Ji Ji Ba seemed very unhappy and ferociously bit at Gu You.
"Huh? You've already fused as my soul spirit, yet you can still bite me?" Gu You felt pain as his little finger on his right hand was bitten off. Although it was a soul-body injury that would recover quickly, it still consumed his spiritual power.
A single white soul ring appeared around Gu You, and his Purple-Gold Dragon Emperor martial soul was released. Its powerful annihilation and destruction energy constantly eroded everything in the surrounding air.
Leng Yaozhu was somewhat incredulous. "This aura… How could it be? The Purple Radiance Extinguishing Dragon, a martial soul once inherited by the imperial line of the former Sun-Moon Empire, appearing in an orphan?"
Long Yali remained silent. Having followed Leng Yaozhu for years, she knew to always adapt to the situation.
"No… this isn't quite right. He has extreme destruction attributes, but there are also two other unidentified auras. Could it be a variant? His martial soul's form is also different." Leng Yaozhu discreetly used her soul tool communicator to search the internet for a model of the Purple Radiance Extinguishing Dragon. Comparing them, there were still clear differences. Gu You's Purple-Gold Dragon Emperor had blood-colored pupils filled with endless annihilation and destruction, whereas the Purple Radiance Extinguishing Dragon only carried a destructive aura, appearing fierce but not overwhelmingly so.
"No matter what, he is my disciple now. Yali… do not spread this information. Even if it's not the Purple Radiance Extinguishing Dragon, the aura is too similar. Now I understand why the Sun-Moon Federation was willing to pay such a great price." Leng Yaozhu's expression turned serious. Only a few people knew of this, but if this concerned the former Sun-Moon Imperial lineage, no one could be certain whether some hidden imperial loyalists would try to revive the empire with Gu You as its ruler. That kind of shocking revelation would be catastrophic.
Long Yali nodded firmly.
"You handled things well this time. Dismissed for now. When we return, I will speak to a certain someone and have them upgrade your three-word battle armor's left and right arm pieces."
"Thank you, Vice-Tower Master!" Long Yali left, but her voice carried an undeniable excitement. After all, even a single piece of three-word battle armor couldn't be measured in mere money. The Spirit Pagoda only had one eighth-rank Saint Blacksmith, and it was nearly impossible to get him to forge something. She had been stuck at the two-word battle armor level for nearly five years, and she never expected to have a chance to complete a full set of three-word battle armor in her lifetime.
Gu You let out a long breath. Feeling the powerful soul power within him, he was secretly overjoyed. He had reached Rank 13.
"Now that you've finished absorbing it, use your first soul skill so I can see." Leng Yaozhu suddenly spoke.
"Here?" Gu You hesitated.
"You little brat, do you think your master can't handle a mere ten-year soul skill?" Leng Yaozhu frowned.
"No, no! I'll do it now." Sensing that something was off, Gu You immediately complied. His first soul ring lit up instantly, and countless resentful spirits gathered around him.
Purple-Gold Annihilation Slash!
Gu You's right hand became covered in purple scales, and with a single swipe, his dragon claw slashed toward Leng Yaozhu.
That's it? Leng Yaozhu lightly flicked her finger and easily blocked the dragon claw. But in that split second, Gu You smirked. A dragon-shaped phantom carrying endless destruction and annihilation energy suddenly shot out from his claw, lunging straight at Leng Yaozhu's neck. If one was sensitive to auras, they would also notice the dragon head carried immense resentment, while its annihilation attribute was suppressing its destructive energy.
Interesting… Leng Yaozhu's body ignited with a faint layer of fire. Though it appeared weak, her control over soul power was at its peak. In an instant, the dragon phantom was swallowed by the flames and vanished.
"Its power rivals that of a seven- or eight-hundred-year soul skill. Not bad." Leng Yaozhu praised.
Gu You's face was slightly pale. The soul power consumption was too great. If it were a hundred-year soul skill, he might have been able to use it multiple times.
"Master, since I've already become your disciple, making two small requests shouldn't be too much, right?" Gu You cautiously asked.
"Oh? Let's hear them first." Leng Yaozhu's smile stiffened slightly.
"It's nothing major… I just hope you won't continue experimenting on the remaining Bawanglong soul spirits. Also… I'd like to visit the Ascension Platform to increase my soul spirit's age." Gu You pleaded.
"Oh? You even know about the Ascension Platform? The second request is easy. But the first one… Do you really pity soul beasts that much?" Leng Yaozhu asked curiously.
Gu You fell silent and described the visions he saw in his spiritual sea. He had personally experienced the pain of those experiments.
Leng Yaozhu didn't say anything, but she was internally shocked. A ten-year soul spirit shouldn't have such intense resentment. Normally, soul beasts only gained the intelligence of a human child around the thousand-year level. This was why soul masters who absorbed thousand-year soul spirits were sometimes overwhelmed by resentment, leading to soul absorption failures. If things went badly, their martial soul could even shatter.
Later, the Spirit Pagoda developed a method that allowed soul masters to experience a soul beast's past through a special device, helping them develop empathy and making absorption easier. However, Gu You's first soul ring had already shown a self-generated empathy phenomenon.
"Understood. You're an interesting child. I'm starting to doubt whether you're really from an orphanage." Leng Yaozhu scrutinized Gu You.
"Ahem! Master, this white soul ring looks ugly. Let's change its color." Gu You was about to take the elevator down when Leng Yaozhu grabbed his arm and teleported away.
—
"Vice-Tower Master, you… why have you come?" Inside the Ascension Platform facility, a staff member was startled.
"I'm here to accompany my disciple. Change his soul ring's color." Leng Yaozhu shot a glance at Gu You.
"Huh? I'll prepare it immediately." The staff member broke out in a cold sweat. Why did the Vice-Tower Master like taking in disciples so much? Just last month, he remembered she had accepted someone named Gu Yue. Now, just a month later, she had taken another one. He sighed inwardly. If only I could be the disciple of the Heavenly Phoenix Crown.
"Standard or riot mode?" Leng Yaozhu asked Gu You.
"Standard will do." Gu You felt that it didn't make much difference. Riot mode just made the soul beasts more aggressive. He only needed his soul ring to grow to the limit his body could handle.
After everything was set up, the staff member bowed respectfully to Leng Yaozhu.
"Vice-Tower Master, you are…?"
"I'm going in with him."
…What?!
"But the rules—" The staff member glanced at Gu You with envy.
"Aren't my rules also rules?" Leng Yaozhu flicked her fingers.
"Yes, yes!" The staff member hurriedly agreed.
Following her into a chamber, two high-end soul devices came into view.
"This is a specially-made Ascension Platform device that reduces pain experienced inside by thirty percent," the staff member explained with a gesture.
Lying inside the device, Gu You felt like he was in a cryogenic chamber. As an odd sensation took over him, he fell into a deep sleep.
—
Towering trees stood densely packed, blocking even the sunlight, plunging the forest into darkness. This was the Star Dou Forest of ten thousand years ago—the sacred land of soul beasts.
"Stop dawdling. Let's finish this quickly." Leng Yaozhu smacked Gu You on the head.