Discussing Soul Beasts with Gu Yue

Early the next morning, Yun Mu headed straight to his private forging room.

Holding the metal vest Tang Wulin had handed him the night before, he pondered:

Though he did not know Gu Yue's exact measurements, hadn't the Spirit-Forged metal from last time been able to adapt to the wearer's body automatically?

Maybe he could make one that matched Gu Yue's figure as well.

But to be safe, he still adjusted the size according to his impression of Gu Yue's general build—Tang Wulin's earlier vest had only been slightly too large, so modifying it would not be difficult.

He took the vest apart and melted it back into a metal block. As he swung his hammer, he infused it with Soul Power bearing the attribute of creation, deliberately leaving some "flexible space" within the metal's patterns, thinking that if the size was off, the metal could make minor adjustments on its own.

After hammering away like that, he finally reforged the metal vest by the time afternoon was approaching.

He weighed it in his hand. A faint, gentle glow shimmered across the metal's surface, making it look far more refined than before.

However, Yun Mu was in no hurry to return to school. Since the forging room had all the materials he needed, he decided to take the opportunity to finish the left arm armor of his Two-word Battle Armor as well.

He had only made the right arm armor before, and the emptiness on his left side had always felt strange. Even swinging his hammer felt a little off, and with armor on the right but not the left, the attributes within his body seemed to have become somewhat unbalanced again.

He pulled out a high-quality piece of Deep Silver and began forging it in the style of the right arm armor.

This time, he was thoroughly familiar with the process. His Soul Power flowed in steadily and evenly, and the Spirit Forging went even more smoothly than it had last time.

When the final hammer blow fell, the left arm armor glowed with silver-violet light and automatically fitted itself to his arm. He immediately felt the strength in his left hand rise sharply, while the imbalance caused by having Battle Armor on only his right arm instantly settled.

Looking at the Battle Armor on both arms again, the right arm armor bore golden sword-shaped patterns, while the left arm armor had purple tree-like markings. They perfectly corresponded to his Sword of Life and Tree of Destruction Martial Souls, and looked especially well matched.

It was not until the morning of the third day of vacation that Yun Mu packed his things and returned to school.

The moment he entered the Class Zero classroom, he saw Gu Yue sitting at her desk reading. He hurried over and handed her the neatly folded metal vest. "This is for you. I adjusted the size again, so try it on and see if it fits."

When Gu Yue looked up and saw the vest, her cheeks immediately turned red. Even her fingers felt hot as she accepted it. In a soft voice, she said, "Thank you, Brother Mu."

Yun Mu felt a little embarrassed by her reaction too. Scratching the back of his head, he stammered, "N-no need to thank me. I just adjusted it while I was at it."

Xie Xie had noticed the two of them long ago. He deliberately leaned over now, waggling his eyebrows with a grin. "Oh? Brother Mu specially altered a vest for Gu Yue? Why not alter ours too? That's playing favorites!"

Yun Mu shot him a glare. "Yours already fits perfectly. What is there to alter? Keep making a fuss, and I won't forge any Battle Armor components for you next time!"

Xie Xie immediately backed down. Chuckling sheepishly, he retreated, and laughter instantly broke out across the classroom. Gu Yue's face turned even redder as she hurriedly put the vest into her Storage Soul Tool.

"When you go to the Spirit Ascension Platform tomorrow, make sure you pay extra attention to safety. I won't be going to the Spirit Pagoda with you," Yun Mu reminded Xie Xie and the others with a smile.

"Don't worry, Brother Mu!" Xie Xie patted his chest confidently. "We've been to the Spirit Ascension Platform plenty of times. We know the place like the back of our hands. Nothing major will go wrong!"

"Exactly. Besides, we have the metal vests you and Wulin made," Gu Yue added with a smile, her gaze drifting toward Yun Mu. "With those vests absorbing the impact, even if we run into stronger soul beasts, we can hold out a little longer. It'll be fine."

"You still can't let your guard down." Yun Mu remained concerned and added, "Things change quickly in the Spirit Ascension Platform. If you really encounter danger, don't force it. Retreat first."

As everyone nodded in agreement, Gu Yue suddenly tugged at Yun Mu's sleeve—her fingers lightly pinched the fabric, and she lowered her voice as though afraid of disturbing something.

"Brother Mu, how about... I treat you to a meal? I just felt the metal vest, and the metal inside seemed almost sentient. It must be incredibly valuable. I can't just let you go through all that trouble for nothing."

Yun Mu paused for a moment, then smiled. "Sure. Shall we go now?"

Gu Yue looked up at him. Sunlight happened to stream in through the window, and the golden morning light fell over Yun Mu's short silver hair, scattering fine glimmers across it.

A smile shone in his violet-gold eyes, even the corners of them curving slightly. He looked far gentler than usual.

Gu Yue stared at him for several seconds, suddenly feeling her heartbeat speed up. Her eyes went slightly unfocused, and she quickly lowered her head, softly replying, "Mm. Let's go."

The two walked out side by side, heading toward the snack street outside the school. There were not many people on the road, and sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, casting mottled shadows across the ground.

After walking for a while, Gu Yue suddenly lowered her head. Her voice was soft, as though she were afraid of disturbing something. "Brother Mu, what do you think... about soul beasts?"

Yun Mu paused. He considered her question for a while before answering, "If I'm not mistaken, there probably aren't many soul beasts left on the continent now, right? When you think about it, they're rather pitiful."

"Why do you say that?" Gu Yue immediately turned to look at him, anticipation and nervousness both in her eyes.

"I once read in an old book that a dragon named Jörmungandr said dragons and humans alike were children of this world." Yun Mu smiled and slowed his pace slightly.

"The same principle applies to this world. Soul beasts and humans are both born from nature. If either one is missing, it's bad for the world. It's like an ecosystem—if one link is missing, problems will definitely follow."

Gu Yue's heart stirred, and she pressed on, "Then if you had the ability, would you be willing to revive soul beasts?"

"I probably would." Yun Mu nodded, his tone serious. "They were originally part of this world, but in the end, because of human greed, they were nearly driven to extinction. That was wrong to begin with."

"But in the eyes of many humans, soul beasts are nothing more than consumable materials for cultivation." Gu Yue's voice lowered, carrying a trace of sadness—as the Silver Dragon King, she was the co-ruler of soul beasts. Hearing those words made her feel even worse.

"If I really had that ability in the future," Yun Mu said, scratching the back of his head as he seriously voiced his thoughts.

"I'd want to revive some soul beasts first, then create a separate world for them. Humans could live in one world, soul beasts in another, without disturbing each other. Humans have Soul Spirit technology now anyway, so their need for soul beasts is not as great as it used to be. Wouldn't that be good?"

At those words, excitement flashed through Gu Yue's eyes, and she even slowed to a stop—she had never expected Yun Mu's thoughts to be so similar to what she had always hoped for!