Because There Was Money

Blood stained the ground inside the Spirit Ascension Platform, and corpses of their own kind littered the place. Yet the boy and girl before them stood as immovable as mountains. Even the Purple-Striped Demon Wolf clan, which had regarded the God-Slaying Wind Baboon as prey, now trembled with terror.

Watching their subordinates fall one after another in pools of blood, the surviving wolves had lost all will to fight and did nothing but flee. The nine-hundred-year-old Purple-Striped Demon Wolf King threw back its head and howled, its voice filled with fury and unwillingness.

It spun around and bit down on a clan member scrambling to retreat, forcing the survivors to charge on with the most brutal means.

"Sun Piercer!"

At that moment, An Lan's low shout rang out like thunder, shaking the sky. His First Soul Ring blazed to life.

A sharp red glint flashed in his eyes. The Red Edge Spear in his hand erupted in blazing scarlet light, and boundless, violent Soul Power surged along its shaft, compressing entirely into its razor-sharp tip.

The power of Sun Piercer gathered to its utmost. Dazzling red light burst from the spear tip, and a half-meter-thick streak of scarlet shot through the air, like the sun falling to earth and a rainbow piercing the heavens. It tore through the air in an instant, shredding the currents in its path with a series of explosive cracks. Bearing an overwhelming force that could scorch the heavens and split the earth, it struck straight toward the Purple-Striped Demon Wolf King.

The terrifying spearhead bore down on the pack. Faced with the spear's shadow and light, powerful enough to tear apart heaven and earth, the Purple-Striped Demon Wolves turned ashen, their eyes filled with despair. But their instinct to survive ultimately overcame their fear. They spat out wind blades, purple lightning, and other innate Soul Skills, making one last, futile stand.

An Lan turned his wrist slightly and swept the spear across. The power of Sun Piercer instantly surged outward. Everywhere its scarlet light passed, the wolves vanished, turning into a rain of Soul Power motes.

A tremendous wave of Soul Power poured into An Lan's First Soul Ring, making it shine ever brighter. He lifted his chin slightly and looked at Na'er beside him. "Finish it off. The wolf king's yours."

"Oh." Na'er came to her senses as if waking from a dream. She gripped the Silver Dragon Spear in her small hand and flicked her wrist. The spear shot out and struck the head of the Purple-Striped Demon Wolf King, which still had one last breath left, ending its life for good.

When the nine-hundred-year-old Purple-Striped Demon Wolf King died, a mass of pure Soul Power condensed at once. At a ten-percent conversion rate, it was enough to increase Na'er's Soul Spirit, the Golden Hou, by ninety years.

An Lan had been very considerate of the white-haired girl. They had agreed to split things evenly, and since he had cleared the field with his big move, he naturally left the most abundant Soul Power—the wolf king's—for her as compensation.

Na'er's First Soul Ring had already reached the thousand-year level during the earlier battle, so she absorbed less than a third of the mass. Most of the rest dissipated into the Spirit Ascension Platform.

She awkwardly scratched her head, her silver hair swaying lightly. "There's too much. I can't absorb it all," she said softly.

An Lan was speechless. How could the Silver Dragon King's other half be unable to absorb a mere few dozen years' worth of Soul Power? She was obviously hiding her true ability.

But he wasn't foolish enough to call her out. He merely shook his head. "It's fine. How many years does your Golden Hou have now?"

"Twelve hundred." Na'er blinked and answered honestly.

An Lan nodded, quietly calculating. The Purple-Striped Demon Wolf pack had been excellent prey. His Phantom Sea Spirit Kun had gained two hundred years from the hunt, and even counting the Soul Power Na'er had wasted, their two Soul Spirits had gained nearly five hundred years between them.

"Let's go out," An Lan suggested, withdrawing his Martial Soul.

Na'er touched her little belly and suddenly felt hungry. She nodded firmly. "Okay!"

A clear metallic clatter suddenly rang out in the Spirit Ascension Room.

"Clack, clack..."

The two metal pods embedded in the wall slowly slid out, and their doors opened smoothly. An Lan and Na'er sat up in turn.

Before An Lan had even adjusted to the light outside, he felt a cool fingertip gently poke his cheek.

He opened his eyes. A pair of lively emerald-green eyes came into view. Bai Zhicen had leaned in close, her face full of disbelief. "You took down a nine-hundred-year-old Purple-Striped Demon Wolf in one hit? You're not even pretending anymore, are you?"

She had watched the battle inside the Spirit Ascension Platform from start to finish, and had been astonished by the power of An Lan's First Soul Skill.

Although both were Hundred-Year Soul Beasts, the nine-hundred-year-old Purple-Striped Demon Wolf King was in a completely different league from an ordinary Purple-Striped Demon Wolf. The gap between them was enormous.

Judging by how easily An Lan had struck just now, Bai Zhicen had no doubt he was already capable of facing off against a thousand-year Soul Beast.

"Xiao Bai, you should learn more from Aunt Leng and my teacher. You're not a child anymore; you need to act with dignity." An Lan remained perfectly calm as he gently pushed away her face, which had come very close. He could still feel the warmth of her breath on the tip of his nose.

Though he looked unruffled on the surface, Bai Zhicen's shock still gave him a little thrill of pride.

After all, the Bai sisters, Bai Zhicen and Bai Haoze, were no ordinary geniuses. When they had been Titled Douluos, their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, "Instant Light," had let them withstand Qiangu Dongfeng, who was at the demigod level.

And Qiangu Dongfeng hadn't been able to defeat them quickly, either. He could only wait for their Soul Power to slowly run out.

In this era, the most threatening Martial Soul Fusion Skill belonged to the Passionate Douluo, Zang Xin, and Heartless Douluo, Cao Dezhi: "Emotion Moves Heaven." If they sacrificed their lives, they could forcibly seal the First-Level God Abyssal Sage King for three days.

The Bai sisters' "Instant Light" came second. If the two of them could grow into Limit Douluos, they would become every enemy's nightmare.

Seeing that An Lan, a little brat, even dared to look down on her, Bai Zhicen grew annoyed and launched a sneak attack. With a loud smack, she pressed her red lips to his cheek, taking her little revenge.

After the kiss, she raised her chin smugly, then curiously pressed him for an answer. "Little An Lan, how many years does your Soul Spirit have now?"

"Fourteen hundred."

An Lan wiped his cheek. He was a little exasperated by Bai Zhicen's flighty nature, but he didn't mind being kissed by a beautiful white-haired girl with mismatched eyes.

Bai Zhicen clicked her tongue at his answer. But then she remembered that his Phantom Sea Spirit Kun had already had twelve hundred years of cultivation, so an increase of two hundred years this time made sense. She continued, "Na'er's Soul Ring has already reached the limit her body can handle, but you still seem to have some strength left. Why didn't you keep increasing your Soul Ring's age in the Spirit Ascension Platform?"

"Because I have money," An Lan said calmly.

A spot in the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform cost five hundred thousand Federation Credits, and even then, demand far outstripped supply.

Each Spirit Ascension Platform had only a thousand spots a month. The Spirit Pagoda had eighteen platforms in total, and Soul Masters across the entire Federation were competing for those eighteen thousand spots. Ordinary people couldn't get one even if they had the money.

As for the higher-tier Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform and Advanced Spirit Ascension Platform, they were even more out of reach. If you had no connections, you might as well not even think about them.