"Little Saint Son, we are willing to brave boiling water and raging fire for you, and follow you unto death!"
The moment Hu Liena heard that Ye Tian wanted to take them under his wing, she kowtowed repeatedly, striking her forehead hard against the floor with resounding thuds.
Xie Yue and Yan froze for a moment before hurriedly following suit, slamming their foreheads against the floor.
The louder the thuds, the greater their sincerity.
The sincerity of Hu Liena and the other two left Ye Tian dumbfounded.
Good grief, they really weren't holding back. Those heads were banging away.
"Enough, all of you, get up. Keep this up and you'll knock yourselves stupid."
Seeing that the three still showed no signs of stopping, Ye Tian could only interrupt them.
"Yes, Little Saint Son!"
Only after hearing his command did Hu Liena and the other two stop kowtowing and slowly rise to their feet.
By then, all three had swollen foreheads, with blood streaming down their faces.
"You three are quite impressive. I like your loyalty, and I hope you'll always stay this way."
"Come on, I'll take you to the front. I can't be bothered waiting in line."
Ye Tian glanced at their foreheads with a gratified expression, then led them forward.
Everyone present watched the scene with indescribable envy.
Winning Ye Tian's favor was an immense honor.
Before long, Hu Liena and the other two would soar into the heavens and rise above the masses.
They had practically stepped in dog shit and struck gold.
"Greetings, Young Mistress, Little Saint Son!"
Ye Tian led Hu Liena and the other two into the Awakening Hall. Salas, the Red Archbishop presiding over the awakening ceremony there, respectfully greeted Ye Tian and Qian Renxue. He had long since advanced to Soul Douluo, but had never earned Qian Xunji's trust.
"Mm, rise."
"I brought a few people to cut in line. That won't be a problem, will it?"
Ye Tian nodded, signaling for Salas and the others to rise.
"You jest, Little Saint Son. Serving you is our honor."
Salas slowly stood, then bowed to Ye Tian once more in a show of respect.
"Good. I like your attitude."
"Nana, go ahead."
Satisfied with Salas's attitude, Ye Tian had Hu Liena step forward.
"Yes, Little Saint Son."
"Sorry for the trouble, Red Archbishop."
Hu Liena expressed her gratitude and stepped forward, bowing to Salas as well before entering the center of the Awakening Ceremony Array.
"Not at all!"
Even when beating a dog, one had to consider its master.
Although Salas did not know Hu Liena, Ye Tian had brought her, so he naturally had to show her every courtesy.
He waved back the subordinate who had been preparing to conduct the ceremony, then stepped forward to awaken Hu Liena's martial soul himself.
Then Salas summoned his martial soul and poured soul power into the array.
Seeing Salas's eight Soul Rings and sensing his cultivation, Ye Tian frowned slightly.
From his observations, Salas's soul power level should have been eighty-five.
A level-eighty-five Soul Douluo was still merely a Red Archbishop, and was even assigned trivial work like conducting awakening ceremonies.
It seemed Qian Xunji did not place much value on him within Spirit Hall.
For Ye Tian and Bibi Dong, this was a fine opportunity to win someone over.
"Heavens! A genius with level-nine innate soul power!"
"Quick, inform Pope Hall!"
Salas suddenly cried out, his face brimming with excitement.
On the Douluo Continent, innate soul power determined a person's aptitude.
Only those with level-seven innate soul power qualified as geniuses, fiercely sought after by every major power. As long as they did not squander their potential, they would become Soul Saints at the very least.
Those with level-eight innate soul power were top-tier geniuses, with a thirty-percent chance of reaching Titled Douluo and becoming Soul Douluos at worst.
Those with level-nine innate soul power were exceedingly rare supreme geniuses, with at least a fifty-percent chance of reaching Titled Douluo.
Those whose innate soul power reached level ten were called peerless geniuses with innate full soul power. Provided they survived, they were certain to become Titled Douluos, possibly even Super Douluos or Limit Douluos, and had a chance of becoming gods.
But level-ten innate full soul power was far too rare, something one could encounter only by chance, never seek out.
Even Spirit Hall had only Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue, the astonishing prodigy with level-twenty innate full soul power.
As for Ye Tian's innate soul power, no one knew what it was, nor had anyone asked. They knew only that despite his young age, he possessed considerable cultivation.
Now, after many years, Spirit Hall had welcomed another supreme genius with level-nine innate soul power.
With Spirit Hall's resources, they had absolute confidence in raising Hu Liena into a Titled Douluo.
"There's no need to inform the Pope."
"Hu Liena is one of mine. I'll decide what happens to her."
"Since her innate soul power has reached level nine, I'll accept her as a disciple on my teacher's behalf."
"Hu Liena, are you willing to take Saintess Bibi Dong as your teacher?"
Ye Tian had no intention of letting Qian Xunji pluck the fruit of his efforts, so he accepted a disciple on Bibi Dong's behalf before everyone present.
"Little Saint Son, I am willing to take Her Highness the Saintess as my teacher!"
Hearing that she could become the Saintess's disciple, Hu Liena excitedly knelt before Ye Tian and performed nine resounding kowtows to mark her acceptance of a teacher.
According to Spirit Hall's rules, supreme geniuses with level-nine innate soul power were usually taken as disciples by the Pope, or assigned to an elder personally selected by the Pope for special training.
But Pope Qian Xunji had already taken Bibi Dong, a peerless genius with level-ten innate full soul power, as his disciple. Naturally, Hu Liena would no longer catch his eye, and he would probably find an elder to teach her.
Although having an elder as her teacher would grant her considerable status, none would be as suitable as Bibi Dong.
"Good, get up."
"From now on, you're my junior sister. Just call me Brother Tian."
"You two should go awaken your martial souls as well."
Ye Tian helped Hu Liena to her feet, granting her a new status, then beckoned to the visibly excited Xie Yue and Yan.
Of course, he knew that the two had already awakened their martial souls, and he knew their aptitudes as well.
He was simply giving himself a pretext to learn about their aptitudes in front of everyone and find them teachers.
"Brother Tian, my brother and Yan awakened their martial souls last year. They both have level-eight innate soul power."
Coming back to her senses, Hu Liena hurriedly changed how she addressed him and introduced Xie Yue's and Yan's talents.
They would share hardship and fortune alike.
Now that she had transformed from a wild chicken into a phoenix, she certainly could not forget Xie Yue and Yan.
"Oh? Level-eight innate soul power? That's quite good aptitude too."
"Sure enough, I wasn't wrong about you."
"Since your aptitudes are good, I might as well find some time to introduce you to Elder Ju and Ghost Elder."
"I believe they'll show me a little consideration and accept you as disciples."
Seeing his opportunity, Ye Tian helped Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo take on disciples in front of everyone.
He did this to show everyone that only by following him could they feast on meat and enjoy a good life.
"Thank you, Little Saint Son!"
Hearing the good news, Xie Yue and Yan joyfully knelt and kowtowed with all their might.
They had never expected Ye Tian to help introduce them to elders.
They were truly overwhelmed with gratitude.
"Get up."
"How could I let you lose out when you're following me?"
"By the way, what's your name?"
"Your cultivation isn't low, yet they still have you conducting awakening ceremonies. Isn't that a waste of talent?"
Ye Tian smiled calmly and had Xie Yue and Yan rise, then shifted his gaze to Salas.
Having spent many years in Spirit Hall, how could Salas fail to understand Ye Tian's meaning? He immediately knelt, seizing his chance to rise above the crowd.
"Little Saint Son, this subordinate's name is Salas."
"His Holiness the Pope was considerate of my advanced age, so he assigned me here to conduct awakening ceremonies, allowing me to keep giving off light and warmth and contributing to Spirit Hall."
Salas was a wily old hand. His words introduced both himself and his current circumstances without leaving room for others to misconstrue them.
His only concern was whether Ye Tian would understand his hidden meaning.
"The Pope certainly treats you well. He knows how to be considerate, letting you suffer less and enjoy more comfort."
"However, I think being a little older is actually an advantage. You ought to hold an important position all the more."
"Only experienced veterans like you can make the most of your strengths in important positions."
"If you don't mind, you can enter my service for the time being."
"Little Sister Xue'er, I remember Heaven Dou City is missing a Branch Hall Master, isn't it?"
"I think he'd be quite suitable. Why don't you mention it to the Great Enshrined and have him serve at the branch hall in Heaven Dou City?"
"We can't let talent like this languish in obscurity. Otherwise, it'll be our loss."
Before you continue