The old man's investiture ceremony was grand, but none of that had much to do with Meng Qianqiu. After he spent several months at home, midautumn soon arrived, and it was time for Meng Qianqiu to go to school.
The Meng Family leading the way in joining Spirit Hall was no empty talk. Heaven Dou City's Five Great Hidden Families had always regarded the Meng Family as their leader.
Now that the Meng Family had joined Spirit Hall and Meng Zhongqi had become its fifth elder, the five great families had also begun choosing their side.
The Five Great Hidden Families had always been branches of the same tree, breathing as one.
As a newly ascended Titled Douluo, Meng Zhongqi carried considerable weight among the five great families. After some discussion, all five families were willing to follow him in pledging allegiance to Spirit Hall.
"Meng Qianqiu, come on! Let's go to school together!"
With several days still remaining before the junior Soul Master Academy opened, Dugu Bo came to find Meng Qianqiu, and the two discussed going to school together.
The junior Soul Master Academies had been jointly established by Spirit Hall and the two great empires to cultivate and select more talented people.
The junior Soul Master Academies had six grades in total, further divided into upper, middle, and lower divisions, with strict Soul Power requirements.
To graduate from a junior Soul Master Academy, students had to reach rank twenty in Soul Power. After graduating, they could enter the service of an empire or Spirit Hall.
If a Soul Master could break through to Soul Grandmaster before turning fifteen, they could receive a recommendation letter from the academy and pursue further studies at an intermediate academy.
After graduating from an intermediate academy, those who could break through to Soul Elder before turning twenty could enter the very best academies for further studies.
Of course, these top academies were not diploma mills like Shrek Academy, but properly registered advanced Soul Master Academies-the kind backed by major powers.
As the royal capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou City housed three advanced academies: Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Spirit Hall Advanced Soul Master Academy, and Heaven Dou Exotic Beast Academy.
Notably, Heaven Dou Exotic Beast Academy was an advanced Soul Master Academy jointly founded by the Five Great Hidden Families!
"Ah, to think I'd have to go back to studying!"
Hearing this, Meng Qianqiu sighed. He had never expected that after transmigrating to the Douluo Continent, he would have to start school all over again.
Dugu Bo was two years older than Meng Qianqiu and had long since grown accustomed to life at the junior Soul Master Academy. To him, this was child's play.
"Don't worry, let me tell you!"
"The junior Soul Master Academy is huge! There are loads of students, every one of them talented, and they all say such nice things. I absolutely love it!"
Heaven Dou City Junior Soul Master Academy had been jointly established by Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire. It occupied a vast area and was no small institution.
As long as Soul Masters managed to graduate from a junior Soul Master Academy, they could generally find a very respectable job afterward.
These low-level Soul Masters either joined the Heaven Dou Empire as military officers or joined Spirit Hall as deacons.
"You poor kid. They've practically sweet-talked you senseless!"
Meng Qianqiu looked at Dugu Bo. This silly boy had been born into an influential family with power and standing. His classmates and teachers would surely fawn over him.
There were also two kinds of people at Soul Master Academies: regular students, who paid to attend, and work-study students.
Even among the regular students, there was a hierarchy of contempt!
And Dugu Bo before him had been born into a top family with power and influence. Here in Heaven Dou City, he could be considered a man above other men.
"Let's go!"
Meng Qianqiu boarded the carriage. Unlike ordinary students, both he and Dugu Bo were rather special day students.
"Have you heard?"
"Recently, Spirit Hall and the two great empires introduced another public welfare policy. As long as you register with Spirit Hall, you can attend a junior Soul Master Academy for free, and you can also claim a sizable living allowance from Spirit Hall every month!"
"Soul Masters can claim one Gold Soul Coin a month, and Soul Grandmasters can claim ten Gold Soul Coins a month!"
"Three-Ring Soul Elders get even more. They can go to a Spirit Hall Branch and claim a hundred Gold Soul Coins every month."
"One Gold Soul Coin can buy plenty of things. Spirit Hall and the two great empires have really done a great good deed this time."
Dugu Bo's mouth never stopped moving throughout the carriage ride. He was now a One-Ring Soul Master and could claim one Gold Soul Coin a month.
That single Gold Soul Coin was not to be underestimated. One Gold Soul Coin could be exchanged for ten Silver Soul Coins, enough for a Soul Master to live on for several months.
"Dugu Bo, don't tell me you've got your eye on that one-Gold-Soul-Coin allowance Spirit Hall hands out every month?"
Meng Qianqiu glanced at Dugu Bo and immediately spoke again.
"What the hell do you know!"
"This is a pie falling from the sky! Why turn down something free? Besides, it's a whole Gold Soul Coin. That's no small amount."
"Even my monthly allowance isn't that much!"
Dugu Bo pursed his lips. Unlike the Meng Family, although his family doted on him too, he really did not have much money to spare.
Heaven Dou City's Five Great Hidden Families were extremely strict when it came to raising their children. Even the landlord's household had no grain to spare!
Meng Qianqiu was different. He was positively swimming in money now!
Ever since returning from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Meng Qianqiu's private treasury had begun swelling at a rate almost visible to the naked eye.
Recently, Heaven Dou City's Five Great Hidden Families had joined forces with the two great empires to establish Soul Fighting arenas and large-scale auctions.
Meng Zhongqi had sold several eighth-grade spirit herbs through the auctions, then purchased a large quantity of ten-thousand-year whale glue.
That buying and selling alone amounted to an ocean of wealth!
"Fine, then. You win!"
Truly, the wealthier people were, the more tightfisted they became. He had never imagined that Dugu Bo would already have the makings of a little money-grubber at such a young age.
The two traded barbs in the carriage. After roughly a quarter of an hour, it finally stopped at the entrance to Heaven Dou City Junior Soul Master Academy.
They stepped down from the carriage and stood at the junior Soul Master Academy's entrance.
Looking at the sprawling junior Soul Master Academy, even Meng Qianqiu had to admire Spirit Hall's extravagance. Its spending was on no ordinary scale!
The enormous arched gateway had been carved entirely from large pieces of green jade, with the emblems of Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire engraved at its top.
Two guards stood before the gates. Judging by their Soul Power, they were around the level of Two-Ring Soul Grandmasters, though they were already quite old.
Only after submitting their documents did the two enter the junior Soul Master Academy.
Past the gates, flowers, plants, and trees lined both sides of the road. Countless shaded paths wound among them, making the grounds especially secluded and peaceful.
"Oh, right, Meng Qianqiu!"
"According to the rules, the junior Soul Master Academy determines your grade and class based on your Soul Power."
"What rank is your Soul Power now?"
Dugu Bo looked at Meng Qianqiu beside him. It had only been three or four months since Meng Qianqiu awakened his Martial Soul, so his Soul Power probably was not very high.
"I'm nothing special. My Soul Power is only rank fourteen!"
Hearing the question, Meng Qianqiu answered at once.
"H-how high?"
Dugu Bo's eyes immediately widened at his answer.
"Rank fourteen Soul Power!"
"What? Is there a problem with that?"
Meng Qianqiu spread his hands. Mortals could not understand the world of geniuses, much less a massive cheat-user like him!
A genius with cheats-even Great Buddha Ancestor Tang would be afraid if he came!
"Rank fourteen? How is that possible?"
"Have you been taking medicine? How is your Soul Power so high?"
Dugu Bo's Dao heart shattered. He had cultivated bitterly for two years and only reached rank fourteen with great difficulty, while someone else had done it in four months.
The gulf between them could hardly be measured in miles!
"You guessed right. I did take medicine!"
"Otherwise, with my current aptitude, I'd need at least a year to break through to rank fourteen Soul Power."
Meng Qianqiu nodded. He was telling the absolute truth!
"Your Innate Soul Power definitely wasn't just rank nine!"
"Well, well! You actually kept that from me! And here I thought of you as my best brother. To think you were hiding it from me!"
Dugu Bo was full of grievances. As a good brother, he feared both his brother suffering hardship and his brother driving a Land Rover. His feelings were extraordinarily complicated.
"Wasn't your Innate Soul Power higher than rank eight too?"
"Not to mention, the first soul ring I hunted was over four hundred years old, almost approaching the limit."
"And I've spent all this time cultivating bitterly at home. Isn't it perfectly normal for my Soul Power to be rank fourteen?"
Meng Qianqiu smiled. Everything he had just said was the absolute truth, but there was nothing he could do if Dugu Bo refused to believe him.
"You're amazing. You're awesome!"
"Your talent is so outstanding, yet you still push yourself so hard and work so diligently. I, Dugu Bo, concede-wholeheartedly and without reservation!"
"Then I'll follow you from now on. Should you not spurn me, my lord, I would lead your horse and hold your stirrup!"
After hearing all this, Dugu Bo fell silent. High talent was not what was frightening; what was frightening was someone pushing themselves heedless of their life, someone willing to outgrind everyone else!
Meng Qianqiu before him was not only exceptionally talented, but also worked desperately hard and kept grinding. By comparison, Dugu Bo seemed somewhat lax in his cultivation.
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