As the century-old Yellow Soul Ring slowly rose beneath Tang Li, Lin Ye could only marvel at the boy's monstrous talent for Spiritual Power.
If Lin Ye had followed the manual's requirement of thirty points of Spiritual Power, the best he could have done was wrestle the Evil Eye to a standstill with his mind, exhaust it once it had become a Soul Spirit, and then sign a contract with it.
But Tang Li's Spiritual Power, already nearing the middle stage of the Spirit Connection Realm, was simply too monstrous. He had Refined the Evil Eye in an instant.
While Lin Ye was still marveling at Tang Li's talent, Tang Li was already busy training the century-old Evil Eye inside his Spirit Sea...
Inside the Spirit Sea, the Demon-Sealing Pot continued to turn quietly, as though nothing in the world could disturb the rhythm of its workings.
The terrifying aura it gave off was enough to scare the sentient Evil Eye half to death. It timidly wrapped itself in its tentacles while Tang Li held it in his hand, squashing and kneading it at will.
The moment Tang Li had drawn the Evil Eye into his Spirit Sea, the Demon-Sealing Pot had Refined it once. In essence, this Evil Eye had been reborn!
This was one part of the Demon-Sealing Pot's power—Refining.
It could use energy it had already Refined and absorbed to strengthen the creatures it created. Given enough materials, Tang Li could even remake a Chimera Fusion Beast.
This time, Tang Li had taken the ashes left after a wisp of Chaotic Residual Flame from the Plane Spirit burned away the Sea God Divine Sense and fused them into the Evil Eye.
That had added a hint of red to the Evil Eye's original purple-black color. Tang Li suspected it might have something to do with the aura of Tang San's other Divine Position, the Asura God.
All told, the Evil Eye had turned misfortune into a blessing. It was now Tang Li's number-one lackey.
"Big Eyed, do you have a name?"
Tang Li knew the Evil Eye could communicate with him through Spiritual Power, so he asked it directly. Hearing its master speak, the Evil Eye loosened its tentacles and pressed its huge eyeball close to Tang Li, its gaze full of fawning devotion. It said with utmost respect:
"I used to, but I don't need that name anymore. This humble one wishes to leave the past behind. Please grant me a name, Master!"
That shamelessly fawning act made Tang Li wonder whether he had fused with a rather unreliable Soul Spirit.
"All right. Ten thousand years ago, one of your kind was called the Evil Monarch. From now on, you'll be called Evil Monarch too."
Without a second thought, Tang Li had given the little Evil Eye the name Evil Monarch. It was a hope for its future, too.
Evil Monarch! It fit perfectly!
Big Eyed's huge eye shone with excitement. As a Soul Beast, it knew just how monstrous its new master was. It had personally experienced the Demon-Sealing Pot's power. How could someone who possessed such a divine object be ordinary? It had backed the right person!
"Whatever you wish to call me, Master, this humble one will answer to it."
"Good. In private, though, I'll still call you Big Eyed. Once you make a name for yourself, the title Evil Monarch will spread throughout the world."
Tang Li reached out and poked the Evil Eye's huge eyeball twice. This century-old Evil Eye had decent talent. It originally had only three attributes: primarily spirit, with somewhat weaker darkness and water attributes.
After the Demon-Sealing Pot had cleansed it, however, darkness and water had become secondary forms of its Spiritual Power. Its talent could now rival that of the Evil Monarch of old.
That was one reason Evil Monarch submitted to Tang Li so readily. Ten thousand years ago, someone with this ability would surely have become a supreme powerhouse capable of founding a Soul Beast sanctuary to rival the Star Dou Great Forest.
And this was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to the Demon-Sealing Pot's powers.
The Soul Skill Evil Monarch gave Tang Li was excellent as well: a super-mutated mental Soul Skill—
First Soul Skill: Ban
Its effect was similar to Word Spirit. By linking Spiritual Power and Soul Power, Tang Li could impose a prohibition on a target, causing negative effects such as weakening, restraint, or curses.
Of course, he could use the Soul Skill in reverse to grant someone new enhancements and boosts. Spiritual Power imposed mental prohibitions, while Soul Power handled Soul Power-related ones. The two complemented each other perfectly without conflict.
More importantly, Tang Li called it a super-mutated mental Soul Skill because it retained the defining trait of mental Soul Skills—its effects grew stronger as he did.
And it benefited from growth in both Spiritual Power and Soul Power!
After sensing how powerful the Soul Skill was, Tang Li glanced at Evil Monarch, who was circling the Demon-Sealing Pot in his Spirit Sea, its huge eye filled with wonder. Another idea immediately struck him!
"Big Eyed, you've fused with me, so we're one now. See if you can draw on my Spiritual Power to contemplate the Demon-Sealing Pot. It'll do you good."
"Understood. I'll try it right away." Evil Monarch agreed at once. It was intensely curious about the divine object called the Demon-Sealing Pot, but after being Refined, it could no longer feel the terrifying pressure the pot had once exerted.
If it could not study the pot with its eye, it would use Spiritual Power!
As Tang Li's Soul Spirit, Evil Monarch could naturally fight on its own, drawing the energy it needed from Tang Li. That meant it should also be able to draw on his Spiritual Power to contemplate the Demon-Sealing Pot and increase its Spiritual Power.
If it worked, Tang Li would have gained a cheat for cultivating Spiritual Power!
Evil Monarch followed Tang Li's instructions. Spiritual Power gathered around its huge eyeball as easily as if it were moving its own arm, and it began carefully studying the intricate inscriptions on the Demon-Sealing Pot.
Sure enough, Tang Li could feel his Spiritual Power growing at an extremely slow rate. Better yet, he did not feel nearly as exhausted as he did when he contemplated the pot himself.
What a windfall!
"Excellent. Big Eyed, this is your job from now on. Whenever you have nothing else to do, contemplate the Demon-Sealing Pot. Don't let me catch you slacking!"
At that moment, Tang Li seemed possessed by a capitalist, imposing a merciless round-the-clock work schedule on the newly recruited Evil Eye.
His Spiritual Body then left the Spirit Sea, leaving the young Evil Eye so engrossed in Spiritual Power cultivation that it "couldn't tear itself away."
As for Tang Li, he went to cultivate too. With a Meditation Room this good, how could he not make full use of it?
In the Spirit Pagoda's Aolai City branch Meditation Room, Lin Ye saw that Tang Li's eyes were still closed. Feeling the Soul Power circulating ceaselessly through him, Lin Ye knew the boy was becoming hooked on cultivating here.
After all, the Spirit Pagoda's Meditation Rooms were nothing like the ragtag facilities in academies and the like. If there was one thing the Spirit Pagoda had in abundance, it was money! Its Meditation Rooms were naturally among the best on the continent.
"Go on, use it all you like. Once you get used to the Soul Power concentration here, you won't feel nearly so comfortable anywhere else. Heh, heh, heh..."
It was easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go back. Lin Ye knew that all too well.
Just then, Lin Ye's soul-guidance Communicator rang. He quickly muted it. Seeing a call from Tang Ziran, he hurried outside and answered eagerly, ready to haggle with him over bringing the talented Tang Li into the Spirit Pagoda!
"Hello! Old Tang, it's Lin Ye. Little Tang Li is cultivating here. It'll probably be a while before he wakes up, but I'll bring him home when he does."
At the other end of the call, Tang Ziran had just come home from work, only for Wulin to ask why his younger brother had not returned yet. Hearing Lin Ye's booming voice, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He had feared something had happened to his son and that the Spirit Pagoda was keeping him there. Fortunately, that was not the case.
"That's good, that's good. Sorry for the trouble, Old Lin. I'll treat you to dinner next time you're free."
At the mention of dinner, Lin Ye instantly perked up. "Why wait? Tomorrow! Let me treat you tomorrow! What do you say, Boss Tang? Will you do me the honor?"
He wants to treat me to dinner? Tang Ziran froze for a moment. But he had not gotten this far by being a fool. A moment's thought told him Lin Ye wanted something from him.
And since Lin Ye's Mecha had already been sorted out, this time his target was very likely...
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