Second Soul Spirit

Yun Jingheng was awakened by the midday sun.

When he opened his eyes, his mind went blank for a few seconds. His eyes were fixed on the wood grain pattern on the ceiling, and he had no thoughts at all.

Everything from last night—the flames on the cross-sea bridge, Leng Yulai's Annihilation Demon Flame, Na Nali's bell ringing, the silvery-white Moon Laurel Tree, and the warmth of Leng Yaozhu pressing on his head—seemed blurry and distant, as if separated by a thin layer of water.

Then his body started to hurt.

Especially in the head, the area between the temples on both sides feels as if something has stretched it open from the inside and then forcibly closed it again, leaving a dull, persistent ache.

This is a side effect of releasing two Head Soul Bone skills in succession. If it happens again, it may leave irreversible damage to the Spiritual Origin.

He sat up slowly, very slowly.

The blanket slipped off his chest, revealing the bandage on his left shoulder that had been re-treated after being scratched by the Annihilation Demon Flame.

The bandages were neatly wrapped, not the standard bandages used in first aid stations, but a finer fabric with a faint herbal scent.

He didn't need to guess to know whose work it was.

On the bedside table was a set of neatly folded clean clothes, next to a glass of lukewarm water that had gone cold.

He picked up the glass of ice-cold water and drank it all in one gulp.

As the water slid down his throat, it brought a refreshing coolness that cleared his mind somewhat.

He glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table.

It's exactly twelve o'clock.

He paused for a moment, then reached out, picked up the alarm clock, and shook it to make sure it was still ticking.

Twelve o'clock.

He slept for more than ten hours?

My mother didn't wake me up.

This was extremely rare in the past.

Ya Li's control over time was so precise it was almost obsessive. Every morning at nine o'clock, no matter what he had experienced the day before, she would knock on his door precisely on time.

But she didn't today.

He put the alarm clock back, threw back the covers, and got out of bed.

He went into the bathroom, turned on the tap, and washed his face with cold water.

After brushing his teeth, he changed into clean clothes and put on his shoes.

The clothes were prepared in advance by Ya Li: a white short-sleeved shirt and a pair of dark gray trousers, made of a soft yet crisp fabric unique to Sea God Island.

After he finished dressing, he glanced at himself in the mirror, then pushed open the door and went out.

The corridor was deserted.

This is not unusual.

The population of Sea God Island was not large to begin with. Apart from a few elders of the Sea God Pavilion, a small number of guardian Soul Master, and some logistics personnel, the people who lived there year-round were basically a few special students who were allowed to cultivate on Sea God Island.

It's common to walk down a corridor and not hear any voices or see anyone.

So he didn't pay much attention to it at first.

He walked down the corridor toward the restaurant.

A lunch covered with an insulated cover sat on the kitchen stove.

The meal consisted of three dishes and a soup, all of which were his usual fare, and the temperature was just right—neither too hot nor too cold.

He sat down at the table, finished his meal, washed the dishes and put them back in their place, wiped his hands clean, and then stood at the kitchen doorway, habitually using his Divine Power to scan his surroundings.

Then he paused for a moment.

There is no one on Sea God Island.

There wasn't a single living person in sight.

Under normal circumstances, his Divine Power would be enough to cover the Core Area of the entire Sea God Island, but at this moment he sensed an extremely clean blank space, devoid of any human Soul Power fluctuations.

Even the fluctuations of the guardian Soul Master who were stationed year-round in the watchtowers on the edge of Sea God Island disappeared.

On the entire island, apart from him, the only fluctuations in Soul Power came from a few Soul Beast seabirds pecking at food on the beach and small Soul Beast occasionally darting through the bushes.

The existence of these low-level Soul Beast proves one thing: it's not that his perception is wrong, but that everyone on the island is truly gone.

His brow furrowed slightly.

He went back to his room, took out his communicator, and dialed the first number.

The communicator emitted a steady beeping sound, one after another, for a full ten beeps before automatically ending the call.

No one answered.

Yun Ming did not answer.

He then called Ya Li.

The call will ring until it automatically ends, and you won't answer.

Long Yeyue, Cai Yue'er, Zhuo Shi, Feng Wuyu, Lan Muzi, Tang Yinmeng.

He dialed one after another, but each communicator remained unanswered. No one ended the call; there was simply no response.

He took the communicator away from his ear, and the call log on the screen neatly displayed seven missed calls, each with the same two words: timed out.

He stood at the end of the corridor, communicator in his hand, his fingertips lightly tapping the edge of the screen.

This was his habitual movement when he was thinking; it was light and rhythmic, like a way of recalibrating coordinates in his mind.

Everyone on Sea God Island disappeared simultaneously, and all communications went unanswered.

what happens?

But what if there's an emergency? Will they leave me here?

If it's an exercise or a meeting, at least one person should respond to him via communicator.

His fingertips stopped.

Because he sensed a very subtle fluctuation, different from the natural environment of Sea God Island.

It came in from the north-facing window at the end of the corridor.

It's very light and faint.

But this slight chill, when it landed on his senses, did not feel like a natural temperature change.

It's so accurate.

The aura of dark elements...

Very pure.

Yun Jingheng turned around.

Behind him, at the other end of the corridor, two people were standing there, seemingly out of nowhere.

One man and one woman.

The man was tall and imposing, with a head of black hair that fell over his shoulders. His face was handsome and deep-set, and his eyes were pure gold, vertical pupils that gleamed with a faint metallic sheen in the dim light of the corridor.

He wore a long black robe without any extra patterns, but the aura he naturally exuded made the air in the entire corridor seem to freeze.

He stood there casually, but the power contained in his golden vertical pupils was enough to make anyone who saw him understand one fact: he was not human.

The woman stood beside him, almost a head shorter than him, but her presence was by no means weak.

A long, dark purple dress trailed down to her ankles, the hem embroidered with some kind of ancient, subtle pattern. These patterns shimmered slightly as the light changed, as if they were slowly wriggling, like something alive.

Her face was extremely beautiful, with a dangerous aura. Her long hair cascaded down to her waist like a waterfall, the ends of which also shimmered with a faint purple glow.

Her eyes were also purple, deeper than the dark patterns on her skirt, and they held an emotion somewhere between curiosity and scrutiny.

Di Tian and Zi JI.

Yun Jingheng blinked.

He was still a little dazed; he had just woken up and was still wearing slippers.

Meanwhile, Zi JI on the opposite side had already spoken.

Her voice, like her personality, carried a deep and languid charm, unhurried and measured. "Level 70, would you like to choose me as your Soul Spirit?"

Yun Jingheng was silent for a second.

He smiled.

"I'll say it again," he said, "If you're willing, and she's willing, then I'll accept it."