"The Spirit Pagoda will not help you."
Gu Yue froze for a moment.
"Teacher knows?"
The middle-aged man shook his head silently.
"Alright." Gu Yue nodded.
No one said anything. They simply followed her and walked out.
"Look at your worried faces—this is the Spirit Pagoda! Countless people come here every day to purchase soul spirits. Isn't it likely that some of them are more powerful than you? Just find one to fight, and problem solved."
The gloomy silence was broken by Gu You's casual, almost mocking, remark.
…
Sun Runyu walked out of the Tian Dou Spirit Pagoda, clearly excited and in high spirits.
He had just obtained a soul spirit that was perfect for him—no wonder he was happy. At thirty-five years old, he already had two soul spirits. However, because his martial soul wasn't particularly strong and his spiritual power wasn't exceptional, the two soul spirits only supported his cultivation up to the fourth ring.
He'd worked incredibly hard in cultivation and had recently broken through to five rings.
He knew that in this lifetime, reaching the seventh ring was likely a pipe dream. Still, he hoped for a high-quality third soul spirit to help him progress just a bit more—enough to earn a solid position among mid-tier soul masters.
After saving up for years, he came to the Tian Dou Spirit Pagoda today. Luck was on his side—he got a soul spirit extremely compatible with his abilities. After fusing with it, he felt an obvious power boost.
From today onward, he was officially a five-ring Soul King, and finally had a thousand-year soul ring.
Among soul masters, Soul Kings already held decent status. And as a mecha pilot, with his new soul spirit supporting his mecha, his promotion prospects looked good. He could probably rise to lieutenant colonel, even command a thirty-man mecha squad with no problem.
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. Years of cultivation weren't wasted. If he kept going, maybe he wouldn't reach Soul Sage, but Soul Emperor was within reach. That would be enough for a promotion to colonel, making him a mid-tier officer in the military. At his age, he could even start looking for a good partner.
He was lost in his pleasant thoughts when suddenly—
"Wanna fight?"
Fight?
Sun Runyu blinked in confusion. Fight what?
Several kids blocked his way, standing in a line across the path.
He took a closer look. They were young—maybe in their early teens. A chubby kid was even squatting off to the side.
"What are you little kids doing? Don't play around near the Spirit Pagoda. Go home!"Coming from a military background, Sun Runyu naturally exuded a bit of authority. His voice carried enough force to sound intimidating.
"What now?"Ye Xinglan turned to Gu Yue.
"Attack."Gu Yue's answer was calm and direct. At the same time, a circle of soul rings rose beneath her feet.
She'd been working closely with Ye Xinglan lately; the two were very in sync.
The moment Gu Yue's rings lit up, Ye Xinglan shot forward. Her Star God Sword materialized in her hand, and a glint of sword light flashed in the air, slashing toward Sun Runyu.
Sun Runyu instinctively stepped back. As a military academy graduate, he had plenty of combat experience. His martial soul reacted automatically—a mist of water vapor burst from his body, spreading out as glowing droplets.
Ye Xinglan's sword light sliced into the water mist, only to be refracted off-course by the shimmering particles.
"One, two, three, four, five—five soul rings."Xu Xiaoyan counted aloud.
Gu Yue's barrage of ice spikes launched like a storm, hurtling toward Sun Runyu.
Sun Runyu didn't have time to scold the kids—he was shocked. Each of them had three soul rings, which already stunned him.
His second soul ring glowed. The water vapor condensed into droplets, forming waves that roared toward Gu Yue and the others.
He was a real Level 51 Soul King—his martial soul and soul spirits might not be top-tier, but his cultivation was solid.
The rain droplets, charged with soul power, became a defensive shield—each droplet like a mini-cannonball, exploding on contact and forming a thick mist barrier.
Ice spikes dissolved into the mist. But Sun Runyu quickly noticed:
He was losing control over his water elements.
Elemental Tide!
Just one clash, and his opponent had already identified his martial soul. His soul was "Rain", a variant of the Water element—not pure water, which explained why he had four yellow (century) soul rings.
But Gu Yue's Elemental Tide pulled water elements from the air into her control—it was over for him.
Then—a sudden flash of golden light appeared at his feet.
A "Rain" martial soul without water? It was weaker than Blue Silver Grass.
At that moment, a dazzling sword light struck from the front—and at the same time, a sharp presence closed in from behind.
From the ground, golden chains erupted, wrapping around him.
Xu Xiaoyan's Star Chains locked onto him—the fight was already finished.
A sharp dagger touched his neck from behind, and a glowing long sword pressed against his chest.
Gu Yue withdrew her attack, but her Elemental Tide still stirred the air. The gold chains slowly tightened.
"What do you kids want?! This is the Spirit Pagoda!"Sun Runyu was truly panicking now. These kids were too fast, too strong, and coordinated beyond belief. He couldn't comprehend how teenagers could be this powerful.
Worse—the younger they were, the less they feared consequences. If they accidentally killed him while playing around, they'd be protected under federal minor protection laws, and suffer no real consequences!
Gu Yue gave the others a glance, signaling them not to overdo it.
Gu You stepped forward.
"Uncle, sorry. My friends are a bit hot-headed. Please take this as an apology."
He handed Sun Runyu a piece of thousand-forged metal.
Sun Runyu was dumbfounded.
What just happened?
But he also felt relieved—at least they weren't killers.
He snorted, "Hmph!", turned around, and left.He really couldn't stay there anymore.
Still, he took the metal Gu You handed over. His eye for value told him it was precious. And since the boy had offered it as a sincere apology, why refuse?
Besides, the incident had genuinely shaken him. He'd almost been scared to death!
"That's not enough," Ye Xinglan frowned. "We have a whole team."
"Then we keep going," Gu You's eyes flashed as she murmured,
"Now that we've stirred trouble here, the Spirit Pagoda's enforcement squad should be on the way. Ordinary enforcers…"
(End of Chapter)