Spirit Hall Junior Spirit Master Academy

"System, I choose option three: the mysterious martial soul fragment."

Ye Xunhuan took a deep breath and made up his mind.

He had carefully weighed the first two options—the martial soul of a Titled Douluo might be powerful, but it was still something from the Douluo Continent plane. Its ceiling was right there.

A god-level martial soul sounded intimidating, but an artifact existing in martial soul form was still inferior to a true divine artifact. Only after becoming a god, refining it, and nurturing it with divine power could it unleash its true might.

But he already had a guess about the mysterious martial soul fragment.

He would take the gamble.

[Detected that the host has made a choice.]

[Congratulations, host. You have obtained one of the Four Swords of Zhu Xian: the Zhu Xian Sword.]

Immediately afterward, a vivid introduction echoed in his mind.

First came a poem of praise.

"The Zhu Xian Sword brings sharpness, the Lu Xian Sword brings ruin, the Xian Sword raises crimson light in every direction;

The Jue Xian Sword holds endless transformations, staining the robes of Great Golden Immortals with blood."

Then came the description of the Four Swords of Zhu Xian themselves.

"Neither copper nor iron, neither steel nor gold, once hidden beneath Mount Sumeru. Without yin and yang reversed in refinement, how could water and fire temper their edge?"

"The Four Swords of Zhu Xian—the foremost killing weapon of the Heavenly Dao. Forged at the beginning of primordial chaos, they are innate supreme treasures of the Primordial World. Once the sword formation rises, only four Saints can break it. They are the treasure that suppresses Jiejiao and Master Tongtian's ultimate trump card."

"The Zhu Xian Sword: stationed at the eastern Zhu Xian Gate, it embodies 'sharpness' and reigns supreme in offense. Once its sword light flashes, none can escape the myriad tribulations."

Ye Xunhuan's mind buzzed.

He had gambled correctly!

The Four Swords of Zhu Xian had been legendary figures in the mythological systems of the novels Ye Xunhuan had read in his previous life.

They were weapons capable of slaying Great Golden Immortals.

Even if this was merely the projection of a broken sword, in this low-dimensional plane, no martial soul on the Douluo Continent could compare to it.

[Notice: Due to the Douluo Continent plane's excessively low level, the system has sealed away the vast majority of the Zhu Xian Sword's energy. It is currently sealed in the host's sea of consciousness as a martial soul fragment. The host may gradually refine it only after reaching godhood.]

The next second, an almost imperceptible glimmer entered his forehead.

Ye Xunhuan felt as if a stone had been dropped into the depths of his sea of consciousness. His entire spiritual sea suddenly churned. The waves were far more violent than he had imagined, carrying pure killing intent.

Then everything fell silent.

Ye Xunhuan steadied his mind and sank his consciousness into his sea of consciousness.

At the highest point in its center, he saw a dark-blue longsword suspended in the air.

The blade was narrow and long, its surface flowing with a cold dark-blue gleam. A biting sword intent rushed straight at him.

There was no scabbard and no crossguard. The lone sword hung there in solitude, yet it radiated a pressure that made his entire sea of consciousness tremble.

The Behemoth, which usually rampaged freely through his sea of consciousness, was now curled up in a corner. Its dark-gold mane stood on end, making it look like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

It bared its fangs and growled at the Zhu Xian Sword hanging high above. A low whimper rumbled from its throat—resentful and wary, yet utterly without defiance.

No matter how powerful the Behemoth was, it was only a ferocious beast from another plane.

The Zhu Xian Sword, however, was a supreme treasure of the Primordial World.

The gap between them was immeasurable.

The corners of Ye Xunhuan's mouth rose slightly. Ignoring the Behemoth's little tantrum, he withdrew his consciousness from his sea of consciousness.

Ye Xunhuan looked at Gui Mei, who had remained silent ever since they left, and took the initiative. "Elder Gui, could you tell me about Spirit Hall Junior Spirit Master Academy?"

Gui Mei nodded mechanically.

"Spirit Hall Junior Spirit Master Academy, as its name suggests, is an academy specifically established for spirit masters between six and twelve years old."

His voice was hoarse and flat, as though he were reading an official document. "Every year, branch halls and main halls alike send the promising seedlings they have screened here."

"The quality of the students varies greatly. There are geniuses with exceptionally high Innate Soul Power, as well as ordinary spirit masters who barely managed to awaken. There are also plenty of spies from the two empires mixed in among them, but Spirit Hall does not care. We are only responsible for teaching and nurturing them."

His tone was very casual when he said, "does not care."

Ye Xunhuan caught the deeper meaning.

It was not that Spirit Hall truly did not care. It was that Spirit Hall had the confidence not to.

Come if you were a spy. Even if you learned their skills or stole their theories and brought them back to spread them, Spirit Hall would not care.

Could the two empires possibly become stronger than Spirit Hall?

Gui Mei continued, his voice neither rising nor falling.

"The academy is divided into three levels: Ordinary Class, Elite Class, and Genius Class. Students are assigned upon enrollment based on their awakening performance, and there is an opportunity for adjustment every six months. Outstanding students from Ordinary Class may advance to Elite Class, while top students in Elite Class may apply for the Genius Class assessment. The reverse is also true. If you cannot keep up, you are demoted."

"Of course, you have Innate Full Soul Power, so you will enter Genius Class directly."

"The academy's courses are divided into two major categories: theory and practical combat. All classes attend theory lessons together—basic martial soul knowledge, soul beast guides, and the fundamentals of Soul Power circulation."

"Practical combat classes are trained separately. Ordinary Class practices physical techniques and basic soul skill control. Elite Class practices teamwork and combat drills. Genius Class..."

Gui Mei paused here.

"The training content for Genius Class is individually designed by instructors. Every student has a different plan. There are fewer than twenty Genius Class students in the entire academy, and every one of them is an elite carefully selected and sent here by the various branch halls."

He paused, seemingly choosing his words, before adding, "The academy admits one class of students each year, with no more than six classes in total. In other words, there are children aged six to twelve in the academy, and some have already entered the two-ring Soul Grandmaster level."

Ye Xunhuan nodded slightly. It was compulsory education, after all. He was familiar with that.

"An academy-wide tournament is held once every year, also called the Champion Selection. This competition is the most important event in the academy, without question."

"The Champion Selection consists of three events." Gui Mei raised three fingers and bent them down one by one as he spoke.

"First, the individual spirit master battle. One-on-one duels in a random-draw elimination format. Whoever remains standing at the end becomes the individual champion."

"Second, the spirit master team battle. Students form their own teams and compete in arena matches, testing coordination and tactics."

"Third, soul beast combat. The academy captures some soul beasts from Soul Hunting Forest. Students kill them alone, and points are awarded according to the age of the soul beasts they kill."

He lowered his hand, his voice still devoid of inflection. "The points from all three events are added together to determine the overall score. The top one hundred students graduate successfully and may enter Spirit Hall Advanced Spirit Master Academy. As for the top ten students, they have an excellent chance of being personally accepted as disciples by a Titled Douluo from the Elder Hall or Worship Hall."

Ye Xunhuan silently praised Spirit Hall's policies.

A Titled Douluo taking disciples.

What did that mean? It meant that once you squeezed into the top ten, you would have cultivation resources, Spirit Ring hunting opportunities, and connections from then on.

That was far better than any reward the two empires could offer.

After all, the two empires could not even scrape together two Titled Douluos.

"For example," Gui Mei continued, unaware of what he was thinking, "Yan, one of the current Spirit Hall Golden Generation trio."

"His martial soul is the Flame Lord. He had level-nine Innate Soul Power and successfully graduated in his second year after enrollment."

When Gui Mei said this, his tone carried a hint of solemnity. "His master is Demon Bear Douluo of the Elder Hall, a level ninety-five attack-type Titled Douluo. On the very day the Champion Selection ended, Demon Bear Douluo personally came to the academy and took him away."

"Who else is in the Golden Generation?" Ye Xunhuan asked.

Gui Mei glanced at him and said in a deep voice, "Yan, Xie Yue, and Hu Liena. Xie Yue has no master, while Hu Liena's master is the current Pope of Spirit Hall."

"Of course, His Holiness the Pope also said earlier that as long as you win first place in the championship tournament three months from now, you will receive the same treatment as Hu Liena. In other words, she may become your master in the future as well," Gui Mei added.

Hearing that, Ye Xunhuan felt as though ten thousand alpacas had stampeded across his mind. He nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. He had thought Bibi Dong's "same treatment" referred to cultivation resources and the status of Holy Son.

So it meant becoming her disciple.

Becoming her husband would be more like it.

Ye Xunhuan truly did not dare praise Bibi Dong's teaching ability. A love-struck fool had merely taught another love-struck fool.

Suddenly, Gui Mei stopped walking and glanced back at Ye Xunhuan.

"We're here."

Ye Xunhuan raised his eyes and looked ahead. A wall appeared at the end of his vision, with an arched gate at its center.

The plaque above the gate bore eight powerful characters: "Spirit Hall Junior Spirit Master Academy."

Gui Mei stopped before the archway and looked back at Ye Xunhuan.

"Go in, brat. I hope to see you in Pope's Palace three months from now."

With that, his shadow flickered. He vanished without a trace beneath Ye Xunhuan's astonished gaze, leaving behind only an enrollment certificate that slowly drifted down from midair.