'A God-level Body Martial Spirit.'
Zhao Xuanzhen slowly clenched his fist. True Self, the Martial Spirit that generations upon generations of the Body Sect had fantasized about, a Body Martial Spirit meant to rival the Dragon God itself, seemed to possess strength so terrifying it bordered on the absurd. However...
He tilted his head slightly toward Leng Yaozhu, whose face was still flushed with excitement.
World-shaking wisdom...
Teacher, are you sure you're not mocking the Silver Dragon King just a little here?
Leng Yaozhu caught the blatantly odd look in her disciple's eyes and gave a light cough. In less than half a second, the graceful, dignified bearing of the Spirit Pagoda's Vice Pagoda Master had already returned in full.
"Xuanzhen, you have Innate Full Spirit Power. I'll take you straight to fuse your first Spirit Soul."
"All right, Teacher."
Zhao Xuanzhen agreed and quietly began weighing his options as they walked, considering what kind of spirit beast he ought to choose.
With 188 points of Spirit Connection Realm spiritual power, plus his status as Heavenly Phoenix Douluo's sole direct disciple, there was no way he would end up like Tang Wulin and be forced to fuse with a 10-year artificial Grass Snake. Every Spirit Soul in the Spirit Pagoda headquarters' vast treasury was his for the choosing.
A Spirit Master's first Spirit Soul formed the foundation of their entire life. The more choices available, the more cautious the decision had to be.
The Spirit Pagoda's opening advantages were its Spirit Souls and the Spirit Ascension Platform. A Spirit Soul's cultivation level was not the primary consideration; the former Pagoda Master Qiangu Dieting had, after all, forcibly raised his entire set of spirit rings to nine reds through the Spirit Ascension Platform alone. What truly mattered was the Spirit Soul's innate strength and how well it matched the user.
Unlike fixed Beast Martial Spirits and Tool Martial Spirits, a Body Martial Spirit symbolized the Spirit Master themselves, and human beings possessed limitless potential. Strength, speed, spiritual power, elemental attributes: all were viable roads. What Zhao Xuanzhen had to do was choose one path from among countless intersecting great roads and walk it with unwavering resolve!
Leng Yaozhu and the Bai sisters noticed Zhao Xuanzhen was deep in a mental storm and chose not to interrupt. The four quietly left the Awakening Room, taking the elevator straight down into the underground levels of Spirit Pagoda headquarters.
The underground space opened into a vast hall. Dozens of staff members bustled back and forth, dispatching Spirit Souls to the various Spirit Pagoda branches across the continent. Along the opposite wall stood numerous metal passageways, each guarded by a high-ranking Spirit Master radiating a powerful aura.
As the Spirit Pagoda's Vice Pagoda Master, second only to one and above ten thousand, Leng Yaozhu's face was the finest pass in existence. The guardians bowed at ninety degrees as she led the three juniors into the blood-red corridor at the center.
They walked several dozen meters before entering another elevator. It continued descending for more than ten seconds, and when the doors slid open again, the four stepped into a circular room.
The chamber was constructed entirely from pure white metal. A ring of enormous Spirit Screens hung along the walls, each displaying a lush, verdant world. Images of spirit beasts flickered across them from time to time.
"This is your first time here, Xuanzhen." Leng Yaozhu smiled. "This is the Spirit Pagoda's virtual space for storing Spirit Souls. It simulates the living environment of the ancient Star Dou Forest.
I'll pull a few out first. See if any catch your eye."
Her fingers moved across the controls with practiced ease. In the sky of the virtual world, giant hands materialized one after another, vast and godlike, impossible to defy. They reached down, seized several spirit beasts, and presented them before Zhao Xuanzhen.
'Starting off with the big guns...'
Six years of grinding had not been wasted. Zhao Xuanzhen identified the first spirit beast at a glance, and the corner of his eye twitched.
It was an ape-type spirit beast with fur black as ink. All four limbs were packed with muscles more fearsome than granite, bulging like small hills. Lantern-sized crystal-yellow eyes blazed with savage light, and despite being held under human control, it showed not the slightest trace of fear.
A 600-year Titan Giant Ape!
Child of the earth, one of the undisputed kings of strength in the spirit beast world. No weakness in offense or defense whatsoever. An absolutely top-tier spirit beast!
Zhao Xuanzhen nodded and shifted his gaze.
A silver eye floated in midair. Its appearance was deeply bizarre, almost balloon-like, with brown markings spread across its surface and two silver tentacles hanging limply to the ground.
An Evil Eye, a spiritual-attribute spirit beast with 500 years of cultivation!
The Evil Eye race, also known as the Evileye Tyrant clan, stood as the standard-bearers of spiritual-attribute spirit beasts. Ten thousand years ago, in the ranking of the Ten Great Beasts on the Douluo Continent, the Evileye Tyrant Emperor had been second only to Beast God Di Tian!
Closer examination revealed something startling: this Evil Eye was actually a rare pure spiritual type, sharing the same bloodline origin as the Evileye Tyrant Emperor itself!
'Eighty percent chance it's a blood descendant of the Evil Emperor. The first Spirit Soul that every spiritual-attribute Spirit Master on the continent can only dream of...' Zhao Xuanzhen clicked his tongue in wonder.
The third Spirit Soul carried the sharpest, fiercest aura of all. Its body was encased in a thick keratinous layer studded with countless razor-sharp black spikes. In the light, those spikes gleamed with cold menace, each one capable of piercing armor with ease.
An 800-year Thorn Dragon, with dragon bloodline and spatial attribute!
OUT!
Zhao Xuanzhen eliminated the Thorn Dragon without a second thought.
Spirit Souls and Spirit Masters influenced each other. He had been fortunate enough to awaken a Martial Spirit innately free from the Golden and Silver Dragon Kings' suppression; absorbing a dragon-type spirit beast would be asking for a spectacular disaster!
'Let's see the last one. Oh, a Twin Cyclops?'
A 1,000-year Twin Cyclops!
Its massive humanoid frame stood over three meters tall, covered head to toe in black-and-white fur. Two one-eyed heads sat atop its broad shoulders, each pupil continuously radiating a captivating light.
Among the four spirit beasts, the Twin Cyclops had the highest cultivation yet the lowest bloodline. Even so, Zhao Xuanzhen sensed something familiar emanating from it.
"Om—"
A deep hum resonated through the chamber as the True Self Martial Spirit manifested. A single strand of black hair turned pale white, and a massive Taiji Diagram of yin and yang materialized at his back. The Twin Cyclops froze. Both single eyes immediately filled with ingratiating charm, and it began batting its lashes at Zhao Xuanzhen without pause!
"Looks like the Twin Cyclops has taken quite a liking to you."
Leng Yaozhu's tone turned playful. "And it's female, too."
"Mm." Zhao Xuanzhen clenched his fist. "Eliminated."
Ever seen monstrous brute force?
Ever seen monstrous brute force in female form, batting her eyes at you?!
Enough! Stop radiating that damned charm!
Zhao Xuanzhen would rather fuse with the Titan Giant Ape than have this thing follow him for the rest of his life!
Off to the side, Bai Haoze and Bai Zhicen glanced at the Twin Cyclops with barely concealed apprehension and vigorously endorsed Zhao Xuanzhen's wise decision.
His gaze swept from left to right across the four Spirit Souls, and Zhao Xuanzhen sank into contemplation. Leng Yaozhu truly lived up to her reputation as a veteran of the Spirit Pagoda. Every Spirit Soul she had selected carried its own distinct strengths.
The Titan Giant Ape pointed toward a future of physical power and defense for the True Self. The Evil Eye emphasized spiritual might. The Thorn Dragon leaned toward speed.
Leng Yaozhu's thinking was sharp and meticulous. She had even accounted for Zhao Xuanzhen's yin-yang attribute; the Twin Cyclops possessed the continent's exceedingly rare yin-yang attribute, something found in perhaps one out of every ten thousand spirit beasts.
That rarity was precisely why the Twin Cyclops had pulled out every trick in its arsenal to seduce him. The True Self's yin-yang attribute stood above its own. Fusing with Zhao Xuanzhen would guarantee a bloodline evolution!
A long silence passed before Zhao Xuanzhen let out a quiet sigh. "Teacher, does the Spirit Pagoda have any other Spirit Souls that might suit me?"
Leng Yaozhu looked puzzled. "These four types of spirit beasts cover nearly every cultivation path. None of them caught your eye?"
"Each falls just a little short."
Zhao Xuanzhen spoke frankly. "True Self is an extremely well-rounded Martial Spirit. A Spirit Master's first Spirit Soul determines the foundation of their entire life. Committing to body, spiritual power, speed, or attribute alone would be a waste of this talent.
Teacher, what I want is a first Spirit Soul that matches the True Self's yin-yang attribute while also possessing a degree of both physical and spiritual ability. Ideally, something similar to the Golden Fur Lion Mastiff's 'Domination Domain,' with priority given to an ability that ignores bloodline suppression.
With my spiritual power, fusing a 2,000-year Spirit Soul won't be a problem. Filter by that as the upper limit, and include those that refuse to form contracts with human Spirit Masters...
The Unyielding Spirit Souls!"