Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

To be honest, after dealing with so many eccentrics among the nobles, Qin Ming almost suffered a stroke out of sheer excitement when he saw the soul rings on Chen Ming.

He initially assumed Chen Ming was just another arrogant fool making exaggerated claims. Who would have thought he was the real deal?!

Was he enduring all these bizarre characters solely because of the orders from the three Soul Douluo-level board members? While that was part of the reason, the main motivation was his desire to find and nurture truly gifted children!

"Truly remarkable! A thousand soul ring as the second ring, an eleven-year-old at rank 23 Grand Soul Master—this is genius, a prodigy among prodigies!"

"Chen Ming, being able to enroll in the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy is the right choice. With your talent, you are among the rare few on the entire continent, and only our academy has the resources to nurture you properly."

"May I ask something, though it might seem a bit forward? Could you briefly describe your two spirit abilities? You don't have to go into too much detail if it's inconvenient, and we can skip this question if necessary."

"My spirit abilities aren't exactly a secret…" Chen Ming found Qin Ming's sudden enthusiasm a bit perplexing but decided to play along and go through the process calmly.

Spirit abilities were considered a soul master's secret, but apart from a few rare cases, most abilities were easily recognizable. Even if one didn't know their specific names or the soul beasts they came from, their general type was often apparent.

Chen Ming's two spirit abilities were of the straightforward kind that anyone could recognize at a glance. Their activation method and effects were too obvious to hide. Since he was about to spend years training at the academy, he figured hiding them would be futile. So, he decided to share the details, albeit with slight modifications to conceal their full capabilities.

"My first spirit ability is called Poison Cloud, which creates a poisonous mist. The second is called Poison Explosion, which detonates anything contaminated by my poison. It can also trigger an explosion in my first ability's poisonous mist. However, there's a short casting delay, and I can only use it five times a day."

"A poison-attribute soul master, with a wide-area first ability for control and damage, and a second ability that synergizes perfectly with the first…" Qin Ming's eyes lit up as he spoke. To him, this combination was nothing short of exceptional.

Although Chen Ming's enrollment documents hadn't been fully processed yet, Qin Ming had already decided to recommend this prodigy to the three board members and have him join one of the two elite teams at the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy for further training.

"Chen Ming, are you only eleven years old this year?" Qin Ming suddenly asked.

"I am. Didn't I already submit my birth record and the martial soul awakening certificate issued by Spirit Hall?"

"Ah, yes… yes…" Qin Ming responded, but internally, he felt a bit embarrassed.

Normally, students with innate soul power above rank 7 would have special annotations in their enrollment files. But for some reason, Qin Ming had flipped through Chen Ming's records multiple times without finding such a note. He didn't even know Chen Ming's exact level of innate soul power.

"By the way, Chen Ming, are you married or perhaps engaged?" Qin Ming asked, realizing the question might be a bit abrupt but knowing that on the Douluo Continent, such matters weren't uncommon.

On the Douluo Continent, productivity was low, so early marriages were common. Among commoners, boys and girls getting married at 12 or 13 was nothing unusual, and some even married earlier. While it was less common for nobles to marry at such a young age, engagements at that age were quite frequent.

Thus, Qin Ming's question was unexpected but not unreasonable.

"I'm neither married nor engaged. My goal is to become the strongest soul master in the world. Women are a distraction," Chen Ming replied with a serious face.

"Of course, rich women are an exception," he silently added in his heart.

"…" Qin Ming looked at Chen Ming's earnest expression and wanted to tell him he was being a bit extreme. But then he thought about the countless academy students who caused all sorts of trouble because of romantic entanglements. Suddenly, Chen Ming's stance seemed rather admirable.

Why had Qin Ming achieved the level of success he had today? Was it just because of his talent or his mutated martial soul?

That was only part of it. The real reason was that, in a world filled with romantics, Qin Ming had remained single since birth. While he wasn't entirely focused on cultivation, he dedicated the majority of his time to it, avoiding the drama of love or crushes. This discipline was the true reason for his strength.

"Alright…"

"Chen Ming—can I call you Xiao Ming? You can just call me Teacher Qin or simply Teacher. Your talent is extraordinary, but I don't think I'm capable of deciding your training path at the academy. We need to visit the board members, and they will decide together."

"If you demonstrate your true strength, I believe you'll join one of the academy's elite teams within a few years and eventually compete in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, considered the pinnacle of youth soul master competitions."

At this point, Qin Ming grew visibly excited. He had come from Shrek Academy—a place that didn't even qualify as a basic soul master academy back then. Forget competing in the All-Continent tournament; he couldn't even get a ticket to sit in the audience when it was held.

Although Qin Ming rarely mentioned it, this was a sore spot for him. He believed that his talent and strength were on par with the geniuses who made it to the stage, but various circumstances had kept him from the spotlight.

After joining the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy as a faculty member, Qin Ming paid extra attention to the academy's two elite teams. Recently, he had even applied to become the coach of one of the teams, hoping to compensate for the regret that had lingered in his heart for years.

Chen Ming had no idea what Qin Ming was thinking. He simply found the teacher's excited expression puzzling. However, after a moment's thought, he concluded that Qin Ming wasn't likely to harm him and agreed to visit the board members.

After leaving the room, Qin Ming didn't rush to take Chen Ming to the board members. Instead, he went to a nearby room to find his deputy, explained the situation, and delegated his tasks. Only then did he escort Chen Ming toward the deepest part of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, where the three board members were currently working.