That night, Emperor Dai Tianling of the Star Luo Empire hosted a grand banquet in the royal palace to welcome the visiting delegation and wash away the dust of their travels with a lavish feast.
Yunze, however, had no interest in such occasions. Wherever he went, the formalities made him uncomfortable. So he found a polite excuse to decline the invitation and didn't attend the banquet.
That evening, except for Yunze and Gu Yuena, all other members of the delegation—including Di Tian—went to the royal banquet.
Yunze and Gu Yuena instead spent the night wandering through the streets of Star Luo City, which looked quite beautiful at night.
The streets were bustling and crowded, full of honking soul-powered cars mingling with old-style buildings and traditional clothing—creating a strange yet charming contrast.Under the glow of neon lights, the streets remained brightly lit, making walking easy even at night.
As the two walked through the crowd, they occasionally stopped whenever they found something interesting.
Passing through a food street, Gu Yuena already had a serving of fried potatoes in her hand—crispy golden slices sprinkled with chili powder, smelling delicious.
And so, while others were dining at a national banquet, the two of them simply strolled through the streets together.
In the following days, Secretary-General Pan Wen and the other envoys representing the Federation were quite busy—they had many matters to deal with.Meanwhile, the members of the Sun Moon Royal Academy and Shrek Academy were much more relaxed. Having already registered for the Youth Soul Master Tournament, and with five days still left before the competition began, they had nothing urgent to do.
On the day before the tournament, Yunze's soul power naturally reached a breakthrough—he advanced to Level 40.
Even after his breakthrough, he still didn't form spirit rings through conventional fusion. Instead, he continued to rely on spirit souls.Each additional spirit soul was equivalent to another mecha under his direct control, increasing his power accordingly.Once he had five mechas, he could even set up a simple combat formation, maximizing their combined strength.
Such formations allowed mechas to operate in unison rather than fighting individually—producing results greater than the sum of their parts.
His current spiritual points exceeded two thousand—comparable to the mid-stage Spirit Sea Realm—so fusing another spirit soul posed no problem.The Spirit Sea Realm—"the mind as vast as the sea"—represented advanced spiritual power.
According to data from the Spirit Pagoda, early-stage Spirit Sea Realm cultivators could normally sustain five yellow spirit souls, or three purple, or one black.Upon reaching mid-to-late Spirit Sea Realm, they could support one purple and one black spirit soul simultaneously.
Of course, these were general standards applying to most soul masters. Exceptions existed—such as Twin Martial Soul users, some of whom could attach rings to both martial souls as early as the Soul Ancestor or Soul King stage, reaching three to four spirit souls in total, including purple or even black ones.That clearly deviated from the Spirit Pagoda's standard data.
Most Soul Ancestors and Soul Kings were indeed at the Spirit Sea level. Gu Yuena, however, had already reached Spirit Abyss Realm while still at the Soul Ancestor stage—a true exception.
Yunze's case was even more unusual. His soul strength was extraordinary, so spirit souls imposed almost no spiritual pressure on him.
In theory, that meant there was no upper limit to the number of spirit souls he could absorb—no matter how many, he could withstand the burden.Of course, that was only in theory. Practically speaking, he estimated that he could handle up to eighteen spirit souls—enough to fully equip both his martial souls.
He didn't plan to absorb that many anyway. For now, his limited power made it necessary to rely on external aids. Once his own strength grew, he would no longer chase quantity and would stop fusing recklessly.
That afternoon, Yunze and Gu Yuena went together to the Star Luo City Spirit Pagoda.Both the Star Luo and Dou Ling continents had their own Spirit Pagoda branches—and on those continents, their influence was even higher than within the Federation itself.
The one in Star Luo City served as the headquarters for the entire continent's branch, standing twenty-eight stories high.
While shorter than the Federation's headquarters tower, it was taller than all local branches—a symbolic design.
Inside, the layout was similar to other towers, though the decor reflected the Star Luo continent's aesthetic.
Gu Yuena presented a token given by Leng Yaozhu, which served as her personal insignia—valid at any Spirit Pagoda.
Upon seeing it, the staff immediately treated them with utmost respect and reported the visit to the Tower Master.
After learning the purpose of their visit, Zhang Geyang, the Tower Master, sent a senior deacon to receive them instead of coming personally.His status was not beneath Leng Yaozhu's; if he personally appeared for her token, it would hurt his own dignity.
When they met the senior deacon, Zhang Yu, Gu Yuena got straight to the point—she wanted a second spirit soul, preferably a ten-thousand-year fire attribute one.
Having taken a Breath-Concealing Pill, her true soul power couldn't be sensed. Zhang Yu assumed she was a quasi–Soul Ancestor.Given the distance from the Federation—tens of thousands of kilometers away—news traveled slowly. They recognized only the authority of the token, knowing nothing of who Gu Yuena really was.
"Hmm… I don't think the Intermediate Ascension Tower has any top-tier fire-type spirit souls," Zhang Yu recalled carefully.
"But the Spirit Soul Tower might have one. Would you like to try there?"
The so-called Spirit Soul Tower was a special structure containing multiple layers, each guarded by real, high-quality spirit souls.
When a soul master defeated a layer's guardian spirit soul, they could choose to absorb it. If unsatisfied, they could challenge the next floor.
The Tower's system automatically calibrated opponents based on the soul master's data—ensuring they encountered compatible spirit souls and wouldn't waste their effort.However, the ideal match was rarely on the first floor; one often had to climb higher.
Spirit souls obtained this way were almost always superior to those purchased directly, and challengers enjoyed a 50% discount on the absorption fee.
Such towers existed only in the headquarters of each continent's Spirit Pagoda.
The Star Luo Spirit Soul Tower had eighty-eight floors, fewer than the Federation's one hundred and eight, but still substantial.These "floors" represented virtual levels within a special dimension—the real structure was only about ten meters tall.
"Would you like to give it a try?" Gu Yuena turned to Yunze. Both of them already understood how the Spirit Soul Tower worked."Sure," Yunze nodded. He'd never been in one before—this was a good chance to see it for himself.
"Please follow me," Zhang Yu said, leading the two toward the entrance.
The Spirit Soul Tower wasn't open to just anyone. Without Leng Yaozhu's token, even mentioning it would have been impossible, let alone entering.
"The guardian spirit souls are generated randomly by the system," Zhang Yu explained along the way. "Which floor holds the one best suited for you depends entirely on your luck."
Yunze and Gu Yuena listened quietly without interrupting.
The Spirit Pagoda had many strict rules about what could and couldn't be disclosed, and details about the Spirit Soul Tower's structure were classified—asking wouldn't help.
Under Zhang Yu's guidance, the two soon arrived at the entrance, stepping into a golden portal of light.
(End of Chapter)