Without a Lifebound Soul Beast, the speed at which Rong Taotao's trio absorbed Soul Power was terrifyingly slow.
And since the ice and snow Attribute was mixed within the Soul Power, this also caused their speed in practicing Soul Techniques to be terrifyingly slow. It was a vicious cycle, and the only solution was to obtain a Lifebound Soul Beast.
For kids who had just graduated from middle school and awakened their powers, they had the entire summer vacation to find their own Lifebound Soul Beast.
The state had special agencies that sold Lifebound Soul Beasts, and all of them had undergone strict "quality inspections," so parents could purchase them with confidence. Of course, the most important thing was a connection at first sight.
It was like picking a pet. If both sides took a liking to each other, then everything would be fine.
If only the human took a liking, then the Soul Martial Artist would have to put in more effort to nurture the relationship later on.
However, the Lifebound Soul Beasts provided by the state were mostly low-Quality Soul Beast cubs, so raising them wasn't too much of a problem.
Unlike humans, as long as you gave a Soul Beast your sincere heart, you would always be rewarded.
Of course, for some children with lower Talent who had only awakened one or two Soul Slots, their parents might risk choosing a higher-Quality Lifebound Soul Beast cub. In that case, it was crucial that both sides connected at first sight!
After all, the parents' intention was to have a high-Quality Soul Beast help their child soar, not to push their child into a pit of fire and let the Soul Beast take control of their body, thereby creating a Humanoid Soul Beast that had lost its personality...
High-Quality Soul Beasts with compatible Attributes were extremely rare, so one can imagine how expensive they would be.
Or perhaps... even if you had the money, you couldn't buy one.
Right now, Rong Taotao's group of three was also on summer vacation, the perfect time to choose a Soul Beast, but they had been dragged here for the Songjiang Soul Martial University assessment.
According to Yang Chunxi, if the trio passed the assessment, Songjiang Soul Martial University would provide them with Lifebound Soul Beasts.
Without a doubt, these Lifebound Soul Beasts, offered as rewards, would be of extremely low Quality, in their cub stage, docile in temperament, and free of physical defects.
The biggest difference between Rong Taotao's group and other Soul Martial Artists was that they themselves possessed terrifying Talent, so they didn't need to seek out high-Quality Lifebound Soul Beasts.
After a human fused with a Lifebound Soul Beast, their Talents didn't just average out. Instead, they would gradually align with whichever side had the higher Talent.
For humans, the number of Initial Soul Slots signified Talent.
And for Soul Beasts, their initial Quality signified Talent.
A few hours later, the trio finally arrived at the second Pine Soul station.
Unlike the grand courtyard building from before, this station only had a few small buildings scattered about. The largest of them was a stable, which housed at least fifty or sixty Snow Night Shocks.
Rong Taotao tried to move his stiff body, dismounting the horse shakily and plopping right down into the snow.
He looked like a wreck, but in fact, this was only because the Snow Night Shock had been protecting him during the latter half of the journey.
Without the Snow Night Shock's thoughtful protection, Rong Taotao might have really frozen to death during the four-hour ride...
The Snow Night Shock ran so incredibly fast. There hadn't been much wind to begin with, but its speed had whipped up a gale!
Rong Taotao even wanted to install a windshield on its big head...
'It's time to buy a pair of goggles!'
As Rong Taotao sat in the snow, wincing in pain, Yang Chunxi grabbed him with one hand and hoisted him onto her shoulder.
"Eh? Eh? Eh?" Rong Taotao's body went stiff, at a complete loss.
'Sister-in-law... you can't do this!'
WHOOSH~
Who would have thought that in the next moment, Yang Chunxi would casually toss Rong Taotao toward a nearby building.
Rong Taotao: ???
He felt like he was soaring through the clouds before being caught by someone, who then turned and walked into a warm room.
This place seemed to be a restaurant, with a dozen or so wooden tables and chairs. There were even a few beds placed in the northwest corner.
At that moment, a few men were dining at a nearby table.
"Hm?" Tucked under someone's arm, Rong Taotao's dark, shimmering eyes locked onto the distant table.
He clearly wasn't looking at the human men, but at... an extremely handsome boy mixed in among them.
'How can he be human when he's that good-looking!?'
The more Rong Taotao looked, the more he felt something was off...
'Sure enough!'
'Good-looking ones are never human!'
'This is actually a Snow Realm Soul Beast!?'
The handsome boy had short white hair and snow-white skin—the terrifyingly white kind. You could even faintly see the bluish veins beneath his pallid complexion.
The youth's features were undoubtedly human, except for his eyes, which were crimson and emitted a faint glow.
If it were nighttime, his eyes would probably shine like a cat's.
Rong Taotao was tossed onto a chair. He subconsciously started to say thank you when the door behind him opened. Carrying a kid under each arm, Yang Chunxi walked in, bringing a gust of wind and snow with her.
"Little guy" was an understatement. Li Ziyi was actually well-developed; at fifteen, he was already over 1.8 meters tall, yet Yang Chunxi carried him with ease.
'Tsk tsk...'
'Sister-in-law is so strong. If she spanked me, my butt would really hurt, wouldn't it?'
'Hmm...'
You couldn't blame Rong Taotao for thinking such things. After all, among the limited "teachers" he had encountered, the Devil Master had accompanied him for two years.
Naturally, his master's methods of punishment were seared into his mind, which in turn had skewed Rong Taotao's way of thinking.
The distant fireplace crackled. Yang Chunxi set down the kids she was carrying one by one, her gaze drifting toward the other table.
"Coach Yang."
"Coach Yang!" Several middle-aged men, their attitude very respectful, were the first to greet Yang Chunxi.
It was clear that the young Yang Chunxi held a high status at Songjiang Soul Martial University.
Given their ages, the other men could have just called her "Yang," since they were colleagues. But their respectful attitude and form of address made Rong Taotao wonder just how powerful Yang Chunxi really was.
Yang Chunxi responded with a smile, a bright and warm expression that could truly make one forget the biting ice and snow outside.
"We meet again, Student Xu Taiping. Did you finally agree to take the Songjiang Soul Martial University assessment?" Yang Chunxi sat at the same table as her three young charges, accepted a cup of hot tea from a staff member, and blew on it gently as she turned to look at the other table.
Apparently, Yang Chunxi knew the Snow Realm Soul Beast.
But the youth named "Xu Taiping" completely ignored Yang Chunxi's question. He just sat there silently, staring down at the plate in front of him.
The middle-aged men sitting beside him also had helpless expressions. One of them said to Yang Chunxi, "This kid's a bit introverted."
"Mm-hm, it's fine." Yang Chunxi smiled and waved her hand dismissively. She turned back to her own kids and said, "Warm yourselves up. We'll eat something in a bit, rest for an hour, then get fresh Snow Night Shocks and continue on our way."
Rong Taotao cupped the warm mug with both hands, staring intently at the handsome youth in the distance, his heart filled with curiosity.
Xu Taiping.
'What an imposing name!'
'Honestly, shouldn't a name like Xu Bailan or Xu Jingting... suit his looks better?'
'Uh...'
Lost in thought, Rong Taotao subconsciously lowered his head, but Yang Chunxi still pressed a hand down on it, pushing his head to the side so his cheek faced the wooden floor.
Yang Chunxi carefully smoothed Rong Taotao's naturally curly hair as she said, "It's rude to stare."
Rong Taotao pouted. 'Everyone appreciates beauty. Besides, he's a Soul Beast.'
About ten minutes later, the middle-aged men stood up and said their goodbyes to Yang Chunxi. "Coach Yang, it's time for us to get going."
"Alright, have a safe trip!" Yang Chunxi nodded in response. "See you at the university."
Escorted by the men, Xu Taiping walked silently toward the door with his head down, looking like a withdrawn teenager.
However, as he passed by their table, Xu Taiping turned his head slightly and glanced at the table where Yang Chunxi was sitting.
A smile appeared on Sun Xingyu's face. Resting her chin on her hand, she gave Xu Taiping a friendly wave.
However, Xu Taiping paid the pretty and cute girl no attention at all.
Li Ziyi frowned slightly, looking at Xu Taiping with a displeased expression as if he wanted to say something. But Xu Taiping's faintly crimson eyes flickered toward Rong Taotao. As the group left, Xu Taiping lowered his head again.
Rong Taotao: ???
'You've got good taste~'
'Finally, someone gets my good looks!'
'So... little bro from the distant Soul Race, you like handsome men too, right?'