What Lan Yu wanted to do was create the spirit spirits that would not appear until the era of The Peerless Tang Clan.
Only, he did not need spirit beasts. Fungus beasts alone would do.
Using the Mycelium Network, Lan Yu forcibly opened all of Lina's meridians and infused her with enough soul power to raise her soul power level to 10.
This was only possible because Bifulong had strengthened her body. Otherwise, there was no way to do it; her body would not have withstood it.
"The final step. Everything comes down to this."
After more time passed, dawn was approaching, and a black soul ring finally appeared around Lina.
"Phew... finally. That was more troublesome than I expected, but the first time is always the hardest. Now that I've paved the way, it'll be much easier from here."
Lan Yu withdrew the fungal threads, and Lina woke up.
Looking at the black soul ring beneath her feet, Lina's face filled with astonishment.
"I really became a soul master?!"
At that moment, Lina also sensed the presence of her spirit spirit. Hers was a Floating Anemo Fungus.
Lina's martial soul had also gained a wind attribute.
"Sage, what is this?"
"It's your spirit spirit. With it, you won't need to go soul hunting anymore. When you break through, your spirit spirit will grant you a new soul ring."
"Huh? That's possible?"
It was not actually that simple. When a fungus spirit spirit granted someone a soul ring, it depended first on their physical condition, and second on whether they were within the coverage of Lan Yu's Mycelium Network.
After all, energy did not appear out of thin air. Condensing a soul ring for someone consumed the soul power reserves within the Mycelium Network.
"You're my first successful test subject. In the future, I'll spread this system throughout the entire soul master world."
Hearing this, Lina looked at Lan Yu with eyes full of admiration.
"Lord Sage, I believe you'll succeed. Whatever you need me to do, I won't hesitate, even if I have to brave mountains of blades and seas of fire."
"Heh, you're still too weak to do anything right now. Focus on cultivating. That's what you should be doing."
"Yes, Lord Sage!"
Afterward, Lan Yu brought Lina back to the Botanical Academy. When Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong saw him return with a cat woman, they both gave her strange looks.
"Does our Lord Sage like cats that much? He already has Zhu Zhuqing, and now he's brought back another cat woman."
"Rongrong, what are you talking about?"
Zhu Zhuqing shot Ning Rongrong an exasperated glare.
"All right, stop talking nonsense. Her name is Lina. She was going to be sold at auction, but the Sage Lord of Fungi saved her, so I brought her back."
Lina greeted Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong. The two grew serious as well, feeling some sympathy for what she had suffered.
"How has your training been going?"
"Everyone's been working hard. We've basically mastered the power the Sage Lord granted us, and we've learned some close-combat techniques too."
Lan Yu glanced at Zhu Zhuqing. "You're about to break through to level 40, right?"
"Yes, I should reach level 40 within the next few days. I was already planning to go soul hunting."
"Then I came back at just the right time. Come with me."
Lan Yu took Zhu Zhuqing into a room, leaving Lina and Ning Rongrong outside to keep watch and make sure no one disturbed them.
As soon as the door closed, Ning Rongrong could not contain her curiosity.
"Lina, what do you think they're going to do? Could it be... heehee!"
Ning Rongrong's grin was rather lewd.
"Definitely not. Lord Sage is going to grant her a spirit spirit."
"A spirit spirit? What's that?"
"This."
Lina summoned her soul ring, and her Floating Anemo Fungus spirit spirit appeared as well.
"Huh? Your first soul ring is a ten-thousand-year ring!"
"I originally had no soul power. Lord Sage made me a soul master."
"This spirit spirit looks just like the one perched on the head of Zhu Zhuqing's martial soul. Do you have a wind attribute too?"
"Yes, I was granted a wind attribute too."
"What does this spirit spirit do?"
Ning Rongrong reached out and poked the Floating Anemo Fungus, which immediately darted back into Lina's soul ring.
"Lord Sage said it can grant me a soul ring when I break through."
"What?! Grant you a soul ring?! This soul ring of yours was granted by that spirit spirit?"
"Yes. I think it's amazing."
"This is more than amazing! It'll overturn the entire existing soul master system!"
As the young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Rongrong was knowledgeable enough to understand exactly what the emergence of spirit spirits meant.
Before long, Lan Yu and Zhu Zhuqing emerged from the room.
Ning Rongrong hurried over and asked, "Zhu Zhuqing, do you have a spirit spirit now too?"
"Huh? You already know?"
"Yes, Lina told me. Hurry up and summon it so I can see."
Zhu Zhuqing's spirit spirit was the Floating Anemo Fungus perched on her martial soul. After becoming a spirit spirit, it had grown a little more lively.
Zhu Zhuqing had also successfully broken through to level 40. Naturally, the fourth ring granted by her spirit spirit was also a black ten-thousand-year ring.
Ning Rongrong watched with some envy.
"That's incredible! What's your fourth spirit ability? Is it powerful?"
"My fourth spirit ability, Cross Gale Claw, is a wide-area attack soul skill. I'll show you."
Zhu Zhuqing leaped into the air and slashed with her claws. Two enormous wind blades crossed as they swept downward, leaving two deep fissures in the ground.
Ning Rongrong could no longer stand it. She ran up to Lan Yu and stared fixedly at him.
"You promised to help me overcome my martial soul's limitations! You can't go back on your word! You can't play favorites or treat us differently! I want a spirit spirit too! I want one too..."
As she spoke, Ning Rongrong grabbed Lan Yu's clothes and shook him.
"Stop! I never said I wouldn't help you. Come inside with me."
"Yay! I knew you were the best!"
In her excitement, Ning Rongrong planted a kiss on Lan Yu's cheek.
When she realized what she had done, Ning Rongrong's face instantly turned bright red.
Zhu Zhuqing also looked at her with a teasing expression.
"Ah...!"
Ning Rongrong cried out, dragged Lan Yu into the room, and slammed the door shut with a bang.
"Hahahaha..."
Zhu Zhuqing stopped holding back and burst out laughing.
Inside the room, once Ning Rongrong calmed down, Lan Yu handed her a drop of essence dew from the aromatic silk beauty that had undergone Fungification.
"What is this?"
"Don't ask so many questions. Just swallow it."
"Okay!"
After Ning Rongrong swallowed the essence dew, Lan Yu began modifying her martial soul. By the time she opened her eyes again, the modification was complete.
Ning Rongrong eagerly summoned her martial soul. The Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda had truly become the Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda.
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight! Nine! It really has nine levels! The Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda! This is wonderful! Wonderful! Huh? Why is there something inside my pagoda?"
"Heh, take a closer look."
"It's my spirit spirit! What's it called?"
"The Stretch Geo Fungus. It grants you the power to use the geo element."
With a brief attempt, Ning Rongrong used the geo element to form a protective barrier around herself.
"Hmm, you have a knack for it. There are other ways you can develop the geo element too, such as... Geo Constructs."
Before you continue