Targeting the Transmigrator

"I didn't say anything wrong. Under normal circumstances, someone with only one level of Innate Soul Power couldn't possibly cultivate this quickly. Unless they were an Evil Soul Master..."

Tang San could no longer hold back and interrupted him.

He looked around and saw that Dai Mubai and Ning Rongrong also wore strange expressions. They did not believe that Chu Zhao could have gone from level one to level thirty in six years.

However, they were not familiar with one another, so they did not voice their doubts.

"Shut up! Zhao Zhao could never be an Evil Soul Master. She cultivates so quickly only because she works hard enough. She spends almost all twenty-four hours of every day cultivating. You don't know anything, so stop talking nonsense."

Xiao Wu and Tang San both looked grim. If Chu Zhao had not tugged at them, they would have nearly started fighting.

Xiao Wu greatly regretted bringing up the subject.

Though Tang San and Xiao Wu were still young, they were rather frightening when angry. The Transmigrator was so frightened that he did not dare say another word.

"Actually, my Innate Soul Power wasn't level one."

Chu Zhao held Tang San and Xiao Wu back, then dropped this bombshell.

"What? But didn't we awaken our martial souls together back then?"

Tang San was confused. He had indeed seen that the Crystal Ball used to test Soul Power had emitted only a tenth of its light. It had definitely been level one!

"Maybe that Crystal Ball was broken. You should remember that I asked several of you what it felt like when your Soul Power reached level ten."

"Yes, that did happen."

Tang San thought back and remembered that Chu Zhao had asked him, Xiao Wu, Xiao Chenyu, and Wang Sheng. Their answers had all been more or less the same.

"I realized that no matter how I cultivated, it felt just like what you described—the feeling of reaching the level ten bottleneck. At first, I thought I was overthinking it, that I only felt that way because I wanted so badly to break through level ten. But even after cultivating for two or three years, it was still the same, so I got a Crystal Ball and tested my Soul Power again..."

"This time, the result was different. Your Soul Power tested at level ten..."

Tang San finished what Chu Zhao had left unsaid, his emotions incredibly complicated.

"That's right."

When her Innate Soul Power had been tested six years ago, whether it was the system's fault or the Crystal Ball's, Chu Zhao's Soul Power had shown only level one. Chu Zhao wanted to pin the blame on the Crystal Ball. How could her cheat possibly be wrong?

The others were all shocked by the story and felt some sympathy for Chu Zhao.

They had never expected something like this to happen. Chu Zhao was simply too unlucky—how could the Crystal Ball have malfunctioned during her Soul Power test?

If her Innate Soul Power had not been level one, then everything made sense.

"That's outrageous! How much time and money did that cost you?"

Only after a long while did Tang San speak indignantly. He was genuinely angry.

"Having only level one Innate Soul Power must have been such a huge blow to you. If you hadn't cultivated so hard and had instead been so discouraged that you wasted your time..."

Tang San did not dare think any further. Compared to the wasted time and talent, the Gold Soul Coin subsidy was nothing.

"But I didn't waste my time, did I? Since I thought my talent was poor, I worked twice as hard and even surpassed all of you!"

Chu Zhao comforted him. Not wanting them to waste any more time on this matter, she hurriedly said, "Let's head to the next trial already. Don't waste time."

As they followed Dai Mubai toward the fourth trial, they began chatting again. Tang San was especially curious about Shrek Academy.

As she listened to Dai Mubai go on and on about Shrek Academy's glorious history, Chu Zhao really wanted to throw in a few barbs.

Especially when she heard him say, "The most outstanding among them is now the youngest elder in Spirit Hall, someone whose authority is second only to the Pope's."

Chu Zhao could not help herself. This was far too absurd.

"Huh? Shrek Academy is that impressive? It actually produced a Titled Douluo in their thirties! That's amazing. We really came to the right place."

"A Titled Douluo in their thirties? What do you mean?"

Tang San and Xiao Wu did not understand, so they picked up on Chu Zhao's words and asked.

The others also failed to react at first and looked at Chu Zhao in confusion.

"Doesn't Shrek Academy only admit twelve-year-old students? Shrek Academy has been established for twenty years, so that most outstanding student would only be thirty-two this year, thirty-three at most."

"That calculation is correct. There's no problem with it."

Tang San and Xiao Wu did the math and agreed with Chu Zhao.

"But as far as I know, there is one absolute requirement to become an elder of Spirit Hall: your cultivation must reach the Titled Douluo realm. Don't you know that?"

Once Chu Zhao said this, everyone realized that something was wrong.

As a member of Shrek Academy, Dai Mubai's expression turned extremely ugly.

"That does seem to be the case."

Tang San nodded, still astonished that an academy could cultivate such a young Titled Douluo. He wondered whether he could achieve the same.

"Huh? Then could there be a Titled Douluo at the academy too?"

Xiao Wu's face turned a little pale, and she instinctively clutched Chu Zhao's arm tighter.

"Probably not. Titled Douluo are still very rare."

Knowing what Xiao Wu feared, Chu Zhao hurriedly reassured her.

Dai Mubai's expression worsened further, because he too had discovered the inconsistency and could not think of a way to explain it away.

Just as he was growing frantic, the Transmigrator spoke up, but he was arguing with Chu Zhao instead.

"What's there to question? A Titled Douluo in their thirties is indeed impossible. I'm sure you don't know that Spirit Hall also has honorary elders. You don't need to be a Titled Douluo to serve as one. That senior of ours must be an honorary elder!"

"Yes, yes, yes, an honorary elder."

Dai Mubai hurriedly took up his words and agreed.

After speaking, the Transmigrator looked at Chu Zhao with a provocative gaze.

He had started it, and Chu Zhao was no pushover. Naturally, she would not be polite.

"But as far as I know, the status of an honorary elder is determined only by a token. Regardless of one's strength, anyone holding that token—even a child—is an honorary elder."

"Besides, honorary elders do not have as much authority as you claim. Second only to the Pope? That's ridiculous."

As Chu Zhao spoke, she returned his look with an equally provocative gaze.

"How do you know all that so clearly? Who exactly are you?"

The Transmigrator looked utterly shaken, his eyes fixed on Chu Zhao.

She knew far too much.

And there shouldn't have been anyone like her in the plot. Could she, like me, be a Transmigrator who knew the plot? Otherwise, how could she know so much?

Knowing what he was trying to probe for, Chu Zhao saw that his gaze had given away all his emotions. Yet she deliberately said nothing, offering another explanation instead.