The Bride as Dowry

Gazing at the Dark Demon Tiger, bound tightly and still breathing,

Su Wen sighed. Soul Tools that could store living creatures really were convenient.

"Xiao Wen, what are you doing?"

Ye Yuan'er watched Su Wen's actions in confusion. "Are you going to butcher it and eat it now? Tiger meat is really nourishing..."

Su Wen didn't answer. Instead, he asked, "Aunt Ye, Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Beasts all have Soul Shock. Do you know what causes it?"

Ye Yuan'er chuckled. "Are you planning to test me?"

Seeing how serious the little guy was, Ye Yuan'er suddenly stopped smiling.

Accompanying Bride

"Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Beasts have already developed intelligence. When they're killed, a lingering fragment of their consciousness falls into the Spirit Ring."

"When a Soul Master absorbs it, they'll be attacked by that remnant. It's the Spirit Beast's final counterattack, also known as Soul Shock."

Ye Yuan'er's explanation made Su Wen nod slightly. "Aunt Ye, according to that, if a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Beast has no intelligence, would it avoid Soul Shock?"

"Well..." Ye Yuan'er thought it over, then nodded slightly. "That does make sense, but all Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Beasts have intelligence..."

"No, no..."

Su Wen pointed at the Dark Demon Tiger. "This sort of thing can be brought about deliberately... For example, if it were an idiot, or had lost its mind, or was bent on dying... would it still cause Soul Shock?"

The Dark Demon Tiger bared its teeth and glared at him.

It hadn't understood.

But it was definitely nothing good.

"Ah..."

Ye Yuan'er was a little dazed and didn't know how to respond for a moment.

This sort of idea had never appeared in the Martial Soul Theory of the continent.

Ye Yuan'er blinked, seeming to understand what Su Wen intended to do.

"Aunt Ye, the power of Martial Souls was all discovered by our predecessors."

"Let's blaze a trail for those who come after us, too!"

Before Ye Yuan'er could refuse, Su Wen grinned. "Aunt Ye, you don't want to say no, have me experiment on my own in secret, and then watch me get myself killed, do you?"

Ye Yuan'er looked astonished, her rosy lips parting slightly in surprise.

She took a deep breath, suppressing the inexplicable urge to beat him that had suddenly risen inside her.

"Fine, fine... You're really something, using yourself to threaten me now."

"Heh heh!"

Su Wen shamelessly edged closer. "Aunt Ye, just leave this tiger with you. It's over ten thousand years old and has the strength of a Spirit King. If you keep an eye on it yourself, nothing will go wrong."

"You can let it eat, but don't let it get full. If it wants to sleep, wake it up. If you're annoyed, beat it to vent your frustration. Just make sure it stays alive..."

Ye Yuan'er pursed her lips and said nothing, but she had tacitly agreed.

Su Wen crouched down and stroked the Dark Demon Tiger's head. As it glared at him furiously, he said slowly,

"For the sake of my Ten-Thousand-Year Plan, from today on, your job is to suffer."

Su Wen was quite pleased by its stubborn, angry gaze. He wondered whether it would be bent on dying after a while.

"Xiao Wen, has the seal on your Oil-paper Umbrella come off?"

Ye Yuan'er sighed, then suddenly remembered something important.

"Oh, right. I forgot to check."

Su Wen immediately summoned the red Oil-paper Umbrella.

Of the nine long streamers on the umbrella, only seven still bore talismans. It was obvious that another one had fallen off.

The moment he opened the Red Umbrella,

two clouds of red mist drifted out.

One was Hongdou; the other was a Ghost Bride who looked much like Hongdou.

Her feet rivaled Hong Lian's.

Her hands were pale.

She wore a blood-red wedding dress and a red veil over her head.

Her clothes were identical to Hongdou's.

At her feet were two Spirit Rings, one yellow and one purple, a configuration beyond the norm.

She held an ancient mirror in her hands.

The mirror was rather strange, white on one side and red on the other.

"Ah... Another one."

Ye Yuan'er was stunned. Hongdou's Spirit Rings had become one yellow and one purple.

The newly appeared Ghost Bride had the same configuration.

Her Martial Soul had changed, too.

"Her Martial Soul is a mirror?"

Su Wen rubbed his chin. Another bridesmaid had appeared.

It really was a surprise.

"What are your Spirit Skills?"

Su Wen was quite curious and was about to ask the Ghost Bride to demonstrate for him.

Suddenly, a line of red text appeared in the air.

It was a vivid crimson.

The ink looked like blood.

[White Face: Copy!]

[White Face: Protection!]

Eight blood-red characters floated in the air.

Ye Yuan'er was amazed, but she also felt a little creeped out.

"Xiao Wen, so they can think for themselves!"

Ye Yuan'er had figured it out. If they could answer, they must have minds of their own.

Su Wen wasn't very surprised, though he was a little startled that she could reply to him.

"Explain in detail..."

As soon as Su Wen finished speaking, bright red words appeared before his eyes again.

[Red Face: Copies the opponent's Spirit Skill by force, without needing their consent. When the opponent is of the same rank, the copy has full power. With a Soul Power difference of more than five levels, it has ninety percent power; more than ten levels, eighty percent; more than fifteen levels, seventy percent...]

[White Face: Creates a defensive barrier!]

"How impressive!"

Ye Yuan'er clicked her tongue. It could copy abilities, and one Spirit Ring even granted two Spirit Skills.

This mirror Martial Soul was no ordinary one.

Ye Yuan'er couldn't help glancing at it a few times. The mirror was white on one side and red on the other. The Ghost Bride faced her with the white side and pointed the red side outward.

Ye Yuan'er couldn't see her reflection in the red side of the mirror.

Su Wen's eyes lit up. She seemed even more impressive than Hongdou.

"Hongdou, what's your second Spirit Skill?"

Hongdou was direct. The Spirit Ring at her feet flashed.

Then Hongdou floated toward the wall and passed straight through it.

The Ghost Bride followed Hongdou's lead and demonstrated her Spirit Skill, too.

Their abilities were the same. Like a Ghostly Soul, they could ignore solid objects and pass through them freely.

"Uh, I thought you could always pass through walls and burrow underground. Turns out you have to activate a Spirit Skill. No wonder I'd never seen you do it before..."

Su Wen had learned something new.

Ye Yuan'er, however, felt a chill run through her. For a moment, she couldn't tell whether they were formed from Martial Souls or Soul Power, or whether they were really ghosts who had climbed up from below.

The former was something she could accept. On a continent where Martial Souls ruled the world, all sorts of strange things existed.

If it was the latter, Ye Yuan'er felt goosebumps rising all over her body.

Su Wen addressed the Ghost Bride holding the mirror. "From now on, your name is Red Mirror!"

"Xiao Wen, do you think the remaining seals will also hold Ghost Brides?"

Ye Yuan'er felt the second one was a Ghost Bride, so the third one probably would be, too.

"I don't know!"

Su Wen had never understood his companion weapon.

He couldn't be certain what would emerge from it.

"Forget whether they are or not... Once you become a Titled Douluo, those two will definitely be Titled Douluo, too..."

Ye Yuan'er was thrilled.

Once he became a Titled Douluo, he'd have two more Titled Douluo to fight for him.

Xiao Wen would surely make a name for himself across the continent.

He might even establish his own faction.