Changes to the Elite Selection Tournament

"Yan'er, are you all right?"

When the self-satisfied Jun Kuang saw what had happened in the room, he hurriedly withdrew the flames and asked in concern.

Once the flames dispersed, Jun Yan finally withdrew the vines that had enveloped him. Though he wasn't afraid of fire, it would still be embarrassing if his clothes burned off.

Jun Yan pointed at Jun Kuang and said with some distaste, "Whatever it is, put some clothes on first."

Jun Kuang looked down and hurriedly pulled some clothes from his Soul Tool and threw them on with lightning speed.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he said, "That herb really is wonderful! Not only did I break through to Level 90, but my Soul Power has become much more refined, and even my flames seem considerably more powerful."

"If only we had more herbs like that. All the children in our Jun Family would become geniuses."

Jun Yan rolled his eyes. "An Immortal Herb like that is something you can encounter only by chance. Surely you don't expect one for everyone?"

With that, he turned and walked out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Jun Kuang asked.

"To the Enforcement Corps," Jun Yan answered without looking back.

Jun Kuang said, "Yue Guan and the others haven't returned yet. You won't find them even if you go."

Jun Yan stopped and turned around. "They still haven't returned?"

Jun Kuang explained helplessly, "Do you think a Titled Douluo's Soul Ring is so easy to obtain? Picking one at random could affect their future strength, and besides, there are two of them who need Soul Rings."

After a pause, he continued, "There are some other things I need to discuss with you. Come with me."

"What is it?" Jun Yan asked in confusion, but followed him into the rear hall.

The two sat down, and Jun Yan picked up the teapot and poured each of them a cup of tea.

Rather than get straight to the point, Jun Kuang first asked, "Spirit Hall's Elite Selection Tournament is coming up soon. You know about it, right?"

Jun Yan nodded. "I know. You already told me about it before. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come back so early. What, did something go wrong?"

Jun Kuang picked up his teacup and took a sip before saying, "Something did go wrong."

"His Holiness the Pope intends to change the format of this Elite Selection Tournament."

"How?" Jun Yan asked hurriedly.

"The Elite Selection Tournament was always meant to select elite Soul Masters who are young and strong, so it has always taken the form of combat. This time, the Pope had a sudden idea to replace Soul Master duels with the accumulation of merit."

Jun Yan looked utterly baffled. "Accumulating merit? Where are we supposed to get it? By killing Evil Soul Masters?"

Jun Kuang's expression grew grave. "Of course not. Where would we find that many Evil Soul Masters on the continent? The Pope's target this time is Sea God Island."

"Let me tell you about Sea God Island first. It's a huge island in the ocean west of the continent, inhabited by a group of Soul Masters who call themselves Sea Soul Masters.

"According to Spirit Hall's intelligence, there are more than two thousand Sea Soul Masters on the island. But these Soul Masters are not under the jurisdiction of either of the two empires or Spirit Hall, and they worship the Sea God rather than the Angel God. So the Pope wants to send people to bring this powerful group of Soul Masters under our command."

Now that Jun Kuang had explained this much, Jun Yan understood. "So this tournament will be centered on attacking Sea God Island?"

"That's right. Soul Masters who earn merit during the operation to bring Sea God Island under our command can become elites and receive rewards."

"What if the operation fails?" Jun Yan asked.

Jun Kuang burst out laughing. "Fail? How could it fail? Our Spirit Hall is mighty, with ten Titled Douluo, and the Great Enshrined is a Peak Douluo. What force in this world could possibly compare with Spirit Hall?"

Jun Yan asked, "Will Spirit Hall mobilize all its forces for this operation?"

Jun Kuang shook his head. "Of course not. Why would we need all our forces to deal with Sea God Island? The Pope will send two thousand Soul Masters, including six Titled Douluo."

Then it's over. They're bound to lose, Jun Yan thought.

"Yue Guan and Gui Mei will also take part in this operation. With them there, not only will your safety be assured, but it'll also be easier for you to earn merit."

Only after hearing this did Jun Yan nod. "All right, then. I'll go join the fun and see what Sea Soul Masters are like while I'm at it."

Jun Yan had originally planned not to go, because he knew the history and understood that this operation would not only fail, but also cost them two Titled Douluo.

But since Yue Guan and Gui Mei were going too, he wasn't worried. The two had only just become Titled Douluo and might not be that formidable in a fight, but they would have no trouble escaping.

He was bound to deal with Sea God Island sooner or later anyway, so he might as well take this chance to see it for himself.

"Stay at home for a few days. Once Yue Guan and Gui Mei return, you can go talk to them."

"Yes." Jun Yan nodded.

Over the next few days, Jun Yan stayed home and familiarized himself with his abilities. Ever since breaking through to the Soul Saint realm, he had felt that his Martial Soul had made tremendous progress.

Take Wood Release, for example. Before breaking through to Soul Saint, he could barely use the Wood Dragon Technique, and even that was extremely difficult. After breaking through, he could summon a Wood Dragon at will, and even the Wood Human Technique wasn't beyond him if he had time to prepare.

Once he understood his limits, he began studying other uses for Wood Release, such as... building houses and the like.

It wasn't until Jun Kuang told him that Yue Guan and Gui Mei had returned to Spirit City that Jun Yan left the forest in his family's backyard.

When Jun Yan arrived at Yue Guan's residence, Yue Guan had just returned from outside as well. He had probably gone to see the Pope first.

Yue Guan was somewhat surprised to see Jun Yan at his door. After all, Jun Yan rarely went out.

He asked, "Kid Jun, you finally decided to come out? Are you here to ask me about the Elite Selection Tournament?"

Jun Yan shook his head. "No, I have some questions I'd like to ask you."

"Questions? Come inside with me."

After the two sat down in the sitting room, Jun Yan got straight to the reason for his visit.

"I heard that Elder Yue Guan is extremely fond of flowers, plants, and medicinal herbs. I imagine you know a great deal about them, so I'd like to ask you to teach me."

Hearing that Jun Yan wanted to learn about flowers and plants, Yue Guan immediately grew interested, though he asked another question.

"Why have you suddenly become interested in this?"

On the Douluo Continent, Soul Masters were revered above all others, so knowledge concerning them was naturally the most important. By comparison, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call knowledge of flowers and plants an unorthodox pursuit.

Jun Yan explained, "I obtained a fire-attribute herb some time ago. I didn't know its name, but its effects were incredibly potent. After my father took it, he broke through to Level 90. Not only did his foundation not become unstable after the breakthrough, but his Soul Power grew even more refined."

"His foundation became even firmer after breaking through with medicinal power? Only an Immortal Herb could have that effect! What did the herb look like?"

"It was..." Jun Yan described the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower.

After listening, Yue Guan cried out in shock, "Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower! That's an immortal-grade herb! How did you manage to get your hands on something like that?"