Huang Fei

As for whether Spirit Hall would clash with Tang San in the future, what did that have to do with him?

He only wanted to cultivate in peace, find Hui Liyi, and leave everything else alone. He did not want to meddle, nor could he be bothered to.

"If I join Spirit Hall," Lu Mingfei said, looking at Su Yuntao, "can you help me find someone?"

Su Yuntao froze. "Find who?"

"A girl."

Lu Mingfei's voice suddenly dropped. For the first time, a light that made one's heart tremble appeared in his half-lidded, weary eyes.

"A very beautiful girl with red hair and a red dress. I'm not sure where she is in this world.

"I'm not even sure whether she's in this world.

"But if she really came here... I have to find her."

Su Yuntao looked into Lu Mingfei's eyes and fell silent for a moment.

He had seen many children.

Some had greed in their eyes, some fear, and some confusion.

But he had never seen the light in Lu Mingfei's eyes before.

It was an extremely complicated expression.

"As long as you join Spirit Hall,"

Su Yuntao said slowly, "Spirit Hall's influence spans the entire Douluo Continent. As long as the person you seek truly exists, Spirit Hall will definitely be able to find her."

Lu Mingfei nodded, and the corners of his lips pulled into a faint curve. There was an indescribable relief in that smile, as though he had finally seen a glimmer of light after a long darkness.

"Fine," he said. "I'll join Spirit Hall."

At last, a smile appeared on Su Yuntao's face, one born of wholehearted ecstasy.

He knew that this day would be etched into his memory forever.

After presiding over awakening ceremonies for six years, his greatest achievement had only been sending a few low-level Soul Masters to Spirit Hall.

But from today onward, things would be different.

He had personally discovered a genius with a top-tier dragon-type martial soul and innate level twenty soul power.

That achievement alone was enough to raise his status within Spirit Hall by several ranks.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Su Yuntao said "good" several times in a row before abruptly rising to his feet.

"Go back with Old Jack and pack your things first. I'll send a carrier pigeon to Spirit Hall right away.

"At the latest, Spirit Hall will send someone to pick you up tomorrow.

"Lu Mingfei, from today onward, you are one of Spirit Hall's people!"

What he did not notice was that, as the black dragon shadow around Lu Mingfei faded away,

a trace of silver-white light silently flickered deep within Lu Mingfei's eyes before vanishing without a trace.

That light was exceedingly faint, so faint that even if someone had stared unblinkingly into his eyes, they might not have noticed that fleeting anomaly.

It was the purest holy light.

The White Dragon King's power was like a colossal dragon lurking in the abyss, opening a pair of silver-white eyes in the deepest darkness.

Its existence had been deliberately concealed, concealed so perfectly that no one...

not even Lu Mingfei himself... knew that another dragon still slumbered within him.

Only a crow perched on the old locust tree at the village entrance shuddered all over at that instant, tumbled from the branch, flapped its wings twice, and flew away.

Tang San stood to one side, silently watching everything. A flicker of emotion passed through the depths of his eyes, one only he himself could understand.

He had noticed that the instant of soul power fluctuation during Lu Mingfei's awakening possessed a strange duality, but it had vanished too quickly for him to be certain whether it had merely been his imagination.

Blue Silver Grass, innate full soul power.

Black Dragon King, innate level twenty soul power.

On this otherwise ordinary day, Holy Soul Village was destined to write an extraordinary page in its history.

The news that Lu Mingfei had joined Spirit Hall caused an uproar in Holy Soul Village.

Old Jack was so excited that he barely slept all night. He rummaged through chests and cupboards to find the finest clothes he had worn in his youth, then drew several buckets of well water and scrubbed Lu Mingfei clean from head to toe.

As the old man dried Lu Mingfei's hair, he muttered on and on:

"Mingfei, you've finally made something of yourself. Spirit Hall! That's Spirit Hall! Our Holy Soul Village has stood for hundreds of years, and not a single child has ever caught Spirit Hall's eye! Once you go there, it'll be a matter of bringing honor to our ancestors!"

Lu Mingfei sat in the wooden tub, letting Old Jack scrub him like a plucked chicken, but his mind was elsewhere.

He was thinking of Hui Liyi.

He had spent six years processing those memories, but he had never forgotten.

That girl with white hair and a red dress, those clear eyes like water—they were like a thorn lodged in the softest part of his heart. He could not pull it out, nor did he want to.

He had to find Hui Liyi.

At noon the next day, Spirit Hall's people arrived.

They came far faster than Lu Mingfei had expected.

Su Yuntao's message had only been sent out the night before, yet Spirit Hall had dispatched someone by noon the next day. The efficiency was astonishing.

The one who came was a mature, tall woman.

She had a slender, tall figure, with long dark-purple hair cascading over her shoulders. Her features were exquisite yet coldly beautiful.

She wore the black, gold-trimmed robes of a high-ranking Spirit Hall deacon. Embroidered on her chest was a palm-sized purple insignia: a phoenix spreading its wings in flight.

When Su Yuntao saw the woman, he visibly froze. The expression on his face shifted repeatedly between awe and nervousness before he bent deeply at the waist with utmost respect.

"Your subordinate Su Yuntao greets Lady Huang Fei."

Huang Fei.

Her name was not among the most exalted in Spirit Hall.

But neither was she someone a low-level deacon like Su Yuntao could ever hope to reach.

She belonged to Spirit Hall's directly subordinate Inspection Corps and served as its deputy commander. Her cultivation had reached the seventy-ninth rank, making her a Soul Sage.

She was considered an influential figure even among Spirit Hall's middle and upper ranks.

For someone like her to personally travel to an impoverished little village to receive a six-year-old child showed that Spirit Hall's regard for Lu Mingfei had exceeded everyone's expectations.

Huang Fei ignored Su Yuntao's flattery.

Her gaze passed over Old Jack, passed over Su Yuntao, and landed directly on Lu Mingfei.

It was an extremely sharp gaze, like an unsheathed sword, as though it intended to see through Lu Mingfei inside and out.

Lu Mingfei felt somewhat uncomfortable beneath that stare, but he did not evade it. He simply stood where he was, raised his face, and met Huang Fei's eyes.

After a moment, Huang Fei withdrew her gaze and nodded slightly. "His physique is decent, and his mental core is stable. He did not suffer any mental fluctuations from suddenly awakening such a powerful martial soul, which means his temperament is acceptable. He is just a little too thin."

She walked over to Lu Mingfei, crouched down, and lightly pressed a slender finger against the back of his right hand.

The Black Dragon King tattoo trembled slightly the instant she touched it. A faint dragon's might seeped from the tattoo, as if warning this uninvited guest not to act rashly.

Huang Fei's pupils contracted slightly, then the corners of her lips curved into a faint, ambiguous smile.