This time Yaoyao took Leo to Shadow World location that was not the shadowy location reflected in the cave in the Main World, but an unfamiliar place.
Leo couldn't tell where he was at all; there were moving shadows everywhere.
Strange and unusual shadow shapes swept past him, and without specific light data, Leo couldn't calculate what their true forms looked like.
He seemed to be standing on a long river of shadows, watching the projections of the vast world.
There was no sound, only silent struggle and deathly stillness. This place could be described as Shadow World, or as a graveyard of shadows.
Right in front of the two of them, a small, dark object was slowly floating.
"You mean this is the thing that can guarantee my soul won't be sucked away next time, right?"
Leo grinned, feeling dizzy as he looked at the thing in front of him. Although Yaoyao could be unreliable at times, this thing...
Yaoyao said she would set an anchor point for him in the Shadow World to ensure his soul wouldn't be absorbed. Leo originally thought Yaoyao was going to show him some real skills.
Seeing what was before him, Leo withdrew his expectations. Yaoyao was still the same Yaoyao!
The object before him was a statue sculpted from shadows, which was not a problem. Leo could sense his own presence on it, and felt an instant connection to it from the first glance.
But the shape of this statue...
A life-size figure of Yaoyao, hands on hips, head tilted back, laughing loudly; below Yaoyao, a tiny human figure, barely knee-high, looking up at Yaoyao.
As long as Leo wasn't blind, he could tell that the tiny human-shaped figure looked exactly like him.
His own statue was less than a tenth the height of Yaoyao's, and it looked up at Yaoyao with such a worshipful gaze.
Leo always felt that Yaoyao ill intentions and was looking for an opportunity to take revenge!
"You're the boss in the Main World, but I'm the boss here. I'm doing all this for your own good. Trust me, I have my reasons for doing this."
"Do you think you know more than I do?"
Yaoyao looked at the statue in front of her with satisfaction. After working on it for so long, she had finally completed her task.
As for the size ratio, that was all meticulously crafted, a 100% one-to-one replica.
"One more step is needed; you need to contribute one of my shadows," Yaoyao.
Leo frowned as he looked at the statue. Even though Yaoyao had explained things in a more convincing way, Leo still felt something was off.
However, he truly didn't understand in the Shadow World and could only let Yaoyao Yao do whatever she wanted. What if, as Yaoyao said, the statue had to be made like this?
As long as his soul can truly be fixed, sacrificing a little image is no big deal.
Leo lightly touched the ground with his feet, and a shadow rose from beneath Leo feet.
Yaoyao didn't know how she did it, but she kept rubbing with her little paws, and soon she had crumpled Leo's shadow into a long rope.
One end was marked on the statue, and the other end was thrown directly into the depths of the Shadow World.
The rope, which was over 100 meters long, suddenly straightened up, as if the other end was connected to a heavy object.
Suddenly, the statue, which had been swaying, stopped moving completely. The other shadows moved erratically, but the statue remained still, like an anchor fixed in place.
Leo couldn't see where the rope was connected, but judging from Yaoyao's satisfied expression, he knew it must have been a success.
He used up another shadow, leaving him with only 16 shadows left from the original 17.
"Now no one can take your soul away anymore, unless their power can rival the entire Shadow World."
Yaoyao clapped her little paws, still brooding over how Leo's soul had almost been sucked out of the bone altar.
"Then let's go back," Leo said.
"Why don't you try the Bone Altar again and see how my Soul Anchor works?"
"As long as your soul remains intact, those level-three Tiger Beastmen won't have a chance to attack you."
Yaoyao's big eyes darted around, and a mischievous idea popped into her head.
Leo didn't say anything, but instead rolled her eyes at Yaoyao.
He hasn't gotten over the trauma of that punch yet.
That punch was the biggest attack Leo had ever suffered. It was an attack with the purest power that almost blew him apart. Before he could adjust his mindset, he didn't have that twisted mentality of actively seeking out torture.
Let's wait for the right opportunity to let them merge with the sun!
Alice waited for Leo and Yaoyao to return and reappear in the cave. Alice didn't ask any questions about their disappearance and reappearance; the secrets between wizards didn't need to be told to others.
"You asked me what happened in the Tiger Beastmen city before, now I can tell you," Leo said to Alice.
"I'm listening."
Alice, bathed in sunlight, put down her book and smiled at Leo.
The once icy beauty now smiles more and more in front of Leo. Under the gentle sunlight, she seems to be draped in a dazzling cloak of light, her beauty breathtaking and otherworldly.
"... That's how it is,"
Leo was almost stunned by the sight before him. He subconsciously wanted to cover his embarrassment with a cough, but felt it was too obvious. He didn't dare to meet Alice's gaze and started speaking haphazardly.
"At the center of that main city is a two-hundred-meter-high altar of white bones. The souls of Tiger Beastmen who die within the Tiger World are absorbed into it, and it is protected by twenty-four Level 3 Limit Tiger Beastmen."
"The injuries I sustained were inflicted by one of the level 3 beastmen; his attack power exceeded 60,000 points,"
"Their physical bodies are at the third level of limit, but their souls are not; they are hybrids of multiple souls mixed together."
"The location discovery every three years must mean that the otherworldly being has been taking souls every three years. The one-way connection between the Tiger World Wizard World must also be his doing, in order to prevent other higher life forms from interfering with his soul-harvesting plan."
Leo briefly told Alice about her discovery, information that they hadn't been able to figure out in the previous twenty years.
Especially those Tier 3 Limit Tiger Beastmen —their numbers, attack strength, and weaknesses are unknown.
Leo's intelligence undoubtedly filled a gap in their intelligence network.
"To be able to seal off the entire Tiger World, his life level must be above level four, most likely level five or even level six."
Alice's expression changed drastically. The methods set up by such a being were indeed beyond the ability of them, mere junior wizards, to break through.
It seems there's no better way than waiting for the Purple Flame Stigmata Wizard to come to our rescue.
In the past, other worlds controlled by Stigmata Wizard have also been invaded by other worlds, but they were quickly countered by the Stigmata Wizard. In fact, the Stigmata Wizard can even determine the location coordinates of these worlds based on the information they left behind and launch expeditions.
For Stigmata Wizard, this kind of thing is like a windfall; if handled well, it can lead to a new world with enormous potential rewards.
But for the young wizards trapped here, that was not good news.
Facing the World Lord is no different from facing death.
I don't know if it was just bad luck or bad fortune that something like this happened.
Alice looked at Leo, whose face showed no trace of worry but rather full of confidence, and a thought suddenly struck her. For some reason, she felt that Leo might have a solution.
This man, who has been creating miracles since I first met him, seems to have no difficulty that can stop him.
Do you have any good ideas?
"I can't tell you yet. I'll tell you when the time is right."
Leo glanced at Benji, who was guarding outside. Benji sensed Leo's gaze, turned around, and grinned at Leo.
"Go and capture a few level one Tiger Beastmen. I want to see how they differ from before."
Benji stopped smiling; he was destined for a life of toil.
"Yes, Lord Leo."
Benji, destined for a life of toil, is gone. In this Tiger World where level three Tiger Beastmen never leave their cities, level three Benji is already at the peak of his combat power. No living being can pose a threat to him, and capturing a few level one Tiger Beastmen is as easy as eating.
"What's wrong with you...?"
Alice couldn't understand Leo's actions. Just a second ago he was talking about how to leave, how come he suddenly sent Benji to capture the Tiger Beastmen?
"Your information is very accurate. The way these Tiger Beastmen looked after they died is the same as what happened to Gru. It's very likely that Gru died at the hands of this otherworldly being." Leo's eyes flashed coldly. He would never forget the death of Gru.
Now that he had some free time, Leo immediately began his investigation.
"But..."
Alice hesitated for a moment, then stopped talking.
Leo knew what Alice was going to say. This otherworldly creature had only descended upon the Tiger World, not the Wizard World, and Gru had died in the Wizard World...
These two worlds are separated by an unknown distance. If it's true that Gru- sensei was killed by a being from the same other world, then there are many questions involved.
Ignoring everything else, once Benji brought the three Level Tiger Beastmen to the cave, Leo immediately began his experiments.
Using live experiments, and comparing the data provided previously, we can see where the current Tiger Beastmen differ from those in the past.
These Tiger Beastmen have clearly had their souls modified by beings from another world; they are unable to advance to the next level based on their original potential.
Leo wanted to find out the specific changes that had occurred to them during their transformation.
If we don't yet have the ability to directly address the soul, then we'll search for it in the body.
The soul and the body are two mutually reflecting relationships; once one changes, it will affect the other. Leo needs to find the location of their changes.
After their mobility, language, vision, and hearing were sealed, these surviving Tiger Beastmen were dissected inch by inch by Leo.
The information about their previous physical data was obtained from Alexander.
If you look carefully, you're sure to find the differences.
"Keep catching them, level one or two, any kind will do, not dead, just alive."
Three Level 1 Tiger Beastmen died, and Leo didn't find what he was looking for. Since there were only a few, he could just dissect more.
Anyway, there are plenty of Tiger Beastmen in the Tiger World, as many as you want.
Alice watched as the corpses were continuously carried off Leo's experimental table every day, but Leo's demand for more prisoners never ceased.