A soft, warm, pale-white glow slowly merged into Xiao Chen's body, traveling throughout him along the meridians in his limbs.
The pure spiritual power inherent in the three-hundred-year-old Evil Eye Soul Spirit continuously washed over Xiao Chen's flesh and Sea of Consciousness like a gently flowing stream.
The gentle spiritual light slowly faded. Every sound and sight outside entered his perception, the slightest movement magnified without limit, with an inconceivable clarity.
Leng Yaoyu stood quietly beside him, watching the calm-faced boy as she gently instructed him:
"The Soul Spirit has entered your body. Next, you only need to settle your mind, adjust to it, and stabilize your foundation."
"This three-hundred-year-old Spiritual Evil Eye is extremely unusual. It is an unyielding Soul Spirit, and forming a contract with it is more complicated than with ordinary Soul Spirits. Don't rush."
"I understand, Aunt Leng."
"Call me big sister!"
Leng Yaozhu looked as though she wanted to hit someone. Was she really that old?
Xiao Chen nodded slightly and answered, his eyes slowly closing.
Xiao Chen's body appeared to be sitting peacefully, completely motionless. In reality, however, his consciousness had already sunk into his deep, vast Sea of Consciousness.
An ordinary Soul Master's Sea of Consciousness was clear and gentle, with spiritual power circulating smoothly through it.
But Xiao Chen's Sea of Consciousness now exuded an entirely different, eerie atmosphere. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but a red Nether.
I never expected my Sea of Consciousness to be the Nether from Minecraft. Could it be because of the Wither? Xiao Chen thought.
At the center of his Sea of Consciousness, a snowy-white ball of light floated in midair. It was the Evil Eye Soul Spirit that had just entered his body.
At that moment, the Evil Eye showed not the slightest sign of docility or submission.
The snowy-white ball of light churned faintly, swelling and subsiding. A deep-black pupil flickered in and out of view, its gaze intensely appraising and defiant as it surveyed this spiritual world and Xiao Chen, who governed this Sea of Consciousness, from above.
A mutated Spiritual Soul Spirit with three hundred years of cultivation, it possessed exceptional talent and a proud disposition, and had always been untamable.
It was nothing like those ordinary Soul Spirits willing to enter contracts with humans and serve at their command. It was a naturally unyielding Soul Spirit.
These so-called unyielding Soul Spirits had never willingly bowed to any Soul Master, even after being sealed away for countless years.
Countless geniuses who had sought to form contracts with unyielding Soul Spirits had been crushed by their spiritual backlash, returning empty-handed.
Now that Leng Yaoyu had forcibly sent it into Xiao Chen's body, it harbored nothing but resentment and a desire to test him, without the slightest intention of submitting.
"A mere human wants to form a contract with me?"
A cold, indifferent ripple of consciousness abruptly rang out within the Sea of Consciousness, devoid of the slightest reverence and full of mockery and contempt.
"Your Martial Soul is decent, but that's all."
"Humans have short lifespans. You have no right to command me."
The Evil Eye was cold and arrogant. Its pale-white light trembled slightly as an invisible spiritual pressure abruptly spread out, attempting to batter Xiao Chen's consciousness and Sea of Consciousness, forcing him to retreat and abandon the contract.
Facing the Evil Eye's blatant probing and provocation, Xiao Chen's consciousness stood quietly within his Sea of Consciousness, his expression placid, without the slightest ripple.
He had expected this.
If a Soul Spirit no one dared choose were docile and controllable, countless top geniuses would have fought over it long ago. Why would it have remained in a corner, unnoticed?
"You don't get to decide whether I'm qualified."
Xiao Chen's mental voice was steady and composed, completely unshaken by its pressure.
"Since you've entered my body, this is an opportunity for both of us. Submitting to me will benefit us both."
"When I reach the summit, you, too, will reach new heights."
This was the promise he offered, and the confidence that belonged to him alone.
He knew that the Golden and Silver Dragon Kings held the balance of power throughout Douluo Dalu III: The Legend of the Dragon King, overpowering countless Soul Spirits. Even Dragon Soul Spirits were suppressed, let alone ordinary Soul Spirits, which amounted to strays by the roadside.
But the Evil Eye was a creature from outside the Douluo Continent and was unaffected by that pressure. He would talk it around first and worry about the rest later.
As for how far he could go in the future, he refused to believe his Command Block really was just a decoration.
But to the Evil Eye, Xiao Chen's words were merely the reckless boasts of youth, only deepening its disdain.
The Evil Eye's consciousness dripped with mockery:
"Human, you dare boast of becoming a god?"
"Let me see just what gives you the confidence to be so arrogant."
As its words fell, fierce winds abruptly swept through the entire Sea of Consciousness.
Pale-white light surged, and countless spiritual attacks swept toward him in overlapping waves, attempting to disrupt Xiao Chen's consciousness and shatter his mental defenses.
This was the unyielding Soul Spirit's test.
If Xiao Chen could not withstand this wave of spiritual attacks and his will collapsed, he would not deserve to be its host.
Xiao Chen quietly watched the spiritual storm rushing toward him, his eyes utterly unruffled.
"Since you insist on testing me, I'll show you the price of refusing to submit."
With a thought from Xiao Chen, his Wither Martial Soul activated with zero startup frames.
Hum-!
Pitch-black, deathly mist instantly filled the entire Sea of Consciousness. The fiery-red Nether was shrouded in utter darkness in an instant, all things withering and all life extinguished.
Three hideous black skulls slowly materialized, hovering behind Xiao Chen. Their bone-white pupils were chilling to the core as an aura of absolute darkness and death swept in every direction, bearing the pressure to destroy all things and overturn everything.
That destructive aura instantly crushed all of the Evil Eye's spiritual attacks.
The pale-white spiritual light that had been raging and churning instantly froze, shrank, and trembled beneath the Wither Martial Soul's shroud.
Those spiritual attacks shattered and vanished in an instant, leaving not even a trace behind.
The entire Sea of Consciousness fell deathly silent in an instant.
The Evil Eye, which had been arrogantly testing him just moments before, was utterly stunned.
It could clearly sense the terror of this power. It was as though the word "death" had appeared over its head.
Unprecedented fear instantly swept through what little brain the Evil Eye possessed. Its defiant consciousness trembled violently, and its snowy-white tentacles continually contracted and curled inward, without a shred of its former arrogance or swagger remaining.
Before this power of death, its supposedly unyielding backbone was laughably insignificant.
"I... I submit!"
Without the slightest hesitation, the Evil Eye's consciousness instantly yielded, filled with intense terror as it completely cast aside all its pride.
"From this day forward, I, the Evil Eye, willingly follow you for the rest of my life and submit to you for all eternity!"
Intimidated by the Wither's pressure, the defiant, unyielding Soul Spirit willingly bowed its head in allegiance.
A faint smile flashed through Xiao Chen's eyes. The Wither's black mist behind him slowly receded, and the terrifying pressure of destruction gradually dissipated.
The next second, an intangible contract pattern appeared out of thin air. Interwoven black-and-white radiance twined and flowed, precisely linking the origin of Xiao Chen's consciousness to the Evil Eye Soul Spirit.
An ancient, sacred, irreversible Soul Spirit Contract was formed in an instant.
From that moment on, the Evil Eye belonged entirely to Xiao Chen. They would share glory and loss alike, with no possibility of betrayal.
The instant the contract took shape, rich, pure spiritual power accumulated over three hundred years erupted, washing through Xiao Chen's entire body along his meridians.
Hum!
A brilliant pale-yellow ring slowly rose from beneath Xiao Chen's feet. Its gentle glow flowed around him as an understated hundred-year soul ring hovered steadily, pulsing without pause.
At the same time, the Soul Power within him broke past rank 10 and soared rapidly.
Rank 10, rank 11, rank 12... it finally settled firmly at rank 13!
Having just formed a contract with his first Soul Spirit, he had advanced three ranks in succession, breaking through to rank 13 Soul Power!
Outside.
Quietly waiting, Leng Yaoyu watched the pale-yellow soul ring slowly light up around Xiao Chen. Sensing his rapidly climbing Soul Power aura, her cool features instantly filled with amazement and gratification.
In just a brief period of adjustment, he had not only perfectly contracted a three-hundred-year-old unyielding Soul Spirit, but had even broken straight through to rank 13!
She truly had not misjudged him. The boy she had raised with her own hands was destined to become a peerless genius who would dominate an entire era.
Xiao Chen slowly opened his eyes. His black pupils were clear and deep, a barely perceptible trace of a smile concealed within them.
Forming a contract with the Evil Eye Soul Spirit had given him a Soul Skill he had expected.
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