"Sister Gu, these Soul Beasts are the perfect age for you."
Mother Gu took a deep breath. She didn't think Leng Yaozhu would harm her.
She raised her right hand, and her Magic Flute Martial Soul appeared in her palm as one Soul Ring after another rose from beneath her feet.
At the same time, her spiritual power slowly reached out to the Soul Spirit.
After a dozen or so breaths, a clear, ringing cry sounded from within the orb of light.
A falcon covered from head to toe in purple-gold feathers flew out of the orb. A horn like purple crystal grew from the top of its head.
"An eight-thousand-year Purple Thunder Demon Falcon, with both wind and lightning attributes. An offensive Soul Spirit."
"It has a high degree of compatibility with Sister Gu's Magic Flute Martial Soul."
Leng Yaozhu's voice rang out beside them.
The Purple Thunder Demon Falcon circled once in the air, then folded its wings and landed in front of Mother Gu, lowering its head.
A flash of purple-gold light passed over her. Mother Gu's aura surged, and a seventh Soul Ring rose from beneath her feet—a deep, pitch-black ring.
A Soul Sage!
In that instant, she easily broke through her bottleneck.
At the same time, the Purple Thunder Demon Falcon turned into a streak of light and entered Mother Gu's body, becoming her seventh Soul Spirit.
Ning Qingyun's eyes nearly bulged out of her head.
Wu Yunshan even took two steps forward, stretching his neck out as far as it would go, as if he wanted to press his face right up against the orb.
It was real! All of it was real!
It wasn't empty promises or pie in the sky. It was a real Soul Spirit!
Xiao Xiao, Wu Feng, and Ning Tian were so excited that the three girls hugged one another.
Ning Tian let go and clenched her fists, her gaze resolute.
"I'm going to train hard! When I break through to my next ring, I'll come here and get a Soul Spirit of my own!"
"Me too!"
Wu Feng raised her fist, unwilling to be outdone.
Xiao Xiao didn't say anything, but the bright gleam in her big eyes said it all.
In the days that followed, with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect throwing its full support behind it, the Spirit Pagoda officially began accepting students.
All of Seven Treasures City was in an uproar. Countless people spread the word that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had built a new academy.
The news sprouted wings and flew in every direction.
However, the story of how they had caused a commotion at Shrek Academy never got out.
Cai Mei'er's threats and bitter lecture that day had indeed worked.
On top of that, the name Spirit Transmission Academy was unfamiliar to most people, so they didn't attract many students.
Only a few dozen enrolled, and their talents were all quite ordinary. Not one of them had Innate Full Soul Power.
Fortunately, Gu An didn't care whether they could recruit students from this world.
The true pillars of the Spirit Transmission Academy were the Shrek Academy students from the third Douluo novel, Legend of the Dragon King.
As long as they summoned those geniuses from Douluo III one by one, a single Yuan'en Yehui would be worth hundreds of ordinary students.
So whether they recruited local students or not made no difference to him.
Gu An spent several peaceful days with Mother Gu.
He ate with her every day and kept her company, listening as she nagged him to stay safe and not push himself too hard.
Mother Gu hadn't stopped smiling for days. She looked several years younger.
Just as Gu An was preparing to leave the Spirit Transmission Academy and head for the Far North, the academy welcomed its first true genius.
Ning Qingyun hurried over to find him, holding an enrollment form. Her expression was both excited and strange.
"Xiao An! We have a student here to enroll! A girl with Innate Full Soul Power! Her Martial Soul is... the Clear Sky Hammer! And she says her surname is Tang. Her name is Tang Qi!"
Gu An's mouth twitched when he heard that.
Tang Qi? Clear Sky Hammer? Innate Full Soul Power? The surname Tang?
If he still couldn't guess who she was with those three clues, he'd have to be an idiot.
There was no need to think twice. She was most likely the other half of Tang Wutong's soul!
But one thing still baffled him. In the original story, shouldn't Tang Wutong's other half of the soul have been in the Star Dou Great Forest, attached to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion?
How had she ended up with the same setup as Wang Dong?
Another dog leash, sent specifically to tie up his Gu An?
Gu An fell silent for a long while.
"Sure enough, they're tools. They get sent wherever they're useful."
"Wang Dong was sent to leash Huo Yuhao, and Tang Qi's here to leash me. Great God King Tang really does share the love."
Zi JI and Leng Yaozhu were standing nearby, so they'd heard the news too.
Leng Yaozhu's phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, her tone tinged with coldness.
"Should we drive her out? If Tang San sent her, she'll be a threat as long as she stays at the academy."
Gu An let out a cold laugh.
"No need to drive her out."
"If Great God King Tang is generous enough to send his own daughter over, then we'll keep her!"
"Tie me up? Dream on!"
He wasn't a fool like Huo Yuhao.
"Put her in the same class as Xiao Xiao and the others. Let them get to know each other."
"After we return from the Far North, I'll meet this 'Half-God Daughter' properly."
When Leng Yaozhu heard Gu An was leaving, her mood instantly darkened.
Her brows drew together as she looked at him.
"Are you really not letting me go? The Far North is freezing. What if something dangerous happens?"
Gu An gave her a helpless smile, stood up from his chair, and walked over to her.
"Sister Yaozhu, the Spirit Transmission Academy needs you here."
"Shrek Academy is watching us like a hawk, and Tang San's dog leash has already been sent right under my nose. If you leave too, who'll protect our home?"
"Besides, this trip to the Far North is mainly about dealing with Soul Beasts."
"Zi JI is the Hell Demon Dragon King. Bringing her along will make it easier to talk to the Ice Empress and Snow Empress. We're all Ferocious Beasts, so at least they won't start fighting the moment we meet."
Leng Yaozhu was still downcast. Her beautiful phoenix eyes were full of reluctance.
After all, ever since she'd been summoned, she'd hardly left Gu An's side. She wasn't used to the idea of suddenly being apart.
Still, she knew he was right. The Spirit Transmission Academy had only just been built, and the Spirit Pagoda had only just started operating.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect might be loyal, but it wasn't strong enough.
If Shrek Academy attacked while they were all away, they'd be in trouble.
"All right..."
Seeing Leng Yaozhu looking so aggrieved softened Gu An's heart.
After all, she was the first woman he'd summoned (and his first bodyguard), so naturally he felt differently about her.
He thought it over, then promised, "Once our trip to the Far North is over, we should have enough World Origin saved up for our next character draw, assuming nothing unexpected happens."
"Whoever we draw, I'll take you with me whenever I go out from now on. You'll just have to put up with it this time."
The gloom vanished from Leng Yaozhu's face, and the corners of her mouth lifted again.
"You said it!"
"Yeah, I did."
Afterward, Zi JI stepped forward, bent down, and swept Gu An into her arms.
His face was once again pressed firmly between two mountains, and that familiar feeling of suffocation washed over him.
Zi JI even adjusted her position to make sure Gu An was settled more "securely."
Then she pushed off the ground, turning into a streak of purple light as she sped toward the northern horizon.
Gu An struggled to turn his head in Zi JI's arms and get a breath of fresh air, his face full of despair.
Why did all these older sisters have to do this?
Leng Yaozhu did it, and now Zi JI did too!
He'd lost count of how many mountains his face had been buried in!
As they left the Spirit Transmission Academy and headed for the Far North, Zi JI, who had set out from the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest, was racing after them, following an aura almost identical to her own.
She suddenly sensed that the aura had begun moving quickly, and that it was heading straight north.
Though she didn't know why, she didn't hesitate for a moment. She changed course and gave chase.
At that very moment, Gu An and Zi JI weren't the only ones headed for the Far North.
At the gates of Shrek City, Huo Yuhao strode out with a simple pack on his back, his expression resolute.
He was fully recovered.
He looked toward the northern horizon, his eyes burning with fierce determination.
"Brother Sky Dream, you were right! Once I get my Second Martial Soul, my strength will improve by leaps and bounds! Then I won't lose to that Gu An again!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice rang in his mind, carrying a hint of satisfaction.
"Exactly! You can't go wrong if you listen to me!"
"That brat only has his ten-thousand-year first ring and that so-called Soul Spirit. Once you head to the Far North, find the Ice Empress, and get your Second Martial Soul, you'll have my Million-Year Soul Ring to top it off. What can that kid possibly compare to you with?"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm felt helpless too.
The pressure Gu An and that red-haired woman had put on him was simply too great. Last time, he'd nearly been burned to death by the Sky Phoenix True Fire, and a trace of fire poison still lingered inside him.
He had to increase Huo Yuhao's strength as soon as possible. Otherwise, if they ran into them again, he feared they wouldn't even be able to escape.
Ice Empress! Your brother's coming!
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm silently added to himself.