Very quickly Tang Wulin felt bloated as an unknown pressure expanded within his body like inflating a balloon.

  The swollen sensation transitioned from a mere discomfort to piercing pain as time ticked on. His meridians and internal organs began to groan with pain and in response, his blood grew frenzied and widened his meridians, dulling the pain until it was just a numb throb.

  “Ah!” Tang Wulin yelped in surprise. His already swollen body began to enlarge once again, sinking his mind into a muddled state.

  After an unknown period of time, the distended feeling subsided like the ocean tide. It was if it had never been there in the first place, leaving Tang Wulin feeling utterly refreshed. A shiver ran down his spine and he woke from his involuntary slumber.

  Branchmaster Zhao stood by the bed, astonishment written all over his face. “Eastsea’s Little Zhangkong, just where did you find such a freak? His soul power is obviously weak, but his body is extraordinarily strong.”


  With a respectful tone muting his usual bluntness, Wu Zhangkong said, “Branchmaster Zhao, what are the maximum level of spirit souls and soul rings do you think he can bear right now?”


  Branchmaster Zhao paused before replying, “The spirit souls’ level is dependent on spiritual power, and soul rings are dependent on the body, so it shouldn’t be a problem for his current body to support a thousand-year soul ring…… up to 4000 years old.”


  Wu Zhangkong’s face now mirrored the Branchmaster’s look of amazement. He hadn’t expected Tang Wulin’s body to actually be able to bear this much.

  An ordinary Soul Master’s first soul ring could reach up to 400 years, yet Tang Wulin’s body was already more than ten times stronger than his peers and his meridians had proved to be extremely durable as well. It was normal for anyone who discovered such a little freak’s capabilities to feel astounded.

  Wu Zhangkong’s voice still held a trace of surprise as he clarified, “So you’re saying that if his spirit soul evolved into the thousand-year level and he has sufficient spiritual power, if he had two soul rings, each will be 2000 years? By the time he breaks through to two rings, his body will have grown even stronger and at that point, wouldn’t he be able to support two soul rings of the 3000-year level?”


  Branchmaster Zhao nodded in affirmation. “You could think of it like that. Of course, that’s assuming he has enough spiritual power to support a 3000-year spirit soul, which is approximately 200 points of spiritual power. What is his current spiritual power level?”


  Wu Zhangkong recalled Tang Wulin’s remarkable results as he said, “He has already started cultivating the Purple Demon Eyes and he is very compatible with it, showing much insight. With such a powerful method and coupled with his perception, he should make quick progress in his spiritual power until he reaches the Spirit Sea realm. I estimate that his spiritual power has already broken through 100-points since his spiritual power was already extraordinary to begin with, so it should be no problem for him to acquire a 2000-year spirit soul and a pair of 2000-year soul rings. His spirit soul should also improve further as he cultivates his spiritual power, but since his soul power is only rank 16 at the moment, he’ll need at least half a year to a year to reach rank 20, and that’s only in the best of circumstances. He should have plenty of time to increase his spiritual power.”


  A mysterious smile tugged at Branchmaster Zhao’s lips as he ran his hands over his shiny bald head. “I understand now. You’ve been planning on raising him to be extraordinary from the very beginning. Not bad, not bad. He seems like a promising disciple.”


  Tang Wulin sat there without speaking, blankly listening to the two converse and unable to comprehend their conversation. Wu Zhangkong’s voice snapped him out of his daze. “Wulin, thank Branchmaster Zhao.”


  Tang Wulin hastily scrambled off his chair and bowed deeply in gratitude. “Thank you.”


  Branchmaster Zhao dismissed his gratitude with a wave and spoke with a profoundness that was beyond Tang Wulin. “Not bad. It seems we have another promising young disciple in the Tang Sect now.”


  “We’ll be taking our leave then, Branchmaster Zhao.”


  The branchmaster responded with a knowing nod. “Go then. You can give him the Tang Sect badge now. This child has great potential. Teach him well.”


  “Yes.” Wu Zhangkong gave a respectful salute and made to leave the branch with Tang Wulin.

  “Teacher Wu, I don’t really understand what you two were talking about earlier. Were you saying I can still improve my spirit soul in the spirit ascension platform?”


  Wu Zhangkong nodded. “Branchmaster Zhao has a gentle and pure martial soul which is suited for accurate measurements of bodily endurance and tested you. Now our goal is to upgrade your spirit soul to the 2000-year level so your soul rings will be at the thousand-year level at the very least. Your physique is already strong enough so you must focus on cultivating the Purple Demon Eyes. Quickly reach the Spirit Sea realm, and don’t get distracted. Once you reach that realm, you won’t have to worry about your spiritual power again until you attain six rings.”


  “Yes!” A thousand-year spirit soul? A thousand-year soul ring?

  Tang Wulin’s heart raced with excitement and yearning.

  Wu Zhangkong was fully aware of the effect his words had on his disciple. “Now we’re going to the Spirit Pagoda to measure your spiritual power.”


  The local Spirit Pagoda branch was situated in the center of Heaven Dou City, surprisingly closer to the local Tang Sect branch than one would initially assume. Though it couldn’t compare in size to the one in Eastsea City, its simplistic architecture exuded an ancient elegance.

  “Be careful of what you say once we enter. Listen and observe closely instead of speaking. Do not be fooled by appearances. There are many powerful people within the Spirit Pagoda, especially so in Heaven Dou City.”


  With his teacher’s cautionary words, Tang Wulin stepped past the pagoda’s simple doors and was immediately assailed by noise. An endless stream of people entered and exited, bustling to and fro within the pagoda. Compared to Eastsea City’s trickle of people, this was akin to a steady current.

  Tang Wulin suspected that not only were they all Soul Masters, they were likely far more powerful than him as well.

  They conducted the spiritual power test in a small, isolated room after paying an excessive 5,000 federal coins. The cost of living in Heaven Dou City truly couldn’t be compared to Eastsea City.

  As for the results, they were unexpected, to say the least; even Wu Zhangkong had a look of shock.

  124!

  Tang Wulin’s spiritual power had nearly doubled! It would not have been this surprising if he were a Spiritual System Soul Master like Gu Yue with a weaker body as spiritual power and physical strength were typically inversely proportional for Soul Masters. Yet his spiritual power had actually grown exponentially, exceeding the 108-point threshold to the intermediate rank of the Spirit Connection Realm by such a large margin!

  Wu Zhangkong was more certain of Tang Wulin’s chances to acquire a pair of 2000-year soul rings and a 2000-year spirit soul after seeing Tang Wulin’s two unexpected results today.

  The darkness of night descended by the time they returned to the inn.

  After a sumptuous meal, Wu Zhangkong summoned Tang Wulin.

  “Wulin, you should have an idea of what I have planned for you by now. In all honesty, your martial soul is very weak. After all, it’s the Bluesilver Grass that is praised as a trash martial soul.”


  Tang Wulin was beset by bewilderment. Can calling it ‘trash’ really be called praise……?

  Wu Zhangkong continued without minding Tang Wulin’s brooding expression. “Your strange bloodline, however, has caused it to mutate and has affected your spirit soul as well. Even now, they continue to transform. This is beneficial to you. With your powerful body, you can upgrade your spirit soul further than your peers; it would naturally be upgraded too.”


  Perplexed, Tang Wulin asked, “Teacher Wu, I understand that I can upgrade my spirit soul further, but what do you mean by naturally?”