Several days passed in the blink of an eye.
Since there was still over a month left on the cooldown for his next Reincarnation and Renewal of Fate, Li Chen planned to deal with his fourth Soul Ring first.
During those days, his teacher, Leng Yaozhu, had not visited him and Gu Yue even once. She had only called twice, telling them to stay in the speaker's residence to ensure their safety, and nothing more.
Presumably, the matter of her younger sister, Leng Yulai, becoming a Dark Heavenly King had her heart burning with worry.
They had to hurry and establish some rules.
Fortunately, with Shrek taking the brunt of it, the Spirit Pagoda had not suffered much fallout.
After all, the public's attention was always limited, not to mention that Cai Yue'er had let the Evil Soul Masters in first.
Whooo~!
A clamor filled the sky. Li Chen opened the window and looked up to see a squadron of Black-Grade Mecha sweeping past at low altitude, closely scanning the ground.
The invasion by two Dark Heavenly Kings had left Mingdu's ordinary citizens and even its rich and powerful on edge. Mingdu had also entered its highest state of alert over the past few days, with the Central Legion personally conducting patrols back and forth.
Gu Yue sat nearby, cracking sunflower seeds. "Looks like Mingdu's lockdown will continue for a while. Mm, just as well. We can take a couple of days off."
"My lord, do we really have a way to defeat humanity?"
Gu Yue was certain. "Of course. You've lived in human society for too long and been brainwashed by them. Once I recover all my strength and take control of the Spirit Pagoda, bringing about the rise of Soul Beasts will be as easy as lifting a hand."
Li Chen returned to the living room, made two cups of coffee, and deliberately asked:
"My lord, are you stronger than Yun Ming?"
"Yun Ming? Heh, without a divine position, however strong he is, he's still only a human. Nothing to worry about."
Gu Yue accepted the coffee Li Chen handed her and took a sip.
"It seems I'll have to find time to take you to the Star Dou Great Forest. Although Soul Beasts are nowhere near what they once were, that doesn't mean they're completely finished."
"Sounds great!" Li Chen said with a smile.
Gu Yue nodded.
A dragon hatchling whose bloodline could evolve-Di Tian would surely be delighted to hear about him.
Although Gu Yue was somewhat disgusted with Di Tian's way of thinking, since the fellow actually believed humans and Soul Beasts could coexist in harmony.
But no matter what,
Di Tian remained utterly loyal to the dragon race and to Soul Beasts.
"Go ahead and condense your fourth Soul Ring. I'll stand guard for you."
Gu Yue spoke.
"All right."
Li Chen set down his coffee and sat cross-legged.
An emerald-green Lone Bamboo Soul Spirit appeared.
His Tree of Sorrow Martial Soul had two Soul Spirits: a hundred-year Lone Bamboo and a thousand-year fox.
The hundred-year Lone Bamboo had given him one Soul Ring, while the thousand-year fox had given him two.
According to Soul Spirit theory, each of these two Soul Spirits could still give Li Chen one more Soul Ring.
After he communicated his intentions to the hundred-year Lone Bamboo Soul Spirit, the emerald-green bamboo shook its leaves and nodded, agreeing to separate out its final portion of origin power to condense Li Chen's fourth Soul Ring.
Then,
With the cooperation of Li Chen's spiritual power, a Yellow Soul Ring gradually condensed beneath his feet.
This really defies the heavens.
Gu Yue sighed inwardly.
Although she had already learned the Soul Ring configuration of Li Chen's Tree of Sorrow Martial Soul during this time,
Seeing this hundred-year fourth Soul Ring with her own eyes still left her dumbfounded.
Likewise a descendant of a human and a Soul Beast,
Gu Yue knew
That Tang San from twenty thousand years ago had possessed a ten-thousand-year fourth Soul Ring.
Yet the Li Chen before her had actually pulled off a hundred-year fourth Soul Ring. For a moment, Gu Yue had no idea what was going through his head.
"What's your fourth Soul Skill?"
Gu Yue asked, feigning enthusiasm.
After all, he was her subordinate, and someone who might become the next Dark Dragon King. Gu Yue decided to offer him at least a little emotional validation.
"Heh, this one seems a little special."
Li Chen looked at his yellow, hundred-year fourth Soul Ring, not particularly concerned.
On this continent of romance, the Tree of Sorrow Martial Soul was the big daddy.
He absolutely could not judge the strength of the Tree of Sorrow's Soul Skills merely by the apparent ages of its Soul Rings.
"My lord, my fourth Soul Skill is Yue Lao's Matchmaking Thread. It can briefly make two individuals fall in love."
"Of course, the condition is that the other's spiritual power can't fall too far short of mine, or they can have very high spiritual power but little desire to resist."
Gu Yue's eyes widened. "Huh? A mind-control Soul Skill? What a strange effect. Try it on me."
"My lord... isn't that a bad idea? You're too strong. I'm afraid I won't be able to pull it off."
Gu Yue waved a hand. "It's fine. I won't resist. Let me see how this works."
"Then... all right."
The Yellow Soul Ring beneath Li Chen's feet flashed, and a pink thread appeared out of thin air. One end immediately attached itself to Gu Yue's hand, while Li Chen held the other end.
The next moment,
The instant the pink thread connected, Gu Yue felt her mind reel, and then her consciousness grew hazy.
When she looked at Li Chen before her again,
She immediately felt a sense of closeness emanating from him. A smile appeared on Gu Yue's face, and she stepped forward, affectionately wrapping her arms around Li Chen's neck.
Her cool, smooth arms brushed against his neck, startling Li Chen with the Soul Skill's effect.
The next moment, Gu Yue went even further.
Gu Yue smiled and pressed her pink lips together, a trace of girlish shyness appearing on her face, but she still boldly leaned in to kiss Li Chen.
What? Is its effect really this heaven-defying? Why don't I feel anything? Could it be because of my own Martial Soul?
Li Chen thought.
Just then,
The door suddenly opened, and Long Xiaoyao walked in holding Ye Zhaolu's hand, catching sight of this scene as soon as he opened it.
"Whoa~!"
Long Xiaoyao's eyes widened.
"Sorry, little brother. Your big brother came at the wrong time."
Long Xiaoyao hurriedly backed out and shut the door.
The commotion instantly jolted Gu Yue awake. She abruptly came to her senses and realized she had been just a hair away from kissing Li Chen. Overcome with shame and indignation, she hurriedly shoved him away.
"You! What are you doing?!"
Gu Yue gritted her teeth.
Li Chen spread his hands. "My lord, I really didn't know this Soul Skill would work so well. You're the one who told me to try it."
"Damn it! Then why didn't you stop?!"
"My lord, you're the one who said you were powerful. You're blaming me for this too?"
Gu Yue was at a loss for words.
She had indeed just said she could crush Yun Ming.
But her bloodline power was currently sealed as well. She had assumed a mere hundred-year Soul Skill from Li Chen would not amount to much.
Only now did Gu Yue realize that, without resisting, her current Spirit Sea Realm spiritual power, comparable to that of a Soul King or Soul Emperor, had actually succumbed instantly!
"Ahem, your Soul Skill's effect is passable. Someone outside is here to see you. I'll return to my room."
Leaving those words behind, Gu Yue hurried out of the living room, passed through the corridor, and returned to her bedroom.
Fortunately, the speaker's residence was large enough. Back in her bedroom, Gu Yue felt much farther away from Li Chen and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
This kid's Martial Soul is definitely no simple thing! A Soul Ancestor's skill can actually control Soul Kings and Soul Emperors at will...
Mm, if he can rise to Titled Douluo in the future, he might even be able to hard-CC Yun Ming without any trouble.
Gu Yue forcibly suppressed the shame brought on by her earlier loss of composure and forced herself to consider the matter as the sovereign of all Soul Beasts, using this to conceal the lingering desire for more in her heart.
Love... no wonder humans find it so hard to forget. What a searing emotion.
Gu Yue sank into thought.
She had felt this way about Tang Wulin before, and it had also been an obstacle that made her somewhat reluctant to act against him.
But compared with the pure, intense feeling Li Chen's Soul Skill had just brought her, the former paled far too much.
I must keep challenging this emotion! Mm, I'll have Li Chen keep using it on me from now on. Once I've completely adapted to this feeling, I'll understand humanity's weak spot more clearly!
Gu Yue made up her mind.