20: Chapter 20 Meng Hongchen's Fifth Soul Ring

Mu Qingci performed a simple apprenticeship ceremony and officially became a registered disciple of Kong Deming.

In fact, the reason Kong Deming proposed the harsh requirement of advancing to a Level 4 Soul Engineer within a year was not to deliberately make things difficult for Mu Qingci.

Kong Deming was once a genius of his generation. He had witnessed the fall and corruption of countless geniuses and knew deeply that possessing heaven-defying talent alone was not enough; one must undergo tempering to become a true powerhouse.

As for the harsh requirement he proposed, even if Mu Qingci could not achieve it within a year, as long as he could successfully become a Level 3 Soul Engineer, he would still take him as a personal disciple and teach him with care.

"As your teacher, even if you are not my personal disciple yet, I should still give you a welcoming gift."

A flash of silver light passed through Kong Deming's hand, and a necklace appeared in his palm. The necklace was shaped like a curved silver crescent moon.

"This is a work from my younger days, a Level 8 triggered defense spirit tool, Silver Moon Guardian."

Kong Deming handed the necklace to Mu Qingci, who immediately received it with both hands, treasuring it.

"This was the first piece I made when I broke through to become a Level 8 Soul Engineer, so I have kept it all this time. Now that I have taken you as a disciple, I am giving it to you. This Silver Moon Guardian only has three uses; it can block the eighth Spirit Ability of an ordinary Spirit Douluo three times, and it can even withstand the attacks of some Titled Douluo."

The preciousness of a Level 8 spirit tool went without saying, let alone one capable of defending against the attacks of a Titled Douluo. This was truly a life-saving divine artifact!

Mu Qingci hurriedly put the necklace around his neck, treasuring it immensely.

"By the way, take this token."

Kong Deming casually tossed a token, which Mu Qingci caught steadily.

He looked at the token. It was made of a very hard alloy, and a character for "Kong" was inlaid on it with diamonds.

"This is my identity token. When you are out and about, as a disciple of Kong Deming, you naturally cannot be bullied by others. Right now, holding this token has no use other than invoking my identity. When you truly become a personal disciple, you can use this token to ask almost any Level 9 Soul Engineer in the Sun Moon Empire for help, without any cost."

Although the token itself was not very valuable, with Kong Deming's identity symbol on it, its value could not be measured by its material alone.

Especially what the other party said—that after becoming a personal disciple, he could rely on this token to seek help from any Level 9 Soul Engineer of the Sun Moon Empire. This was an incredible asset.

Didn't this mean that Mu Qingci suddenly had at least a dozen Titled Douluo as his backers?

"Thank you, Teacher!"

Mu Qingci took the token and placed it into his storage spirit tool.

"Hmm, nothing else. You and the Jing boy go back first. In the future, if you encounter anything you don't understand, feel free to come to the Enshrinement Hall to find me."

How could Jing Hongchen not understand at this moment? This famous Master Kong had already made up his mind to take Mu Qingci as his disciple.

As for the previous harsh requirements, Jing Hongchen could naturally understand that it was Kong Deming tempering Mu Qingci.

Just after returning to the academy, from a distance, Mu Qingci saw the skipping figure of Meng Hongchen.

"Qingci, where did you go? I wanted to find you to play just now!"

Today was a rest day for the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, and the two had originally agreed to go out and play together.

"Hall Master Jing was looking for me for something earlier, so I went out with him."

Facing Mu Qingci's explanation, Meng Hongchen pursed her lips and began to act spoiled.

"I don't care, you promised to accompany me out to play, you can't go back on your word!"

Halfway through, Meng Hongchen seemed to remember something and revealed a mischievous smile: "This young lady can give you a chance to make up for your mistake."

Under Mu Qingci's puzzled gaze, Meng Hongchen turned her sweet smile toward Jing Hongchen at the side: "Grandpa, I've broken through to Level 50!"

"So fast? My Mengmeng is amazing. It just so happens that Grandpa is free today, so I will take you to obtain your fifth spirit ring. We will go to the Far North; we must get the best and most suitable spirit ring for my Mengmeng."

"Yay, Grandpa is the best!"

Subsequently, Meng Hongchen turned her unkind gaze toward Mu Qingci.

"Qingci, to compensate me, you must accompany me too!"

Before Mu Qingci could react, Meng Hongchen grabbed his arm and began to sway it.

"I don't care, you must accompany me!"

Mu Qingci couldn't stand her fussing and had to agree.

Seeing that Mu Qingci and Meng Hongchen were on such good terms, Jing Hongchen actually felt quite happy inside.

This was not him being hypocritical, but rather that Mu Qingci's status was indeed different now.

If he truly became Kong Deming's personal disciple in the future, that status would be incomparable, even to a Crown Prince.

Only now could it be said that Mu Qingci was truly a match for Meng Hongchen in every sense—a talented man and a beautiful woman.

After the itinerary was set, the three of them went to prepare some essential supplies for the trip and then embarked on the journey to the Far North.

In fact, their goal for this trip only needed to be limited to the Frost Forest on the outskirts of the Far North. After all, a Spirit like the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad was not solely an Ice attribute; it also had components of a Fire attribute. However, Spirit Beasts that possessed both attributes were truly too rare. Therefore, even if looking for an Ice-attribute Spirit Beast, it was best not to find one with an overly strong Ice attribute.

If they could not pursue the ultimate attribute, then they would pursue quality.

After seven days of traveling, the three of them finally arrived at the Spirit Hunting Town on the outermost edge of the Far North.

After buying a map, the distribution of the Frost Forest was clearly presented before their eyes.

"Mengmeng, have you thought about what Spirit Beast you need? As long as it is what Mengmeng wants, Grandpa will get it for you!"

Meng Hongchen, however, shook her head: "Grandpa, I haven't thought it through yet. Let's just take it one step at a time."

Mu Qingci, however, offered his own opinion at this moment: "If possible, I think Sister Meng's Spirit, the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad, itself is a good choice."

Absorbing a Spirit Beast of the same species as one's Spirit was a common practice for many Spirit Masters who possessed top-tier Spirits. After all, belonging to the same species, absorbing its spirit ring would provide a very significant boost to that Spirit Master.

"This proposal is good; I think it is feasible." Jing Hongchen had no objections to this view and cast an inquiring gaze toward Meng Hongchen.

Meng Hongchen nodded her head like a chick pecking at rice: "I'm fine with anything; whatever Qingci says goes."

Looking at his granddaughter's appearance, Jing Hongchen shook his head helplessly, though a smile always hung at the corners of his mouth.

After all, times were different now. His future grandson-in-law could almost be considered the predetermined successor to Kong Deming, and that status was far more noble than that of an ordinary Level 9 Soul Engineer.