Faint silver streaks had appeared in the eye that occupied more than half of Big Eyed's body. Tang Li knew that aura all too well: it was the aura of the Silver Dragon King radiating from Na'er.
"Looks like I affected you while absorbing that power. That's a good thing!"
Tang Li looked with satisfaction at the first Soul Spirit he had bonded with. Compared with when they had first bonded a year ago, Big Eyed had been transformed from head to toe.
Not only had its cultivation reached five thousand years, but its strength and talent had also changed enormously. It now had the potential to surpass even the Evil Eye Tyrant Ruler, the Evil Monarch!
But this was only the beginning. Once Tang Li entered the Spirit Ascension Platform again, he would certainly upgrade Big Eyed further.
Of course, his greatest gain this time was still the pinkie-thick stream of Immortal Spirit Qi. It was slowly strengthening the Soul Power produced by the Mysterious Heaven Skill within him, while its pale mist nourished his body, blood vitality, and Spiritual Power.
Most important of all was the change in the Demon-Sealing Pot. If Soul Power was the key that let it release the energy within, then Immortal Spirit Qi was a drill that bored through the barrier, allowing it to unleash wide-ranging attacks like the one in the Spirit Ascension Platform.
And using it this way did not consume the Immortal Spirit Qi. It circulated through the Demon-Sealing Pot, then emerged again.
Tang Li guessed that it had tapped into the Pot World inside the Demon-Sealing Pot. That was also the source of the energy the pot used to protect its master on its own.
If Tang Li became strong enough to unlock the Pot World, he would have an almost inexhaustible source of energy.
As he pondered this, Lin Ye woke up too. Seeing Tang Li sitting beside him in a daze, he was startled yet again. He had expected to wake first.
But Tang Li had surprised him so many times already that he could hardly dwell on something this small.
"Little Tang Li, how's your Evil Eye? Nothing went wrong, did it?"
Lin Ye asked because he knew a little about the Spirit Ascension Platform. If someone absorbed too much spirit energy, the age of the Soul Spirit within them could rise beyond what they could bear, harming them instead.
Tang Li knew Lin Ye was concerned about him. He extended his left hand, and with a thought, summoned Big Eyed from the Spirit Sea, where it had been happily boosting its Spiritual Power.
"Don't worry, Uncle Lin. You know what my Martial Soul can do. My Evil Eye has reached five thousand years. You can call it an Evil Eye Lord now."
Tang Li held up the smaller Big Eyed to put Lin Ye at ease.
Lin Ye worked for the Spirit Pagoda, after all, and knew his Soul Beasts. At a glance, he saw that this Evil Eye Lord was extraordinary: it had clearly mutated into a top-tier Evil Eye whose dominant attribute was Spiritual Power.
"This Evil Eye... has remarkable potential! It's worth raising as your Lifebound Soul Spirit. Wait—"
Lin Ye was still analyzing the situation for Tang Li when something suddenly clicked. He froze, then stiffly raised his head to look at Tang Li. His voice was full of uncertainty as he asked:
"Little Tang Li, did you just say... how many thousand years old this Evil Eye Lord is? Five thousand? Uncle Lin must have heard wrong, right?"
"You heard right, Uncle Lin. It's a five-thousand-year Evil Eye Lord. It even underwent a beneficial mutation, and my Spiritual Power grew stronger along with it."
Lin Ye sucked in another sharp breath. He stepped forward, seized Tang Li by the shoulders, and shook him hard, speaking rapidly:
"When you said it had its fill, you meant it gained over four thousand years? Are you crazy? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? Even if your Martial Soul can suppress and store spirit energy, a Soul Spirit that's too old will put pressure on your soul! That damage is irreversible!"
Lin Ye's voice was thick with lingering fear and worry. Tang Li could feel how deeply he cared about him, and reassured him:
"Don't worry, Uncle Lin. My soul is a little unusual, and my Demon-Sealing Pot Martial Soul can protect my Spiritual Power. Besides, I didn't know beforehand that it would gain an extra thousand years. That was an accident. It won't happen again."
"Ah, I know you have a mind of your own. Just be careful. Since you're all right, let's head back to Aolai City."
Lin Ye finally understood how helpless Tang Ziran and his wife must have felt. He got up and took Tang Li to the Soul Guidance Train Station to buy tickets back to Aolai City.
After they left the Spirit Pagoda, the last rays of sunset fell across Tang Li, stretching his shadow long. Yet it never crossed the tower's enormous shadow.
They descended the long steps in front of the Spirit Pagoda. Eastsea City sat by the sea, and even before sunset, the air did not feel hot. A breeze brushed past, leaving Tang Li refreshed.
He followed Lin Ye with narrowed eyes. The moment he stepped off the final stair, inspiration suddenly struck. His Level 19 Soul Power broke through to Level 20 as naturally as water flowing into a channel, and the second Millennium Soul Ring Big Eyed had provided appeared beside him of its own accord.
Sensing the surge of Soul Power, Lin Ye immediately turned around. Tang Li stood with his arms spread as if embracing the whole world, while Soul Power from heaven and earth streamed toward him like swallows returning to their nests.
The two Millennium Soul Rings bobbed beside Tang Li, as though rejoicing at the blessing the world had bestowed on him.
Lin Ye: =͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪‧̣̥̇)
What the hell? He walked down some stairs, soaked up a little sun, and broke through!
Was breaking through really that easy? Then what did that make someone like me, stuck at Level 59 for years? Useless?
Was this the gap between a genius and an ordinary person? It was even bigger than the gap between my two sons and a dog!
The tide of Soul Power came quickly and faded just as fast. Half a minute later, everything was calm again. A flash of multicolored chaos, concealing countless hues, flickered through Tang Li's eyes and vanished.
The vast Soul Power bestowed by heaven and earth filled his meridians. Once he had fully refined it, his cultivation would surely rise several more levels.
When Tang Li looked up, he found Lin Ye standing before him like a wooden statue. He could clearly see disbelief and astonishment in Lin Ye's eyes.
Tang Li waved at him and asked with concern, "Uncle Lin! Uncle Lin! What's wrong? Are you okay?"
Only then did Lin Ye come back to himself. He looked at Tang Li with a solemn face and said gravely:
"Little Tang Li, promise Uncle Lin something. Next time you break through, don't make such a spectacle of it. Especially not in front of me, all right?"
Tang Li looked puzzled. Why? Would doing that cause trouble for Uncle Lin? He was about to ask when Lin Ye turned away and said helplessly:
"You brat, the speed of your breakthroughs is too crushing. Uncle Lin is getting old. My heart can't take this kind of shock. Come on, I need to get you home so you can crush your family instead."
"Hurry up and follow me. I messaged your father earlier. They'll wait for you to have dinner together. You wouldn't want to keep them waiting too long, would you?"
Tang Li: ⊂[┐'_'┌]⊃
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