Spirit Hall's Arrival

"Of course, if Spirit Hall disagrees, I won't force the issue."

Chen Ye's tone remained calm after he finished speaking.

"I'll continue studying here, then move out with my sister."

"She's a girl, after all. I'm not used to—and can't accept—her continuing to crowd together with those people."

As he listened to the boy's words, the old man's gaze settled deeply on him.

Seeing the undisguised sincerity on the boy's face, the old man merely nodded steadily.

"You should go back first."

"This shouldn't be difficult. At most, I'll notify you within two days."

"At that time, someone should come to take you and your sister to Spirit City."

As the old man spoke, he gave Chen Ye a faint smile.

Innately full soul power was already shocking enough.

He had guarded this city for nearly forty years, yet Chen Ye was the only genius with innately full soul power he had encountered.

As for someone whose first soul ring could withstand a thousand-year age limit, he had never heard of or seen such a thing in all his life.

As far as he knew, even Spirit Hall's Hall Master—the Pope—had only possessed a hundred-year soul ring as his first ring.

And a thousand years meant a higher starting point and greater innate talent.

Once such talent was fully unearthed, the value it could bring in the future was beyond what ordinary people could ever imagine.

That was why the old man treated Chen Ye with exceptional seriousness.

Chen Ye looked at the old man and offered a slight bow before turning and leaving calmly.

He did not actually care much about these matters.

They were not things he needed to worry about.

While he was still unable to change the situation, the only thing he could do was follow the course of events and resolve his own problems step by step.

To put it bluntly, he needed to find ways to satisfy his own needs.

When he returned to the academy, everyone else was still in class.

Chen Ye sat quietly in his seat, a trace of contemplation gathering in his eyes.

In truth, he had not initially planned to head to Spirit Academy so soon. He had intended to wait another two years, until he possessed the strength of two rings, before setting out.

But now that Tang San had fused a ten-year soul ring, Tang Hao could not possibly sit by and ignore it.

In other words, Tang Hao would definitely return and keep an eye on his son again.

Under normal circumstances, he should have handled his own affairs first, then returned before Tang San headed to Shrek Academy to continue protecting his son—or rather, to take another look at him.

But now that Tang San had fused that ten-year soul ring, Tang Hao would not fail to notice something unusual when he returned midway.

Once he saw his son's soul ring, he would surely begin investigating.

Although there had been no flaws in what Chen Ye had done, there was no guarantee that unexpected complications would not arise.

After all, lying beside a Titled Douluo was bound to be a place where unforeseen variables could easily emerge, no matter how one calculated it.

Even if the risk was extremely low, Chen Ye was unwilling to gamble on it.

The best solution was to leave directly and put as much distance between himself and this place as possible.

By then, even if Tang Hao noticed something amiss, he would not suspect Chen Ye—or rather, he would have no reason to suspect him.

Under ordinary circumstances, Chen Ye was willing to take a little risk.

But when facing a Titled Douluo, he did not want to touch even the slightest trace of risk.

As soon as the morning classes ended, Chen Yue was the first to push open the door and enter.

Xiao Wu followed behind her, wearing a refreshed expression.

Tang San was behind the two of them.

Tang San's expression was much colder than before.

His gaze swept over Chen Ye, but he did not say a word. He simply returned to his seat and began cultivating frantically.

Meanwhile, Chen Yue skipped over to Chen Ye, reaching out to grab her brother's arm.

"Brother, we fought those work-study students today! You beat that big bully yesterday and finally helped us vent our anger."

"Today, that blond-haired one not only solemnly apologized to me, but even backed down before us work-study students!"

As Chen Yue spoke, her eyes sparkled brightly.

Clearly, the experience had been an enormous encouragement to her.

After all, as work-study students, whether boys or girls, they had always endured endless scorn at this academy.

But ever since her brother had thoroughly beaten that big bully and revealed his one-ring cultivation, his reputation had spread to nearly every corner of the academy.

As Chen Ye's sister, Chen Yue naturally received attention from those around her, even courtesy.

Chen Ye merely smiled at this.

He did not care about such matters.

Because, to put it bluntly, ninety-nine percent of those people would never become soul masters in the future.

And the remaining one percent would at most become ordinary one-ring or two-ring soul masters.

Under such circumstances, they would naturally feel fear—and even a hint of terror—toward someone like him, who had already become a soul master at such a young age.

However, he was not particularly concerned about any of that.

What still occupied his mind was Spirit Hall.

A day and a night passed quietly.

Chen Ye was called out by a teacher on the morning of the third day.

The teacher only told him to make a trip to Spirit Hall.

Clearly, Spirit Hall had already sent a notice directly to the academy.

When Chen Ye stepped into Spirit Hall once more, the first person he saw was no longer the old man, but a young man standing quietly there.

The young man wore a suit of entirely silver armor. His gaze swept over Chen Ye, carrying a hint of scrutiny.

Then, he turned to look at the old bishop behind him.

The old bishop nodded at the young man, whose gaze then returned to Chen Ye.

"So it's you? Innately full soul power, possessing a dragon-type martial soul, and you want to join Spirit Hall's junior academy?"

The young man looked at Chen Ye and asked.

Hearing his words, Chen Ye nodded calmly.

It was no secret, and he had never intended to hide it.

Since he had decided to go with Spirit Hall, appropriately displaying his value in exchange for greater status was inevitable.

Seeing Chen Ye nod, the young man did not waste any words.

He raised a hand, and a pale golden longsword appeared out of thin air in his palm.

Immediately afterward, two soul rings descended around him.

The next moment, he stepped forward, raised the longsword high, and slashed straight down at Chen Ye.

Facing the strike, Chen Ye raised a hand as well.

His palm was instantly wrapped in a layer of silvery-white power, transforming directly into a dragon claw.

As the longsword descended, Chen Ye extended his dragon claw and firmly blocked it.

Then, the flow of time around them abruptly began to slow drastically.

Feeling his body sink into that strange sluggishness, shock surged into the young man's eyes, along with a trace of confusion.

He did not understand what kind of soul skill this was.

But in the next instant, Chen Ye's clenched fist had already smashed into his face.

The young man's body flew backward like a kite with its string cut, crashing fiercely into the nearby wall.

When the young man got back to his feet, there was not the slightest anger in his eyes as he looked at Chen Ye. Instead, a trace of delight appeared.

"Your talent truly is astounding. You look to be no more than six or seven years old. So you really do have innately full soul power."

As the young man spoke, a bitter smile surfaced at the corner of his mouth.

He was already eighteen or nineteen, yet still some distance away from reaching three rings.

And this boy before him was so young, yet he was already a genuine soul master.

Still, he did not take it too much to heart.

There would always be geniuses in this world more talented than himself.

So he looked at Chen Ye with great calmness and asked solemnly:

"I'll ask you formally: are you willing to truly join Spirit Hall and become a member of Spirit Hall?"

"If you are willing, every condition you previously proposed will be accepted. Moreover, Spirit Hall will provide you with an additional allowance."