Between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire lay a region under neither side's jurisdiction. At some unknown point, someone had discovered a great hall there that enshrined the divine seat of the Angel God. He became a follower of the Angel God and, using the hall as his base, gradually gathered Soul Masters from all walks of life. Thus, he founded an organization for Soul Masters-the Martial Soul Association.
The Martial Soul Association took the people's welfare as its duty. Setting aside their status, its members personally awakened Martial Souls free of charge for ordinary people who could not afford the exorbitant fees. Whenever war threatened to erupt, they mediated, quelling one conflict after another among the surrounding nations that might otherwise have plunged countless lives into misery.
The light of justice radiating from the Martial Soul Association drew more and more Soul Masters into its ranks. The association grew stronger by the day, and along its road of development, it once produced an Angel God who had broken through to level one hundred.
Under that Angel God's leadership, the Martial Soul Association was renamed Spirit Hall to further its development. In that region beyond any nation's jurisdiction, it also built Spirit City, a place no country now dared underestimate.
As it developed, Spirit City had grown into the largest city on the entire continent. Its prosperity far exceeded Su Chen's imagination. Spirit Hall's exclusive Soul Master Academy was located within this very city.
"Su Chen, the school you'll be entering shortly is Spirit Hall's exclusive Junior Soul Master Academy. After completing six years of study, you'll take an exam. Pass it, and you can graduate. If you want to continue your studies at the Senior Soul Master Academy, you must complete thirty inspection missions before you're admitted. Special students face more difficult assessments. Graduates are eligible to take the academy's teacher qualification assessment and become teachers themselves. Once you enter the academy, study hard. Whether you can continue on to the Senior Soul Master Academy will depend on your own abilities." An elderly man with a snow-white beard patiently explained what he knew to Su Chen.
"Mm. Grandpa Ma Xiunuo, I'll work hard." Su Chen nodded.
After Su Yuntao took him out of Holy Soul Village, Su Chen had arrived at Spirit Hall in Nuoding City. Since Su Yuntao had other duties and needed to continue awakening Martial Souls for children in other villages free of charge, the task of taking Su Chen to enroll at Spirit Hall's exclusive Soul Master Academy fell to Ma Xiunuo, who could spare the time.
"Mm, good boy." Ma Xiunuo stroked Su Chen's hair and added, "With your talent, getting into the Senior Soul Master Academy won't be difficult as long as you work hard. Even if you don't get in, don't be upset. As long as you graduate from the Junior Soul Master Academy, you'll have the opportunity to be assigned a job. At the very least, you won't have to worry about making a living for the rest of your life!"
"Mm." Su Chen nodded.
As they threaded their way through streets filled with deafening noise, an imposing academy appeared before Su Chen. Its walls towered more than ten meters high, built entirely of white marble.
The academy's entrance stretched nearly a hundred meters across, with six striking gilded characters above it: Junior Soul Master Academy. From outside the gates, they could see many students coming and going freely within the grounds. Su Chen was thrilled. He was finally about to complete the first trial of the Dragon God’s Nine Trials. But what reward would his first trial bring?
When Su Chen and Ma Xiunuo tried to enter the academy, the gatekeeper stopped them. Rather than a gatekeeper, he looked more like a sentry. With his ramrod-straight posture, wasn't he just like a soldier guarding the nation's borders?
This was Spirit Hall's exclusive Soul Master Academy, and since Ma Xiunuo wore Spirit Hall's uniform, there was no unpleasant incident. The guard respectfully gave Ma Xiunuo a military salute, verified his identity, and let him and Su Chen inside.
Clearly, this was not Ma Xiunuo's first time bringing someone to the Soul Master Academy. He made his way to the student registration office as easily as driving a light carriage down a familiar road. After handing the documents to a director, Ma Xiunuo smiled and said, "Child, a teacher will help you register from here. Be a little bolder while you're here. Grandpa still has things to handle back home, so I'll be leaving first. If you have any questions, feel free to ask Director Yang. He's a Soul Master who came from Nuoding City too."
"Mm. Goodbye, Grandpa Ma!" Su Chen said with a smile.
"Director Yang, I'll leave this child in your care." Ma Xiunuo addressed the young man in fine clothes beside him.
"Mm, don't worry, Grandpa Ma. Surely you can trust me?" Director Yang smiled and stroked Su Chen's hair.
Only after Ma Xiunuo left did Director Yang look over Su Chen's personal information on the certificate.
"Your name is Su Chen?" Director Yang asked with a smile.
"Mm, that's right." Su Chen nodded.
"Oh? You even have innate full Soul Power at level twenty?" Director Yang looked at Su Chen in surprise. Only after checking several times did he confirm that he had not misread it. This calm, composed child before him, who showed no sign of nervousness, actually had innate full Soul Power at level twenty.
"What? Innate full Soul Power at level twenty?" Several teachers who had been working gathered around at those words. When they saw the information on the certificate, none of them could believe their eyes. After that person from Spirit Hall, someone else had actually reached innate full Soul Power at level twenty.
"His Martial Soul is the Golden Sacred Dragon!"
Director Yang was astonished again. Yet amid his surprise, there was also a sense that it stood to reason. The Golden Sacred Dragon was a top-tier Martial Soul of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Throughout the clan's history, only one Soul Master had ever awakened the Golden Sacred Dragon Martial Soul. With such a top-tier Martial Soul, it was no wonder this child possessed innate full Soul Power at level twenty.
Of course, Su Chen's Martial Soul was not the Golden Sacred Dragon, but the even higher-quality Five-Clawed Golden Dragon.
"Director Yang, do you need me to test my Soul Power again?" Afraid that the teacher before him might doubt his Soul Power, Su Chen offered on his own initiative.
"No need. The certificate was issued by Spirit Hall, so it certainly isn't false. Child, this is excellent. Your talent is truly excellent. As long as you work hard, you have a chance of becoming a glorious Titled Douluo. Compared with the other children, you've already won at the starting line. But remember, no matter how good your starting point is, if you don't work hard, you might not even graduate from here." Director Yang offered Su Chen encouragement.
"Mm. Thank you, Uncle Yang. I'll work hard." Su Chen had a very favorable impression of Director Yang. Since they also came from the same place, he cleverly switched to calling him Uncle.
Before long, Director Yang had personally completed Su Chen's enrollment. He handed Su Chen a dormitory admission certificate and an academy badge, saying, "Your enrollment is all settled. You'll be staying in Dormitory Nine. Mention me to the dormitory supervisor, and he'll help arrange a few things for you. Once I'm finished here, I'll come check on you."
"All right. Thank you, Uncle Yang," Su Chen replied politely. He accepted the certificate and badge with both hands, his heart unable to stop pounding with excitement.
The Dragon God’s First Trial had been completed, just like that!
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