My Pagoda Seems a Little Off

Two and a half hours later.

Jiang Bai's aura gradually stabilized after its initial violent fluctuations.

When the last trace of Spirit Ring energy had been completely absorbed and refined, flowing through his widened and much tougher meridians into his dantian.

An indescribable sensation of extreme comfort, as though he were soaking in a warm spiritual spring, swept through his entire body like a tide.

It felt as though every pore on his body had opened at once, greedily breathing in the surrounding air.

A feeling of lightness, strength, and greater harmony with heaven and earth rose within him.

Jiang Bai slowly opened his eyes. The instant his dark pupils opened, a sharp glint seemed to flash through them before they returned to clarity.

He lowered his head and examined himself. His body had become much sturdier, the muscles in his arms and chest clearly defined, and he seemed to have grown a little taller as well.

His Soul Power had surged even more dramatically!

The bottleneck at level ten had been broken through in one stroke. His Soul Power Level had soared like a rocket, stabilizing directly at level thirteen, only a step away from level fourteen!

As he carefully sensed the surging strength and flowing Soul Power within his body, his heart filled with joy.

Yet amid that joy, a clear hint of surprise surfaced.

The energy in this Spirit Ring... definitely exceeded four hundred years!

He estimated that the quality of this Spirit Ring was comparable to one that was seven hundred years old!

What surprised him even more was how smooth the absorption process had been.

Recalling what had just happened, aside from a slight swelling pain caused by the overwhelming Spirit Ring energy and the Fire Dragon's scorching heat, Jiang Bai had encountered no major obstacles.

His body seemed to possess extraordinary tolerance and adaptability toward this "over-limit" Spirit Ring.

Suppressing these tangled thoughts, what Jiang Bai cared about most now was the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda's first soul skill.

With a thought, he extended his right hand flat.

In an instant, dazzling yet gentle seven-colored light burst from within his body.

The light gathered in his palm, where a glazed pagoda over a foot tall floated quietly.

The Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda's first soul skill normally enhanced strength. Its effect increased alongside Soul Power, and at level ten, it could provide roughly a twenty percent boost to strength.

Jiang Bai felt somewhat expectant.

A twenty percent strength increase might not seem like much, but at a critical moment, it could be enough to affect the outcome of a battle.

He focused his mind and tried to activate the deep yellow Spirit Ring.

The instant his intention touched it, the Spirit Ring lit up!

However, the expected multicolored enhancement light directed at an assisted target did not appear.

Instead, a slightly scorching red glow lit up from within the first level of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda.

"Hm?"

Jiang Bai froze. What was going on? Had the soul skill failed? Was the pagoda broken?

Did he need to chant some kind of incantation?

Just as he was wavering in uncertainty, a fist-sized ball of red light wreathed in illusory flames floated out from the pagoda's first level like an exhaled bubble and landed on the carpet.

The red light rapidly expanded and solidified, revealing a figure within.

It was unmistakably the Earth Fire Dragon he had just killed and whose Spirit Ring he had absorbed!

Only, its body had shrunk several times over and was now about the size of a house cat, though dark red scales still covered its entire body.

But its color was much brighter, its little wings on its back fluttered, and the ridges on its head and fangs in its mouth were all still there. It was just that its overall proportions had become...

A little chibi and cute?

It had lost some of its ferocity and gained a strange sort of adorableness.

Its dragon eyes were currently wide and round, filled with extreme shock, confusion, and the wild joy of surviving a disaster...?

"???"

Jiang Bai was completely dumbfounded. His mouth hung slightly open as he stared disbelievingly at the miniature Fire Dragon before him.

What the hell was this?

The chibi Fire Dragon finally recovered from its immense shock.

It first lowered its head to inspect its intact body, then used a claw to touch its face. It abruptly raised its head to look at Jiang Bai, and the shock in its dragon eyes rapidly transformed into nearly crazed excitement.

"Ha ha ha! Heaven has not forsaken me! Heaven has not forsaken me!!!"

It let out a crisp but wildly ecstatic roar.

"I'm not dead! I'm still alive! Ha ha ha... Damn human, you didn't expect this, did you? Now die!!!"

It had clearly recognized Jiang Bai as the "enemy" who had killed it and absorbed its Spirit Ring.

After its ecstatic joy came boundless fury and killing intent!

The Fire Dragon flapped its wings, turning into a red blur as it viciously charged at Jiang Bai's face with a faint scorching aura!

Its jaws opened wide, as though it wanted to tear Jiang Bai apart!

Alarm bells blared in Jiang Bai's mind, and he instinctively wanted to dodge or defend.

However, what happened next left both man and dragon stunned once more.

The chibi Fire Dragon, which had charged over so aggressively, underwent a sudden change just as its claws were about to touch Jiang Bai's skin!

Without warning, its entire body instantly transformed into a mass of pure, docile red light. With a whoosh, it shot directly into Jiang Bai's chest and vanished!

"!!!"

Jiang Bai only felt a warm and majestic power surge through his entire body like a burst dam!

His muscles bulged, his bones let out faint cracking sounds, and his sense of strength grew explosively!

At the same time, his speed, reflexes, and even the sharpness of his senses all received an all-around, tremendously significant boost!

It had probably... doubled!

And that was not all!

He subconsciously raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist.

Whoosh—!

A ball of crimson flame radiating scorching heat ignited out of thin air around his fist!

The flames danced around and enveloped his fist, yet he felt no burning pain whatsoever—only a warmth and sense of control as natural as moving his own arm!

Fire Element Control!

An incredulous, delighted light burst from Jiang Bai's eyes.

This was not the traditional support enhancement of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda at all!

This was... possession? Or rather, borrowing a soul beast's abilities?!

However, before he could properly experience and test this new power, the warm current flooding his body and the sensation of controlling flames rapidly receded like a tide.

A flash of red light appeared, and the Fire Dragon's figure emerged once more on the carpet in front of him, returning to its previous state.

The strength enhancement and fire control vanished instantly, and Jiang Bai returned to his original state.

Fire Dragon: "???"

It was even more confused than Jiang Bai.

What had just happened? It had clearly charged over to rip this human apart, so how had it suddenly... entered his body?

And even... helped him?

Jiang Bai came back to his senses as well. He suppressed the wild joy and shock in his heart, staring intensely at the equally confused Fire Dragon before him.

His Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda had actually undergone a world-shaking mutation! Instead of support enhancement, it could... summon and possess?!

At this moment, the Fire Dragon seemed to sort out a thread of understanding amid its confusion.

It glared at Jiang Bai, fury rising in its dragon eyes once more, though this time there was also uncertainty.

"Damn master, how dare you..."

It instinctively roared, intending to curse him again.

But halfway through, it abruptly clamped a claw tightly over its own mouth!

Its dragon eyes widened to their limit, filled with utter horror and absurdity!

What had it just said?!

It had clearly wanted to shout, "Damn human!" Why had "Damn master!" come out instead?!

Master?! How could it call this enemy its master?!

Still unwilling to accept it, the Fire Dragon lowered its claw, gathered its emotions, and opened its mouth again, wanting to roar the contemptuous words, "Pathetic insect!"

Yet when the sound came out, it was soft but clear.

"Master..."

Fire Dragon: "..."

Jiang Bai: "..."

The air fell into dead silence once more. Only in the Fire Dragon's wide dragon eyes could its collapsing worldview be reflected.

At that moment, the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda in Jiang Bai's palm seemed to sense both its host's confusion and the soul beast's "uncooperativeness," and it trembled gently.

A gentle yet vast stream of information was transmitted into the consciousness of both Jiang Bai and the Fire Dragon.

After each level of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda absorbed its corresponding Spirit Ring, it would form an independent miniature space suitable for that soul beast's survival.

The soul beast's soul origin would be drawn in and condensed into form there, retaining its intelligence, memories, and abilities from life.

The soul beast could live and cultivate within the pagoda's space. Its cultivation and growth would directly feed back into the corresponding Spirit Ring, increasing the Spirit Ring's age!

In battle, the Spirit Ring had two methods of use.

The first was possession.

The soul beast's soul would merge with the host's body, directly granting attribute enhancements and core innate abilities, such as elemental control.

The second was summoning.

The soul beast's physical form could be directly released into the outside world to fight.

Beyond that, there was one fundamental rule.

From the moment the Spirit Ring was successfully absorbed and its soul entered the pagoda, the soul beast's soul origin would be branded with an indelible mark—it would recognize Jiang Bai as its master, remain absolutely loyal, and be unable to directly or indirectly harm Jiang Bai in any form.

If Jiang Bai died, the soul beast would truly die as well.