"Should we take on another mission now? The guard duty one isn't for another three days, right?" Tang San asked.
"Oh, right."
Only then did Xiao Wu react, and she finally tore off the mission sheet for being Xiao Chenyu's sparring partner. With a cheeky smile, she said, "My hands are itching—I might as well go beat Xiao Chenyu up. We get twenty gold soul coins for it too. Just make sure you two hold me back a little, or I might cripple him and end up having to pay for his medical fees."
Zhou Qing and Tang San exchanged looks, then reluctantly agreed to the mission.
After bidding farewell to Miss Alice, the trio—Zhou Qing, Tang San, and Xiao Wu—left the Notting Guild. After asking for directions from a passerby, they headed toward the City Lord's Mansion.
But on the way, they ran into Su Yuntao, who had deep, dark eye bags under his eyes.
"Tao-ge, how many days have you gone without sleep?" Zhou Qing almost didn't recognize him in his unkempt and disheveled state—if it weren't for his slightly above-average looks, he might've passed for a hobo.
What happened to him?
Did Sisi really end up choosing the City Lord, leaving Su Yuntao sleepless and heartbroken?
However—
The truth was even more absurd than Zhou Qing imagined.
That night, Su Yuntao had followed Zhou Qing's suggestion and decided to visit the City Lord to clear things up and let Sisi make her choice.
But the closer he got to the City Lord's Mansion, the more nervous he became. In the end, instead of knocking on the door with a proper excuse, he snuck in stealthily, found the City Lord's room, lifted a tile, and peeked down to witness the City Lord and Sisi's... "moment."
But what he saw was beyond what he could accept!
He had thought it was just the City Lord and Sisi.
Who would've guessed—inside that bedroom, aside from Sisi and Lord Xiao, there was also a burly, heavyset man: Darius.
The specifics of the "sandwich situation" were something Su Yuntao would never share with the younger Zhou Qing and his friends, but under their persistent gossiping, they still found out—Sisi wasn't just involved with Notting City's Lord... she also had something going on with the Lord of Falling Star City.
"Ugh~ Nobles are disgusting!" Xiao Wu said with a face full of disdain.
Zhou Qing, however, remained expressionless. After all, medieval Europe had even more chaotic situations, and this Douluo-era Heaven Dou Empire wasn't much different in terms of social dynamics.
In fact, Zhou Qing strongly suspected that the presence of spirit masters—especially female ones with extraordinary power—had helped elevate the status of women in this world, so they weren't merely dependent on men.
Still, because cultivating as a spirit master was extremely difficult, there were always some women who, seeing no hope of advancement, would choose to rely on their physical advantages and attach themselves to more powerful male spirit masters.
Sisi was a prime example—and one who was blatantly playing both sides.
Though this behavior was absolutely outrageous...
"Where are you all headed?" Su Yuntao sighed, but still politely asked Zhou Qing and the others.
"We took a mission from the guild. Heading to the City Lord's Mansion to be Xiao Chenyu's sparring partners."
Xiao Chenyu was the textbook definition of a spoiled rich kid.
He barely attended classes. Based on Zhou Qing's observations, the only reason he showed up at the academy was probably because his father forced him to.
Why?
Naturally, it was so he could build connections with talented civilian-born spirit masters.
Unfortunately, Xiao Chenyu didn't fully understand his father's intentions. He only knew not to offend kids who looked like they were from noble families. Most of the time, he still hung around with other Notting City noble brats, often picking on commoner students and working scholars. It was only recently, after losing to Wang Sheng and Xiao Wu, that he finally quieted down a bit.
"You're going to the City Lord's Mansion?"
Su Yuntao's tired eyes suddenly lit up. Grabbing Zhou Qing's shoulder, he said anxiously, "Can I come too? Please! I'll give you my entire month's salary!"
"It's not impossible, but—"
Zhou Qing couldn't say no to someone that desperate. "Tao-ge, you won't lose control, will you?"
"I won't! I swear I won't!" Su Yuntao clung to the idea like a drowning man grasping at a lifeline, nearly swearing an oath on the spot.
But Zhou Qing stopped him.
It was just a side matter anyway—there was no need for him to get so worked up.
Tang San then asked, "Master Su Yuntao, don't you have other duties to take care of? Also, Sisi didn't return to the Spirit Hall yesterday or the day before?"
"My main duty is to awaken martial spirits for children in the surrounding villages. Other than that, I mostly just go to the Spirit Hall to handle documents. Honestly, most spirit masters in Notting only go there to claim their stipends. I've also registered as an adventurer at the Notting Guild..."
Su Yuntao sighed while explaining his responsibilities. "With my rank as a Grand Spirit Master, I chose to help awaken martial spirits every year as a way to build up experience, hoping I can qualify to be the head of a Spirit Hall branch before I turn thirty."
In a small city like Notting, the Spirit Hall is considered a sub-branch. To become its head, one doesn't need approval from a higher-level branch—as long as one has reached Grand Spirit Master rank and accumulated enough merit, the position can be claimed.
Afterward, they simply report the new branch leader's identity.
After all, every town across the continent has a Spirit Hall presence. But real political power still lies with the nobles and officials of the Heaven Dou or Star Luo Empires. Considering the poor transportation in this era, requiring formal requests for every local Spirit Hall appointment would be inefficient—letters alone could take half a month or more.
That's why the Spirit Hall's eight ranks—Worship Hall, Pope Hall, Elder Hall, Sacred Hall, Main Hall, Sub-Hall, Branch Hall, and Offices—are structured so that only the top positions (Worship, Pope, and Elder) reside in Spirit City.
For others, like the Sacred Halls in the imperial capitals, the Main Halls in provincial capitals, and the Sub-Halls in major cities, applications for new leaders must be submitted for approval.
Because Sub-Halls are located in larger, more prosperous cities than Notting, their leadership selection is taken more seriously.
But for smaller towns like Notting—or village-level Spirit Hall offices like in Saint Spirit Village—the local administrators make the decisions, then report the names afterward.
Only if a problem arises would the higher-level Sub-Hall step in and reassign leadership.
The selection standard for a Branch Hall like Notting's is soul power above level 20 and some accumulated experience.
Traveling to remote villages to awaken spirits for eligible children is one of the quickest ways to build up the necessary merit.
According to Su Yuntao's estimate, another three years of work, and he could become a candidate to head Notting's Spirit Hall.
At that point, he'd be a respected figure in the city—able to marry Sisi with pride and dignity.
He had no grand ambitions and knew his spirit wasn't particularly gifted. He just wanted a peaceful life and a happy family...
But who could've known—
Just like Master Matthew Nuo said: Sisi's heart was simply too greedy!
And yet... he just couldn't let her go.