Bai Chen's martial soul is the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger — an absolute evil martial soul. For members of the Tang Sect's Soul Fighting Hall, this is a deeply taboo existence.
If possible, Zang Xin wanted to find a peer who held no prejudice against the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger to serve as Bai Chen's partner.
Upon hearing this request, Yun Meng immediately referred Yuan En Yeehui to him, and quietly filled him in on her situation.
In truth, Yun Meng's side was also finding it a bit of a headache to figure out what to do with Yuan En Yeehui.
Ever since the tragedy befell her, she had been wearing the look of someone whose heart had turned to ash.
Yun Meng had wanted her to spend more time around people her own age, but she herself had no interest in that whatsoever.
Perhaps in Yuan En Yeehui's eyes, her mother had been killed by the world's prejudice against evil soul masters — and so she held an extremely deep bias against all other people, and no matter what, she simply refused to communicate properly with them.
In Yun Meng's view, this kid called Bai Chen that Zang Xin had proposed could conveniently solve his problem.
And so the two sides hit it off immediately, deciding to bring these two children together.
Zang Xin had been guiding Bai Chen for a full year now, and understood the kid's temperament very well.
His personality was extremely stable — he wouldn't easily come into conflict with others. And since he himself was also a wielder of an evil martial soul, he would never discriminate against someone else simply because of their martial soul.
If things developed smoothly, this might kill two birds with one stone.
The three of them went together to the Spirit Ascension Tower. After their two entry cards were processed, they were able to access the private room that Bai Chen was familiar with.
Because his current training relied heavily on the Spirit Ascension Platform, Zang Xin had specially arranged for a private room for him — not only was it much more convenient in every way, but Zang Xin could also monitor his actions and keep close watch over his safety while he was inside the Platform.
This was not a privilege just anyone could have. Being able to demand this kind of special treatment was precisely what it meant to have the Tang Sect's backing.
Bai Chen and Yuan En Yeehui lay back into the metal cabinets of the Spirit Ascension Platform. With a subtle twisting sensation, they entered the Spirit Ascension Platform once more.
The only difference from before was that this time, Yuan En Yeehui had appeared right beside him.
This was one of the ways the Frenzy Period Spirit Ascension Platform differed from the normal one. The normal Platform actually doesn't allow group entry — even if a group of people entered at the same time, they would be transported to different locations. If you wanted to fight alongside a companion, you'd have to find them yourself, which was extremely inconvenient.
The Frenzy Period Platform, however, allows group entry. The team size cap is seven people, and the cultivation cap is peak three-ring.
Since Frenzy Period entry tickets are extremely hard to come by, the overwhelming majority of people opt to challenge it with the most optimal lineup — meaning a team of seven at peak three-ring cultivation.
This was also something Bai Chen and Yuan En Yeehui needed to be mindful of. Seven peak-three-ring powerhouses working together could already rival a Soul Sect-level existence — and there were only two of them. They needed to be far more careful.
After entering the Spirit Ascension Platform, Bai Chen didn't rush to take action. Instead, he struck up a conversation with Yuan En Yeehui:
"Yuan En, what's your martial soul?"
Although he had already known the full picture of both her martial souls before ever meeting her, he still needed to go through the motions.
Yuan En Yeehui shot him a glance, then released her martial soul without a word.
As thick, dense fur surged forth, Yuan En Yeehui's frame instantly swelled, transforming into an imposing, enormous creature.
She said flatly:
"Titan Giant Ape."
"..."
Although he had known in advance, he had to admit — watching a beautiful girl transform into something like this, Bai Chen was still a little speechless.
This was one of the few martial souls among those that appeared in the original work that could deliver a genuinely devastating blow to one's appearance rating.
Still, he had mentally prepared himself for it. After giving a couple of inward complaints, he smiled back:
"My martial soul is the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger."
With that, he released his martial soul as well.
Deep black-purple wings extended from his back. A long tail swept out a profound arc behind him. A black character for "King" materialized on his forehead, and Bai Chen's entire presence transformed completely the moment his martial soul emerged.
If before he gave people the impression of a warm, sunny person, now the first impression he gave was one of darkness and mystery.
He smiled lightly at Yuan En Yeehui.
"As you can see — it's an evil martial soul."
"..."
Yuan En Yeehui's eyes widened in surprise. She was silent for several seconds, then asked:
"Why can you release your own martial soul so calmly like this? Aren't you afraid I'll treat you differently because of it?"
"Not in the slightest."
Bai Chen said with a calm expression:
"For a soul master, your martial soul is determined by heaven and your parents — but what kind of person you become is determined by yourself. Since I've awakened a martial soul like this, I'm willing to bear the strange looks from others. Because I believe that people who truly understand me won't fear me because of my martial soul."
These were his words from the heart — even if he hadn't known anything about Yuan En Yeehui's background, he would have answered the same way.
"..."
Yuan En Yeehui fell silent again. Her fists clenched tight, as if she was lost in her own thoughts.
But circumstances didn't allow her to keep brooding. Bai Chen suddenly said in a low voice:
"Sorry — no time to keep thinking. We need to start fighting right now."
As a faint rustling sound rose around them, more than ten leopard-type soul beasts burst out from the surrounding undergrowth.
Judging from the aura they gave off, the vast majority were ten-year beasts — but the three leading the charge had already reached a hundred years' cultivation.
"The one on the far left — I'm leaving that one to you. Can you handle it?"
"Yes."
Whether it was his imagination or not, compared to just a moment ago, Yuan En Yeehui's voice carried a few more notes of emotional fluctuation.
Her cultivation had just recently reached two rings. For her, even if she were asked to take on all of these suddenly-appearing soul beasts by herself, it would just take a bit more effort.
"Then let's start."
"Thud!"
The moment Bai Chen's words landed, Yuan En Yeehui shot forward in a straight line, closing the distance to the soul beast Bai Chen had designated at extreme speed.
Startled by her approach at such a terrifying velocity, the soul beast instinctively leapt backward, trying to put distance between itself and Yuan En Yeehui.
But Yuan En Yeehui simply raised her hand — her yellow second soul ring lit up, and an invisible mass of air surged out along with her punch, landing square on the enemy.
Wham!
The leopard-type soul beast immediately let out a pained howl — clearly, it had taken a serious hit from this unexpected Air Cannon.
Yuan En Yeehui pressed her advantage and followed up, dispatching the hundred-year soul beast in just a few quick moves, converting it into spirit energy for herself.
She dusted her hands off, looking rather pleased with herself, then turned to check on Bai Chen's situation.
But the moment she turned her head, her expression changed instantly.