Soul Spirits Could Work

Luoxing City, Luoxing Empire.

Not far outside the city gate, Wang Dong stood waiting with two young men.

"Why is Second Dad taking so long?" Wang Dong asked.

The two sect disciples answered, "According to the message from the sect, the second sect master should be here any moment."

A powerfully built middle-aged man suddenly flew toward them from the distance.

"Haha! Little Dong'er, sorry for the wait. Did you miss me?"

Wang Dong broke into a smile and ran over to hug his arm.

"Of course I did, Second Dad."

"But why did you suddenly come to the Luoxing Empire?"

The burly man smiled. "Because you suddenly left school, of course."

"The disciples in Shrek City sent word back. That's how your eldest dad and I found out. Why did you leave when everything was going fine?"

Wang Dong pouted. "What else could it be? Shrek Academy wasn't right for me, so I left."

The man paused. "Oh? What happened? Did Shrek Academy mistreat you? Tell Second Dad, and I'll set things right."

Wang Dong thought for a moment. "I wouldn't quite call it mistreatment, but what they did was still pretty awful..."

"..."

As Wang Dong told him what had happened, the man's brow gradually furrowed. He gave a cold snort.

"Hmph! Shrek Academy gets worse with every generation."

"If that academy didn't have ties to your father, I, Tai Tan, would go there and tear the place down."

Wang Dong blinked. "My father studied at Shrek too?"

Tai Tan nodded. "Yes, a long time ago."

"But Shrek isn't what it used to be."

He shook his head, then said, "From what you've told me, you seem pretty close to that classmate named Huo Yuhao."

Wang Dong nodded. "Yeah. Yuhao was my best friend at the academy."

"I came to Just Sky Academy with him this time."

"The finals are tomorrow."

Tai Tan's eyes flickered, and his expression relaxed a little.

After a moment, he spoke again. "I see. If he's your friend, take me into the city to meet him."

"Once your finals are over, I'll find a chance to make them pay for what they did to you."

"A mere White Tiger Duke's Mansion dared to bully my Dong'er? They must have a death wish."

Wang Dong smiled and walked toward the city with her arm linked through Tai Tan's.

"It's just that Yuhao and his cousin Song Que have both been away these past two days."

"They went out with people from the Body Sect, apparently. I don't know when they'll be back."

"The finals are about to start. I hope they make it back in time."

As he walked beside Wang Dong, Tai Tan murmured, "The Body Sect..."

"I never would have expected that."

"Hmm? Who's there?" Tai Tan's brow snapped into a frown. His spiritual power slammed into the shadows among the trees on either side of the road.

"Ah!" Several screams rang out.

Three figures tumbled from the shadows in the treetops.

"Heh. Where did these little rats come from? You dared to follow my little Dong'er? You're asking for death."

Tai Tan snorted angrily, raised his right hand, and thrust it downward.

A terrifying field of gravity descended, driving all three straight into the ground.

Tai Tan instructed the two sect disciples beside him, "Handle them. Take them in and question them properly. Find out what fool sent them..."

In the central region of the Star Dou Forest.

Song Que looked at the Snow Empress, smiled faintly, and shook his head. "Not at all. From now on, we're companions who'll support each other. There's no need to be so formal."

"I'll be relying on you a lot from now on."

The Snow Empress paused, then nodded and said:

"Your martial soul is unusual. My Soul Ring can only provide you with Soul Power; it can't grant you soul skills directly."

"I've stored all of my core essence in your fourth Soul Ring."

"I'll teach you my abilities gradually from here on."

Song Que nodded slightly.

Di Tian suddenly spoke. "It seems the Soul Spirit method really is viable."

"But humans have short lifespans. That remains a serious concern."

The Snow Empress shook her head. "Humans have their advantages too."

"For Bing'er and me, Song Que and Yuhao both have a chance of becoming gods. They might take us beyond our shackles and help us break through our limits."

"That's better than waiting for death with no hope at all."

Di Tian fell silent, deep in thought.

"Soul Beasts can't become gods...? Heh. How unfair..."

Song Que said, "Senior Di Tian, setting aside unusual cases like ours, ordinary people could choose Soul Beasts nearing the end of their lives."

"Some Soul Beasts will be willing to try."

"If the Soul Spirit method can be adopted widely, it would be better than hunting Soul Beasts outright."

"And the technique will improve over time. Perhaps one day, collecting a Soul Beast's blood will be enough to create a Soul Spirit."

Di Tian considered this for a moment, then nodded slightly.

"You have a point. If that can truly be done, it would be a good thing."

"But how do we move forward?"

Song Que thought for a moment. "Leave that to us. Once we've developed a more reliable method, we can decide what to do next."

"When the time comes, I'm sorry for the trouble, Senior Di Tian, but we'll need your help and cooperation."

Di Tian nodded slightly, took out a black scale, and handed it to Song Que.

"This is one of my dragon scales. Keep it safe. The next time you enter the Star Dou Forest, channel your Soul Power, and I'll sense it."

Song Que nodded and put the dragon scale away.

Then he looked back at Huo Yuhao and smiled.

"Since we're already here, could I trouble you to help find Yuhao a Soul Beast with a spiritual attribute?"

Di Tian frowned slightly and turned toward Huo Yuhao.

"Very well. Leave it to me."

"What age of Soul Beast can this boy withstand?"

Huo Yuhao paused, then said, "Yi Lao said that with my current spiritual power and physical strength, I should be able to withstand a Soul Spirit under ten thousand years old."

Di Tian nodded. "Wait here."

As soon as he finished speaking, Di Tian vanished from the spot.

Huo Yuhao looked at Song Que. "Brother Song Que, do I really have to absorb my third Soul Ring now? Even if I finish, it won't improve my fighting strength much in the short term."

"We've been gone a long time already. If we delay any longer, I'm afraid we'll miss the finals."

Song Que smiled. "Don't worry. It'll be fine."

"There are three matches in the finals. At worst, we miss the first day. If we win the other two, we'll still have a chance."

"Since we're here and Senior Di Tian can arrange it, we might as well try."

"If we searched on our own, we'd still have to find a way to persuade a Soul Beast. That would be much harder."

Huo Yuhao hesitated, but finally nodded.

A short while later, Di Tian reappeared, holding a trembling Soul Beast in his hand.

But two more figures had appeared beside him.

"Scarlet King? Auspicious Beast?!"

Song Que blinked and glanced at Huo Yuhao. Does this guy have a GPS on him or something?