Training Camp

Just as Lu Mingfei was about to step out the door, Bibi Dong's voice suddenly came from behind him, carrying a faint note of inquiry:

"Lu Mingfei, I heard you're looking for someone? Why?"

Lu Mingfei stopped.

He did not turn around. After several seconds of silence, he spoke softly, yet with exceptional clarity. "Because she's very important to me."

Bibi Dong did not press further.

Huang Fei led Lu Mingfei out of the meditation chamber, back through the corridor, and into Spirit Hall's main hall.

Lu Mingfei's steps were much lighter than when he had arrived, yet he felt strangely weighed down.

Bibi Dong's final question was like a needle pricking him, making Hui Liyi's face surface in his mind against his will.

"Lady Huang Fei." Lu Mingfei suddenly asked, "What kind of person is Her Holiness the Pope...?"

Huang Fei fell silent for a moment and glanced at him from the side. Her gaze was somewhat complicated. "You don't need to know what kind of person she is. You only need to remember one thing...

Your current identity is that of a Spirit Hall trainee. Your task is to cultivate, grow stronger, and strive to survive the beginner training camp.

As for what kind of person Her Holiness the Pope is, it won't be too late to think about that once you have the qualifications to stand before her as an equal."

Lu Mingfei murmured an acknowledgment and asked no more questions.

Huang Fei led him through a side door of the main hall and into an independent area behind the compound.

The buildings here were far simpler than the main hall in front: blue bricks, gray tiles, and rows of low houses lined up neatly, with several level open spaces in between.

All kinds of training equipment had been placed in those open spaces...

Stone locks, wooden posts, iron rings, and several strange devices Lu Mingfei could not name.

More than ten boys and girls, around eight or nine years old, were scattered throughout the open spaces, undergoing various forms of training.

Some lifted stone locks, while others struck wooden posts.

Some sat cross-legged in meditation, and the air was thick with the mingled scent of sweat and earth.

This was Spirit Hall's beginner training camp.

Huang Fei brought Lu Mingfei to the entrance of a small room and pushed open the door.

Inside, there was only a bed, a table, and a wardrobe.

Huang Fei tossed him a neatly folded set of training clothes. "Change into these. Assemble at the training ground at dawn tomorrow. Your instructor is Zhou Dashan. He'll tell you what to do then."

Huang Fei turned to leave, then suddenly stopped and tossed out one final sentence without looking back.

"Lu Mingfei, Spirit Hall has no shortage of geniuses. There may not be anyone with better talent than you, but there are plenty who work harder than you do.

Don't think innate rank twenty soul power means you can lie back and take it easy. If you don't work hard afterward, others will still leave you behind."

With that, she left without looking back.

Lu Mingfei stood in the room, looking at the closed wooden door. He was silent for a moment, then smiled faintly.

Huang Fei's words sounded like a warning, but he could tell that the woman meant well.

She was reminding him not to become arrogant and complacent just because he was talented.

In this world, talent was merely an entry ticket. The real contest had always been about who could endure more hardship and who was willing to put in more effort.

Standing in the empty room, Lu Mingfei held the set of training clothes in his hands and suddenly felt as though none of this was real.

Just a few days ago, he had still been that thin, ordinary child from Holy Soul Village.

Yet now, he stood on Spirit Hall's grounds, lived in Spirit Hall's barracks, wore Spirit Hall's uniform, and was about to undergo Spirit Hall's training.

He had gone from an ordinary person to a soul master candidate.

Lu Mingfei lowered his head and looked at the quiet black dragon tattoo on the back of his right hand.

The little black dragon lay quietly coiled on his skin, looking exceedingly docile. It was utterly unlike the terrifying phantom that had blotted out the sky when he awakened it.

"Black Dragon King..." Lu Mingfei muttered as he looked at the tattoo. "I never expected to awaken the Black Dragon King martial soul! What exactly are you?"

Naturally, the tattoo did not answer him.

Lu Mingfei sighed, fell onto the bed, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

He thought of Hui Liyi.

Whenever he had a moment to himself, that figure in red hair and a red dress would unconsciously emerge in his mind.

He missed her soft voice, the way her eyes curved slightly when she smiled, and the cautious yet utterly dependent way she held onto the corner of his clothes.

Hui Liyi, he silently said to himself. Wait for me. No matter where you are, no matter how long it takes, I'll find you.

Lu Mingfei sighed, tossed the training clothes onto the bed, sat down by the bedside, and looked up at the sky outside the window.

Night had already fallen completely. Dark clouds covered the moon, and only a few scattered stars flickered in and out through gaps in the clouds.

"Hui Liyi."

Lu Mingfei looked at the moon and said,

"I've taken another step closer to you. Wait for me, I'll be quick.

Once I obtain my first soul ring, once I break through rank twenty, once I become strong enough, I'll go find you. No matter where you are, I'll find you."

A night wind swept past outside the window, rustling the leaves.

Lu Mingfei got up and shut the window, keeping the chill outside.

At dawn tomorrow, his new life would begin.

Early the next morning, before the sky had even brightened, Lu Mingfei was dragged out of bed.

The one who came was a boy of around ten, dressed in white training clothes. His features were delicate, but his expression was as cold as a machine's.

"Lu Mingfei? Come with me."

His tone carried no inflection. After speaking, he turned and left, giving Lu Mingfei no time to react.

Lu Mingfei rubbed his eyes, yawned, put on his shoes, and followed after him.

The test was held in an open space at the foot of the rear mountain.

By the time Lu Mingfei arrived, more than a dozen people were already standing there. There were both boys and girls, all around eight or nine years old. Each wore Spirit Hall's standard uniform and looked at him with expressions ranging from curiosity to disdain to indifference.

Lu Mingfei noticed that a star emblem had been embroidered onto each of their collars. The numbers varied, ranging from one star to two.

He remembered that the booklet he had read the night before mentioned how low-ranking Spirit Hall members wore varying numbers of star badges according to their soul power ranks.

One star represented the rank of Soul Master, while two stars represented the rank of Grand Soul Master.

In other words, these boys and girls, who did not look much older than him, were all formal soul masters of at least the Soul Master rank.

A middle-aged man in his forties walked to the center of the clearing. He was broad and powerfully built, with resolute features. His tiger-like eyes swept across everyone present before finally settling on Lu Mingfei.

That gaze felt almost tangible, pressing Lu Mingfei's shoulders down slightly.

The middle-aged man's lips curved upward, revealing a faintly amused smile.

"You're Lu Mingfei?"

His voice was deep and sonorous, like a war drum being struck.

"I'm your instructor in the training camp, Zhou Dashan. You can call me Instructor Zhou.