Inside the Heavenly Screen.
Under Yu Yuanzhen's worried gaze, Bai Fan steadily absorbed the thousand-year Soul Ring.
Unexpectedly, Bai Fan showed no pain at all during the absorption process.
The Golden Saint Python was successfully absorbed by Bai Fan.
Bai Fan slowly woke up and muttered to himself, As expected, everything has two sides. Although heaven caused my Martial Soul mutation to fail, I don't have to endure the pain of absorbing Soul Rings.
As Bai Fan circulated his Soul Power, a purple Soul Ring spun around him, and the pig-like Luo Sanpao jumped out of his body.
Luo Sanpao's form underwent a tremendous change. A layer of golden light surrounded his skin, and his once-plump body had slimmed down considerably.
Bai Fan crouched down and picked up his Martial Soul. "From now on, you'll be called Little Golden Dragon!"
"Even if our appearance isn't much to look at, our name has to sound imposing."
"Little Golden Dragon, unleash your first soul skill, Golden Dragon Breath."
A wave of golden energy shot from Little Golden Dragon's mouth, destroying all the trees and rocks before him in a single strike.
Bai Fan stroked Little Golden Dragon's forehead. "Little Golden Dragon, you're amazing."
"It can actually unleash such a powerful attack?" Yu Yuanzhen muttered from the side.
Outside the Heavenly Screen.
"Impossible! How could this happen? Why hadn't I thought of that?" Yu Xiaogang clutched his head, his face full of despair.
Yu Xiaogang recalled the times he had absorbed Soul Rings in the past. Indeed, he had never suffered much pain, and could even be said to have felt nothing at all.
But he had never tried absorbing Soul Rings of a higher age. His thinking had been constrained by cold, rigid data, and he had firmly believed in the experience he had summarized.
Now that his Soul Power had been locked at level 29, all he felt after learning this information was regret.
Watching the mighty Luo Sanpao inside the Heavenly Screen, Yu Xiaogang felt even more that his current Martial Soul was trash.
He stubbornly comforted himself. "It's just a coincidence. This kind of Martial Soul could never cultivate to level 30."
The others from Shrek heard Xiaogang's self-consolation.
"Xiao Wu, how did you get to know this master? He always feels a little abnormal to me," Ning Rongrong whispered into Xiao Wu's ear.
"To tell you the truth, I don't think much of him either. But Third Brother respects him a lot, so I can only pretend."
"He was the one who said, 'There are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters.' Now he's saying his own Martial Soul is useless and can't cultivate to level 30. His left brain is attacking his right brain, and his cerebrum is attacking his cerebellum."
"I really hope this Heavenly Screen gives him a good slap in the face."
The two girls chatted back and forth like that.
Inside the Heavenly Screen.
After obtaining his first Soul Ring, Bai Fan devoted himself to cultivation. His cultivation steadily improved, while Little Golden Dragon stayed by his side every day and cultivated alongside him.
Time flew by. Bai Fan was now twelve years old, and his Soul Power Level had reached an astonishing level 24.
"Does my Martial Soul still have flaws? Simply cultivating blindly really won't do. I have to go out and travel for a while."
Reaching level 24 Soul Power at the age of twelve was already remarkable, but Bai Fan still did not consider it perfect enough.
The young Bai Fan slung a pack over his back, left the sect alone, and set out on his journey.
"Freedom really feels so good!"
After stopping and going along the way, he unknowingly arrived at Spirit City.
"Sweet cakes for sale! Cheap and delicious sweet cakes! Handsome sir, would you like a sweet cake? Buy one!"
"Handsome sir, look at how hot the weather is. Why not buy a hat?"
"Handsome sir, I can see you're an impressive young man. Would you be willing to let this old man tell your fortune?"
The lively, down-to-earth atmosphere of Spirit City made Bai Fan feel completely at ease. He had never seen such a bustling scene in his previous life.
After graduating from university, he had lived the upper-class life that most people could hardly attain, spending every day between the two warm places of home and company. Deep down, he had undoubtedly still longed for this unrefined street life.
Little Golden Dragon wriggled around by Bai Fan's leg, making cooing noises.
"Are you hungry?"
"Coo."
"You want sweet cakes?"
"Coo."
Bai Fan smiled helplessly. "A carnivorous animal like you can eat vegetarian food too? Don't really turn into that pig that only knows how to fart."
"Boss, give me one sweet cake."
"Certainly, sir." The sweet-cake vendor smiled so broadly that his eyes nearly disappeared.
The vendor fed a huge piece of sweet cake into Little Golden Dragon's mouth, and Little Golden Dragon finished it in two bites.
"Coo coo." Little Golden Dragon continued rubbing against Bai Fan's calf.
"You still want more?"
"Coo."
Bai Fan shook his head helplessly. "Boss, keep feeding him until he's full."
"Wahaha, certainly, sir. Wahaha." The vendor could not stop himself from laughing, while his hands never paused for a moment.
"Boss, what are you laughing about?"
"Nothing. I just thought of something happy."
Bai Fan did not think much of it and quietly waited nearby.
Just as Little Golden Dragon finished every sweet cake on the vendor's stall, Bibi Dong, dressed in a pink skirt, arrived at the stall. "Boss, give me a small piece of sweet cake as usual."
"I'm sorry, miss, but today's sweet cakes are sold out."
"You're full of crap. Something this expensive sold out in one day?"
"I'm not lying to you. A kind, gullible... handsome sir bought them all."
Bai Fan seemed to catch something suspicious in those words and anxiously asked the shopkeeper, "Wait, how much are these sweet cakes?"
"Hehe, ten Gold Soul Coins per tael. Your pet just ate ten jin in total, so the total comes to one thousand Gold Soul Coins."
Bai Fan casually felt around in his pockets. He had only a handful of Gold Soul Coins left. Looking at the vendor's crafty grin, his heart was full of curses.
"Little Golden Dragon, split up and run later. If you get caught, I won't save you."
"Boss, how do you plan to pay?"
"Why are you asking me? I didn't eat them. Go ask whoever ate them for the money!" Bai Fan tossed his remaining few Gold Soul Coins into the vendor's hand, then turned and ran.
Little Golden Dragon waddled after Bai Fan with his belly bulging, continuously making cooing sounds.
"Catch that rogue! Help me catch that rogue!" the sweet-cake vendor shouted, and the street instantly descended into chaos.
Watching Bai Fan flee, the young Bibi Dong covered her mouth and giggled. "What a fool. He actually bought something without asking the price."
For some reason, Bibi Dong became curious about this boy she was meeting for the first time, so she quietly followed him.
Bai Fan exhausted all his strength escaping Spirit City and collapsed onto the ground.
Little Golden Dragon lay down beside him as well.
"Go on, get lost. It's all your fault. You just had to eat those sweet cakes. Look what happened now—we're wanted criminals."
Little Golden Dragon lowered his head aggrievedly.
"I caught you!" Bibi Dong appeared behind him like a ghost. Her long nails lightly brushed across Bai Fan's back, making a ghostly sound.
"Ahhh! There's a ghost!"
Seeing Bai Fan's terrified expression, Bibi Dong let out a bright, bell-like laugh.
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