Inside a luxurious reception room in the Spirit Pagoda.
Zhou Yang sat on the sofa, studying the enormous chandelier on the ceiling as he recalled what had just happened.
After he had blasted the Golden-haired Lion Mastiff apart, it had turned into a ball of light and been devoured by Dragreder.
His session had immediately been paused, and he had been awakened on the spot.
Even without being told, Zhou Yang could guess why.
Although he had used Ryuki to whip the Golden-haired Lion Mastiff into spinning nonstop like a top, it was still a genuine Unyielding Spirit Soul.
Losing even one such being counted as a major loss for the Spirit Pagoda, so it was no surprise that they would bring him in for questioning.
What was strange was that he had not faced any of the interrogation he had imagined, and Yali was nowhere to be seen.
Amid a somewhat strange atmosphere, a staff member had brought him to this room.
After he waited for quite a while, someone finally appeared.
The newcomer was a peerless beauty, her lovely, straight crimson hair cascading down like a waterfall. A white dress embroidered with phoenix patterns hugged her body, accentuating her exquisitely proportioned curves.
A smile played at her lips, and like a peacock spreading its tail, she drew all attention to herself. Her proud bearing resembled a phoenix high above the nine heavens, lofty and untouchable.
"You are...?"
Smiling warmly, Leng Yaozhu gave a brief introduction.
"My name is Leng Yaozhu, and I'm the vice pagoda master of the Spirit Pagoda. I know Yali. You can just call me Sister Leng."
"Hello, Sister Leng."
Zhou Yang nodded in greeting. Naturally, he had recognized Leng Yaozhu. As one of the Federation's council members, she appeared on television quite often.
Leng Yaozhu smiled faintly, sat opposite him, and got straight to the point.
"I brought you here because there are a few things..."
As she explained, the situation proved to be just as Zhou Yang had thought: it concerned the Unyielding Spirit Soul.
However, she had not come to hold him accountable. Instead, she said she thought highly of him and would help him keep it under wraps.
As for the reason-
"Your talent is extraordinarily rare. I would even venture to say with certainty that it far surpasses that Sky Propping Douluo's."
"I'd like to take you as my disciple. Would you be willing?"
Zhou Yang hesitated at her words. To be honest, he had never intended to have too much to do with the Spirit Pagoda, but he had not expected things to develop this way.
Just then, the door was pushed open, and an elegant, kindly woman walked in. It was Yali.
As soon as she entered, she rolled her eyes at Leng Yaozhu, displeasure lurking in her gaze.
This little hussy of a phoenix had stolen a march on her!
Although she had known Leng Yaozhu was impatient, she had not expected her to be so impatient that she would take him away outright.
Na'er poked her head out from behind her. Seeing Leng Yaozhu and Zhou Yang, she immediately waved happily.
"Auntie Leng!"
"Na'er."
Leng Yaozhu wore a smile, with no other expression visible on her face.
Yet when her gaze met Yali's, sparks seemed to flicker faintly between them.
"Honestly, even if that was very important, you didn't have to take him away outright, did you?" Yali said with some displeasure, though her words were not as confrontational as he had imagined.
"If I hadn't acted quickly and word had gotten out, I wouldn't be the one in trouble."
The two began chatting about the Unyielding Spirit Soul, while Zhou Yang quietly observed their relationship from the side.
Judging from their conversation, they seemed to be on very good terms, which also surprised Zhou Yang.
This completely different world really was full of surprises.
Zhou Yang seized an opening to tell Yali about Leng Yaozhu's offer to take him as a disciple.
"Take you as a disciple?" Yali glanced at Leng Yaozhu, the same gentle smile still on her face.
"If it's Yaozhu, she certainly would be a good choice."
Hearing Yali's answer, Zhou Yang nodded and no longer declined.
"Sister Leng, I'm willing to become your disciple."
After all, it was easier to get things done with a great tree at his back.
Since he was destined to become involved, he might as well accept it openly, so he changed his strategy and decision.
Originally, he had wanted to slowly purchase the Spirit Pagoda's Spirit Souls for research. With this new status, however, things would be much more convenient.
And so, Zhou Yang agreed to become Leng Yaozhu's disciple.
Leng Yaozhu immediately broke into a delighted smile and promptly took out a storage Soul Tool for Zhou Yang.
It was an exquisite ring carved with a phoenix, its surface engraved with densely packed patterns. He could faintly sense a powerful fluctuation of Soul Power from it.
"This ring is called Phoenix Seeks Phoenix. It's a defensive Soul Tool..."
Only after Leng Yaozhu's explanation did he learn that it was a rank-nine Soul Tool, capable of withstanding three attacks from a Titled Douluo once charged.
Beside them, Yali maintained her smile, but a closer look would reveal a faint twitch at the corner of her usually gentle smile.
After saying goodbye to Leng Yaozhu, Zhou Yang watched her smile and wave farewell. For some reason, he sensed an air of curtains falling and sorrow about her.
Why did everyone seem so weighed down?
Were there people playing in bands in Douluo, too? Why was everything so heavy?
After returning home with Na'er, the two gave themselves a thorough scrubbing.
Although they had entered the Spirit Ascension Platform mentally, the exhaustion and experience of living in the wilderness had been real.
Both were somewhat tired now, even if Zhou Yang had done most of the work inside the Spirit Ascension Platform.
Back in his room, Zhou Yang summoned Dragreder.
He said directly to Dragreder, "Spit it out."
When the Golden-haired Lion Mastiff had been blasted apart earlier, he had noticed Dragreder swallowing it whole.
The Mirror World belonged to him now. How could he not know what was inside it?
At this moment, he could sense that there was an extra "thing" inside that should not have been there.
Dragreder hesitated at his words, but ultimately spat it out.
Dragreder: Hock-ptui!
With a plop, a golden ball of light was spat from its mouth and landed in Zhou Yang's hand.
The ball of light transformed into a small creature in Zhou Yang's palm.
It looked somewhat like the Golden-haired Lion Mastiff he had encountered that day, but its size was on an entirely different scale.
That was right. It was the Golden-haired Lion Mastiff itself.
Its body had already recovered, but it now seemed rather listless.
Upon seeing Zhou Yang, it immediately began whimpering. It had developed an emotion called fear toward the being before it.
Ever since Zhou Yang had utterly stomped it and Dragreder had swallowed it whole and brought it into the Mirror World.
The invincible Golden-haired Lion Mastiff had met the Waterloo of its life.
There, it had tried to fight Dragreder again, only to be pinned to the ground and whipped into a spinning top by its tail.
After Dragreder left, the more it thought about it, the angrier it became. It even found a bat hanging upside down, seemingly asleep, to fight.
The bat was resting in broad daylight, clearly at its most vulnerable. The Golden-haired Lion Mastiff did not care whether its opponent was ready for battle and attacked outright.
The result, however, was that it became an airborne spinning top again, batted back and forth like a ball by Dragreder and that bat.
What Tyrannical Domain? In that world, it was swallowed clean away. The mastiff could even sense that world wanting to "devour" it instead.
After enduring the trials of the Mirror World, the Golden-haired Lion Mastiff finally submitted.
After all, without its Tyrannical Domain, the pain really did hurt.