Soul Power Rank Ten

Meanwhile, nourished by the Golden Dragon King bloodline, Bai Lin's Soul Power had been circulating day and night, advancing as though it had been strapped to a rocket.

When Red Mountain Academy conducted its yearly Soul Power assessment, the unmistakable glow of rank-ten Soul Power shining from Bai Lin's palm stunned the entire class!

He became the undisputed top student of the entire grade!

His rapid progress left every teacher dumbfounded.

Yet after the amazement came endless regret.

The teachers looked at the light on the testing crystal ball that represented rank-ten Soul Power, then at the slender, ordinary Blue Silver Grass martial soul swaying in the breeze beside Bai Lin. They could only shake their heads and sigh again and again.

"Sigh, rank-ten Soul Power..."

"It has only been one year!"

"This cultivation speed is practically monstrous!"

"What a shame..."

"Such a pity!"

"Why did it have to be Blue Silver Grass?"

"Exactly. If it had been a powerful beast martial soul or tool martial soul, with that cultivation speed..."

"Places like Shrek Academy and Spirit Pagoda Headquarters would probably be fighting over him!"

"Blue Silver Grass..."

"In the end, it is still Blue Silver Grass..."

"No matter how high his Soul Power is, its limit will still..."

Those sighs were like tiny needles, occasionally piercing Bai Lin's heart.

But he was no longer the child who felt inferior because of his martial soul.

He clenched his fists and looked resolutely toward the Spirit Pagoda—spirit souls!

As long as he had a spirit soul, he could break through the bottleneck and truly embark upon the path of a Soul Master!

So what if it was Blue Silver Grass? He would use his own hammer and strength to smash out a path!

And today was the long-awaited day!

Early that morning, Bai Lin was so excited that he barely slept all night.

The sky had only just begun to brighten when he sprang out of bed. He carefully washed up, changed into his cleanest, neatest clothes, and cautiously tucked the wallet containing the soul-tool savings card with fifty thousand Federation credits close to his body.

During breakfast, the smile on his lips never faded. His eyes shone brilliantly as he kept describing to Na'er what a spirit soul might look like.

Seeing her son so excited, Lang Yue could not help laughing and repeatedly reminded him to eat more slowly.

Na'er sat quietly beside him, her small hands holding a cup of warm milk. Her pale violet eyes followed Bai Lin the entire time.

When she heard him say that he would buy her glowing soul beast milk candies, her eyes curved into pretty crescents. She softly clapped her hands and said earnestly in a sweet, gentle voice:

"Go, Big Brother!"

That tiny encouragement filled Bai Lin with even more motivation.

After breakfast, Tang Ziran deliberately changed into a relatively presentable outfit as well.

The father and son bid farewell to Lang Yue and Na'er, then set off for the Spirit Pagoda branch in Aolai City.

Bai Lin's steps were light along the way, his little face filled with anticipation and longing, as though he were about to welcome an immensely grand festival.

The Aolai City Spirit Pagoda branch stood in a relatively prosperous part of the city.

The tower was constructed from pure white stone and rose high into the clouds. At its summit was embedded a huge emblem flowing with soul-tool radiance, glittering beneath the sunlight and giving off an aura of solemn mystery that inspired involuntary reverence.

A faint halo of energy surrounded the tower, shutting out the noise of the outside world and making it seem sacred and inviolable.

Tang Ziran took a deep breath and, with Bai Lin in tow, pushed open the gleaming, heavy metal doors somewhat nervously.

A wave of cool air rushed over them.

The hall inside the tower was exceptionally spacious and bright. Its mirror-smooth floor reflected the exquisite soul-tool murals on the domed ceiling.

Soft light fell from all directions, illuminating the entire space until it was spotless.

The air carried a strange fragrance, a blend of energy and tranquility.

A pretty female Spirit Pagoda master who looked to be in her twenties noticed the father and son entering.

A warm smile immediately appeared on her face as she asked gently:

"May I ask what you need?"

Her gaze quickly swept over Tang Ziran's somewhat faded jacket and Bai Lin's clearly ordinary clothes. Her smile did not change, but a trace of barely noticeable scrutiny flashed deep in her eyes.

Tang Ziran hurriedly bowed slightly, wearing a humble, somewhat nervous smile:

"Hello, esteemed Spirit Pagoda master."

"I..."

"I brought my son here to..."

"To purchase a spirit soul."

His voice was quiet, carrying the instinctive awe of a working-class laborer facing someone powerful.

"Purchase a spirit soul?"

The female Spirit Pagoda master's warm smile receded as swiftly as the tide, returning to indifference almost instantly.

Her straight back seemed to relax slightly. The deliberately cultivated friendliness from before vanished without a trace, replaced by a formulaic detachment.

She casually nodded, no longer focusing her eyes on Tang Ziran's face. Instead, she turned toward the registration screen beside her, her tone becoming businesslike and even carrying a hint of barely noticeable laziness:

"Oh."

"A ten-year spirit soul or a hundred-year spirit soul?"

Tang Ziran was somewhat embarrassed by the abrupt change in her attitude, but he still cautiously asked with a trace of hope and unease:

"Um..."

"Esteemed Spirit Pagoda master, may I ask..."

"These two kinds of spirit souls, specifically..."

"What are their prices?"

The female Spirit Pagoda master did not even raise her head. Her slender fingers casually swiped across the screen while her gaze seemed caught by some interesting information. She casually quoted two cold figures, as though she were naming the price of vegetables at a market:

"A ten-year spirit soul costs seventy thousand Federation credits."

"A hundred-year spirit soul costs one million Federation credits."

Boom!

Those two numbers exploded beside Tang Ziran's ears like two massive soul-tool bombs!

The humble smile on his face instantly froze, then shattered!

His pupils abruptly dilated to their limit!

An icy chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head!

He suddenly looked up, staring fixedly at the female Spirit Pagoda master in disbelief. His lips trembled violently, and a dry, distorted voice emerged from his throat as he cried out:

"Seventy thousand?"

"One million?"

"No..."

"Wasn't it thirty thousand?"

His vision darkened. The sacred white dome of the Spirit Pagoda seemed to spin, while the female Spirit Pagoda master's indifferent profile became blurred and distant.

The heavy soul-tool card containing fifty thousand Federation credits in his chest, the fruit of his son's year of hard work, now felt like a red-hot branding iron, burning his heart with unbearable pain!

Those meager savings seemed so laughable before such astronomical prices, so utterly...

Inadequate!

Standing beside his father, the hopeful radiance that had filled Bai Lin's little face ever since they left home dimmed in an instant like a candle snuffed out by an icy wind.

He instinctively clenched his fists, his fingernails digging deeply into his palms, yet he felt no pain at all.

Only immense confusion and helplessness remained in his clear eyes. He stared blankly at the Spirit Pagoda master who had quoted that sky-high price, then at his father's face, which had instantly lost all color.

Seventy thousand?

One million?

Those fifty thousand...

Were nowhere near enough.

That spirit soul...

What were they going to do?