Ten-Year Sword Bamboo

"Hello, little friend! Didn't your guardian come with you?"

The moment Lin Xuan stepped into the Spirit Pagoda, a Spirit Master in a long robe came up to greet him.

This Spirit Master was not very old, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight. He wore a professional smile that was not exactly pleasant, but not off-putting either.

"I'm alone! Where do I buy a Soul Spirit?"

Lin Xuan shook his head and asked him.

"If you want to buy a Soul Spirit, come this way with me."

The young Spirit Master's smile brightened a little. Here came his commission.

Every customer he handled brought him a cut. It was not much, but it added up to quite a bit over a month.

Lin Xuan followed the young Spirit Master to a room in the rear hall.

"Little friend, we have three ways to purchase Soul Spirits here: ten-year white Soul Spirits, hundred-year yellow Soul Spirits, and randomly drawn Soul Spirits. Which would you like?"

"White Soul Spirits cost seventy thousand, yellow Soul Spirits cost one million, while a random Soul Spirit draw only costs thirty thousand. Whether you get a white or yellow Soul Spirit depends entirely on luck. Would you like to give it a try, little friend?"

The young Spirit Master introduced the options to Lin Xuan with a smile, placing particular emphasis on the random Soul Spirit draw.

In a small place like Aolai City, there were barely any people who could afford a Hundred-Year Spirit. Random Soul Spirit draws, on the other hand, sold best.

People always had a gambler's mentality! Every year, there was no shortage of people who lost their entire fortunes on random Soul Spirit draws.

"No need! I'll buy a white Soul Spirit."

Lin Xuan rolled his eyes. Yeah right. Like I'd believe your nonsense.

The random Soul Spirit draw was a gamble with no guarantee. Most of the items inside were defective products from failed Spirit Pagoda experiments. Getting even a normal white Soul Spirit would probably require burning incense and praying.

"We currently have seventy-three types of white Soul Spirits available. You may choose freely."

Without so much as a blush, the young Spirit Master continued his introduction, completely unashamed that his attempt to fool a child had failed.

Taking the Electronic Light Screen handed over by the young Spirit Master, Lin Xuan carefully browsed through the Soul Spirit information on it.

"Azure Cloud Python. Ten years. White. Trait: exceptional speed."

"Sea Cloud Clam. Ten years. White. High defense. Double water resistance."

"Purple Sea Grass. Ten years. White. No traits."

"..."

There were seventy-three types in total. Lin Xuan patiently turned through them page by page. After reading through everything, his gaze settled on the forty-third type.

"Azure Leaf Sword Bamboo. Ten years. White quality. A hybrid experimental product of Azure Leaf Grass and Sword Bamboo, possessing both the vitality of Azure Leaf Grass and the hardness of Sword Bamboo."

"I'll take this one."

Lin Xuan said to the young Spirit Master.

This Azure Leaf Sword Bamboo shared the same origin as his Martial Soul, so its compatibility was relatively high. Its traits were not bad either.

"Mm! First, come with me and test your Spiritual Power."

The young Spirit Master put away the Electronic Light Screen and led Lin Xuan to another room. As he walked ahead, he explained things to Lin Xuan.

"Different Spiritual Power levels determine the maximum age of Soul Spirits a Soul Master can fuse with. If you recklessly exceed that limit, you may suffer soul damage at best, or die at worst."

"Therefore, testing one's Spiritual Power level is an essential step before every Soul Master fuses with a Soul Spirit."

The two arrived at another room. In the center stood a metal chair, surrounded by all sorts of strange instruments.

"Just sit in the chair."

The young Spirit Master adjusted the surrounding instruments and pointed at the metal chair.

"Okay!"

Lin Xuan nodded and sat down.

"Don't be nervous. Relax your body. Since this is your first Spiritual Power test, you may feel slightly dizzy. That is normal, so don't worry."

The young Spirit Master placed a metal helmet over Lin Xuan's head, while metal arms at the sides covered his upper body as well.

"Buzz!"

As the young Spirit Master pressed the activation button, the machine began to hum. Lin Xuan felt as though countless electrical currents were crawling into his brain, leaving it numb and tingling.

At the same time, the data on the soul guide screen in the young Spirit Master's hand began to jump rapidly.

"Eighty-nine!"

The young Spirit Master stared at the final reading and spoke in disbelief.

"Is it done, Spirit Master?"

Lin Xuan was somewhat surprised by the number, but it was still within his expectations.

After all, he had lived two lives. Wasn't it perfectly normal for his Spiritual Power to be a little higher?

"Little guy, your talent is incredible."

"From lowest to highest, Spiritual Power is generally divided into five major levels: Spirit Origin Realm, Spirit Connection Realm, Spirit Sea Realm, Spirit Abyss Realm, and Spirit Domain Realm. Everyone is born in the Spirit Origin Realm, though most begin at the low stage, with single-digit values. Your eighty-nine points already place you in the high stage of the Spirit Origin Realm."

The young Spirit Master smacked his lips. As a level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster, his own Spiritual Power was only eighty-three.

Lin Xuan's eighty-nine points of Spiritual Power were probably more than twice that of Soul Masters at the same level.

"What a pity! A white Soul Spirit doesn't suit you."

The young Spirit Master sighed again in regret.

With this little guy's Spiritual Power, fusing with a high-quality yellow Soul Spirit would have been more than manageable. Fusing with a white Soul Spirit now was truly a waste of his talent.

Lin Xuan shrugged noncommittally. These things were hard to say. He would definitely advance to a hundred-year Soul Spirit later.

In truth, staying at a bottleneck to save money was also an option. Without fusing with a Soul Ring, Soul Power could still continue accumulating, but cultivation efficiency would drop drastically. Rather than dawdle for years, Lin Xuan preferred to seize the present.

"Let's go! I'll take you to the Soul Spirit Room."

The young Spirit Master removed the instruments from Lin Xuan and did not dwell on the matter.

He had worked here for years and had seen plenty of little geniuses whose talents had gone to waste.

Following the young Spirit Master, Lin Xuan arrived at a new room. It was completely empty except for a meditation cushion in the center.

"Wait a moment."

The young Spirit Master walked up to one wall and lightly swiped his hand through the air. An Electronic Light Screen abruptly appeared in midair.

"Scanning irises. Identity confirmed!"

A mechanical electronic voice rang out in the room. Then, the wall before the young Spirit Master split apart to either side, revealing a stone rack five or six meters tall.

The stone rack was divided into small square compartments, each holding a round little sphere that emitted white light.

The young Spirit Master searched through them for a while before taking out a white sphere.

"This is the Soul Spirit you purchased."

The young Spirit Master handed the white sphere to Lin Xuan, then pressed the button in its center. A streak of white spiritual light immediately flew out from the sphere and landed before Lin Xuan.

"Azure Leaf Sword Bamboo!"

Lin Xuan looked at the green bamboo that had appeared before him and murmured softly.

As the white spiritual light dispersed, a green bamboo plant three to four meters tall stood before him. Its leaves swayed gently, carrying a faint sharpness.