Gu Yue's Pouting

On the other side, Tang Wulin's luck seemed significantly better than Xie Xie's.

After entering the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform, he appeared at the edge of a relatively open woodland, where the Soul Beast he encountered were mostly lone specimens with around a century of cultivation.

For someone who had only recently obtained his first soul ring, these were excellent targets for honing his skills.

"Hah!"

Tang Wulin let out a low shout, his muscles tensing as he threw a fierce punch.

"Boom—"

A massive Stone-Skin Wild Boar was sent flying, collapsing to the ground in convulsions.

Tang Wulin pressed the attack, finishing it off with two solid blows.

The Stone-Skin Wild Boar dissipated, transforming into a warm current that flowed into Tang Wulin's body.

"Whew... it really seems to have improved a little..."

Tang Wulin raised his right hand, and with a slight shift of his intent, a small golden snake appeared in his palm.

"Xiao Jin... did you feel it too? I will definitely make you stronger!"

Tang Wulin gently stroked Xiao Jin's head, his eyes filled with determination.

So what if it was a ten-year soul spirit? As long as he was willing to put in the effort, he could make Xiao Jin evolve into a hundred-year or even thousand-year one.

Thinking of this, Tang Wulin felt even more motivated.

After resting briefly, Tang Wulin set off once again.

Elsewhere in the Spirit Ascension Platform.

Su Chen's illusion was different from everyone else's.

Su Chen usually entered the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform, so coming to the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform now was like shooting fish in a barrel.

Any Soul Beast that came within a thousand meters of Su Chen was instantly slain by an invisible Space Blade.

Soul skills are the manifestation of rules.

Martial souls and soul rings are merely the channels of connection.

However, when one's comprehension of rules reaches a certain level, there is no need to release a martial soul or soul skill.

Su Chen could now execute any space or time-series soul skill without releasing his martial soul or soul rings.

What Su Chen was currently using was the first soul skill of his Void Chrono Dragon martial soul—Void Blade.

Void Blade is intangible and formless, making it extremely difficult to detect; taking an enemy's head from a thousand meters away was effortless.

Su Chen's Second Soul Skill was—Etherealization.

In the Etherealization state, he was immune to all damage, though he was also unable to inflict any.

However, it only took an instant for Su Chen to cancel Etherealization, so the negative effect was negligible.

His third soul skill was—Space Imprisonment.

This soul skill actually overlapped slightly with Time Stop, yet it was different.

In the Time Stop state, everything about the target, even their thoughts, would be frozen.

Space Imprisonment, however, only locks the space; the opponent can still think and still possesses the ability to resist.

At the same time, it can lock space to create an air wall, which can block attacks.

This counts as a versatile ability that combines control, defense, and offense.

The effects of a ten-thousand-year soul skill are still limited; they wouldn't be too powerful and could not surpass the two rule-level skills inherent to Su Chen's martial soul.

However, if Su Chen could obtain a hundred-thousand-year soul spirit in the future, the strength and effects of his soul skills should improve significantly.

Su Chen walked toward the distance while hunting Soul Beast.

His pace did not look fast, but with every step he took, his figure would appear a thousand meters away like a phantom.

Although the space within the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform was vast, Su Chen's spiritual power was immense, and with Teleportation, finding Gu Yue would not be difficult.

As for Tang Wulin and Xie Xie.

How much soul ring age they could absorb would depend entirely on their own abilities and fortune.

Su Chen paying for them to enter was a favor, but he had absolutely no obligation to act as their babysitter.

That kid Tang Wulin had always had decent luck; it shouldn't be a problem for his soul spirit to evolve through this opportunity.

As for that unlucky guy Xie Xie, who knows if he's been eliminated by now...

Su Chen couldn't be bothered to care about him.

Soon.

Su Chen sensed the fluctuations of battle coming from several thousand meters away.

Su Chen's figure flickered instantly, appearing atop a giant tree thousands of meters away in the blink of an eye.

Su Chen looked toward the distance.

Below, the area was a scene of devastation; thick trees had been snapped by brute force, and the ground was covered in frost and charred marks.

Gu Yue was weaving through the forest with some difficulty, looking rather disheveled. Her face was pale, her breathing rapid, and her clothes were torn in several places, stained with dust.

Her opponent was a giant bear the size of a small hill.

This bear stood over five meters tall, its entire body covered in pale blue fur as translucent as crystal, radiating an astonishing chill.

It was the Millennium Frost Crystal Bear, renowned for its strength and defense!

Two purple soul rings flashed rapidly around Gu Yue as she unleashed a barrage of elemental attacks.

Unfortunately, the gap in combat power was too vast. Gu Yue's strength was barely on par with the weakest of millennium Soul Beasts, and facing a minor lord-level Soul Beast like the Millennium Frost Crystal Bear, she was stretched thin.

Of course, the main issue was that Gu Yue had little soul power remaining.

The potency of each soul skill had dropped significantly.

"Roar—"

Seeing that it couldn't quickly take down this detestable human, the Millennium Frost Crystal Bear flew into a rage, let out a furious roar, and slammed its massive paw into the ground!

Boom!

An ice-blue shockwave, visible to the naked eye, erupted from its center and spread outward.

The ground undulated like waves, and countless sharp ice spikes shot up from the earth like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

Gu Yue tried to use spatial teleportation to dodge, only to realize her soul power was nearly bottomed out; she couldn't execute the move at all.

"Oh no!"

Gu Yue's pupils constricted as she retreated rapidly.

Although she reacted quickly enough to avoid most of the spikes, an ice shard protruding from a tricky angle grazed the side of her calf.

"Rip!"

Her pant leg tore, a bloody gash immediately appearing. A bone-chilling cold seeped through the wound, causing her movements to stiffen for a split second.

"Roar—"

Seeing the opportunity, the Millennium Frost Crystal Bear lunged at Gu Yue without hesitation, raising its giant claws to strike down at her.

Gu Yue's eyes filled with reluctance as her hand subconsciously pressed toward her distress signal.

But at that moment, her vision blurred.

Immediately after, a figure suddenly blocked her path—it was Su Chen.

"Are you alright?"

Su Chen stood with his back to the Millennium Frost Crystal Bear, smiling as he reached out a hand toward Gu Yue.

"Watch out!!!"

Gu Yue cried out in alarm, her heart nearly stopping.

However, the scene she imagined did not occur...

The Millennium Frost Crystal Bear behind Su Chen suddenly froze, its massive body suspended in mid-air as if held by an invisible force.

The Millennium Frost Crystal Bear struggled violently, its eyes instantly filling with terror.

Su Chen flicked his fingers, sending out several *Void Blade*s.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft—"

The *Void Blade*s instantly pierced the limbs and spine of the Millennium Frost Crystal Bear, completely stripping it of its ability to move.

Following that, Su Chen released the Space Imprisonment.

"Boom—"

The massive body of the Millennium Frost Crystal Bear crashed to the ground, emitting a whimpering sound, its gaze filled with resentment as it looked at Su Chen.

"So... so strong..."

Seeing this, Gu Yue's mouth hung open, her eyes filled with shock.

To suppress a millennium Soul Beast so effortlessly—and a powerful one like the Millennium Frost Crystal Bear at that.

Just what level had Su Chen's combat power reached?

She felt as though the gap between her and Su Chen was growing wider and wider...

"What's wrong? Did I scare you silly?"

Su Chen tilted his head, waving a hand in front of Gu Yue.

"Smack—"

Gu Yue swatted Su Chen's hand away, pouting, "...You stinky Senior Brother, have you been here the whole time, watching me make a fool of myself on purpose?"

She had actually sensed someone watching from the shadows for a while, but she hadn't expected it to be Su Chen, nor did she know how long he had been watching.

"Haha, isn't this just to give you some training? Opportunities to fight Soul Beast are rare, and this is a great chance to improve your combat skills, so we naturally shouldn't waste it. Besides, I've got your back~"

Su Chen didn't feel awkward at all after being exposed; he just laughed and crouched down to ruffle Gu Yue's hair.

"Get lost!"

Gu Yue raised her foot to kick him.

However, Su Chen dodged it.

The barefoot aren't afraid of those wearing shoes...

If Gu Yue hadn't been wearing shoes, Su Chen wouldn't have dodged.

"Hmph, I don't care. My foot is hurt, you have to carry me!"

Gu Yue reached out and grabbed Su Chen's leg, clearly intending to take advantage of him.

Since Su Chen was so strong, she had to make good use of him.

With Su Chen taking her to hunt Soul Beast, she only needed to land the finishing blows to continuously gain soul ring age, easily freeloading her way up.

"Fine, fine, fine~ I'm afraid of you~"

Su Chen smiled helplessly, turned around, and crouched halfway down, letting Gu Yue climb on.

His purpose in coming to the Spirit Ascension Platform this time was originally to help Gu Yue get a solid boost, so he would have something to report back to Leng Yaozhu.

Leng Yaozhu had already sent him a message telling him to take good care of Gu Yue, so Su Chen didn't dare to slack off.

"Heh heh, that's more like it~"

The corners of Gu Yue's mouth curled up slightly as she climbed onto Su Chen's back quite naturally, hooking her arms around his neck and pressing tightly against him.

Even though it was virtual.

The soft, delicate sensation and the faint, sweet fragrance were still incredibly clear.

Su Chen felt it wasn't bad at all.