"Although there were over twenty lions..."
"They didn't add much to the year count."
After clearing the first wave of the lion pack, Tang Luochuan shook his head with a thoughtful expression. Aside from the leader, which was a hundred-year Soul Beast, most of the others were only ten-year Soul Beasts.
Under normal circumstances, hunting a Soul Beast would grant roughly one-tenth of its lifespan in years. A ten-year Soul Beast would thus only contribute a single year.
Since these were all ten-year Soul Beasts, even if he cleared them all, the total would barely reach two hundred years. Upgrading a Soul Spirit clearly wasn't going to be easy.
"Luo Chuan."
"You're here."
A light, melodious voice suddenly rang out. Gu Yue's figure had appeared before him at some point, her face unable to conceal her delight.
"Gu Yue."
"You're nearby too?"
Tang Luochuan was momentarily stunned. Surely she hadn't been heading straight for him since entering the Spirit Ascension Platform?
"Of course. Otherwise..."
"How could I have gotten to you so quickly?"
Gu Yue smiled, playing along with his words while deliberately avoiding the truth. She certainly wasn't going to admit she had tracked him down.
"Alright, let's go ascend our spirits together."
"Sure..."
Tang Luochuan naturally didn't refuse the idea of teaming up with Gu Yue. Their partnership was, after all, quite formidable.
The Golden Dragon King and the Silver Dragon King—a perfect match.
Along the way, Gu Yue handled crowd control while he took care of the enemies one punch at a time. Gradually, the year count on their Soul Rings increased significantly.
While Tang Luochuan and Gu Yue were immersed in their own world, the others were in completely different situations.
Xie Xie was still locked in combat with a hundred-year tree Soul Beast. Wang Jinxi, relying on his Bone Dragon Martial Soul, was also putting in effort. Meanwhile, Wei Xiaofeng was leisurely taking in the scenery.
Only Zhang Yangzi was no longer inside the Spirit Ascension Platform—instead, he was sitting beside Wu Zhangkong.
"Such misfortune—"
Silently watching the others on the screen, his eyes filled with longing, he couldn't help but mutter, feeling both frustrated and envious.
Why was everyone else so lucky? Nothing like him. Not long after entering the Spirit Ascension Platform, he had encountered a thousand-year Soul Beast—a human-faced demon spider.
That level of existence was far beyond his capabilities, leading to an inevitable and humiliating defeat.
As a nine-year-old Grand Soul Master prodigy, he hadn't even managed to kill a single minor enemy before being forced out. It was a disgrace!
His chance to enter the Spirit Ascension Platform had been completely wasted.
"Alright, Yangzi."
"You'll be coming to the Spirit Ascension Platform for training every week from now on. You'll get used to it eventually."
Sensing Zhang Yangzi's mood, Wu Zhangkong didn't dwell on the topic too long and instead offered some comforting words.
While it was true that Zhang Yangzi hadn't managed to defeat a single Soul Beast, it was undeniable that his luck had been terrible. And honestly speaking...
He had never seen someone with such awful luck before.
Who in their right mind would run into a thousand-year human-faced demon spider—the strongest possible opponent—on their very first trip to the beginner-level Spirit Ascension Platform?
"..."
Zhang Yangzi could only nod with a bitter smile.
"Oh? So the students from Eastsea Academy have already been sent into the Spirit Ascension Platform here?"
At that moment, a voice filled with authority rang out as a man with a beaming smile and excellent complexion stepped forward, approaching the group.
"Who is that..."
"Hmm?"
"Tower Master!"
Hearing the voice, the staff immediately turned their gaze and couldn't help exclaiming in surprise—the Tower Master had arrived.
"Tower Master."
Upon hearing this title, even Wu Zhangkong, who had remained silent, was momentarily stunned. He instantly recognized the man's formidable strength and status—this was at least a Titled Douluo-level powerhouse.
"Mm, carry on with your duties. I'm just here to take a look."
The newcomer was none other than the Tower Master of the East Sea City Spirit Transfer Pagoda—Nan Lao, a 91st-ranked Titled Douluo.
Had Tang Luochuan been present, he would have recognized him immediately—this was the very man who had once gifted him his first Soul Spirit back in Aolai City.
"I'd like to see how those little geniuses from East Sea Academy are doing. Let's see if they're as outstanding as you've claimed..."
Nan Lao was about to say something when his gaze suddenly locked onto the large screen. Those two youngsters looked so familiar...
"Hmm!?"
"That boy... he reminds me so much of the one from Aolai City—Tang Luochuan, right? The little fellow I gave a Soul Spirit to!"
"He's already come to the Spirit Ascension Platform?"
Nan Lao couldn't hide his delight, his already smiling face brightening further. So that was why he'd felt such familiarity—he was practically running into an old acquaintance!
Back then, that kid had just awakened his Martial Soul and was merely a Soul Scholar. Yet now, he was already capable of defeating Soul Beasts in the Spirit Ascension Platform. What rapid growth!
And his first Soul Spirit had even been a gift from Nan Lao himself!
"Never thought I'd run into him here, witnessing the Spirit Ascension Platform of the Spirit Transfer Pagoda..."
"Will he be willing to join the Spirit Transfer Pagoda this time?"
Nan Lao chuckled softly, lost in thought.
"..."
Some time later, when everyone else had exited the platform for various reasons, Tang Luochuan and his companion still hadn't emerged. Unsurprisingly, none of the others had managed to increase their Soul Rings by more than 500 years.
Tang Wulin had the highest gain among them, but even his increase was only slightly over 200 years.
"Boss..."
"Did your Soul Ring limit increase...?"
After another stretch of time, when Tang Luochuan and Gu Yue finally exited the Spirit Ascension Platform, Tang Wulin and the others immediately crowded around, scrutinizing them with undisguised curiosity.
As the ones who had stayed inside the longest, they certainly deserved the attention—after all, the combined gains of the others likely paled in comparison to theirs alone.
"Mm."
"Gu Yue and I succeeded in our ascension."
Tang Luochuan didn't hold back. As he spoke, he revealed his two purple thousand-year Soul Rings, with Gu Yue following suit.
For a moment, four dazzling purple Soul Rings shimmered brilliantly.
Thanks to their excellent teamwork and the lack of formidable opponents in the primary Spirit Ascension Platform, both of them had increased their Soul Rings by over two thousand years, now approaching the three-thousand-year mark.
This outcome could almost be described as the primary Spirit Ascension Platform suffering a massive loss.
"A thousand-year first Soul Spirit."
"Truly, heroes emerge from the young."
At that moment, Nan Lao's voice rang out once more.
"Hmm?"
"You are...?"
"A senior from the Spirit Transfer Pagoda."
Seeing the figure before him, Tang Luochuan froze momentarily, immediately recognizing the person's identity—though he clearly hadn't expected to encounter him here.
Even though this man was the master of the Spirit Transfer Pagoda's East Sea City branch, his usual busy schedule made such a chance meeting nearly impossible. This time...
It really was quite a coincidence.
"A senior from the Spirit Transfer Pagoda..."
"Luo Chuan really knows everyone, doesn't he?"
Wu Zhangkong couldn't help but remark in silence, feeling that this most outstanding student of his held countless secrets he knew nothing about.
"I saw your performance in the Spirit Ascension Platform earlier. Truly worthy of being the little genius I recognized at first sight."
"Luo Chuan, after three years, I still want to ask you the same question I did before. Would you be willing..."
"To join the Spirit Transfer Pagoda?"
Nan Ye looked at the boy before him, his face carrying a hint of emotion as his thoughts momentarily drifted to the past. He remembered saying these exact words during their first meeting too.
He wondered if things would be different this time...
"Old man."
"Luo Chuan belongs to me. He won't be following you to the East Sea City Spirit Transfer Pagoda."
Before Tang Luochuan could respond, Gu Yue had already stepped protectively in front of him, producing a token from her hand.
Two characters were clearly engraved upon it: Heavenly Phoenix.
"Belongs to you? You are..."
"You're Miss Gu Yue!"
Nan Ye's face initially showed confusion, but he quickly recognized the token—it was the identity token of Leng Yaoju, the deputy pagoda master from headquarters.
No wonder she seemed familiar! So this was the Miss Gu Yue whom the deputy pagoda master had instructed him to pay special attention to!
If that was the case, then the Tang Luochuan she was protecting...
Did he belong to the deputy pagoda master?
"..."
"Gu Yue."
"I belong to you?"
Meanwhile, Tang Luochuan looked at Gu Yue with some bewilderment, unable to hide the helplessness on his face at her words.
The way she phrased that...
Sounded rather ambiguous, didn't it?
(End of Chapter)