Seeing that the capture had succeeded, Elder Gong couldn't help exclaiming, "You really are a little monster."
After saying goodbye to Elder Gong, Song Mu left the Beast Fighting Zone and headed back to the dormitory.
On the way back, Song Mu couldn't help thinking that coming to Shrek had been the right decision.
The best place on the continent for him to grow stronger early on was probably Shrek Academy. No other academy was as extravagant as Shrek, raising Soul Beasts right on campus—and even keeping Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.
What's more, with a powerful Titled Douluo helping seal the Soul Beasts, capturing them became as easy as could be. He'd succeeded on his first try.
It was a good thing he'd succeeded, too. He didn't have any spare Locke Berries to buy another Advanced Gulu Ball. Each one cost ten thousand Locke Berries.
Back in the dormitory, Song Mu locked the door and sat cross-legged on the bed. Wang Dong'er also emerged from the King Ball.
Song Mu took out the jade bottle containing the Soul Ascension Pills, poured out both pills, and handed one to Wang Dong'er. "Try it and see if it works."
Wang Dong'er took the Soul Ascension Pill but didn't hurry to eat it. "You first, or me?"
"Let's take them together. I'll have the Blazing Lion guard us."
"Sure." Wang Dong'er didn't hesitate. She climbed onto the bed, sat cross-legged, and began concentrating on absorbing the pill after swallowing it.
Song Mu summoned the Blazing Lion first. Rather than taking his pill right away, he claimed the reward for his basic task.
Just as Song Mu had expected, his Soul Power had indeed risen to level twenty-nine.
Then he tossed the Soul Ascension Pill into his mouth and circulated his Soul Power to absorb its medicinal effects.
Time passed slowly as Song Mu absorbed the pill's power. His Soul Power kept rising until it reached level thirty, at which point the increase finally stopped.
Song Mu circulated his Soul Power through his meridians once more before opening his eyes.
Wang Dong'er's breathtakingly beautiful face filled his vision.
"How did it go?" Song Mu asked.
"I can absorb it. I'm already level twenty-three."
Now that Wang Dong'er could absorb the pills, she wouldn't have to rely solely on the fruits she obtained by releasing Soul Beasts to raise her Soul Power. Other things, like Immortal Herbs, could help her advance too.
But Immortal Herbs weren't very realistic for Song Mu at the moment.
Wang Dong'er looked at Song Mu, her pale blue eyes sparkling with excitement. "How about you? What new ability did your Martial Soul get? Hurry up and show me!"
Seeing how eager Wang Dong'er was, Song Mu didn't keep her waiting. He summoned his Panel Martial Soul.
Song Mu could grant his Soul Beasts permission to see his Martial Soul. So far, he'd only given that permission to Wang Dong'er, making her the only person besides him who could see it.
He didn't need to worry about her letting the secret slip. Wang Dong'er had never even considered doing such a thing, and Song Mu trusted her completely.
Aside from their relationship, Song Mu also had absolute control over Soul Beasts whose levels were no more than ten above his own, as well as those he had raised himself.
Even so, when it came to matters of the heart, he wouldn't force his Soul Beasts to obey him.
A transparent screen appeared before them, instantly drawing all of Wang Dong'er's attention. She'd seen it many times before, but each time, the sight of this astonishingly mysterious Martial Soul filled her with intense curiosity.
The screen wasn't very big. It was big enough for one person, but a little cramped for two.
Trying to spot what had changed about the Martial Soul, Wang Dong'er instinctively leaned over to look. Her body edged closer and closer to Song Mu.
The sweet scent of a young girl, mixed with the fragrance of jasmine in her hair, drifted into Song Mu's breath.
Song Mu had been looking at the screen, just like Wang Dong'er. But when he caught the fragrance, he lowered his head and saw that Wang Dong'er's head was practically resting against his chest.
"Are you getting a little too close?"
Wang Dong'er first felt something vibrating behind her head. Then she understood what Song Mu meant and turned around. She nearly bumped noses with him before realizing she was almost lying in his arms.
She hurriedly backed away, her cheeks flushing red. After steadying herself, she looked at Song Mu and said,
"It's because this thing you call a screen is too small! How am I supposed to see it if I don't get closer? A-and besides, I'm this beautiful, and I'm willing to sit close to you. You should consider yourself lucky! W-what are you laughing at?"
Hearing Wang Dong'er's accusations, Song Mu tried to suppress the smile tugging at his lips. He failed the first time, so he turned away and fixed his expression before turning back to her.
"All right, beautiful Miss Dong'er. Let's focus on my Martial Soul first."
Wang Dong'er turned her head away and fixed her gaze on the screen, trying her best to look casual. "Since you put it that way, I suppose I'll look at it with you."
The longer Song Mu spent with Wang Dong'er, the cuter he found her.
Steadying himself, Song Mu turned his attention back to the screen.
First, he switched to the "Mine" option. Just as he'd suspected, he could use the Soul Skills of his Soul Beasts. In other words, he could choose one of his Soul Beasts' Soul Skills as a Soul Ring skill, and the Soul Ring's age would match that of the Soul Beast.
For example, Song Mu could choose the Blazing Lion's Blazing Clone Soul Skill as the skill for his Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
Next was the Soul Beast Skills section, where the Skill Learning and Skill Configuration options had also been unlocked.
Skill Learning let him use a Skill Stone on a Soul Beast, granting it the ability to learn the corresponding Soul Skill. After practicing for a long time, it would be able to use that skill.
But a Skill Stone couldn't be used on just any Soul Beast. Under normal circumstances, the Soul Beast needed to have the same or a similar attribute to learn the skill.
There was one special case for learning Soul Skills: Humanoid Spirit Beasts.
Using a Skill Stone on a Humanoid Spirit Beast could directly turn the skill it provided into a Soul Ring, allowing the beast to use it without having to learn it first.
The other feature, Soul Skill Configuration, was practically made for Humanoid Spirit Beasts.
You could just as easily call it Soul Ring Configuration. It let you replace a Humanoid Spirit Beast's Soul Rings and change which Soul Skills it could use.
An ordinary Soul Beast could use however many skills it had learned. It didn't need Soul Skill Configuration.
But none of these features was the main attraction. The new ability that surprised Song Mu the most was the Sell option, which had appeared in the shop.
There were two kinds of items he could sell: medicinal herbs and ores. Selling them would earn him Locke Berries.
But there was one major restriction: he could earn a maximum of one thousand Locke Berries per day from selling items.
At a thousand a day, it would take ten days to save enough for an Advanced Gulu Ball.
The daily limit was small, but it had come just in time to solve Song Mu's urgent problem. He had no other way to get a large amount of Locke Berries, and after buying an Advanced Gulu Ball today, he had only a little over a thousand left.
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