"Sigh, now that he has a great-grandson, he's forgotten all about his grandson. Back when he trained me, he wasn't this attentive at all…"
As Xu Xiaoyun's silhouette faded into a distant speck, Xu Fu shook his head with a bitter smile. His sigh carried a mix of helplessness and sentimentality.
Among spirit beasts, the Evil-Eyed Tyrants of the Evildemon Forest—native to the Sun Moon Empire—were known as the most powerful mental-type species, coveted by all spiritual-type soul masters. But due to the terrifying presence of the Evil-Eyed Tyrant King, even Title Douluos hesitated to trespass.
Yet now, just to secure Xu Tianxi's first soul ring, the patriarch himself had gone out in person. That alone showed how highly Xu Xiaoyun valued the boy. With his strength, capturing a hundred-year Evil-Eyed Tyrant in secret was as easy as flipping a hand.
"But with Tianxi's talent, it's all worth it. An Evil-Eyed Tyrant is a perfect match for his martial soul."
Still, spiritual-type soul beasts were rare and hard to find. If they were already using an Evil-Eyed Tyrant for the first ring… what would they use for the rest? That was the real dilemma. Xu Fu frowned slightly, lost in thought.
They couldn't go to the Evildemon Forest every time. It was manageable for century- or thousand-year-level spirit beasts, but if they ever tried to hunt a ten-thousand-year Evil-Eyed Tyrant, it might trigger retaliation from the Evil-Eyed Tyrant King—a creature so powerful that even Xu Xiaoyun would be in danger.
And knowing his great-grandfather, Xu Fu could bet his life the old man would aim for the best possible ring configuration for Tianxi—perhaps even three 100,000-year soul rings, just like Mu En or Dugu Bo. But that path was filled with peril.
"Oh, wait. If the Evil-Eyed Tyrant King gets angry, he'll target the Sun Moon Empire first. Guess I shouldn't be so worried… still, that guy's spiritual pressure is no joke. Even Grandfather wouldn't risk it lightly."
Xu Fu made his way down the stairs, thinking over a list of soul beasts from memory.
"There were the weak ones like the Ice Silkworm in the Extreme North, and Soft Bone Rabbits in the Star Dou Forest. They're too low-end."
"Stronger ones included the Silver Wolf of the Sun Moon Empire, and the Demon Eye Tree, Violet Nether Lynx, Silver Shadow Beast, and the Terror Demon Dragon from the Star Dou Forest…"
He paused. "Crap. The whole Terror Demon Dragon clan was wiped out by Shrek Academy… can't even find a ten-thousand-year one anymore. Those bastards!"
As the realization sank in, Xu Fu's anger spiked. The Star Dou Forest had lost too many rare spirit beast species over the centuries—all due to Shrek Academy.
"Back when the Spirit Hall existed, the empires had laws to prevent overhunting. And you Shrek people? You just pillaged the Star Dou Forest for rare beast materials like it was your private backyard!"
"Don't even get me started on the Body Sect. A bunch of muscleheads. You idiots hunted seven 100,000-year beasts in one go and got the whole forest stirred up! No wonder Shrek took the fall for that—it was your fault!"
Grumbling all the way down the corridor, Xu Fu mentally tallied more rare spirit beasts.
"There's still the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, Twin-Eyed Giant, Moonshadow Divine Butterfly…"
"And over in the Evildemon Forest, there's the Evil-Eyed Tyrants. From the Ice Sea, you have the Sea Princess... Near the coasts, there are the Demon Soul Great White Shark, the Evildemon Tiger Whale, and of course the Demonic Whale. Not all of them are pure spiritual types, but their mental strength is no joke."
His eyes suddenly lit up. "Speaking of whales… their Whale Rubber is amazing. Boosts vitality, strengthens the body, and it's even good for… ahem… relationship stuff."
That material was normally avoided by Xuanming Sect soul masters before second awakening, but Xu Tianxi was different. His cultivation path would focus on both martial soul and spiritual development. Whale Rubber could even act as a spiritual tempering agent.
Xu Fu tapped the storage ring on his hand, summoning a chunk of translucent golden rubber into his palm—a rare thousand-year Whale Rubber, which he'd originally saved for… personal purposes.
"The boy's worth it. Tianxi, don't let me and your great-grandfather down."
He headed toward Xu Tianxi's room, heart full of expectation. Outside, Elder Yue stood guard and bowed respectfully.
"Master Xu," Yue said softly, "Young Master Tianxi's current condition is… unusual. You may wish to proceed carefully."
Xu Fu's face hardened. "What happened?"
"I lack the cultivation to fully understand, but… I believe Young Master is cultivating by absorbing moonlight. He's asleep, yet unaffected."
"Moonlight cultivation? Like his mother…?"
Xu Fu's eyes widened. His wife's martial soul had also absorbed moonlight. Could Tianxi's Martial Soul—the Illusory Moon Spirit Eye—have inherited the same trait?
Some spiritual-type martial souls with innate properties could absorb elements or celestial energies. But that was extremely rare—even in the Body Sect. For Tianxi to possess this property meant his soul power and potential had crossed into the realm of the extraordinary.
"Good… so good!"
With that, Xu Fu handed Yue the Whale Rubber. "Keep watch. Help him however you can. Teach him soul tool theory while you're at it—he'll need it when he enters the Sun Moon Empire."
Yue's eyes filled with tears. "Master… I swear it. I will give him all I can!"
Xu Fu nodded and entered the room. What he saw filled him with pride.
On the bed, Xu Tianxi lay peacefully, the faint crescent-shaped mark on his brow pulsing with soft light. Thin tendrils of spirit power swirled from his eyes, drawing in pure moonlight from the window and coalescing above him—gradually forming a new crescent moon of energy.
"Absorbing moonlight to cultivate… as expected of a top-tier celestial-type martial soul. The Illusory Moon Spirit Eye truly inherited her mother's bloodline."
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin