As expected, Tang San awakened the twin martial souls of Blue Silver Grass and the Clear Sky Hammer, and he even had innate full soul power.
However, Tang Hao had warned Tang San beforehand, and Tang San knew nothing at all about twin martial souls, so he concealed the Clear Sky Hammer and revealed only Blue Silver Grass.
That was why Ma Xiunuo was beginning to question his life. Although his martial soul was of ordinary quality, it was still far stronger than Blue Silver Grass, so why had his innate soul power been only rank three? How was that fair?
"Master Ma Xiunuo?" Just as Ma Xiunuo was muttering to himself, his face full of confusion, Su Yuntao's voice rang out beside his ear.
Clink!
Hearing Su Yuntao's voice, Ma Xiunuo tossed him a purse containing roughly five Gold Soul Coins and a few Silver Soul Coins without even looking up.
"Take it! Then return the materials."
Ma Xiunuo assumed Su Yuntao had come to ask for his allowance, so he simply handed over both the reward for his assignment and his allowance. The possibility that Su Yuntao had discovered a genius never even entered his mind.
Ultimately, the quality of a martial soul was linked to bloodline. If the elders possessed powerful martial souls, their descendants were more likely to possess powerful martial souls as well.
A beneficial martial soul mutation did offer a certain chance of giving someone an exceptionally powerful martial soul and innate soul power, but that chance was frighteningly low.
"Master Ma Xiunuo, have you ever heard of any cases where innate soul power exceeded rank ten?" Su Yuntao asked directly, not forgetting to take the purse from the desk.
"Hmm?" At those words, Ma Xiunuo raised his head and swept his gaze over Tang Mo, his eyes filled with gravity. "Innate soul power above rank ten is known as innate transcendent soul power, but across the entire continent, the only example is the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul of the papal Qian Family line. How could you possibly have found another exception? What evidence do you have?"
Su Yuntao said nothing. He simply handed Ma Xiunuo a crystal ball that was on the verge of falling apart.
The instant Ma Xiunuo saw the crystal ball, he recognized it as one used to test innate soul power, with a testing limit of rank ten.
At the sight, Ma Xiunuo immediately realized that their Spirit Hall Branch in Nuoding City seemed to have stumbled upon a treasure.
After briefly asking about Tang Mo's circumstances, he took out a crystal ball that looked at least ninety-nine percent new.
"Child, place your hand against it." Ma Xiunuo smiled at Tang Mo, looking at him as though he were a precious treasure radiating golden light.
Once Tang Mo's innate transcendent soul power was confirmed, not only would Su Yuntao receive considerable benefits as his discoverer, but Ma Xiunuo could also gain a promotion as the one who confirmed it and as Su Yuntao's superior.
Ma Xiunuo's strange gaze made Tang Mo shudder, but he did not refuse his request and placed his hand against the crystal ball.
Immediately, an exceedingly familiar suction arose once more, and waves of white light shone from the crystal ball.
The white light was dazzling, but not so bright that they could not open their eyes at all. Judging with his seasoned eye, Ma Xiunuo estimated that Tang Mo had at least rank-fifteen soul power.
This crystal ball could test soul power up to rank twenty, and according to Ma Xiunuo's experience, the light indicated a soul power level of around rank fifteen.
Realizing this, he suppressed his excitement, registered Tang Mo, and submitted a report to his superiors. Tang Mo also took up temporary residence in the Spirit Hall Branch.
Ma Xiunuo's urgent letter passed up through the ranks and reached Spirit City before nightfall.
"Surname Tang, Nuoding City, innate transcendent soul power, humanoid martial soul and short sword martial soul..." Seated upright on the papal throne, Bibi Dong fell into thought as she read the report in her hand, murmuring several key terms.
On the very day Tang Hao took Tang San to Nuoding City for medical treatment, Bibi Dong had received a report that a Titled Douluo had appeared there.
However, because Tang Hao had deliberately concealed his face, no one yet knew that the Titled Douluo who had appeared in Nuoding City was him.
The instant Bibi Dong saw Tang Mo's surname, she thought of Tang Hao, but she soon dismissed the idea.
Neither a humanoid martial soul nor a short sword martial soul had anything to do with the Clear Sky Hammer. Moreover, Tang Mo's background was simple: he was an orphan, plain and simple. Even if Tang Hao really was in Nuoding City, Tang Mo could not be his son.
Although she had provisionally ruled out the possibility of a connection between Tang Mo and Tang Hao, the words "Titled Douluo" still gave her something of a headache.
For a small place like Nuoding City, she would originally have sent a Red-Clothed Grand Bishop at most. But now that an unidentified Titled Douluo had appeared there, she could only send Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo together to be safe.
After years as Pope, she had a considerable number of Titled Douluos under her command. But if the unidentified Titled Douluo really was Tang Hao, sending anyone other than Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo, who possessed a martial soul fusion skill, would merely be serving them up on a platter.
At this thought, her gaze shifted, and the two Titled Douluos guarding her on either side immediately left Pope Hall and set off together for Nuoding City.
After the two departed, Bibi Dong raised her head and looked toward Worship Hall. Even though all she could see was a wall, she could still trace the hall's entire outline in her mind.
Within Spirit Hall, those who became Titled Douluos could enter Elder Hall as elders. Only those who broke through rank ninety-five and became Super Douluos could enter Worship Hall.
Although Bibi Dong was Pope, she controlled only the Titled Douluos in Elder Hall. Worship Hall remained firmly in Qian Daoliu's grip, and she could not plant even a single agent inside.
Ultimately, strength reigned supreme on the Douluo Continent. When both Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu could offer sufficient benefits, Worship Hall would naturally obey whoever was stronger.
Not to mention that almost all the worships in Worship Hall had received guidance from Qian Daoliu. The Second Worship, Golden Crocodile Douluo, was even somewhat senior to Qian Daoliu.
Under these circumstances, had what Secret Chamber Douluo Qian Xunji did to Bibi Dong not left Qian Daoliu feeling guilty and prompted him to yield voluntarily, and had Bibi Dong not managed her subordinates skillfully, even Elder Hall might not have obeyed her orders.
Several days later, at the Spirit Hall Branch in Nuoding City, the reply from Pope Hall nearly made Ma Xiunuo jump.
Both he and Su Yuntao had gained opportunities to transfer to Spirit Hall Branches in other cities, and substantial bonuses would soon arrive. More importantly, he had been granted an audience with a Red-Clothed Grand Bishop.
For a Spirit Hall Branch administrator who could only while away his days in a remote city, a Red-Clothed Grand Bishop was someone he could not meet even in his dreams.
He instinctively wanted to find Tang Mo and thank him, but soon remembered that Tang Mo had informed him that morning before going out to wander around Nuoding City with Su Yuntao. At the thought, he could not help suppressing his excitement.
However, even if he racked his brains to pieces, he would never have imagined that Su Yuntao, who should have been accompanying Tang Mo, was currently fast asleep in an inn.
Tang Mo was not in Nuoding City either. He had gone to the Soul Hunting Forest.
Since he was all but certain to join Spirit Hall, Ma Xiunuo had given him unrestricted access to the branch's records.
Because of that, he could be reasonably certain that today was the day Tang San and Yu Xiaogang entered the Soul Hunting Forest.
Tang San simply had to get a taste of Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo.
Before you continue