The Dragon-Scaled Iron Tree was characterized by its exceptionally hard exterior and the deadly poison in the fruit that grew at its crown. It was a Plant-type Soul Beast with outstanding potential.
"Oh, not bad! Come on, let's head home. Absorb your Soul Spirit early so I can get a good look at your first Soul Skill."
Jiang Mingyuan really did want to see whether Tang Wulin would still obtain Blue Silver Entanglement as his first Soul Skill after absorbing this Soul Spirit.
After leaving the Spirit Pagoda, Jiang Mingyuan raised his hand to hail a Soul-Converged Taxi. But Tang Wulin caught his arm.
Jiang Mingyuan turned around with a questioning look. "What is it, Wulin?"
"Mingyuan, could you..." Tang Wulin fidgeted, seemingly embarrassed to ask.
"Could you take me... today?" He raised a finger and pointed upward.
Jiang Mingyuan immediately understood what he meant.
Flying.
But the distance from the Spirit Pagoda to Tang Wulin's home was rather long. His little level-twenty body probably couldn't handle it. Jiang Mingyuan glanced at the anticipation in Tang Wulin's eyes again.
Forget it. I'll indulge him just this once.
His Phoenix Martial Soul possessed him, and two yellow Soul Rings floated rhythmically around Jiang Mingyuan. Tang Wulin wasn't remotely chubby, but he was anything but light.
If he flew back at his normal speed, Jiang Mingyuan's arms would probably be worn to the breaking point.
His first and second Soul Rings lit up together, and a pale golden domain spread outward from Jiang Mingyuan.
Jiang Mingyuan's Phoenix Martial Soul had only one Soul Skill. Or rather, it had an innate domain of its own.
The domain in his Phoenix Form leaned more toward enhancement, defense, and healing.
The domain in his other Phoenix Form leaned toward suppression and offense.
The Soul Rings merely reduced the cost of activating the domain and expanded its range.
The enhancements provided by the first Phoenix Form's domain covered every aspect. Put it this way: even a seven-ring Soul Saint with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda wouldn't dare claim their buffs were more comprehensive than Jiang Mingyuan's Phoenix Domain.
Three enhancements-strength, speed, and physical endurance-were applied to Jiang Mingyuan at once. Holding Tang Wulin tightly, he took off, carrying them both high into the sky.
Looking down at the little city beneath them once again, Tang Wulin couldn't help feeling a flicker of sadness. The two of them would be leaving. They would soon graduate from Red Mountain Academy.
There was nothing more it could teach them. To progress further, they needed to venture into a wider world.
"Mingyuan, I suddenly feel reluctant to leave Aolai City. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could stay children forever?"
"Wulin, everyone else looks forward to growing up. Why are you going in the opposite direction? Only old men in their seventies and eighties say things like that," Jiang Mingyuan teased.
"Because childhood really is happy."
"You're still too young. There'll be other interesting things in your life ahead, too. People have to look forward. There's no need to keep looking back."
"But Mingyuan, aren't we the same age? You're only two months older than me."
"Two months older is still older."
Finally, thanks to the domain's enhancements, Jiang Mingyuan just barely made it to Tang Wulin's home.
Today was Tang Wulin's big day. Tang Ziran had even worked overtime several days in advance to finish today's work, all so the family could celebrate together.
Lang Yue had also bought plenty of ingredients, planning to prepare a lavish meal to celebrate Tang Wulin obtaining his first Soul Spirit and his first Soul Ring, and becoming a true Soul Master.
Knock, knock.
Tang Wulin knocked lightly on the door, and Tang Ziran's warm, deep voice sounded from inside. "Coming."
When Tang Ziran opened the door, he saw his beloved son standing there.
"Wulin, you're finally here. Your mother's made plenty of delicious dishes. Mingyuan, come and eat with us, too."
Jiang Mingyuan smiled and waved a hand.
"No, Uncle Tang. I'm an outsider, so I won't intrude. Besides, my little sister's waiting at home."
Tang Ziran and his wife both knew that Jiang Mingyuan had adopted a little girl. The girl, named Na'er, loved sticking close to Jiang Mingyuan, but she wasn't nearly as warm toward anyone else.
"Wulin, remember to let me know through the Communication Soul Tool once you've absorbed your Soul Spirit." After saying goodbye to Tang Wulin's family, Jiang Mingyuan spread his wings again.
Flying back with Tang Wulin hadn't drained his Soul Power completely. His arms were just a little sore. Now that he no longer needed to carry anyone, it was naturally much easier.
Over the past three years, Jiang Mingyuan had obtained four traits from Na'er in total.
[Creation Godhead: The source of the Silver Dragon King's power.] [Soul Beast Affinity: Greatly increases Soul Beasts' initial favorability toward the equipped target.] [Elemental Affinity: Greatly increases the equipped target's ability to understand and control elements.] [Dragon's Wisdom: Improves the equipped target's ability to understand all things.]
Sigh. Truthfully, none of these four traits was particularly useful to Jiang Mingyuan.
[Soul Beast Affinity] would certainly have been good ten thousand years ago, but how many Soul Beasts were there now for him to befriend? Of all the Soul Beasts Jiang Mingyuan had actually seen in his life, aside from Na'er and Tang Wulin-those two who might or might not drop Soul Rings if killed-there had only been a single ten-year bird Soul Beast he'd spotted once while flying.
[Elemental Affinity] was indeed an excellent trait, but it wasn't much use to Jiang Mingyuan at present. He was only nine. Developing his own fire attribute alone had already wrung his brain dry. Other attributes would have to wait until he was strong enough, at the very least.
[Dragon's Wisdom] was more useful to Jiang Mingyuan than the previous two. But considering that this trait came from the Silver Dragon King, whose wisdom was truly world-shaking, Jiang Mingyuan really didn't dare use it. He feared there might be some hidden pitfall in this Dragon's Wisdom waiting for him.
Lastly, [Creation Godhead] should have been the most valuable of the four traits. Jiang Mingyuan planned to equip it directly to his first Phoenix Form.
Yet the system actually indicated that this trait could not be equipped.
That really was strange.
He could clearly equip the [Destruction Godhead] he had obtained from Tang Wulin. Yet he couldn't equip [Creation Godhead].
As he mulled it over, Jiang Mingyuan arrived home. Na'er was playing on the swing in front of the villa.
She seemed to have been waiting there all along. Before Jiang Mingyuan even landed, Na'er jumped off the swing, tilted her head up, and spread her arms.
"Brother! You're finally back." Na'er threw herself straight into Jiang Mingyuan's arms, her voice full of affectionate pleading.
"Brother, I made you lunch! It's tomato and egg stir-fry. Hehe, aren't I amazing? Come wash your hands and eat before it gets cold."
With that, Na'er skipped over, pushed open the door, and went inside. Jiang Mingyuan followed her toward the house, but just as he was about to step through the doorway, he suddenly paused.
Perhaps it was a sixth sense.
He turned his head. A stone table and three stone stools stood in the open space. Whenever Tang Wulin visited, the three of them would sit there, snacking and chatting.
Jiang Mingyuan kept feeling that someone was watching him from there, yet he couldn't see them.
The Emerald Swan Soul Spirit also emerged from Jiang Mingyuan's spiritual space and landed on his shoulder, peering in the same direction.
"Do you feel something there, too?"
The Emerald Swan merely had an indescribable feeling, as though something there was drawing her toward it.