Picking Up Fragments on Douluo Continent

"I really sent all of last month's allowance home. Don't worry, once this month's salary comes in, I'll go buy you that necklace right away."

"Yuntao, what I need isn't a necklace. I want to see your determination to pursue me. Right now, you've disappointed me greatly!"

With that, Sisi ignored Su Yuntao and walked out of Spirit Hall without looking back.

"Ah..." Su Yuntao looked at Sisi's retreating figure and let out a long sigh.

"Ah..." Lu Feng looked at Su Yuntao's retreating figure and let out a long sigh.

He clearly had a Lone Wolf Martial Soul, yet he insisted on being a simp.

And the key was, he couldn't even win her over!

At that moment, Su Yuntao spotted Lu Feng as well. A flash of shock crossed his eyes. "Huh? Lu Feng! You're actually still alive!"

"???"

"Sorry that I'm still alive and disappointed you." Lu Feng rolled his eyes and replied speechlessly.

Su Yuntao realized how his words had sounded. Scratching his head, he hurriedly explained, "Sorry, Lu Feng, I was just too excited to see you! Tang San and Xiao Wu said you went to Soul Hunting Forest alone. I'd been worried about you."

"Oh?" Lu Feng was slightly surprised inwardly. He had only met Su Yuntao a few times, yet the man was unexpectedly warmhearted.

"Lu Feng, where have you been these past three months?" Su Yuntao asked curiously.

Lu Feng set his bundle on the ground with a dull thud. He untied the rope, revealing the ores inside.

"I found some treasures in Soul Hunting Forest. I spent the past three months cultivating in the forest, and my strength has improved by quite a bit!"

Lu Feng had no intention of concealing his cultivation. Rather than acting timid and evasive, he might as well lay his cards on the table.

In the original story, after Tang San absorbed his first soul ring, his Soul Power had directly risen to level thirteen. Others had merely been amazed by his exceptional talent and had taken no further action.

Although Lu Feng's Soul Power level was even more abnormal, he had already prepared an explanation. Besides, he was a bona fide member of Spirit Hall!

Looking at the dazzlingly colorful ores, Su Yuntao's eyes widened.

"Diamond, jadeite, Crimson Blood Jade..."

Su Yuntao counted the spiritual ores in the bundle one by one. These were all excellent materials for auxiliary-type soul masters to cultivate with.

"This is... White Spirit Jade?!!"

Holding a stone that resembled white jade, Su Yuntao cried out in a trembling voice.

Compared to the other ores, White Spirit Jade did not look particularly remarkable. However, Su Yuntao knew that while other spiritual materials could only assist cultivation, White Spirit Jade could directly increase a soul master's cultivation speed.

He had only happened to read about it in a book at the library.

"Ahem." Lu Feng gave a light cough.

"I found an underground mine in the forest, and there were quite a few rare materials inside. Later, two soul beasts fought in there and collapsed the mine."

Lu Feng pointed to his clothes. "I was trapped inside for a month and nearly couldn't get out."

As he spoke, Lu Feng patted his chest with lingering fear.

"That was truly dangerous. Lu Feng, you must never hunt souls alone again in the future."

"By the way, how do you plan to handle these materials? Do you need my help?"

As he spoke, Su Yuntao gestured at the size of the White Spirit Jade. A spiritual jade this large was worth at least tens of thousands of Gold Soul Coins!

Hearing that, Lu Feng smiled faintly. "No need. I plan to hand over this entire bag of materials to Spirit Hall."

"No need to be polite. I wouldn't be helping for nothing..." Su Yuntao replied instinctively.

Before he could finish, he suddenly froze.

"What! You want to hand all of it over to Spirit Hall?!" Su Yuntao's voice instantly rose an octave.

He rubbed his ears, suspecting that he had misheard.

"Mm!"

Lu Feng nodded and continued, "Spirit Hall helped me undergo Spirit Awakening, and Brother Tao even went out of his way to apply for a Work-Study Student spot for me. I remember all of that."

"If it weren't for Spirit Hall, I might only be a little hunter right now, chasing rabbits all over the mountains."

"Legend says that Angel God drove out the Fallen Ones and founded Spirit Hall, giving us the harmonious and happy continent we have today."

"I often wondered what I could do for Spirit Hall."

"And today, I can finally contribute my own small share to Spirit Hall."

After saying that, Lu Feng held his head high and puffed out his chest, gazing devoutly at the Angel God mural on the wall.

Sunlight streamed through the dome and shone upon Lu Feng, making him seem as though he were bathed in holy radiance.

Of course, Lu Feng had made all of that up.

Some of it was sincere, but most had been hastily fabricated to avoid trouble.

To quietly pick up fragments, he could love Spirit Hall, love Heaven Dou Empire, love Star Luo Empire, love Sea God Island, and love Slaughter City.

"Good, good, good child!"

At that moment, an aged voice came from the second floor.

Lu Feng looked up and saw a kindly old man slowly descending the stairs.

Level Sixteen!

"Master Ma Xiunuo." Su Yuntao looked at the old man and spoke respectfully.

"Good child, what is your name?"

Ma Xiunuo walked over to Lu Feng, patted his head, and looked at him with eyes full of gratification.

Ma Xiunuo had worked at Spirit Hall for most of his life and had seen countless people and countless events. Yet he had never encountered someone as pure and kind as Lu Feng.

"Hello, Master Ma Xiunuo. My name is Lu Feng."

"Lu Feng, you're a fine young man! Nuoding City Spirit Hall is proud to have a soul master like you!" Ma Xiunuo praised without reservation.

At that moment, Su Yuntao stepped forward and said, "Master, Lu Feng hasn't registered as a soul master yet. How about we test his Soul Power level first?"

Ma Xiunuo nodded at that and took Lu Feng's hand. "Come, child. I'll test you personally."

As he spoke, Ma Xiunuo led Lu Feng into a spacious room.

At the center of the room was a simple formation made up of twenty black stones. At the center of the formation sat a crystalline blue crystal ball, twice as large as the one Lu Feng had seen during his Spirit Awakening.

"This is the Spirit Hall laboratory for advanced appraisal. This crystal ball can withstand up to level thirty Soul Power," Ma Xiunuo explained patiently.

"Child, place your right hand on it."

Lu Feng stepped into the center of the formation and raised his right hand, calming his mind. The Mysterious Heaven Skill worked in tandem with his Knuckle Duster Martial Soul as a stream of heat slowly emerged from his palm.

Looking at the ring-like weapon on Lu Feng's hand, Ma Xiunuo asked, "Lu Feng, is this your Martial Soul?"

Lu Feng shook his head. "My Martial Soul is my body, a Body Martial Soul. But after I absorbed my first soul ring, this knuckle duster appeared on its own. I guessed that my Martial Soul may have undergone some mutation."

"A Martial Soul mutation?" Ma Xiunuo pondered.

There were far too many examples of Martial Soul mutations on Douluo Continent, and they followed no pattern whatsoever. The most famous example was that "Master" at Nuoding Academy.

At that moment, the crystal ball lit up with a layer of deep blue light.

Ma Xiunuo stared fixedly at the changes in the crystal ball. Based on what Lu Feng had said, the opportunity he had obtained this time was no small matter.

Level eleven.

Level twelve!

At that moment, Ma Xiunuo's attention shifted to the yellow soul ring on Lu Feng's body. "A hundred-year soul ring? Another little genius whose first soul ring is a hundred-year one!"

For some reason, Ma Xiunuo suddenly thought of Tang San. That little monster with a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul whose Soul Power had jumped two levels after absorbing his first soul ring.

The light within the crystal ball continued to accumulate.

Level thirteen!

At this point, Ma Xiunuo was completely certain that another monstrous genius had appeared in Nuoding City.

The crystal ball's radiance did not stop and continued to rise.

"This is... level fourteen?!"

Ma Xiunuo rubbed his eyes, making sure that he had not seen wrongly.

The blue light in the crystal ball had nearly risen halfway. This indicated that Lu Feng's Soul Power was already very close to level fifteen.

"Level fourteen! A jump of three levels!"

Ma Xiunuo recalled Lu Feng's large bag of spiritual ores, and his excited heart soon calmed down.

However, the way he looked at Lu Feng had changed completely.

During a soul master's cultivation, aside from one's innate talent and cultivation resources, the most important thing was opportunity—or rather, luck!

Many high-level soul masters remained stuck at a certain bottleneck for their entire lives because they lacked that bit of luck.

Ma Xiunuo's eyes shone brightly. He seemed to see a new star of Spirit Hall slowly rising!

At that moment, the crystal ball at the center of the formation changed again.

"This is...!"

"Level fifteen!"

"T-ten... level sixteen?!!"

Ma Xiunuo's voice trembled.

However, the excitement on his face had vanished. Instead, he frowned, his expression darkening.

Douluo Continent had never truly been peaceful.

There was a type of soul master on the continent who cultivated by devouring Soul Power, soul rings, Spiritual Power, flesh and blood, souls, and more. Their Soul Power grew exceptionally quickly.

These soul masters were known as Fallen Ones.

Spirit Hall had originally been established to completely eradicate the fallen soul masters of the continent.

Lu Feng's abnormally rapid Soul Power growth forced Ma Xiunuo to suspect that he had gone astray and become a Fallen One.

This child's heart must be kind. Perhaps he merely obtained some sort of evil inheritance. Power itself has no distinction between good and evil; it depends on the person who wields it.

With that thought, Ma Xiunuo said solemnly, "Lu Feng, can you tell me exactly what treasure you obtained?"

Seeing this, Lu Feng roughly guessed what Ma Xiunuo was thinking.

In fact, if he had not upgraded Cannon Five's quality, his Soul Power would have increased even more.

The phrase cleansing the marrow and transforming the tendons was no empty boast.

"I encountered a pool of spiritual liquid beside the White Spirit Jade," Lu Feng answered unhurriedly.

On his way back, Lu Feng had already considered every possible situation. If Spirit Hall wanted to investigate, he would simply lead them to that cave beneath the lake.

In any case, the Thousand Year Cold Ice Spirit Liquid in that karst cave had already been completely absorbed. All that remained was an ordinary pool of water.

Besides, Lu Feng did not have a habit of smashing the pot after finishing the meal.

"Is that so?" Ma Xiunuo pondered.

Although he did not know what spiritual liquid Lu Feng was referring to, Lu Feng's clear eyes did not look like those of someone lying.

"Lu Feng, this matter still needs further investigation. I'll notify you again after some time."

"Mm, no problem." Lu Feng nodded. This result was within his expectations as well.

"Master Ma Xiunuo, if there's nothing else, I'll return to the academy first."

"Alright."

When Lu Feng left Spirit Hall, a messenger also departed from Spirit Hall.

Ma Xiunuo naturally informed Lu Feng about this matter, and Lu Feng also stated that he was willing to accept the organization's investigation.

Although Fallen Ones existed in the first part of Douluo, they did not possess so many evil methods like absorbing people's essence or stealing their Martial Souls.

Other than soul bones, every opportunity a soul master obtained belonged to them.

Others could neither snatch nor take it away. They could only watch enviously.