"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
The silver-white dragon beneath Na'er sniffed this way and that. When it spotted Jiang Xiu, it let out a clear, delighted cry and sped up, quickly reaching his side.
"Xiao Bai, nicely done."
Na'er jumped down from the dragon and patted its head.
At the sight, Jiang Xiu chuckled. This silver-white dragon was none other than the Spirit Pagoda's seventh Unyielding Soul Spirit, the Void Spirit Dragon. It possessed pure spatial attributes, which was why Na'er had absorbed it.
Spatial spirit dragons were usually unruly, but the moment this one saw Na'er, its knees went weak, and it immediately wanted to bow down before her.
What Unyielding Soul Spirit? That was beside the point. It only regretted not meeting Na'er, its wise master, sooner.
After all, by becoming Na'er's Soul Spirit, this Void Spirit Dragon had passed the civil service exam and landed a secure position. Its future was bright.
"Come on, let's go. It's time for our 'harmonious and loving' duo to take control of some Soul Beasts again!"
Na'er raised her fist and, led by the Dark Night Raven, headed into the forest with Jiang Xiu. The Dark Night Raven had already scouted the way.
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
Before long, the two reached the edge of a lake. A pride of lions had gathered there. Their bodies were covered in fiery-red fur, with wisps of flame dancing at the tips. Each one stood over five meters tall. They were a pride of Flame Demon Lions.
At a glance, there were nearly thirty of them, and every one had cultivated for at least a hundred years. Several in the middle radiated the aura of thousand-year Soul Beasts.
The pride noticed Jiang Xiu and Na'er and rose to its feet. Fangs bared, the lions growled menacingly as scorching flames flickered over their bodies.
The burly Flame Demon Lion leading the pride looked up at the Dark Night Raven circling above Jiang Xiu and let out a low roar.
It was clearly asking, "You're the one who led these two humans here?"
"All right, let's get to it. They're just a bunch of big kitties. Big bro, you can have all the energy this time. Let's get your first two Soul Rings to ten thousand years."
Na'er gave a sharp cry. A silver glint flashed in her hand, and the Silver Dragon Spear appeared. The instant its chilling edge flashed, she charged into the pride, spear in hand.
In an instant, silver spear-blossoms stained with blood bloomed in the air. Roars and dragon cries mingled, punctuated by cries of pain.
But then, balls of flame gathered in the Flame Demon Lions' mouths and became a raging sea of fire, surging toward Na'er.
"Little Black, let's help."
Jiang Xiu called out, and the Shadow Monarch Martial Soul instantly possessed him. He went straight for the Flame Lion King, which had been skulking around, preparing to ambush Na'er.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of violent explosions rang out. A wall of darkness blocked all the flames, and a cold aura spread as billowing white smoke rose.
Before the pride could react, Jiang Xiu burst from the smoke, throwing one ferocious punch after another. He drew on his Bloodline Power, and a thousand-year Flame Demon Lion failed to dodge in time. Jiang Xiu uppercut it, blowing it apart in a burst of fiery-red energy.
The Body Sect's combat techniques were all about tempering oneself—the self. Nothing honed you better than a brawl where every punch landed flesh against flesh.
In an instant, the formerly quiet forest descended into chaos.
In a secluded thicket beside the lake, a man and a woman were crouching out of sight, secretly watching the fierce battle not far away.
"Brother Kun, is this really going to work? Those two look really strong."
The heavily made-up woman asked the burly man beside her, a trace of worry in her voice.
"What's there to fear? This pride of Flame Demon Lions is one of the three strongest groups in this Spirit Ascension Platform. Even if those two wipe out every last one of them, they'll have used up a lot of energy. Then we can reap the benefits."
The burly man lowered his voice. His meaning was clear: he intended to steal the Flame Demon Lions' energy.
During a Spirit Ascension Platform's riot period, the energy left behind by dead Soul Beasts wasn't restricted. Anyone could absorb it, so plenty of people played the opportunist and stole others' spoils.
Still, the Spirit Ascension Platform was only a semi-virtual world. As long as they didn't go too far, the Spirit Transmission platforms turned a blind eye.
"What? Don't you want to increase your Soul Ring's age? Once we advance to Soul Ancestors, we won't be allowed into this Primary Spirit Ascension Platform anymore. We can't afford the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform in the short term, so we might as well grab as much as we can here."
Brother Kun's words carried an implication. Only those below the Soul Ancestor rank could enter the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform.
"Brother Kun, of course I'll do as you say."
The woman's expression froze for a moment, then she smiled coyly and leaned toward him.
"Hmph. Good. But you questioned me just now, and now I'm in a foul mood. You know what to do once we get out, right?"
Brother Kun smirked and looked down.
"Your servant understands~~~"
The heavily made-up woman put on a coy expression as she spoke.
The two continued watching the battle. As it went on, a trace of wariness appeared in Brother Kun's eyes. Jiang Xiu and Na'er's strength didn't look anything like that of Two-Ring Soul Grandmasters.
And their combat skills were so polished and practiced that they didn't seem like children at all.
"Never mind. This is our only chance. A Soul Elder against Soul Grandmasters—the advantage is mine!"
Having made up his mind, Brother Kun quietly prepared himself.
As time passed, the Flame Demon Lion pride suffered heavy losses. Only two thousand-year Flame Demon Lions remained, and both were covered in wounds. The fiery-red energy inside them was already beginning to seep out.
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
The Flame Lion King kept roaring at the Dark Night Raven, as if scolding the turncoat that had led the humans to them.
"All right, time for your death lullaby."
Na'er swung her spear, blood spraying from the Silver Dragon Spear. After exchanging a glance with Jiang Xiu, each of them charged at one of the Flame Lion Kings.
Whoosh!
Boom!
Two thunderous impacts later, the two Flame Demon Lions turned into two clouds of fiery-red energy. At that moment, all the Flame Demon Lions that had died earlier also became fiery-red energy, floating in midair.
"Sixteen to thirteen. I'm the MVP this time, big bro. You just got carried."
Na'er pointed a finger and grinned, two little dimples appearing on her pretty face.
"You two have been watching for quite a while. Aren't you coming out?"
Jiang Xiu smiled faintly and looked into the distance.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
As soon as Jiang Xiu spoke, two figures emerged from the thicket. They were the two people who had been hiding there.
Brother Kun looked at Jiang Xiu with a glint of mockery in his eyes and spoke.
"You two must be pretty worn out by now. I'll give you a chance: leave at once, or you can forget about leaving this Spirit Ascension Platform."
"That's right. Listen to Brother Kun, or we'll have to make a move."
The heavily made-up woman swayed her body and spoke in a sultry voice.
At the same time, three Soul Rings—two yellow and one purple—appeared beneath each of them. The two hundred-year yellow Soul Rings already had a faint tinge of purple.
"Brother Kun? You're a chicken and a kun—what a perfect match."
Na'er snorted. The Silver Dragon Spear in her hand gleamed with a cold light once more. She had no habit of handing over spoils she'd already claimed.
Anyone who made an enemy of Great King Na'er either ended up utterly defeated or fled with their tails between their legs.
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