Evening.
Xiao Lin and Tang San played and fooled around along the way, finally managing to enter Nuoding City just before the gates closed for the night.
The two had competed nearly a dozen times—racing, long jumping, and even several rounds of rock-paper-scissors. In the end, Xiao Lin won by a slight margin. As per their bet regarding the disguise, Tang San would be on the bottom, and Xiao Lin would be on top.
"What a blood-boiling contest!" Xiao Lin led Tang San, who had never been to Spirit Hall before, to the entrance and gave a smug grin.
"Yes, yes, whatever you say," Tang San couldn't help but let out a long sigh. Even with his endurance, he was reaching his limit trying to keep up with Xiao Lin's "contests."
It was clear how terrifying Xiao Lin's current strength was. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that the first Soul Ring had granted Xiao Lin too massive a boost.
The 800-year cultivation level alone had pushed him to Rank 13, while poor Tang San was currently only Rank 12. Due to this level suppression alone, Tang San had to resort to various hidden methods just to barely keep pace.
Upon entering, Xiao Lin led Tang San directly into the inner sanctum of Spirit Hall. After several twists and turns, they headed up to the second floor and arrived before a modest-looking door. Xiao Lin knocked and led Tang San straight into the Nuoding City Spirit Hall office.
At that moment, in the large office, only a white-haired elderly man sat processing documents. He glanced at the two boys as they entered but immediately returned to his work.
"Grandpa Ma Xiunuo, I've become a Soul Master!" Xiao Lin shouted, dropping a bombshell since Ma Xiunuo was ignoring him.
"Good evening, Hall Master Ma Xiunuo. I am Tang San, Xiao Lin's good brother, and I am also here to register as a Soul Master." Unlike Xiao Lin, Tang San rolled his eyes at his friend's bluntness, then bowed respectfully and greeted the elder.
"Xiao Lin, it's quite late in the evening..." Ma Xiunuo was indeed shocked.
The hand holding the pen trembled involuntarily before he gave a bitter smile.
"Grandpa Ma Xiunuo, everyone at Spirit Hall has finished work, and there are only a few guards left. How else were we supposed to register?" Xiao Lin grinned; he hadn't done this on purpose.
"Very well, I will handle your registration personally," Ma Xiunuo sighed, rising from his seat.
"I haven't handled a registration in years. You two truly are..."
Ma Xiunuo walked to a filing cabinet beside his desk and pulled out a set of Soul Master registration forms. He flipped roughly halfway through the book and began recording their details.
"Xiao Lin, Martial Soul: Horned Dragon Staff. Registered as a Soul Master on July 16th. And your Soul Ring is?"
"A 400-year Vajra Giant Ox," Xiao Lin said quickly, deliberately under-reporting the age of his ring.
"Good, 400-year Vajra Giant Ox."
"And Little San, report your Martial Soul and Soul Ring as well," Ma Xiunuo finished recording Xiao Lin's data and turned to Tang San with a gentle smile.
"Tang San, Martial Soul: Blue Silver Grass. Soul Ring: 400-year Three-Eyed Salamander."
Ma Xiunuo froze for a moment upon hearing the details.
Since when could Blue Silver Grass be cultivated? Especially for someone as young as Tang San. However, he quickly recalled Su Yuntao mentioning a child with Innate Full Soul Power and Blue Silver Grass, and he smiled.
After finishing the records, Ma Xiunuo slowly returned the registration book to the cabinet and asked casually, "Have you two considered joining our Spirit Hall?"
"No, we've decided to work hard on our own," Xiao Lin replied, leaning back in an office chair and declining immediately.
"Why? With your talent, if you went to a major city or even to the Pope's side, you would receive intensive cultivation. It is very likely you could be taken as disciples by an Elder who is a Titled Douluo."
Ma Xiunuo was stunned, staring at the two boys in disbelief.
"Little San, your Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass; it won't be easy to cultivate. Are you sure you don't want to join?"
Seeing that Xiao Lin didn't look like he was joking, Ma Xiunuo turned to Tang San.
"No, thank you, Grandpa Ma Xiunuo. We prefer to cultivate on our own because we both feel that the current theories of Spirit Hall are too outdated," Tang San explained with a polite bow.
"Little San is right. I've found that the theories in Spirit Hall and the entire Soul Master world are too old-fashioned," Xiao Lin added.
"The most classic example is 'Grandmaster' Yu Xiaogang's 'Ten Core Theories of Martial Souls,' which is largely nonsense. We plan to research our own Martial Souls and find more suitable Soul Rings."
"If we join Spirit Hall and truly become disciples of a Titled Douluo, our words will carry no weight. We might be forced into taking rings we don't want. Do you think a Titled Douluo's vision would be lower than ours? They certainly wouldn't care about our opinions."
Xiao Lin shook his head, then used Su Yuntao's Martial Soul as an example.
In the original timeline, if Su Yuntao hadn't met Xiao Lin, his Soul Rings would have been obtained following the standard theories of Spirit Hall.
The Lone Wolf Martial Soul is an ordinary one with mediocre combat ability. Standard theory would suggest a "Pack Hunting" skill common to wolf-type souls—a skill where damage stacks when cooperating with others.
However, such a skill has low base damage.
Since Su Yuntao usually traveled alone to awaken Martial Souls in various villages, he rarely fought in a team. After befriending him, Xiao Lin recommended a Soul Skill with independent and stable combat power. Ultimately, Su Yuntao had good luck and obtained a "Howl" skill.
It not only boosted his own attack power but also provided a slight boost to allies.
With "Howl," Su Yuntao's first Soul Ring possessed power no weaker than a typical yellow ring. Whether in a duel or a team fight, it was far superior to "Pack Hunting." This was the difference between two theoretical frameworks.
Traditional theory dictated that Power-Attack type Soul Masters should essentially choose self-buffs or powerful attack skills.
Xiao Lin's theory suggested that they could also opt for group utility skills. Furthermore, Xiao Lin prioritized the synergy of a Soul Ring combination rather than simply viewing attack skills as attack skills and buffs as buffs.
The skill he chose for Su Yuntao was also perfectly suited for military use; if a group of wolf-type Soul Masters all used "Howl" together, the effect would be terrifying.
This was just one difference regarding Power-Attack types. When applied to other types of Soul Masters, the gap between his ideas and traditional theory grew even wider.
"Sigh, if that is the case, then so be it. I only hope your future theories can benefit all Soul Masters," Ma Xiunuo sighed.
"Come, I will take you to collect this month's Gold Soul Coins."
Seeing Xiao Lin's resolve, Ma Xiunuo stopped pressing.
In his mind, there was likely another reason they wouldn't join—he suspected they planned to become nobles in the future and thus avoided Spirit Hall...
"By the way, the Soul Master world respects strength above all else. You must not neglect your talent. Also, you probably don't have a room yet. If you don't mind, you can sleep in the Spirit Hall study tonight..."
"Yes, thank you, Grandpa Ma Xiunuo!"
Xiao Lin and Tang San bowed in gratitude.
Although Xiao Lin had slept at Spirit Hall a few times before, he couldn't treat it like his own home. Without Ma Xiunuo's permission, he would have had to find a place outside.