The Spirit Transmission Master nodded and said,
"You're a thoughtful kid. Much better than my little brat. Normally, there's a fee for the spiritual power test before choosing a soul spirit… but I'll waive that for you. I'll make the call."
Nan Fusheng was slightly stunned, then quickly responded,
"Thank you, sir! Thank you so much!"
The Spirit Master smiled and patted his head.
"Come with me."
He led Nan Fusheng into a separate room. Unlike the traditional and solemn vibe of the outer hall, this room was filled with a modern aesthetic, lined with all kinds of instruments and machinery.
The Spirit Master gestured for Nan Fusheng to sit in a metal chair, and casually asked,
"Do you know why we test for spiritual power?"
Nan Fusheng knew a bit, but still chose to shake his head.
The Spirit Master then began to explain the importance of spiritual power and its classification system:
From lowest to highest, there are six tiers:
Spirit Origin Realm
Spirit Connectivity Realm
Spirit Sea Realm
Spirit Abyss Realm
Spirit Domain Realm
And the legendary Divine Origin Realm
A metallic helmet-like apparatus descended from above, attached by mechanical arms, and lowered gently over Nan Fusheng's head.
"Don't be nervous—just relax your whole body. You might feel a little dizzy during the process; that's normal. Just stay calm," the Spirit Master advised.
"Okay."
A faint humming sound followed. Soft white light glowed from the helmet as Nan Fusheng began to feel mild stimuli pulsing into his brain.
The Spirit Master watched a soul tool monitor nearby. The values on the screen began jumping rapidly.
At first, the numbers fluctuated wildly, but then they gradually stabilized. The Spirit Master's expression grew more and more surprised.
Eventually, the numbers plateaued—no longer increasing, only oscillating slightly within a stable range.
The device powered down, and the helmet lifted.
"Done."
"Very good data," the Spirit Master said with a smile. "You're the strongest in spiritual power among all the Soul Scholars I've tested in recent years."
"Your spiritual power score is 72. Remember that number. I'll print out a test report for you—you can submit it when applying to a mid-level Soul Master academy."
Seeing Nan Fusheng's calm reaction, the Spirit Master kindly added:
"In the Spirit Origin Realm, scores range from 1 to 100.
Below 30 is beginner level
30 to 60 is intermediate
60 to 90 is advanced
And 90 to 100 is peak level."
"At your age, being at the advanced stage is remarkable. None of the kids I've tested even come close. I'm already a Level 28 Soul Grandmaster, and even my spiritual power is just 87."
"With your level, you can safely fuse with a century-old yellow soul spirit."
"Now let's see how lucky you are."
Leaving the testing room, the Spirit Master took Nan Fusheng to an adjacent chamber.
This room was much larger, housing a towering soul spirit dispenser—over three meters tall and six meters wide.
Inside the machine were hundreds of glowing orbs, each about a foot in diameter, giving off a soft light. Every one of them looked the same from the outside.
The Spirit Master pointed at two buttons on the machine's console.
"Green to start, red to stop. Once you hit the red button, the soul spirit inside the selected orb will be randomly drawn. Ready when you are."
The quality of a soul spirit could make or break a Soul Master.
A strong soul spirit could even help a cultivator level up directly. A weak one, on the other hand, would bring only subpar soul skills. And since Soul Masters could only hold a maximum of nine soul rings in their lifetime, each skill mattered immensely, especially in the early stages.
Even Nan Fusheng, as composed as he was, felt slightly nervous. A good soul spirit could save him from many future detours.
He pressed the green button.
Immediately, a cascade of lights activated within the machine, illuminating each glowing orb with a soft halo.
The orbs—hundreds of them—began spinning along the machine's tracks, blurring into a dizzying whirlwind of light and motion.
From the outside, it was impossible to see what was inside any given orb. Everything was up to fate.
Nan Fusheng closed his eyes and silently chanted in his heart:
"Let me draw the soul spirit most suitable for me."
He repeated it seven times.
A flash of intuition surged within him.
"Now."
He slammed the red button.
Bang! The spinning halted. A single white soul spirit orb rolled down from the machine's chute into a metal tray beside Nan Fusheng.
The Spirit Master stepped forward, retrieved the orb, and handed it to him.
"Come. Let's check it out in the main hall."
In the main lobby, the Spirit Master brought out a small oval device and passed it to Nan Fusheng.
"Press this button. Shine the light over the soul spirit orb, and the soul spirit will hatch. The right to release it belongs to you alone."
Nan Fusheng activated the device. A soft yellow light beamed down on the orb.
The orb itself began glowing faintly. Its sealed outer layer gradually turned transparent, revealing a faint shape inside.
Then, the light shifted to white. A bright ring flashed across the orb's center as it slowly opened.
"Ten-year soul spirit," the Spirit Master muttered beside him.
Nan Fusheng said nothing. He simply watched—his spiritual intuition telling him that, despite being just a ten-year soul spirit, it resonated more closely with him than most century-old ones ever could.
As the white light faded and the orb fully opened, the soul spirit within was finally revealed.
Upon first glance, the Spirit Master's expression visibly changed.
Inside the pristine white orb lay a tiny creature, quietly curled up.
It was incredibly small—only about two or three centimeters long, thinner than a child's finger, and completely milky-white in color.
Most people would recognize this creature at a glance. It was extremely common:
A parasite.
The Spirit Master was briefly stunned, then sighed heavily and said bitterly,
"Misfortune never comes alone… Kid, your luck really…"
He knew this soul spirit's background.
Artificial soul spirits were still based on soul beast genes. But as soul beasts neared extinction, their DNA became increasingly rare. Researchers at the Spirit Transmission Tower had tried many alternatives.
One such experiment involved extracting genes from non-soul-beast animals and attempting to forge soul spirits from them, just to see what would happen.
The experiment succeeded... but the results were utterly disappointing. These soul spirits were so weak that no one ever bought them.
Without a doubt, this little worm was one such defective product. Worse than a regular failure—it didn't even have any soul beast DNA at all.
This soul spirit was a complete accident—the absolute bottom of the random draw pool.
"Child… you should reject this one," the Spirit Master said softly. "It's essentially a failed soul spirit. Honestly, if you hadn't drawn it, it probably would've dissipated in a few days. Even though it appears in soul spirit form, a parasite... sigh…"
Moved by pity, he tried gently to persuade the boy.
But Nan Fusheng replied calmly,
"Thank you, Master. But… I believe this, too, is fate."
The Spirit Master looked at him with a complex expression.
He thought: This kid must be heartbroken but is just putting on a brave face… What a strong child.