Little Moon Guga

A year later.

Several branches had opened in each of Star Luo Imperial City, Dragonhide City, Ironwall City, and Falling Wind City.

Over that year, the Breaking Clan had perfected the art of blending herbs into Milk Tea. Goji berries and chrysanthemums calmed the mind and brightened the eyes; licorice and dried tangerine peel soothed the lungs and eased coughs; roses and honey nourished the complexion and regulated menstruation. Word spread like wildfire through noble circles. Earls' wives and marquises' wives placed standing orders for seven cups a week, one a day, for years at a time.

Custom Milk Tea was even more outrageous: a single recipe cost thousands of Gold Soul Coins. Several duchesses in Star Luo Imperial City had nearly come to blows over a custom-order slot.

Every month, Bai He's hands shook as he went through the accounts.

"Last month, the total revenue from all our shops was forty-one thousand two hundred Gold Soul Coins."

Beside him, Yang Wudi coughed. The herbs in his hands nearly fell to the floor.

Lin Yuan nodded.

"Not bad."

Bai He's mouth twitched. Forty-one thousand two hundred Gold Soul Coins, and all he could say was not bad.

Lin Yuan was eight years old.

That year, the three Gugas had cultivated Soul Power at the same time, raising it at more than twice the speed of an ordinary Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power.

A year ago, he had been level twenty-one. Now he was level thirty.

As the Gugas grew, the Soul Rings had turned from century-old rings to purple ones. Guga could shatter a boulder with one punch, Dark Gold Guga's claw shadows could tear through iron armor with ease, and even a Soul Ancestor could not break free of Starry Guga's vines.

"I should go get my third Soul Ring," Lin Yuan said.

Yang Wudi put down the herbs in his hands.

"You're level thirty?"

"Mm."

Yang Wudi stared at Lin Yuan for a long time before he finally spoke.

"No one would believe it if I told them."

"What's so strange about that?" Lin Yuan stood with a smile. "I need to find an agility-type Soul Beast. A millennium-old one."

Bai He put down the account book.

"I'll take you to the Star Dou Great Forest. Searching from the sky will be much faster than searching on the ground."

At the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Bai He manifested the wings of a Sharp-Tailed Swift and carried Lin Yuan over the treetops. A vast green sea stretched beneath their feet.

"A Void Moonshadow Beast. Space-type, capable of short-range Teleportation and spatial leaps. Around two thousand years old and agility-focused," Bai He said. "I've seen one in Star Dou before. I don't know if we can still find it."

They flew for a full two hours. Bai He wove back and forth above the treetops, his Sharp-Tailed Swift eyes sweeping over every clearing.

"Found it."

Bai He folded his wings and landed in a treetop. Lin Yuan followed his gaze downward.

In the middle of a clearing, a silver-white Soul Beast was drinking by the river. It was shaped like a cat, with moon patterns on its fur that gleamed silver in the sunlight.

"Good luck," Bai He whispered. "This thing can Teleport. It won't be easy to catch."

Below them, the Void Moonshadow Beast's ears suddenly twitched. Its body flickered, vanishing from the riverbank and appearing in the shade of a tree ten meters away.

"I'll go." Bai He spread his wings. "Wait here."

With one beat of his wings, Bai He became a blur and swooped down. The Void Moonshadow Beast Teleported; Bai He changed direction. It Teleported again; he turned again.

Two shadows crisscrossed the clearing. After more than a dozen Teleportations, the Void Moonshadow Beast ran out of Soul Power and lay panting on the ground, its silver-white fur caked with mud.

Bai He flew back holding it by the scruff and tossed it to the ground.

"Caught it."

Lin Yuan landed in the clearing and punched the Void Moonshadow Beast in the head. It gave a muffled cry, and a purple Soul Ring rose from its body.

Lin Yuan sat down and began absorbing the Soul Ring. His Soul Rings appeared on their own. Two purple Soul Rings glowed faintly in the sunlight as they revolved around him.

Bai He, standing in the tree, nearly fell out. Two Thousand-Year Soul Rings!

He had known Lin Yuan for a year but had never seen him summon his Soul Rings. This eight-year-old child's First Soul Ring was a thousand-year ring?

Two hours later, Lin Yuan opened his eyes. He raised his right hand, Soul Power surged, and a third Soul Ring slowly rose from beneath his feet. Three purple Soul Rings bobbed at his sides.

Three rings. A Soul Elder.

At a stir of his Soul Power, the three Gugas appeared before him.

Lin Yuan reached out again, and a new Guga appeared before him.

She wore a silver-white suit patterned with pale silver moons. Her eyes were silvery gray, with a crescent moon in each pupil. She tilted her head at Lin Yuan, then at Bai He. Her body flickered, and she appeared behind Bai He.

Bai He jumped.

"What's that?"

Void Guga flickered again and appeared in front of Dark Gold Guga. Dark Gold Guga's eyes were still adjusting to the light.

"...Who are you, Guga?"

Void Guga leaned close to her face, her eyes narrowing into crescents.

"Guess, Guga."

Dark Gold Guga's eyes went wide.

Starry Guga stepped forward.

"Hi! What's your name, Guga?"

Void Guga flickered behind Starry Guga and patted her shoulder with a little hand. Starry Guga turned, but Void Guga had already Teleported to the other side.

"Void Guga. You can call me Little Moon too, Guga."

Dark Gold Guga clenched her claws.

"...Did you just pat me, Guga?"

Void Guga Teleported ten meters away, her eyes crinkling into two thin slits.

"You can't catch me, Guga~"

Dark Gold Guga exploded and chased after Void Guga, her claws gouging furrows in the ground. Void Guga flickered in and out of sight with Dark Gold Guga in pursuit. Lin Yuan followed helplessly, and Bai He came along too.

They had barely left the clearing when a dull thud sounded ahead. A girl lay on the ground, her long black hair spread around her and her violet eyes fixed on the Hell Spirit Cat before her. She looked seven or eight, with a slender build and two bloody scratches already on her arm.

The Hell Spirit Cat pounced.

She rolled aside, but the Hell Spirit Cat was faster. Its claws swept toward her face.

Two guards rushed out from behind a tree and were just about to act.

A silver-white shadow flashed past.

Void Guga Teleported in front of the Hell Spirit Cat and stared into its eyes. The cat froze for an instant. Void Guga kicked it under the chin. It flew backward, struck a tree trunk, and lay unconscious.

The girl froze.

She looked up and saw a handsome boy standing in the clearing. Sunlight shone from behind him, casting a long shadow across the ground.

Lin Yuan glanced down at her.

Zhu Zhuqing. I didn't expect to meet her here.

We'll meet again.

Lin Yuan smiled at her, then turned and left.

Zhu Zhuqing watched him go. Her lips parted, then closed again.

On the way back, Bai He clicked his tongue in amazement.

"Eight years old. A Soul Elder. Three Thousand-Year Soul Rings and four summons comparable to Millennium Soul Beasts. You really are something, kid."

Walking ahead, Lin Yuan smiled.

"Tell me something I don't know."

Bai He: "..."

By the time they returned to Dragonhide City, evening had fallen.

Bai He folded his wings and landed with Lin Yuan in the courtyard. Lin Yuan summoned all four Gugas. Dark Gold Guga immediately started chasing Void Guga, who laughed as she Teleported away. Guga and Starry Guga sat on the steps to watch the fun.

Yang Wudi came out of the house and paused when he saw an extra silver-white little creature in the courtyard.

"Another one?"

"Mm. The fourth," Lin Yuan said. "Void Guga."

"Old Yang, three Thousand-Year Soul Rings."

Yang Wudi gave Bai He a puzzled look.

"Three Thousand-Year Soul Rings?"

Bai He jerked his chin toward Lin Yuan. Lin Yuan took the hint. At a stir of his Soul Power, three purple Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet and slowly bobbed at his sides.

Yang Wudi stared at the three purple Soul Rings, his eyes round as marbles. Then he looked at the four little creatures chasing one another around the courtyard.

"Lin Yuan, where did you get these monsters?"

Lin Yuan's mouth curled up.

"It's called genius. Get it?"

Yang Wudi was speechless.

Bai He burst out laughing beside him.

"All right." Yang Wudi recovered and put away his smile. "There's something I need to discuss with you."

"What is it?"

"Milk Tea production can't keep up with deliveries. There are too many orders. Everyone's busy blending it, and customers are complaining that they have to wait half a day for a cup."

Lin Yuan frowned.

"It's a question of efficiency. One person only has two hands; there's a limit to how fast they can work," Yang Wudi said. "I was thinking, could we build an assembly line? Split the process into steps so each person does only one task. It could multiply our output several times over."

"An assembly line would need purpose-built equipment and people skilled in construction," Lin Yuan said. "Ordinary carpenters and blacksmiths couldn't make it."

Someone flashed through Bai He's mind.

"Old Rhino."

Yang Wudi looked up at him.

"Niu Gao. Head of the Defense Clan. His Martial Soul is the Plate-Armored Giant Rhino, and he specializes in defense. But what his clan is best at is actually construction."

"After the Clear Sky Sect closed its gates years ago, they hid in Longxing City and made a living repairing houses."

"We'll go to Longxing City tomorrow."

Yang Wudi and Bai He exchanged a glance and nodded together.

Under the moonlight, the four Gugas sat in a row on the roof. Guga leaned against Dark Gold Guga, who was dozing. Starry Guga spread her vines behind them, and the Gugas rested against them. Void Guga sat in the middle, gazing at the moon.

She flickered to Lin Yuan's side and tugged at his sleeve with a little hand.

Lin Yuan looked down at her.

Void Guga tipped her head back, her eyes curving into crescents.

"The moon is pretty, Guga."

"I'll call you Little Moon from now on."

Lin Yuan rubbed her head.