"Watch your language!"
The moment Mu Xi heard the words "trash Soul Elder," she bristled and reached out to give Su Chen's cheek a light pinch.
Su Chen had said "useless Soul Elder."
She and Ouyang Zixin were only at the first ring. Didn't that make them even more useless than useless...?
"Aw... Senior Sister, I didn't mean it like that. You and Senior Sister Zixin definitely aren't..." Su Chen hurriedly explained.
"Hmph, that's more like it..."
About an hour later, Su Chen neared his destination.
Far in the distance, a towering giant pagoda appeared at the edge of the horizon, so imposing it took one's breath away.
That was the East Sea Spirit Pagoda.
One of the eighteen branch pagodas established across the Douluo Continent by the Spirit Pagoda organization, these eighteen large Spirit Pagodas were also revered as the "Eighteen Heavenly Pillars," symbolizing the Spirit Pagoda's unshakable status and power in the Soul Master World.
Though they were still far away, its majestic presence was already enough to awe anyone who saw it.
The tower rose more than a hundred stories, and by all appearances stood over four hundred meters tall. Like a pillar holding up the sky, it stood proudly upright, an undeniable landmark.
Its base formed a massive octagon, covering an astonishing area, like the foot of a small mountain.
The tower did not rise straight up. Instead, it narrowed as it climbed, following a distinctive rhythm. Every ten stories or so, it drew slightly inward, giving the entire tower a stable, tapered silhouette that narrowed at last into the spire pointing toward the heavens.
Even from a distance, it inspired awe.
"Wow... I'm always amazed when I see the Spirit Pagoda." Ouyang Zixin leaned against the car window, gazing at the giant tower drawing closer, and couldn't help exclaiming.
Anticipation shone in Mu Xi's eyes as well.
The Soul Guidance Sports Car stopped at the edge of the vast plaza surrounding the tower's base.
Su Chen and the two girls got out, instantly attracting plenty of attention.
"Come on, let's go in," Su Chen said to Mu Xi and Ouyang Zixin, ignoring the stares.
He was completely at ease, as if the competitors around them, radiating powerful Soul Power fluctuations, weren't even there.
His composure, far beyond his years, made Mu Xi and Ouyang Zixin look at him in a new light.
Su Chen might be unserious in private, but in front of others, he could carry himself with such calm confidence.
Though Su Chen was young, he looked about the same age as the thirteen- and fourteen-year-old boys around them.
Even if no one here knew who Su Chen was, anyone who saw his confident, composed demeanor would find themselves praising him as a young hero.
They entered the Spirit Pagoda.
After the three verified their identities, a staff member led them to a corridor. They took an elevator to a special room.
The room was circular, with three pods inside. Screens lined the walls, displaying images of a forest...
"Miss Mu Xi, although this isn't your first time entering the Spirit Ascension Platform, we still need to go over the precautions..."
The staff member spoke respectfully, explaining the precautions.
The most important thing was the SOS Device on their wrists, which would prevent them from dying.
Though what awaited them inside was virtual, dying there could still cause mental trauma that would take a long time to recover from. It simply wasn't worth the risk.
The three entered their pods, and soon their consciousness began to blur.
The three awoke.
They found themselves in a vast forest.
This was Su Chen's first time entering, and everything—from the scents to the sights and sensations—felt utterly real.
The Soul Guidance Technology in this world has actually developed to this extent. Su Chen marveled to himself.
"Little Chen, don't just stand there. It's dangerous here." Mu Xi hurriedly warned him as she released her Martial Soul, Blazing Sun, and stayed on guard.
Ouyang Zixin also released her Martial Soul, Gale Spirit Colt.
Her Martial Soul could fight, but it was better suited for running away.
"If we really run into danger, you can ride on me... I'll carry you both away..." Ouyang Zixin seemed to think of something, and her cheeks turned red.
She had never let anyone ride her before.
But if they really encountered danger, she wouldn't have time to worry about that.
"Don't worry. I'm here."
Su Chen didn't release his Martial Soul. Instead, he took out a pitch-black metal ruler.
It was the weapon he had specially made for himself—the Heavy Profound Ruler.
It weighed 23,333 kilograms, but for Su Chen, it was barely a comfortable fit.
Su Chen could understand Tang Wulin a little now.
People who were too strong weren't suited to using swords. Swords were simply too light for them and felt awkward in their hands.
Only heavy weapons like hammers, rulers, and clubs were a good fit.
Hammers had too few ways to attack, so Su Chen had made himself this Heavy Profound Ruler. He could swing it and cleave with it, using sword or saber techniques, and it suited him better, too.
"So that's what you were secretly making all those days. It was this thing! It's made entirely of Thousand-Refined Deep Silver. How heavy must it be...?"
Mu Xi was astonished.
Even an ordinary Soul Elder would struggle to lift this weapon. They might even be crushed to death by it.
If someone took a blow from that ruler, they'd be pounded into mincemeat even if they survived.
"What a monster..."
Ouyang Zixin was shaken. She didn't know what the weapon was made of, but it was so big and so black...
It must have weighed a few thousand pounds, at least.
With strength this terrifying, Su Chen could probably face a Millennium Soul Beast with ease, even without using his Martial Soul or Soul Skills.
The two of them had still been about one percent unsure of Su Chen before.
Now that they had seen how terrifying he was, their last doubts vanished completely.
"Whoosh, whoosh—"
Just then, a rustling sound came from the distant woods.
"Careful, a Soul Beast!" Mu Xi said in a low voice. Soul Power surged through her almost reflexively, and the ring of blazing light around her grew brighter.
Ouyang Zixin reacted just as quickly.
As Mu Xi spoke, a faint layer of green currents swirled around Ouyang Zixin. Her Martial Soul, Gale Spirit Colt, had possessed her. She spread her long legs slightly and lowered her center of gravity, ready to dodge or charge at a moment's notice.
Her eyes were full of vigilance as she fixed them on the swaying shadows of the trees ahead.
"Hiss—!"
With a sharp, piercing cry, a huge black shadow tore through the bushes ahead and pounced out, bringing with it a nauseating, bloody stench!
It was a vicious, terrifying spider-type Soul Beast.
It was over three meters long, and its eight spear-like legs gleamed with a metallic sheen. Most hair-raising of all was the twisted, agonized human face on the front of its abdomen. It looked especially horrifying.
"A hundred-year Man Faced Demon Spider!!"
Ouyang Zixin cried out, her lovely face going deathly pale.
The Man Faced Demon Spider was notorious among Soul Beasts.
It was venomous, swift, and extremely cunning—a nightmare for countless Soul Masters.
Even a hundred-year Man Faced Demon Spider could hold its own against an ordinary thousand-year Soul Beast.
And the Man Faced Demon Spider's venom could badly injure even a Soul Ancestor or Soul King.
The three of them were only at the first ring. Even a tiny brush with a strand of its web would spell the end for them all.
Before you continue