Purchasing Soul Spirits

After returning home, Tang Wulin explained what happened today to his parents in detail.

Then, Tang Ziran and Lang Yue both fell silent.

If they could help it, they wanted nothing to do with any major powers.

Tang Ziran was once a fourth-level mecha designer and pharmaceutical researcher for the Federation, but because of a groundbreaking design blueprint, he had attracted the attention of various factions. He was forced to move to Aolai City to live in seclusion with his wife, who was also a mecha designer and pharmaceutical researcher.

To avoid drawing attention, he only dared to work a common job in mecha maintenance, and Lang Yue had become a housewife.

But now, a bloody reality lay before them: they simply had no extra money to support their son on the path of a Spirit Master.

"Linlin, go to sleep first. Your mother and I will consider it further."

After Tang Ziran said this, he took Lang Yue's hand and left the house.

Although Tang Wulin was puzzled, he could only tidy up and go to bed.

As for Na'er, she had already fallen asleep; it was unclear why she had gone to bed so early today.

Long Yuan felt something was off. He passed through the wall and entered the next room.

Sure enough, Na'er was curled up under the covers, her entire body trembling slightly.

Long Yuan placed his hand on Na'er's head, but the touch startled her awake.

She opened her eyes in a daze, took a glance, then closed them again. She reached out, hugged Long Yuan's arm, and fell back into a peaceful sleep.

"Brother..."

Long Yuan frowned. "Brother?"

Had she mistaken him for someone else, or was it a subconscious utterance?

Long Yuan didn't know, but seeing that Na'er had stopped trembling, he didn't dwell on it.

After carefully checking the seal and finding no changes, he let Na'er continue to sleep while holding his arm.

On a park bench, the couple sat together in silence.

"Husband, what should we do? Linlin, he..." Lang Yue started, then stopped.

Tang Ziran looked at his wife for a long time before whispering, "How about we just draw a random spirit? After all, Linlin's martial soul is Blue Silver Grass, which has extremely high adaptability. I imagine it should be enough."

"But what if we draw a defective spirit? Even the Spirit Pagoda doesn't know if something might go wrong. If something happens to Linlin..."

Lang Yue countered her husband's words.

In her view, buying a spirit of unknown quality for Tang Wulin was clearly extremely irresponsible.

"But you know our family's situation; we simply can't scrape together any extra money."

Tang Ziran gave a bitter smile.

Currently, he was the sole provider for the entire family's expenses. With Tang Wulin and Na'er eating more and more, while he was happy they were growing, the strain on his wallet was becoming increasingly severe.

Especially when compared to the conditions offered by Pagoda Master Li of the Spirit Pagoda—a yellow spirit. As former Federation researchers, the two of them naturally knew the gap between a white spirit and a yellow spirit.

"What if we use that design blueprint..." Lang Yue suddenly suggested.

"Are you crazy?!" Tang Ziran sternly interrupted his wife's thought. "If we release that thing now, what if those people target us again? Do you want to drag Linlin and Na'er into this mess?"

"Alright, you go back first. I'll go find Brother Mang Tian to see if I can borrow some money so we can buy Linlin a white spirit."

"Okay."

That night, Tang Ziran went to find Mang Tian. It was unclear what they discussed, but he didn't return until the next morning.

"Wife, Linlin, Na'er!" Tang Ziran pushed open the door. Although he had dark circles under his eyes, he couldn't hide his excitement.

"Husband, you're back. Why were you gone all night? Get some rest."

Lang Yue hurried over to support him.

"I'm fine." Tang Ziran waved his hand dismissively. "Quick, Linlin, I'll take you to the Spirit Pagoda to buy a spirit in a moment. I've already asked for leave from the academy for you."

Tang Wulin jumped up with joy. "Okay, Dad!"

He wolfed down his breakfast in a flash and then headed out with them.

The Spirit Pagoda organization had a history spanning ten thousand years. After developing the epoch-making artificial spirits and the Spirit Ascension Platform, its status had risen rapidly. Not only were its branch pagodas spread across the three continents, but it had also used the opportunity to recruit a large number of powerhouses, becoming one of the most formidable forces in existence.

Almost every city had a Spirit Pagoda. The Spirit Pagoda in large cities stood thirteen stories high, while those in medium-sized cities were seven stories.

The headquarters of the Spirit Pagoda, located in Shrek City, had been renovated over the years to reach eighty-one stories, and it was known as the most magnificent building on the Douluo Continent.

The Spirit Pagoda in Aolai City was an octagonal building divided into three levels—a standard branch pagoda for a small city.

However, the height of each floor was much greater than that of an ordinary building. With the three floors combined, including the roof and the foundation, it stood nearly thirty meters tall.

The interior of the Spirit Pagoda was very spacious, with marble flooring. A circle of doors led to unknown destinations, each marked with the Spirit Pagoda's emblem. At the front was a counter-like area, behind which sat a Spirit Master wearing gray robes.

Seeing them, the Spirit Master stood up and asked Tang Ziran, "Hello, how can I help you?"

"Master Spirit Master, I am here to buy a spirit for my son."

"Buying a spirit soul? Right away! What kind of spirit soul are you looking for?" Upon hearing that business had arrived, the Spirit Master's entire demeanor became much more spirited.

After all, he received a commission for every spirit soul he sold.

"We're planning to buy a white spirit soul, but we aren't sure what's available, so we'd like to ask for your recommendation."

"A white spirit soul?" Tang Wulin hurriedly tugged on his father's sleeve.

He had clearly planned on drawing a random spirit soul.

Tang Ziran patted his son's hand and shook his head at him. "Listen to me."

With that, Tang Ziran pulled a stack of cash from his pocket and handed it over.

The Spirit Master counted the money, confirmed it was correct, and nodded. "You're quite straightforward. Usually, there's a fee for the mental power test before selecting a spirit soul, but I'll waive it for you."

It was clear he had been driven to his wits' end by customers who only looked but never bought.

"Thank you, Spirit Master."

"Small matter. Follow me, and the parent can wait outside." Having said that, the Spirit Master led Tang Wulin into a passageway.

He pointed to a machine, signaling for him to sit down.

"I'm going to test your mental power now. Of course, I won't go into too much detail about mental power here; you'll learn that later at the intermediate soul master academy. For now, you just need to remember that mental power is divided into six levels, from lowest to highest: Spirit Origin, Spirit Connection, Spirit Sea, Spirit Abyss, Spirit Domain, and the legendary God Origin realm. As the saying goes, 'the origin is the beginning of all things, and the universe is ever-renewing.' Almost everyone is at the Spirit Origin realm from birth, and this level can fuse with one yellow spirit soul."

As he spoke, a metal helmet-like device descended from above, connected by a metal arm, and settled over Tang Wulin's head.

"Don't be nervous."

The machine's testing speed was quite fast. Before long, the data on the soul guidance screen stopped flickering. The Spirit Master looked at the figures and revealed an expression of surprise. "Fifty-five points! You're already approaching the late stage of the Spirit Origin realm!"

"I'll write up a report for you in a moment; just hand it in when you go to the intermediate academy."

Tang Wulin shook his slightly dizzy head and broke into a happy smile.