A Difficult Question, Compensation for Teammates

The students from the Blazing Fire Academy exchanged bewildered glances. Huo Lei nudged Huo Wushuang, signaling him to go up and receive the award.

Huo Wushuang shook his head, looked at Huo Lei, and said, "Although I am the captain, everyone can see that Huo Lei, you are the soul of our team. Without you, we would not have been able to become champions."

Huo Wu agreed, "Huo Lei, go ahead, don't refuse."

Huo Lei glanced at his companions, nodded, and strode forward toward Pope Bibi Dong.

When he finally stood before the Pope, he was still struck by Bibi Dong's beauty. Although she was no longer young, time seemed to have left no trace on her.

The Pope gazed at the Huo Lei before him, a strange light flashing in his eyes. "You are outstanding, even more outstanding than I expected. Would you like to join the Spirit Hall?"

Huo Lei looked troubled, momentarily hesitant. "Damn it! It's this question again. This is too difficult to answer. If I agree, I'll be letting down Xue Ye. If I don't agree, I might offend the Spirit Hall. If the talent I've shown can't be used by the Spirit Hall, they might ruthlessly eliminate me. What should I do?"

Bibi Dong's expression changed slightly, but she still smiled, "What, is it hard to answer? Are you not satisfied with the conditions Salas gave you? You can name any conditions you want, as long as they are not excessive, I can agree to them."

Huo Lei smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Your His Holiness the Pope. I haven't decided yet whether to join the Spirit Hall. Could you allow me some more time to consider it?"

Bibi Dong nodded. "Alright! I'll give you time to consider. I hope you won't keep me waiting too long. Once you've made up your mind, you can contact any of the branch halls under the Spirit Hall, and they will naturally relay the message to the Papal Hall."

Huo Lei said gratefully, "Thank you, Your His Holiness the Pope."

After Bibi Dong finished speaking, she handed over the brocade plate she was holding.

Huo Lei accepted the brocade tray, feeling the powerful aura emanating from the three Soul Bones, and his heart trembled involuntarily. Three more Soul Bone, and these three were of much higher quality than the three given by Xue Ye. However, their significance was different; these three Soul Bones were the result of the entire Blazing Fire Academy team's hard work.

Greedy eyes shot in from all directions. Every Soul Master who saw Soul Bone wanted it. At this moment, Huo Lei was like a fat sheep walking around, making countless hungry wolves drool.

Huo Lei directly activated his Soul Power, storing the three Soul Bone along with the brocade plate into his Storage Ring. He then turned and returned to his companions.

Bibi Dong surveyed the crowd and said calmly, "This year's Soul Master Tournament has successfully concluded. Let's disperse."

Everyone present, whether from the participating Blazing Fire Academy or the Soul Master, began to evacuate in an orderly manner under the command of the Spirit Hall's personnel.

Amidst the envious gazes of the other Soul Master, Blazing Fire Academy left the competition venue.

Pope Bibi Dong and Ning Fengzhi, along with a group of Titled Douluo, turned and walked towards the Papal Hall. Following them were twelve Red-Clothed Cardinal, but the last few Red-Clothed Cardinal exchanged subtle glances.

The Continental Elite Tournament for Advanced Soul Master Academy, held every five years, has come to an end.

The group from the Blazing Fire Academy returned to the hotel and gathered in their room, all with smiles on their faces. Only Huo Lei remained calm, with a hint of worry even on his composed expression.

Huo Wu walked over to Huo Lei and asked with a smile, "Huo Lei, what's wrong? You don't seem very happy."

Huo Lei looked at Huo Wu, forcing a smile, "Sister, I'm not unhappy. What I'm worried about now is how to divide these Soul Bones?"

Huo Wu's smile suddenly froze, and she fell silent.

Everyone fell into deep thought upon hearing Huo Lei and Huo Wu's conversation.

Huo Lei looked at everyone in the room and said, "Our victory in the Soul Master Tournament and the rewards are inseparable from everyone's hard work. However, there are only three Soul Bones, and it's really difficult to decide how to distribute them. As I promised before, if the prizes can't be distributed to everyone, we'll have to make up for it with Gold Soul Coin. So, is there anyone willing to give up Soul Bone and choose Gold Soul Coin instead?"

"I'll give up the Soul Bone. Some Gold Soul Coin will suffice as compensation," Feng Xiaotian said nonchalantly.

Huo Wu looked at Feng Xiaotian and said irritably, "You joined the team later, what are you doing causing trouble? We're already being lenient by letting you win the championship, and you still want a share of the Soul Bone? You weren't even eligible to get one in the first place."

Feng Xiaotian gave an awkward laugh, "I wasn't planning on taking it. I just wanted to lighten the mood since the atmosphere was a bit heavy!"

Huo Lei smiled and said, "Brother Xiaotian also contributed to the Blazing Fire Academy winning the championship. Since you've voluntarily given up, I'll thank you in advance. I'll treat you to a meal sometime."

"Then it's a deal." Feng Xiaotian smiled brightly.

"We give up," the voices of the Huo Chui and Huo Jun brothers rang out.

Huo Lei nodded. "Alright! Thank you very much. I'll give you both some Gold Soul Coin as compensation when we get back to school."

Huo Lie asked curiously, "Huo Lei, how much compensation can this Gold Soul Coin provide?"

Huo Lei pondered for a moment, then looked at Huo Lie, "Distribution should be based on work. Those who put in more effort should receive more, and those who put in less effort should receive less. Huo Lie, how much compensation do you want?"

All eyes in the room were on Huo Lie.

Huo Lie felt a little uncomfortable under everyone's gaze, rubbing his hands together nervously, and hesitated, "Well... it's really hard to say, how about 20,000 Gold Soul Coin?"

After a moment's thought, Huo Lei readily agreed, "Twenty thousand Gold Soul Coin is reasonable. Okay! I agree."

Huo Lie exclaimed excitedly, "Okay! It's settled then!"

Huo Yun said, "Huo Lei, we brothers don't want the Soul Bone either."

"Huo Yun and Huo Yu, you participated in the entire battle and contributed a great deal. How about we compensate each of you with 30,000 Gold Soul Coin?" Huo Lei looked at the two brothers with a consultative tone.

Huo Yun and Huo Yu exchanged a glance, their eyes meeting, and they both nodded, saying in unison, "Okay."

"Alright! That's settled then. I'll give you the Gold Soul Coin as soon as we get back to the academy." Huo Lei smiled brightly.

Xie Chong smiled and said, "Congratulations on winning the championship of the Soul Master Tournament. You've also gained valuable experience and improved your skills, along with a considerable amount of Gold Soul Coin. You also have a very important reward: Xue Ye promised that if any Soul Master team wins the competition, the entire team will be promoted one rank."

Huo Wushuang exclaimed excitedly, "I had completely forgotten about it until Teacher Xie Chong mentioned it! Does this mean I can be promoted from Viscount to Earl?"

Everyone realized what was happening and was overjoyed, chatting happily among themselves.

"Congratulations, Huo Lei! You've become Marquis the Heaven Dou Empire. This humble woman greets Your Excellency, Marquis. Hehehe." Huo Wu bowed to Huo Lei, mimicking his manner perfectly, and teased him.

"Earl Huo Wu, please excuse the formalities and take a seat. Hahaha." Huo Lei responded in kind, making gestures as he did so.

"The Soul Master Tournament is over, and it's time for us to leave Spirit City. After all, this is Spirit Hall territory, and there are many powerful figures here. It's inevitable that someone will covet our three Soul Bones, so it's best to leave as soon as possible. Everyone, pack your things in a bit. After lunch at the hotel, we'll head back to the academy. Now, go back and prepare."

Xie Chong explained the pros and cons to the trainees, outlined his plan, and gave them some further instructions.