Ma Xiunuo could hardly be blamed for his confusion. The form of every Soul Master's Martial Soul was fixed at awakening. This was common knowledge to almost every Soul Master on the Douluo Continent.
How could an egg Martial Soul turn into a living, breathing draconic creature? This lay completely beyond his understanding.
Hearing Ma Xiunuo's question, Lin Mo showed no surprise. He had anticipated it before coming.
He slowly began to explain, "Master Ma Xiunuo, you weren't mistaken. What was registered on the certificate was indeed an egg.
"But my Martial Soul is a little special. It... can hatch."
"H-hatch?" Ma Xiunuo's mouth fell open. He felt as though decades of understanding had been completely overturned today.
"Yes, hatch." Lin Mo nodded. To make his explanation more convincing, he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers crisply.
At the snap, a small flame of the same origin as the fire burning on Charmander's tail sprang into being above his fingertip.
"You see, there's no faking this Soul Power attribute. This Charmander really did hatch from my previous egg Martial Soul. He is my Martial Soul!"
Ma Xiunuo stared intently at the flame on Lin Mo's fingertip and the fire burning on Charmander's tail, sensing their nearly identical presences.
The doubt in his eyes finally faded little by little, replaced by the astonishment of someone witnessing a miracle.
He let out a long sigh and sank rather weakly back into his chair, murmuring, "Hatching... To think such a thing exists... It seems I really am getting old."
He shook his head, his gaze growing somewhat complicated as he looked at Lin Mo. "Ah, your Nuoding Academy really has admitted quite a few geniuses this year..."
As though recalling something, he added, "Including you, three of this year's new students have already successfully obtained their first Soul Rings and officially become Soul Masters."
Lin Mo understood. The other two were naturally Tang San and Xiao Wu. He did not interrupt, however, and simply listened quietly.
Ma Xiunuo continued, "Of the two who came before you, one had Blue Silver Grass with innate full Soul Power, and the other had a rabbit Martial Soul, also with innate full Soul Power. Both are already Soul Masters.
"And now there's you... Your Martial Soul may be a little strange, but with innate rank-six Soul Power, you cultivated to become a Soul Master in nine months, and your first Soul Ring is also at the hundred-year level...
"Ah, I really don't know what to say."
Perhaps because he had already experienced the shock brought by Tang San and Xiao Wu, Ma Xiunuo instead felt a sort of numb acceptance toward Lin Mo's peculiar Charmander Martial Soul, as though even strange sights no longer surprised him.
The shock Lin Mo's Charmander Martial Soul gave him was not even as great as that of Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, which had innate full Soul Power and had even absorbed the Soul Ring of a Mandala Snake with four hundred years of cultivation.
That had truly challenged everything he knew.
He rubbed the space between his brows, sorted out the current situation, then looked at Lin Mo again, his face regaining its customary seriousness.
He cleared his throat softly and asked, "Lin Mo, as is customary, I need to ask you this once.
"Are you willing to join our Spirit Hall?
"If you are, I can directly recommend you to study at a Soul Master academy under Spirit Hall. It can offer you better resources and a better cultivation environment than Nuoding Academy."
Hearing this question, Lin Mo shook his head with almost no hesitation.
He pointed at the yellow Soul Ring revolving around Charmander's body and spoke in a quiet but clear voice:
"Thank you for your kindness, Master Ma Xiunuo, but I'd still like to stay at Nuoding Academy.
"I'm sure you can see that the dean thinks very highly of me. For this first Soul Ring of mine, Dean Wang Zongchang of Nuoding Academy personally helped me hunt down the soul beast."
Lin Mo had directly pulled out Wang Zongchang's tiger skin as his banner, cutting off any possibility of Ma Xiunuo continuing to persuade him.
Sure enough, at Lin Mo's words, an expression of "just as I thought" appeared on Ma Xiunuo's face, and he shook his head helplessly.
Dean Wang Zongchang, the dean of Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy, was an expert at the Four-Ring Soul Ancestor level.
Such strength might not amount to much elsewhere, but in little Nuoding City, he was certainly among the strongest.
If he did not think extremely highly of Lin Mo's talent, why would a Soul Ancestor personally take a child who had just broken through rank ten to the Soul Hunting Forest to obtain a Soul Ring?
On this little patch of ground that was Nuoding City, even as a member of Spirit Hall, Ma Xiunuo was unwilling to provoke Wang Zongchang lightly.
Especially now that Lin Mo had clearly refused, continuing would only make him seem unable to take a hint.
Moreover, even before asking, Ma Xiunuo had already roughly anticipated the outcome.
After all, the two with innate full Soul Power who had come earlier-Tang San and Xiao Wu-had also refused Spirit Hall's invitation without hesitation.
This year's work-study students at Nuoding Academy seemed to have little interest in Spirit Hall's recruitment.
He had asked more to fulfill the required procedure than anything else, without holding out much hope.
Ma Xiunuo sighed again and said no more. He then took a crystal ball from the drawer beneath his desk, the kind Lin Mo had seen before, used to test Soul Power Level.
"Very well. Everyone has their own aspirations. Since you've already decided, I won't try to persuade you any further."
As he spoke, Ma Xiunuo spread out the registration form. "Now, let's complete your Soul Master assessment and registration.
"First, place your hand on this crystal ball so we can test your exact current Soul Power Level."
"All right." Lin Mo placed his hand on the blue crystal ball as instructed.
The crystal ball instantly produced a powerful suction, and before long, a rather dazzling blue light shone across its surface.
"Rank-twelve Soul Power!" Ma Xiunuo nodded as he looked at the crystal ball's glow and recorded the number on the registration form.
"The hundred-year Soul Ring you absorbed must have been fairly old. Otherwise, it couldn't have raised your Soul Power Level straight to rank twelve."
Next, he asked in detail about the name of Lin Mo's Martial Soul and some other inconsequential information, recording it all.
Once he finished, Ma Xiunuo looked at the form and said to Lin Mo, "Your circumstances are rather unusual. Your Martial Soul underwent... well, a change involving hatching.
"According to the rules, I need to report this change in your Martial Soul's form to the higher-ups for their records as well.
"You needn't worry that this will be detrimental to you. It's all just routine procedure. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul absorbing an animal Soul Ring was also reported back then."
"I understand. Sorry for the trouble, Master Ma Xiunuo." Lin Mo expressed his understanding.
"Keep this safe. This is your first month's allowance after becoming a Soul Master." Ma Xiunuo took a small money pouch from another drawer and handed it to Lin Mo.
"One Gold Soul Coin. Keep it safe. From now on, you can come to Spirit Hall every month with your Soul Master identification to collect your allowance."
Lin Mo accepted the weighty pouch, feeling the outline of the Gold Soul Coin inside, and could not help feeling delighted.
One Gold Soul Coin was a considerable sum for a work-study student like him, enough to spare him from worrying about food expenses for a long time.
"Thank you, Master Ma Xiunuo!" Lin Mo thanked him sincerely.
"You're welcome. This is what you're entitled to." Ma Xiunuo waved a hand. "All right, the paperwork is complete. You can head back."
"All right, I'll take my leave, then." Lin Mo bowed to Ma Xiunuo once more, recalled Charmander, then turned and left the reception hall.
Everything had gone quite smoothly.
He carefully put the money pouch away and set off toward Nuoding Academy.