The Spirit Pagoda.
Lu Guan followed Deacon Zhao deeper into the corridor.
They pushed open a heavy metal door. Inside stood a sophisticated device resembling a helmet.
"Sit down and put it on." Deacon Zhao pointed to the chair with practiced ease.
Lu Guan settled into the chair, and the metal helmet slowly lowered, covering most of his head.
"Relax. Don't resist." Deacon Zhao pressed a button on the console before him.
The machine gave a faint hum.
Lu Beixuan leaned toward the screen, rubbing his hands together. He was even more nervous than Lu Guan.
The numbers on the screen began to climb.
10...20...
Deacon Zhao lifted his insulated cup and was just about to take a drink when he caught sight of the screen. His hand shook, nearly spilling hot water onto his crotch.
30...45...
"Is this machine broken?" Deacon Zhao set his cup down hard on the table and stared at the screen with wide eyes.
For an ordinary six-year-old, spiritual power in the low teens was already impressive. Those who surpassed twenty were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.
The numbers kept soaring.
55...65...
Finally, the number stopped firmly at 69.
The room fell so quiet that only the machine's cooling fan could be heard.
"Sixty-nine!" Deacon Zhao's voice shot up, cracking.
Deacon Zhao looked at Lu Guan as though he were a monster, then turned to Lu Beixuan.
"High-level Spirit Origin Realm! He's not far from the Spirit Connection Realm! This is a true prodigy!"
Lu Beixuan froze for two seconds, then burst into wild laughter, slapping his thigh with resounding smacks.
"Hahahaha! I told you my son had the makings of a Titled Douluo! See?"
Lu Guan removed the helmet and hopped down from the chair. He was hardly surprised.
Having lived two lives, with his souls layered together and nurtured by a top-tier body martial soul like the War Lord Demon Body, it would have been downright bizarre if his spiritual power weren't high.
"Deacon Zhao, can we pick a soul spirit now?" Lu Guan asked.
"Yes, yes! Of course!" Deacon Zhao grinned so broadly his face nearly split. "This way. I'll personally take you to the designated hundred-year soul spirit section!"
Discovering a future big shot was a guaranteed boost to both his performance record and his connections.
The designated hundred-year soul spirit display area on the second floor was spacious.
All kinds of glowing silhouettes floated inside rows of transparent soul tool display cases.
Some took the shapes of beasts such as bears and tigers, while others resembled plants such as bamboo and grass.
"You have a body martial soul, with an emphasis on strength and physique. I recommend choosing a bear-type or elephant-type soul spirit."
Deacon Zhao explained as they walked, "For instance, this hundred-year Great Strength Vajra Bear, or the Ironclad Mammoth over there. Both would suit you well."
Lu Beixuan nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, bears are good! Your dad's martial soul is a little white bear. Our family has a special bond with bears!"
Lu Guan ignored his father, sweeping his gaze across the display cases.
There was nothing wrong with choosing a bear-type or elephant-type soul spirit for a body martial soul. It was a safe, unremarkable choice.
However, Lu Guan's War Lord Demon Body differed from other body martial souls: it came with the Five Weapons.
Perhaps his soul skills could work through the Five Weapons as well?
That opened up plenty of soul spirits worth considering.
As for the soul spirits Deacon Zhao had recommended, they really did lack something.
They were too ordinary, with nothing distinctive about them.
As they walked, Lu Guan stopped in a secluded corner.
Only one lonely display case stood there.
Unlike the other soul spirits, the translucent apparition within had not manifested as an animal or plant. Instead, it was a thick mass of blood-red substance.
Black mist even churned across the blood orb's surface.
"What's this?" Lu Guan pointed at the blood orb.
Deacon Zhao followed his finger, and his expression shifted.
"Uh... this is a defective one." Deacon Zhao hurried to stand in front of the display case.
"Defective?" Lu Beixuan bristled. "What's wrong with your Spirit Pagoda? You put defective goods in the designated hundred-year section? Trying to swindle us out of a million?"
"No, you've misunderstood." Deacon Zhao gave a series of bitter smiles. "This one was originally assessed according to thousand-year soul spirit standards."
"Thousand-year?" Lu Beixuan's eyes widened.
Deacon Zhao sighed and pointed at the blood orb as he explained.
"This soul spirit is called the Darkbone Bloodwing Tiger. It was originally a ten-thousand-year soul spirit, and it carries the bloodline of an ancient ferocious beast."
"But during extraction, the beast proved exceptionally vicious. It would rather die than submit, causing something to go wrong with the extraction ritual. Its soul spirit essence was damaged, and it dropped to the hundred-year level."
"Even after dropping to the hundred-year level, though, its ferocious beast bloodline alone makes it worth the price of a thousand-year soul spirit."
"The problem is, it's too vicious."
Deacon Zhao looked at the blood orb with lingering dread.
"This creature is steeped in savage malice and refuses all discipline. A few children with decent spiritual power took a fancy to its bloodline power and tried to fuse with it. Every one of them suffered a backlash. Their minds were injured, and they nearly became imbeciles."
"That's why it ended up in the hundred-year soul spirit section."
After hearing that, Lu Beixuan sucked in a cold breath and hurriedly grabbed Lu Guan's arm.
"Son, let's go. This thing is too sinister. We don't want it."
Lu Guan, however, stayed rooted to the spot.
He stared fixedly at the blood orb.
The soul power within him seethed, and the flesh of his forehead faintly ached. The War Lord Demon Body was resonating with it.
Vicious? Refuses discipline?
What in this world could be more vicious than the War Lord?
Would a demon god who dared to fight even the Two Emperors care about some sickly cat with a trace of ancient blood?
"I'll take it," Lu Guan said.
His voice was quiet, yet it rang out with particular clarity in the silent display area.
"What?" Deacon Zhao thought he had misheard.
"I said, I want this Darkbone Bloodwing Tiger." Lu Guan pointed at the blood orb and turned to Deacon Zhao.
"This is no joke!" Deacon Zhao grew frantic. "This thing really can kill you! You're a prodigy. There's no reason to take this risk!"
Lu Beixuan was so anxious that he stamped his feet. "You little brat, have you lost your mind? A million for a defective soul spirit, and your life thrown in too?"
"Dad, do you trust me?" Lu Guan looked at Lu Beixuan.
Caught in his son's gaze, Lu Beixuan froze. He opened his mouth but could not get a word out for a long while. Suddenly, he realized his son possessed an air that made it impossible to refuse him.
"All right, charge it." Lu Guan slapped his storage bracelet straight into Deacon Zhao's hand. "If anything happens, it's on me. The Spirit Pagoda won't be held responsible."
Seeing that he could not dissuade him, Deacon Zhao could only grit his teeth and handle the paperwork.
Soon, the blood orb was sealed in a specially made metal box and placed in Lu Guan's hands.
"When you open the box, direct your spiritual power onto the soul spirit. Then you can try to subdue it."
Lu Guan nodded. He took a deep breath, released his spiritual power, and opened the box.
Click.
The instant the box opened, Lu Guan's vision shifted. When he opened his eyes again, he was already inside his mental world.
A heavy stench of blood hit him in the face.
"Roar!"
A deafening tiger's roar exploded inside his mind.
The blood orb burst apart, and the phantom of a massive tiger more than three meters long appeared in midair.
Its entire body was dark red, with exposed bones and a pair of tattered, blood-colored membranous wings on its back.
Its scarlet eyes fixed on Lu Guan, brimming with brutality and murderous intent.
It would tear apart this human who dared lay claim to it!
The Nightmare Bloodwing Tiger roared, turned into a streak of blood-red light, and lunged straight at Lu Guan's face. Its raging malice compressed the surrounding air until it burst with explosive cracks.
Lu Guan abruptly raised his head.
The flesh above his forehead tore open in an instant, and two shadowy eyes snapped open.
Six eyes met.
"You want to see who's fiercer?"
Lu Guan bared his teeth in a grin, and four phantom arms burst out from beneath his elbow joints.
"You're not worthy!"
Before you continue