Heavenly Spirit Mountain Range.
It is located on the southern border of the Heaven Dou Empire.
The mountain range runs east to west, stretching for a thousand miles, making it one of the largest mountain ranges on the continent.
South of the Heavenly Spirit Mountain Range lies a vast expanse of flat plains.
This plain is rich and prosperous, serving as the fiefdom of the Barak Kingdom, one of the four vassal kingdoms of the Heaven Dou Empire.
In the center of the mountain range stands a magnificent and impregnable pass – Jialing Pass.
Jialing Pass, with its natural strategic advantage, is easy to defend and difficult to attack.
Since ancient times, it has been a crucial strategic point, possessing the might of one man holding the pass against ten thousand.
Inside the pass, within a military tent.
A middle-aged man, around thirty to forty years old, sat cross-legged on a couch, eyes closed in meditation.
"Marshal."
A young private soldier entered the tent, saluted the middle-aged man with a standard military salute, and reported in a voice of appropriate volume:
"The current Duke of the Lin Clan has come to visit with his entourage. They are waiting outside the pass now. Please make a decision, Marshal!"
"Young Lin?" On the couch, the middle-aged man opened his eyes, a flicker of confusion and surprise flashing within them.
Then, the middle-aged man rose from the couch and instructed the young soldier:
"Let them in."
Fifteen minutes later.
Lin Rong, accompanied by his old butler, Xu Pan, and Ma Hongjun, entered the tent.
"Uncle Ge, it's been a long time."
By seniority, Lin Rong's grandfather and Ge Long's father were of the same generation, and Lin Rong's father and Ge Long were also of the same generation.
There was a generation gap between Lin Rong and Ge Long, so they addressed each other as uncle and nephew.
"It has indeed been a long time. The last time we met was during your full moon banquet, but you were too young to remember me. Your butler must have told you."
Ge Long stepped forward, picked up Lin Rong, and held him above his head, saying with a smile:
"You were just a little baby back then."
"Eight years have flown by, and nephew has grown so much. You're much heavier to hold now than you were at your full moon."
A moment later, Ge Long gently put Lin Rong down and looked at the three people behind Lin Rong, asking:
"Who are these people?"
Of the three people Lin Rong brought, Ge Long only recognized the old butler, Yu Yuan. As for Xu Pan and Ma Hongjun, Ge Long did not recognize them.
"Uncle Ge, allow me to introduce them." Lin Rong pointed at the two men and introduced them:
"This is Xu Pan, the captain of my household's guard."
"And this young boy is Ma Hongjun, a genius Spirit Master from a commoner background, who possesses the top-tier beast Martial Soul, the Fire Phoenix."
Fire Phoenix Martial Soul?
Ge Long couldn't help but take another look at the red-haired young boy in front of him, his mind instantly becoming active.
Ge Long had managed to rise to the position of Grand Marshal of the Heaven Dou Empire's three armies not only due to his extraordinary martial prowess but also his considerable strategy and wisdom.
When Lin Rong introduced Ma Hongjun, he specifically emphasized Ma Hongjun's commoner background and his Fire Phoenix Martial Soul.
This led Ge Long to consider Lin Rong's intentions for this visit as clues.
"Heaven Dou City and Jialing Pass are separated by thousands of miles. Since my nephew is willing to bring a genius Spirit Master from a commoner background here, it surely isn't just to enlist him." Ge Long's eyes darted around, as if he had thought of something, and he exclaimed in his heart:
"Hiss! He's got his eye on my position!"
With his thoughts clear, Ge Long carefully observed Ma Hongjun, then turned to Lin Rong and asked:
"Nephew, this child looks not much older than you, perhaps around ten years old."
"Possessing the Fire Phoenix Martial Soul, his innate Soul Power shouldn't be low."
"Since this child could be personally brought to me by you, Nephew, could it be that he is already a Soul Grand Master?"
"A Soul Grand Master at just over nine years old is indeed extraordinarily talented."
Lin Rong listened but said nothing, merely shaking his head in denial.
Ge Long was not too disappointed by this.
After all, a nine-year-old Soul Grand Master, even a genius with Innate Full Soul Power, would need a cultivation speed of three levels per year after absorbing a Spirit Ring and breaking through to level eleven.
However, how rare was Innate Full Soul Power? Even the top-tier beast Martial Soul, the Fire Phoenix, could not guarantee that its Innate Soul Power would necessarily be at the Innate Full level.
Although the possibility of Innate Full Soul Power was slim, the possibility of Innate Level Nine Soul Power was still quite high.
Moreover, Ma Hongjun's commoner background meant his Fire Phoenix Martial Soul must have been a mutation. Mutated top-tier Martial Souls usually came with extremely high Innate Soul Power.
So, Ge Long guessed again:
"If he's not a Soul Grand Master, then he must at least have level eighteen or nineteen Soul Power, right?"
Lin Rong still shook his head and denied it, which made Ge Long frown deeply.
Seeing this, Lin Rong gave a small hint:
"Uncle Ge, your guess is too low, you should guess higher!"
"Guess higher?" Ge Long blurted out instinctively:
"Above Soul Grand Master, doesn't that mean Soul Elder?"
"A Soul Elder at nine years old, how is that possible!"
Seeing Ge Long's confident expression, Lin Rong turned to Ma Hongjun and said:
"Hongjun, show your Spirit Rings so Uncle Ge can broaden his horizons!"
"Understood!" Ma Hongjun answered, took a few steps forward, and summoned his Martial Soul possession.
During the Fire Phoenix Martial Soul possession, the Spirit Rings, symbolizing the identity and realm of a Spirit Master, also began to appear one by one.
Beside him, Ge Long stared intently.
The first yellow, hundred-year Spirit Ring.
The second yellow, hundred-year Spirit Ring.
The third purple, thousand-year Spirit Ring!
Yellow, yellow, purple – the optimal Spirit Ring ratio of two yellows and one purple, a Soul Elder cultivation.
This was nothing in Ge Long's eyes, but Ma Hongjun was only nine years old!
"He really is a nine-year-old Soul Elder!"
Even seeing it with his own eyes, Ge Long still found it hard to believe the scene before him was real.
"Nephew!" Ge Long came back to his senses and looked at Lin Rong with a meaningful gaze, asking:
"Why would you not keep such a peerless genius in your mansion, but instead have him join the army?"
"Elder Yu is already old. Wouldn't it be better to keep this young man and cultivate him well, letting him succeed Elder Yu's position in the future?"
Hearing Ge Long's words, Lin Rong showed the reason with his actions.
"Uncle Ge, look, besides Hongjun, there is another peerless genius right before your eyes."
As he spoke, three Spirit Rings, also two yellow and one purple, appeared around Lin Rong's feet.
"I alone can support the Lin Clan, so, Uncle Ge, I have no reason to keep Hongjun in the Duke's mansion."
Looking at the three Spirit Rings with even deeper hues before him, Ge Long was so shocked he couldn't speak.
It wasn't until a long time later that Ge Long was astonished to realize that Lin Rong had revealed his Spirit Rings without even releasing his Martial Soul.
In Ge Long's impression, only Titled Douluo could reveal their Spirit Rings without releasing their Martial Souls.
But his nephew was clearly only a three-ring Soul Elder, so why could he do something that only Titled Douluo could achieve?
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