Li Zhilong stepped aside, watching Xu Xiaoyan eagerly.
A mutation of this caliber was nothing short of a living research specimen for the Heavenly Starry Sky Academy!
The golden mist grew thicker and thicker.
Xu Xiaoyan hovered in midair, dazzlingly radiant.
The Star Wheel Ice Staff in her hand was also undergoing an earth-shattering transformation.
Originally, it had only one star wheel at its tip.
Now, a second and then a third star wheel lit up along its shaft!
The three star wheels rotated slowly, radiating a chilling absolute zero.
Even the air inside the Stargazing Platform froze, scattering tiny ice crystals.
Time ticked by, second after second.
Only after a full half hour did the starlight on the dome gradually dim.
The golden mist dispersed.
Xu Xiaoyan slowly opened her eyes.
Her once-clear blue eyes were now so deep that they seemed to contain an entire galaxy.
She floated gently to the ground, the Star Wheel Ice Staff in her hand completely transformed.
Its entire shaft was dark gold, with three star wheels arranged vertically, radiating a mysterious, majestic aura.
Xu Xiaoyan, evolve-!
Super Xu Xiaoyan!
Xu Xiaoyan looked down at her hands, then at her martial soul, utterly bewildered.
"I... what happened to me?"
Lu Guan stepped forward and flicked the dark-gold Ice Staff.
A clear metallic vibration rang out.
"How do you feel?" Lu Guan asked.
Xu Xiaoyan tightened her grip on the Star Staff and closed her eyes to sense the changes.
The next second, her eyes snapped open, and she raised the Ice Staff to point straight ahead.
"First soul skill! Star Wheel Chain!"
No soul ring flashed. There was no windup whatsoever.
One lift of her hand, and it was done.
Three dark-gold chains shot out of thin air, moving so fast that even their afterimages were impossible to make out.
Clack, clack, clack!
The chains wrapped precisely around Li Zhilong.
Li Zhilong, a mighty Soul Douluo, was forcibly rooted to the spot in that instant!
An unconditionally guaranteed control effect!
Li Zhilong's eyes widened. He desperately mobilized the soul power within him, yet he could not break free of those three slender chains.
"Sect Master Mu..." Li Zhilong's voice trembled. "This child... I want this child! No matter the cost, the Heavenly Starry Sky Academy must take her in!"
Mu Ye ignored Li Zhilong's wailing and howling.
He stared fixedly at the Ice Staff in Xu Xiaoyan's hand, his heart rocked with shock.
In response to Li Zhilong's request, Mu Ye flashed a wicked grin.
Elbow strike!
Back to Heaven Dou City he flew.
Mu Ye turned and looked Xu Xiaoyan up and down as she hid behind Lu Guan.
That little girl's "Star Wheel Chain" had just forcibly immobilized even a Soul Douluo for an instant.
Overbearing. Far too overbearing.
"I'm taking this girl." Mu Ye waved his great hand, settling the matter on the spot.
Lu Guan raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't the Body Sect only accept people with body martial souls?"
Mu Ye glared. "Even if she doesn't have a body martial soul and can't join the Body Sect, can't I lend a hand and teach her?"
"I'd be an idiot to let a control-type martial soul with a guaranteed effect like that slip away!"
Frightened, Xu Xiaoyan clutched the hem of Lu Guan's clothes and muttered quietly.
"Lu Guan, he's so scary..."
Lu Guan patted Xu Xiaoyan's head. "It's fine. He just has a loud voice."
Shrek City, Spirit Pagoda Headquarters.
"Why did you come along here? Weren't you supposed to keep an eye on the Golden Dragon King?" Na'er asked, staring at Gu Yue's profile.
Gu Yue sat in a chair, leafing through documents.
"What's the rush? He has seals Tang San left inside him, as well as a spiritual imprint. I need some time to prepare."
"His blood must be taken slowly. Haste will ruin the undertaking."
Na'er fell silent.
"Then what are you doing now?" Na'er pointed at the stack of documents Gu Yue was holding.
"Something big."
The core region of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Ripples spread across the Lake of Life, and a rich aura of life suffused the air.
Several terrifying figures stood silently on the shore.
The man at their head wore black robes, his black hair hanging loose.
He was none other than the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, Beast God Di Tian.
Beside him stood Bi Ji, the Emerald Swan, wearing a long green dress and exuding a gentle air.
Behind them, Xiong Jun the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, the Myriad Demon King, and the other ferocious beasts had all gathered.
The atmosphere was stifling to the extreme.
Bi Ji stepped forward, breaking the silence.
"Di Tian, did you summon us all because our lord sent back instructions?"
Di Tian turned around. His usually majestic face now bore an intensely complicated expression, one that was almost twisted.
Di Tian opened his mouth, but it took him a long while to force out a sentence. "Our lord... wants you to build friendly relations with humans."
A deathly silence fell over everyone.
Xiong Jun was the first to lose his patience. Terrifying dark-gold light shot into the heavens, and his massive body took a sudden step forward, making the earth tremble.
"Friendly relations?!" Xiong Jun roared, shaking the surrounding leaves into a rustling frenzy. "Humans slaughter our brethren, steal our soul rings, and have driven us into this corner! Yet our lord wants us to wag our tails and beg for pity?"
The Myriad Demon King spoke in a sinister voice as well. "Di Tian, did you relay the message incorrectly? How could our lord possibly issue such a humiliating command?"
Di Tian whipped his head around. His overwhelming, pinnacle-level pressure erupted with a thunderous surge, forcing Xiong Jun onto one knee.
"Shut up! This is our lord's divine decree!"
Xiong Jun gritted his teeth, stubbornly resisting the pressure, his face filled with defiance.
Bi Ji took a deep breath. Even with her normally gentle disposition, she found this inconceivable.
"Di Tian, explain it clearly first. What exactly does our lord want me to do? Which human faction should I befriend? The Spirit Pagoda? Or Shrek?"
Di Tian withdrew his pressure. "Neither."
He looked at Bi Ji and said, emphasizing every word, "The Federation..."
Heaven Dou City, the Body Sect.
Lu Guan sat cross-legged at the edge of a cliff.
Behind him, the phantom of the War Lord Demon Body flickered in and out of view. Its six dark-red arms moved slowly through the air, devouring the free-floating energy around him.
Cultivation!
A flurry of hurried footsteps came from afar.
Xu Xiaoyan ran to the mountaintop, panting, with the dark-gold star staff still in her hand.
"Lu Guan! Big news! There's huge news!"
Lu Guan withdrew his martial soul, stood up, and casually tossed her a towel.
"Teacher didn't make you swing your staff under the waterfall today?"
Yes, while teaching Xu Xiaoyan, Mu Ye had gone on about how the ancestral ways must not be violated, making her unleash soul skills beneath the waterfall behind the mountain.
Xu Xiaoyan: -_-
Xu Xiaoyan caught the towel and hastily wiped her face, then hurriedly held her portable soul tool out in front of Lu Guan.
"Forget that! Look at this!"
Lu Guan took it and switched it on.
On the screen, all the major news channels were frantically running the same breaking news bulletin.
The headline was bold and red, filling the entire screen.
"Unprecedented! Star Dou Great Forest representative Bi Ji, the ferocious beast Emerald Swan, has officially submitted her application to become a Federal Councilor!"
Lu Guan raised an eyebrow.
On-screen, Bi Ji stood outside the Federal Parliament headquarters building in a green dress.
Facing countless media reporters with their long lenses and short cameras trained on her like guns, Bi Ji smiled, calm and composed.
"As part of this continent, the Star Dou Great Forest deserves a voice in the Federal Parliament."
"I, Bi Ji, will represent all soul beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest in running for Federal Councilor in this election, so that the Federation's ideal of 'peaceful coexistence between humans and soul beasts' may truly be put into practice."
Before you continue