Boom!
As Su Chen accepted the certificate and badge for Spirit Hall's exclusive Junior Soul Master Academy with both hands, the surrounding energy of heaven and earth shook violently. The energy fluctuations encompassed all of Spirit City.
"Wh... what's happening?"
Every teacher in the director's office stared, dumbstruck, at the scene unfolding before them. The energy of heaven and earth condensed until it was visible to the naked eye, and its force lifted Su Chen clear off the ground.
The reward is here! Elated, Su Chen hurriedly sat cross-legged.
Well acquainted with the world of Soul Masters, Su Chen knew a few things about divine trials.
Anyone undergoing a Black Level trial or higher would receive one opportunity to obtain a God-Given Soul Ring upon reaching their first bottleneck. Without needing to hunt a Soul Beast, they could obtain a God-Given Soul Ring that granted the Soul Skill best suited to their martial soul and a Soul Ring of the highest level they could withstand. However, each person received only one such opportunity. Now, Su Chen needed to endure the Soul Ring's baptism with the utmost perseverance to reap the greatest benefits.
The energy of heaven and earth gathered into a golden bead in front of Su Chen. As he entered meditation, the dragon marking between his brows revealed itself. As though drawn by something, the golden bead began moving toward the coiled dragon marking.
It was as if a mechanism had been triggered. The instant the golden bead landed on the coiled dragon marking, Soul Power surged wildly from Su Chen's body.
The Papal Hall
"This... this is the aura of a God-Given Halo! And this aura actually complements my martial soul!" Bibi Dong rose from her seat in delighted surprise. With a thought, she vanished from the Papal Hall and appeared beside the railing outside. Holding her scepter, she gazed into the distance and murmured in astonishment, "The Junior Soul Master Academy?"
Bibi Dong looked bewildered. The God-Given Halo had actually descended at the Junior Soul Master Academy.
Spirit Hall had three major academies: the Junior Soul Master Academy, the Intermediate Soul Master Academy, and the Advanced Soul Master Academy. The students at the Junior Soul Master Academy hardly needed mentioning; they were all children who had only just awakened their martial souls. As for the teachers employed there, even the strongest was merely a Soul Ancestor in the forties. Bibi Dong could not understand how someone at a Junior Soul Master Academy could obtain a God-Given Soul Ring.
"Where is she?" Bibi Dong asked softly. A possibility occurred to her, but she did not believe Qian Daoliu would be foolish enough to have her daughter begin her divine trials so early.
Divine trials always had time limits. Those who failed to complete them within the allotted time would perish, body and soul, and crumble into dust. The earlier someone began the divine trials, the greater the disadvantage they faced.
"The young lady just visited Douluo Hall. She should be on her way to the Junior Soul Master Academy now," an effeminate man beside Bibi Dong replied respectfully.
"Go to the Junior Soul Master Academy and investigate. Find out who caused such a commotion," Bibi Dong ordered.
On Spirit Hall's main street
"Hm?" Inside a carriage, a masked little girl's delicate brows drew together slightly.
"What's wrong, young lady?" the maid beside her asked with concern.
"I sensed an aura. It feels as though it complements my martial soul."
"Complements it? Young lady, could you have sensed it wrong? Your martial soul is the Six-Winged Angel. What sort of martial soul could possibly complement yours?" the maid asked doubtfully.
At the gates of the Junior Soul Master Academy
"Little sister, we've finally arrived at Spirit Hall's exclusive Soul Master Academy. Once we're inside, we must cultivate diligently. We can't grow lazy just because we have innate full Soul Power," a handsome boy with eerie red markings at the corners of his eyes told the little girl with fox ears beside him.
"I know, big brother." The little girl with fox ears smiled sweetly and stepped through the gates of the academy that symbolized glory.
"Hm?"
The little girl suddenly stopped and looked up in a certain direction.
"Hm?"
Not only the little girl, but the somewhat sinister-looking boy also stopped. He was looking in exactly the same direction as the little girl beside him.
Sensing the powerful fluctuations in the surrounding energy of heaven and earth, the little girl and boy exchanged a glance. The girl exclaimed delightedly, "Big brother, did you sense it too?"
"Yes. Besides you, I can sense another aura in this academy that complements my martial soul." The somewhat sinister-looking boy nodded happily.
Both the boy with the sinister gaze and the little girl with fox ears had Soul Masters for parents. They had learned a few things about martial souls from them. Finding another martial soul that complemented one's own was extraordinarily difficult. Once battle broke out, if the two wielders joined forces, the power of their martial souls would multiply. This was what was known as a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
Throughout Spirit City, almost every Soul Master looked toward the Junior Soul Master Academy in astonishment. Besides Bibi Dong, Qian Renxue, Hu Liena, and Xie Yue, they too felt this mysterious resonance within them. Su Chen, who was in the midst of obtaining his God-Given Soul Ring, had no idea that his martial soul was actually all-compatible, capable of joining forces with any martial soul to unleash a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
"Director, what should we do?"
Inside the director's office, a teacher with an entirely white beard asked helplessly. He had worked as a teacher for decades, yet had never encountered anything like this. The scene unfolding before him was completely beyond his understanding.
"Let's watch for now," Director Yang replied gravely.
Su Chen's expression was calm. His right arm, right leg, left arm, left leg, torso, and head all began emitting faint halos of light. Time ticked by, and in the blink of an eye, an hour had passed. A fine layer of sweat already covered Su Chen's forehead. To the teachers' great astonishment, even his sweat was golden.
The energy of heaven and earth around Su Chen began changing shape. Golden threads gathered together, forming ring after ring of golden light. The halos first expanded outward from around Su Chen's body, then began contracting, slamming heavily into him. Every impact made his body tremble and brought more beads of sweat to his forehead. His hands clenched tightly, and his features twisted, revealing just how much pain he was enduring. One thing was certain: as the number of impacts increased, the number of halos gradually increased as well.
How much benefit Su Chen could reap from the God-Given Halo depended on how firmly his heart yearned for strength and how tenacious his will was.
Hold on. Just hold on one more time.
Su Chen kept reminding himself inwardly. After every impact from a halo, he repeated the same reminder. Whenever he successfully endured another impact, he told himself, Hold on one more time. Just one more time, and then I'll give up.
Yet time after time, Su Chen gritted his teeth, held his breath, and resolutely endured.
Before you continue