"Ying Yanyang, Martial Soul: Fiery Divine Eagle, thirty-seven years old, level seventy-nine Attack-type Battle Soul Saint."
The calm voice, imbued with seriousness, rang out across the plaza. Seven spirit rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, yellow, black, black—rose from beneath his feet, their potent and terrifying fluctuations of spirit power revealing Ying Yanyang's strength as a Soul Saint.
The moment Ying Yanyang displayed his spirit rings, the giant eagle soaring in the sky abruptly opened its beak wide. A colossal pillar of flame, as thick as a man, shot directly towards itself.
As the flames enveloped him, Ying Yanyang sustained no damage. The descending fire attached itself to his entire body in a burning fashion, yet bizarrely, it ignited nothing on him, neither his clothes nor his hair.
Fifth Spirit Ability, Fueling Flame!
Ying Yanyang used it on himself right from the start.
Careful, cautious. No matter who the opponent was, he treated them with the utmost seriousness.
Seeing the flames burning on Ying Yanyang's body, Wang Zhong let out a soft click. His teacher was indeed terrifyingly strong, both in power and mindset.
The hard-won opening in their momentum was recovered in an instant. Regardless of Wang Zhong's strength, he immediately augmented himself with his most basic, and arguably most formidable, spirit ability, standing in readiness.
His entire being seemed devoid of any exploitable weakness!
"Wang Zhong, Martial Soul: Tree, twelve years old, level fifty-two Attack-type Battle Soul King."
Normally, spirit masters facing each other would simply announce their name, martial soul, and level. However, Ying Yanyang had stated his age, and Wang Zhong, understanding why, followed suit by adding his own age.
Indeed, with the addition of their ages, Ling Yuan, Long She, Ci Tun, Gui Bao, and Mo Xiong, seated on the steps below the high platform, simultaneously cried out in shock.
"Twelve years old, a Soul King!"
"How is this possible!"
Across the continent, no youth had ever displayed such strength at this age. Even prodigies reaching Soul Venerable at twelve were considered remarkable!
Yet, this young man named Wang Zhong, standing before them, had surpassed those so-called chosen ones by twenty levels!
Such talent could only be described as monstrous.
However, what followed left them astonished and bewildered.
After stating his basic information, five spirit rings—one yellow, two purple, two black, and one white—rose from beneath Wang Zhong's feet, rotating slowly. Curiously, his martial soul did not manifest.
"The second spirit ring is purple, a thousand-year one!"
"The third and fourth spirit rings are black, ten-thousand-year ones!"
"How did he achieve this!"
Long She, Ci Tun, and the third person's eyes nearly bulged out as they stared at those three spirit rings—one purple and two black—their expressions filled with immense dread.
How could a person's body withstand the impact of a thousand-year spirit power at level twenty? And how could it endure the impact of ten-thousand-year spirit power at levels thirty and forty? These two feats seemed utterly inconceivable to them!
Gui Bao and Mo Xiong, after their initial shock mirroring the others, soon wore expressions of a more complex nature.
The fifth ring was white! A ten-year spirit ring!
This was clearly self-sabotage!
While spirit ring years weren't solely about being higher, they should at least match one's spirit power level. A Soul King, at their level, could handle the spirit power of a ten-thousand-year spirit ring for their fifth ring.
Moreover, the fifth spirit ring was crucial, serving as a link between the past and the future. A white spirit ring lodged there was like building a dilapidated hut of exquisite wood on the foundation of a skyscraper that could reach ten thousand feet high.
His talent was ruined!
On the high platform, upon witnessing Wang Zhong's fifth spirit ring, Bibi Dong's usually calm face instantly contorted with anger.
She knew Ying Yanyang's theories and believed that with his talent and wisdom, he could reach realms others deemed impossible. But theories were still theories. Without concrete proof before her, Bibi Dong still adhered to the eternal truth of the spirit master world.
The years of spirit rings dictated a spirit master's future!
As her designated disciple, someone she regarded almost as her own child, Wang Zhong dared to make such a monumental decision without consulting her.
Unlike Bibi Dong and the others, Ying Yanyang displayed extreme caution towards Wang Zhong's fifth spirit ring.
Given that his second spirit ring was a thousand-year one, and his third and fourth were ten-thousand-year ones, what kind of ability had compelled Wang Zhong to forgo another ten-thousand-year spirit ring in favor of a white one, less than a hundred years old?
There was only one reason!
The spirit skill provided by this white spirit ring, though less potent than those from ten-thousand-year spirit beasts, offered an incredibly terrifying boost to himself!
Much like Lu Xiaoshuang's Heaven and Earth Canopy, or his own Fueling Flame, these were abilities that completely compensated for one's shortcomings.
"While I am curious about what kind of spirit skill your fifth spirit ring possesses, compelling you to abandon the temptation of a ten-thousand-year spirit beast skill,"
"I must still ask: how did you do it!"
"To reveal your spirit rings without manifesting your martial soul."
Ying Yanyang stood with his hands behind his back, asking with a light smile.
In response, Wang Zhong felt a touch of pride. The Tree martial soul's growth potential had become incredibly astonishing after absorbing the spirit ring of Ba Xia. It was an existence that struck fear simply by its manifestation.
Therefore, he had attempted to impose restrictions as his Tree martial soul descended.
The manifestation of the Tree martial soul occurred in a peculiar manner, as if squeezing through space to arrive from another realm. To conceal its presence, Wang Zhong stopped activating his martial soul when it fully descended, or rather, he maintained it in a semi-activated state.
In this state, the Tree martial soul was only a sliver away from Wang Zhong's world!
This state not only concealed the Tree martial soul itself but also allowed Wang Zhong to display his spirit rings and use his spirit skills, with no reduction in power.
Because the Tree martial soul was behind him, others simply couldn't see it. However, Wang Zhong could clearly sense its existence.
"It's simple. My Tree martial soul has been hidden by me!"
His simple answer caused Ying Yanyang's heart to skip a beat. He knew Wang Zhong's Tree martial soul could grow and evolve infinitely.
Based on Wang Zhong's current assessment, his Tree martial soul had undergone its third growth, and this growth was remarkably astounding!
"In this situation, I believe it would be better for you to reveal it."
"Because this challenge involves more than just you. You should know what I mean!"
Ying Yanyang's tone carried a hint of seriousness. The arrival of the seven Titled Elders was, in essence, to assess Wang Zhong's qualifications to become the Pope's disciple!
His gaze shifted slightly, and Wang Zhong swept his eyes across the figures on the high platform to his left. He understood.
For a moment, he had been so focused on hiding his special Tree martial soul that he had forgotten the current circumstances were somewhat different.
"Teacher Ying, you are right."
"At other times, it needs to be hidden, but at this moment, it must manifest its existence to the world!"
"Very well, I shall introduce myself again..."
"Wang Zhong, twelve years old, level fifty-two Attack-type Battle Soul King."
"Martial Soul... Tree!"
Standing on the arena, Wang Zhong spread his arms to the sides. As his clear introduction fell, the entire plaza was met with a dramatic change.