The Spirit Pagoda Needs Reform: Artificial Soul Spirits

"We're here."

Na'er stopped at the lakeshore.

She turned to face Chen Xing and Tang Wulin, the lake's shimmering light reflected in her violet eyes.

"Brother, Wulin, this is the deepest part of the Great Beast Grounds."

Tang Wulin looked around. The place was eerily quiet; there was not even a birdsong.

Chen Xing said nothing. He simply watched Na'er and waited for her to speak.

Na'er was silent for a long while before she said softly,

"There's a lot I've never told you."

Her gaze settled on the lake, and her voice held a calm beyond her years.

"Over the past few years, the Silver Dragon King's memories have appeared in my mind, little by little."

"They come in fragments. I can't piece them all together."

"But I can see blood. I can see soul beasts falling one after another, and human figures standing amid the flames, grinning viciously."

"Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night, and those images leap out on their own. They weigh on me until I can barely breathe."

"I used to think I was born to seek justice for them."

She lowered her head and looked at the fingers clutching Chen Xing's sleeve.

Na'er took two steps forward, stopped before Chen Xing, and looked up.

"But after I met you, Brother..."

She raised her hand and gently pinched the edge of Chen Xing's sleeve.

"When you held my hand as we walked, it felt like you took half the weight of those fragments from me."

"When you picked me up, I learned that someone could be there to catch me, too."

"When you said you'd protect me..."

She lowered her head, her voice growing softer.

"I stopped wanting those images to decide where I went."

"I don't want to forget them. I want to carry them with me and go wherever you are."

Standing behind them, Tang Wulin suddenly felt his nose sting.

Chen Xing reached out and gently rubbed her head, just as he had so many times over the past six years.

Na'er did not pull away. She even tilted her head slightly and nuzzled his palm.

After a while, she drew a deep breath and stepped back half a pace.

"You once said there might be other worlds beyond Douluo Star..."

"And in those memories, I saw other things, too."

Na'er gazed past the lake to the sky, broken into patches by the canopy overhead.

"They were the Dragon God's memories. In them, the universe held all kinds of planets, and some had civilizations of their own..."

As she spoke, she turned back to Chen Xing.

"So I believe what you said."

"I want to travel with you to the planets I saw in those memories. Maybe there's one where the soul beasts could start a new life?"

At her words, Chen Xing thought of the story's future, ten thousand years on. By Lan Xuanyu's era, humanity had reached for the stars.

The soul beasts of that era had also put down roots on a planet called Sen Luo Star.

"What are you planning to do next?"

Chen Xing suddenly wanted to know what Na'er intended to do now.

Na'er thought for a moment, then took out a Token.

She had collected it from the Spirit Pagoda in East Sea the day before.

"I've watched the Spirit Pagoda for a long time. Its Soul Spirit System claims to help Soul Masters and soul beasts coexist, but it still exploits soul beasts."

"Most of those Soul Spirits' consciousness is stripped away. What little remains is bound to a Soul Master and turned into a tool."

"I want to change that system, but I don't want to destroy the Spirit Pagoda."

"I want to go inside and find a better way from within."

Chen Xing looked her in the eyes.

"So you want to join the Spirit Pagoda?"

Na'er nodded.

"With my abilities, getting in won't be hard."

Chen Xing nodded.

Getting into the Spirit Pagoda would not be difficult for Na'er. She had done it in the original story.

Finding the path she wanted, though, would take no small amount of effort.

Perhaps he could give Na'er a hand.

With that thought, Chen Xing stepped forward.

"If you're going into the Spirit Pagoda to find a way to reform it, I can offer you another route."

Na'er blinked.

"What route?"

The corners of Chen Xing's mouth lifted slightly.

"Artificial Soul Spirits."

"What?"

Na'er stared at him in shock.

"My World-Painting Authority isn't limited to using Illusory Creation on inanimate things. Creating Soul Spirits isn't beyond me."

Chen Xing looked her in the eyes and spoke one word at a time.

"So if you need help, I can give it to you."

Na'er froze.

She stood there staring at Chen Xing for a long time, complicated emotions churning in her violet eyes.

She had already made her plans.

She would infiltrate the Spirit Pagoda and slowly look for an opportunity.

She had never expected Chen Xing to propose an entirely different path.

Artificial Soul Spirits?

Perhaps it really could work.

"But Na'er, if you want to enter the Spirit Pagoda, there's one more thing we need to deal with."

"What is it?"

Na'er looked at Chen Xing in confusion.

Chen Xing's expression hardened.

"The Qiangu family..."

"The Qiangu family?!"

"That's right..."

The chill in Chen Xing's eyes deepened.

Nearly every member of the Qiangu family was a piece of work.

Under their control, the Spirit Pagoda had only grown worse.

Of course, the Qiangu family was not the only problem.

The Spirit Pagoda was rotten to its core.

If Na'er wanted reform, she would first have to remove the Qiangu family, then thoroughly purge the entire Spirit Pagoda.

Only then could the Spirit Pagoda make a fresh start and become a force for realizing Na'er's dream.

"Na'er, you know how rotten the Spirit Pagoda has become. If you want to put your ideas into practice, you have to clean it out from the inside."

"Only by taking firm control of the Spirit Pagoda will you have the right conditions to realize your vision."

"Don't worry. I can help with that too. We can do it together."

As Chen Xing spoke, he rubbed her head.

"After all, you're my little sister."

Na'er lowered her head, her cheeks turning faintly pink.

"Brother..."

Tang Wulin had been standing behind them for ages. At last, he could not help clearing his throat.

"Um... I don't really understand what you two are talking about, but it sounds pretty incredible..."

Na'er hurriedly backed away a few steps, then turned to Tang Wulin with a smile.

"You can help us later too, Wulin."

"Me? Help with what?"

"Testing Artificial Soul Spirits. You can be the first subject to have one bound to you."

Tang Wulin's eyes widened.

"Wait, how did I become a test subject..."

"Because you're my brother's little brother."

Na'er turned away, as if that settled everything.

"It's decided."

Tang Wulin opened his mouth, then gave up trying to argue.

"All right, all right..."

This would benefit humanity too, after all.

For a cause this worthy, Tang Wulin could hardly refuse.

The sky