Within the spirit ascension platform.

  After the final Blazing Demon Lion collapsed, rich spirit energy permeated the air.

  Class zero sat in the center of this energy, drawing all of it into their bodies. Not only was the air filled with the energy of lions, it also contained the energy obtained by the Soul Elder squadron.

  Since the Soul Elders had died one by one, their unabsorbed spirit energy remained and converged onto the sturdy youth. In the end, that youth also died, releasing an explosion of spirit energy for class zero to harvest.

  The decimation of the pride of lions was truly a wretched sight to behold.

  “Captain, you’re really too sinister.” Xu Xiaoyan gestured in disdain.

  Tang Wulin simply chuckled.

  “But, you know, I like it.” Xu Xiaoyan beamed. Happiness was plastered across her face as she bathed in the dense spirit energy.

  Now that Xu Xiaoyan was at the bottleneck of rank 29, spirit energy was crucial to her. It would enable her to fuse with a stronger spirit soul once she broke through.

  Xie Xie laughed mischievously. “This is the spirit ascension platform, not the real world. We can’t waste this expensive rebellion period entrance ticket.”


  He hadn’t made an appearance during the battle with the Blazing Demon Lions because he had been tasked with a crucial mission.

  They were already exceptionally familiar with the spirit ascension platform and how the monitoring system in the outside world worked. Aware that the squadron of Soul Elders was also monitoring the situation, Tang Wulin had hatched a dastardly scheme. This was a common occurrence in the spirit ascension platform, and even more so during the rebellion period.

  Stealing from a thief was truly beautiful in its own right. The sturdy youth had no idea how he died precisely because it was Xie Xie’s blade that killed him.

  The greatest advantage of his Shadow Dragon Dagger’s first soul skill, Shadow Dragon Blade, was its invisibility. After Xie Xie raised his cultivation, the skill had only grown deadlier.

  Considering the sturdy youth’s cultivation, he would have instantly discovered Xie Xie under normal conditions. Weary, exhausted, and on the verge of victory, however, he had lowered his guard. Xie Xie had hidden himself, waiting to strike at such a moment and reaping the spirit energy of the youth’s entire team in one fell swoop.

  If they hadn’t done this, then the majority of the lions’ spirit energy would have gone to the sturdy youth.

  A radiant smile blossomed on Tang Wulin’s lips. “We’ve already gotten our admission’s worth of spirit energy. Let’s rest and recover for now, everyone. The scent of the Blazing Demon Lions will linger for a while longer, and we can take advantage of it to absorb a bit more. Our goal is to leave no spirit energy behind.”


  “Yes!”


  Every one of them had a few hundred years worth of energy to absorb; it was a great harvest.

  Gu Yue had long since sat down to recuperate and absorb the energy. After the battle’s conclusion, she had been the calmest of them all, neither questioning Tang Wulin’s scheming nor showing any excitement.

  Tang Wulin sat down beside her, smiling. “How are you doing? Is your body alright?”


  Since she had killed the two remaining thousand-year Blazing Demon Lions, the density of spirit energy swirling around her body even exceeded that of Tang Wulin’s.

  She shook her head gently. “I’m fine. I won’t make much progress since the spirit energy will be divided between three rings. You, on the other hand, should be the one concerned about exceeding your limits.”


  “Mn. I know. You guys will handle the rest from now on; then I won’t have to worry about it.” Tang Wulin currently had two purple soul rings that were both at about four thousand years, whereas his limit was five thousand years. This left over a thousand years of energy for him to fill. His limit wasn’t a pressing issue yet, and the pain he suffered back then had made him more cautious.

  Their soul power recovered after half an hour of rest, so they stood up and resumed their trek into the heart of Star Dou Forest.

  They still needed more time to absorb the spirit energy lingering on their bodies, but until then, its radiance was noticeable. From now on, their opponents weren’t just soul beasts, but also other soul masters.

  “Captain, your Bluesilver Impaling Array is pretty awesome! Even though it’s not that strong, its stunning effect is great for crowd control,” Xie Xie quietly said from Tang Wulin’s side.

  Bluesilver Impaling Array was Tang Wulin’s second soul skill from Goldlight. When he was fused with it, despite being certain that his wishes would have no effect, he had focused his entire being on calling for a crowd-control soul skill. To his surprise, his wish came true and he obtained Bluesilver Impaling Array.

  Bluesilver Impaling Array primarily focusing on control with attack power taking a back seat. Of course, as a thousand-year soul skill, it was deadly to quite a degree. Its main purpose, however, was to control enemies. Through high frequency vibrations in the Bluesilver Grass, the foes struck by it would have their minds thrown into confusion and be temporarily stunned.

  As of that moment, Tang Wulin could launch Bluesilver Impaling Array from anywhere within reach of his Bluesilver Grass in a radius of fifteen meters.

  Although Bind’s capacity for control was great, Tang Wulin had to pay attention to every enemy he used it against. It was more suitable for a small number of opponents, while Bluesilver Impaling Array proved effective against large groups. Furthermore, he could layer the effects of the two skills.

  Wu Zhangkong had worked with him in the past few years, helping him slowly form his path of cultivation. Tang Wulin’s martial soul would focus on control while his Golden Dragon King abilities would be his main method of attack. He would be lacking in ranged combat, but Wu Zhangkong had assured him that, should he reach the peak with his body, he would still be a force to be reckoned with.

  In light of this, the first thing Tang Wulin exchanged his Tang Sect contribution points for was a way to improve his body’s combat ability.

  Tang Wulin gave a wry smile at Xie Xie’s words. “Xiaoyan’s crowd control is even more amazing! Starlight Chaos is a spectacular skill.”


  Since they had battled under the blanket of night, Xu Xiaoyan’s Starwheel Ice Staff had awakened, and she could use the full might of her second soul skill, Starlight Chaos.

  In contrast to Tang Wulin, she excelled in ranged combat and control, but similar to him, her two starlight skills were powerful in controlling foes. Starlight Chaos would send their opponents into disarray, forcing groups to attack each other or simply come to a halt. It was precisely because of her coordination with Tang Wulin in launching one control skill after another against the Blazing Demon Lions, keeping them in chaos the entire time, that they were able to crush them.

  Xu Xiaoyan giggled. She had been always been chasing after her teammates, hoping to catch up to them, and only felt some confidence at night. Astrological skills were highly exhausting and restrictive, but extremely effective in team settings.

  Wind hissed as a dark-red figure suddenly flew out of the branches of a tree.

  The figure was humanoid, but its arms were unusually long. As it flew through the air, its target became clear—it was aiming for Gu Yue. It seemed that, in its eyes, women were easy targets.

  In an instant, a blue vine shot out and bound its body, halting its speedy charge in midair and dragging it down.

  Tang Wulin raised his palms to the sky, two soul rings rising from beneath him and a white glow emanating from his body. An invisible force seemed to grab the red beast, ferociously dragging it toward Tang Wulin.

  But it quickly recovered its senses. Although its legs were bound, its arms were free, and it swung at Tang Wulin’s head.

  Tang Wulin snorted, his own fists flying out to meet his attacker’s.

  With a boom, the red figure was forced to stagger backward a step while Tang Wulin was unshaken.

  Tang Wulin grabbed a vine and tugged on it, pulling it back toward him. Making an instantaneous pulling gesture with his hands, the invisible force reappeared and pushed the figure’s arms apart.

  Tang Wulin then delivered a powerful kick to its stomach, and its body bent forward in response, placing its head right before him.