Heaven Dou City’s local Spirit Pagoda was only second to the headquarters in Shrek City. It towered over the surrounding buildings, breathtaking in its height.

  Currently, Xu Lizhi and Tang Wulin were walking together.

  “I can feel that your blood essence is thicker than before! It’s definitely because of whatever you ate. I can’t believe you won’t tell me!” Xu Lizhi cried. “Aren’t we brothers?”


  “Fine. I give. It was ruby shrimp.” Although the thousand-year land dragon tendon was potent as well, it couldn’t compare with the ruby shrimp.

  At the sound of those words, Xu Lizhi trembled. “Ruby shrimp? Where did you get it?”


  Tang Wulin looked at him suspiciously. “Someone else gave it to me. Do you know of it? It wasn’t until it was right in front of me that I even heard of its name.”


  “It’s the ruby shrimp from the Blood Trench, right?”


  “Mn.” Tang Wulin nodded.

  Xu Lizhi was dumbstruck. After gathering himself for a few moments, he spoke. “Are you sure that’s what you had? All soul devices malfunction near the Blood Trench because of its bizarre magnetic field. The trench is also several kilometers deep and teeming with soul beasts. It’s known as one of the world’s forbidden areas! That ruby shrimp you said you had are only found in the Blood Trench. Even four-word battle armor masters have trouble retrieving them. Are you sure that’s what you ate?”


  Tang Wulin had guessed that the ruby shrimp was precious, but he had never expected it to be to this degree! It was a delicacy that could only be obtained by four-word battle armor masters! It was no wonder that even a Divine Blacksmith like Zhen Hua regarded it as precious.

  “Who gave it to you? I want to try it too!” Xu Lizhi sulked.

  “I don’t know his name,” Tang Wulin said. “He’s my uncle-master’s friend. There aren’t any left anyway. Or do you want me to puke it out for you to try? I think there’s still a bit left in my stomach.”


  “You’re disgusting!” Ye Xinglan, who was walking ahead of him, shot a dirty look in his direction.

  Xu Lizhi went silent with gloom. He was depressed that he missed out on such an experience.

  They soon reached the Spirit Pagoda, their chatter culled to an attentive quiet. Wu Zhangkong followed behind them without a word, simply watching them with his cold eyes.

  Tang Wulin glanced at his teacher. The thought of Wu Zhangkong’s lover buried in the cemetary of Heaven Dou City lingered in his mind.

  Wu Zhangkong returned his glance with a sharp look. Then his eyes drifted elsewhere.

  Gu Yue flashed her ID and was immediately admitted inside. She led them up to a conference room on the third floor.

  Before long, a middle-aged man entered the room.

  “Hello, Miss Gu Yue,” the middle-aged man said.

  “Hello.” Gu Yue stood and nodded to him.

  The man made an awkward face. “I’ve passed on your request to the rest of the staff, but it would break too many rules. We’re an organization that serves soul masters after all. We can’t just ask visitors to have a match. It would be too troubling for them. We have no duty to do that either.”


  Gu Yue furrowed her brow. “Is there any other way?”


  The man shook his head. “I asked the higher ups, but I’m afraid it’s impossible. The Heavenly Phoenix Douluo called and said you had to handle this yourself. We aren’t to lend you any help.”


  Gu Yue went silent for a moment. “Teacher knows about this?”


  The man smiled meekly but remained silent.

  “Okay.” Gu Yue nodded, then turned to her companions. “Let’s go.”


  They followed Gu Yue out in silence, Tang Wulin jogging to her side in the process. “It’s fine. We’ll just find some other way. And if we can’t, we can just go to the Blacksmith’s Association. I’m sure my uncle-master will help us.”


  Gu Yue shook her head. “That would be too inconvenient and take too much time. I have a plan.”


  Ye Xinglan pursed her lips.“Are you saying……?”


  The two shared a glance, eyes lighting up in mutual understanding. Tang Wulin felt a chill travel down his spine, apprehension creeping up on him.

  ☀

  Sun Runyu left the Spirit Pagoda in high spirits. His body felt light with his new and suitable spirit soul.

  At thirty-five years old, he possessed two spirit souls before this one. Due to his average martial soul, his spiritual power wasn’t particularly strong, and he had only been able to sustain two spirit souls that allowed him four soul rings. After devoting blood and sweat to cultivating, he finally reached rank 50. He knew that he had no hopes of ever reaching seven rings, but he still wished to obtain a spirit soul capable of taking him that far. At the very least, he would be acknowledged within the world of soul masters.

  He saved up money by living frugally until he scraped enough to visit the Spirit Pagoda. Luck smiled upon him. He obtained a good purple spirit soul and fused with it, becoming stronger than before……

  From then on, he was a genuine five-ringed Soul King. Not to mention, he could now boast a thousand-year soul ring.

  Soul Kings were quite respected among soul masters. Furthermore, he was a mecha pilot. With a strong spirit soul to fuse with his mecha, he now had the strength to reach the rank of lieutenant colonel and command a squadron of thirty mechas.

  Sun Runyu was filled with excitement as he thought about his future. His hard work was finally paying off. Even if he couldn’t become a Soul Sage, becoming a Soul Emperor was not beyond reach. Once he stepped into that level, he would have the qualifications to be promoted to a colonel. He would be a decently high-ranking officer in the military at that time. Then he could settle down with a good wife.

  As he entertained these thoughts, a few figures snuck up in front of him, dodging his peripheral vision.

  “This mountain is mine!”


  “These trees were planted by me!”


  “If you want to pass!”


  “You must pay the mountain toll!”


  Sun Runyu could not believe his eyes. Four strangers stood in a line in front him, forming a makeshift barrier between him and the path. Confused, he took some time to scan the area, confirming he had just exited the Spirit Pagoda. What mountain are they talking about? What trees?

  When he shifted his attention back to his obstructors, he was taken aback by their youthful appearances. The last vestiges of baby fat clung to their cheeks, skin soft and tender. It was obvious they were no more than teenagers. He could even pick out a young fatty crouching and another teen covering his face. .

  “What are you kids doing? You shouldn’t be playing jokes around the Spirit Pagoda. Hurry up and go home!” Sun Runyu shouted with the imposing airs of a military officer.

  Gu Yue had been the first one to recite their mugging play. The instant Tang Wulin had heard it, he turned his back to them and facepalmed. Similarly, Xu Lizhi had crouched down into a ball immediately, turning his back to them as did his best to fight back his laughter. Meanwhile, Wu Zhangkong stood far off in the distance, his figure barely visible.

  Indeed, this was Gu Yue’s plan. It was simple. All they needed to do was fight a soul master stronger than them, and there were plenty of people who fit the bill at the Spirit Pagoda. So, they would threaten the people that came out of the Spirit Pagoda and force them into a fight. After beating their opponent, they would hightail it out of there.

  The only issue was finding someone stronger than them. As for their mountain bandit charade, it just piqued her fancy.

  Ye Xinglan, Xie Xie, and Xu Xiaoyan had shouted the last three verses in that order. Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan grinned with excitement.

  “What now?” Ye Xinglan asked Gu Yue.

  “We get started,” Gu Yue said as soul rings rose from beneath her.

  After spending a lot of time with Gu Yue, Ye Xinglan had found her quite compatible, and the sentiment was reciprocated. She charged forward the moment she saw Gu Yue’s soul rings, the Stargod Sword manifesting in her hands as she ran. She slashed the air, shooting out a sword beam toward Sun Runyu.

  The sudden attack startled Sun Runyu. The military experience engraved in him took hold and he subconsciously retreated a step. He summoned his martial soul. A thin mist spread from his body, condensing into a liquid shield and deflecting the sword beam in the nick of time.