"Damn it! I'm a man who possesses the Wicked Lord Shingan! How could I, how could I possibly fall here?!"
Watching Zang Maxiong charge toward him, Ning Yuhao roared and swept up his side-swept bangs, revealing a right eye that had not seen sunlight in a long time.
Sadly, however, no enormous shock wave erupted from his right eye. Zang Maxiong had already reached him, and as searing pain struck, Ning Yuhao's consciousness sank into pitch-black darkness.
"Sister Rongrong, look how big my Martial Soul is!"
"Oh, get lost!" Hearing the boy's words, a girl dressed in green brocade rolled her eyes at him in exasperation.
But the boy persisted, cradling a glazed tile pagoda in his hands. "Sister Rongrong, summon your Martial Soul too. Let's compare them. I really think mine is quite a bit bigger."
Only after hearing this did the girl, Ning Rongrong, take another close look at the boy's Martial Soul. Hesitantly, she said, "It does seem a little bigger than mine."
Then Ning Rongrong beckoned with her hand as well, summoning her own Martial Soul, a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
She moved closer to the boy and compared the two Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagodas.
Clearly, the boy's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was more than a size larger than Ning Rongrong's.
"Yuhao, this Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda of yours really is a little strange." Ning Rongrong wound her hair around a finger, puzzled herself.
Ning Yuhao, however, did not think much of it. "Didn't Father say my Martial Soul was a little strange when I awakened it? But I've read so many books over this past year and more, and I still haven't figured it out."
"Have you discovered anything new about your Martial Soul, then?"
"Funny you should ask, Sister Rongrong. I actually have." As Ning Yuhao spoke, he took a walnut out of his Soul Tool and placed it on the ground.
Then, holding the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, he slammed it down at the ground. With a crack, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda remained unscathed, while the walnut was easily smashed open.
Ning Yuhao picked up the walnut, extracted the kernel, blew on it, and offered half to Ning Rongrong, whose eyes had widened and whose body had gone rigid. "Here, Sister Rongrong. Have a taste."
Ning Rongrong looked troubled, as though she wanted to say something, but once the words reached her lips, she did not know how to begin. In the end, all she managed was, "Are you all right?"
Ning Yuhao tossed the walnut into his mouth. "I'm fine. Never better."
Ning Rongrong looked at her own Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, then at Ning Yuhao's, falling somewhat silent.
Her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda could not be used to attack directly, much less smash walnuts like a hammer. It would even suffer damage and tremors under a heavy impact, and if someone attacked it fiercely enough, she would be forced to withdraw it.
But judging by Ning Yuhao's condition, he really did seem perfectly fine.
"It looks like your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda really is different from ours." In the end, Ning Rongrong could only offer that remark.
Ever since Ning Yuhao had come to the Douluo Continent and become Ning Fengzhi's son and Ning Rongrong's younger brother, he had known both joy and sorrow.
The joy was that, with his foreknowledge, he believed there was no way he could do too badly for himself. The sorrow was that his Martial Soul had, as expected, turned out to be the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, rather than the Wicked Lord Shingan he had yearned for all these years.
Ning Yuhao still remembered the day he finished awakening his Martial Soul. A light rain had begun that night, and, somewhat disheartened, he had silently practiced his fist techniques in the rain, commemorating his lost Wicked Lord Shingan.
In his previous life, he had only lost to Zang Maxiong because he had been careless. If he could possess his Wicked Lord Shingan again in this life, he would definitely be able to defeat it.
Ning Yuhao had already begun planning to grow out his side-swept bangs again.
"Keep studying your Martial Soul. I'm heading back. Grandpa Gu said he'd take me Soul Hunting in a few days, so I need to get ready."
After Ning Rongrong left, Ning Yuhao summoned his Martial Soul again. In the year and more since awakening it, he had read plenty of books to assess its condition, but he still had no leads. After all, instances of Martial Soul Mutation were practically nonexistent in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
By now, both he and Ning Rongrong had actually reached rank ten, but Ning Yuhao intended to wait and see a little longer. After all, although it was only his first Soul Ring, he had just seven slots, so he needed to plan carefully.
Through Ning Fengzhi, he had also already sought permission from the Heaven Dou Imperial Family and Spirit Hall to consult relevant materials. There was no hurry to go Soul Hunting just yet.
Just as he withdrew his Martial Soul and prepared to head back, a huge rift suddenly tore open in the space ahead without any warning.
A terrifying presence emanated from within, making his heart tremble. A figure stepped out with an elegant gait, but Ning Yuhao's heart leaped into his throat. It was a Soul Beast.
The Soul Beast's entire body resembled translucent crystal, with a strange texture. Beneath its golden fur lay fine, densely packed golden scales, and its four claws resembled a dragon's. Flames burned beneath its feet, and most astonishing of all, it had three eyes, two gold and one red-an exceedingly peculiar sight.
Its emergence from the spatial rift was not the end of it. A man in black robes stepped out as well, his long black hair falling all the way to his heels. The instant he appeared, he beckoned into the air, and a purplish-black shield spread out, enclosing the area.
Ning Yuhao could not help clicking his tongue. He had already recognized the Soul Beast's identity. This isn't right. What's this Auspicious Beast doing here at this point? Is my Wicked Lord Shingan about to fall into reincarnation once again?
The black-robed man also spotted Ning Yuhao and could not help frowning. His deep voice rang out. "Little one, is this the variable you spoke of?"
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion said nothing. Her eyes were clear but somewhat vacant as she walked straight toward Ning Yuhao.
Ning Yuhao frowned and was about to take up his giant Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda to put up a fight. Yet the instant he moved, the black-robed man gave a slight wave of his hand, and two strands of purplish-black Soul Power bound Ning Yuhao, leaving him unable to move.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion had reached him as well. The vertical eye on her forehead grew redder still, and a drop of blood essence actually seeped out of it before floating toward Ning Yuhao's right eye. As that drop of blood essence vanished, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's presence abruptly weakened.
Ning Yuhao felt his entire eyeball burn, as though it was about to stop belonging to him. He wanted to howl, but the pain robbed him of his voice, and his whole body trembled as he endured it.
But as time passed, the pain gradually faded. Ning Yuhao could feel an immense surge of Soul Power and another, even stranger power pouring into his body, as though some switch within him had been flipped. He felt his mind become extraordinarily perceptive. What astonished him most was that, although the shield surrounding this place had originally prevented him from seeing anything outside, he could now see it all perfectly clearly.
Meanwhile, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion and the black-robed man stood quietly there, seemingly waiting for him to recover.