Chapter 8: Spirit Hall Registration

As no threats had approached them, the next day's dawn peacefully rose into the sky. As it did, both Grandmaster and Tang San woke from their meditation. The massive shield near them disappeared and Durand stood up to begin making breakfast. After their meal, Grandmaster, Tang San, and Durand quickly packed up their camp and began departing.

Along the way, Tang San demonstrated the changes that had occurred since absorbing his first spirit ring. When Tang San spirit was displayed, it had undergone some significant changes. It had grown in size significantly and had gained an odd veined pattern. More importantly, it had gained the toughness and paralytic poison attributes from the Datura snake. Finally, he displayed his first spirit ability, Bind, to Grandmaster and Durand.

Grandmaster and Durand felt extremely happy for Tang San. After all, Grandmaster's theory had been proven with Tang San's successful absorption of his first spirit ring. Moreover, the spirit ring had characteristics of control system spirit masters which was Tang San's original goal. Quick experimentation showed that the range for Bind was approximately 50 meters. Compared to Durand's "100 meters" this seemed quite abysmal. However, the additional poison attribute as well as how easy it was to hide his spirit among the common blue silver grass allowed Tang San's ability to rank very highly among spirit masters. Of course, Durand's ability came from an older spirit beast and his ring was much more powerful than others perceived it to be.

With a glimmer of deep thought, Grandmaster said, "As expected, you were able to gain a control type ability. If you have a powerful attack spirit master acting jointly with you, your spirit effect will show its value even more clearly. Control system spirit masters control the opponent's actions and this binding ability's effect is exactly that. By including the paralysis effect of your poison attribute, you have become very formidable amongst spirit masters."

Finally, Grandmaster turned to Durand to talk about his new spirit ability. Durand had amazed Grandmaster in their fight against the Datura snake. By using his spirit weapon, Hornet's Sting, in coordination with his first spirit ring, Durand had been able to transform his defensive ability into an offensive one.

"Durand, you have done well to adapt your first ring ability to multiple uses. I hope that you will continue to learn new ways to use your first ring ability. The first spirit ring is the most important for spirit masters because it has the least spirit cost to use and is the one that spirit masters have used the longest. I look forward to seeing more ways for you to use your spirit ring," complimented Grandmaster.

Blushing, Durand elatedly said, "Thank you, teacher!"

Grandmaster turned back to Tang San and said, "Tang San, I hope to see you use your spirit ring versatilely too. Especially since you are control system spirit master, being able to use your spirit ring in diverse situations is key to becoming a strong control spirit master instead of a weak one."

Soon Grandmaster, Durand, and Tang San left the forest. Their carriage ride back to the academy was spent primarily with Grandmaster's lectures about his research on spirit power cultivation. Details such as stronger cultivation routes and kinds of spirits that are best suited for cultivation were included. Both Durand and Tang San began establishing a strong foundation of knowledge that would significantly improve their future cultivation.

However, Durand couldn't help but feel slightly restless. In the original novel in his previous world, Grandmaster had been poisoned by the Datura snake when it had bitten Luo San Pao. But last night, Durand had shielded Grandmaster's spirit from the snake. Luckily the defensive power of his shield was able to prevent the Datura snake's venom from entering Durand's body. Since Grandmaster was able to remain unscathed, he would not be giving Tang San or Durand a book concerning the same lectures he was currently instructing them on. More importantly, the relationship between Grandmaster and his students had yet to deepen.

When their carriage finally returned to Nuoding city, Grandmaster led his two students to the Spirit Hall branch in the city center. The Spirit Hall branch's building exuded majesty. Its immense dome structure stood out among the buildings in the city center and its entrance was at least 100 meters wide and 20 meters tall. The building had three floors with a brown exterior and a single longsword emblem on the front gate. As they approached, Grandmaster explained to Tang San and Durand why they had come here before returning to the academy.

"Little San, Little Durand, we are here to conduct your spirit master authentication. This will test your spirit power condition and also counts as the official Spirit Hall registration. Once you have registered with Spirit Hall, you will receive a stipend of 1 gold each month. Once you have done so, you will no longer need to work at the school for your tuition," explained Grandmaster.

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As they reached the entrance of the Spirit Hall branch, Grandmaster showed the same token he had shown to the guard captain at the Spirit Hunting Forest. On it were three symbols, there was a longsword, hammer, and the head of a blue dragon. When the guards in front of the branch saw the token, they bowed in respect. This was because the three emblem token had much higher authority compared to their branch's single emblem insignia.

The trio quickly walked past them and entered the building. Grandmaster seemed to know where he was going and they swiftly walked through the open space on the first floor to the stairs. They quickly climbed a single flight of stairs to the second floor. Compared to the openness on the first floor, the second floor held several rooms and was quite obviously the office area of the Spirit Hall branch.

Knocking on a door, the trio heard a hoarse voice say, "Come in."

Entering the room, they heard the same voice ask Grandmaster, "Have you brought these two for their awakening ceremony?"

Shaking his head, Grandmaster replied, "These two children have come to undergo advancement appraisal."

The hoarse voice belonged to an old man. Entering the room, Durand could see that the old man sat behind a spacious desk with neat spirit master clothing. On the clothing, there was a standard with three swords, symbolizing the elder's cultivation attainment to the grandmaster level. The old spirit master stared back at the young children in astonishment. Tang San and Durand had only just recently awakened their spirits before gaining their first spirit rings. This was extremely rare among spirit masters as most did not have innate full spirit power.

Gathering himself from surprise, Ma Xiu Nuo introduced himself, "Hello children, you can call me grandpa Ma Xiu Nuo. Come, I'll bring you to undergo advancement appraisal."

The four of them walked into the next room. The room was very spacious, extremely large and very tall. In the back, there was a large window to provide the room with appropriate lighting.

Grandpa Ma Xiu Nuo turned to the two children and said, "Alright, the two of you should release your spirits so that I can begin verifying that you have successfully advanced to spirit master." Pointing at Tang San, "You can go first."

Tang San walked to the center of the room, raised his right hand and calmly released his blue silver grass spirit. Thick and sturdy blades of blue silver grass emanated on the ground from Tang San and in a blink of an eye, the bright hundred year Datura snake spirit ring rose from Tang San's feet; hovering up and down centered around Tang San's body. A slight tea fragrance exuded from him, luring others to lower their guards toward him.

Grandpa Ma Xiu Nuo looked on with shock. "This-, this is blue silver grass?!" he exclaimed with shock. Rubbing his eyes, he suddenly noticed the yellow spirit ring, "A hundred year spirit ring! No wonder there has been such a large change to your spirit. What is your name, child?"

"I'm called Tang San," he replied.

"You must have a very good teacher at Nuoding academy," praised Grandpa Ma as his flickered to Grandmaster who had decided to stand in the back near the door.

Grandmaster shook his head humbly and said, "I am just teaching them what I know."

Grandpa Ma Xiu Nuo returned his attention to Tang San and retrieved a yellow crystal ball from a table on the side. Walking over to Tang San, he said, "Infuse your spirit power within so that I can see what rank you have reached. After advancing, you should have reached the eleventh …"

He had yet to finish his sentence when the crystal ball in Tang San's hand shone progressively brighter with a yellow misty radiance. Though the radiance wasn't particularly powerful, it was extremely clear.

"Thir- thirteenth rank spirit power!" Grandpa Ma Xiu Nuo stared at Tang San as if he was a monster. He mused to himself, "Could it be that the spirit ring itself was so powerful that it increased the boy's spirit power enough to jump two levels?" Looking straight at Tang San, he said, "Child, tell me, what spirit beast did you hunt for your spirit ring?"

Tang San did not hold back and revealed that the spirit ring had come from a Datura snake.

Ma Xiu Nuo was greatly shocked and began speaking to himself, "No wonder! No wonder! Among the lower level spirit beasts, the Datura snake is the most troublesome. Wait! Your spirit belongs to the plant system. How can it absorb an animal system spirit ring? Child, you can't lie."

Tang San beamed a little in pride, "Grandpa Ma Xiu Nuo, I'm not lying at all. Why can't plant system spirit use animal system spirit rings? Under certain circumstances, plant spirits can absorb animal rings. Teacher calls it the spirit mimicry principle." Tang San gestured to Grandmaster in the back of the room as he said this.

Ma Xiu Nuo turned to Grandmaster and asked respectfully, "Sir, may I know your esteemed name?"

Grandmaster coughed in surprise and said simply, "You can just call me Grandmaster."

"Grandmaster?! As in the Grandmaster who published the ten great core competencies on spirits and was then expel—" Ma Xiu Nuo blushed in embarrassment for his lack of tact. After all, speaking of such matters was extremely rude.

Grandmaster, however, seemed to pay no mind. He simply nodded his head in acquiescence.

In an attempt to change the subject, Ma Xiu Nuo turned to Durand and asked him to reveal his spirit ring. The attempt was successful as the ornate armor materializing around Durand's body shocked Ma Xiu Nuo quite a bit. The massive shield on Durand's right arm seemed to dwarf the people around him. Ma Xiu Nuo's curiosity seemed to overwhelm him as he circled around Durand and tapped on his armor like examining a specimen.

Like Tang San's hundred year ring, a yellow ring rose from Durand's feet and hovered up and down the body. In contrast, a stifling atmosphere emanated from his figure compared to the fragrance that came out from Tang San. Anyone looking at Durand would feel a sense of formidability, a feeling of strength and impregnability.

Testing Durand's spirit power revealed a 12th rank power that again stumped Ma Xiu Nuo. If he knew the age of the spirit beast that Durand absorbed, Grandpa Ma would have found it odd that Durand was at a lower rank than Tang San. This was not because Durand was unable to absorb as much power as Tang San. Instead, it was because most of the power from the 600 year Spike Plated Tortoise had been used to mutate Durand's spirit. Moreover, Durand had cultivated for a shorter time than Tang San since Durand only began cultivation three years ago.

*Sigh* Ma Xiu Nuo huffed. With a voice filled with regret, he said, "Ah, Spirit Hall is a step late. Grandmaster, you have gained two impressive students." Shaking his head, he repeated, "A step late."

Shaking himself from his moment of regret, Ma Xiu Nuo proceeded with the registration procedure. Handing the two of them a badge, Grandpa Ma Xiu Nuo explained, "Well, your advancement review survey is concluded. From now on, you are a Heaven Dou Empire spirit master. Hereafter, every month, you can rely on this badge to withdraw your stipend of one gold at Spirit Hall. When you reach the spirit grandmaster level, this stipend will increase to 10 gold spirit coins. In regards to the matter of animal spirit rings being able to be absorbed by plant spirits, I will report as quickly as possible to a higher authority."

Perhaps it was fortunate that Ma Xiu Nuo did not know how much Durand's spirit had changed since his awakening ceremony. If he had known, he would likely have screamed and passed out in shock. Of more concern, he would have reported to the higher authorities about the transformation. This would have caused Spirit Hall to become extremely interested in Durand and his spirit. And if they were to find out about the incredible nature of his second spirit, he almost certainly would have become a target for capture.

The trio quickly left the Spirit Hall branch. Their trip to Spirit Hunting Forest had tired them and they need to rest and recuperate from the trials from their hunt.

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Grandmaster, Tang San, and Durand soon returned to the academy. At the entrance, the three of them parted ways. Grandmaster returned to his room, Tang San returned to his dormitory, and Durand returned to his special room. Once he returned, Durand quickly flopped down onto his bed. The two battles and his shoulder injury had taken a toll on his mind and body. Even if he had been able to heal most of it in the last couple days through his Tree of Life, a lot of his energy and focus had gone into recovering his body. It had not helped to recover his mental power though.

However, it didn't take long for Durand to hear Tang San exiting the room once again. Recalling the events from the novel, Durand remembered that this was the time when the working students had challenged the regular students under the lead of Xiao Wu. They were likely fighting once again in the woods on the mountain behind the academy.

Groaning as he got up from his bed, Durand also left his room. Despite feeling exhausted and in great need of a long nap, Durand made his way toward the mountain. Though he knew that Tang San would be able to handle the fight, Durand still wanted to take part. After all, he would need combat experience if he wished to take part in the spirit master tournaments.