Outside Notting City, the luxurious caravan slowly drove away, with a small black bird following high in the sky all along the way.
Jiang Chen leaned against the carriage window, watching Notting City grow smaller and smaller, his mind filled with a myriad of thoughts.
After a long while, he let out a soft sigh in his heart. Since he was already here, he might as well settle down. Joining the Spirit Hall might not necessarily be a bad thing.
The Spirit Hall could absolutely provide him with the best resources, allowing him to grow strong quickly.
He thought again about his cultivation; it seemed that every time he absorbed a spirit ring, he had to undergo a heavenly tribulation. This was already going against the heavens, so even if he became enemies with Tang San, what was there to fear?
Thinking of this, the depression in his heart dissipated somewhat.
What he should be thinking about now is how to make himself grow strong as quickly as possible within the Spirit Hall.
Seeing Jiang Chen leaning against the window in a daze, Hu Liena poked him and said, "Little Junior Brother, are you reluctant to leave your hometown?"
Jiang Chen withdrew his gaze, turned around, and sat back down. "A little."
"Don't feel sad. From now on, Senior Sister will be your family," Hu Liena said while rubbing his head.
Jiang Chen felt a bit uncomfortable. With the mentality of an adult, being patted on the head by an eleven- or twelve-year-old girl felt somewhat awkward.
But he was too embarrassed to dodge, after all, Hu Liena was his senior sister, and he might need to rely on her in the Spirit Hall in the future.
Bibi Dong was somewhat satisfied with Jiang Chen's reaction and smiled, saying, "Chen'er, I heard that when you awakened, you had innate full soul power. Have you obtained a spirit ring yet? If not, when we return to Spirit City, I'll arrange for some strong experts to take you hunting soul beasts."
Jiang Chen hesitated for a moment before saying, "Teacher, I have already obtained my first spirit ring."
Bibi Dong was a little surprised and quickly asked, "With your talent, the one you absorbed should be a hundred-year spirit ring, right?"
She was a bit worried. What kind of good teachers could there be in a small place like Notting City? If they misguided her disciple and made him absorb a ten-year spirit ring, that would be unforgivable.
Jiang Chen shook his head and said, "It's not a hundred-year spirit ring."
The smile on Bibi Dong's face faded, and a rare look of disappointment appeared on her face. Hu Liena also looked at Jiang Chen with some pity and sympathy.
"Let me see your spirit ring," Bibi Dong said.
Jiang Chen's martial soul was quite good. Even if his first spirit ring was worse than others', under her guidance, he might still be able to surpass other geniuses.
Moreover, the age limit of a spirit ring wasn't completely impossible to improve; it was just that the conditions were extremely harsh.
Seeing Jiang Chen hesitate, Bibi Dong comforted him: "Don't worry. Even though yours is a ten-year spirit ring, if you train hard in the future, I will find a way to help you increase its age limit."
Jiang Chen was stunned for a moment. He hadn't expected Bibi Dong to think this way. He could only smile bitterly and release his spirit ring.
His zombie martial soul only showed the spirit ring after possession; earlier in the Spirit Hall, he hadn't possessed his martial soul, so Bibi Dong hadn't seen his spirit ring yet.
Of course, a spirit ring could also be released separately without releasing the martial soul.
Under Jiang Chen's will, a purple spirit ring rose from beneath his feet and gently floated around him.
At that moment, this supremely authoritative Pope of the Spirit Hall was completely stunned. Her beautiful face was filled with daze.
Hu Liena, beside her, had her eyes wide open, her fingers lightly covering her lips, almost crying out in shock.
This was simply unbelievable.
A thousand-year-old first spirit ring, how was this possible?
Bibi Dong knew even more. She knew that for twin martial soul masters, when their cultivation reached a certain level, the second martial soul could have a first spirit ring that was ten-thousand-year or even a hundred-thousand-year. Or through certain external trials, one could also elevate their existing spirit rings.
But when Jiang Chen absorbed his spirit ring, he definitely only had rank 10. She had never heard of anyone being able to absorb a thousand-year spirit ring at rank 10.
Unless… he wasn't human!
"Teacher, actually, my spirit ring is a thousand-year-old one, not ten years," Jiang Chen said.
Seeing this woman, who appeared so majestic and awe-inspiring in everyone's eyes, now showing such a dazed expression, Jiang Chen suddenly felt an urge to laugh, but he forcefully held it back.
He still didn't fully understand Bibi Dong's temperament. If he provoked her, he definitely wouldn't have a good time.
Bibi Dong also realized she had lost her composure. She quickly composed herself, showing that such a state in front of her two disciples would damage her image.
But her heart still couldn't calm down. This matter was simply too inconceivable.
"Chen'er, tell Teacher, how exactly did you absorb this spirit ring?"
Before releasing the spirit ring, Jiang Chen had already prepared his explanation, so he didn't hesitate now.
"Teacher, I was born with a strong physique. Before absorbing the spirit ring, my physical strength had already reached a thousand jin. Absorbing this spirit ring was very painful, but I still succeeded."
"You rashly absorbed a thousand-year spirit ring; didn't the teachers at the academy stop you?" A trace of thin anger appeared on Bibi Dong's face.
Letting a six-year-old child absorb a thousand-year spirit ring, what kind of teachers were they? This was simply misleading and harming a child. One misstep and the body could explode and he could die!
Seeing Bibi Dong somewhat angry, Jiang Chen couldn't help but feel a trace of goodwill toward her.
"Uh… I got separated at the time. I happened to encounter a dying soul beast. I didn't know how many years it was, so I just dazedly absorbed it."
Jiang Chen's face turned slightly red. This lie really wasn't very good, but both Bibi Dong and Hu Liena believed it; otherwise, what other explanation could there be?
Bibi Dong pulled Jiang Chen in front of her and looked at him seriously. The more she looked, the more satisfied she became. This time, she had truly picked up a treasure.
Innate full soul power, a physique stronger than his peers, able to absorb a thousand-year spirit ring at six years old, in some aspects, this aptitude was even stronger than her own twin martial souls.
She flipped her palm, and a delicate ring inlaid with gold edges appeared in her hand. "This is a gift from the teacher."
Jiang Chen curiously took it, thinking, could this be a storage soul guidance device like Tang San's Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges?
"This is an advanced soul guidance device. It has thirty cubic meters of space inside. You just need to communicate with it using your mind and soul power to store and retrieve items," Bibi Dong said with a smile.
Jiang Chen was moved and couldn't hide his excitement. He immediately put it on his right index finger and started trying it out.
After trying a few times, he quickly mastered the technique and stored some of his clothes inside.
"Thank you, Teacher," Jiang Chen said sincerely.
"Cultivating well in the future is the best return to me," Bibi Dong said gently while stroking Jiang Chen's head.
Hu Liena, beside them, looked envious. That ring was really beautiful; she wanted one too.
Bibi Dong glanced at her, then smiled and took out a necklace. "Nana, this is for you. It has the same function as Chen'er's."
Looking at the crystal-clear, exquisite necklace, Hu Liena was overjoyed and quickly took it.
"Thank you, Teacher." Hu Liena was very satisfied. Compared to Jiang Chen's gold-edged ring, she preferred this shiny necklace.
"You two are both my disciples. From now on, you must take care of each other, understand?"
"Understood," both answered.
"Nana, since Chen'er has just arrived at the Spirit Hall, he'll stay with you first. Take him to get familiar with the Spirit Hall and don't let others bully him."
"Understood, Teacher. Leave Little Junior Brother to me."