Douluo Continent: Long Live the Spirit Hall

Yan glanced at Tuoba Hong and said calmly. The latter opened his mouth but then fell silent, seemingly embarrassed by being exposed. In fact, these martial soul pendants with dragon bloodlines all have basically the same choice: the ultimate goal is to evolve into a true dragon.

Yan opened the book and pointed to a picture. "I personally recommend you choose the Earth Dragon Lizard. This kind of soul beast is a subspecies of earth dragon, and its dragon blood is quite rich. You might be able to obtain a soul bone. In addition, it can also enhance your ability to control earth elements."

"Your physique is good; you can withstand spirit rings up to 430 years old. The Earth Dragon Lizard, which is between 400 and 500 years old, has some obvious characteristics..."

"You've remembered all of this, right? When you get home, you can discuss it with your elders and find out some information. A few months is plenty of time for you to prepare."

Yan rambled on and on, while Tuoba Hong listened blankly until he finished speaking, at which point the chubby boy snapped out of his daze.

"Yes, I understand, boss."

Tuoba Hong responded blankly. At this moment, he admired Yan immensely. He felt that it was worth it to acknowledge Yan as his boss, as Yan was so considerate of his younger brother.

"You know that's good. Come to my house after school later. I need to talk to you about something. Also, didn't you want to eat something? I'll treat you to something nice today."

Yan patted Tuoba Hong on the shoulder again, thinking to himself that this was still just a child. Of course, he had his own reasons for planning Tuoba Hong's path. His innate level six soul power was not low. What a good tank. It would be a pity not to take him as a subordinate.

Yan chatted with Tuoba Hong for a while longer. While they were talking, the practical test continued, but three groups in a row suffered a crushing defeat. Not to mention that no one could force Lü Song to save himself like Yan did, not a single one of the three groups could last more than five minutes.

Lu Song was probably frustrated by the loss he suffered at Yan's hands, so he went all out in the subsequent practical test. A serious Soul Master against a group of Soul Warriors of levels four to nine was not even a battle of equals.

"gather."

After the last temporary group failed the assessment test, Lü Song called everyone to gather on the playground, and Yan and Tuoba Hong naturally followed.

Lu Song calmly surveyed the crowd standing before him and said indifferently, "The practical test this afternoon is over. I don't know what you all think, but I'm not satisfied with the results of most of you. Out of seven teams, only one passed the test. Are you satisfied with this result?"

"From today onwards, there will be physical training sessions during the afternoon practical classes. Of course, you don't have to participate; you just need to be able to form a team and pass my test."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but glance at Yan. Seeing that the latter had no reaction, he continued, "If no one has any objections, then let's call it a day."

Chapter 28 Going Home

To the south of Wuhun City lies a cluster of courtyards and houses. Property prices in Wuhun City are not too high, making it a popular home for many Soul Masters.

The area surrounding Wuhun City belongs to the Wuhun Hall. Some of the lower-ranking members live in the city, while the real high-ranking members either live in the valley where the Papal Palace is located or have large areas of land in the suburbs outside the city that have been converted into manors for their families to live in.

The White-Armored Earth Dragon Clan is like this. Their clan's residence is in a valley south of the city. The chubby boy takes a horse-drawn carriage to and from school every day. He has to get up very early to ride into the city with his clan's peers in the carriage.

Most Soul Masters living in Wuhun City simply settle in noisy areas where housing is cheap. These quiet, detached courtyard houses are quite valuable, and ordinary Soul Masters simply cannot afford them. Yan only managed to avoid living in the academy dormitory because of Feng Lin's influence.

The academy in Wuhun City recruits students from all over the continent. Apart from a few children who have settled in Wuhun City, most of the students live in the academy dormitories.

Dormitories are places where things get chaotic when there are many people. Things like Tang San fighting for leadership in the work-study dormitory in Notting City are just small fry. There are countless instances of people secretly fighting and brawling. In that kind of environment, forget about cultivating peacefully after class; you have to find a chance to read a book quietly.

"Boss, is this your home? Aren't you an orphan?"

Yan led Tuoba Hong to a courtyard and stopped. Looking at the sizable courtyard in front of him, Tuoba Hong was a little confused, but Yan did not wait for him and continued forward, so he quickly followed.

"Just like you acknowledge me as your boss, there are naturally people within the Spirit Hall who have noticed my extraordinary potential and have come to invest in me in advance."

Yan pushed open the courtyard gate and entered. Looking out from the gate at the small building, he could see through the crack in the window that a young girl of just the right age was instructing a group of children in meditation and practice.

Yan led Tuoba Hong into the small building. The girl turned around and saw him. A smile immediately appeared on her face. She walked over and took the schoolbag from Yan's back, saying softly, "Little Yan is back."

"Yes, thank you, Sister Liya."

Yan nodded and handed over the schoolbag, then glanced at the group of children sitting cross-legged in the hall cultivating, then looked upstairs and asked, "Has Uncle Lin not returned yet?"

"Not yet."

As Liya spoke casually, she noticed the chubby boy Tuoba Hong who had followed Yan in. She smiled gently at him and said, "Are you Yan's friend? This is the first time Yan has brought a friend home to play."

"Uh, this..."

The chubby boy seemed a little reserved and glanced at Yan uneasily.

"Sister Liya, this is my classmate Tuoba Hong. He'll be staying for dinner today. He has a big appetite, so please prepare some extra food."

Yan smiled and spoke to Liya, then led the little fat boy upstairs before he could react. The study upstairs was quite warm, with a roaring fireplace constantly providing heat.

"sit."

Yan casually pointed to a chair for Tuoba Hong to sit on, then picked up a book from the bookshelf and sat down to read it.

Tuoba Hong peeked around cautiously, hesitated for a moment, and then tentatively asked, "Boss, who was that lady just now?"

"Sister Liya used to be a deacon of the Spirit Hall in Nar City, but now she plans to stay in Spirit City to take care of me and, incidentally, those little guys below her."

Yan casually replied that Liya, Wright, and Kent were deacons of the Spirit Hall branch in Nar City, and that bringing this group of children to Spirit City for enrollment was a special mission.

Originally, the mission would have ended after successfully sending them to school, but Feng Lin considered that Yan needed someone to take care of him, so he discussed having Liya stay behind.

Liya was naturally willing to stay and take care of her little brother Yan, but she had also grown fond of some of the other children in the group and wanted to find some playmates for Yan to have a more wonderful childhood.

After a moment's consideration, Yan went along with her wishes and let a group of children from Nar City move in as well. Anyway, the house was big enough that it wouldn't be crowded with a dozen or so children living together.

Of course, although they lived under the same roof, their statuses were different. Feng Lin was the owner of the house, Yan was the young master, and Liya was not a maid but a tutor. They all lived upstairs and had their own rooms.

The group of children downstairs lived in a large dormitory, with boys and girls separated. The conditions weren't great, but they were much better than the other children living in the college's work-study dormitories.

"Dong dong dong..."

Yan sat in his room, flipping through a book on the research theory of martial spirits, chatting with Tuoba Hong from time to time. About ten minutes later, there was a soft knock on the door, and then Sister Liya peeked in.

"Xiao Yan, everything is ready."

Liya smiled at the two of them and spoke. Upon hearing this, Yan put down his book and gestured for the somewhat bored chubby boy to come downstairs with him. The chubby boy and Yan left the room together and then went to the kitchen.

"Boss, wasn't dinner prepared by Sister Liya?"

Tuoba Hong followed Yan into the kitchen and saw various ingredients neatly arranged. Some vegetables and fruits had already been used to make salads, but the main ingredient, meat, was still raw and unprocessed.

"You can assist me from the side."

Yan casually gave the order, then rolled up his sleeves, flames instantly erupting from his palms. He picked up a metal cleaver, heated it slightly with the flames, and began to cut a piece of venison on the cutting board.

Many soul beasts died in the chaotic battle at the Hot Spring Mountains. In order not to waste anything, Yan asked Feng Lin to store some of the better quality ones into a soul tool, which they still haven't finished eating.

Yan casually twirled the knife, then stood beside the deliberately low cutting board, and swiftly swung the cleaver, shaving off bones one by one.

Watching this exceptionally beautiful scene, Tuoba Hong unconsciously swallowed, his mouth watering even though he hadn't eaten anything yet.

Yan casually made slits and picked out large bones one by one into an iron pot, while the processed venison lay limp and slumped on the cutting board.

Yan casually took out some bags from the kitchen cabinet, picked out some spices and fruits from each bag, and flames rose again from his palm. The spices were instantly dried and even released a faint fragrance. Yan stopped at this moment.

After Yan finished this, he called Tuoba Hong over, "Come here, use that to grind these things into powder, it has to be very, very fine..."

Tuoba Hong silently accepted the spices, and then, under Yan's guidance, he mixed the spices with salt and pepper and ground them into powder. Yan then went to the iron pot where the bones were placed, and a flame, controlled by his soul power, quickly heated the iron pot, and the kitchen gradually filled with fragrance.

Chapter 29 Arrangement

"Xiao Hu, Xiao Lan, Xiao Xiong... everyone come quickly, it's time for dinner."

Inside the lobby of the small building, when Liya announced the news, a group of children cheered and eagerly got up to go to the dining table. However, they had to wash their hands before sitting down, as Yan had set a rule.

"Brother Yan, your house is so lively!"

Tuoba Hong helped Yan arrange the numerous dishes on plates, his mouth practically watering.

"Uncle Lin, please keep an eye on this for now."

Yan ignored the glutton and instead spoke to Feng Lin, who had just returned, who nodded in understanding. Once Yan had placed a plate of grilled meat on the table, the group sat down to eat.

Everyone ate heartily that evening. Yan's cooking was indeed delicious; otherwise, it wouldn't have so easily tempted the little fat boy.

The secret lies in Yan's cultivation of fire control. He doesn't cook solely for eating, although he values ​​food quite a bit. More importantly, it's to hone his control over the fire element, which is part of his cultivation.

The purpose of this kind of training is to better control the heat and achieve a state of effortless mastery. Fire is an extremely violent energy attribute, and it's actually easy to pursue its destructive nature by simply condensing soul power to increase the temperature.

However, mastering the control of flames is quite difficult. Flames, with their astonishing destructive power, are extremely difficult to control, reaching temperatures of at least several hundred degrees Celsius. A misstep could easily injure oneself.

What Yan is doing now is actually a process of constantly trying to raise and lower the flame temperature, continuously reducing the minimum temperature of the flame and increasing the maximum temperature, thus expanding the threshold range of its own flame.

Some might argue that high temperatures are beneficial, as they affect the flame's power and allow it to eventually transform into the ultimate form of fire. But what's the point of low-temperature flames? Aren't flames less powerful the lower they are? Can they really go below zero?

Theoretically speaking, this is indeed possible. As long as the ignition point of a certain substance is below zero degrees under special conditions, it is possible to produce a zero-degree flame, which is one of the attempts that Yan has made.

However, he is still far from achieving that goal. As far as he knows from his previous life, in the new century, the lowest temperature of laboratory cold flames reached below 100 degrees Celsius, roughly close to 80 degrees.

Even now, no matter how hard he tries to control it, the flames remain above 300 degrees Celsius. Attempting to lower the temperature causes the flames to dissipate immediately.

His kitchen training these past few days has yielded some results. At the very least, compared to the beginning, he has increased his threshold temperature difference (the difference between the highest and lowest temperature of the flame he can control) by about 500 degrees, which is a very obvious improvement.

Yan remained silent while eating, and so did everyone else. This was a rule he had specifically requested; eating and sleeping without speaking was a good habit. Whether in his past life or this one, he disliked nothing more than people who chattered incessantly while others ate.

"Uncle Lin, could you see Fatty off for me? By the way, I think you could talk to your father about that matter."

Yan ate very slowly, savoring his own creation, occasionally frowning as if pondering the cooking time. By the time he finished, the others were almost done as well. After the chubby boy Tuoba Hong finished eating, Yan gave Feng Lin a look and then patted the chubby boy on the shoulder.

He believed that Feng Lin and the chubby boy's elders were both intelligent people and would have a good opportunity to communicate. Indeed, he had some ulterior motives regarding Tuoba Hong's change in attitude. On one hand, he wanted to make this younger brother submit to him and become loyal; on the other hand, he also considered getting in touch with the White Armored Dragon Clan.

After Feng Lin settled in Wuhun City with Yan, he certainly couldn't take on missions as freely as before. But what about the dozen or so mouths to feed? Should he live off Feng Lin's savings? Should Feng Lin support him indefinitely? Don't be ridiculous. Putting aside what Feng Lin would think, Yan himself couldn't accept that.

He was at least somewhat cheat-like; by using the Dawn of Intelligence to analyze the information gaps between the two worlds, he could always find ways to make money.

However, in the world of Douluo Continent, a little money is fine, but too much profit can easily attract wolves and tigers. Feng Lin is only a Soul King, and the number of people he can control is limited. Naturally, Yan is not thinking about getting rich overnight. The projects he is given are all businesses that a Soul King can control.

However, now that there seems to be an opportunity to leverage the chubby boy to connect with the White-Armored Earth Dragon Clan, it's possible to expand the business a bit. Yan will need to grow faster in the future, naturally requiring massive amounts of resources, and how to obtain these resources? Of course, by buying them with money.

Of course, there are many benefits to getting in touch with the White-Armored Earth Dragon Clan. This clan is skilled in earth-attribute soul power and also has the secondary attribute of earth. If you want to develop or even learn some secret techniques in the future, the White-Armored Earth Dragon Clan is a good choice.

"Goodbye, boss."

Little Fatty Tuoba Hong was naturally unaware of Yan's thoughts. After finishing his meal, he said goodbye to Yan and then left the small building with Feng Lin.

"You guys tidy up the house."

Yan watched Feng Lin and Tuoba Hong's departing figures, then shook his head and spoke again after a long while. The group of children who had been waiting for a long time immediately sprang into action.

Although Yan allowed Feng Lin to provide them with accommodation, he kept in mind the saying that kindness can turn into enmity. He did not support these kids unconditionally, but rather needed them to do things. The small building and the garden outside needed to be cleaned and maintained.

After giving his instructions, Yan did not sit down. Instead, he got up and took a few steps. However, instead of going upstairs to the study and bedroom, he went to the backyard of the house, a training ground of considerable size.

"Brother Yan has gone to cultivate again."

"He's really hardworking, no wonder he's so much better than us."

“It’s so dangerous for him every time he practices. I accidentally saw it last time. He was on fire. It was terrifying.”

As soon as Yan left, the group of children started whispering among themselves. Seeing this, Liya smiled wryly, told them to be obedient and clean up, and then got up and walked to the backyard.

In the sandy training ground in the backyard, Yan sat cross-legged and slowly took out a magical pearl that shimmered with a golden halo. He wanted to use this treasure left behind by the Flame Demon Lion to cultivate.