In a small village south of Soto City in the Evans Kingdom, a group of people had gathered and were queuing up in an orderly fashion. Most of them were parents accompanied by their children. The reason so many people flocked to this tiny village was that an academy was in the midst of its recruitment drive.
Among the long line, a teenage boy stood out. He was strikingly handsome, and on his left shoulder perched an adorable little fox, its two tails swaying back and forth as it let out "squeaky" sounds, as if chatting away with the boy.
People are naturally drawn to cute critters, and a pet as endearing as this one couldn't help but catch the eyes of the children. Fortunately, the kids knew what they were there for, and with their parents keeping a close eye on them, they refrained from swarming around to have a look. Even so, quite a few children couldn't resist stealing glances at the boy from time to time.
The boy, however, couldn't care less. He exuded an air of laziness that didn't match his age, like a total slacker. "Ugh, the system hasn't given me a mission for over a decade, and now it wants me to start all over again at Rekdo Academy? You gotta be kidding me! Staying home with my girl sounds way better!" The boy teased the little fox on his shoulder, rubbing his forehead and muttering words that no one in this world could understand.
The boy's name was Leo. He wasn't a native of this world; instead, he had transmigrated from Earth Star. This place was an anime world adapted from a well - known novel on Earth Star - the Evans Continent. On the Evans Continent, there was no magic or martial arts, but there were mysterious martial souls. Unfortunately, Leo had transmigrated here thirty years ago.
Thirty years ago? But he looked like a teenager now. Blame it on the "golden finger" that every transmigrator seemed to have - the system. It had transformed him back into his childhood self! If his old friends knew about his current situation, he'd be so embarrassed. He was once a high - ranking official in the Spirit Hall, the principal of the Spirit Hall Academy, the youngest dual - martial - soul titled Evans on the continent, and the husband of the current Pope. Now, he was a kid again, having to go to school. This would surely disappoint countless female fans on the continent...
Anyway, although he felt ashamed, the rewards from the system were pretty sweet. It directly gave him a martial soul, which meant he now had a third one! And this martial soul was truly extraordinary; it had never been seen on the continent before. Leo hadn't come across it in the anime either. It was a martial soul that could summon living beings to fight for him, and he named it Summoning Spirit.
The little fox on his shoulder was the first summoned beast of his martial soul. Its name was Nine - Tailed Celestial Fox, but for now, it only had two tails. When it came to the little fox's tails, it was necessary to mention the soul power of his third martial soul. The soul power of his third martial soul was completely independent of his dual martial souls. His independent martial soul had just reached level 20. When he broke through from level 19 to 20, the little fox grew a second tail. When his soul power reached level 30, it would grow another tail, and so on. By the time his soul power reached level 90, the little fox would become a genuine Nine - Tailed Celestial Fox.
There was a special feature about the summoned beast - its age was closely related to the soul ring. This little guy seemed to have just been born, so its soul ring was the lowest - level white. But as it grew older, once it surpassed a hundred years old, the soul ring would upgrade to yellow, and when it reached a thousand years old, it would turn purple. In other words, his soul rings could evolve. Just imagine, when these summoned beasts reached a thousand, ten thousand, or even a hundred thousand years old, the sight of all those evolved soul rings being unleashed would be mind - blowing! Even though Leo wasn't sure if he'd live that long, it didn't stop him from daydreaming.
The queue was still moving. Suddenly, Leo straightened up a bit, his lazy demeanor replaced with a glimmer of alertness as he turned his gaze to the back. Not far behind him, two teenagers appeared. As a transmigrator who had watched the anime, Leo knew exactly who they were - none other than the male and female leads. That's right, these two were Ryan and Xiao Wu, who played crucial roles throughout the anime. (This book is mostly based on the anime plot.)
"Wow, big brother, that little fox is so cute!" As soon as Ryan and Xiao Wu arrived, Xiao Wu spotted the fox on Leo's shoulder, her eyes lighting up immediately. It was hard to resist the charm of such an adorable fox.
"Yeah," Ryan nodded as he followed Xiao Wu's finger and saw the little fox.
Hearing the two protagonists' conversation, Leo smiled faintly. He stepped forward, took out ten gold coins, and dropped them into the box next to the table. It was his turn for the soul power test. There had been many people queuing up before him, but none of them had met Rekdo Academy's admission requirements. Many parents and children left with disappointed shakes of their heads. And since the registration fee was non - refundable, the number of people in the queue behind had decreased significantly, which was why it was his turn so soon.
"Stick out one hand," Li Yusong, the person in charge of the academy's recruitment, said flatly after Leo put the ten gold soul coins into the box.
Leo did as he was told.
"Your age is right. Now, show me your martial soul," Li Yusong said after checking Leo's bone age.
"Sir, this is my martial soul," Leo said, turning to look at the little fox on his shoulder with a smile.
The little fox seemed to understand him. As soon as Leo finished speaking, it nodded at Li Yusong in a cute manner. It was so adorable that countless kids' eyes lit up, including Xiao Wu and Ava, who was in front of her in the queue.
However, Li Yusong wasn't swayed by the cute act. He narrowed his eyes and stared at Leo. "Kid, are you trying to make a fool of this old man?"
"Sir, of course not. This is really my martial soul. Maybe it's just a bit special," Leo replied with a smile, unfazed by Li Yusong's intense gaze and the faint pressure of a Soul Emperor that he was releasing. Come on, he was a titled Evans with dual martial souls. How could he be intimidated by the pressure of a mere Soul Emperor?
Li Yusong was inwardly shocked to see that the boy remained calm under his Soul Emperor pressure, but he kept a straight face. "How can you prove that this little fox is your martial soul?"
"Well, sir, I'll show you," Leo said, taking a step back. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he activated his soul power. In an instant, two soul rings rose slowly from beneath his feet. To everyone's shock, both of these soul rings were white...