Interested in Becoming Spirit Hall's Saint Son?

At first glance, that old man looked awfully familiar.

At second glance, it turned out to be Grandpa...

Seeing the surprise on Lu Chen's face, the old man revealed a smile of triumph, satisfied with the little surprise he had prepared for his grandson.

"What, Grandmaster Ma Xiunuo and I have been old friends for years. You're allowed to go out and play with your friends, but Grandpa isn't allowed a private life?"

Great. Keep talking, and someone will start accusing me of elder abuse.

Lu Chen rolled his eyes hard at the old geezer. Don't you know perfectly well whether I was out playing with friends?

Does risking my life against Tang Hao count?

Grandmaster Ma Xiunuo stood beside them, cheerfully watching the old man and the boy bicker, and could not help feeling a little wistful.

Ever since Lu Yun's wife and son had passed away one after the other, it had been a long time since he had seen such a lively expression on the man's face.

In the beginning, he had worn a cold expression all day, showing no reaction to anyone else's conversations and never opening his mouth unless necessary.

Even when he had to speak, his words were cold and clipped, each one precious as gold, and he spared no one's dignity. Had Lu Tian not been strong enough, he probably would have taken more than a few beatings...

Incidentally, Ma Xiunuo had actually been the first to spread the phrase "he looks at everyone as though they owe him ten thousand Gold Soul Coins." The highest-ranking official of Nuoding City's Spirit Hall had merely quoted him...

"Ma Xiunuo, my grandson is probably here for his Soul Master advancement assessment. Since you're here, there's no need to trouble anyone else."

After enjoying a round of verbal sparring with Lu Chen, Lu Yun turned to Ma Xiunuo and spoke with a beaming smile.

Ma Xiunuo nodded reflexively.

"Yes, of course. Your grandson's Soul Master advancement assessment should certainly be handled by me personally... hmm?"

Ma Xiunuo looked at Lu Chen, then at Lu Yun, his expression gradually stiffening as he asked, enunciating every word, "You're saying he's here for a Soul Master advancement assessment?"

Lu Yun looked as though this were perfectly natural.

"What else? Su Yuntao finished this child's Martial Soul Awakening yesterday. Of course he's here for his advancement assessment today."

"Oh, right, Su Yuntao is a good lad. He's already cultivated to rank twenty-six at such a young age. What's Old Li thinking? Shouldn't he lend a hand with his third Soul Ring?"

Would you listen to the bullshit coming out of your mouth?

We can discuss Su Yuntao later. Don't talk about something this earth-shattering as though it's perfectly natural!

"In... innate full soul power?" Ma Xiunuo clutched his heaving chest, marveling at his old friend's luck. He had casually picked up an abandoned infant by the roadside six years ago, and even that child had turned out to possess innate full soul power?

If word of this got out, the number of abandoned infants on the Douluo Continent might even drop. That would count as a contribution to the continent...

"Yes, and twin martial souls, too. A true dragon and a spear."

"Hiss..."

Bracing himself against the table, Ma Xiunuo sucked in a sharp breath. An elderly man's constitution was poor, and his heart could barely withstand the shock. He glared fiercely at his old friend and snapped:

"Only one day between awakening his martial souls and advancing to Soul Master. You weren't stupid enough to give this child some trash Soul Ring, were you?"

"Of course not. In a moment, I'll show you what a miracle looks like."

Hearing his old friend bring up the Soul Ring himself, Lu Yun wore a broad, meaningful smile.

Suspecting nothing, Ma Xiunuo nodded in agreement. "A true dragon must be a top-tier martial soul, and that spear certainly can't be poor in quality either. With innate full soul power as well, he's destined to have even greater potential than Archbishop Lu. That certainly is a miracle."

"If I remember correctly, our Spirit Hall's Saintess only came extremely close to innate full soul power, and she has only one martial soul."

"Xiao Chen, would you be interested in becoming our Spirit Hall's Saint Son?"

"Once you become the Saint Son, you'll receive the highest level of training Spirit Hall offers. With your talent, you'll definitely become a Titled Douluo!"

"Moreover, the current Saintess's cultivation talent doesn't match yours. In the future, you might even have a chance to glimpse that position..."

Faced with Lu Chen's extraordinary talent, Ma Xiunuo could not restrain himself after all and entertained the idea of recommending him directly to the inner circle.

Logically speaking, with Lu Tian, a Red Cardinal, around, an outsider like him should not have needed to concern himself with this. But everyone knew that Lu Yun's attitude toward Spirit Hall was complicated.

It was hard to say whether he would be willing to let Lu Chen become a core member of Spirit Hall... so Ma Xiunuo simply relied on their years of friendship to take the initiative and ask Lu Chen directly. If the child agreed, then with Lu Tian's connections added to the mix, the matter would be all but settled.

To his surprise, however, the old codger Lu Yun showed no displeasure whatsoever. Instead, he repeated the question with a beaming smile.

"Xiao Chen, would you like that?"

Lu Chen smiled too. "Of course. I've always greatly admired the deeds of Spirit Hall's many predecessors. My faith in the Angel God is utterly sincere!"

Of course, it has to be the Qian Renxue version... Lu Chen silently added to himself.

No more pretending. I just lust after her body!

I admit it!

I'm honest!

"However," Lu Chen continued, seeing the delight on Ma Xiunuo's face.

"I still intend to study at Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy first and experience the atmosphere in which ordinary Soul Masters grow, so I don't plan to head straight to Spirit City."

"My second grandfather said that we must come from ordinary Soul Masters and go back among ordinary Soul Masters."

"The higher you stand, the easier it is to stray from your goal."

Lu Yun rolled his eyes. You little rascal certainly know how to spin a tale.

Ma Xiunuo, however, nodded in considerable agreement, looking rather impressed.

"Well said... gifted seedlings like you really do need time to settle and mature, Xiao Chen."

"But you won't stop me from registering him and reporting this, will you, you old codger?"

Lu Yun nodded indifferently. "Do as you please."

Lu Tian's breakthrough was imminent. A Titled Douluo with a true dragon martial soul had far too many ways to help Lu Chen conceal his secrets.

After their pleasant conversation, a thoroughly delighted Ma Xiunuo finally remembered the business at hand and led them along the second-floor corridor toward the interior of Spirit Hall.

When they reached the end of the corridor, three tall arched doors appeared before them.

Ma Xiunuo raised a hand to point at the door on the left and said to Lu Chen with a smile, "This is the martial soul laboratory where Spirit Hall conducts advancement assessments. Come in with me, Xiao Chen. Unfortunately... only you've absorbed your first Soul Ring. Xiao Wu will have to wait a little longer."

Xiao Wu's feelings were rather complicated at the moment. Forcing a sweet, adorable smile onto her face, she tipped her little face up and said to Ma Xiunuo:

"Grandpa Ma Xiunuo, go ahead and take Lu Chen inside. I'll have my first Soul Ring very soon too~"

"Haha, that's true. Make sure you come to Grandpa when the time comes!"

Xiao Wu: Help! I somehow agreed to join Spirit Hall with Lu Chen just now!

Waaah, Mom, I'm sorry!

But Lu Chen told me that without entering the tiger's den, you can't catch its cubs. To find you, I'm going all out!

Leaving aside Xiao Wu's inner journey, Lu Chen held back his laughter and followed Ma Xiunuo into the room. It was spacious and tall, covering a full two hundred square meters, with a huge floor-to-ceiling window providing ample light.

A total of five black stones, each as large as a fist, were embedded in the surrounding walls, made of the same material as the stones used to awaken martial souls.

A huge token-shaped emblem was engraved on the floor. A longsword pointed straight down, representing the lowest-ranking branch of Spirit Hall, its tip aimed directly at the doorway.

Ma Xiunuo led Lu Chen to the center of the token emblem on the floor and stopped. His kindly expression turned solemn as he said in a deep voice:

"Xiao Chen, manifest your martial soul and release your first Soul Ring!"

"All right, Grandpa Ma Xiunuo."

Accompanied by a soaring dragon's cry and a piercing metallic clang, an Azure Dragon's silhouette of light rose into the air, and a purple Soul Ring ascended from beneath Lu Chen's feet.

The bright purple light shone on Ma Xiunuo's aged face, flushed red with excitement, making him look rather comical.