His destination was the Worship Hall, which held the highest status in Spirit Hall. Only Super Douluo whose Soul Power had surpassed Level 95 and reached Level 96 or higher were qualified to enter.
They were also Spirit Hall's most elite fighting force.
The higher a Soul Master cultivated, the greater the gap in Soul Power between each level became, let alone for Titled Douluo.
It could be said that a Super Douluo above Level 95 could fight at least five opponents alone without any problem-and utterly crush them.
Of course, those ordinary Titled Douluo did not include cheat users like Tang San.
That showed just how formidable Golden Crocodile Douluo's Level 98 Soul Power was.
The enshrined within the Worship Hall answered only to the Great Enshrined, Qian Daoliu. Even Spirit Hall's current Supreme Pontiff had no authority to command them.
A group of Spirit Hall guards clad in black armor surrounded the Worship Hall. This entire unit consisted of Soul Kings above Level 50, while its captain was a Soul Saint above Level 70.
When the captain saw Tian Chen in his black training clothes, he smiled and nodded, directing his subordinates to clear a path.
As a Soul Saint, he had his own pride. If Tian Chen's grandfather had not been Golden Crocodile Douluo, he would never have been so courteous.
That was how brutally realistic the Douluo Continent was. If your martial soul and talent were poor, others might refrain from saying anything to your face out of consideration for your family background, but there was no telling how they disparaged you in their hearts.
Just like that "grandmaster," Yu Xiaogang.
Even his own uncle called him trash to his face without the slightest mercy.
Tian Chen understood their thinking well enough. He returned their courtesy with a smile, then walked toward the Elder Hall under everyone's gaze.
The Worship Hall's status within Spirit Hall stood above even the Pope's Palace and Douluo Hall.
Anyone who reached the rank of Titled Douluo could have their name recorded in Douluo Hall, even Titled Douluo from the Upper Three Sects, which had always been at odds with Spirit Hall.
The Worship Hall's requirements, however, were far stricter. Not only did one have to reach at least Level 96, one also had to join Spirit Hall.
Thus, the Worship Hall held a transcendent position within Spirit Hall. It was also the tallest building in Spirit City.
The entire hall resembled a tower. Merely entering its first floor required climbing three thousand steps.
Even with Tian Chen's physical fitness, climbing three thousand steps in one go left his face flushed and his breath coming in heavy pants. Without having awakened his martial soul, relying on physical strength alone was still too much of a strain.
The hall was lit by then. Two orderly rows of Heyang flower candles stretched from beneath the throne to the entrance, numbering in the hundreds. Each was as thick as an arm, with agarwood shavings mixed into the wax, their flames bright and their fragrance rich and pure.
Tian Chen looked around and drew in an intoxicated breath. Just as he was about to walk inside,
seven figures appeared out of thin air before him. One moment, they were a full hundred meters away from Tian Chen; the next, they were right in front of him.
All seven wore golden robes with silver embroidery, their robes bearing various patterns embroidered in silver thread that represented their respective martial souls. Apart from the identical patterns worn by the two at the rear, everyone's was different.
The golden robe of the man at their head bore an angel with six wings.
His identity went without saying.
As for Tian Chen's grandfather, Golden Crocodile Douluo Tian E, his golden robe bore a lifelike, savage-looking giant crocodile.
Upon seeing Tian Chen, even he, usually so stern and unsmiling, managed a faint smile.
He reached out with a large hand as smooth as jade and stroked Tian Chen's head.
If not for the white hair flowing down his back and the weathered look in his eyes, his appearance alone would have made him seem more like a middle-aged man in his prime.
His eyes, in particular, were extraordinarily sharp, as though they could see through to the very essence of a person's heart.
"Great Enshrined, we'll be taking our leave."
Golden Crocodile Douluo first nodded to Qian Daoliu, then acknowledged each of the other five enshrined in turn.
Tian Chen also bowed respectfully to the other enshrined before returning to Golden Crocodile Douluo's side.
Qian Daoliu seemed quite pleased with Tian Chen's attitude. He glanced at him with a smile, gave a quiet acknowledgment, and returned to the Elder Hall with the other enshrined.
They generally did not leave the Elder Hall lightly, and unless Spirit Hall's very survival was at stake, they rarely took action.
Their coming out together this time was merely because he valued Golden Crocodile Douluo and had specially come to see him off.
Golden Crocodile Douluo enveloped Tian Chen with his profound Soul Power and rose straight into the sky.
Holding Tian Chen by the arm with one hand, Golden Crocodile Douluo spoke with a smile.
"What's this? Why did you make a special trip to see Grandpa today, Chen'er?"
He had roughly guessed why his grandson had come, but still wanted to tease Tian Chen a little.
Ever since he was little, his grandson had shown maturity far beyond that of ordinary people. Though he found that gratifying, as an old man over a hundred years old, he still greatly enjoyed his grandson taking the initiative to be close to him.
After all, his power and influence already stood near the pinnacle of the Douluo Continent. His only wish now was to shelter his grandson as he grew up, and then have him spread the branches and leaves of their family line.
When the time came, with their hereditary Golden Crocodile King martial soul, founding a sect and replacing the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon as the world's number one beast martial soul was not impossible.
As he thought about this, Golden Crocodile Douluo's smile deepened. He stroked his beard while looking Tian Chen over carefully.
Tian Chen found his grandfather's strange gaze a little unbearable and hurriedly spoke.
"Grandpa, I came this time because I want you to help me awaken my martial soul early."
"I already had my sixth birthday a few days ago. I don't want to wait a few more days and awaken my martial soul with everyone else."
He knew how troublesome awakening a martial soul at Spirit Hall was. There were crowds of people, and he would have to queue.
Of course, given his grandfather's position, cutting in line would not be a problem. But what he found most unbearable was the feeling of being gawked at like a performing monkey while awakening his martial soul. Besides, for the sake of his future plans, he did not want to expose himself to the public yet.
Another reason was that he wanted to awaken his martial soul as soon as possible. He did not want to waste even a little time.
He had no idea what level his innate Soul Power would be, so naturally, he did not want to waste any more time.
In terms of talent, he certainly did not think he could compare to Tang San with his twin martial souls.
Aside from his wariness of Tang Hao's strength, he also had plans of his own, which was why he did not simply tell Qian Daoliu to take men to surround and kill Tang San and his father now.
Otherwise, no matter how outstanding Tang Hao's strength was, if several great enshrined acted together, his only end would be to die full of resentment.
Of course, they might also pay a considerable price, possibly even the death of an enshrined.
Back when Tang Hao had only just become a Titled Douluo, he had been able to fight three opponents alone using Chaotic Cloak and Ring Detonation, and Qian Xunji had even been a Level 95 Super Douluo.
There was no reason Tang Hao, who had now surpassed Level 95, could not drag a few people down with him before dying, even though he was already gravely injured.
Besides, he was currently of little standing, and his words carried little weight. Even if he told Qian Daoliu where Tang Hao was, they might not believe him. They might even become suspicious of him.
How could a six-year-old child who had never left Spirit City, much less seen Tang Hao, know Tang Hao's whereabouts?