"What... How is this possible?"
The old man stared at the scene, so shocked he was dumbstruck.
How... How could anyone get so close to these Soul Spirits? Especially someone meeting them for the first time!
Leng Yaozhu and Gu Yue also stared at Qiangu Wuji in astonishment, their expressions both rather strange.
In the end, the old man was the first to react. He hurried over and anxiously urged him, "Young Master Wuji, come back quickly! It's dangerous there!"
In the distance, Qiangu Wuji heard him, turned to look at him, then glanced at the light ball in his arms. At last, he nodded and walked back.
As soon as he returned, the old man excitedly asked him, "Young Master Wuji, how did you do that?"
"You mean how I avoided being attacked?"
Qiangu Wuji tilted his head, then pointed at his eyes. "Because I can see what they're thinking."
"Huh?"
The old man froze. Only then did he notice Qiangu Wuji's bright golden eyes, and he cried out again. "These are Spirit Eyes Martial Soul? You awakened Spirit Ice Douluo's Spirit Eyes Martial Soul?"
Qiangu Wuji nodded, tacitly confirming his words, then looked again at the light balls before him.
In his eyes, each of the floating light balls was a baby Soul Beast. Some were baring their teeth, some were fast asleep, and others were waiting pitifully for someone to comfort them.
These Soul Spirit light balls were essentially composed of Soul Power and spiritual power, and his Heavenly Six Eyes happened to let him see both.
Once he could see the little fellows' expressions, it wasn't hard to guess how they were feeling. That meant he could avoid touching the ones in a bad mood and getting attacked.
"By the way, Grandpa Li, how do I absorb a Soul Spirit?"
Thinking of the reason he'd come, Qiangu Wuji asked curiously.
Old Man Li looked at him intently before explaining, "Just like with an ordinary Soul Spirit: choose one, then absorb it."
After a brief pause, he added, "But, Young Master Wuji, I must remind you that even if they won't attack you, you still can't let your guard down while absorbing one."
"Mm, I know."
Qiangu Wuji nodded and quickly locked onto the Soul Spirit he'd seen earlier.
In his eyes, it looked like an orange-yellow eyeball. In fact, it was an eyeball.
Its appearance matched the description in the original story.
If his guess was right, this had to be the Evil Eye Tyrant Sovereign, once ranked second among the continent's Ten Great Ferocious Beasts.
In Douluo II, Huo Gua defeated it, and it became Huo Gua's ninth Soul Ring.
Of course, this one wasn't that super-ferocious beast, ranked second and with a cultivation of seventy-nine years. It was only a little Evil Eye Tyrant from the same race.
But the fact that one of its kind had once ranked second on the continent was proof enough of the race's talent. It also excelled at the Mental Attribute, so it was the right choice.
With that in mind, he slowly walked over.
Watching him approach, Old Man Li couldn't help tensing up. He turned and respectfully addressed Leng Yaozhu. "Vice Pagoda Master."
"Mm!"
Even without his warning, the instant Qiangu Wuji stepped forward, Leng Yaozhu had swept out her hand, and an immense torrent of Soul Power instantly enveloped the entire room.
With such vast Soul Power at her command, if anything went wrong, she could crush every Soul Spirit in the room in an instant.
After all, this was her most precious son. Though Leng Yaozhu hoped he would become a great man, that didn't mean she would let him take risks.
Under the Limit Douluo's power, the atmosphere in the room grew tense and charged.
But it didn't last long. A relaxed voice soon broke the silence.
"That's all it takes to finish absorbing it?"
"Finished?"
Leng Yaozhu froze, then looked over at Qiangu Wuji. He was already standing, and now there was a round, chrysanthemum-like thing perched on his shoulder.
A chrysanthemum?
What kind of Soul Spirit was that?
Old Man Li's eyes widened, as if he'd seen a ghost.
"He actually finished absorbing it that easily? This... This..."
"That can't be right. A Soul Spirit like that shouldn't be this easy to absorb!"
Muttering to himself, Old Man Li suddenly seemed to realize something and blurted out, "Could Young Master Wuji's spiritual power be exceptionally strong?"
Leng Yaozhu froze too, then realized that might be the case. She beckoned to him. "Wuji, come here for a moment."
Qiangu Wuji didn't think much of it. He walked over and looked up at his mother.
Leng Yaozhu said nothing. She reached out with her delicate hand, stroked his fair cheek, and closed her eyes to concentrate on sensing him.
As she did, a trace of surprise appeared on her lovely face, and she murmured, "Spirit Connection Realm, early stage. No wonder..."
"Spirit Connection Realm?" Old Man Li's eyes widened. He cried out incredulously, "You're saying Young Master Wuji's spiritual power is at the Spirit Connection Realm? What kind of genius is this?!"
Gu Yue also looked at Qiangu Wuji in surprise, a hint of defiance flashing in her eyes.
Qiangu Wuji himself was slightly taken aback.
He'd already expected his spiritual power to be strong, but he hadn't imagined it would reach the Spirit Connection Realm.
In the original story, when the two protagonists were his age, their spiritual power had only just reached a few dozen points, at the Spirit Origin Realm.
But he'd already broken a hundred!
And he was only six years old!
The Abyssal Brain's effects were terrifying.
Looking at her increasingly unbelievable son, Leng Yaozhu hardly knew what to make of how she felt.
She'd thought Three-Life Martial Soul was already heaven-defying, but now he had spiritual power the likes of which had never been seen before.
With talent like his, as long as he developed steadily, becoming a Limit Douluo was all but certain.
She took a deep breath to suppress her excitement, then glanced at the tiny "chrysanthemum" on Qiangu Wuji's shoulder. Her expression turned strange again.
"Huh? It's only a hundred-year Soul Spirit?"
A hundred-year Soul Spirit for someone's first one was perfectly normal. But after everything that had happened, Leng Yaozhu couldn't help feeling that something was off.
She'd assumed that even if Qiangu Wuji's first Soul Spirit wasn't ten thousand years old, it would at least be a thousand.
This hundred-year one seemed far too ordinary.
But on second thought, a Soul Spirit's limit depended on the body's strength. No matter how talented her son was, he couldn't have an unusually strong spirit and an abnormal physique at the same time.
Thinking of it that way, she felt more at ease. After all, what mattered in a Soul Spirit was its quality, not its age.
All Soul Spirits could grow, so its current age didn't matter.
Besides, she could sense that Qiangu Wuji's Soul Spirit wasn't low in age; it was close to a thousand years old.
For a child who'd only just awakened his Martial Soul, that was already incredibly impressive.
Once Qiangu Wuji's first Soul Spirit was taken care of, it was Gu Yue's turn.
But when it came to her, she refused, saying she'd suddenly thought of a better arrangement.
Qiangu Wuji understood, too. Gu Yue didn't need a Soul Spirit at all; she added her own Soul Rings.
She'd only said that to keep Leng Yaozhu from getting suspicious.
And so, the three of them left the basement.
The morning passed uneventfully, and night soon fell.
Qiangu Wuji was in his room getting used to his new power when the door suddenly opened. Leng Yaozhu walked in from outside.
"Wuji, would you like to find a teacher?"
Before you continue