Light drove away the darkness. Zhao Xuanzhen sat up inside the metal chamber, squinting against the reflections off the surrounding walls. He shut his eyes on instinct, and when he opened them again, three scorching gazes were already fixed on him, as if they meant to bore straight through his body and discover whatever secrets he was hiding inside.
"You three look like you're about to eat me."
Zhao Xuanzhen tugged his clothes tighter, a chill prickling down his spine.
"A 1,000-year Man Faced Demon Spider!"
"And you killed it all by yourself!"
Azure and emerald eyes shone like gemstones. Bai Haoze and Bai Zhicen knew perfectly well that at the same spirit power level, they could never have pulled off what he just did. Surviving the first wave from the Wind Baboon troop alone would have been a struggle!
"Just luck."
Zhao Xuanzhen waved it off without a flicker of concern. Routine stuff. No need to make a fuss.
"That wasn't luck. That was absolute strength."
Leng Yaozhu walked over and ruffled his black hair. "Classes officially begin tomorrow."
"Yes, Teacher."
"Hunting spirit beasts in the Spirit Ascension Platform is extremely taxing on the mind. Go back early, meditate, and get some rest..."
She stopped halfway through the sentence, suddenly remembering something. Her hand dipped into her Storage Spirit Guidance Device and produced a white jade porcelain bottle, which she placed in Zhao Xuanzhen's palm.
"Mysterious Water Pill. The Xuanwu Sect refines these from the essence blood of dozens of water-attribute spirit beasts and medicinal herbs. The effects are gentle and long-lasting: it cleanses the marrow, refines the body, and raises a Spirit Master's innate spirit power by one rank."
Spirit beasts grew rarer by the day, and the price of Mysterious Water Pills had climbed right along with them. Even at one million federation coins per pill at auction, demand still far outstripped supply. Leng Yaozhu had originally worried that Zhao Xuanzhen's talent might fall short, so she had gone to the Xuanwu Sect in person to secure this very item.
Then her disciple had awakened as a full-blown monster instead.
"This won't do much for me, will it?"
Zhao Xuanzhen naturally remembered the pill that had changed Huo Yuhao's innate talent ten thousand years ago. But he had Innate Full Spirit Power, and True Self had granted him a body both pure and powerful.
Raise innate spirit power by one rank?
Pah. Useless thing!
Leng Yaozhu remained perfectly composed. "I already brought it back, so just treat it like candy."
Obscene wealth!
Zhao Xuanzhen lamented that he had somehow become a filthy-rich dog in this life, even as he honestly uncorked the jade bottle and tossed a Mysterious Water Pill into his mouth.
Oh ho, kinda sweet-sweet!
The effects were predictably negligible. After sampling the Mysterious Water Pill's flavor, Zhao Xuanzhen said goodbye to Leng Yaozhu and the Bai sisters, took the elevator back to the ninety-ninth floor, and summoned the Auspicious Spirit Capybara the moment he stepped through the door.
Capy-capy's cultivation had leapt from six hundred years to a full thousand. Its aura had grown far deeper and more settled, though its body showed little outward change. The yin-yang mark at its brow had taken on a richer luster, and faint Eight Trigrams patterns flickered in and out of sight around it.
"Capy-capy, are you trying to comprehend my Qimen Daoist arts?" Zhao Xuanzhen asked.
A highly talented Spirit Soul could learn various abilities from its Spirit Master. The most celebrated example was Soft Rabbit Douluo Jiang Nannan's Ruby Soft Tendon Python, which had picked up an entire repertoire of soft-body techniques along with top-tier spirit skills like Invincible Golden Body and Teleportation. The Auspicious Spirit Capybara, meanwhile, seemed to be heading in the direction of Qimen Daoist arts.
"Too complicated. I can't make sense of it."
The Auspicious Spirit Capybara shook its head. "I can only communicate with the world slowly through my yin-yang attribute and comprehend elemental power that way. I can't command nature as freely as you do."
"That's for the best."
Rather than disappointment, what Zhao Xuanzhen felt was relief. Qimen formations were perilous in the extreme, and it was all too easy to sink into one and lose the ability to pull yourself back out. He had no desire to see the Auspicious Spirit Capybara follow the path of those who had failed before it.
"Human, have you noticed that your fortune has changed?" The Auspicious Spirit Capybara looked up at him.
"Fortune?" Zhao Xuanzhen blinked.
"After we fused, the fortune stored within me became shared with you. From what I can sense, your fortune is fluctuating violently right now. The last time mine did that, humans attacked Star Dou Forest the next day... and then I became a Spirit Soul."
"Talk of fortune can't be trusted!" Zhao Xuanzhen declared firmly.
"Your fortune runs the exact opposite of mine. Within a single day, auspicious signs are certain to descend."
"Then I have no choice but to believe."
Zhao Xuanzhen reversed his stance without missing a beat. "Could a 1,000,000-year spirit beast come knocking tonight to offer itself up as a sacrifice?"
"That's very greedy."
The Auspicious Spirit Capybara sat frozen for a good long while before muttering sullenly. Treating auspicious fortune like a wish-granting divine dragon... what a rude human. Truly, outrageously rude!
Night fell.
Filled with anticipation for some heaven-sent stroke of luck, Zhao Xuanzhen ate dinner, climbed into bed, and began his meditation.
His mind became a tranquil pond, every stray thought dissolving into emptiness. Spirit power traced through his meridians like gentle streams finding their natural course, each complete cycle gathering once more in his dantian, condensing and refining with every breath.
…
The next morning. Spirit Pagoda headquarters, hundredth floor. Heavenly Phoenix Douluo's residence.
Warm sunlight filtered through velvet curtains and turned the marble floor into pools of golden amber. A crystal chandelier hung at the center of the hall, its countless prisms scattering gold-red traces of light through the air.
Leng Yaozhu sat on the sofa in perfect stillness. Time had left no mark on that peerlessly beautiful face. Crimson hair poured down her back like a waterfall, and beneath long, dark brows, a pair of scarlet eyes rested calm and quiet, like water gently rippling.
"Teacher."
A knock sounded at the door, followed by a young voice, clear as a bell.
A smile touched those exquisite features. Leng Yaozhu lifted a hand, and the door swung open with a soft creak. Sunlight spilled across the threshold as a handsome youth walked in against the light, dressed in a crane-patterned green robe with his black hair simply tied back. A capybara padded along at his side.
Zhao Xuanzhen's gaze found Leng Yaozhu at once. Today she wore a pure white dress without a trace of any other color, her presence quiet and far-reaching.
Master and disciple sat facing each other while Capy-capy sprawled beside Zhao Xuanzhen. Leng Yaozhu spoke first:
"How did your first session of meditation go? Was your spirit power circulating smoothly? Any resistance anywhere?"
"Everything went smoothly."
Zhao Xuanzhen's cultivation differed greatly from that of mainstream Spirit Masters. He had woven the techniques of his previous life's Daoist arts into the process, forming a meditation method uniquely suited to his own growth.
"Good." Leng Yaozhu gave a small nod. "I spent the entire night thinking about where to begin with you.
Your body is powerful. Your close-combat technique already shows the bearing of a grandmaster. And that ability to draw upon the world around you for your own use is something I've never encountered before. What's more, your abilities have already formed a complete system.
To have awakened such outstanding talent... Xiao Ling and Liuyun's spirits in heaven would surely be happy for you."
Ripples stirred in Zhao Xuanzhen's eyes at the mention of his parents. Leng Yaozhu had always refused to speak about the circumstances of their deaths, but a soul reborn with memories far sharper than any ordinary infant's had no need to be told. He had always known.
It had been on a snow-covered mountain. His parents were soldiers of the Blood God Army, stationed at the Abyssal Passage for more than ten years. In the end, an Abyssal Tide had claimed them both.
They had shared less than a single day together. To claim some deep, abiding bond would have been hollow pretense. Even so, Zhao Xuanzhen held genuine respect and gratitude for them. They were heroes who had given their lives protecting the countless souls of Douluo Continent.
The Blood God Army had guarded the abyss for a thousand years. Countless soldiers gave their lives, one generation after another, wave upon wave of sacrifice. And in the end, the whole crisis had been wrapped up by a single hammer blow. It lent the fallen an extra measure of tragic irony.
The Gods saved Douluo from the brink of ruin.
As for why Douluo had been teetering on that brink in the first place...
Best not to ask!
For now, Zhao Xuanzhen possessed no means of opposing the Gods. Certain thoughts could only remain buried deep in his heart.
Hide my light. Bide my time. Then seize heaven's timing!
Leng Yaozhu noticed the shift in her disciple's mood and realized she had perhaps touched a nerve best left alone. She changed the subject without delay:
"Xuanzhen, your Martial Spirit path only needs to develop step by step. What I want to discuss with you today is the pinnacle of Spirit Guidance Technology...
Battle Armor."