The Spirit Transmitter casually set the grass snake Soul Spirit Ball aside and continued opening them.
The twentieth, the thirtieth, the fortieth... Tang Wulin examined them one by one, and they really were all crooked melons and split dates.
When the Spirit Transmitter opened the seventy-eighth, his hand paused.
"This one..."
He picked up a Soul Spirit Ball, and the phantom inside made him stop short.
It was a rabbit.
Its entire body was pink and fluffy, its two long ears standing straight up, and its red eyes glimmered with a crystalline light within the phantom.
The rabbit had a long, elegant body and slender limbs that held visibly explosive power.
Tang Wulin's breath caught for a moment.
He released his Soft Bone Rabbit Martial Soul.
A pink rabbit phantom appeared behind him, almost identical to the rabbit inside the Soul Spirit Ball. Whether in shape, color, or Soul Power fluctuations, they looked as if they had been cast from the same mold.
Tang Wulin stared at the Soul Spirit Ball for several seconds, then looked at the phantom of his Martial Soul behind him and confirmed it.
"This is a Soft Bone Rabbit."
"A hundred-year-old Soft Bone Rabbit."
"This should be a pretty good Soul Spirit. How did it end up in here?"
The Spirit Transmitter explained, "It probably can't be produced in batches.
"Soft Bone Rabbits are rare among Soul Beasts to begin with.
"If you can use it, that would be perfect."
Tang Wulin reached out with both hands and cradled the Soul Spirit Ball in his palms.
The pink rabbit phantom inside the ball seemed to sense something. It circled twice inside the ball, then looked straight at Tang Wulin with its red eyes.
The Spirit Transmitter smiled slightly. "Looks like you've made your choice."
Tang Wulin pressed the Soul Spirit Ball against his chest.
"That's right. I choose this one!"
By the time the family of four came out of the Spirit Pagoda, it was completely dark.
When they got home, Lang Yue heated the food, and the family hurriedly ate a few bites.
Tang Wulin could usually eat seven or eight bowls of rice, but today he stopped after three and said he was full.
He set down his bowl and chopsticks, said he was going to fuse with his Soul Spirit, and slipped into his room.
"Be careful. Don't push yourself too hard," Lang Yue called after him.
"I know."
Tang Wulin closed the door and sat cross-legged on the bed.
He looked down at the Soul Spirit Ball in his palm. The pink Soft Bone Rabbit phantom was circling inside, its red eyes watching him.
He took a deep breath and infused Soul Power into the Soul Spirit Ball.
The patterns on the ball's surface lit up, and a pale pink light bloomed from within.
Fine cracks spread across the shell of the Soul Spirit Ball like those on an eggshell.
The Soft Bone Rabbit leaped out of the light.
Its body was only the size of a palm, and its pink fur was fluffy and soft. It hopped onto Tang Wulin's knee, then scampered up his arm and finally burrowed into his embrace, rubbing its head against his chest.
Tang Wulin couldn't help smiling.
"Come on."
Tang Wulin focused his mind and slowly infused Soul Power into the Soft Bone Rabbit.
A pink light rose from the Soft Bone Rabbit, enveloping his entire body.
The Soft Bone Rabbit's body began to blur, transforming into a ball of pink light that followed the guidance of his Soul Power and fused into his body.
A warm force rose from his dantian and spread through his meridians to every limb and bone.
Tang Wulin's consciousness sank into his body, where he saw the ball of pink light slowly merging with his original Soft Bone Rabbit Martial Soul.
The two phantoms overlapped, their outlines gradually becoming clear.
He closed his eyes and entered Deep Meditation.
Soul Power circulated through his meridians. He was already thoroughly familiar with the Mysterious Heaven Skill's circulation path, and each circuit brought a trace of warm power.
After the Soft Bone Rabbit Soul Spirit entered his body, this power was noticeably more abundant than before, like a dried-up riverbed suddenly receiving a new source of water.
The bottleneck began to loosen.
Tang Wulin's Soul Power Level had been stuck at level ten. Without a Soul Ring, he had never been able to break through.
Now, as the Soft Bone Rabbit Soul Spirit's energy poured into his body, a crack finally appeared in that invisible barrier.
Level eleven.
Soul Power surged through the crack into a new space, like a river channel being widened and the water suddenly flowing much more freely.
Tang Wulin could clearly feel that he had grown stronger. Although he had only gone from level ten to level eleven, crossing that threshold made things fundamentally different: he would become a Soul Master.
Just as he thought the fusion was about to finish smoothly, a sudden heat flared at his tailbone.
Tang Wulin's brows knitted sharply. Immediately afterward, a pale golden pattern emerged from his tailbone and spread up his spine, across his back, shoulders, and neck, finally gathering on his forehead into that familiar golden pattern.
The Golden Dragon King's presence.
Before Tang Wulin could react, the golden pattern underwent another change.
The pattern, which had originally appeared only on his body, now spread along the Soul Spirit fusion channel and onto the Soft Bone Rabbit Martial Soul and Soul Spirit.
The phantom of the Soft Bone Rabbit Martial Soul appeared behind him, and specks of gold began to emerge in its pink fur.
Those golden spots spread from the tailbone like sparks setting a prairie ablaze, gradually covering the entire rabbit.
The same happened to the Soft Bone Rabbit Soul Spirit. A golden sheen mingled with its pink, and the energy flowing through his meridians also took on a trace of scorching heat.
Tang Wulin felt his body heating up,
as if his entire body had been stuffed into a furnace that was growing hotter.
Sweat instantly soaked his clothes, his breathing grew ragged, and his face flushed bright red.
Then the pain came.
The golden power suddenly turned violent, rampaging through his meridians.
He clenched his teeth.
His consciousness began to blur, and his vision darkened in waves, but a voice deep in his heart was shouting.
Hold on.
His consciousness tossed up and down amid the waves, sinking deeper and deeper.
At last, the golden power subsided. As if it had vented enough, it withdrew deep into his tailbone.
Tang Wulin's consciousness sank completely into darkness.
He passed out.
At that moment, the Soft Bone Rabbit Soul Spirit also fused completely with his body. A pink-gold light flashed and vanished, withdrawing entirely into him.
Tang Wulin's body fell limply onto the bed. His ragged breathing gradually steadied, and his bright red face slowly returned to normal.
The room fell quiet.
Outside the door, Lang Yue had already paced back and forth more than a dozen times.
"Why hasn't he come out yet?" She clutched the corner of her apron, unable to sit or stand still. "It's been over four hours..."
Na'er sat on a little stool in the living room, her chin propped on both hands as she stared at the door to Tang Wulin's room without blinking her purple eyes.
Tang Ziran sat at the table, flipping through the drawings in his hands, but he was still on the same page as before and hadn't moved from it for quite a while.
Finally, he put down the drawings.
"I'll go in and take a look."
He walked to the bedroom door and gently pushed it open a crack.
Lang Yue followed behind him, standing on tiptoe to peer inside.
Na'er also slid off the stool and trotted over to Lang Yue's side.
Tang Wulin was lying on the bed, asleep.
His breathing was even, his complexion normal, and his chest rose and fell steadily with each breath.
The blanket was pinned beneath him, his clothes were wrinkled, and a thin layer of dried sweat remained on his forehead, but he only looked tired.
Tang Ziran let out a breath of relief and gently pulled the door shut.
"He's asleep," he said to Lang Yue in a low voice. "His breathing's very even. He looks fine."
Lang Yue patted her chest, the tension on her face finally easing somewhat. "He scared me to death... Why did it take so long just to fuse with a Soul Spirit?"
"He was probably too tired from absorbing the Soul Spirit." Tang Ziran sighed and walked back to sit down at the table.
"After all, it's a Hundred-Year Soul Spirit. That's quite a burden for a six-year-old. It's a shame we aren't Soul Masters, or we could offer him some guidance."
He looked down at his callused hands.
"Our son has to rely on himself for everything." His voice grew quieter, tinged with helplessness.
"I'm... not a very good father."
Lang Yue walked over and laid a hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"What are you saying? You get up early and work late repairing mechas every day. Isn't it all for this family?"
"But I can't help Wulin at all on the path he's taking." Tang Ziran raised his head and looked at the ceiling. "I knew it the day he awakened Twin Martial Souls. The path ahead of him won't be like the one ordinary people like us walk."
"All I can do is make sure he's fed and clothed. As for anything else... I want to help, but I can't."
"Though now it looks like even keeping him fed is becoming a problem."
Those two children could really eat. Either one of them could eat as much as two or three adults.
Na'er stood beside him, tilting her head as she watched Tang Ziran.
She walked over and tugged at the hem of his shirt.
"Don't cry, Uncle."
Tang Ziran paused, then looked down at her. He couldn't help laughing and reached out to ruffle her silver hair.
"I'm not crying. I just... think I need to work harder."