Gu Yue sensed what Xiao Mu was thinking, and a hint of displeasure entered her gaze.
Xiao Mu didn't notice at all—or noticed and pretended not to.
Leng Yaozhu withdrew her gaze and looked at Xiao Mu. "What brings you to the Spirit Pagoda?"
"I'm here to buy a Soul Spirit!" Xiao Mu replied frankly.
Behind Leng Yaozhu, Gu Yue silently rolled her eyes. Here he went again. Did this guy really need to buy a Soul Spirit?
He definitely had some secret he didn't want anyone to know.
"You want to absorb a Soul Spirit?" Leng Yaozhu asked, puzzled.
"No, any Soul Spirit will do. I just want to take a look," Xiao Mu said.
"Then you can just try the lottery." Leng Yaozhu didn't mind the fifty thousand yuan; the cost was what it was. "Come with me."
She turned and walked toward the back of the hall, her long sash swaying gently behind her. Xiao Mu followed, with Na'er right behind him. Gu Yue brought up the rear, her gaze fixed on Xiao Mu's back the entire way.
After passing through two corridors, Leng Yaozhu opened a door. The room wasn't large, and a lottery machine stood in the center.
The machine was silver-white all over and three meters tall. A transparent glass dome sat on top, with dozens of balls arranged neatly inside. Most were white, while only a handful were yellow.
Beneath the dome was the dispensing slot, and a red button was embedded in the side.
Xiao Mu stepped up to the machine and ran a hand over its casing. He quickly grasped how it worked.
It was a simple mechanical setup. The white balls were surely weighted, keeping them at the bottom where they were most likely to fall out, while the lighter yellow balls stayed on top.
Of course, the weight of the white balls could be adjusted according to the quality of the Soul Spirits inside. The same went for the yellow balls.
And with the turntable's mechanical resistance added to the mix, the odds got even worse.
As expected, the lottery was the most expensive option.
Xiao Mu didn't explain how the machine worked. Who would gamble on the odds if they had any sense? Better not to gamble at all. Gambling was bad for you, especially when you knew the game was rigged.
Leng Yaozhu leaned against the doorframe with her arms folded. "Go ahead."
Xiao Mu nodded. His hand glimmered faintly as if he were secretly doing something.
Using his Martial Soul ability, which he still wasn't very proficient with, he applied downward and upward forces to the yellow and white balls respectively.
Xiao Mu pressed the button.
Gears whirred inside the machine, and the balls in the glass dome began to tumble. A yellow ball rolled out of the pile and slid down the track, dropping into the dispensing slot with a clunk.
Leng Yaozhu raised an eyebrow. A yellow ball represented a hundred-year Soul Spirit, and the odds of drawing one were set very low. An ordinary person could try a hundred times and still not get one.
She didn't know the exact details, but she knew the machine had been deliberately rigged. This was the Spirit Pagoda's biggest scam.
The kid had won on his first try. He was pretty lucky.
In reality, he had simply added a bit of gravity to the lightest ball, applying a downward force.
Xiao Mu reached into the dispensing slot and scooped out the yellow ball, tossing it in his palm. There was no surprise or smugness on his face.
After all, he'd cheated to get it.
How could a normal person ever win? He didn't know the exact odds, but he estimated that the chance of drawing a hundred-year Soul Spirit was about the same as getting a five-star item in a game.
"See, sis? It was just luck. Nobody can be that lucky!"
He said it awkwardly to the others.
"Who says that? Bro, you're the luckiest!" Na'er exclaimed. "Whenever you buy lottery tickets, you always win the jackpot, don't you?"
Xiao Mu grinned. "That's because you're lucky."
He hadn't forgotten that Na'er was a jinx. He needed to balance out her luck, or he'd end up getting burned.
Xiao Mu spun the yellow ball around his fingertip one last time, then flipped his hand and put it into his Storage Soul Tool.
This was something he'd need to research in the future. Once he reverse-engineered the structure of Artificial Soul Spirits, he could turn the Spirit Pagoda upside down.
As he thought about it, he decided he should order Zero to hurry up and infiltrate more of the Spirit Pagoda's data and laboratory recordings while they had the chance.
Once he returned to Shrek City and built a laboratory, the first thing he'd do was research... Actually, he'd better study fission first.
If danger came, Shrek Academy could take the hit.
He'd guide things remotely, but first he needed to upgrade the Federation's communications technology and aim for zero delay.
He patted the Storage Soul Tool where he'd put the Soul Spirit Orb, then looked up at Leng Yaozhu with a smile.
"Thanks, beautiful big sister."
"No problem. It's not worth much." Leng Yaozhu didn't mind; she didn't dislike the child.
"By the way, I remember you helped the Federation upgrade its communications technology."
"Yeah?"
"Do you know why there's no signal here at the Spirit Pagoda? It seems even the Tang Sect headquarters and Shrek Academy have lost their internet connection."
"Of course!"
"What's going on?"
Xiao Mu thought it over before answering. "I didn't get what I was owed, so I revoked the technology license. You were using it for free before. Now you have to pay. That's only fair."
Leng Yaozhu was stunned for a moment. "You mean... the Soul Bone?"
"Exactly." Xiao Mu spoke with utter conviction. "I can choose not to take it, but you can't refuse to give it to me!"
Leng Yaozhu considered it. The value of a thousand-year Soul Bone, combined with the Spirit Pagoda's losses, was almost equal to a ten-thousand-year Soul Bone.
It was worth at least fifty thousand years. After all, starting in this era, every ten thousand years added to a Soul Bone's age represented a whole new tier.
A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone was priceless.
"When will you calm down?" Leng Yaozhu asked helplessly. Qiangu Dongfeng had been punished, but that didn't mean the Leng family should be dragged into it.
"That depends on Qiangu Dongfeng's attitude. I've been waiting almost three months, and I've only seen him once. He didn't even look me in the eye then," Xiao Mu recalled.
Of course, that was the truth. Qiangu Dongfeng had been beaten so badly he couldn't open his eyes, so he hadn't been able to look at Xiao Mu.
Hearing this, Leng Yaozhu couldn't help thinking that Qiangu Dongfeng had to be an idiot. The other party was the Vast Sea Douluo and the Divine Pen Douluo, someone the Federation had countless Douluos protecting.
His behavior was a little out of line, but he was still a child. It was understandable.
After all, in a child's world, there weren't many social niceties. Rules mattered far more.
Besides, why would you expect this child to care about social niceties? With talent like his, he'd be a Super Douluo at the very least.
Gu Yue stepped forward and stood beside Leng Yaozhu. Hearing Xiao Mu's words, she furrowed her brows and suddenly asked, "Aren't you afraid of the Spirit Transmission Douluo?"
The Spirit Pagoda's current master, the Spirit Transmission Douluo, was one of the true apex figures on the continent.
Xiao Mu turned to look at her and smiled.
"Afraid of him? My ass! I'll get back at him for not giving me a Soul Bone sooner or later. Once I'm strong enough, I'll find his grandson and beat him up."
At that moment, in the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters, a boy undergoing special training suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, as if some ferocious beast had set its sights on him.
Xiao Mu suddenly thought of something else. "Gu Yue, I call your teacher 'big sister,' so I should be your elder. What should you call me?"
"Xiao Mu, don't push it." Gu Yue's face turned red with embarrassment.
"Right, Gu Yue, what should you call me?" Na'er suddenly caught on. She had to get in on anything that would annoy Gu Yue.
"You two!"