Gu Yue's Cuteness

On the other side, Tang Wulin seemed to have much better luck than Xie Xie.

After entering the Spirit Ascension Platform, he appeared at the edge of a relatively open woodland. Most of the Soul Beasts he encountered were alone and had around a hundred years of cultivation.

For him, having only recently obtained his First Soul Ring, they were excellent targets for honing his skills.

"Ha!"

Tang Wulin gave a low shout, his muscles tensing as he suddenly threw a punch.

"Boom—"

A huge Stone-Skin Wild Boar was sent flying and hit the ground, twitching.

Tang Wulin rushed up and finished it off with two quick punches.

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

"Phew... I think I really did improve a little..."

Tang Wulin raised his right hand. With a slight movement of his mind, a little golden snake appeared in his palm.

"Xiao Jin... You felt it too, right? I'll definitely make you stronger!"

Tang Wulin gently stroked Xiao Jin's head, his eyes full of resolve.

So what if Xiao Jin was only a ten-year Soul Spirit? As long as he kept working hard, he could help Xiao Jin evolve into a hundred-year or even a thousand-year Soul Spirit.

The thought filled Tang Wulin with renewed motivation.

After resting briefly, Tang Wulin set off again.

Elsewhere in the Spirit Ascension Platform.

Su Chen's experience was completely different from everyone else's.

He usually entered the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform. Now that he was in the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform, it was practically like fishing in a pond.

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

Soul Skills were manifestations of rules.

Martial Souls and Soul Rings were channels that connected to them.

But once one's understanding of the rules reached a certain level, there was no need to release one's Martial Soul or Soul Skills.

Now, Su Chen could use any of his space- or time-based Soul Skills without releasing his Martial Soul or Soul Rings.

The skill Su Chen was using now was the Void Chrono Dragon Martial Soul's First Soul Skill—Void Blade.

The Void Blade was invisible and intangible, difficult to detect. Taking an enemy's head from a thousand meters away was effortless.

Su Chen's Second Soul Skill was Etherealization.

While etherealized, he was immune to all damage, but he also couldn't deal any damage.

However, Su Chen could end the effect in an instant, so the drawback was negligible.

His Third Soul Skill was Space Imprisonment.

This Soul Skill overlapped somewhat with Time Stop, but the two weren't quite the same.

Under Time Stop, everything about the target—even their thoughts—came to a halt.

Space Imprisonment only restrained the space around the target. They could still think and were still capable of resisting.

It could also imprison a section of space, essentially forming a wall of air to block attacks.

It was a versatile ability, combining control, defense, and attack.

The effects of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Skill were still limited. They wouldn't be too powerful, and they couldn't surpass the two rule-level abilities innate to Su Chen's Martial Soul.

However, if Su Chen managed to obtain a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Spirit in the future, the power and effects of his Soul Skills should improve considerably.

As Su Chen hunted Soul Beasts, he headed farther into the distance.

His steps seemed unhurried, but with every stride, his figure appeared a thousand meters away like a ghost.

The Primary Spirit Ascension Platform was vast, but Su Chen had powerful Spiritual Power and could also use Teleportation. Finding Gu Yue wouldn't be difficult.

As for Tang Wulin and Xie Xie...

How many years they could add to their Soul Rings was entirely up to their own ability and luck.

Su Chen had paid for them to enter as a favor, but he had no obligation to babysit them.

Tang Wulin's luck had always been pretty good. His Soul Spirit should have no trouble evolving with this opportunity.

As for that unlucky fellow Xie Xie, who knew whether he'd been eliminated yet...

Su Chen couldn't be bothered with him.

Before long, Su Chen sensed the disturbance of battle thousands of meters away.

His figure flickered, and in the blink of an eye he appeared atop a giant tree thousands of meters away.

Su Chen looked into the distance.

The ground below was a mess. Sturdy trees had been snapped by brute force, and the earth was covered in frost and scorch marks.

Gu Yue was dodging through the forest in a somewhat ragged state. Her face was pale, her breathing a little labored, and her clothes had been torn in a few places and smudged with dirt.

Her opponent was a giant bear as big as a small mountain.

It stood over five meters tall, its body covered in translucent, pale-blue fur like crystal. Chilling cold radiated from it.

It was none other than the Millennium Frost Crystal Bear, famed for its strength and defense!

The two purple Soul Rings around Gu Yue flickered rapidly as she unleashed one elemental attack after another.

Unfortunately, the gap in strength was too great. Gu Yue's combat power was barely on par with that of the weakest Millennium Soul Beasts, but against a small-lord-class Soul Beast like the Millennium Frost Crystal Bear, she was clearly outmatched.

Of course, the main reason was that Gu Yue had little Soul Power left.

The power of each of her Soul Skills had dropped considerably.

"Roar—"

Seeing that it still couldn't take down the hateful human, the Millennium Frost Crystal Bear flew into a rage. With an angry roar, it slammed its enormous paw into the ground!

Rumble!

A visible, ice-blue shock wave suddenly spread out from it.

The ground heaved like a wave, and countless sharp Ice Spikes burst from beneath it like bamboo shoots after rain.

Gu Yue tried to use spatial shifting to dodge, but realized that her Soul Power was nearly depleted. She couldn't use spatial shifting at all.

"Damn it!"

Gu Yue's pupils contracted as she quickly retreated.

Although she reacted swiftly and avoided most of the spikes, an icicle that shot out from an awkward angle still grazed the outside of her calf.

"Rip!"

Her trouser leg was torn, and a streak of blood appeared at once. Bone-piercing cold seeped through the wound, making her movements stiffen for an instant.

"Roar—"

Seizing the opportunity, the Millennium Frost Crystal Bear lunged at Gu Yue without hesitation, raised its enormous claw, and slammed it down at her.

Unwillingness showed in Gu Yue's eyes as one hand instinctively pressed the SOS Button.

But just then, her vision blurred.

In the next instant, a figure suddenly appeared in front of her. It was Su Chen.

"Are you all right?"

With his back to the Millennium Frost Crystal Bear, Su Chen smiled and held out a hand to Gu Yue.

"Look out!!!"

Gu Yue cried out, her heart nearly stopping.

But what she imagined would happen never did...

The Millennium Frost Crystal Bear behind Su Chen suddenly stopped moving. Its body hung frozen in midair, as if something had imprisoned it.

The Millennium Frost Crystal Bear struggled frantically, fear filling its eyes.

Su Chen casually flicked out several Void Blades.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft—"

The Void Blades instantly pierced the Millennium Frost Crystal Bear's limbs and spine, leaving it completely unable to move.

Then Su Chen released Space Imprisonment.

"Rumble—"

The Millennium Frost Crystal Bear crashed to the ground with a thud and let out a whimper. It glared at Su Chen with resentment.

"S-so strong..."

Seeing this, Gu Yue's mouth fell open, her eyes full of shock.

He had subdued a Millennium Soul Beast so effortlessly—and not just any Millennium Soul Beast, but a powerful one like the Millennium Frost Crystal Bear.

Just how strong was Su Chen?

She felt that the gap between them was growing wider and wider...

"What's wrong? Did you get scared silly?"

Su Chen tilted his head and waved a hand in front of Gu Yue.

"Smack—"

Gu Yue slapped his hand away and huffed, "...Stinky senior brother, were you here all along, watching me make a fool of myself on purpose?"

She had actually sensed someone watching from the shadows some time ago. She hadn't expected it to be Su Chen, and she had no idea how long he'd been watching.

"Haha, wasn't it to give you some real-world practice? You don't get many chances to fight Soul Beasts, so this was a great opportunity to improve your combat skills. We couldn't waste it. Besides, I had your back~"

Su Chen didn't look embarrassed at being found out. He laughed, crouched down, and ruffled Gu Yue's hair.

"Get lost!"

Gu Yue kicked at him.

But Su Chen dodged.

The barefoot have nothing to fear from the shod...

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

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

Gu Yue grabbed one of Su Chen's feet, clearly intending to sponge off him.

Su Chen was so strong. She had to make the most of it.

If Su Chen took her to hunt Soul Beasts, all she'd have to do was land the finishing blow, and she could keep gaining years on her Soul Rings. She'd get a free ride with hardly any effort.

"Fine, fine~ You win~"

Su Chen smiled helplessly, turned around, and crouched down so Gu Yue could climb on by herself.

Su Chen had come to the Spirit Ascension Platform specifically to help Gu Yue improve. That way, he'd have an explanation for Leng Yaozhu too.

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

"Hmph, that's more like it~"

The corners of Gu Yue's mouth lifted slightly. She climbed onto Su Chen's back as naturally as could be, hooked her arms around his neck, and pressed herself tightly against him.

Even though it was virtual,

the soft, yielding sensation and faint fragrance were still perfectly clear.

Su Chen quite liked it.