Gu Yue was slightly stunned, looking at the other person with a hint of confusion flashing in her eyes. "Who are you..."
"I am Qiangu Zhangting." The youth smiled, his tone carrying a trace of an overly familiar and intimate air. "Grandson of Spirit Pagoda Headquarters Pagoda Master Qiangu Dongfeng. We've met before, at the annual meeting at the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters."
Gu Yue came to her senses and nodded slightly. "So it's you."
Qiangu Zhangting waved his hand, signaling the companions beside him to step back. "We're all our own people, don't be nervous."
Though those youths seemed somewhat reluctant, they still obediently retreated to the side. It looked like Qiangu Zhangting held great prestige among them.
Qiangu Zhangting walked forward, his gaze sweeping over Tang Wulin and the others before finally landing on Gu Yue as he smiled and said:
"Gu Yue, did you all come here for a soul ascension? Why didn't you say so earlier? I could have helped you out. Our team was originally supposed to come here for ascension today as well. Since we're all people from the Spirit Pagoda, looking out for one another is only right."
A trace of disapproval appeared on the faces of the youths behind him. Clearly, they felt there was no need to help a few kids.
Yet since Qiangu Zhangting had spoken, it wasn't easy for them to say anything. After all, he was the pagoda master's grandson.
These people had always been Qiangu Zhangting's lackeys ever since they were young.
Gu Yue shook her head indifferently. "No need, we can manage on our own."
Aside from having a slightly better attitude toward Tang Wulin, that member of the opposite sex, she never had a good temper for other men. In particular, she instinctively found this Qiangu Zhangting unpleasant to look at, though she had no idea why.
The smile on Qiangu Zhangting's face stiffened slightly, but he quickly returned to normal.
"Alright then. However, you kids should still be careful in the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform. The Ten-Year Soul Beasts here are no joke. If you have any need, you can come find me at any time."
As he said this, his gaze remained fixed on Gu Yue, the affection in his eyes barely concealed.
Tang Wulin took it in, curling his lip inwardly. This fellow, this fellow has the potential to become a licking dog.
Yet he could only ever become a licking dog.
"Thanks for the kind offer, but we really don't need it." Tang Wulin took over the conversation, his tone flat. "We can handle it ourselves."
Qiangu Zhangting's gaze finally landed on Tang Wulin. He looked him up and down before suddenly smiling. "You're Pagoda Master Leng's disciple, Tang Wulin, right? I heard you possess innate divine strength and can really fight?"
His tone carried a trace of playfulness, as if he were sizing up some interesting trinket. Tang Wulin frowned slightly and said nothing.
Qiangu Zhangting continued, "I hope things go smoothly for you. Still, I must remind you that the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts of the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform aren't something Three-Ring Soul Elders like you can deal with. Don't end up failing to obtain a soul spirit and instead getting yourselves killed inside."
He smiled, turned, and led his people away. Before leaving, he glanced at Gu Yue once more, a profound and meaningful light flashing in his eyes.
Once they had walked far away, Ye Xinglan finally couldn't help speaking, "Who was that guy? Putting on such a lofty air, just looking at him is annoying."
"Qiangu Zhangting." Yuanen Yehui took over the conversation. "Grandson of Spirit Pagoda Pagoda Master Qiangu Dongfeng. He's rumored to have extremely formidable talent, the number one person of the Spirit Pagoda's younger generation. The people behind him should all be descendants of the Spirit Pagoda's upper echelon, generally above the sixth ring."
Xu Lizhi gasped in amazement. "Six rings? Wouldn't that make them Soul Emperors? They look like they're only eighteen or nineteen, right?"
"With the Spirit Pagoda's tilted resources and their own talent, breaking through to become a Soul Emperor at this age isn't strange," Gu Yue said indifferently.
"Still, they ascend their spirits and we ascend ours, we have nothing to do with each other."
Tang Wulin nodded. "Gu Yue is right, pay them no mind. We'll proceed according to the plan."
Tang Wulin withdrew his gaze and looked toward the others. "Let's go, first go find a suitable soul beast. Xu Lizhi, you're up first."
Xu Lizhi was momentarily stunned, then rubbed his hands together with a somewhat touched expression. "Boss, you're too good to me."
Tang Wulin rolled his eyes. "Cut the crap, hurry up."
The group laughed and bantered as they walked toward the depths of the soul beast forest.
Although it was a simulated soul beast forest, it was indeed extremely close to the real thing. The closer they got to the inner perimeter, the more they felt the danger here.
Who knew how much time had passed.
A low beast roar came from the dense forest ahead, followed by the sound of snapping tree branches. Clearly, a soul beast was approaching.
Tang Wulin stopped in his tracks, cocked his head to listen for a second, and the corners of his mouth hooked up slightly. "They're here, get ready."
The group immediately scattered, taking their respective positions. Xu Lizhi flipped his hands, and two steaming buns appeared in his palms, emitting an alluring fragrance.
"Recovery Meat Bun! Bloodthirsty Red Bean Bun!" Xu Lizhi distributed the buns to everyone. "After eating them, soul power recovery speed increases by thirty percent, and attack power increases by twenty percent!"
Tang Wulin took a bun, swallowed it in one bite, and felt the surging power within his body as a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. "Charge!"
Before his voice had even faded, he had already dashed out first. From the bushes ahead, a pitch-black, leopard-like soul beast lunged out abruptly, its entire body radiating the aura of a Thousand-Year Soul Beast, its sharp claws like knives as it lunged straight for Tang Wulin's face.
Tang Wulin didn't dodge or evade, throwing a punch forward.
Bang!
That thousand-year leopard-like soul beast didn't even have time to let out a miserable screech before its head was directly blasted to pieces. Its massive body flew backward, snapping several large trees before finally coming to a stop.
Simultaneously, Na'er had already charged toward another soul beast. The Silver Dragon Spear in her hand was like a living thing, her thrust fierce as a dragon as she pierced straight through the throat of a wolf-like soul beast with a single strike. Her spear techniques were even sharper than a year ago, her strikes crisp and decisive, practically taking down one with every single strike.
Gu Yue stood in the rear, forming hand seals as streaks of silver light shot forth from her hands, accurately hitting every single soul beast.
Elemental Control!
The movements of those soul beasts struck by the light abruptly slowed down, as if sinking into a quagmire, leaving them at the mercy of the others to reap.
As for Yuanen Yehui, she transformed into a streak of black shadow, shuttling back and forth across the battlefield.
The Titan Giant Ape Martial Soul endowed her with terrifying strength, while the Fallen Angel Martial Soul granted her ultimate speed and flexibility. Switching between the two martial souls freely, every single blow of hers took away the life of a soul beast.
Ye Xinglan stood guard beside Xu Lizhi, her sword intent piercingly cold, slaying any soul beast that attempted to approach with a single sword strike. Meanwhile, Xu Lizhi continuously manufactured buns, providing the group with a steady stream of enhancements.
The six of them cooperated with tacit understanding, operating like a precise killing machine as they rampaged through the soul beast forest. Those thousand-year soul beasts, which were enough to give ordinary Soul Elders severe headaches in the outside world, were like paper in front of them, utterly unable to withstand a single blow.
The most exaggerated of all was still Tang Wulin. He resembled a humanoid ferocious beast, rampaging through the pack of beasts, blasting apart the skull of a soul beast with a single punch, tearing open the throat of a soul beast with a single claw-his movements simple and crude, yet horrifyingly efficient.
His strength was truly too terrifying; the defense of those thousand-year soul beasts was completely nominal before him, utterly incapable of blocking a single strike from him.
Watching Tang Wulin slaughtering all directions amid the beast pack, Xu Lizhi couldn't help swallowing a mouthful of saliva. "Is this damn guy even human?"
Ye Xinglan's eyelids twitched wildly as well. "Boss's strength... I'm afraid it's grown by quite a bit again, huh?"
Yuanen Yehui said nothing, but her gaze had already betrayed the shock within her heart.
A year ago, when she sparred with Tang Wulin, although she had also felt the terror of his strength, she could at least still barely track his movements.
Yet now, she discovered that she couldn't even capture the trajectory of Tang Wulin's strikes anymore.
Who knew how much time had passed, or how many soul beasts Tang Wulin and the others had killed.
When the very last soul beast collapsed, the surroundings were already piled high with soul beast corpses. A rich, thick scent of blood lingered in the air, and the ground was littered with shattered trees and craters everywhere.
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