Ling Luo, the Spirit Ascension Platform's Top Escort!

"Let's begin."

Ling Luo spoke calmly and led them deeper into the forest.

The Soul Beasts around the outskirts were not very old, making their Spirit Ascension efficiency far too low.

"Be careful. I might not always have time to step in," he reminded them softly.

There were simply too many types of Soul Beasts.

Some of their abilities were rather strange, and Ling Luo had never liked making absolute claims.

Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan nodded.

Na'er and Gu Yue, on the other hand, appeared extremely relaxed, without the slightest trace of nervousness.

After all, in a sense, entering the Spirit Ascension Platform was not much different from going home for them.

For the first ten-odd minutes, they did not encounter a single Soul Beast.

Just as Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan were gradually beginning to lower their guard, they suddenly heard rustling sounds.

The Stargod Sword in Ye Xinglan's hand was already raised.

Yuanen Yehui's muscles tensed as well, and she mobilized all her Soul Power.

The two of them looked toward the source of the sound.

Amid the emerald-green forest, lush leaves swayed.

Then, the swaying grew increasingly violent.

Even the currents of air began to turn restless.

A fierce wind rose.

A massive claw easily crushed a patch of grass and shrubs as its owner slowly emerged.

It was a gigantic beast nearly two meters tall.

It had the form of a tiger, its fur entirely blue-green, as though it were draped in a cloak woven from the forest itself.

Its tiger eyes stared fixedly at these intruders in its territory, its entire body radiating the majesty of the king of the forest.

"Azure Wind Demon Tiger!"

Ye Xinglan recognized the Soul Beast before them.

Her expression turned serious. "Judging by its appearance, this Azure Wind Demon Tiger has at least Five Thousand Years of cultivation!"

"Azure Wind Demon Tigers are among the strongest Soul Beasts in combat. An Azure Wind Demon Tiger with Five Thousand Years of cultivation could leave even an ordinary Soul King helpless against—"

Ye Xinglan's words came to an abrupt stop.

At some point, Ling Luo had appeared above the Azure Wind Demon Tiger's head.

He extended a hand.

That fair, slender palm was covered in a jade-green glow as it lightly pressed against the Azure Wind Demon Tiger's head.

Yet it seemed to carry the weight of a mountain.

The dignified Five Thousand Years Azure Wind Demon Tiger was smashed brutally into the ground by that single hand, utterly unable to resist.

A tremendous boom rang out.

The ground cracked apart like a spiderweb.

The Azure Wind Demon Tiger's beastly eyes revealed a humanlike look of utter bewilderment.

Blood continuously flowed from the corners of its mouth.

Ling Luo exerted force with his palm once more.

The Azure Wind Demon Tiger rolled its eyes back and immediately lost consciousness.

Seeing this, the words Ye Xinglan had been about to say to remind Ling Luo to be careful could no longer leave her mouth.

She had not thought that a Five Thousand Years Azure Wind Demon Tiger could defeat Ling Luo.

But the process had been far too fast and clean.

An Azure Wind Demon Tiger that could leave ordinary Soul Kings at a loss had been completely defeated without even the slightest ability to fight back.

Ling Luo withdrew his hand and clapped his palms together.

"Alright, go ahead."

A Five Thousand Years Azure Wind Demon Tiger could be converted into Spiritual Power and provide roughly five hundred years of Soul Ring Age enhancement.

"I don't need it," Gu Yue said first.

She was not here for the Spirit Ascension in the first place. That was merely a pretext.

Na'er also shook her head slightly.

She had little interest in the Spiritual Power provided by a mere Five Thousand Years Azure Wind Demon Tiger.

Seeing this, Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan exchanged a glance.

Ye Xinglan took the initiative to speak. "You take it."

Yuanen Yehui did not stand on ceremony. She nodded slightly and stepped forward.

She punched the unconscious Azure Wind Demon Tiger.

A stream of Spiritual Power surged into Yuanen Yehui's body.

The Spiritual Power within the Spirit Ascension Platform could only be accumulated temporarily. It could only be formally absorbed after leaving the platform, so there was no absorption process at the moment.

"Let's continue. Don't waste this opportunity."

"It would be best to accumulate Spiritual Power up to the limit your bodies can absorb," Ling Luo said softly.

He led Yuanen Yehui and the others deeper into the forest once again.

Along the way, they successively encountered quite a few powerful Soul Spirits.

Some of them were even stronger than the Azure Wind Demon Tiger.

Yet Ling Luo still easily suppressed them in the same manner.

During this process, Gu Yue and Na'er absorbed some Spiritual Power as well.

Feeling the Spiritual Power in their bodies reach its limit,

Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan both felt as though they were dreaming.

This was simply far too easy.

Ye Xinglan in particular.

She had entered a Spirit Ascension Platform before.

But she had entered the Beginner Spirit Ascension Platform alone.

Back then, she had been incomparably nervous, keeping herself on edge at every moment.

Every time, she had been forced out by various accidents before reaching her limit.

But compared to the Spirit Ascension she had experienced before, today's Spirit Ascension with Ling Luo's help was like heaven and earth apart.

Ye Xinglan had never imagined that Spirit Ascension could be this easy.

Every powerful Soul Beast was effortlessly subdued.

All she had to do was deliver the finishing blow.

So this was what it felt like to hire an escort?

It was simply...

Amazing!

That was what Ye Xinglan thought.

She felt that without Ling Luo accompanying her, she would hardly want to enter the Spirit Ascension Platform anymore.

They had also fought during this time.

But it had only been for practice.

With Ling Luo watching their backs, they could act without restraint. It was nothing like the experience of venturing into the Spirit Ascension Platform alone.

Gu Yue and Na'er were even more dazzling.

They greatly changed Ye Xinglan and Yuanen Yehui's impressions of them.

Though Gu Yue and Na'er were not as outrageous as Ling Luo, the strength they displayed still left Ye Xinglan and Yuanen Yehui deeply astonished.

Yuanen Yehui, especially, was a newcomer.

She had initially thought Na'er was simply a Little Sister who followed Ling Luo around.

But the strength Na'er displayed completely overturned that impression.

Yuanen Yehui did not believe she could defeat that terrifying Silver Dragon Spear.

Gu Yue was no less impressive.

Her cultivation far surpassed that of the Original Work during the same period.

Like Na'er, she had astonishingly reached the level of a Soul Ancestor.

Perhaps because of Na'er, or perhaps because she wanted to show herself off, Gu Yue made several moves as well.

Her Elemental Control left Ye Xinglan and Yuanen Yehui utterly amazed.

Were these the top three of the Young Genius Ranking?

Terrifying indeed!

"I should be about done after hunting a few more Soul Spirits."

Ling Luo spoke softly.

He had absorbed quite a bit of Spiritual Power as well.

Although Ling Luo had his own methods for increasing his Soul Ring Age,

those methods ultimately required resources.

Since he had already paid for a Spirit Ascension Platform ticket, it would be unreasonable not to fleece the Spirit Pagoda for a little more.

Although he was the Crown Prince of Shrek Academy and never lacked resources, Ling Luo still remembered the principle of saving where he should and spending where he should.

Suddenly, he raised his eyes slightly and looked toward the Deep Forest beside them.

"Mm, this should be about enough now."

"Take a few steps back."

"Something slightly interesting has arrived."