Tang San said: "There are primary and intermediate levels, so there must be advanced levels too?"

  Old Jack nodded, and a hint of envy flashed in his eyes. "As for the Advanced Soul Master Academy, you can forget about it. It's not just anyone who can get in. In our Tian Dou Empire, there are only two Advanced Soul Master Academies, and the total number of students they recruit each year is less than one hundred. That's a cradle for future prospects. Any student who graduates from an Advanced Soul Master Academy will be sought after by both the state and the Wu Soul Hall, and will directly be granted a noble title."

  "Nobility? With such good conditions." Tang San said in surprise.

  Old Jack said, "That's natural. Soul Masters are the most noble profession, and high-level Soul Masters even more so. Those are all talented people, so for us commoners to take a shortcut to become high-level Soul Masters is clearly the best way. However, how many ordinary people can have such good martial souls? Even if they do, without the support of a large family, it's hard to graduate from a high-level Soul Master Academy."

  "The graduation exam is one's own business, why does it need others' assistance?" Tang San was somewhat perplexed.

  Old Jack sighed and said, "This is the gap. The gap between the poor and the rich, the common people and the nobles. The requirements for graduating from a primary Soul Master Academy are simple. As long as your martial soul can reach level 10, you can obtain a soul ring under the guidance of the academy's teachers and successfully advance to the title of Soul Master. This is not difficult, any child who possesses martial soul power at birth can do it. It is said that the ten levels of soul power from Soul Scholar to Soul Master are the easiest to upgrade."

  "But it's different when you get to the intermediate soul master academy. To graduate from here, your martial soul must reach level 20 and obtain a second soul ring to earn the title of great soul master. Level 10 to 20 is something that many soul masters can't achieve in their lifetime. And after reaching level 20, if you want to get another soul ring, you have to rely on your own strength to hunt and kill soul beasts to get it. That's extremely dangerous. If you're from a noble family with family warriors accompanying you, the danger is naturally much smaller. But for us commoner soul masters, we can only rely on ourselves."

  "The graduation requirements of the Advanced Soul Master Academy are even more stringent, requiring one to pass the 30th level bottleneck and obtain a third soul ring in order to advance from the title of Great Soul Master to that of Soul Emperor. It's said that the 30th level is a threshold; crossing it means being considered a powerful Soul Master and a true noble, but failing to cross it makes things difficult. Moreover, obtaining a soul ring at the 30th level seems to have some restrictions, which you should learn about in the academy. Anyway, among those high-level Soul Master Academy students, less than one-third of them can truly graduate."

  Having heard Old Jack's words, Tang San had a basic impression of how the Douluo Continent taught Soul Masters.

  "Grandpa Jack, didn't you say that the title of Soul Master has ten levels? Only graduates from the Advanced Soul Academy can become Soul Lords. How do we obtain those titles after that?"

  Old Jack sighed: "How do I know. Beyond the title of Soul Master, those are all big shots, like the one who came out of our village, the Soul Saint, was directly supported by the country at that time. I've heard people say that the cultivation of a Soul Master gets harder and more dangerous as it goes on, and how many can really reach the top level of a Title Douluo? Even now, I'm not sure if there are such existences in our Tian Dou Empire or Xing Luo Empire."

  Old Jack only had some simple understanding of Soul Masters, and what he said was not detailed. Tang San understood that this knowledge could only be slowly explored in the academy, especially about soul beasts and soul rings.

  It's not far from Shenghun Village to Noding City, and the two of them walked for half a day. Along the way, they simply ate some dry rations, and by afternoon, they could already see the city walls in the distance.

  Although Nodding City wasn't a big city, because it was close to the border of the Heaven Dou Empire, its city walls were built thick and sturdy. Tang San and Old Jack passed through the inspection just like other pedestrians and entered Nodding City.

  "Xiao San, later Grandfather will send you to the college and then come back. You must listen to the teacher's words when you are alone in the college, and must not leave the college without permission. When the semester ends, Jack Grandfather will come to pick you up again. By that time, it will be almost New Year's."

  Tang San was leaving home for the first time after all, and his heart was somewhat flustered. Subconsciously, he said: "Grandfather Jack, are you leaving so soon?"

  Old Jack sighed and said, "Inns aren't the kind of place we poor people can afford to stay in. You must make an effort, next time Grandpa sees you, I hope you've become a Soul Master, then our Holy Spirit Village will be proud of you."

  Nodding Primary Soul Master Academy was located in the west of Nodding City, Old Jack asked several passersby and finally brought Tang San here.

  Far, far away, they had already seen a tall archway, the archway was twenty meters wide and over ten meters high, all made of hard rock, with two iron gates below, black and shiny, Tang San could see at a glance that it was forged from top-quality steel.

  Through the iron railing, you can see that inside there are winding paths and secluded spots, a main road leads directly to the interior, with tall trees on both sides.

  NORTON COLLEGE

  You can tell just from the gate of the academy how important the Soul Master profession is on the Douluo Continent, and this is only a primary Soul Master Academy.

  Old Jack and Tang San had just walked to the front gate when they were immediately stopped by the young doorman, "What are you doing here? Is this a place where you country folks can come?"

  Old Jack's attire was quite impressive in Holy Soul Village, but when he arrived at Nording City, it completely looked like that of a country bumpkin. The doorman's gaze held a hint of disdain.