"Your Excellency!"
"Your Excellency!"
"Your Excellency!"
Turning toward the voices and seeing the newcomer, the surrounding crowd voluntarily cleared a path, allowing the old man to walk straight up to Flender.
The old man was full of vigor and wore a Spirit Hall uniform. Seven silver ripples gleamed on the Soul Master badge on his chest, marking him as a Soul Saint above level seventy.
Becoming a bishop of Spirit Hall required meeting one unyielding condition: one's cultivation had to reach the Soul Saint realm above level seventy. Those whose soul power exceeded level eighty could become Red-Robed Archbishops, ranking second only to the elders.
Red-Robed Archbishops were found only in the capitals of the two great empires and Spirit City, the sacred ground of Soul Masters. The Spirit Hall Sub-Hall in Suotuo City lacked the standing to warrant having Spirit Hall send a Red-Robed Archbishop to oversee it.
To better serve Soul Masters and ordinary citizens, Spirit Hall established branches in first-tier cities. The Soul Masters stationed in charge were Soul Saints whose soul power exceeded level seventy.
Flender was a Soul Saint above level seventy, and the bishop before him was one as well. With little difference between their soul power, Flender naturally dared not throw his weight around and bully the weak.
"Senior Zhang, you must be joking. I was merely teasing a junior. With my standing, how could I possibly do such a thing?" True to his nature as a crooked merchant, Flender spoke with a smile without so much as a change in expression.
Flender's gaze swept over Tang San's belt. He had done all he could about that plate crystal. A faint smile curved his lips, pleased that Grandmaster was finally no longer hiding from him. He turned and entered the shop, paying no further attention to what happened outside.
"Are you Su Chen?"
Bishop Zhang looked Su Chen up and down. A prodigy who had reached level forty in soul power at such a young age was one of a kind in Suotuo City.
"Yes."
Su Chen nodded, inwardly reflecting that having someone backing him really did help sometimes. Had Spirit Hall's bishop not happened to pass by today, he would probably have had to reveal the Pope Token Bibi Dong had bestowed on him to resolve the crisis just now.
What Su Chen did not know was that, even before he reached Suotuo City, Bibi Dong had secretly sent a handwritten letter to Bishop Zhang a thousand miles away. She had instructed Bishop Zhang to safeguard Su Chen above all else, whatever the cost.
As a seeded contender and Bibi Dong's disciple, how could he not receive special attention from Spirit Hall? With her keen eye, Bibi Dong could already foresee that Su Chen would certainly become part of Spirit Hall's Golden Generation.
"Child, are you here to report to the Spirit Hall Sub-Hall?" Bishop Zhang smiled kindly and gave Su Chen an affectionate pat on the shoulder.
"Yes." Su Chen nodded.
"Come with me!"
Su Chen nodded and touched the ring on his finger. A sapphire was set into it, containing a cubic meter of storage space. It was a valuable Soul Tool.
Chrysanthemum Douluo had given Su Chen this Storage Soul Tool after noticing that he did not have one. Once he put the head-sized plate crystal into the storage ring, the space inside seemed distinctly cramped.
He glanced back at Tang San, his gaze sweeping over the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges at the other boy's waist.
Su Chen followed Bishop Zhang into Suotuo City's Spirit Hall Sub-Hall.
The Spirit Hall Sub-Hall in Suotuo City was not particularly large. It could not compare with Spirit Hall in Spirit City, occupying just over five thousand square meters and consisting of three main buildings.
"The one in the middle is the office for our Spirit Hall Soul Masters here in Suotuo City. I usually stay there to handle various matters. The building on the right houses our records, while the one on the left is the service hall where Soul Masters undergo assessments and collect their monthly stipends. My name is Zhang Yifei. I've already informed everyone below me. If you need me, simply give your name, and you can come straight in without waiting to be announced!" Bishop Zhang smiled.
"Mm, thank you, Grandpa Luo!" With no one else around, Su Chen cleverly took the opportunity to draw closer to him.
Had anyone else done this, Zhang Yifei would certainly have found it distasteful. He was, after all, a distinguished bishop of Spirit Hall, a respected Soul Saint above level seventy. Su Chen, however, was no ordinary person.
Su Chen was not merely one of Spirit Hall's seeded contenders, destined to represent it in the Continental Elite Soul Master Tournament. He was also the direct disciple of Bibi Dong, Spirit Hall's pope. For Su Chen's sake, Bibi Dong had even written personally to insist that he guarantee the boy's safety. That alone showed just how highly His Holiness the Pope valued this direct disciple of hers!
Bishop Luo even dared to speculate that the boy before him might very well become Spirit Hall's future pope!
To Bishop Luo, being called Grandpa Luo by Su Chen did not feel like an attempt to curry favor. On the contrary, it was an honor!
"Mm, what a good child!" Bishop Zhang praised Su Chen.
"Grandpa!"
While Bishop Zhang and Su Chen were talking, a graceful figure rushed into Bishop Zhang's arms.
"Pingping, you're back?" Bishop Zhang affectionately stroked her hair.
Pingping?
Su Chen froze for a moment. Looking at the girl's back, he found her strangely familiar.
"Come, this is Su Chen. Su Chen, this is my granddaughter, Zhang Ping. I imagine you two have met before?" Bishop Zhang released Zhang Ping and introduced them.
"Su Chen?"
"Zhang Ping?"
Su Chen and Zhang Ping stared at each other in surprise.
No wonder the girl's back had looked so familiar to Su Chen. She was Zhang Ping, one of Spirit Hall's seeded contenders.
"It seems you really do know each other." Bishop Zhang stroked his beard with a smile. In his view, Zhang Ping's acquaintance with Su Chen would greatly benefit her future path.
"You youngsters go ahead and chat. I'm old, so I won't meddle. Come find me if you need anything!" Bishop Zhang looked at Zhang Ping, then turned a keen gaze toward Su Chen, a peculiar glint unmistakably flashing in his eyes.
Had Bishop Zhang misunderstood something?
"Yes, Grandpa!"
"All right, Grandpa Zhang!"
Though taken aback, Su Chen followed Zhang Ping's lead and gave Bishop Zhang a slight nod.
"Have you registered yet?" Zhang Ping asked.
"No." Su Chen shook his head.
"Come on. I know where to register. I'll take you there." Zhang Ping smiled with her lips pressed together.
"All right." Su Chen nodded, scanning their surroundings. If he remembered correctly, the person responsible for protecting Zhang Ping was an elder whose title was Ghost Leopard.
"Stop looking. Elder Ghost Leopard is hiding in the shadows. With our cultivation, we can't detect him. Unless we need to hunt Soul Beasts for Soul Rings, or our lives are in danger, he won't show himself," Zhang Ping explained with a smile.
"Mm."
Su Chen nodded. Every one of Spirit Hall's seeded contenders had a Titled Douluo secretly safeguarding them. Having stood out among tens of thousands of students, both Su Chen and Zhang Ping were Spirit Hall's precious darlings.
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