Meanwhile, in Notting City
The towering pillar of light and the golden radiance had just vanished, and the soul power pressure enveloping the entire city was gradually dissipating.
"Is it over?"
As Zhou Chen gently landed on the ground, he looked at the dazzling god-level soul ring above his head and asked eagerly, "System, my soul power is at level 30 now, but I only have one soul ring..."
"Ding... Please do not push your luck, Host. The gift of the first soul ring was an exception. Unless you are willing to pay 100,000 gold soul points, a second soul ring will not be available. Pay 1,000,000 gold soul points, and a third soul ring can also be yours."
"Alright, I was just kidding."
Zhou Chen smiled awkwardly yet politely, without any real annoyance. The system had indeed been generous by gifting him a god-level soul ring.
However, just the second soul ring required 100,000 gold soul points, and the third needed 1,000,000... Continuing this pattern, by the time he reached level 70 as a Soul Sage, the seventh soul ring would cost a staggering 10 billion gold soul points, equivalent to 10 billion gold coins!
Even if he dug up the entire Douluo Continent's crust, he might not gather such a fortune!
"Host, as a transmigrator, you should look at problems with a developmental perspective."
As if aware of Zhou Chen's thoughts, the system advised persuasively, "If the Douluo Continent's gold coins aren't enough, you could rule the entire Douluo Star! Still not enough? You could ascend to the divine realm; if all else fails, you could conquer the neighboring Dou Qi Continent..."
"So, I'm working for you?"
Zhou Chen realized that this dog system was finding ways to exploit him!
"It's a partnership."
"Ha... tsk!"
Indeed, a dog system remains a dog system. Zhou Chen had felt touched moments ago, but now he realized he was mistaken.
With a sigh, Zhou Chen retracted his brilliant martial spirit and soul ring and began assessing the surroundings.
The roof of the Spirit Hall's branch had been blown off, the statue of the Angel God shattered, with wings scattered everywhere.
Moreover, people lay unconscious everywhere he looked.
"This is crazy..."
Observing the scene, Zhou Chen felt a headache coming on.
Awakening a martial spirit had caused such a commotion, undoubtedly attracting widespread attention, which completely violated his principle of keeping a low profile.
A tree that stands out in the forest is bound to be destroyed by the wind; those who excel above others will be envied and opposed!
Human jealousy is incredibly strong. If certain major powers discovered his supreme martial spirit and god-level soul ring, they likely wouldn't tolerate his existence!
For instance, the Spirit Hall.
With the Spirit Hall's domineering style, if they learned of Zhou Chen's immense talent, they might either recruit him to serve their quest to unify the Douluo Continent, or they might send assassins to eliminate him.
Of course, Zhou Chen wouldn't mind joining the Spirit Hall.
After all, the Spirit Hall had peerless beauties like Hu Liena and Qian Renxue. Joining them might put him close to the water, gaining the moon first, and winning the beauty's heart.
A handsome young man like him deserves a beautiful and talented girlfriend, right?
However, Zhou Chen's fear was that if the Spirit Hall had no intention of recruiting him and instead sent someone to kill him, what then?
No matter how talented he was, he couldn't withstand being young and low-leveled!
If the Spirit Hall truly wanted him dead, he'd be in deep trouble!
Therefore, cautious by nature, Zhou Chen had no intention of entrusting his life to the Spirit Hall's goodwill. Rather than hoping they'd recruit him, it was better to cut off the source of information and prevent the Spirit Hall from finding him!
And the best way to cut off information was to eliminate witnesses!
Thus, Zhou Chen's gaze shifted to the unconscious Su Yuntao and Tang San beside him.
Tang San had a grudge against the Spirit Hall and was his little admirer, posing no threat for now.
But Su Yuntao was a different story.
Even though Su Yuntao didn't know his name, he had seen him and knew how strong his martial spirit talent was, surely reporting his situation to the Spirit Hall headquarters.
Thinking this, a hint of killing intent quietly rose in Zhou Chen's heart.
Of course, Su Yuntao, though annoying, didn't deserve to be killed just like that.
Yet, after considering it carefully, cautious Zhou Chen felt that silencing him was more appropriate.
So, he picked up a brick and walked over to Su Yuntao, silently reciting:
"Sorry, Brother Tao, I'll burn incense for you this day next year..."
"Xiao Chen, that commotion earlier happened when you were awakening your martial spirit, didn't it?"
Before Zhou Chen could act, a deep male voice suddenly spoke, startling him. His hand, holding the brick, quickly hid behind his back.
Looking up at the familiar figure that suddenly appeared before him, Zhou Chen said in surprise, "Uncle Tang Hao."
Indeed, it was Tang Hao standing before Zhou Chen.
Despite wearing that shabby robe, with messy hair and beard, Tang Hao exuded an aura of unparalleled dominance!
In Tang Hao's hand was an unconscious, black-robed old man.
If Zhou Chen were from the Spirit Hall, he would recognize this old man as Cassius, the black-robed bishop of the Notting branch and a level 47 Soul Elder.
Seeing Zhou Chen glance at Cassius, Tang Hao said nonchalantly, "This old man was the only one in the Spirit Hall who could stand. I knocked him out in advance to prevent him from interfering with you."
Hearing this, Zhou Chen broke into a cold sweat. Indeed, the Clear Sky Douluo was thorough in his considerations.
For six years, Tang Hao had never revealed his identity, and Zhou Chen had played dumb, not exposing him. Now, meeting like this was indeed awkward.
"Let's go. I'll tell you about myself when I get the chance. If we delay any longer, the people here will start waking up."
Tang Hao dropped Cassius, tucked the unconscious Tang San under his arm, grabbed Zhou Chen by the nape, and like carrying a single dog, lifted him into the sky...