"You Chen!?"
"How's my request coming along?"
The middle-aged man in the office, upon seeing You Chen, immediately showed an expression of delight. You Chen greeted him from afar. This man was Ye Han, a former classmate of You Chen.
Compared to You Chen, who could barely be considered noteworthy, Ye Han's achievements were quite underwhelming. At 35 years old, he was only a level 35 Spirit Elder and might just reach the level of a Spirit Ancestor in his lifetime.
Now a Yellow-Clothed Deacon, Ye Han had moved beyond the role of a White-Clothed Patrol Deacon, which required frequent travel, and was part of the core middle layer within the Spirit Hall. In times of manpower shortage, he might even be sent to serve as the head of a sub-hall of the Spirit Hall.
To ordinary people, a spirit master is already a significant figure, and a Yellow-Clothed Deacon's position approaches that of a modern town manager, someone not easily seen by the common folk. However, in Spirit City, the sacred land in the hearts of spirit masters across the continent, where the highest combat forces gather, he is just a minor cog.
Initially, Ye Han felt envious when he saw You Chen, whose talent was weaker, advancing faster in becoming a spirit master. Even after being beaten up, he harbored grudges, wishing for You Chen's cultivation speed to slow down, and often engaged in verbal provocations.
Yet, as You Chen repeatedly demonstrated his extraordinary talent, rising to heights Ye Han could only dream of, Ye Han's envy transformed into admiration. Seeing You Chen, with a talent similar to his own, rise through sheer wisdom and effort, Ye Han felt as if he was witnessing an alternative version of himself.
Despite having only level 2 innate soul power, You Chen became a spirit master at 9, a Grandmaster at 15, and a Spirit Elder by 21! In contrast, Ye Han, with the same initial soul power, became a spirit master at 12, a Grandmaster at 21, and a Spirit Elder at 29. This pace indicated his lifetime ceiling was likely capped here.
Fans often project their dreams onto their idols, and Ye Han seemed to do just that with You Chen, seeing him as an extension of his own dreams of becoming a powerful spirit master.
When an otherwise ordinary person breaks free from constraints and rises, it inevitably attracts admiration, disdain, or rejection. During one incident where You Chen faced mockery, it was Ye Han, who usually clashed with You Chen, who spoke up in his defense, marking a turning point in their relationship.
About five years ago, You Chen even attended the wedding of Ye Han and a colleague. Over such a long period, past youthful conflicts had long turned into memories laughed off.
You Chen trusted Ye Han, enough to share his plans and enlist his help in securing a position in the vicinity of Notting City.
"All set."
Ye Han gestured reassuringly, saying, "Your transfer procedure is complete, and now it's just a matter of the acceptance at Notting City. In about three days, you should be ready to assume the position of... uh, Deacon."
Even Ye Han felt a bit awkward about this arrangement. After all, You Chen was nearing the breakthrough to Spirit King, a renowned professor and theoretical master in the Spirit Hall! In the Spirit Hall's research institute, the hierarchy starts with junior, intermediate, and senior researchers, leading up to the title of professor.
A researcher's level corresponds to a White-Clothed Deacon, Yellow-Clothed Deacon, and Purple-Clothed Bishop. Professors don't have a specific rank but are graded based on their position. At the very least, one would expect him to be a Black-Clothed Bishop!
A Black-Clothed Bishop is undoubtedly a significant figure in the Spirit Hall, and yet here was You Chen heading to a rural area to serve as a mere Yellow-Clothed Deacon! Even though these procedures went through his hands, Ye Han couldn't comprehend it.
He couldn't understand why the higher-ups gave such a humiliating position, nor why You Chen chose to leave his research position for a lower-level deacon role.
"You Chen, I wouldn't bother asking anyone else, but why go to a small place like Notting City? I just don't get it. Isn't it nice to stay in the main hall? I even heard rumors that the Pope seemed to favor you and was considering promoting you to head of the research institute."
Ye Han's voice was filled with sighs and a hint of indignation. It was like a fervent fan watching their idol take on a role far below their status, wondering if something had gone wrong.
"The Pope, favor?"
Hearing Ye Han's question, You Chen couldn't help but chuckle.
"Uh, You Chen, is there something wrong?"
Seeing You Chen's amused expression, Ye Han realized he might have said something wrong, likely due to missing information that someone at his level couldn't access.
You Chen, looking at Ye Han's awkward demeanor, decided not to blame him. After all, some matters within the Spirit Hall's upper echelons were tacitly understood but unknown to the lower and middle levels, who assumed everyone was united and harmonious.
In any organization, such assumptions aren't uncommon news. You Chen's achievements and cultivation level weren't solely due to "hard work." The world is full of mediocre talents who never rise, becoming just another crop of harvested individuals.
You Chen managed to reach level 10 at 9 years old, a speed comparable to some more relaxed level 5 innate soul power geniuses. Much of this was because soul power is relatively easy to increase before level 10.
Additionally, You Chen had inherited scientific training concepts from his past life and adult discipline. While peers at 6 years old couldn't focus on cultivation or study systematically, he managed to surpass them.
However, if You Chen continued to cultivate methodically, his progress wouldn't necessarily outpace Ye Han's. He might have ended up as just another low-level worker handling mundane tasks for the Spirit Hall.
As levels increase, getting closer to one's talent ceiling, cultivation speed slows. Each odd-numbered major realm in spirit masters represents a significant qualitative change.
The first ring signifies a spirit master's first skill, the third ring typically their first thousand-year ring, the fifth ring the first ten-thousand-year ring, the seventh ring bestows the powerful martial spirit avatar, and the ninth ring signifies the power of a Titled Douluo.
But with these qualitative changes come stubborn bottlenecks, especially at the seventh and ninth rings, where these barriers are particularly strong.
You Chen read plenty of Douluo fanfictions where protagonists easily break through talent bottlenecks, evolving their martial spirits by absorbing over-the-limit rings, making the path to Titled Douluo smooth.
Thus, at his martial spirit awakening, You Chen wasn't discouraged by low innate soul power or mediocre martial spirit quality. He wouldn't give up or slack off due to insufficient talent.
To over-limit absorb soul rings, whale glue is often the first resource transmigrators think of. But even during the time when the effects of whale glue on improving constitution were undiscovered, this substance wasn't cheap, certainly not something a rootless child like You Chen could afford.
The best strategy was to present the effects of whale glue to the Spirit Hall, seeking a reward. Of course, the method of "presenting" was important.
Blatantly telling others about whale glue's benefits was unwise. Ideally, You Chen would "discover" its effects himself, using Spirit Hall funds to purchase millennium or even ten-thousand-year whale glue as a researcher under the guise of research.
This scenario naturally brought about several issues. How to ensure trust? How to avoid being dismissed with a token reward due to age, letting others take credit? How to maximize benefits while ensuring safety?
You Chen's approach was to first not reveal the effects of whale glue, establish himself as a theoretical prodigy, and then...
At age 12, the same year Yu Xiaogang published "The Ten Core Competencies of Martial Spirits," he published "A Rebuttal to the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Spirits."
This caught the attention and favor of Qian Xunji, and simultaneously earned the lasting enmity of that love-struck woman.