Enrollment and Meng Shenji's Warning

The staircase spiraled upward, its winding turns rising one above another. Wooden steps passed beneath their feet, quietly linking the floors.

Before long, Tang Shan reached the top floor under Xue Qinghe's guidance and knocked softly on the door. A moment later, an elderly voice came from within. "Please come in."

Xue Qinghe pushed the door open and entered, with Tang Shan close behind.

It was a spacious, solemn hall of roughly a thousand square meters. Warm yellow light fell on the reliefs of Soul Masters along the walls, outlining their ancient, dignified forms.

A faint scent of sandalwood incense filled the air, lending it a quiet solemnity.

At the far end of the hall, three enormous rosewood desks stood in a triangular arrangement, each with an elderly man seated behind it. They wore the black formal robes Spirit Hall had specially designed for Soul Douluos. Gold and silver threads intertwined across the fabric, with the enormous image of a humanoid bearing three pairs of wings faintly visible.

Behind the foremost desk sat a tall, thin elderly man with a ruddy complexion and a vigorous air. He seemed gentle, but looking into his eyes felt like staring into an abyss, tempting one to sink into its depths. The faint fluctuations of Soul Power around him carried a subtle chill that would send shivers down anyone who remained near him too long.

Behind him to his left sat a plump elderly man. Rather than looking imposing, the black formal robes gave him a somewhat endearing appearance. Seated, he was clearly a head shorter than the man in front. His whole body was round as a ball, and his height and width probably differed very little. Fat piled on his face, and when he smiled, his eyes narrowed into tiny slits, making