Blazing Fire, Fire Clan, Huo Tian

"Lin Huo, hurry and open the door for Uncle. I'm the uncle here to awaken your Martial Soul today."

Inside the room, the corner of Lin Huo's mouth twitched. Being coaxed like a child made him extremely uncomfortable.

The scene even reminded him of the childhood lessons from his previous life, when adults had warned him not to open the door for bad people.

After reminiscing for a moment, Lin Huo, who had long been prepared, opened the door and welcomed the middle-aged man inside. "You're the uncle here to awaken my Martial Soul? Why did you come to my home?

Oh, right, right. Please come in, Uncle. Just find somewhere to sit."

The middle-aged man entered with a smile. His eyes first swept swiftly and inconspicuously across the entire room, then twitched involuntarily.

Aside from a few old pots, bowls, and utensils, there was only a solitary straw mat spread on the floor.

There was no more fitting description for the room than bare walls and utter poverty.

Sit? Where was he supposed to sit? Pat his butt and sit on the floor?

After silently complaining to himself, the middle-aged man used Soul Power to sweep the empty spot beneath him clean.

Then, without putting on any lofty airs, he actually lifted his robe and sat directly on the ground in front of Lin Huo.

Huo Tian's down-to-earth behavior surprised Lin Huo slightly, while also easing his originally tense state of mind.

Judging solely from his easygoing manner toward a child too weak to even truss a chicken,

this mysterious middle-aged man might not have been a good person, but he was certainly no great villain either.

In that case, Lin Huo could try having a proper conversation with him first and see what he wanted.

During the moment Lin Huo spent silently thinking, the middle-aged man assumed that Lin Huo was shy and at a loss, so he kindly spoke first to break the ice.

"Let me introduce myself first. My name is Huo Tian, and I'm the director of admissions at Fire Sprout Junior Soul Master Academy in Blazing Fire City.

I came this time because I saw that little Lin Huo's Martial Soul is fire-attributed. I've specially come to recruit you to study at our academy. I wonder..."

Before he could finish, Huo Tian's expression suddenly changed. His previously relaxed brows began to knit tightly.

"What a nuisance." Muttering a curse under his breath, Huo Tian rose from the floor, dusted off his backside, and turned his gaze toward the door.

Just then, a rapid series of footsteps sounded outside.

Bang! The door was violently shoved open, slammed into the wall, and fell to the ground before it could even sway twice.

A middle-aged man in a luxurious red robe adorned with platinum cloud patterns strode into the room through the rising dust without so much as a greeting, his head held high.

Several attendants remained outside and did not follow him in, but Lin Huo recognized from their clothing that they were Spirit Hall stewards.

"So you're that little brat from New Town who struck it lucky and awakened level-five Soul Power?"

The middle-aged man did not lower his proudly raised head in the slightest. He questioned Lin Huo in a heavy nasal voice, looking down at him with disdain.

Everything about him radiated ill intent, making Lin Huo realize that this newly arrived middle-aged man was precisely the "nuisance" he had been worried about.

"It's me, Uncle. May I ask what Uncle wants with—"

"Hmph! Who's your uncle?"

His cold tone cut Lin Huo off. Still wearing an arrogant expression, the middle-aged man declared haughtily,

"I am Lals, the current master of the Martial Soul Sub-Hall in Guandu City and a purple-robed bishop of Spirit Hall. How could a little brat like you casually claim ties with me?

If you wish to address me, then bow your head respectfully and lower yourself before calling me Lord Bishop."

After being scolded, Lin Huo did not take it to heart. He simply went along with it and pretended to be aggrieved, showing weakness to his enemy.

With his head lowered in grievance, Lin Huo rapidly analyzed the current situation.

Are Spirit Hall people really this arrogant? Then again, good people and bad people exist everywhere.

It seemed he had run into the same sort of domineering Spirit Hall powerholder as that platinum bishop Salas.

Lin Huo's eyes flickered beneath his lowered head. After inwardly cursing his bad luck, he shifted his attention to Huo Tian.

In Lin Huo's view, a purple-robed bishop of a Martial Soul Sub-Hall would not travel thousands of miles to a remote little town like New Town just to pick on a six-year-old child who had only just awakened his Martial Soul.

That made the whole matter quite clear. The only possibility was that this purple-robed bishop, Lals, had come specifically for Huo Tian.

As for Huo Tian's identity...

The director of admissions at Fire Sprout Junior Soul Master Academy in Blazing Fire City—he was almost certainly connected to the Fire Clan, which controlled Blazing Fire Advanced Soul Master Academy.

In other words, Lin Huo's luck was truly terrible. Before he had even left the beginner village, he had already been dragged into a power struggle between the forces of the Heaven Dou Empire and Spirit Hall.

Seeing that Lin Huo merely kept his head lowered without changing his form of address to Lord Bishop, Lals's gaze sharpened as he prepared to release Soul Power pressure and teach Lin Huo a lesson.

However, Huo Tian stepped forward first, shielding Lin Huo behind him. He also released his Soul Power pressure, confronting Lals head-on.

"Hey! You're a dignified purple-robed bishop of a Martial Soul Sub-Hall. Do you really have to be so petty, nitpicking with a child who doesn't understand anything?"

"Heh heh." Lals shook his head and increased the Soul Power pressure further, while not forgetting to retort sarcastically.

"What do you know? I'm teaching this brat to understand early on that there is a distinction between high and low.

Otherwise, one day he might blindly follow someone he shouldn't, offend someone he shouldn't, and not even know how he died in the end.

Since when is it your turn, you sneaky fellow, to point fingers at me?"

"Sneaky?" Huo Tian crossed his arms, his narrowed eyes filled with contempt. "I came here openly and aboveboard. I cannot accept that 'sneaky' nonsense from your dog mouth."

Lin Huo hid comfortably behind Huo Tian without the slightest pressure. After thinking it over, he had already roughly guessed the cause and course of this conflict from their verbal confrontation.

Just as Lin Huo had expected, when Lals spoke again, he directly brought up the matter of Martial Soul awakening.

Called a dog mouth, Lals's face darkened as he roared, "Awakening Martial Souls for commoners has always been Spirit Hall's duty. Since when has it been Blazing Fire Academy's turn to meddle?"

Even as Lals arrogantly pushed his luck, Huo Tian remained calm and composed, though his rebuttal was anything but polite.

"What a joke! Lord Lals, you make it sound so righteous, but to put it bluntly, doesn't Spirit Hall awaken Martial Souls for the people only to monopolize Soul Master resources?

Besides, the task of awakening Martial Souls was merely entrusted to Spirit Hall by the two great empires, along with the responsibility of tallying and distributing subsidies for newly awakened Soul Masters.

Since when did this become work that Spirit Hall has always been responsible for?"

Huo Tian did not take Lals seriously at all. The information revealed by the Soul Power pressure had already allowed him to gauge the other man's strength.

He was merely a Soul King. He posed no threat to Huo Tian whatsoever.