A Second Follower? Beloved of the Wind!

--[Excellent material!]

A powerful intuition surged within Lu Ming. This Wind Spirit Leopard was absolutely the perfect subject for modification!

"Zhu Mao, find a way to trap it. Don't hurt it!" Lu Ming immediately ordered.

"Yes, Master."

Zhu Mao accepted the order, and his figure vanished from the spot in an instant.

The next moment, he appeared behind a massive boulder along the Wind Spirit Leopard's path.

The instant the blue-green blur formed by the Wind Spirit Leopard swept past the boulder, Zhu Mao moved!

He directly spat out an enormous spiderweb!

This web was tougher than it had been before becoming an Arrancar, and it was coated with the Man Faced Demon Spider's unique paralytic venom...

The Wind Spirit Leopard clearly had not expected anyone to spot its trail, much less launch an attack against it!

By the time it sensed the danger, it was already too late.

It immediately tried to use the wind to change direction, but the Man Faced Demon Spider's web was too fast and covered too wide an area. It had no time to adjust and crashed straight into it...

The Wind Spirit Leopard's entire body was instantly stuck fast.

"Awwoo—"

The Wind Spirit Leopard let out an unwilling growl. It struggled wildly, small tornadoes rising around its body as it tried to tear apart the web.

But the web's toughness far exceeded its imagination. No matter how the wind blades sliced, it remained completely unscathed.

The poison on the web also began to slowly seep into its body, making its movements increasingly sluggish...

Lu Ming slowly emerged from his hiding place and walked up to the trapped Wind Spirit Leopard.

The Wind Spirit Leopard stared at him. There was no fear in those amber eyes, only the anger and defiance of having been toyed with.

Its will was even stronger than Lu Ming had expected.

"Very good."

Lu Ming nodded in satisfaction and reached out, placing a hand on the Wind Spirit Leopard's head.

"Do not resist. This is not destruction, but rebirth."

His voice traveled through spiritual power and directly reached the Wind Spirit Leopard's soul.

A trace of confusion flashed through the Wind Spirit Leopard's eyes. It could not understand what the strange human who had attacked it earlier, along with this gentle human speaking to it now, wanted to do.

Its intelligence was clearly higher than that of the Man Faced Demon Spider before it became an Arrancar. It could sense that the youth speaking with it seemed to harbor no hostility!

And the tall human who had attacked it had made no further move after restraining it. It seemed they did not intend to kill it for a soul ring?

"I will grant you a brand-new form and supreme power over the raging wind."

"In exchange, you will acknowledge me as your master and become the fastest blade in my hand."

The Wind Spirit Leopard froze! Its body slowly stopped struggling. This human did not intend to kill it, but merely wanted to subdue it?

With the other side holding the knife and it lying on the cutting board, it had no reason to refuse if it wanted to survive...

Seeing the Wind Spirit Leopard's reaction, Lu Ming nodded inwardly!

He was greatly satisfied with the intelligence the Wind Spirit Leopard had displayed. If it could successfully become an Arrancar, its initial intelligence should not be as "childish" as Zhu Mao's!

"Formless Transformation!"

This modification proceeded exceptionally smoothly compared with the previous modification of the Man Faced Demon Spider!

Though the Wind Spirit Leopard's soul trembled in intense pain, it did not resist as madly as those previous soul beasts had.

In this situation, where it was at another's mercy, it had already realized what the best choice was. Now, it was merely paying the price for that choice!

Although it was deeply unwilling to lose its freedom, it still chose to endure this transformation...

But as it endured... and endured... it discovered that everything seemed different. It truly seemed to have been reborn, and in a state entirely unlike before!

The light faded.

A tall youth with short blue-green hair appeared where it had been.

There were no beastly features on his face. His features were handsome, carrying an unruly air.

Only at the corner of his eye was there a faint, flowing-cloud-shaped fragment of bone.

Like Zhu Mao's, his Hollow Hole appeared in his chest. However, Zhu Mao's was on the left, while his was on the right...

The youth opened his eyes. They were amber, just like the Wind Spirit Leopard's, clear and bright.

He moved his limbs, feeling this brand-new body, and a curious expression appeared on his face. He had never imagined he would undergo such a change.

Then he looked at Lu Ming and grinned, revealing two sharp canine teeth.

"Are you my new master?"

His voice was clear and magnetic, unlike Zhu Mao's dry voice. He did not sound like a lifeform speaking for the first time at all...

"It feels... pretty good."

He took a single step, and his figure vanished instantly.

The next second, he was already standing on a boulder a hundred meters away. A gust of wind swept past, lifting his short blue-green hair.

He spread his arms as though embracing the free wind.

"I like this form!"

"What is your name?"

Lu Ming watched the blue-haired youth smiling in the wind, and his mood brightened greatly.

This modification had been practically perfect!

Not only did his appearance bear almost no trace of a soul beast, but he had also possessed complete language ability and clear self-awareness from the moment he was born.

This showed that the Wind Spirit Leopard's soul was exceptionally pure and that its compatibility with Formless Transformation had reached an astonishing degree.

"A name?" The youth leaped down from the boulder and landed lightly before Lu Ming. "I don't have one."

Lu Ming nodded slightly and pondered for a moment. "Then from today onward, you shall be called Feng Qie."

"Feng Qie?" The youth savored the name, and his amber eyes immediately lit up. "Wind Cleaver... I like that name!"

At the side, Zhu Mao watched his new companion's birth. His eight compound eyes blinked, seemingly curious, but he did not speak. He continued silently carrying out his duty as a guard.

After leaving the hilly region, Lu Ming's group continued toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

The team had grown from two people to three.

Feng Qie's personality was completely different from Zhu Mao's. He was lively, active, and full of curiosity.

Along the way, he was like a tireless bird, darting and leaping around the group. At the slightest opportunity, he would turn into a blue-green gust and chase butterflies. From time to time, he would climb to the highest treetops to gaze into the distance, utterly restless...

However, with his addition, the previously somewhat dull journey became much livelier.

At the same time, Feng Qie quickly displayed his formidable abilities!

His speed was even a notch faster than Zhu Mao's, despite both being Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. He was also more agile, able to move freely through dense woodland without making the slightest sound.

He could innately control air currents. Not only could he use them to accelerate himself, but he could also create sharp wind blades for attack and even form an airflow barrier for brief defense.

Zhu Mao specialized in breaking through defenses and assassination, while Feng Qie specialized in speed and harassment.

One was still, the other moved; one was in the open, the other in the shadows. Together, they worked with an almost seamless coordination.

As Lu Ming watched his two capable subordinates, his heart filled with satisfaction...

--[The beginnings of an Arrancar Legion had already taken shape.]

His heart swelled with ambition! As long as he had enough time and suitable materials, he was confident he could forge a powerful legion capable of overturning the entire Douluo Continent...