Spirit Hall's headquarters stood on the border between the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires.
Spirit City lay there.
This place was a sacred land in the hearts of countless Soul Masters, as well as Spirit Hall's administrative center.
They left Nuoding City.
By the time Chen Zhuo and Zheng Qingqing reached Spirit City, nearly four months had passed.
There was no helping it. In this era, there were no Soul Tools like Steam Airships.
Even though they had taken the best carriage in the city, the distance between the two places was simply too great.
During that long journey,
Chen Zhuo's soul power rose by two levels, while Zheng Qingqing's rose by one.
"Wait here. The report has already been submitted. Unless something unexpected happens, His Holiness the Pope will summon you within the next few days."
At the foot of the small mountain in the city center, Spirit Hall's white-robed special envoy checked them into a hotel, then left.
Chen Zhuo took a bath, then stood at the hotel window, looking down at the crowds in the street.
Hearing of a place could never compare to seeing it.
The continent's greatest city truly lived up to its reputation, towering and magnificent.
Its walls stood a hundred meters high, and its moat shimmered with the pale golden glow of soul power.
There were no ordinary people in this city.
Even the street vendors were at least Two-Ring Soul Grandmasters.
Without the special envoy's token, he, a One-Ring Soul Master, and Zheng Qingqing, a ringless Soul Scholar who was not even a Soul Master yet, would not have qualified to enter the city.
The summons came even sooner than expected.
The next day, inside the Pope's Hall on Sacred Soul Mountain.
Holding a scepter and dressed in a long purple-and-gold gown, Pope Bibi Dong regarded Chen Zhuo and Zheng Qingqing with interest.
One had innate full soul power, while the other had awakened a rare beast martial soul.
Six years earlier, she had taken away a gifted brother and sister from among a group of homeless children adopted by the church.
One of them had possessed level-nine innate soul power, and she had accepted that child as her disciple.
Now, seeing Chen Zhuo and Zheng Qingqing, she once again felt the urge to nurture talent.
Naturally, testing their martial souls and soul power was an essential step.
In Nuoding City, Su Yuntao was a master everyone respected, but here in Spirit City, his status and strength were little different from those of a street vendor.
Within Spirit Hall itself, he had no authority to speak of.
"Chen Zhuo, six years old, level-fourteen Battle Soul Master."
When he revealed his black, ten-thousand-year first soul ring, a flicker of surprise crossed Bibi Dong's eyes.
Behind her, the reactions of the two elders flanking her-one effeminate, the other sinister-were even more visibly apparent.
"To receive a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's sacrifice... your fortune is excellent. Excellent indeed."
Although she had already read Chen Zhuo's file, Bibi Dong still did not stint on praise after witnessing it herself.
"Your Holiness, there is something I dare not conceal..."
Chen Zhuo invented a nonexistent flaw in his martial soul.
After all, his martial soul was the only one of its kind in this world. He alone could explain how it worked.
Of course, to make his story more believable, he revealed a little about the concept of a body martial soul's second awakening.
"It actually has the same limitation as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's martial soul?" Bibi Dong felt somewhat regretful.
If he could never reach level eighty in his lifetime, Chen Zhuo's value would be greatly diminished.
She had even been considering taking Chen Zhuo as her disciple.
Now, it seemed there was no need.
Among Spirit Hall's three halls, the Pope's Hall had the positions of Holy Son and Holy Maiden in addition to its honorary elders.
Back then, she herself had succeeded to the papacy as the Holy Maiden.
As prospective successors to the pope, anyone whose potential fell short of becoming a nine-ring Titled Douluo would not even qualify for consideration.
Beside him, Zheng Qingqing also breathed a sigh of relief.
Would this orphan, Chen Zhuo, be stuck as a Seven-Ring Soul Sage for the rest of his life?
That was wonderful!
Bibi Dong also offered Zheng Qingqing a few casual words of encouragement.
Level-eight innate soul power certainly marked her as a promising talent.
But as the continent's foremost power, Spirit Hall had never lacked geniuses.
"Since the two of you wish to join Spirit Hall,"
"Starting today, you will study at Spirit City's junior Soul Master Academy."
Just as she was about to end the audience, a golden feather flew in from outside the great hall.
Bibi Dong's expression tightened, and she drew it into her palm.
It carried a divine message that only she could hear.
"Bibi Dong, take that little girl as your disciple and train her with the privileges of a Holy Maiden."
"This is also the Great Enshrined's wish."
The feather dissolved into golden motes in her hand, and a trace of anger flashed through Bibi Dong's eyes.
What did that old crocodile mean by this?
Holy Maiden privileges? Was she even worthy?
For a moment, countless thoughts twisted and turned through Bibi Dong's mind, but in the end, she chose to compromise.
As she was now, she still lacked the strength to defy those two old men in the Worship Hall.
"Zheng Qingqing, was it? Are you willing to become my disciple?"
Bibi Dong forced down her disgust, her expression remaining majestic.
"I am willing, Master!"
Zheng Qingqing immediately dropped to her knees, overjoyed.
Chen Zhuo watched as Zheng Qingqing rose and shot him a provocative glance, her eyes filled with unconcealed smugness and contempt.
It did not stir so much as a ripple in his heart.
He had achieved his purpose in coming here and passed Spirit Hall's scrutiny. That was enough.
As for Zheng Qingqing, the moment they had arrived in unfamiliar Spirit City, she had said they were fellow villagers and should support each other in the future.
Then, the moment she became Bibi Dong's disciple, she raised her chin and looked down her nose at him.
Chen Zhuo would not take such a sudden change of face to heart.
He had already repaid his debt to Zheng Xiu during Black Snake Village's river god sacrifice.
Since the man's daughter looked down on him, he had no obligation to look after her.
Surely this foolish woman didn't think becoming Bibi Dong's disciple was a good thing?
The bitter days were still ahead.
With Bibi Dong's promise, Chen Zhuo encountered no obstacles in enrolling at Spirit City's junior Soul Master Academy.
Even though it was not the start of the school year, he completed his enrollment smoothly and became a new student in the first-year experimental class.
The sort of bullying found in storybooks simply did not happen to Chen Zhuo.
Surely no one would actually be stupid enough to bully a genius with innate full soul power?
There were, however, plenty of people curious about his body martial soul who wanted to spar with him.
Chen Zhuo turned down every challenge he could.
Was he supposed to use a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Skill approaching the hundred-thousand-year mark to bully a Soul Master with only a hundred-year soul skill?
As for the shameless ones who pestered him relentlessly, he beat them flat without using any soul skills.
After all, besides being a level-fourteen One-Ring Soul Master, he was also a first-tier Genetic Warrior.
With his beastlike physique and the fighting skills honed across various worlds in his previous life,
Facing novice Soul Masters with only one soul skill was hardly difficult.
It was nothing but an old man toying with unruly children.
During this time, Chen Zhuo still remembered to register his Soul Master status with Spirit Hall so he could collect his monthly Gold Soul Coin allowance.
One-Ring Soul Masters received one Gold Soul Coin per month.
Two-ring Soul Masters received three Gold Soul Coins per month.
This allowance continued until the four-ring stage and was the most reliable source of income for commoner Soul Masters.
The funds came primarily from taxes collected by the two great empires and were distributed by Spirit Hall.
This benefit, paid in hard coin, had drawn roughly eighty percent of the continent's Soul Masters into Spirit Hall, establishing its nearly unshakable dominance.
Within a few days, word that Chen Zhuo had beaten everyone in the elite class spread as though it had grown legs.
He had not even used a soul skill.
As he became the academy's "big star," he also caught the attention of students in the higher years.
And sure enough,
Someone had already demanded to see him after class.
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