East Sea Spirit Pagoda's Carelessness

"Ziyang, why has this soul beast been following us?"

Yao Shiyu looked at the little beast trailing behind them and asked in confusion.

"Headmistress, this is my martial soul," Ziyang explained.

"A martial soul?" Yao Shiyu could hardly believe it. She was, after all, a one-ring Soul Master and had some understanding of Soul Master theory.

"Is your martial soul the same type as that Grandmaster Yu's from twenty thousand years ago?" She found it hard to believe. Yu Xiaogang's martial soul seemed to have appeared only once in the past twenty thousand years.

"More or less." Ziyang was certain that his martial soul was far stronger than Yu Xiaogang's Luo Sanpao. Its primary attribute was destruction.

He remembered that on Douluo Continent, the Purple Radiant Heaven-Extinguishing Dragon possessed the destruction attribute. The other was the Golden Dragon King.

How could his martial soul possibly be weak? Not to mention that he possessed Innate Full Soul Power, which was proof enough.

"Ziyang, doesn't releasing it consume soul power?" Yao Shiyu lowered her head and gave him a puzzled look.

As a Soul Master, she knew that manifesting one's martial soul consumed soul power.

Ziyang had probably never withdrawn it since his Martial Soul Awakening. How much soul power must that have consumed?

"Consume it? Has it?" Ziyang scratched his head. He had not felt any depletion in his soul power.

Yao Shiyu smiled lightly. "You don't feel it? Still, it would be best if you kept your martial soul withdrawn whenever possible."

She roughly guessed that Ziyang possessed Innate Full Soul Power. That was likely why even the master of the East Sea Spirit Pagoda had personally come to recruit him.

"Ziyang, what is your martial soul called? It must have a name, right?" Mo Cheng asked curiously as he looked at the black little beast.

Ziyang looked toward the little beast as though asking it.

The little beast raised its head and declared confidently, "Boss! I, your lordship, don't have a name yet! Hurry up and give me a tall, handsome, awesome name!"

Destruction attribute... Ziyang pondered inwardly, intending to give it an impressive name.

Pointing at the little beast, he said, "From now on, you'll be called Austin Griffin! I hope you can become as powerful as this name."

"Not bad! That name suits your lordship perfectly!" The little beast cheered with delight. "From now on, I'm Austin Griffin!"

"Ziyang, why did you give it such a long name?" Mo Cheng asked curiously.

"To give this martial soul a goal." Ziyang's voice was calm. He could not possibly give it a name like Luo Sanpao, a name with no great destiny behind it.

"Children, let's go back." Yao Shiyu smiled gently.

The three nodded and headed straight back to the orphanage.

Elsewhere, Spirit Pagoda Headquarters received Ziyang's information. Qian Gu Dongfeng looked at this genius with Innate Full Soul Power and naturally keen spiritual power, his gaze as calm as still water.

So what if he had a special martial soul like that person from twenty thousand years ago? Hadn't that person proved through his actions that it was a useless martial soul?

Besides, there were soul spirits now. What use was this kind of martial soul? Who would want one?

"He truly is a rare genius. Since he has already joined our Spirit Pagoda, there's no need to worry about him running away. If he achieves something in cultivation, it won't be too late to recruit him then."

"But there has never been a Limit Douluo with an External Martial Soul in this world. No matter how powerful the martial soul is, if the main body is weak, it can be dealt with in one move. Battle Armor can't be applied to an External Martial Soul either."

As the master of the Spirit Pagoda, he had seen many geniuses. Other than Ziyang's spiritual power being sufficiently eye-catching, there was nothing else about him that held any appeal.

Leng Yaoyu, the vice master of the Spirit Pagoda, naturally saw Ziyang's information as well. Ziyang's talent was outstanding, and according to the records, he had yet to choose a soul spirit. Clearly, those in Eastsea did not want to waste such a talented seedling and had deliberately refrained from making the choice for him.

"A little genius. What a fine child." She looked over the file with great satisfaction, her gaze settling on the photograph. "So adorable. He must be a boy, right?"

As she spoke, she headed toward the top of the pagoda, intending to snatch this genius away before the Qian Gu Family paid him any attention.

Although an External Martial Soul was indeed a major flaw, it was not as though there were no suitable ways to resolve it.

She stepped into her Black-Rank Mecha and flew directly toward Eastsea City. Since the Qian Gu Family did not want this genius, he would become her subordinate. When it came to geniuses, whoever hesitated lost out.

Meanwhile, Ziyang sat by his bed, looking down at the young beast at his feet with a probing gaze.

What direction should he cultivate his martial soul in? Destruction? But as far as he remembered from Douluo Continent, there were no soul beasts with the destruction attribute. There was the annihilation attribute, but those were dragons.

Should he truly cultivate it in the direction of multiple elements and become another God of Heavenly Tribulation? That did not seem impossible.

"Austin Griffin! From now on, I'll just call you Little Black during battle, understand?" Ziyang felt that using its full name was too troublesome. Who had time to shout a full name in battle?

The young beast's tail suddenly stiffened, then it fawned over Ziyang and rubbed against his calf. "Boss, everything you say is right!"

By then, it had completely submitted to Ziyang's fists and kicks.

"I'm going to sleep first." Ziyang's mouth twitched as he lifted the thin blanket and lay down. Seeing this, Little Black lightly jumped onto the foot of the bed and curled into a black ring.

Moonlight filtered through the window lattice, tracing a silver edge along the youth's slender silhouette.

The instant his breathing evened out, light reflected off Little Black's scales, and a flicker of violet swept across its black scales.

Silently, a strand of nine-colored energy draped itself over Ziyang's body like gauze. A strange-colored halo quietly emerged behind his head, its nine hues flowing until they finally settled into the disguise of rose gold before slipping silently back into his body, as though it had never existed.

The youth on the bed merely turned over unconsciously, his fingertips twitching slightly, as though he were falling into some magnificent dream.

The next morning, before the cool mist had fully dispersed, Ziyang stood before the orphanage's mottled iron gate, absently rubbing the corner of his clothes as he quietly waited for the Spirit Pagoda staff to arrive.

Suddenly, a burst of hurried footsteps shattered the silence.

Yao Shiyu staggered out from the street corner. Her usually neat bun was in complete disarray, and fine beads of sweat covered her pale face. Her lips trembled slightly, and she repeatedly looked back over her shoulder as though some savage beast were pursuing her.

Ziyang turned toward her, his pupils suddenly contracting. The headmistress was actually in danger.

A burly man built like an iron tower followed behind the headmistress. His gleaming bald head shone in the morning light, while a ferocious black dragon tattoo coiled around his thick neck.

When Yao Shiyu rushed to the gate, she nearly fell. She only managed to steady herself by grabbing the iron bars. She glanced back at the approaching brute, despairing panic flashing through her eyes.

"Don't come any closer! I'm a Soul Master! I'm a registered Soul Master of the Spirit Pagoda!" Yao Shiyu cried out fearfully as she summoned her martial soul, a pale green vine.

At the same time, a lone white soul ring rose beneath her feet.

The burly man stopped five steps away, amusement dancing in his narrowed eyes like a cat toying with a mouse.

"So you're a Soul Master! That makes me even more excited. Come work for your big brother here. It'll definitely be better than staying in this orphanage!"