...
Bibi Dong looked at Xuan Hao, who was holding a gift and seemed a little uncomfortable, but didn't rush to speak.
Instead, she turned to Hu Liena beside her and said, "Nana, go to the back and see how dinner is being prepared."
"Tomorrow you will officially move into the academy and begin your closed-door studies.
You will only be able to come back once a month at most.
Have a good meal and rest here tonight."
Hu Liena was a smart person and immediately realized that the teacher was trying to get her away from him, obviously because he had something private to tell Xuan Hao.
"Okay, teacher, I'll go and urge them right away."
Hu Liena nodded obediently, winked at Xuan Hao, and then turned and quickly left the main hall.
As the heavy doors closed again, only the master and disciple remained in the empty hall.
Bibi Dong looked at Xuan Hao without saying any sentimental nonsense like "Don't overthink it" or "Treat you like family."
Those things only needed to be said once. Right now, she was teaching her disciple as a strict teacher.
"Listen, what I'm about to tell you concerns your life."
Bibi Dong's voice was slightly deep, and her expression was serious.
"Your twin martial souls, especially the Silver Dragon martial soul, should never be used in front of anyone unless it is a matter of life and death, and you should not tell anyone about it."
"Most of the teachers in the academy are only Soul Emperors or Soul Saints, and they can't see your true strength.
But the five members of the academy's teaching committee are all Soul Douluos, and occasionally there are elders at the Title Douluo level who come to inspect."
"If they notice anything unusual about your body, or ask why your power is so strange, or sense elemental fluctuations, just insist that it's a special physique resulting from the mutation of your martial soul."
"If they want to investigate further... just say it's my conclusion.
Anyone with questions should come directly to the Papal Palace to ask me."
Xuan Hao felt a chill run down his spine. Looking at Bibi Dong's protective and domineering demeanor, he nodded solemnly: "I understand, teacher."
Bibi Dong nodded slightly, pointed to the booklet in Xuan Hao's hand, and continued, "In addition, the reason I gave you this specially made meditation method is because you have twin martial souls."
"The latter half of this meditation method will be extremely tedious and painful to practice, and the requirements for mental strength are extremely demanding.
But I require you, no matter how tired you are, you must persevere and not relax for even a day."
"You may not realize it now, but this foundation is crucial to your future achievements."
Bibi Dong paused for a moment: "I also have twin martial souls, and I know very well how difficult this path is.
Although two martial souls are powerful, they reside in the same body, and the conflict between their soul power is inevitable."
"We cannot completely eliminate this conflict, but we can suppress it to a minimum through powerful mental strength and meticulous control over soul power."
"Only when you reach the ultimate level of control over soul power and spiritual power will you be able to switch between the two martial souls at will in battle and maximize the advantages of twin martial souls."
"Conversely, if you lack control, and a conflict of soul power occurs when switching martial souls at the most intense moment of the battle, it is tantamount to suicide on the battlefield."
"At best, it will cause serious injury; at worst, it will cause the body to explode."
Xuan Hao felt a chill run down his spine. Although he had read the original novel and knew that cultivating twin martial souls was difficult, he had not expected the risks involved to be so direct.
"I understand, I will practice," Xuan Hao assured him.
Seeing that she had scared him enough, Bibi Dong put away her serious expression.
"There's no need to be too anxious. You've only just begun your cultivation.
These problems are still far from you.
As long as you follow the steps, you won't make any mistakes."
She stood up, her long skirt trailing gracefully on the ground, and walked towards the side door.
"Let's go to the backyard."
"Nana must be getting impatient. Tonight's dinner is a special welcome feast prepared just for you."
...
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.
Hu Liena knocked on Xuan Hao's door early in the morning.
As a responsible "senior sister", she quickly helped the still sleepy Xuan Hao wash up and have breakfast.
Then she left the Papal Palace and headed straight for the Martial Soul Academy behind Martial Soul City.
Inside the Papal Palace, as she watched the two little ones disappear into the morning mist, Bibi Dong's gentle expression gradually faded, and she once again donned her dignified and indifferent mask.
"Moon Pass".
"Your subordinate is here."
A soft, feminine voice rang out, and then, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan, clad in golden armor and with skin as white as jade, silently emerged from the shadows behind the pillar.
"Go keep an eye on things at the Martial Soul Academy."
Bibi Dong tapped her scepter lightly with her fingers, her tone calm, "Xuanhao's situation is special.
Although I have already given him instructions, it is hard to guarantee that those old guys in the academy won't notice anything amiss."
"If anyone pays excessive attention to his martial spirit or physique, or tries to investigate his background..."
A cold glint flashed in Bibi Dong's eyes.
"Go and remind them not to ask what they shouldn't ask, and not to meddle in what they shouldn't meddle in. If anyone has any questions, tell them to come directly to me."
Upon hearing this, Yue Guan immediately understood.
He knew how highly regarded the silver-haired boy brought back by His Holiness the Pope was, and quickly bowed his head in response:
"Yes, Your Majesty, rest assured. I will take care of it immediately."
After saying that, Yue Guan's figure flickered and he instantly disappeared from the main hall.
...
On the other side, at the Martial Soul Academy.
Standing in front of the magnificent academy gate, Hu Liena stopped and helped Xuan Hao straighten his collar.
"Okay, I'll stop here."
Hu Liena pointed to a teaching building on the left. "You're a first-year student, so you'll register over there.
I'm a third-year student now, and my classroom is on the other side.
I won't see you in; I'll come find you at lunchtime."
Although she is only two years older than Xuan Hao, Hu Liena awakened her martial soul early and cultivated her soul power quickly.
She is now a prominent figure in the third grade.
After saying goodbye to his senior sister, Xuan Hao followed the directions and found his elite class.
As the core cradle for cultivating direct descendants of the Spirit Hall, the Spirit Academy has extremely strict selection criteria for its students.
Those who can study here mainly fall into two categories.
The first category consists of orphans or commoner geniuses like Xuan Hao and Hu Liena, who were discovered by the Spirit Hall from all over the continent.
The selection criteria are extremely high.
The innate soul power must be above level five, and the quality of the martial soul must be excellent.
The candidate must be judged as a potential candidate who is expected to reach at least the Soul Saint level in the future.
The second category consists of the descendants of high-ranking members of the Spirit Hall.
Those bishops, elders, and even the relatives of those who are enshrined here possess unique genetic advantages and resources, making them frequent visitors.
Of course, there is a third path, which is to advance through the Martial Soul Branch Halls in various places.
If you don't have exceptional talent, but you join a branch of the Spirit Hall and work hard enough, you can come to Spirit City to take the assessment if your spirit power reaches level 20 and you are no more than 15 years old.
Those who pass the assessment can also enter the Martial Soul Academy for further study.
But these are things that happen in higher grades.
For the current first-year students, they are still a group of little kids who have only recently awakened their martial spirits.
Xuan Hao pushed open the classroom door, and was greeted by dozens of curious eyes.
The course schedule here wasn't as intense and exciting as Xuan Hao had imagined, with less practical training.
After all, they are only six or seven years old, their minds are not yet mature, and their bodies are still developing.
The curriculum for lower grades mainly focuses on academic subjects:
literacy, arithmetic, basic etiquette, continental geography, and most importantly, basic knowledge of Soul Masters.
These things might require rote memorization for a real six-year-old, which is quite boring.
But for Xuan Hao, who possesses the soul of an adult, it was as simple as playing house with a child.
After a morning of classes, Xuan Hao quickly became the focus of the class with his rare silver hair, delicate, porcelain-doll-like appearance, and beautiful, expressive blue eyes.
In addition, his intelligence and composure, which far exceeded those of his peers, caused the teachers in charge of his teaching to have an extremely high level of affection for him.
Even a few boys who originally wanted to teach the new "transfer student" a lesson, after trying to provoke him during break but being glanced at by Xuan Hao's cold, vertical pupils, inexplicably backed down.
From my initial experience, life at the Martial Soul Academy seems quite relaxing.
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