"Child, what is your martial soul?" the Spirit Master asked, his tone now one of professional courtesy. "Within the Aolai City Spirit Pagoda branch, we have seventy-three different ten-year soul spirits in stock. I can help you select one that best complements your martial soul's attributes."
"My martial soul is a Lizard Dragon," Yao Xuan replied promptly.
The Spirit Master's eyebrows lifted slightly. "A Lizard Dragon? A formidable beast soul, indeed. Given its draconic nature, I would recommend the ten-year Black Rock Serpent soul spirit. Serpents and dragons share an ancestral lineage; the compatibility should be excellent, leading to a smoother fusion and a more potent soul skill."
"Thank you for your guidance," Yao Xuan said without a moment's hesitation. "I will choose the Black Rock Serpent."
For Yao Xuan, this choice was a triviality, a mere formality on a checklist. This soul spirit was nothing but a temporary key to unlock the Soul Master realm. Once he advanced, the system's mission would be complete, rewarding him with the truly priceless [Infinite Growth Soul Spirit]. This serpent was a placeholder, soon to be discarded. Accepting the Spirit Master's suggestion was the path of least resistance.
"Very well. Follow me."
The Spirit Master led him to a chamber diagonally across the hall. This room was far more expansive than the mental testing facility. Dominating the center was a colossal cylindrical apparatus, five meters tall and three meters in radius, humming with a low energy. It reminded Yao Xuan of the incubation tanks from his past life, but instead of nurturing life, it served as a vault for it.
Inside the transparent cylinder, a viscous, emerald-green nutrient solution swirled slowly. Suspended within it were dozens of transparent spheres, each about thirty centimeters in diameter, each glowing with a soft, internal light—the captured essence of soul beasts.
The Spirit Master manipulated a control panel. With a soft hiss, a single white-tinged spirit orb descended through a conduit and landed in a waiting receptacle.
"Press this button to release the soul spirit," the Spirit Master instructed, placing the orb on a nearby oval-shaped device. "Our research at the Spirit Pagoda has shown that a fusion initiated by the Soul Master themselves, upon the spirit's release, results in a more complete and harmonious bond. You must perform this step personally."
"I understand," Yao Xuan nodded. He stepped forward and pressed the indicated button.
A gentle yellow light emanated from the device, bathing the spirit orb. The orb's surface shimmered, its opacity fading to transparency, revealing the life force contained within. With a faint shhh, the sphere split neatly in half. At its center lay the soul spirit—a serpentine form about sixty centimeters long, as thick as a man's wrist. Its body was coiled tightly, its scales a dull, rocky black, and it seemed to be in a state of dormant animation.
"This is your soul spirit," the Spirit Master announced. "A ten-year Black Rock Serpent. When you are ready, you may begin the fusion and officially advance to the Soul Master realm."
"I am ready." Yao Xuan's voice was firm. Fusing with a mere ten-year spirit was a trivial challenge for his willpower and the immense capacity of his Ancestral Dragon bloodline. This was just a procedural step, a bridge to be crossed and then left behind.
"Then follow me. The Spirit Pagoda provides private cultivation rooms for our clients to undergo their fusion in peace and with environmental support."
The cultivation room was a compact, twenty-square-meter space. The walls were inscribed with intricate soul guidance arrays that pulsed with a soft light. As Yao Xuan entered, the arrays activated in sequence, and he immediately felt the density of ambient soul power in the room skyrocket. A subtle, calming fragrance filled the air, clearing his mind and sharpening his focus.
'Let's get this over with.'
He sat cross-legged on the floor, placing the open spirit orb before him. He took a series of deep, calming breaths, emptying his mind of all distraction. Then, he reached his right hand into the orb.
Though low-level soul spirits lacked true physical form, existing as concentrations of energy and will, his fingers registered a sensation—a warmth, a faint, pulsing vitality.
With a thought, a flash of nine-colored light coalesced in the air before him. The Ancestral Dragon Martial Soul materialized, its form shimmering with primordial authority.
The effect on the Black Rock Serpent was instantaneous and violent.
The previously dormant spirit shuddered violently. Its coiled form tightened into a knot of pure terror. The simple, bestial consciousness within it was faced with an existence that was its absolute superior, its progenitor, its natural predator. It did not struggle; it could only cower, its energy signature dimming in submission.
"Merge."
At Yao Xuan's mental command, the Ancestral Dragon Martial Soul lunged forward not with violence, but with overwhelming dominance. It did not attack; it simply consumed. Its maw opened, and with a gentle inhalation, it drew the cowering serpentine spirit into itself. The Black Rock Serpent's form dissolved into a stream of white light and was absorbed without a trace of resistance.
The moment the spirit entered his martial soul, the fusion began in earnest. Yao Xuan closed his eyes, guiding the process with the techniques drilled into him at Red Mountain Academy.
Energy erupted within him.
The soul power in his dantian, previously a calm lake, now raged like a stormy sea, crashing again and again against the intangible barrier that separated a Soul Warrior from a Soul Master. With each wave, the barrier cracked and splintered, the fractures spreading like spiderwebs.
CRICK-CRACK!
An internal sound, clear and sharp, echoed through his very being. The barrier shattered.
A profound sense of weightlessness washed over him. Simultaneously, a tremendous suction force bloomed within his newly expanded dantian, voraciously pulling the thick ambient soul power from the room into his body, where it was refined and assimilated at a breathtaking rate.
At the same time, a searing heat ignited along his spine. It was the Ancestral Dragon bloodline, stirred by this milestone of advancement. Torrents of scorching energy, vibrant with nine-colored light, surged from the depths of his marrow, flooding his bloodstream and racing to every cell, every fiber of his being.
Had he been able to look inward, he would have seen a miraculous transformation. The energy wove through him, forming an incredibly complex, luminous grid—a tapestry of primal power and cosmic law. Where this nine-colored lattice passed, his cells convulsed, not in pain, but in ecstatic rebirth. They drank greedily from this wellspring of origin, their structures optimizing, their potential exploding. His very life level was undergoing a qualitative leap, his aura deepening, condensing, becoming immeasurably more profound and powerful.
He was no longer just a boy with a powerful bloodline. He was a Soul Master, and the dragon within him had taken its first, true breath.