words Spirit Hall, he forcibly swallowed his anger.

He could throw his weight around at the academy, but with someone from Spirit Hall standing here, even his father would have to be polite.

Matthew Nuo looked at Tang San, then at Xiao Chenyu, whose head was covered in meat soup, and frowned. "Was there trouble at the academy just now?"

The director hurried forward. "It was just children sparring, and things got a little out of hand. I'll handle it immediately."

Xiao Wu immediately cut in, "They were the ones who bullied the work-study students first!"

Xiao Chenyu gritted his teeth. "Shut up!"

Matthew Nuo looked at Xiao Chenyu. "Who did you tell to shut up?"

The words caught in Xiao Chenyu's throat, and he lowered his head with an ugly expression.

Tang San did not want to keep dragging this out either. He clasped his hands and said, "Master Matthew Nuo, I am Tang San."

Matthew Nuo's expression softened. "Su Yuntao mentioned you when he returned last time. Blue Silver Grass, innately full soul power, right?"

When the director heard "innately full soul power," the courtesy on his face increased another notch.

Xiao Chenyu's expression worsened. He had only heard that Tang San possessed a hundred-year soul ring; he had never expected the brat to have innately full soul power as well.

Xiao Wu stood beside him with her arms folded, smugly saying, "Hear that? Don't go throwing around that little bit of status of yours to scare people in the future."

Tang San tugged her lightly. "Xiao Wu."

Matthew Nuo ignored the children's petty rivalry and merely said, "Since you have already obtained your first soul ring, come with me to the branch hall for an advancement test and to apply for your Soul Master badge."

The director hurriedly asked, "Master Matthew Nuo, would you like me to accompany you?"

"No need. Tang San can just come with me."

After saying that, Matthew Nuo turned and headed downstairs.

Tang San followed. When he passed Xiao Chenyu, he paused briefly. "Let today's matter end here."

Xiao Chenyu looked up and glared at him. "You think this is over?"

Xiao Wu immediately stepped forward. "What else do you want?"

The director's face darkened. "Xiao Chenyu, go change your clothes and wait for the academy's decision."

Xiao Chenyu clenched his fists, but in the end, several lackeys helped him away.

Hidden in the compartment beneath the sole of the shoe, Ji Yuan drew back most of the lingering toxin from Xiao Chenyu's body, leaving only a trace settled at the edges of his meridians.

This little pawn could not be discarded too soon.

If he was ruined, he would only become a nuisance. Keeping him around was more useful.

Tang San followed Matthew Nuo out of the academy without speaking the entire way.

Matthew Nuo took the initiative to speak. "Little San, what soul beast did your first soul ring come from?"

Tang San answered, "A Datura Snake."

Matthew Nuo slowed his pace. "Blue Silver Grass absorbing a Datura Snake's ring? Who chose it for you?"

"My teacher, Yu Xiaogang."

At the mention of that name, a complicated expression flashed across Matthew Nuo's face. "The master's theories are not entirely empty talk, after all."

Tang San said earnestly, "Teacher has helped me greatly."

Matthew Nuo nodded. "It is a good thing for young people to respect their teachers, but Spirit Hall can provide you with resources as well."

Tang San did not answer at once.

Ji Yuan's roots pressed against Tang San's heart meridian, sensing a stir in Tang San's emotions.

The stipend, the badge, a legitimate identity.

These things appealed to Tang San.

That was not strange.

Human cubs were always swayed by benefits they could see.

Ji Yuan would not allow it.

There were too many high-ranking Soul Masters in Spirit Hall, and too many methods of detection. If Tang San became too close to Spirit Hall, this parasitic grass would sooner or later be exposed beneath the eyes of the powerful.

First, get through the test.

Then, cut off those thoughts.

The Spirit Hall branch was not large, but the guards at its entrance were strict, and an angel emblem hung on the wall.

Tang San followed Matthew Nuo inside, unable to help feeling nervous.

He had too many secrets hidden on him.

The Mysterious Heaven Skill, hidden weapons, the Tang Sect from his previous life, and the Clear Sky Hammer in his left hand that could not be exposed.

Matthew Nuo led him into the testing room, took out a transparent crystal ball, and placed it on the table.

"Put your hand on it. Circulate your soul power. Don't resist."

Tang San nodded and pressed his right hand against the crystal ball.

The instant the soul power detection wave surged into his body, Tang San instinctively circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill to resist it.

This was exactly the moment Ji Yuan had been waiting for.

The spores at Tang San's heart meridian tightened at the same time, cutting off seventy percent of his internal energy circulation and allowing the remaining thirty percent to enter the surface layer of his meridians.

Tang San felt a tightness in his chest, and sweat seeped onto his forehead.

He thought the crystal ball had detected the Mysterious Heaven Skill, and his fingers nearly left its surface.

Matthew Nuo reminded him, "Stay steady. Don't move around."

Tang San gritted his teeth and held on.

Ji Yuan, meanwhile, pressed all the intercepted internal energy deep into the demon vine's main body. The dark-purple vine bark contracted, its barbs lay flat, and all traces of life were suppressed into the aura of dead wood.

The detection wave swept over Tang San's right hand, over his Blue Silver Grass martial soul, then probed toward his left palm.

Ji Yuan immediately stirred the outer layer of the Clear Sky Hammer's origin, sinking it deeper while pushing the residual Datura Snake venom toward the openings of his meridians to create chaotic rejection.

Light rose from the crystal ball, and the scale slowly climbed.

Anticipation first appeared in Matthew Nuo's eyes, then turned into hesitation.

"Level ten, level eleven..."

Tang San's heart leaped into his throat.

Ji Yuan watched the soul power fluctuations in the crystal ball coldly.

If it went any higher, it would easily raise more questions.

He severed the energy at the edge of Tang San's dantian once more, locking the crystal ball's brightness at the peak of level eleven, unable to rise any further.

Matthew Nuo waited for a while. Seeing that the scale had stopped, he let out a soft sigh.

"Peak level eleven. Reaching this point just after obtaining a soul ring is already quite good."

Tang San's palm was soaked with sweat. "Master, is this result normal?"

Matthew Nuo said, "You had innately full soul power. After absorbing a hundred-year soul ring, you should theoretically be higher. But Blue Silver Grass has a weak foundation, and there are losses in soul ring conversion. It's understandable."

Tang San's suspended heart finally settled.

Again, Blue Silver Grass had a weak foundation.

He had heard that explanation more than once.

But as long as it explained things, it was enough to put him at ease.

Ji Yuan swallowed the intercepted soul power, and a swollen, bloated sensation came from within the demon vine.

Spirit Hall's instrument had scanned him for so long, yet it had only seen Tang San's weakness and the worthless nature of Blue Silver Grass.

The Clear Sky Hammer had not been exposed.

The Parasitic Net had not been exposed.

Even the seventy percent of soul power Ji Yuan had just devoured had been interpreted by the crystal ball as lost talent.

This was what humans called testing.

Matthew Nuo took out a registration book. "Name."

"Tang San."

"Age."

"Six."

"Martial soul."

Tang San answered more smoothly this time, "Blue Silver Grass."

Matthew Nuo wrote that down, then looked up at him. "First soul ring soul beast."

"Datura Snake."

Matthew Nuo's pen paused. "Your teacher has some nerve."

Tang San said, "My teacher was confident."

Matthew Nuo did not argue. After stamping the form, he took out a Soul Master badge and a small pouch and handed them to him.

"This is your Soul Master badge. With it, you can collect a monthly subsidy."

Tang San accepted the pouch. Hearing the gold soul coins clink inside, warmth rose in his heart.

Such a small pouch could solve many of his problems.

He needed to make hidden weapons, buy materials, and live at the academy.

Seeing his expression, Matthew Nuo took the opportunity to say, "Tang San, a child like you shouldn't remain at Notting Academy alone."

Tang San looked up. "What do you mean, Master Matthew Nuo?"

"Spirit Hall can provide you with better teachers, more stable cultivation resources, and can even recommend you to larger cities."

Tang San did not refuse immediately.

Yu Xiaogang was his teacher, but Spirit Hall's resources lay right before him.

Ji Yuan's roots silently pierced the outer wall of Tang San's heart meridian, releasing a trace of irritant toxin. It did not harm his body; it merely stirred his emotions.

The favorable impression Tang San had just begun to feel was suppressed somewhat, but it was not enough.

Matthew Nuo continued, "You don't need to give me an answer today. Go back and think it over carefully. Spirit Hall's doors are willing to open for geniuses."

Tang San nodded. "Thank you, Master Matthew Nuo. I'll consider it."

Ji Yuan made no further move.

Making Tang San turn hostile now would only seem unnatural.

He would wait for someone more suitable to appear.

After completing the procedures, Matthew Nuo personally saw him out.

Tang San had just tucked his Soul Master badge into his belt when someone climbed the steps toward him.

The man wore a deacon's uniform, with a familiar token hanging from his waist. The moment he saw Tang San, he stopped in his tracks.

"Tang San?"

Tang San raised his eyes and recognized him as well. "Master Su Yuntao?"

Su Yuntao's gaze fell on the badge on Tang San's chest, then shifted to Matthew Nuo emerging behind him. His expression changed on the spot. "You've already obtained a soul ring?"

The demonic vine clinging to the sole of Ji Yuan's shoe slowly unfurled.

Good.

A severed blade had delivered itself right into his hand.