As soon as Chen Ming stepped into the room, he felt a wave of spiritual energy scanning him. The energy was powerful and unabashed, and Chen Ming instinctively took a step back upon sensing it.
This seemingly insignificant reaction caught the attention of one of the elders in the room, a tall and thin man, who let out a soft "hmm" of surprise.
"Oh? You… can sense my spiritual power?" The elder, who appeared kind and mild-mannered, stood up and took a few steps forward, studying Chen Ming as if he were some rare specimen.
"I am Meng Shenji," the elder introduced himself, likely to put Chen Ming at ease. "A Soul Douluo by cultivation, a board member of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, and my martial soul is the Black Goblin, which makes me, strictly speaking, a spiritual-type soul master."
"Can you sense my spiritual power? Is your martial soul-spiritual in nature?"
Meng Shenji's curiosity was understandable. In this era, spiritual energy was a rather enigmatic field. Soul masters generally lacked a comprehensive understanding of it. Only a handful of high-level soul masters or those with spiritual-type martial souls had any meaningful grasp of this power.
Even many Titled Douluos could barely utilize their spiritual energy, let alone recognize a 100,000-year soul beast in disguise if one stood right before them. In terms of spiritual awareness, most were like blind men.
Meng Shenji, though not a Titled Douluo, was an experienced Soul Douluo. Thanks to his spiritual-type Black Goblin martial soul, he had mastered the ability to use spiritual energy for detection and other purposes.
The other two board members, Bai Baoshan and Zhi Lin were also high-ranking and seasoned Soul Douluos. However, their understanding of spiritual energy barely scratched the surface, and they couldn't use it for such advanced applications as Meng Shenji could.
Meng Shenji's spiritual probing was the sort of ability only other Soul Douluos and Titled Douluos could recognize. At best, a rare few Soul Sages might sense something vaguely observing them, but anyone below that rank typically wouldn't notice a thing.
Pure spiritual-type martial souls were extraordinarily rare, appearing in only about one in ten thousand soul masters. Even at the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, the most prestigious institution in the empire, Meng Shenji was the sole pure spiritual-type soul master. The number of soul masters with even partial spiritual attributes was under ten, most of whom were teachers.
Given these circumstances, Meng Shenji's excitement was understandable.
"Uh, Elder Meng, my martial soul isn't a spiritual-type one," Chen Ming clarified. "It's the Emerald Scorpion King, a beast martial soul. I just happen to have a natural affinity for spiritual energy, which makes me more sensitive to it."
"Oh, it's not?" Meng Shenji looked slightly disappointed but didn't dwell on it. Instead, he smoothly shifted the conversation.
"The Emerald Scorpion King, a king-level martial soul. Its quality is undeniably top-tier. Perhaps it's precisely because of your unique spiritual affinity that your martial soul evolved into a king-level one."
King-level martial souls were a special classification. They were superior to regular counterparts of the same type but often had unstable inheritance patterns. Essentially, they were a benign form of mutation. Their appearance always signified that the wielder's talent surpassed that of ordinary soul masters with similar martial souls.
For instance, among emperor-ranked soul beasts, their offspring would naturally have stronger innate talent than others of their species but wouldn't necessarily be born emperors. They might carry emperor or king bloodlines, granting them higher potential and better odds of ascending to emperor or king status in the future.
Meanwhile, ordinary soul beasts could also ascend to king or emperor status through age and fortuitous encounters, provided no other king or emperor suppressed them in their hierarchy.
"Maybe," Chen Ming replied nonchalantly. Of course, he knew exactly how his martial soul had evolved, but there was no way he would reveal his secrets during their first meeting.
"Let me introduce you," Meng Shenji said, gesturing toward the others. "This is Bai Baoshan, like me, a board member and a defense-type Soul Douluo."
"Hello, child," said the short and stout elder, waving warmly at Chen Ming without a hint of superiority.
"And this is Zhi Lin, another board member, and a control-type Soul Douluo."
"Hello, child…" Zhi Lin, reeking of alcohol, smoothed his slightly disheveled beard and offered a gentle smile. Meanwhile, his mind raced, trying to recall the new student files he had reviewed earlier.
"Greetings to the three board members. My name is Chen Ming, from the Chen family in Biluochen City, Heaven Dou Empire. My family holds the hereditary rank of earl. I'm 11 years old, with the Emerald Scorpion King as my martial soul. My soul power is at level 24, and I have one yellow and one purple soul ring. I humbly ask for your guidance."
From how they addressed him as child and Meng Shenji's earlier question about his martial soul, Chen Ming deduced that the three board members were unfamiliar with his background. To avoid any awkwardness, he took the initiative to introduce himself thoroughly.
Initially, as they heard about his noble background and family, the three board members simply nodded politely. However, when he mentioned his soul power level and soul rings, a sudden gust of wind swept past, and the three elders appeared beside him in the blink of an eye, scrutinizing him with astonishment.
"Teacher Qin, is this…?" Meng Shenji glanced at Qin Ming, his expression tinged with curiosity and doubt.
"It's true, Board Members. Everything about Chen Ming—the martial soul, soul power, and soul rings—is exactly as he described."
Hearing Qin Ming's confirmation, the three board members couldn't suppress their joy. Bai Baoshan even patted Chen Ming's back enthusiastically to express his excitement.
The three of them, Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin, had long since reached their limits as soul masters. Devoting themselves to education for years, they had a deep yearning for exceptional talent, whether among teachers or students. Their dedication had made them some of the most diligent board members in the history of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.
Now, hearing that an extraordinary talent had appeared, their delight was unmistakable. It was impossible to hide their excitement.
"Child, come with us to the backyard. Let us old folks see what you can do," Meng Shenji said, grabbing Chen Ming by the hand and leading him swiftly through the back door toward the courtyard.
With the speed of soul masters, it took only two or three minutes to descend a slope and arrive at a specialized training ground paved with an unfamiliar type of stone.
Though night had fallen, the skies of the Douluo world remained unpolluted. The light from the stars and moon was sufficient to illuminate the unique training area.
Zhi Lin pulled Qin Ming aside and whispered something in his ear. Qin Ming nodded knowingly, stepped back, and summoned his martial soul.
Two yellow and three purple soul rings circled him as fiery energy surrounded his body, making the training ground even brighter.
"Chen Ming, summon your martial soul and attack me. Show us your skills and strength."
"Don't worry," Qin Ming added with a reassuring smile. "I'll hold back my strength."