"The Sun Moon Imperial Academy is heavily guarded. If it weren't for Jing Hongchen's invitation, I wouldn't have been able to come here so easily," Nightmare Douluo said, giving his instructions before moving on to other matters.
"Soon, our church will establish a branch altar in Mingdu, and I'll inform you of its exact location when the time comes. You can contact them if anything comes up. This place is full of nobles, and with Lin Jiayi as your backer, no one will question your movements in and out of the academy."
Lin Xiao stood quietly, but his heart stirred slightly at Nightmare Douluo's words.
As a spiritual attribute soul master, Nightmare Douluo's martial soul, the Nightmare Demon, could silently infiltrate the dreams of other soul masters. Since following him, Lin Xiao had woken from nightmares more than once.
Though he had no concrete evidence, the unintentional lapses into sleep and the occasional sound of Nightmare Douluo's voice in his ear made him certain that some hidden mark on him allowed Nightmare Douluo to track him precisely.
Having lived in the Holy Spirit Church for so long, Lin Xiao was well aware of the paranoid nature of evil soul masters. He didn't believe Nightmare Douluo entrusted him with so many tasks based solely on their "teacher-disciple bond."
At the Sun Moon Imperial Academy, the tight security meant Nightmare Douluo couldn't monitor everything happening around him. Though his movements were still exposed to Nightmare Douluo, this gave him a sliver of breathing room.
"Also, you've reached the Soul King rank. With your talent, breaking through to six rings won't take long. It's time to start preparing for your Spirit Ascension Ceremony."
Lin Xiao's heart tightened instantly.
In the Holy Spirit Church, ordinary disciples were divided into Holy Spirits and Holy Servants. All Holy Servants, upon reaching a certain level of cultivation, would undergo the Spirit Ascension Ceremony to become Holy Spirits, the core disciples of the church.
As a Holy Envoy, Lin Xiao often acted as a representative for the elders and consecrators, handling matters they couldn't attend to personally.
Though he had visited the Holy Spirit Church's headquarters multiple times and had heard of the ceremony before, he knew nothing of its specifics.
Yet, through his Higanbana martial soul, he vaguely sensed that the souls of all the Holy Spirits he had encountered were incomplete.
The Spirit Ascension Ceremony was no mere formality. Participating in it could have dire consequences. But with his whereabouts constantly under Nightmare
Douluo's watch, what could he…
Nightmare Douluo, unaware of Lin Xiao's thoughts and unconcerned by them, vanished quietly after giving his instructions.
"Hello, you're one of the specially admitted students who enrolled today, right?"
Just as Nightmare Douluo left, a crisp voice sounded nearby.
Lin Xiao looked up to see a girl about his age standing not far away. Her face bore light makeup, giving her a youthful charm, but for some reason, Lin Xiao felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
"I saw you at the testing room earlier. You were in there for quite a while. Did the teachers talk to you about something else?" she asked.
Seeing Lin Xiao didn't respond, she spoke again, a faint blush rising on her cheeks.
Something was off—very off. The students at the Sun Moon Imperial Academy were young, and being approached by a pretty girl who shared his status as a specially admitted student would naturally tempt most to engage with her.
But Lin Xiao's heart was filled with caution.
Though he wasn't unattractive, he wasn't striking enough to draw the attention of someone he'd only met once. If this girl were shy, she wouldn't have approached him so boldly. If she were outgoing, she wouldn't blush so quickly after speaking.
The blush on her face seemed like shy affection, yet it felt deliberately performed for him to see.
It wasn't surprising that Lin Xiao was so wary. Living in the Holy Spirit Church, if you didn't think twice, you might not get another chance to think at all. The church had plenty of evil soul masters who disguised themselves as innocent women to lure others.
Seeing Lin Xiao remain silent, merely staring at her, the girl's face grew redder, her eyes glistening faintly, yet she showed no intention of leaving.
"You're really here," Lin Jiayi's voice suddenly broke the silence.
"Teacher?" Lin Xiao turned to look.
The girl, seeing the newcomer, stomped her foot lightly and hurriedly ran off.
"What, you've only just joined the academy and already made a girl cry?" Lin Jiayi
"No, Teacher, I don't know her," Lin Xiao said, but his mind replayed the girl's subtly shifting expression in that final moment.
"By the way, Teacher, why are you here?" Lin Xiao asked.
"Haha, didn't I tell you I'd bring you the course schedule?" Lin Jiayi said, not pressing further. "I went to the dormitory area earlier and saw you weren't in your room, so I figured you'd be here. Who wouldn't want to check out Illustrious Virtue Hall after joining the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy?"
Lin Jiayi looked up at Illustrious Virtue Hall with a hint of pride in his eyes. "You should know, Illustrious Virtue Hall isn't just the academy's—it's the Sun Moon Empire's. It's the highest soul tool research institute in the entire empire."
"Alright, I believe you'll have the chance to enter it one day," Lin Jiayi said, turning back to Lin Xiao. "But before that, you need to decide which area of soul tool knowledge you want to focus on. After all, a soul engineer's energy is limited, and you can't master everything."
"What's your opinion, Teacher?" Lin Xiao asked, trusting a professional's judgment on such matters.
"My opinion…" Lin Jiayi stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Lin Xiao, what type is your martial soul?"
"By soul master classification, my martial soul is likely a power-attack-type tool martial soul, more suited for mid-to-long-range combat."
"In that case, I suggest you start with mid-to-long-range soul tools," Lin Jiayi answered promptly. "Firstly, you're already a Soul King and accustomed to fighting enemies at a distance. That combat style is hard to change quickly."
"Secondly, while the academy doesn't yet have soul tools to precisely measure spiritual power, based on your soul power control during the test, your spiritual power far exceeds that of an average soul master. Operating mid-to-long-range soul tools will better leverage your strengths."
"Of course, that's just for offense. I'll also teach you how to craft and use soul tools for enhancing defense, mobility, and other aspects. You'll soon see the advantages we soul engineers have over soul masters."
(End of Chapter)