"Big Brother Gong, long time no see. Have you been promoted?"
Regarding Gong Fenghua, who had rushed to Yu Village to awaken the Spirits of the village children, Yu Yan felt no desire to resist him, even though he understood Spirit Hall's purpose in bringing him along.
The clothes Gong Fenghua wore and the badge pinned to his chest all indicated that he had indeed been promoted.
Deacons of Spirit Hall are divided into White, Yellow, Purple, Black, and Red, corresponding to the colors of spirit rings.
When he last saw Gong Fenghua, the man was still a White-Clad Deacon, the lowest Rank.
Now, based on his attire, it was clear he had become a Yellow-Clad Deacon of Spirit Hall.
"Speaking of which, it actually has something to do with you. Awakening a Genius like you, combined with my achievements over the years, meant that Balak City's promotion quota for this year fell on me."
Speaking of this, Gong Fenghua's tone carried a sense of personal pride. To be able to stand out among a group of Two-Ring Great Soul Masters and successfully gain a promotion and a raise was indeed something to be proud of.
"Big Brother Gong is impressive."
Yu Yan gave Gong Fenghua a thumbs up, praising him.
After chatting for two or three minutes on this topic, Gong Fenghua changed the subject and pointed to the Purple-Clad Deacon standing beside him.
"This is Tian Yu, the Vice-Hall Master of our Balak City Main Spirit Hall. He came to find you because he has something to say."
Having finished the introduction, Gong Fenghua tactfully stepped behind Tian Yu, looking as if he would not participate in the ensuing conversation.
"Hello, Yu Yan."
Tian Yu, dressed in the purple uniform of a Spirit Hall Deacon, extended his hand toward Yu Yan.
"Hall Master Tian, it's a pleasure to meet you." Yu Yan shook hands with Tian Yu and then asked directly, "May I ask why you were looking for me?"
"On my way here to find you, I happened to run into the envoy sent by Crown Prince Xue Qinghe. I assume you've already met. Since you've already spoken, I won't beat around the bush."
"I've come to invite you to join Spirit Hall. Your Spirit is very special, and our Spirit Hall can help you grow better."
Tian Yu looked at Yu Yan with a sincere gaze, extending his palm to invite him to join.
Having already rejected two groups of people, Yu Yan skillfully went through his prepared explanation once again.
After the two sides sat and chatted for a while, Tian Yu left with Gong Fenghua.
Watching them walk away, Yu Yan leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples.
Two more groups to go. As long as he dealt with these two, he should be able to have some peace for a while, right?
"Yu Yan, what's wrong?"
Just as Yu Yan closed his eyes to rest, Xiao Wu's voice appeared by his ear.
He opened his eyes and saw Xiao Wu leaning close to him. "It's nothing. I'm just a bit mentally exhausted at the thought of having to reject two more groups."
In front of Xiao Wu, Yu Yan had no intention of pretending; he spoke bluntly about his current state of mind.
"If it's no good, let's go hide for a while again."
Xiao Wu's mind whirred, and she came up with an idea.
"That won't work. Having just returned, leaving suddenly would easily offend people. The two of us are weak; we should try to cause as little trouble as possible to avoid problems."
Yu Yan reached out and tapped Xiao Wu's head, rejecting her unreliable suggestion.
"Then I..."
"Don't think about it. After a morning of mental gymnastics, I'm a bit hungry. Come on, let's go eat."
Without waiting for Xiao Wu to continue with her ideas, Yu Yan pulled her toward the cafeteria.
Mental labor is still labor, and after working all morning, Yu Yan was hungry. Now he just wanted to fill his stomach... On the way to the cafeteria, Yu Yan and Xiao Wu were intercepted at a corner.
The ones who stopped them were a group of about ten children. Leading them were two muscular boys with dark skin, mature faces, and arrogant expressions.
"You are Yu Yan?"
The sturdier of the two boys sized Yu Yan up, his voice filled with strong dissatisfaction.
"Yes, I am Yu Yan. Is there something you need?"
Since coming to Balak Junior Soul Master Academy, Yu Yan had almost no contact with anyone. He didn't recognize the muscular boy in front of him.
"Hmph! Remember this, my name is Luo Fuji, and my Innate spirit power is over Rank 8."
The boy raised his thumb to point at himself, announcing his name in an arrogant tone.
Then, Luo Fuji pointed his finger at Yu Yan:
"Lately, everyone has been saying you're the number one Genius of the younger generation in Balak City. I, Luo Fuji, don't accept that! I want to challenge you, you coward who's been hiding for two months!!!"
When mentioning the two months of hiding, Luo Fuji's tone was laced with quite a bit of resentment.
Knowing that his title as the number one Genius of Balak City's younger generation had been snatched away, Luo Fuji had been so angry he ate two fewer bowls of rice.
And while Yu Yan had taken a long leave to hide, Luo Fuji had waited for two months, listening to others praise Yu Yan the whole time. He wanted to defeat Yu Yan immediately and reclaim his title as the number one of the younger generation in Balak City.
"And me! My name is Auerbai, Innate spirit power Rank 8. I also want to challenge you. I want to prove to everyone that Luo Fuji and I are the strongest of the younger generation."
The other muscular boy standing beside Luo Fuji also pointed at himself with his thumb, announcing his name in the same tone. He also wanted to challenge Yu Yan.
Luo Fuji and Auerbai were, in the original story, the captain and vice-captain of the Balak Academy team.
Both of their Spirits were Sunflowers. In the original story, the former was a Rank 42 control system Battle Spirit Ancestor, and the latter was a Rank 41 control system Battle Spirit Ancestor.
It was worth mentioning that the Balak Academy team was the one Xiao Wu had defeated single-handedly in the original story. Whether the current Xiao Wu would still crush the Balak Academy team remained to be seen.
Of course, right now, they were just two little kids fighting over prestige.
Hearing that these two boys had come for such a reason, Yu Yan, who had imagined many possibilities, couldn't help but chuckle. He had overthought things, judging others by his own cynical standards.
"What are you laughing at!!"
Yu Yan's light laugh caused Luo Fuji and Auerbai to question him in angry unison.
"Nothing, I just suddenly thought of something funny."
Yu Yan's explanation only made Luo Fuji and Auerbai even angrier.
"Luo Fuji, Spirit: Sunflower, Rank 14, One-Ring control system Battle Spirit Master."
Luo Fuji took a step forward, summoning his Sunflower Spirit and a yellow hundred-year spirit ring as he introduced himself.
Understanding that Luo Fuji wouldn't let it go without a fight, Yu Yan also took a step forward, summoning his Ice and Fire Twin Fish Martial Soul and spirit ring.
The children who had come with Luo Fuji retreated several steps, leaving enough combat space for their boss.
Xiao Wu, who was very confident in Yu Yan, stood her ground. She believed Yu Yan could finish this guy in a second; he didn't need much space at all, so she naturally saw no need to back away.