The early game now came with a Level 99 Limit Douluo who was also a Four-Word Battle Armor Master.
At least his safety was guaranteed.
Gu An sat cross-legged on the floor, turning these thoughts over in his mind, but his eyes couldn't help drifting back to Leng Yaozhu.
He licked his lips and asked,
"Can I only summon you? Can I summon a few more?"
That was greed talking.
Leng Yaozhu's mouth twitched slightly at his words.
She rolled her eyes and looked down at her "little master," her expression a mix of helplessness and amusement.
"Little one, don't be so greedy."
She held up a finger and wagged it in front of Gu An.
"If you want to summon another bodyguard like me, you'll need to obtain World Origin."
Gu An's eyes lit up at once.
"How do I get World Origin?"
Leng Yaozhu lowered her hand, her tone turning more serious.
"To obtain World Origin, you either devour this world..."
"That's definitely impossible."
She paused, her gaze settling on Gu An's face.
"Then there's only one other way: seize the world's fortune."
Gu An's brows knitted slightly.
Leng Yaozhu continued,
"For example, the child of destiny in this world, Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao."
"And the Shrek Academy and Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, which have claimed a share of the world's fortune, among others."
Gu An slowly nodded when she finished.
He understood.
Simply put, he had to suppress the children of destiny in this world, seize their fortune, and convert it into World Origin.
As expected, the decision he'd made at the start was right.
With this Douluo Planet from Legend of the Dragon King inside him, there was no way he could stand alongside the child of destiny, Huo Yuhao.
Fortunately, he'd never planned to anyway.
Gu An silently calculated the timeline.
At this point, Huo Yuhao had probably already left the White Tiger Duke Mansion and was on his way to the Star Dou Great Forest.
Before long, he would meet the God-Slaying Wind Baboon that would change his life.
And then... Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, Electrolux.
Gu An absently rubbed his chin with his fingers.
Leng Yaozhu tilted her head, curiosity showing on her stunning face.
She looked at Gu An and asked,
"So, little master, will you join Shrek Academy and crush the child of destiny head-on while you're there?"
"Or will you join the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy?"
Gu An glanced at her.
She really was beautiful.
The title of the Spirit Pagoda's number-one beauty wasn't for nothing. Her features looked as if they'd been drawn with a ruler, and her figure was flawless.
Too bad he was powerless to act.
A little pony couldn't pull a carriage that big.
Gu An expressionlessly looked away, immune.
He shrugged, speaking casually.
"Why do I have to join their academy?"
"I have a Douluo Planet that's generations ahead of its time."
"A Douluo Planet from Legend of the Dragon King, ten thousand years in the future. How could it not outclass them in every way?"
"I'm going to build my own academy and faction."
"Then I'll smash Shrek."
He paused, the corner of his mouth turning up.
"Besides, what's not to love about using Shrek's own people to beat the crap out of Shrek?"
Leng Yaozhu froze for a moment.
She blinked and carefully considered his words.
It was certainly an unusual angle.
But somehow, she liked him even more for it.
Before she could say anything, Gu An got to his feet and brushed the dust off his pants.
"No time to waste. There's no need to test my Soul Power, either. Just take me to get a Soul Ring."
He turned to Leng Yaozhu.
"You know how to use Soul Spirits, right?"
Leng Yaozhu nodded. "Of course. But without the Spirit Pagoda, you can only use your flute to form a Soul Spirit contract."
At that, Gu An raised a brow. He'd truly forgotten that without the Spirit Pagoda, Soul Spirits couldn't simply be contracted at will.
After all, both the Soul Spirit method and the Spirit Pagoda were products of formations built upon Electrolux's work.
Either the Spirit Pagoda, or a Soul Beast willing to enter a contract of its own accord.
Where would they find a willing Soul Beast in the early days of Douluo II?
Even if one existed, in the original story, Snow Empress had been gravely wounded before they barely managed to succeed.
Since he hadn't managed to intercept Electrolux, he had no idea how to construct the formations. The chances of success were practically zero.
And now he couldn't enter the Douluo Planet from Douluo III, which was a real pain.
But Leng Yaozhu had said he could use his Martial Soul?
"What do you mean? My Martial Soul..."
Before he could finish, Leng Yaozhu cut him off with an eye roll.
"You haven't properly examined your Martial Soul, have you?"
"The Dragon Phoenix Soul Sound Flute isn't just an ordinary musical Martial Soul. It can forcibly contract the souls of Soul Beasts and use them as 'dance partners.'"
"In other words, to some extent, it can take the place of the Spirit Pagoda."
After hearing Leng Yaozhu's explanation, Gu An's pupils contracted as he realized how powerful this Martial Soul was.
Now that was what you called the value of the second-ranked Martial Soul!
"You mean I can summon Soul Spirits to fight while I'm playing?"
"Exactly."
Leng Yaozhu spread her hands. There was no envy in her beautiful eyes, but she was still deeply impressed.
No wonder. This Martial Soul had been personally fashioned by the consciousness of Douluo Planet.
Its power was off the charts.
"The Soul Spirits you force into a contract are different from traditional Soul Spirits, too."
There was more?!
Gu An drew in a sharp breath as Leng Yaozhu continued.
"They have no limit on the number you can have, and the age of the Soul Beasts you absorb rises along with your level."
Now Gu An understood.
It was just a pure summoner class combined with a musical one.
Who needed to worry about being a fragile ranged fighter when he could simply gang up on the enemy without playing fair?
And don't even mention how every Douluo III fighter had Soul Spirits. Those came with a limit on the number you could have.
Across the four Douluo books, the most anyone could have was six Soul Spirits. He could have nine.
One for every ring!
If they were all the same level, having one more could turn the tide completely!
Gu An steadied himself.
If the second-ranked Martial Soul was already this powerful, he couldn't even imagine what the first-ranked one could do.
His heart filled with confidence, but he didn't let it go to his head.
Until he'd grown stronger, everything was just talk. After all, there was still that old schemer Tang San looming over him.
Leng Yaozhu had no idea what Gu An was thinking.
She watched him remain so calm even after learning how powerful his Martial Soul was, and a complicated look flickered in her eyes.
The child before her was only six years old, not even tall enough to reach her waist. Yet he spoke with such clarity and handled things so decisively, without the slightest hesitation.
No wonder he'd been chosen by the consciousness of Douluo Planet.
Between the two of them, this little master standing before her was the one truly in charge.
As for testing his Soul Power...
What a joke.
With a Martial Soul of this level, and Twin Martial Souls—one a Twelve-Winged Holy Fallen Angel, the other a Dragon Phoenix Soul Sound Flute—if he didn't have Innate Full Soul Power, she'd write her own name backward.
Just then, a faint noise came from the bed.
Mother Gu had woken up.
Her eyes blinked in confusion at first. Then her gaze swept across the room and fell on the unfamiliar woman standing in the middle of it.
Mother Gu's body reacted faster than her mind.
She sprang straight out of bed and dashed to Gu An's side, spreading her arms to shield her son.
The Magic Flute appeared in her hands in an instant.
Three Soul Rings rose from beneath her feet, yellow, yellow, and purple, pulsing up and down.
Mother Gu stared at Leng Yaozhu, her pupils constricted and her whole body taut, ready to fight to the death at any moment.
"Who are you?!"