Awooo—
In just an instant, Gu You moved even faster than Gu Yue's spatial teleportation, appearing at the side of the Crystal Bear. While still midair, he began gathering power into his Purple Emperor Terror Claw. If one looked closely, the dragon scales on his right hand contracted outward before expanding inward again, radiating an aura of excitement mixed with a hint of conquest.
The Crystal Bear had no time to react. Gu You clenched his dragon claw into a fist and smashed it fiercely against the side of the bear's face.
At the last moment, he wasn't sure if he had misheard or if it was real, but he caught a faint howl—almost like a wolf's cry.
The Crystal Bear's body flipped backward, crashing hard into the ground, sending a cloud of dust into the air.
Gu You turned to Gu Yue and gave her a playful "mission accomplished" look.
Gu Yue's face flushed slightly. Not playing anymore. This Spirit Ascension Platform was no fun at all. She immediately disappeared from the scene.
Gu You shrugged helplessly. Is the Silver Dragon King's mental endurance really that weak? All she did was call me 'big brother'—and I was already being merciful. What, did she think I wanted her to call me 'dad' instead?
Outside the screen, Wu Zhangkong and Long Hengxu had their mouths wide open—big enough to swallow an apple.
"One punch?!"
A millennia-old Crystal Bear?! Just how strong was this kid?!
No one noticed Gu Yue had exited the platform until Fu Kao suddenly arrived.
"Another one came out?" Fu Kao was confused. I was only gone for six or seven minutes…
Long Hengxu, still in shock, immediately asked, "Did you find anything?!"
He had yet to see Gu You's full background information, and he wasn't sure if the data provided by the Eastsea Forging Association was complete. However, he was confident that the Spirit Pagoda's records were accurate. Just now, Fu Kao had gone to investigate, so he might as well ask him directly.
In general, there were two ways to check a soul master's background. The first was through government agencies, which required proof that the requester was a relative or teacher of the individual in question. The second—and much simpler—was through the Spirit Pagoda. Because the Spirit Pagoda had historically been responsible for recording soul master data, it had a high degree of credibility. Even after the Sun-Moon Federation government was established and gradually took over this responsibility, most soul masters still preferred to register with the Spirit Pagoda first.
Eventually, the government had no choice but to reach an agreement with the Spirit Pagoda to share data. The exact terms of that agreement were unknown, but the Spirit Pagoda clearly benefited in some way.
Fu Kao blinked. "I don't have the clearance. It's marked as classified. I couldn't access it."
Long Hengxu nearly fell over. "Then why the hell did you even come back?! Ugh! What a waste of excitement! What are you guys even doing?!"
Wu Zhangkong calmly grabbed Long Hengxu by the collar as the latter flailed like a struggling frog. "That's enough," he said, pulling him back before he lost all composure.
Fu Kao, still confused about what was happening, added, "But I did get the basic info. Here, take a look."
With a flick of his fingers, a holographic screen appeared before them. Gu Yue curiously walked over to take a closer look.
Long Hengxu stared unblinkingly. Wu Zhangkong remained composed, though he was particularly interested in Gu You's martial soul. The screen displayed a single phrase next to Gu You's martial soul:
"Unique in all of history."
Long Hengxu collapsed to the floor. "Did I just read that right?"
A talent of this level—was it even something their academy could handle?!
No wonder…
At first, Wu Zhangkong had been intrigued by Gu You's martial soul, but when he compared it to Gu Yue's ability to control seven different elemental powers, he had set his curiosity aside. After all, what martial soul could possibly be more terrifying than that?
But "unique in all of history"—this was on another level entirely.
This label meant Gu You's martial soul had never appeared before. In the future, it could very well become a family martial soul, passed down for generations. Given its uniqueness, its rank was undoubtedly extremely high. If Gu You were to partner with a soul master who possessed a god-rank martial soul, their offspring could potentially develop a martial soul surpassing even god-rank…
Wu Zhangkong forcibly cut off that train of thought. A martial soul stronger than god-rank? The only historical precedent was the Seraphim Martial Soul, which had granted innate rank-20 soul power at birth. But even that was just a god-rank martial soul. What lay beyond that?
He couldn't afford to dwell on it.
Meanwhile, Gu Yue's martial soul—while rare—wasn't truly one of a kind. Other soul masters in history had possessed multi-element control abilities, just never to the extent of seven elements. In a way, her martial soul was like a stitched-together anomaly, an extreme version of something that already existed.
Long Hengxu, still reeling, finally noticed Gu Yue. "Wait—why did you come out? Didn't Gu You save you?"
"Don't mention him!" Gu Yue snapped, her face full of frustration.
"You—you!" Long Hengxu fumed. "How dare you talk to me like that! Show some respect for your elders!"
Gu Yue's eyes narrowed. "Call me 'big sis,' and I'll listen to you."
She had already called someone 'big brother' today. In front of everyone. That alone was humiliating enough. If this got out, how was she supposed to face people?!
Long Hengxu was about to explode when Wu Zhangkong dragged him away. Their retreating voices were a mixture of muttered protests and exasperation.
Gu Yue calmly found a seat. Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi dared not disturb her. Forget it—she already called Gu You "big brother." From now on, they might as well treat her like their big sister too. More importantly, they just wanted to avoid getting bullied by Gu You.
After a moment, Wu Zhangkong re-entered and resumed watching the screen.
"Look! What is he doing?!" one of the Spirit Ascension Platform staff members suddenly shouted.
Everyone turned to look.
Gu You had placed his hand on the Crystal Bear's forehead, absorbing its energy into his mind world.
Normally, a soul beast in energy form couldn't compare to a real one. In the real world, if Gu You used even a sliver of his Dragon God Aura, all the soul beasts present would bow and submit, happily entering his mind world to enjoy a life of luxury.
But the Spirit Ascension Platform was different. Here, his Dragon God Aura didn't work the same way.
Even so, he had made an incredible discovery:
A soul beast's cultivation could increase within his mind world!
The Glacial Crystal Feathered Serpent he had absorbed just a few days ago—originally a mere hundred-year soul beast—had already evolved into a thousand-year one!
This confirmed that his mind world contained an energy capable of accelerating a soul beast's growth.
The structure of his mind world was becoming clearer:
Four distinct environments had formed—snowfields, plains, forests, and oceans. The only things missing were deserts and volcanic regions, likely because he had yet to absorb any soul beasts that thrived in such conditions.
The Crystal Bear began to materialize within the forest biome of his mind world.
Gu You felt a massive drain on his soul power. A wave of exhaustion washed over him.
But he didn't care.
At this moment, he had succeeded.
Even energy-form soul beasts could be absorbed.
His spiritual world was truly unprecedented.
(End of Chapter)