Hundred-Year Soul Spirit

"Click."

In the quiet room, the soft sound of the Soul Spirit Orb's activation button was exceptionally clear.

Huang Feng'er was the first to extend a finger and press the indentation at the top of her white Soul Spirit Orb.

Her movement was crisp and decisive, without the slightest hesitation. The instant her fingertip pressed the button—

The Soul Spirit Orb immediately reacted.

The originally flawless white sphere emitted a faint, gentle halo.

The sealed orb began to turn transparent, like glass shrouded in a thin mist. A tiny shadow could vaguely be seen wriggling slowly inside.

Everyone's attention focused on the Soul Spirit Orb.

Tang Ziran clenched his fists nervously, his palms drenched in sweat.

The Spirit Pagoda attendant leaned forward slightly as well, anticipation written across his face.

Just then, an unexpected change occurred.

The faint white light on the Soul Spirit Orb suddenly turned a brilliant yellow without warning.

The radiance instantly surged, like a tiny sun illuminating the entire room. At the center of the Soul Spirit Orb, an even more dazzling flash of golden light flickered past with a soft hum.

"A Hundred-Year Soul Spirit!"

The Spirit Pagoda attendant's eyes widened abruptly as he cried out. His voice trembled slightly with excitement, and his face was filled with incredulous shock.

Of course, he knew that random Soul Spirits had a one-percent chance of yielding a Hundred-Year Soul Spirit. In his fifteen years on the job, he had seen three or four lucky people draw one.

As the yellow radiance slowly began to recede—

The previously sealed Soul Spirit Orb gradually split apart from its center, opening to either side like a blooming lotus.

A faint scorching aura spread from the Soul Spirit Orb, carrying the ferocious scent unique to birds of prey.

The Soul Spirit within was finally fully revealed before everyone.

It was a bird of prey covered in reddish-brown feathers. It stood a full seventy-eight centimeters tall, more than a head larger than an ordinary chicken.

Its feathers were sleek and glossy, gleaming with a metallic luster beneath the lights. The feathers along its wing edges were deep black, like sharp blades.

Its claws were a dazzling crimson, like red-hot branding irons, carrying a scorching texture. Its talons were sharp as hooks and glinted with an icy sheen.

Its pair of golden-yellow eyes were sharp and fierce as they warily swept over everything around it, its gaze carrying the pride and savagery of a Hundred-Year Soul Beast.

"This is... a Scarletfire Falcon?"

After studying it carefully for several seconds, the Spirit Pagoda attendant immediately recognized the Soul Spirit's species.

His voice was full of delight.

"It's actually a Scarletfire Falcon! This is an exceptionally high-quality, strong attack-type Soul Spirit among Hundred-Year Soul Spirits! It's fast, powerful, and comes with fire-element damage. It's an outstanding Soul Spirit."

Tang Ziran did not hear anything the Spirit Pagoda attendant said afterward.

His mind was completely blank, with only the words "Hundred-Year Soul Spirit" echoing over and over inside it.

He had thought he would be thanking the heavens if they drew an ordinary Ten-Year Soul Spirit, but they had actually drawn a Hundred-Year Soul Spirit! This was worth one million Federal Coins!

His entire body trembled with excitement. His lips quivered, yet he could not say a word for a long time.

Just as everyone marveled at Huang Feng'er's incredible luck, Tang Wulin also reached out and pressed the activation button on his red Soul Spirit Orb.

Unlike Huang Feng'er's dazzling Soul Spirit Orb, Tang Wulin's orb merely emitted a faint ring of white light.

The glow was gentle, even somewhat dim. Compared to the yellow radiance beside it that had yet to fully disperse, it appeared especially inconspicuous.

The white halo swirled as the Soul Spirit Orb slowly opened from its center.

There was no scorching aura, no ferocious pressure—only a faint earthy stench drifting out.

A tiny grass snake with an entirely yellowish-brown body slowly crawled out of the Soul Spirit Orb.

It was only ten centimeters long, thinner than a chopstick. Its tiny diamond-shaped scales were arranged neatly, but lacked the slightest luster.

It lay limply in Tang Wulin's palm, flicking its tiny tongue. It looked pitifully weak, as though it could be crushed to death with a gentle squeeze.

"I can't sense any Soul Beast aura from it."

Jin Qiu's voice sounded in the Spirit Sea, carrying a trace of helplessness.

"There's a high chance it's a Defective Soul Spirit."

"Sigh, perhaps this is fate. I remember that in the original story, Tang Wulin's first Soul Spirit seemed to have been this grass snake too. After all the twists and turns, he still couldn't avoid it."

Though he thought this, Jin Qiu's expression did not change at all.

Tang Wulin lowered his head and looked at the limp little grass snake in his palm. Unlike in the original story, no sadness or disappointment appeared on his face.

He merely nodded calmly, as if he had expected this outcome all along, and accepted it without complaint.

He knew that with Jin Qiu around, even a Defective Soul Spirit could be transformed into something top-tier.

Besides, this grass snake could serve as the Golden Sacred Dragon Spear's first Soul Spirit, so it would not be wasted at all.

"That Soul Spirit is...?"

Tang Ziran finally recovered from the shock of the Hundred-Year Soul Spirit. When he saw the little grass snake in Tang Wulin's palm, his expression changed instantly.

He hurriedly patted the Spirit Pagoda attendant on the shoulder and asked anxiously, "Sir, what kind of Soul Spirit is this? Why does it look so weak?"

A regretful expression appeared on the Spirit Pagoda attendant's face. He sighed and shook his head.

"This is a Defective Soul Spirit. More accurately, it does not even count as a true Soul Spirit."

"When the Spirit Pagoda was researching Artificial Soul Spirits in its early days, it once tried extracting ordinary animal genes to create Soul Spirits, hoping to lower costs.

"The experiment succeeded, but it proved that Soul Spirits made from ordinary animal genes possessed no Soul Beast talents. They were pitifully weak and simply could not meet the needs of Soul Masters.

"So production was later halted, and all the remaining ones were mixed into the random Soul Spirit pool."

"This grass snake was made using the genes of an ordinary grass snake. It doesn't contain even a trace of Soul Beast genes.

"It's one of the worst types among all random Soul Spirits."

"Tangtang, it's okay."

Tang Ziran immediately turned to Tang Wulin, his face full of heartache. He reached out and stroked Tang Wulin's head, comforting him gently.

"Isn't it just seventy thousand? It's fine.

"We still have money. We can buy a selectable Ten-Year Soul Spirit and make sure to choose the best one, the one most suitable for your martial soul."

"Dad, there's no need to buy a selectable one."

Tang Wulin shook his head, looked up at Tang Ziran, and said seriously.

"I'll just draw again."

He had originally wanted to say that this grass snake could be used for his second martial soul, but he was afraid of causing unnecessary trouble, so he found a simple excuse instead.

In any case, he still needed a Soul Spirit for the Golden Sacred Dragon Spear. Drawing once more worked out perfectly.

Tang Ziran froze for a moment, then understood what his son meant.

He hesitated briefly. Seeing Tang Wulin's calm yet resolute eyes, he finally nodded.

"Alright, then we'll draw one more time."

He turned around, took another three stacks of brand-new Federal Coins from the envelope, and handed them to the Spirit Pagoda attendant.

"Sorry to trouble you. We'd like to draw another random Soul Spirit."

The Spirit Pagoda attendant accepted the money, nodded, and registered the information on his wristband.

"Alright. Follow me."

The group returned to the Random Soul Spirit Drawing Machine.

Tang Wulin stepped up to the control panel. Just like before, he did not hesitate in the slightest.

He quickly pressed the green start button, then immediately pressed the red stop button without waiting for the Soul Spirit Orbs inside to start spinning.

"Click."

The crisp sound of the button faded.

Several seconds later, an emerald-green Soul Spirit Orb rolled out of the outlet and fell into the metal box.

It gave off a fresh scent of grass and trees. Its verdant glow was gentle yet bright, far more dazzling than the white Soul Spirit Orb from before.

"This one looks pretty good."

The Spirit Pagoda attendant said with a smile, picking up the emerald-green Soul Spirit Orb and handing it to Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin accepted the Soul Spirit Orb and pressed the activation button again.

Emerald-green radiance bloomed as the Soul Spirit Orb slowly opened.

A small jade-green bamboo stalk floated quietly at the center of the Soul Spirit Orb. It was only half a meter tall, with seven bamboo segments, each one round and full, tough and upright.

Several narrow bamboo leaves grew from its branches. The leaves were sharp as swords, their edges gleaming with a faint cold light.

A fresh yet resilient aura emanated from the bamboo, invigorating everyone's spirits.

"Damn! It's actually a resilient Ten-Year Lone Bamboo!"

Seeing the little bamboo stalk, Jin Qiu could not help marveling at fate.

Tang San's divine consciousness, which had remained silent beside him, stirred slightly at that moment.

For him, tens of thousands of years had passed in the blink of an eye.

Fate's arrangements truly were wondrous.