In an instant, the crystal ball glowed with a hazy yellow light. The next moment, the light shifted to purple, and then quickly turned black.
After the black light appeared, the entire crystal ball trembled violently. The color inside grew increasingly deep and profound. Cracks began to form on the pure black crystal surface.
Before Mashuono could finish speaking, with a loud bang, the crystal ball shattered completely under the force of Xiao Yan's inner strength infusion!
Both Mashuono and Xiao Yan quickly took three steps back, dodging the shards of the shattered crystal.
"How could this happen?" Looking at the broken pieces scattered on the ground, Mashuono was startled.
Xiao Yan was also a bit surprised, not expecting the quality of the crystal ball to be so poor.
"How did the crystal ball break?"Xiao Yan squatted down and picked up a shard, bitterly saying.
He still hadn't used up all his inner strength.
Mashuono murmured, "Soul power test crystal balls are essential equipment in every Martial Soul Hall, used to measure the level of soul power and allocate the corresponding soul master subsidies.
"Generally, these crystal balls can withstand soul power up to level fifty. To burst a soul power test crystal ball with one's own soul power, you would need at least level seventy soul power…"
Mashuono looked at Xiao Yan in disbelief. How could this kid possibly be a Soul Saint level expert?
After some thought, Mashuono shook his head, "Maybe the equipment is old. I'll get a spare one for you to try again."
Watching Mashuono walk away, Xiao Yan thought: It seems my inner strength really has reached the Soul Saint level; the only thing missing now is a soul ring.
He wondered just how powerful a Soul Saint-level battle soul master would be? And what was the difference between his single-ring "Soul Saint" and them?
Suppressing his inner regrets for the moment, Xiao Yan focused on the brand new crystal ball in front of him and placed his hand on it again.
This time, remembering the previous lesson, he only let the crystal ball absorb a bit more soul power than his innate full soul power.
"Level eleven soul power." Looking at the yellowish glow from the crystal ball, Mashuono breathed a sigh of relief. This was a normal level.
"Alright, Xiao Yan, your advancement test is now complete. From this moment on, you are a proud soul master of the Tiandou Empire. Welcome to the ranks of soul masters. You can use the badge I will give you shortly at the Martial Soul Hall to claim your monthly subsidy. The soul master subsidy is one gold soul coin per month. Once you reach the Grand Soul Master level, the subsidy increases to ten gold soul coins."
The crystal ball shuddered lightly, releasing the absorbed inner strength and returning it to Xiao Yan's body.
"Thank you, Grandfather Mashuono."Xiao Yan withdrew his palm and looked apologetically at the crystal shards on the ground. "About that crystal ball just now…"
How much did that thing cost, anyway?
Mashuono waved his hand, "No worries, it was probably old. It's good that you weren't hurt."
No compensation needed? Xiao Yan felt a bit embarrassed.
After all, the crystal ball was clearly shattered by his inner strength.
After leaving the Martial Soul Hall, Xiao Yan now had a specially made Martial Soul Hall badge and a soul master's handbook.
The badge was round, with his name engraved on the back. The front displayed two interlaced thorns, symbolizing the soul master rank.
The soul master handbook recorded the soul master's personal information and had a Martial Soul Hall registration number — essentially the Tiandou Continent's version of an ID card.
These two items were the real purpose of his visit to the Martial Soul Hall.
With the soul master identity, even though he was still young, it would make opening a shop in the future much easier and save a lot of trouble.
After leaving the Martial Soul Hall, it was already late. Xiao Yan didn't wander the streets but headed straight to Nodin Academy.
Passing through an intersection, Xiao Yan suddenly heard a frantic shout by his ear:
"Thief! Catch the thief!"
Following the voice, Xiao Yan was surprised to see a familiar figure — the Nodin Academy gatekeeper.
But the gatekeeper wasn't the thief; he was chasing after the thief.
He wasn't very fast, however, and there was some distance between him and the fleeing thief.
Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, flicked his finger, and shot a small ball of blue-silver vine condensed from the Blue Silver Emperor's power straight at the thief's calf.
The thief screamed in pain, stepped on thin air, and fell to the ground with a thud, sliding more than a meter forward.
The gatekeeper seized the opportunity, snatched the item from the thief's hand, and fiercely said, "You're lucky to have hands and feet. Why not do something decent? Come with me to meet the city defense army for punishment. I hope you learn to be a good person from now on."
The black-clad thief was dizzy and seeing stars, thinking how unlucky he was. It was his first time stealing, and he'd already been caught! He swore he'd never do such a no-risk, no-investment job again.
"Miss, here is your wallet. Please check if anything's missing. If not, I'll take this thief to the city defense army." The gatekeeper handed the item to a panting woman who had just arrived, smiling as he said.
The woman checked and gratefully said, "Thank you so much, young man. If it weren't for you, he would have gotten away. This money is for my child's medical treatment."
"It's nothing." The gatekeeper suddenly felt extremely happy.
This kind of happiness was completely different from the material joy of gaining money — it came from the heart and the depths of the soul.
"So it wasn't my stuff that got stolen after all." Hearing all this, Xiao Yan nodded slightly, feeling quite relieved.
The gatekeeper had abandoned evil for good — he had done a good deed.
After witnessing this act of bravery, Xiao Yan didn't interact with the gatekeeper and returned directly to Nodin Academy.
"Xiao Yan, where did you go after dinner? Why are you only just coming back?"Xiaowu, lying on the bed, sat up and asked as she saw Xiao Yan return.
Xiao Yan sat down on the bed and said, "I'm at full innate soul power. A teacher from the academy talked with me for a while and said they will take me hunting soul beasts tomorrow to get a soul ring to continue my training."
As soon as Xiao Yan mentioned going to get a soul ring, all the other students except Xiaowu showed expressions of envy.
For soul masters, nothing was more important than advancement.
The difference in soul power between a level ten soul warrior and an eleven-level soul master is only one level, but their strength and status are worlds apart — and this difference becomes more obvious at higher levels.
Xiaowu frowned, "You want to leave before school even starts? Is the soul ring really that important?"
Before Xiao Yan could answer, Xiaowu noticed the atmosphere around her changing. The other students looked at her like she was a monster.
Is the soul ring important? For soul masters, there's hardly anything more important.
Xiao Yan found Xiaowu strangely odd. Even if she came from a noble family, she should understand how vital soul rings are to soul masters, right?
(End of Chapter)