TN: And we're back! sorry for the week long hiatus, it was not intentional since I had to get my right leg in a cast after tripping 3 floors down a stairwell (like an idiot ://) and be unable to use my PC setup upstairs BUT I should be OK now.
Anyways, Thanks for Arcanic Madness, WeissAkumu and WolfWTF for becoming as Supporters!,
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Perhaps because the shock had been too great, Huohuo—despite crying in terror—forgot to throw away the Curio in her hand.
Thus, the little green fox clutched the command pennant and ran around the shop, dragging billowing black smoke behind her. As the smoke surged, ever more vicious specters poured forth, instantly blotting out the morning light inside the store.
Even worse, these blue-faced, fang-baring evil spirits all followed close behind her, as loyal as the personal guards of a venerable old general.
"Help!" Huohuo screamed in panic.
"W-what kind of demon is this?" Qingque, though generally too grounded in reality to truly fear such things, still felt her heart flutter at the sudden appearance of these grotesque creatures.
She raised a piece of Jade Abacus from her pocket, infused it with Path energy, and hurled it into the cloud of ghosts.
"Idle Tile, move!"
The attack that was usually so reliable achieved very little this time.
The tile blasted a small hole in the ghostly mist, but it was instantly filled back in, clearly dealing no real damage at all.
"Damn it, where are all these things even coming from?!" Qingque cursed.
Tail's flames roared fiercely as he charged back and forth around Huohuo, smashing the approaching evils into fragments.
But they quickly reassembled, and even more malicious entities continued to emerge.
Just as everyone was at a loss, Sylvester shouted, "Huohuo, quick—shout 'collect'!"
"Huh? Will that even work?"
Huohuo was scared witless, her once-lovely pupils nearly washed out to a blank white.
But her instinct to survive drove her to obey.
She cried out, "Collect!"
The command pennant released a barely perceptible suction force, strong enough only to pull Huohuo's drooping fox ears upright.
Yet to the evil spirits, that single word was like an unquestionable decree. Like a great whale drinking in the sea, the pennant instantly sucked away all the unsettling black mist and ghostly haze.
Seeing the army of specters that had just been wreaking havoc vanish in the blink of an eye, Tail burst into joy.
"Hahaha! Let's see you keep acting tough now—eh?"
Mid-laugh, his own form began to stretch under the pull of the suction.
Struggling desperately, he roared, "Hey, hey, hey! What's going on?! I'm not a ghost!"
The pennant seemed determined to absorb him too, lumping him together with those ugly things.
"Oi! You busted flag, look carefully! I'm a Heliobus! A spirit of stellar fire—not the same breed as those monsters!"
At the critical moment, Sylvester shouted urgently, "Huohuo, quick—say 'stop'!"
This time Huohuo didn't hesitate at all. She called out clearly, "Stop!"
The suction vanished, and all the evil entities were dealt with.
"It's finally over… that scared me to death."
Huohuo let out a trembling sigh of relief.
Now that the danger had passed, her knock-kneed legs—already shaking—gave out completely. She slid down onto the floor, landing in a perfect duck sit.
Qingque, unusually focused on her job for once, wiped imaginary sweat from her brow. "That thing is seriously creepy. Even my Path power barely worked. If a Disciple of Abundance used it, someone could really suffer badly."
"Hey, hey, hey—trash-can merchant!" Tail turned on Sylvester, bristling with indignation. "What kind of cursed junk is this? We don't want it anymore."
"This is clearly a quality issue. If this thing had actually hurt the little fox, I wouldn't let it go so easily. Hurry up and refund us."
Faced with Tail's demands, Sylvester replied irritably, "Sure, I don't mind. As long as you're not afraid of losing out."
He turned his arm in a circle through the air and said to Huohuo, "You hit the jackpot."
"This Curio is a top-tier item specifically designed to counter soul-based attacks. In all the known star seas, there isn't a second one like it."
"The evil spirits just now were actually subjugated by it. Once you obtained this Curio, you automatically became their master. They came out to pay homage to their new owner—unfortunately, they scared you instead."
"Huh? S-so that's how it was?"
Huohuo blinked, looking at the small pennant in her hand.
She felt a bit guilty—but recalling how terrifying those things looked, she quickly shook her head.
Tail, meanwhile, grew thoughtful. "So, by that logic… this thing is actually really strong?"
"Not just really strong," Sylvester narrowed his eyes and wagged a finger.
"It's outrageously strong."
"In one world of the universe, there exists a group known as soul cultivators. They don't focus on destroying physical matter, but instead practice techniques that directly attack the soul."
He pointed at the pennant in Huohuo's hand. "This is the culmination of their art."
"Not only that—you've also received a complete cultivation method for strengthening the soul. It's already been reinforced to the same level as your Path power. You just need to recall it slightly, and you'll find it."
Following his words, Huohuo closed her eyes and focused on concepts related to the soul.
Sure enough, streams of profound text surfaced in her mind.
"It's real!" she exclaimed in delight. "It's completely different from the combat methods I've learned before, but it feels incredibly powerful."
Sylvester smiled and nodded. "Its physical damage is only average, but against the soul, it's utterly devastating."
"It can shatter a person's soul with ease. With a single light wave, it could turn a sturdy adult into a vegetable."
"If the target is a mid-level Pathstrider, it might take a bit more effort—but still less than thirty percent of its power."
Hearing this, Huohuo's mouth fell open in shock.
"Then… does that mean even if I meet a top-tier Pathstrider—even a judge like Judge Xueyi—I could easily defeat them?"
"More than that," Sylvester said decisively. "Even against an Emanator, you'd still have a fighting chance."
"After all, there's no proper soul cultivation system in the current universe. While strengthening Path power also strengthens the soul, no one knows how to use it."
"It's like a group of ferocious brutes charging at you with their fists. You might not beat them in hand-to-hand combat—but you're holding a loaded gun. The outcome speaks for itself."
Tail exclaimed in awe, "Damn… that's really something else. Truly one of a kind."
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