Soul Spirit Fusion

The setting sun shone through the gaps in the curtains, casting several slender golden patches of light across the floor.

The three children's room was small, but it was kept spotless.

Three small beds stood side by side against the wall, each covered with blue sheets patterned with little bears.

Na'er's bedside was piled with all kinds of stuffed toys. The most conspicuous was the little rabbit doll Tang Wulin had promised to buy her.

Huang Feng'er's bedside, meanwhile, was completely bare, with only a simple pillow and blanket. All her belongings were neatly stored in the drawers of her bedside table.

Tang Wulin sat on his bed with his back against the headboard.

The sunset light fell over his face, dyeing his profile a warm gold.

Two opened Soul Spirit spheres rested on his lap.

The little earth-yellow grass snake lazily coiled around the back of his left hand, flicking its tiny tongue and occasionally rubbing its little head against his skin.

The emerald Ten-Year Lone Bamboo floated quietly beside his right hand. Several long, narrow bamboo leaves swayed gently, releasing a fresh scent of grass and wood.

Looking at the two entirely different Soul Spirits, he asked Jin Qiu in his heart.

["Brother Jin, how do I fuse with Soul Spirits?"

"Summon both of your martial souls, then have each one make contact with the Soul Spirit you want to fuse with. That should do it."

There was a hint of uncertainty in Jin Qiu's voice.

"I've never fused with one of these things either, but the principle should be about the same. It's all energy fusion. Don't worry. With me here, nothing will go wrong."]

Tang Wulin nodded and took a deep breath.

He closed his eyes, focused his mind, and moved his consciousness.

"Bzz—"

A faint hum rang out.

Countless slender Blue Silver Grass blades slowly spread outward from him in every direction.

Fine golden patterns covered the blue-green grass stalks, along with faintly visible purple veins that glimmered softly beneath the sunset.

They drifted meekly through the air like soft ribbons.

Immediately afterward, a dazzling golden radiance erupted from his right palm.

A long spear, golden from end to end, slowly condensed into shape.

Lifelike dragon-scale patterns were carved into its shaft, while its blade-sharp tip flashed with a cold gleam.

A majestic, tyrannical aura spread from the spear, making the air throughout the room feel slightly heavier.

The Blue Silver Grass gently wound itself around the Ten-Year Lone Bamboo floating in midair.

The Golden Sacred Dragon Spear hovered silently in front of the little grass snake.

The instant the martial souls touched the Soul Spirits, two extremely faint streams of consciousness entered Tang Wulin's mind at the same time.

One came from the little grass snake.

It carried instinctive fear toward a powerful being, but also an intimacy with the source of its bloodline and complete dependence. Like a lost child, it cautiously tested the waters, wanting to approach a warm embrace.

The other consciousness came from the Ten-Year Lone Bamboo.

It was as still as a dead pond, without the slightest emotional fluctuation. It simply waited quietly, accepting the fusion that was about to come.

Without the slightest hesitation, Tang Wulin completely opened his heart and gently accepted the two weak souls.

At once, warm energy surged into his body from both Soul Spirits.

The soul power inside him felt as though it had been ignited, instantly boiling and churning.

The soul power that had originally flowed tamely through his meridians suddenly accelerated, circulating through his limbs and bones like a rushing river.

He did not panic in the slightest. He immediately closed his eyes, adjusted his breathing, and silently entered a meditative state.

The fusion had officially begun.

The room was so quiet that only Tang Wulin's steady breathing remained.

From the dining room outside came the faint, crisp clinking of bowls and chopsticks, along with Lang Yue's gentle voice.

"Na'er, eat slowly. Don't choke."

"Feng'er, have more fish. There are fewer bones in this one."

Na'er responded indistinctly, her mouth still stuffed full of food.

Huang Feng'er merely gave a soft "Mm," maintaining her quiet demeanor as she slowly peeled a crab shell in her hands.

No one disturbed the fusion taking place in the room.

The little earth-yellow grass snake stared at the Golden Sacred Dragon Spear hovering before it. It timidly flicked its tongue, then cautiously bumped the cold shaft with its little head.

It did not sense any hostility. Instead, an incredibly comfortable attraction from deep within its bloodline emanated from the spear.

It hesitated no longer, twisting its slender body as it slowly crawled up.

As it climbed, a miraculous change occurred.

Its body, originally only ten centimeters long, began to lengthen visibly.

Its dull earth-yellow skin gradually faded away, replaced by a dazzling pure gold like sunlight.

Several irregular purple markings slowly emerged beneath its scales, dotting its golden body and adding a mysterious, domineering air.

Its once tiny eyes also brightened. The timidity in its gaze vanished, replaced by a trace of clarity.

On the other side, the emerald Ten-Year Lone Bamboo was quietly wrapped in Blue Silver Grass.

Countless blades of Blue Silver Grass pressed tightly against the bamboo's stalk, continuously sending their energy into it.

The golden patterns and purple veins on the Blue Silver Grass spread across the Lone Bamboo's surface as though alive.

The originally emerald bamboo stalk was gradually covered in deep purple patterns.

Like blood vessels, those patterns slowly flowed over its surface, emitting a faint purple radiance.

The original green had instead become an accent, hidden between the gaps in the purple patterns.

The Lone Bamboo's aura also underwent an earth-shaking transformation.

It had originally possessed only resilience and freshness, but now it carried a trace of cold dominance and vigorous vitality.

The instant the two Soul Spirits completed their fusion, Tang Wulin was just about to sigh in relief when the soul power in his meridians suddenly began to churn violently without warning.

The bottleneck at the peak of level ten Soul Warrior, like a tough membrane, instantly cracked under the impact of the two Soul Spirit energies.

The Innate Full Soul Power he had accumulated for so long surged through the crack like floodwater bursting through a dam, smashing through the last trace of obstruction.

Level ten!

Level eleven!

His soul power continued soaring.

At last, he felt his entire body grow light. The warm soul power that had originally gathered in a cluster within his dantian instantly transformed into countless fine, warm threads that burrowed through every corner of his body along his meridians.

He felt as though every cell in his body had awakened at that moment. Boundless vitality filled his limbs and bones, and even breathing became exceptionally smooth.

His two martial souls, Blue Silver Grass and the Golden Sacred Dragon Spear, trembled faintly behind him, releasing an aura several times stronger than before.

The outline of his first soul ring had already faintly appeared around the martial souls.

Just as he thought everything had ended and prepared to leave his meditative state—

An abrupt change occurred.

An indescribable scorching heat suddenly erupted from the depths of his dantian.

It was as though a mass of magma that had been sealed away for ages had suddenly broken free, wildly spreading through his meridians toward every part of his body.

The heat was horrifying, several times hotter than the temperature beside the forge at Mang Tian's Workshop.

He felt as if he had been thrown into boiling molten iron. Every inch of him, from skin to bone, was burning.

Sweat instantly soaked through his clothes. Large beads of perspiration streamed down his cheeks and dripped onto the sheets, leaving dark wet marks.

His skin turned crimson at a visible speed, as though it had been scorched by red-hot iron.

Before he could even react to the searing heat, an even more intense tearing sensation rose from deep within his marrow.

It felt as though countless sharp little knives were slicing back and forth inside his body, trying to shred his bones, meridians, and muscles into thousands of pieces.

This was not superficial pain in flesh and skin. It was agony that penetrated his soul, ten or even a hundred times more intense than the pain he had suffered on the day of his martial soul awakening.

The golden grid-like patterns from his martial soul awakening reappeared over his skin.

Only this time, the lines were deeper and brighter, like red-hot wire mesh tightly cinched around his skin. Every pattern radiated scorching golden light.

He wanted to open his mouth and scream, to use a howl of pain to relieve the agony that pierced his bones.

But it was as if something had blocked his throat. He could not make a sound. He could only clench his teeth desperately until his lips bled, the taste of blood spreading through his mouth.

His consciousness was incomparably clear—too clear, even.

He could distinctly feel every thread of pain, distinctly feel the power rampaging through his meridians, distinctly feel his bones being reshaped and tempered bit by bit.

Countless times, he felt as though the pain would make him pass out, but a faint force always held his consciousness up, keeping him awake and forcing him to endure every moment of torment.

From the dining room outside came Na'er's clear laughter, along with Lang Yue's gentle voice.

"Why hasn't Tangtang come out yet? The fruit has already been cut."

No one knew what kind of pain he was enduring in the closed bedroom.

["Bear with it. You won't die, so relax."

Jin Qiu's voice rang out in his mind. His tone sounded casual, but his hands did not dare slacken in the slightest.

Standing beneath the Starlight Tree in the Spirit Sea, he rapidly formed hand seals.

Pure golden Dragon Power continuously poured from his fingertips, forming a fine golden net that carefully wrapped around the rampaging forces and firmly suppressed them within a safe range.

Fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead, and his brows were tightly furrowed. He was afraid that using even a little too much force would injure Tang Wulin's meridians, yet too little force would fail to suppress the rampage.

"This little pain is nothing. Endure it, and you'll come out ahead. Your body strength will rise another level."

He comforted him while controlling the power.

Beside him, Tang San's pale-blue divine consciousness was not idle either.

He stretched out his hand, and gentle blue light wrapped around the wildly surging purple destructive power. Like a soft current of water, it gradually guided the energy to flow in an orderly manner through Tang Wulin's meridians, preventing it from crashing around and injuring his internal organs.

His movements were steady and precise, each thread of power controlled perfectly.]

As Jin Qiu controlled the Dragon Power, his peripheral vision caught sight of the Life God Seed floating in the center of the Spirit Sea, radiating a soft green glow. His face instantly darkened.

With a reach of his hand, he snatched the round Life God Seed into his palm.

The green seed appeared gentle and harmless, giving off a soothing life aura. Yet the moment it approached the Golden Dragon King's golden power and the purple destructive power, it began vibrating violently and buzzing in resistance. The three forces collided throughout the Spirit Sea, sending rings of energy rippling outward. This was the root cause of every power rampage.

["Damn it, sooner or later I'm throwing this piece of trash out."

Jin Qiu gripped the Life God Seed in his hand and cursed irritably, considering tossing it out of the Spirit Sea.

The thing looked mild and harmless, but it was better than anyone at stirring up trouble.

His Annihilation Law and the Destruction Law of the God of Destruction had a certain similarity and were highly compatible, so they should not have clashed at all.

But the Life Law was different. It was almost completely opposed to the Destruction Law and the Annihilation Law.

It was like those people who appeared gentle and harmless on the surface, yet secretly sowed discord and spread trouble every day. Every time, it was this thing provoking the two powers into repelling each other until a rampage broke out.

If it were not still helping repair Tang Wulin's damaged meridians, he would have thrown it out already. Out of sight, out of mind.]

Tang Wulin's fingers tightly gripped the bedsheet beneath him, and even the tough fabric was torn by his nails.

His body trembled faintly out of control. The golden grid patterns on his skin flickered on and off as waves of scorching heat and tearing pain continued assaulting him.

By the time the agonizing pain brought by fusing the Soul Spirits had completely faded, Tang Wulin was sprawled flat on the bed like a puddle of melted candy.

Every bone in his body felt weak and tingly, but unprecedented power filled every inch of his muscles.

The golden grid patterns on the surface of his skin had completely faded, leaving only a faint golden halo that soon disappeared beneath his skin as well.

The soul power in his dantian had stabilized at level eleven. The first soul rings of his two martial souls had fully condensed and floated quietly around them, emitting a soft glow.

Sunset light spilled through the window onto his face, warm and comfortable.

He squinted, humming happily as he savored the refreshing sensation flowing through his body after his breakthrough.

["Tang Wulin, you still have to go to Mang Tian's place today. Remember?"

Jin Qiu's voice suddenly rang out in his mind, carrying a trace of gloating.

"It's already 3:50. You've got ten minutes until four.

If you're late, Mang Tian said that one minute late means scrubbing the floor for a whole week."]

"Holy crap!"

Tang Wulin sprang up from the bed, nearly smashing his head into the ceiling.

He hurriedly grabbed the electronic clock by his bed. Squinting at it, he saw the numbers on the screen clearly read 15:51.

It was over, over, over!

Just yesterday, he had promised Mang Tian to his face that he absolutely would not be late. He had only studied at the workshop for three days, and now he was already going to be late. That fierce bearded uncle would surely make him scrub the floors for a month!

He did not even have time to straighten his socks. He shoved his bare feet into his shoes, too rushed to notice that the shoe on his left foot was on backward.

He slung the canvas backpack strap haphazardly over his shoulder without even zipping it up. Half of his forging gloves stuck out from inside, swaying with his movements.

Only four words remained in his mind: Don't be late.

He had completely forgotten that he had just fused with Soul Spirits and that his strength had risen by a huge margin again.

He rushed toward the door and forcefully shoved it open.

"Bang—!"

The heavy solid-wood door flew open under his push and slammed squarely into the person outside with tremendous force.

"Ah!"

A short cry of surprise rang out.

Huang Feng'er had been standing outside the door, her raised hand frozen in midair as she prepared to knock.

She was still holding a white porcelain plate with two freshly heated meat buns on it. Lang Yue had specifically saved them for Tang Wulin, afraid he would be too busy forging at the workshop to eat. She wanted him to have something to fill his stomach on the way.

But the door suddenly crashed open without warning, and the door panel struck her hard across the forehead.

The enormous force sent her stumbling backward three steps, her back slamming heavily into the hallway wall.

The white porcelain plate in her hand dropped to the floor with a crack, leaving a fine fracture across its surface.

The two plump, steaming meat buns rolled out and became covered in dust.

Her short red hair had been knocked into disarray, several loose strands sticking to her forehead.

A large red patch instantly appeared on her smooth forehead, making it especially conspicuous.

Her golden eyes were dazed, and she had not quite processed what had happened.

"I'm going to Teacher Mang Tian's!"

Tang Wulin was frantic and did not notice that he had hit someone, nor did he see the broken plate on the floor or the meat buns that had rolled away.

He shouted without slowing down and dashed out through the doorway like a gust of wind. In the blink of an eye, he was already in the courtyard, and soon disappeared from sight.

Huang Feng'er was left alone, leaning against the wall and clutching her reddened forehead as she stared at the meat buns that had rolled into the corner. The corner of her mouth twitched uncontrollably.

"Big Sister! Are you okay?"

Na'er had been eating watermelon in the living room. Hearing the commotion, she immediately tossed aside the rind and ran over.

She looked at Huang Feng'er's bright-red forehead, her heart aching. Standing on tiptoe, she reached out with her soft little hands and gently rubbed the spot that had been bumped red.

"Big Sister, it must hurt a lot, right?"

She looked at the injury and said it with certainty.

Huang Feng'er lowered the hand covering her forehead and gently shook her head.

That little bump was nothing to her. Her forehead was only slightly numb.

She looked down the corridor toward the courtyard gate.

Tang Wulin's back had already completely disappeared around the alley corner.

"I'm fine."

She said it lightly, bending down to pick up the plate and the dust-covered buns from the floor.

"I'm very well."

"It's just a shame about these two buns."

She silently added in her heart, then ate both buns anyway.