The headquarters of the Spirit Pagoda, training ground.
When Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena clicked through the main gate, they saw Yuanen Yehui stepping forward to ask about something.
Huo Yuhao paused for a moment, "You want to know how to obtain the qualification to challenge the Spirit Pagoda?"
"Yes, I've already broken through to the fourth ring, and I'm missing a spiritual soul."
Yuanen Yehui nominated.
Miss Nanalie had given her too much, and her cultivation progress was faster than expected. Being able to advance to the fourth ring before the competition also gave her more confidence.
Hearing Yuanen Yehui's request, Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment and asked, "Doesn't your family have a suitable spirit soul?"
"They do… but I don't want to ask them for help." Yuanen Yehui averted her gaze, "After all, if they find out that I'm at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy and plan to represent the academy against Shrek, who knows what they'll say."
Her relationship with her family wasn't great. Otherwise, with the teaching model of a reclusive family, she wouldn't have needed to come out to study.
"Not wanting to ask her family for help, she's asking Yuhao instead, so Yuhao = Yuanen Yehui's elder?" Xie Xie, watching her from a distance, claiming.
"Don't say that in front of her; it's clear that Yuanen has some issues with her family."
Xu Xiaoyan warned him from the side, then looked at Yuanen Yehui with some envy, "Yuanen is only fourteen years old and is already a four-ringed Soul Ancestor. I wonder if we'll be able to reach that level by this time next year."
After half a year in Mingdu, they had all turned thirteen. Yuanen Yehui was only a year older than them, but her cultivation was about five levels higher.
"We should already be quite strong, right?" Zhang Yangzi snippeted, "Her martial soul is the Titan Giant Ape, a super martial soul. Her family has at least a Super Douluo and has been cultivating her since childhood. Although we've joined the Spirit Pagoda, how can a lifetime's effort compare to their dozens or even hundreds of generations?"
He was quite calm about it.
Some of the geniuses at the headquarters were clearly not something they could match at the moment.
Ultimately, the gap in heritage was there. With the accumulated efforts of a great family over generations, it's already good if you can keep up in one lifetime. Why seek too much?
"Besides, with the headquarters' Star Observation Platform, Xiaoyan, you're the fastest among us in terms of progress. You'll definitely reach the Soul Ancestor level by next year. What are you worried about?"
Xu Xiaoyan looked in Gu Yuena's direction and pouted, "Because Na'er is too strict."
Na'er was so strict that it felt unfamiliar. Weren't they good sisters?
Why couldn't she just let her laser around…
"I see." Hearing Yuanen Yehui talk about her family, Huo Yuhao nodded slightly and told her about the Spirit Pagoda.
The Spirit Pagoda had a special mechanism for obtaining spirit souls above a thousand years, the Spirit Pagoda Challenge.
In the Spirit Pagoda, each floor has a guardian spirit soul. After a challenger successfully breaks through a floor, they can choose a spirit soul from that floor who is willing to form a contract… Of course, even if a spirit soul is willing to contract, you still have to pay.
To obtain the qualification to challenge the Spirit Pagoda, you either need to be a member of the Spirit Pagoda or be a genius approved by the Spirit Pagoda. Moreover, the qualification to challenge the pagoda is only open to those under thirty years old and whose cultivation hasn't reached the Title Douluo level.
Once you exceed the age and cultivation level, even internal members of the Spirit Pagoda can't enter.
"The first thirty-six floors of the Spirit Pagoda have spirit souls with ages between a thousand and ten thousand years. The thirty-seventh to seventy-second floors have spirit souls between ten thousand and a hundred thousand years. The last thirty-six floors have spirit souls of a hundred thousand years and above."
"Considering the existence of auxiliary-type soul masters, up to the seventy-second floor, a team of seven is allowed to challenge. However, in such cases, some spirit souls might refuse to contract because they feel the challengers didn't win fairly. So it's best to challenge yourself."
Seeing that everyone was drawn in by his words, Huo Yuhao paused before continuing, "Yuanen, you're not a member of the Spirit Pagoda, but since you have connections there, you can apply for an evaluation. If you pass, you can challenge yourself."
Yuanen Yehui nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this, "Thank you."
Huo Yuhao was referring to the covert division, and she understood.
Nearby, Xie Xie, who had also been listening for a while, swallowed and his eyes lit up, "Boss, according to what you're saying, as long as you succeed in the challenge, you could even get a beast spirit soul?"
"It's not that simple." Huo Yuhao shook his head slightly, "Don't forget the restrictions I mentioned, under thirty years old and below the Title Douluo level. Even with battle armor, it's very difficult to defeat a beast under those conditions."
And the strength of a beast goes without saying. Even a level ninety-five Super Douluo wouldn't dare claim they could defeat a beast.
Those under thirty who can win are basically of the utmost talent, so letting them obtain a beast spirit soul is not unreasonable.
Hearing this, Xie Xie glanced at his own thin arms and legs and temporarily gave up on the idea.
Indeed, even an eight-ringed Soul Douluo wearing battle armor would find it difficult to defeat a beast.
"However, the last thirty-six floors all have spirit souls of a hundred thousand years and above… The heritage of our Spirit Pagoda is truly strong."
Xie Xie exclaimed.
Tang Wulin and the others nodded in agreement.
Only the Spirit Pagoda could possess such heritage.
Gu Yuena, who was about to walk towards Xu Xiaoyan, paused.
Seeing this, Huo Yuhao walked over to her while reminding,
"…In the future, it's best not to mention this in front of spirit beasts. Some of the hundred-thousand-year spirit souls in the Spirit Pagoda were killed in battle."
Xie Xie and Tang Wulin were all stunned, their pupils contracted sharply.
Killed in battle?
Who would dare kill a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast under the protection of the Spirit Pagoda?
However, Huo Yuhao had no intention of explaining and directly walked over to Gu Yuena.
Seeing this, Gu Yuena transmitted her voice, "They don't know about the Abyssal Plane; it's fine. Besides, having the chance to become a spiritual soul is better than complete death."
The Abyssal Plane arrived on the Douluo Continent over six thousand years ago and began its invasion.
At that time, as one of the four major forces of the Federation, the Spirit Pagoda naturally participated in the war.
Back then, the Federation almost went all out, mobilizing over two-thirds of its military forces to launch a large-scale encirclement and suppression campaign against the Abyssal creatures.
With the close cooperation of Shrek Academy, the Spirit Pagoda, the War God Temple, and the Illustrations Virtue Hall, the Federation deployed twelve mecha legions, equipped with an incalculable number of fixed soul-guided artillery shells, and finally managed to drive these terrifying Abyssal creatures back into their original passage.
In that battle, over one hundred and twenty thousand Federation soldiers died, and the losses among spirit souls and spirit beasts were also significant.
The contemporary Spirit Pagoda Master and three branch masters who went to assist were killed in battle, the Sea God Pavilion Master was severely injured, three of the Sea God Pavilion Master's generation among the Shrek Seven Monsters died, seven War Gods from the War God Temple fell in battle, and the head of the Illustrations Virtue Hall died while researching how to seal the Abyssal Passage after being attacked by multiple Abyssal Emperors.
If it wasn't for Di Tian to stop the Flame Emperor, the losses in that battle would have been even greater.
A significant portion of the hundred-thousand-year legacy spirit souls in the Spirit Pagoda, including beast spirit souls, were born from that battle.