You Said What?!

After delivering the finishing blow, Bao Jingjing's absorption of the Soul Ring went very smoothly.

However, her absorption speed was much slower than Xu Huxiao's.

Nearly two and a half hours later, the absorption was complete. A bright yellow Soul Ring pulsed up and down around Bao Jingjing's body.

Through the Eye of Omniscience, Xu Huxiao also discovered that her Soul Power had risen by one level, reaching level eleven. As expected, her Soul Skill restored stamina.

[Black Crystal Abalone]: After consuming a Black Crystal Abalone, one can restore stamina and Soul Power, heal injuries, and receive a strong mental boost that can reduce negative mental effects to a certain extent.

It was a very good Soul Skill.

Yet Bao Dexian wore a complicated expression, both delighted and worried.

He was delighted that his daughter had obtained a high-quality first Soul Ring.

What worried him was whether Jingjing's soul incantation would be the same as his. If a girl had to recite that lewd incantation...

Heaven forbid!

Bao Dexian did not dare imagine it.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star, filling up the sky afar. Black Crystal Abalone, come out~"

Just as Bao Dexian was caught up in his worries, Bao Jingjing's innocent little face flushed red. Her first Soul Ring shone as she recited her soul incantation.

As Soul Power surged, an abalone gleaming with crystalline black light appeared in her little hand. Its fragrance spread through the air, fresh and natural. It looked delicious at a glance.

"Here~ Huxiao, try this."

With rosy cheeks, big bright eyes, and a soft, sweet voice, Bao Jingjing held the Black Crystal Abalone out before Xu Huxiao.

Xu Huxiao sniffed, and the aroma rushed into his nose.

He did not stand on ceremony. He picked up the abalone and tossed it straight into his mouth.

The moment he bit down, juices burst forth, flooding his mouth with fresh, rich flavor!

"Jingjing, you don't have to call me Huxiao anymore. It sounds weird. Just call me Huxiao."

"Eh? Really? Then can I call you... Brother Huxiao?"

Bao Jingjing was incredibly shy when she said it. Lowering her head, she kept twisting the hem of her clothes with her little hands. When she seemed to receive no response, she gathered her courage and secretly peeked at the blond boy standing a head taller than her.

Xu Huxiao flashed a bright smile, scratched his head, and said, "Sure."

In that instant, Bao Jingjing felt that the world before her had never been so bright. A sweet smile curled across her lips.

"Brother Huxiao~"

"Mm-hm."

Only then did Bao Dexian react. He hurriedly took his daughter's hand and said:

"Jingjing, was that your soul incantation just now? Recite it again for Daddy."

Bao Jingjing obediently recited the incantation once more. At the same time, her first Soul Ring lit up, producing another Black Crystal Abalone.

"Here~ Daddy, this second one is for you."

Bao Dexian took the Black Crystal Abalone from his daughter's hand, tears faintly glimmering in his eyes.

Heaven has eyes!

Jingjing's soul incantation was normal. Sob sob~

As Bao Dexian ate the abalone with tears in his eyes, Xu Bayan walked over carrying two Phoenix-Tailed Flower-Bone Chickens. He had made quite a haul.

"Let's go. We're heading home for a feast. Hehe, I can't wait to taste Yu'er's cooking."

Dinner at the Xu Residence.

They had rabbit for dinner: all kinds of spicy rabbit heads, rabbit fillets in golden broth, dry-fried diced rabbit with pork intestines, tomato-spiced braised rabbit legs, poached rabbit, and more. There was no need to list them all.

In short, they ate to their hearts' content.

Xu Huxiao even entertained the thought of raising Devil Rabbits in bulk to ensure he could eat such delicious food every day.

But it was only a passing thought. After all, while captive breeding would provide enough meat, its flavor would probably be a notch worse.

After resting for a while and feeling that he had eaten a little too much that night, Xu Huxiao went to the Martial Arena and began practicing the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms at an extremely slow pace. As he deepened his understanding of exerting and neutralizing force, he also worked off his meal.

As he practiced his palm technique, Xu Huxiao emptied his mind and thought about the path of cultivation ahead.

There were still six days until enrollment at Spirit Hall Junior Academy.

Just after he returned home, the Spirit Temple had already sent someone to inform him that he had been selected for the Spirit Elite Reserve Team.

Besides stating that he had been successfully admitted, the Spirit Elite Reserve Team acceptance notice also gave a detailed introduction to the reserve team's training and the requirements for passing assessments and advancing in rank.

Talented Soul Masters selected for the Spirit Elite Reserve Team would undergo elimination training together after studying at the junior academy for two years. Three seven-member teams—Bronze, Silver, and Gold—would then be determined, and they would receive honorary medals issued by Spirit Hall.

Xu Huxiao was somewhat looking forward to the training, though not overly so.

Because he knew the training methods on this continent. The ceiling for academy special training seemed to be weighted running.

It was monotonous and boring, yet it seemed quite effective in the original story.

Could it be that weighted running on this continent coincidentally conformed to some profound law of heaven and earth he did not know about?

That was entirely possible. Nothing was strange in a fantasy world. He could not be stubborn; when it was time to believe, he had to believe.

Thus, after finishing his palm practice, Xu Huxiao decided to add weighted running to his future training.

At the same time, the notice contained another important piece of information. Spirit Hall had created a Martial Soul Talent Ranking based on the talents of children who had awakened their Martial Souls.

The ranking was based on the combined score of one's Martial Soul and Innate Soul Power, both of which were graded out of one hundred.

It did not include only those who had awakened at the age of six this time. It also included Soul Masters under twelve who had entered the reserve team previously.

Only the Bronze rank in the reserve team had a separate Talent Ranking. Silver and Gold only had strength rankings.

Xu Huxiao quickly found his own name on the ranking: Martial Soul, sixty-eight points; Innate Soul Power, one hundred points; total, one hundred sixty-eight points.

Ranked twenty-first.

There were fifty people on the ranking in total. The highest score was one hundred eighty-five, while the lowest was one hundred forty.

In the event of equal total scores, Martial Soul score determined the ranking.

Xu Huxiao did not care about his rank, but he saw several familiar names on the list.

Among them were the children of Ao Miao, the Ghost Leopard Douluo he had met during Martial Soul awakening.

Orleans: Martial Soul, ninety-two points; Innate Soul Power, eighty points; total, one hundred seventy-two points; ranked seventh.

Ao Li'ao: Martial Soul, eighty-eight points; Innate Soul Power, ninety points; total, one hundred seventy-eight points; ranked fifth.

Seeing this, Xu Huxiao was puzzled. What was the standard for rating Martial Souls? Was it that hexagonal formation?

The two had the same Ghost Leopard Martial Soul, yet their scores differed.

Then he suddenly remembered that when they awakened, their Martial Souls seemed to differ in attributes. One Ghost Leopard had pale, chilling flames in its eye sockets, while the other possessed dense wind-element energy. Perhaps that was why.

There were three more people in the top ten whom Xu Huxiao also knew: his cousins.

Xu Lin: Martial Soul, ninety points; Innate Soul Power, ninety points; total, one hundred eighty points; ranked fourth.

Xu Luo: Martial Soul, ninety-five points; Innate Soul Power, eighty points; total, one hundred seventy-five points; ranked sixth.

Xu Yanran: Martial Soul, ninety points (mutated); Innate Soul Power, eighty points; total, one hundred seventy points; ranked eighth.

He was not close with his two cousins from his eldest uncle's branch, because his eldest uncle, Xu Longgang, rarely came to the Xu Residence. On the other hand, he had met Xu Yanran, his second uncle's daughter, several times.

She looked like a refined and gentle girl, but her Martial Soul was the mutated Golden-Eyed Demon Bear. According to his father, this Martial Soul was no weaker than the Blood Demon Berserker Bear and was equally domineering.

He truly wondered what kind of contrast Yanran would display when fighting in Soul Master battles.

There were two more people on the ranking whom Xu Huxiao had never met, but was equally familiar with.

He remembered that these two seemed to be part of Spirit Hall's future Golden Generation, though another person named Yan was absent from this ranking.

On the Talent Ranking, the two occupied the top three positions.

Hu Liena: Martial Soul, ninety-six points; Innate Soul Power, ninety points; total, one hundred eighty-six points; ranked first.

Xiao Ji: Martial Soul, ninety points; Innate Soul Power, ninety-five points; total, one hundred eighty-five points; ranked second.

Xie Yue: Martial Soul, ninety-two points; Innate Soul Power, ninety points; total, one hundred eighty-two points; ranked third.

They all had level-nine Innate Soul Power, and their Martial Soul scores were even above Yanran's Golden-Eyed Demon Bear. They seemed quite formidable.

Even so, Xu Huxiao felt no ripple in his heart.

Because talent alone was not enough to become strong. Effort mattered too, and he was confident that he worked harder than every Soul Master on this list.

After all, who started cultivating day and night from the moment they were born...

After poking fun at himself, Xu Huxiao finished his practice and headed for his father's study. He planned to tell his father that night about becoming Bibi Dong's disciple.

Becoming her disciple before Bibi Dong became the new Pope should be easier than doing so later.

"Father, I need to talk to you."

When Xu Huxiao arrived outside his father's study, he knocked on the door, but no one answered.

Strange. The study light was on, and Uncle Luo had just said that Father was handling matters in the study. Why was there no response?

Then a thunderous snore rang out.

Hmm-huh~

Hmm-huff~

Hearing the rhythmic snoring, Xu Huxiao was speechless.

He pushed open the door and, sure enough, saw Xu Bayan sprawled over the desk, fast asleep.

Seeing his father sleeping so soundly, Xu Huxiao thought about it and decided to speak to him tomorrow instead.

Unexpectedly, just as he reached the door and prepared to close it, the snoring stopped.

"Oh, Huxiao. Do you need something from Dad?"

Xu Bayan raised his bleary eyes to look over, then stretched lazily. His joints immediately cracked and popped.

Seeing this, Xu Huxiao turned around and returned to the study. Looking at his father seriously, he said:

"Father, I came because there's something I want to ask of you."

"Oh? Tell me. What does our little Soul Master genius need?"

"I want to take Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden, Bibi Dong, as my master. I hope Father can help me."

Pfft!

Xu Bayan had just taken a sip of ginseng tea to wake himself up, and he sprayed it all over Xu Huxiao's face.

"You said what?!"