Destruction Aura??? Nanook???

The test was over.

Bai Yuan was led by a staff member to a quiet room to wait.

Before leaving, the man lowered his voice, his tone as solemn as if he were entrusting him with something of immense importance:

"You're a good child. Seize this opportunity and speak properly.

This is your chance to turn your life around, understand?"

Bai Yuan nodded.

Seeing him nod, the staff member patted Bai Yuan's head.

"Remember, be good later. Don't make trouble!"

With that, the man withdrew and gently closed the door.

The room fell quiet.

Bai Yuan stood where he was and looked around.

The furnishings were simple yet refined in every detail. This was clearly not an ordinary reception room.

Spirit Pagoda...

He lowered his eyes and began to think seriously.

Joining the Spirit Pagoda now was indeed a decent choice.

But the question was, could the Spirit Pagoda be trusted?

He recalled all sorts of things from the original story.

The Spirit Pagoda had worked with the Holy Spirit Cult to blow up Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect.

Those people from the Qiangu Family would do anything for power.

They definitely weren't good people.

But then again.

On the Douluo Continent, none of the major factions—Shrek, the Tang Sect, the Spirit Pagoda, and the War God Temple—were exactly normal.

Back when Tang San became a god, he had simply left, leaving behind a complete mess for later generations to clean up.

Shrek Academy called itself "the continent's number one," but deep down, it was stubbornly conservative and arrogantly self-important.

The Tang Sect was even worse...

The War God Temple...

Bai Yuan shook his head.

In this world, good and evil had never been a matter of pure black and white.

What mattered was who benefited him.

Even a blind man could see Leng Yaozhu's interest in him.

All she wanted was to cultivate a genius, ensuring that the Leng Family's influence within the Spirit Pagoda would not be suppressed by the Qiangu Family.

After all, the Qiangu Family had Qiangu Dieting, Qiangu Dongfeng, and Qiangu Qingfeng—three Limit Douluos from a single family.

If the Leng Family did not receive fresh blood soon, it would eventually be pushed completely to the margins.

So, Leng Yaozhu needed him.

And right now, he needed Leng Yaozhu as well.

They were merely taking what they needed from each other.

Just as he was considering his next move.

Click.

The door opened.

Bai Yuan looked up.

A graceful figure entered the room.

She wore a long dress as dazzling as fire, its hem trailing across the floor and swaying gently with each step.

Her waist was slender, her figure exquisite, every curve perfectly proportioned.

Above that.

Delicate collarbones, a long neck, and features so beautiful she seemed to have stepped out of a painting.

Her brows resembled distant mountains dusted with ink, her eyes rippling autumn waters. Her lips curved faintly upward in a smile that was not quite a smile.

Most striking of all were her eyes.

Flames seemed to dance within her crimson pupils, deep and blazing. One dared not meet her gaze, yet could not look away.

Sky Phoenix Douluo, Leng Yaozhu.

She approached step by step, every movement carrying an innate aura, as though all things in the world ought to kneel at her feet.

Bai Yuan instinctively straightened his back.

Leng Yaozhu stopped before him and looked him over from above.

Her gaze seemed to be appraising a priceless treasure, yet also judging.

Was this uncut jade truly worth the effort of carving?

After a moment, she spoke.

Her voice was unhurried and faintly lazy, yet it carried an unquestionable authority:

"What is your name?"

Bai Yuan raised his head and met her eyes.

"Bai Yuan."

His voice was calm, neither nervous nor fawning.

Leng Yaozhu raised an eyebrow slightly, surprise flashing through her eyes.

That reaction... was far more interesting than she had expected.

She sat in the chair opposite Bai Yuan, her slender fingers lightly tapping the armrest as she spoke unhurriedly:

"Do you know why I came?"

"I do."

Bai Yuan answered cleanly and directly.

Leng Yaozhu narrowed her eyes. "Oh?"

This child truly had exceeded her expectations.

He was only six, yet before her he was neither humble nor arrogant. His eyes were clear enough that he did not seem to be pretending, yet he was too composed to seem like a child.

"Then tell me."

Bai Yuan took a deep breath, raised his head, and looked directly at her.

"You want to take me away and train me."

The smile on Leng Yaozhu's lips deepened slightly. She neither denied nor confirmed it, merely saying flatly:

"Go on."

Bai Yuan clenched his teeth, as though making some sort of decision.

Then he suddenly raised his head. Something seemed to ignite in his eyes, and his voice carried the stubbornness and longing of a child:

"Master! I want to become your disciple!"

He paused, his voice lowering with a hint of embarrassment.

"I want to eat well and live well!"

Then his tone became impassioned again, like the innocent yet blazing dream every child might have:

"Growing up, I heard stories about those great Soul Masters. I want to be like them too. I want my name to be remembered across the continent!"

Leng Yaozhu froze for a moment.

Then.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!"

She laughed aloud, her laughter bright and clear, delight filling her eyes.

Interesting. Far too interesting.

This child spoke of becoming a great hero, yet ambition was written all over his eyes. And still, he openly admitted that he "wanted to eat well and live well"...

Interesting.

Truly interesting.

Bai Yuan stood there with the expression of a hot-blooded youth still on his face, silently giving himself a thumbs-up inside.

Sure enough, surviving in life depended entirely on acting skills.

Once Leng Yaozhu had laughed enough, she rose and walked over to Bai Yuan, looking at him as she spoke.

"What an interesting little fellow."

She reached out and lightly patted his head.

"Nice to meet you, my disciple."

There was laughter in her voice, but also an unquestionable certainty:

"I am the Spirit Pagoda's Vice Pagoda Master, Sky Phoenix Douluo—Leng Yaozhu."

Bai Yuan looked up, grinned, and spoke in a crisp voice:

"Master! My name is Bai Yuan!"

Leaning back in her chair, Leng Yaozhu let her gaze settle on Bai Yuan and said lightly:

"First, tell me about your Martial Souls.

Come, show me."

Bai Yuan nodded, stood up, and took a deep breath.

He opened his left palm, and the Core Flame appeared.

Blazing golden light burst from his palm, like a miniature sun floating above his fingertips.

The light flickered between bright and dim, at times violent enough to burn all things to ash, at others gentle like the newborn morning sun.

The utterly opposite auras of Destruction and vitality intertwined within it, making one's soul tremble at a single glance.

He raised his right hand, and Dawnmaker emerged.

The blade was thin as a cicada's wing, pale golden patterns flowing across it like rippling water.

It possessed none of the Core Flame's violence, only a pure, ultimate sharpness.

As though there was nothing in this world it could not cut through.

With both Martial Souls revealed at once, even the temperature in the room seemed to change.

On one side was heat capable of burning everything away; on the other, sharpness capable of severing all things.

Leng Yaozhu said nothing and merely watched quietly.

Her gaze moved back and forth between the Core Flame and Dawnmaker. Flames danced deep within her crimson pupils.

After a long while.

"Your two tool Martial Souls... are not simple."

When she spoke, her voice was more solemn than before.

"I can't give you a definite answer about the specifics.

You'll need to keep testing and exploring them during your cultivation."

She paused, her gaze returning to the Core Flame as her brows furrowed slightly.

"But from one of them, I sensed... an aura of the Destruction attribute."

Destruction attribute.

Those words exploded in Bai Yuan's ears like thunder.

He remained calm on the surface, but a storm had already risen in his heart.

An aura of Destruction?

Could it be... that the Path of Destruction had descended upon him as well?

Nanook???

Bai Yuan nearly failed to keep his expression under control.

If it really was that one...

Then what the hell was there left to play on the Douluo Continent?

Forget the Aeon descending personally—even a random Emanator could probably beat the Great God Circle until it did not recognize its own mother.

Wait.

A thought suddenly surfaced in his mind, and he nearly jumped up in excitement.

Did that mean he might have a "Calamity Form" in the future too???

Just thinking about it made his blood boil!

Bai Yuan took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed those chaotic thoughts.

Calm down, calm down.

Don't think that far ahead. Handle what was in front of him first.

Seeing his calm expression, Leng Yaozhu assumed he was digesting what she had just said, so she continued:

"Still, tool Martial Souls are considered quite good Martial Souls in this era."

Bai Yuan came back to himself and nodded instinctively.

More than good? They were absolutely incredible!

He understood it perfectly well.

In this era of Legend of the Dragon King, the Gold and Silver Dragon Kings had already appeared. Bloodline suppression was no joke.

Beast Martial Souls?

Against dragon bloodlines, they were weaker than weak.

Plant-type Martial Souls?

Even more so.

Only tool Martial Souls did not suffer from bloodline suppression. Everything depended on their own quality and cultivation.

His two Martial Souls... were clearly of no low quality.

Thinking that, Bai Yuan felt somewhat more at ease.

Path of Destruction or Aeon Emanator, whatever it was, he would take it one step at a time.

At least for now.

He had Martial Souls, talent, and someone to rely on.

All that remained was to become stronger at all costs.