"My dear grandson, your starting point is already very high. Although our Meng Family cannot compare with Spirit Hall and the Upper Three Sects, our foundations are no weaker than those of the Lower Four Sects or the two great empires."
"You were born into a great secluded family, possess a mutated, top-tier beast martial soul, and have innate full soul power. The resources you receive are hardly poor."
"You should know that most commoner Soul Masters from ordinary backgrounds only have white soul rings as their first soul rings."
"Even the direct-line disciples of ordinary minor families have first soul rings that barely cross the hundred-year threshold."
"My own first soul ring was only three hundred years old, and Dugu Bo's first soul ring barely reached four hundred years."
"Your first soul ring is over four hundred years old!"
"You have to eat one mouthful at a time and walk one step at a time. A single mouthful cannot make you fat, and you cannot ascend to heaven in a single step either."
Meng Zhongqi shook his head as he lectured Meng Qianqiu.
"For now, stay at home."
"In a few months, I will send you to Heaven Dou City Junior Soul Master Academy for systematic training."
Meng Zhongqi did not want to hold Meng Qianqiu back. Foundational study was essential to becoming a top Soul Master.
"Huh?"
"I have to go to school too?"
Meng Qianqiu was somewhat surprised. He had not expected that he, too, would have to enter a junior Soul Master Academy for further study, just like everyone else.
"Douluo Continent is home not only to two great empires, one hall, and seven sects, but also to many advanced Soul Master academies throughout its lands."
"Spirit Hall once joined forces with the two great empires to establish a junior Soul Master Academy in every city on the continent."
"The purpose was simple: to select talented people."
"Not only that, the Upper Three Sects, the Lower Four Sects, and many great secluded families have also established Soul Master academies outside their own domains."
"Skywater Academy, founded by the Skywater Family, is one example!"
"The strength of these Soul Master academies cannot be underestimated either. Some advanced academies even have high-level Soul Saints and Soul Douluos overseeing them."
"These days, Spirit Hall is powerful, and the two great empires blaze like the midday sun. Life is not easy for secluded families like ours either."
Meng Zhongqi sighed. This was an overt scheme, a nakedly overt scheme. Spirit Hall not only enrolled students but also provided subsidies.
To commoner Soul Masters, Spirit Hall was undoubtedly a great benefactor. It not only provided schooling but also covered their monthly living expenses.
This was also why Spirit Hall towered over all others.
Spirit Hall did not lack strength. With Qian Daoliu and its council of elders overseeing it, its strength stood in a class of its own.
Nor did Spirit Hall lack a good reputation.
As the saying went, a thousand gold pieces bought a horse's bones. With Spirit Hall making such a grand display in the two great empires, that money had not been spent for nothing.
Almost every coin had been spent on the blade's edge.
"Spirit Hall and the two great empires have joined forces to all but monopolize educational resources. If you want to become a high-level Soul Master, you have to step into their snare."
"There is nothing I can do about that either!"
"But if you start school a few months later, it will also cement the rumor that your innate soul power is only rank eight."
Like most Soul Masters, Meng Zhongqi wanted neither to offend Spirit Hall nor to incur the wrath of the two great empires. He could only endure it.
"Spirit Hall!"
Spirit Hall relied on precisely this mature system to recruit talent from across the world. No wonder its legacy had endured for so long.
As it turned out, behind Spirit Hall stood a whole host of Soul Master academies, supplying it with an unending stream of fresh blood.
"Grandpa, what do you think of Spirit Hall?"
Meng Qianqiu looked at Meng Zhongqi, hoping to sound him out with his question.
"Spirit Hall?"
"It is hard to say. It really is hard to say!"
"Spirit Hall lies on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, straddling the space between the two great empires and guarding humanity's borders."
"For nearly ten thousand years, whenever a great beast tide occurred, Spirit Hall almost always charged on the front lines. That is truly commendable."
"But Spirit Hall has also interfered in the internal affairs of the two great empires. That is beyond question. This organization is full of contradictions. It is hard to say."
"Although Spirit Hall currently stands between the two great empires, it has the momentum to swallow the world whole. Its intentions are not pure."
"Spirit Hall's military might is now at its height. Were it not for the abundance of talent in the Upper Three Sects and Lower Four Sects, and the powerful figures emerging one after another in the two great empires!"
"Spirit Hall would probably have unified Douluo Continent long ago."
Age had honed Meng Zhongqi's shrewdness. Having served as head of the Meng Family for so many years, he also had a keen eye for politics.
"Grandpa!"
"Spirit Hall is powerful now, while our Meng Family is small. Why not ride this favorable wind and quietly build up our Meng Family?"
"You are a high-level Soul Douluo. Surely, within a few years, you will be able to break through the barrier of life and death and reach the Titled Douluo realm."
"When that happens, Spirit Hall will presumably come to your door to recruit you. That would be an opportunity for our Meng Family too."
Meng Qianqiu took the long view. For at least the next fifty years, Spirit Hall would be the undisputed overlord of Douluo Continent.
Attaching themselves to Spirit Hall was also a good choice.
One had to learn to ride the tide. Whose tide one rode was crucial, but Meng Qianqiu's plans were not that simple.
What he intended to do was something great enough to change heaven and earth!
"You make it sound easy!"
"Although my soul power is as high as rank eighty-eight, I still need at least two full ranks of soul power to break through to Titled Douluo."
"My body is not what it used to be. In recent years, its condition has deteriorated steadily, growing worse with every passing year!"
"Unless I am lucky enough to consume some heavenly treasure and forcibly make up those two ranks of soul power, there is nothing to be done!"
Meng Zhongqi sighed. How could he not want to break through to Titled Douluo? But his body simply would not allow it.
"Heavenly treasures!"
"Grandpa, you do not have to worry about that!"
"When it comes to heavenly treasures, we have quite a few right here in our residence. I also know where there is a peerless immortal herb."
A divine gleam flowed through Meng Qianqiu's eyes. If his guess was correct, the Speed Clan possessed a peerless immortal herb.
"We have heavenly treasures in our residence?"
"My dear grandson, do not joke with your grandpa."
Meng Zhongqi laughed. He was the head of the Meng Family. He knew exactly what the family had, as clearly as could be!
"Grandpa, you really should believe me!"
"This piece of ten-thousand-year whale glue in my hand is the heavenly treasure I am talking about. If you do not believe me, you can try it."
Meng Qianqiu spilled these secrets all in one go.
"You are saying this thing is a heavenly treasure?"
Looking at the black lump of ten-thousand-year whale glue in Meng Qianqiu's hand, Meng Zhongqi could not help frowning. Was the boy trying to fool him?
After all, Meng Zhongqi was himself a master of medicine preparation. He knew perfectly well what specific effects whale rubber had.
He could not have been more familiar with the stuff.
"Although ten-thousand-year whale glue is rather old and relatively rare on the market, it really is nothing good."
Meng Zhongqi curled his lip. This stuff was merely a health supplement for boosting virility. Although it was old and its medicinal potency was strong, it was not much use!
Could eating it possibly let him shed his mortal bones and be reborn?
Clearly, Meng Zhongqi did not believe it.
"Grandpa!"
"If you do not believe me, try it yourself!"
"In a moment, I will teach you a method that will let you personally absorb the vast medicinal potency of whale rubber. Then you will know."
Meng Qianqiu smiled as he spoke. He intended to teach Meng Zhongqi the Great Toad Qi-Devouring Technique, letting him shore up the final weakness on his cultivation path.