Chapter 6: Spiritual Power

The Spirit Pagoda's reach spread throughout the continent. Not only was it present in the Douluo Continent, it was even able to spread to the other two continents several thousand years ago.

The Spirit Pagoda had a ten thousand year history. Due to their importance to Soul Masters and their groundbreaking research into artificial spirit souls, their status had risen dramatically to its current state. Throughout the three continents, they were the strongest power.

Glorybound City also had a Spirit Pagoda branch located in the heart of the city. It was a three layer pagoda. This was the lowest rank possible for a Spirit Pagoda branch. A mid-sized city would have a seven layer Spirit Pagoda branch. Major cities would have a thirteen layer Spirit Pagoda branch. However, the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters was situated in Shrek City. The headquarters had gone through many renovations over the years and it now had eighty layers. It was said to be the most magnificent building on the Douluo Continent.

When they arrived the Spirit Pagoda's doors were already wide open, yet there weren't too many people there. After all, this was a place for Soul Masters. With Glorybound City being as small as it was, there were simply too few Soul Masters.

The Spirit Pagoda was shaped like an octagon with three floors. The interior was very spacious and the marble floor carried the symbol of the Spirit Pagoda. Inside the huge hall, there was a circular door which led to an unknown location. There was a reception counter in the front with an ashen robed Soul Master seated behind it.

The Soul Master had already stood up by the time the two of them arrived in front of the counter and was inspecting Yu Fei and Xiu Ye, who both entered nonchalantly. "Hello, may I ask what you're here for?"

'Looking at their demeanors, I reckoned that the boy is an orphan and the nun is his caretaker. But what're they doing here?' The Soul Master curiously thought.

"Hello and good day, my name is Yu Fei. The boy and I was informed that he was to be getting a free spirit soul." Yu Fei straightforwardly said.

The Soul Master blinked then slightly widened his eyes as he turned towards Xiu Ye. "Oh my, child, is your name Xiu Ye? Is your martial soul a fire sword and you have a Innate Full Soul Power?"

Xiu Ye nodded and for further credibility, he summoned his martial soul.

'Trace On!'

A sheathed katana appeared, with flame trails and embers danced around it, Xiu Ye held it by the scabbard below the hand guard with his right hand. Thankfully he had some control of his martial soul, so its flames weren't releasing so much heat that it would melt and burn everything around him.

Still, it was hot enough that it caused the Soul Master to sweat.

The Soul Master's eyes lit up in fascination and his expression turned enthusiastic.

"I see, I see, please, tell me, what type of spirit soul would you like child?"

Xiu Ye raise both his eyebrows in surprise.

"Aren't you going to ask us or your superiors for further credibility?"

Normally no one should easily believe a random stranger's identity. They should have checked their backgrounds first.

The Soul Master and Yu Fei both shook their heads. The former then said.

"Normally I would and anyone else in my position but, this is a small city with a low percentage of soul masters with little talents and subpar martial souls. So far, you're the only kid with a martial soul of a flaming sword with an Innate Full Soul Power that I have ever heard of in this small city."

Xiu Ye nodded in understanding.

"So sister and child, what would your choices be?"

For such a small city like Glorybound City, the Spirit Pagoda only offers three types of spirit souls. Ten year white spirit souls, hundred year yellow spirit souls, and random spirit soul selection.

There are 73 ten year white spirit souls and 11 hundred year yellow spirit souls to choose from. The price of a white spirit soul is seventy thousand coins, while yellow spirit souls are one million coins.

Is what Xiu Ye knew from the novel and he wouldn't put it pass a inactive soul master like Yu Fei to not know such a information. So there were was no need for a info dump on him right now.

"Hmm, brat, since this would be your spirit soul, you choose." Yu Fei said.

"Well then, I won't be polite, get me that yellow spirit soul." Xiu Ye said without any hesitation. He wasn't going to waste the chance of getting a high level spirit soul. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for his age, who has no rich background.

The Soul Master nodded his head. "Very well. Follow me for your spiritual power examination. Now normally someone in your situation would be charged for this examination, but only for people who hasn't have a Innate Full Soul Power and high tiered martial soul." Xiu Ye and Yu Fei both secretly let out sighs of relief; they didn't bring any money when they walked into this place, after all, who would when they expect some free stuff? "Sister Yu Fei can wait here, since ordinary people can't look into the world of Soul Masters."

"But sis is–" Yu Fei shot Xiu Ye a certain look and he immediately shut up. He knew that look, the "I'll kick your ass if you don't shut up" look.

Thinking about it, Xiu Ye inwardly facepalmed as he forgot that Yu Fei is a servant/maid/bodyguard from his family. She's probably infamous among the soul master community, especially the Spirit Pagoda.

Unknown to Xiu Ye and the Soul Master as they both walked off, Yu Fei's eyes glowed with a golden light momentarily before she completely disappeared from her spot without making any sound.

The room the Soul Master brought Xiu Ye into was different on the inside compared to its simple and unadorned outer appearance. It was brimming with modern technological appliances that were arranged about the room.

The Soul Master gestured for Xiu Ye to sit down on a metal chair before he began speaking. "Do you know why we why test spiritual power?"

Xiu Ye knew, but to keep up an act of ignorance, he shook his head.

The Soul Master explained, "Well, this is your first time coming to choose a spirit soul. After fusing with a spirit soul, you'll become a true Soul Master and the Spirit Pagoda will make a record of your spiritual power's strength, the level and type of spirit soul you fused with, and other things. You'll most likely attend an intermediate Soul Master academy later on."

Xiu Ye then asked. "Sir Soul Master, spiritual power also has ranks? Like soul power? Is spiritual power very important?"

The Soul Master answered, "For normal Soul Masters, spiritual power isn't too important. It's also divided into ranks, but it isn't divided the same way soul power is. However, when it comes to high level Soul Masters, the strength of their spiritual powers becomes much more significant. A strong spirit soul requires spiritual power equally as strong to fuse with."

"Before the existence of spirit souls, there weren't any ranks for spiritual power at all. But when spirit souls first appeared, the previous generations gradually realized that fusing with a spirit soul required much more spiritual power than fusing with a spirit ring. After extensive research, they created the rankings for spiritual power. It was only in the last two thousand years or so that the rankings were completed."

Xiu Ye inquisitively asked, "Then how many levels is spiritual power divided into?"

The Soul Master responded, "From low to high, spiritual power is divided into: Spirit Origin, Spirit Connection, Spirit Sea, Spirit Abyss, Spirit Domain, and the fabled Divine Origin. These six realms are quite simple. Everyone is in the Spirit Origin realm when they are born. As for the meaning behind Spirit Origin, it means that it's the single origin everyone starts from. Afterwards, nature takes on a new look. This is the most basic of soul levels. You should be at this level. As for the rest, you'll learn it in school so I won't speak of it. Alright then. I'll start testing what degree of Spirit Origin you've reached."

A metal helmet fell onto his head. Then, metal arms linked together and strapped his head in.

"Don't be so tense. Relax your body. You might feel a bit of vertigo in a bit; that's normal. You just need to stay relaxed." The Soul Master repeatedly warned.

"Alright chief." Xiu Ye promised with a nervous grin.

A slight humming noise arose as the helmet began to emit a soft white glow. The Soul Master watched the soul transmitter screen on the side as the screen began to display data.

When the numbers first appeared, they jumped up extremely quickly. After a moment, the numbers gradually stabilized. When the Soul Master saw the number, his expression changed to one of complete shock.

"T-This--!"