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At this moment, Yao Yao's mind was racing.
"This big guy can control six bodies at the same time. If he were in the Dreamscape, I wonder how much work he could help with!"
"I must keep him around. Then I won't have to organize data anymore~~~"
With her two tiny hands crossed over her chest, Yao Yao began her persuasion.
Surprisingly, once Yao Yao appeared, the six Phantom Beasts stopped their attacks.
Seeing this, Xu Yuan gave Yao Yao the opportunity to continue speaking.
Na'er also looked at Yao Yao in surprise.
This little thing turned out to be quite useful at critical moments.
She hadn't formed a contract with Yao Yao, so she couldn't understand what it was saying, which only made her more curious.
Xu Yuan, on the other hand, could roughly understand. However, Yao Yao's words were simple—things like "live a life of luxury"—nothing particularly sophisticated.
Yet, strangely, when Yao Yao spoke, the effect on the Phantom Beasts seemed much greater than when Xu Yuan had spoken.
Could it be that his charisma wasn't enough?
For the first time, Xu Yuan doubted himself.
No, it must be because I first demonstrated my overwhelming spiritual power. Only then did Yao Yao's persuasion seem effective.
Without the threat of force, these Phantom Beasts probably wouldn't have paid any attention to Yao Yao's words.
Under Yao Yao's persuasion, one of the Phantom Beasts roared toward Xu Yuan.
Among the six Phantom Beasts, four dispersed, leaving the two main bodies to slowly move toward Xu Yuan.
The two main bodies of the Phantom Beasts let out simultaneous roars.
Their spiritual power fluctuated, carrying an intoxicating and hypnotic quality, but more importantly, a powerful impact.
A mental attack?
Xu Yuan immediately intercepted it with the Dreamscape. Wrapping himself in the Dreamscape and integrating essence, energy, and spirit into it made his substitute secret technique's defense even more effective.
Invisible sound waves reverberated throughout the hall. Even Na'er had to cover her ears and retreat to a distant corner.
However, despite the simultaneous mental attacks from the two Phantom Beasts, Xu Yuan remained calm and composed. His overwhelming spiritual power gradually contracted but remained steady.
The two Phantom Beasts were filled with doubt and suspicion.
Looking at Xu Yuan, it was clear that even he was encountering this situation for the first time.
"I told you, my brain surpasses yours. My spiritual power talent far exceeds your imagination," Xu Yuan said calmly.
He gazed at the two silent Phantom Beasts and once again proposed the contract.
"Become my soul spirit. I can lead you to new heights. After becoming a true soul spirit of a soul master, your cultivation years can continue to grow. You can think of it as continuing your training. And after the soul master dies, with today's technology, your soul spirit can be preserved. If you make good use of this cycle, soul spirit technology can actually offer another form of immortality for soul beasts. It's just that humans didn't ask for the soul beasts' consent and resorted to forceful means. But now that things have come to this, what's the point of resisting? It's better to accept reality early and strive for higher cultivation."
Xu Yuan spoke at length.
Yao Yao's eyes sparkled with admiration. As expected of Xu Yuan—he truly knew how to speak persuasively.
It quietly took notes, feeling that its future underlings would also need this kind of ideological enlightenment.
It was well aware that there would be more subordinates in the future, so preparing in advance wouldn't hurt.
Xu Yuan quietly observed the two Phantom Beasts before him, waiting for them to make their decision.
"I can assure you, I am likely the best soul master you've encountered in recent years in terms of spiritual power talent. I am also the most talented soul master you've ever met overall," Xu Yuan declared confidently.
If they missed this chance now, there might not be another one in the future.
Of course, Xu Yuan was cautious and only mentioned "recent years" because he wasn't sure whether Gu Yue might suddenly appear here later on.
The two Phantom Beasts had already entered a state of deep thought, clearly intrigued.
After a while, the two Phantom Beasts slowly bowed down. Their main bodies dispersed, leaving behind a massive orb of soul spirit light.
Inside the orb was the soul spirit of the Phantom Beast.
Xu Yuan extended his spiritual power into it and finalized the contract.
"Na'er, let's directly fuse with the soul spirit."
"Alright."
Xu Yuan sat cross-legged, and three soul rings appeared around him.
The three purple soul rings emitted a noble purple glow. Yao Yao landed on his head, legs crossed, curiously observing the process of soul spirit fusion.
"This big guy is really strong. For now, I can't compete with him physically. I'll have to reason with him to… um, teach him the glorious concept of labor."
Through the soul spirit contract, Yao Yao could clearly feel the immense spiritual origin of the Phantom Beast—far beyond what it could compare to.
Outside the three glowing purple soul rings, a larger, pitch-black soul ring gradually condensed. It eventually settled outside Xu Yuan's three soul rings, rapidly contracting to envelop the three purple ones.
Soul power surged, and Xu Yuan's soul fluctuations rose.
He broke through Level 40.
It was unclear exactly what level he reached after the breakthrough.
Most likely, it was Level 41, or at most Level 42.
When a soul beast was transformed into a soul spirit, there would be some soul power feedback upon initial fusion. However, for subsequent second or third soul rings, there would be no such feedback.
Even during the initial fusion, the amount of soul power a soul spirit could provide was minimal. Without a physical body, soul spirits now existed in a special form, maintained by arrays to prevent decay, but they lacked surplus soul power.
On the other hand, during the Ascension Platform process, soul spirits absorbed spiritual energy, and soul masters would receive some feedback in return.
Though the amount of feedback was relatively small.
Opening his eyes, Xu Yuan saw Na'er's face.
"Fusing a soul spirit takes so long?" Na'er complained.
Hearing Na'er's complaints, Xu Yuan felt somewhat speechless.
You absorbed a dragon-type soul spirit—it was naturally easy for you.
But I'm dealing with the Phantom Beast's stellar attribute. There's bound to be some minor mutations. How could it possibly be that fast?
Xu Yuan stood up and couldn't resist flicking Na'er's forehead.
"Let's go back to the academy."
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Sea God Island
"It seems you two are quite satisfied with your gains this time," Yun Ming said, looking at his two disciples' expressions. He felt a slight sense of relief.
For soul masters, obtaining soul spirits was equally important.
In the past, soul masters had to hunt soul beasts in their habitats to obtain soul rings, wasting time and relying heavily on luck.
Now, with the existence of soul spirits, it was effortless to fuse with one immediately after breaking through.
However, truly outstanding and rare soul spirits still required luck.
Especially ten-thousand-year soul spirits. Charging through the Spirit Pagoda also depended on luck.
The Spirit Pagoda contained countless soul spirits. The number of soul spirits stored on the same floor was vast, and different people might encounter entirely different soul spirits.
If someone charged through thirty floors without encountering a spirit-attribute soul spirit, it could only mean their luck was abysmal.
And such a situation was entirely possible.
"Mm, Na'er obtained a ten-thousand-year Thorn Dragon soul spirit, and mine is a Phantom Beast close to twenty thousand years."
"A Phantom Beast?" Yun Ming was surprised and looked at Xu Yuan.
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