When Qiangu Zhangting stormed into the Testing Chamber with a squad of guards, murder in their eyes, the air inside seemed to freeze in an instant.
Leng Yaozhu frowned slightly, a trace of impatience flashing in her crimson eyes.
Blood Eight narrowed her beautiful eyes.
The Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Soul Spirit perched on Luo Yang's shoulder let out a hostile growl at the intruders.
That growl immediately drew Qiangu Zhangting's attention.
His gaze locked onto the golden phantom on Luo Yang's shoulder, and his expression darkened in an instant.
"That's my Soul Spirit!" Qiangu Zhangting ground out each word. "What do you think you are, daring to take something I've claimed?"
Luo Yang couldn't even be bothered to look up at him.
"Qiangu Zhangting," Leng Yaozhu said coldly, "this Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff is public property of the Spirit Pagoda, not a private possession of the Qiangu Family. Besides, today's Soul Beast rampage was caused by you in the first place. What gives you the right to come in here and throw your weight around?"
"Then why does he get it?!" Qiangu Zhangting suddenly pointed at Luo Yang, his eyes filled with jealousy. "Has the Spirit Pagoda changed its name to Leng without my knowing?!"
"Because in your hands, it would be wasted." Leng Yaozhu's answer was simple and merciless. "A Soul Beast like the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff needs a master who can match its ferocity. You're not worthy."
The air fell silent.
Qiangu Zhangting's face turned from red to white, then from white to green.
That word—"unworthy"—stabbed like a knife into his most vulnerable spot: his talent.
He truly wasn't a top-tier genius.
With the resources his family had piled on him, reaching four rings at fourteen looked like a decent achievement. But before a true genius, it was nothing.
Pride wouldn't let him admit it.
"Enough nonsense!" Qiangu Zhangting took a deep breath, killing intent almost tangible in his eyes as he looked at Luo Yang. "You little bastard, hand over the Soul Spirit and get on your knees to kowtow and apologize. Maybe... I'll leave you enough of a body to bury."
The temperature in the Testing Chamber seemed to drop several more degrees.
Sparks began to dance in Leng Yaozhu's narrowed crimson eyes.
A dangerous aura emanated from Blood Eight.
The little Lion Mastiff on Luo Yang's shoulder bared its fangs, a threatening growl rumbling in its throat.
Then Luo Yang smiled.
It was a quiet little laugh.
Yet in that taut moment, it rang out with startling clarity.
"Your thing?" Luo Yang sounded as if he'd heard an amusing joke. "It's mine now."
He genuinely couldn't understand where Qiangu Zhangting got the nerve to threaten him with death when Leng Yaozhu was so plainly backing him.
This wasn't just a show of contempt for him; it was Qiangu Zhangting trampling the authority of Leng Yaozhu, the Vice Pagoda Master.
But then he thought about it.
In the original story, Qiangu Zhangting had been ambitious but talentless, arrogant and incompetent, a troublemaker through and through—the classic spoiled young master. It did make a certain kind of sense.
Some people were born to live in their own little worlds, convinced the universe should revolve around them.
Qiangu Zhangting's pupils suddenly contracted.
In all his life, no one had ever dared to speak to him in that tone, much less with a hint of pitying mockery.
And the other party had even taken the Soul Spirit he'd been determined to claim!
"Fine... just fine!" Qiangu Zhangting laughed in fury, Soul Power surging violently around him. "If you're so eager to die—"
He suddenly waved his hand.
"Seize him!"
However.
Not one of the guards behind him moved.
Anyone who'd managed to land a post at the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters was a sharp operator.
The situation was crystal clear.
Leng Yaozhu was obviously on the boy's side, and the feud between the Leng Family and the Qiangu Family had long since become public.
For little nobodies earning a few thousand a month to get mixed up in a clash between immortals, what could it be but a death wish?
And so the scene turned excruciatingly awkward.
Qiangu Zhangting stood there full of murderous intent, while the guards stared straight ahead, statues carved from clay.
Luo Yang's expression grew even stranger.
Blood Eight let out an undisguised snort of contempt.
At that moment, Qiangu Zhangting felt like a complete and utter clown.
"Do you really think," Leng Yaozhu said, her voice colder still, "that being Qiangu Dongfeng's grandson lets you do whatever you want in the Spirit Pagoda?"
"If you have a problem, take it up with my grandfather!" Qiangu Zhangting had thrown all pretense aside. He grinned viciously. "But today, that little bastard and that damned beast both die! I said so!"
The Leng Family and the Qiangu Family were already mortal enemies. So what if he burned the last bridge between them today? He refused to believe his grandfather wouldn't take his side!
"Don't you want this Soul Beast?" Luo Yang suddenly spoke.
His voice was calm, but it made Qiangu Zhangting pause.
Then, under everyone's astonished gaze,
Luo Yang raised his right hand and lightly pointed at the corpse of the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff in the corner of the room.
"I'll give it back to you."
"Vmmm—"
Gray-white ripples spread outward.
The enormous beast's corpse, already devoid of life, suddenly...
moved.
First, its claws twitched slightly. Then its chest began to rise and fall. Finally, its tightly shut golden eyes snapped open!
"ROAR—!!!"
A deafening bellow rang through the Testing Chamber!
The little Lion Mastiff Soul Spirit on Luo Yang's shoulder widened its eyes, staring in disbelief at its own "resurrected" corpse.
Wait, I'm right here!
So who was that they'd brought back to life?!
This was the ability of Luo Yang's Martial Soul: resurrecting the dead.
And that wasn't all.
Luo Yang's thoughts stirred.
The little Lion Mastiff Soul Spirit on his shoulder turned into a streak of golden light and shot into the resurrected body.
In the next instant, dazzling light burst from within the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff!
Its body swelled in the glow, and its golden fur shone even brighter, like molten gold flowing over it.
Most astonishing of all, a tuft of crimson hair sprouted in the center of its forehead, shaped like a crown of blazing flames.
The Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor!
A terrifying aura, several times stronger than before and imbued with both nobility and indomitable pride, swept through the room like a storm!
"W-what kind of ability is this?!"
Leng Yaozhu's pupils contracted.
Blood Eight held her breath too.
Qiangu Zhangting's face was livid, but then his fury eclipsed everything else. "You're just putting on a show! It's nothing but a beast."
He abruptly raised his hand, and a long staff of dark gold, carved with dragon patterns, appeared in his grasp.
The Qiangu Family's inherited Martial Soul—the Coiling Dragon Staff!
The instant it appeared, a low dragon's roar echoed through the room, radiating an innate pressure.
"It's still just a beast!"
Qiangu Zhangting shouted, and three Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet, two yellow and one purple. Then he brought the staff crashing down on the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor!
But he'd underestimated two things.
First, the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff was famed for "ignoring dragon might." The Coiling Dragon Staff's roar had no effect on it whatsoever.
Second, the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor's strength had undergone a qualitative leap.
With the three-hundred-percent boost to all attributes from Luo Yang's Calamity Domain, combined with the fusion of Soul Spirit and undead body, the Lion Mastiff's combat power had soared to terrifying heights.
"Bang!"
The instant its claw clashed with the Coiling Dragon Staff, Qiangu Zhangting's expression changed.
What incredible strength!
Before he could react, the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor's second claw came whistling toward him!
This time, the force of its swing tore through the air, leaving three dark-gold afterimages.
Qiangu Zhangting hurriedly raised his staff to block.
"BOOM—!!!"
He was sent staggering back three full steps. The skin between his thumb and forefinger split, and blood streamed along the staff.
"How is this possible..." Shock flashed through Qiangu Zhangting's eyes.
The Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor didn't care what he was thinking. It grew fiercer as it fought, golden light blazing ever brighter around it. Every swipe carried enough force to tear down mountains and split stone.
For it, fighting was no longer a burden but a pleasure. The feeling of power filling its body, of being able to tear apart anything in its path, was something it had never experienced in life!
This is awesome!
If there had still been a trace of a king's humiliation in its heart when it had been forced to become a Soul Spirit, now only one thought remained.
Submitting to this human had been the wisest choice of its entire life. No contest!
The Lion Mastiff roared inside itself, its attacks growing more and more violent.
Qiangu Zhangting, meanwhile, grew increasingly ragged.
His Coiling Dragon Staff techniques were a top-tier Power Attack System combat style, but under the overwhelming pressure of his opponent's strength and speed, he couldn't even get them off.
Even worse, his opponent seemed to keep adapting and growing stronger as they fought!
Damn it... how had this beast gotten so much stronger?!
Qiangu Zhangting was both shocked and furious.
At the instant his attention wavered,
"ROAR—!!!"
The Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor opened its mouth and let out a roar laced with a mental shockwave! The sound waves spread like a physical force.
Qiangu Zhangting's mind went blank, and his movements slowed by half a beat.
And in that instant,
three dark-gold claw shadows ripped through the air and came hurtling toward his face!
Qiangu Zhangting's pupils shrank to pinpoints. He summoned every ounce of strength to raise the Coiling Dragon Staff.
"BANG—!!!"
The impact boomed even louder.
This time, he flew backward like a ripped sack and crashed hard into the wall of the Testing Chamber. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and the Coiling Dragon Staff flew from his grasp, clattering to the ground.
Defeated.
Thoroughly and utterly defeated.
Leng Yaozhu gazed at the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor standing proudly before her, shock beyond words filling her heart.
That strength... it had definitely reached the Soul Saint level!
No, perhaps even higher!
And it all came from that six-year-old child.
She turned her gaze to Luo Yang. He was watching the Lion Mastiff thoughtfully, seemingly just as surprised by this "unexpected boon."
It truly was unexpected.
He knew that resurrecting and controlling the dead was his Martial Soul's talent.
But the evolution caused by the Soul Spirit fusing with its "former body" was an unexpected boon indeed. This wasn't a simple case of one plus one equaling two; its strength had increased geometrically!
Usually, a Soul Master's Soul Spirit, especially a non-native one, was little more than a decoration, with limited use in battle.
But the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor had now surpassed the bounds of an ordinary Soul Spirit. It was more like a completely new existence, somewhere between a Soul Spirit and a Soul Beast, with the strengths of both.
And his own situation was probably a completely unprecedented exception.
After all, he could resurrect an undead body, and the Soul Spirit could perfectly bond with and take control of that resurrected, enhanced "old body"...
Interesting... what an unexpected boon.
The corner of Luo Yang's mouth curled upward. He was quite pleased with this discovery.