"Yes—yes! That Nine-Tailed Flame Fox soul spirit really appeared on the twenty-third floor!" Zhang Yu confirmed with certainty.
"Have them come out immediately! That soul spirit mustn't be absorbed by anyone else!" Zhang Geyang said anxiously.
The Nine-Tailed Flame Fox—one of the top-tier branches of the Nine-Tailed Fox species—was a super soul beast.
With extreme fire attributes, peerless speed, and nine powerful, flexible tails, the Nine-Tailed Flame Fox stood among the very apex even within the ranks of super soul beasts.
Aside from its strength, it was also exceedingly rare. Other soul beasts were rare because they were hunted to near extinction, but the Nine-Tailed Flame Fox was naturally scarce. It had never appeared on the Federation's side, and throughout the history of the Star Luo Continent, only two had ever been recorded.
One appeared thousands of years ago—it was directly slain and its soul turned into a soul ring.
The second was discovered later, but since no Soul Master suitable for absorbing it could be found at the time, it was instead made into a soul spirit.
However, after being turned into a soul spirit, it showed none of a fox's supposed gentleness—its temperament was violent and bloodthirsty. It repeatedly slaughtered other soul spirits within the Spirit Ascension Tower.
Instead of helping stabilize the tower's environment, it destabilized it even further.
After discussion, the elders decided to isolate it—locking it within the Soul Spirit Tower alone, to prevent it from causing more havoc.
Though troublesome, its power and rarity were beyond dispute.
Such a soul spirit naturally couldn't be allowed to fall into an outsider's hands. Zhang Geyang had long since considered it his private property.
He might not need it himself, but he intended to save it for his descendants—it could never be given away.
That was why, upon learning of its sudden appearance, he had been so agitated—fearing that those two people might absorb it.
Zhang Yu, being from the Zhang family himself and one of Zhang Geyang's confidants, knew full well how important the Nine-Tailed Flame Fox was to him. That was why he reported it immediately.
"Yes, sir!" Zhang Yu nodded quickly and, after hanging up, sprinted toward the control room. His pace was fast and urgent.
"These two are quite lucky, to have randomly encountered the Nine-Tailed Flame Fox," Zhang Geyang muttered.
He didn't intend to go in person—Zhang Yu could handle it. Just two kids—how hard could it be to brush them off?
He could simply come up with some excuse later and offer them a better soul spirit as compensation.
Just then, ding!—a screen that had been silent lit up.
Zhang Geyang's attention was drawn immediately. The message was from the Federation Headquarters.
"So Gu Yuena is actually Leng Yaozhu's disciple…" Zhang Geyang's eyes widened in surprise as he read.
He knew Leng Yaozhu's temper all too well. He hadn't expected that fiery-tempered woman to have actually taken a disciple!
"No wonder she was carrying her token," Zhang Geyang murmured.
Inside the twenty-third floor, Yun Ze and Gu Yuena stood before the Nine-Tailed Flame Fox, both nodding with satisfaction.
"This is the one," Yun Ze said, sensing immediately the extraordinary aura coming from the creature.
Within this Soul Spirit Tower, it was clearly one of the strongest fire-attribute soul spirits—there was no need to search further.
Gu Yuena released her martial soul. The aura of a quasi-Dragon God surged out like a tidal wave, sweeping toward the Nine-Tailed Flame Fox.
The fox, which had emerged full of aggression, its furry face twisted into a vicious snarl, froze mid-step.
It had not killed in years—pent-up bloodlust burned within it—but the instant Gu Yuena's aura struck, it was as if invisible chains bound its limbs.
The violent glint in its eyes turned to terror. From the depths of its bloodline, it felt an inescapable suppression.
Its claws loosened their grip on the ground as it backed away, eyes wide with human-like fear.
The Nine-Tailed Flame Fox was an exceptionally intelligent beast—its spiritual wisdom rivaled that of humans. Its gaze carried a distinctly human emotion.
Its bloodline quality was extremely high—comparable to mythical beasts such as the Qilin, Dragon, and Phoenix.
Yet even so, before the quasi-Dragon God's aura, it trembled, helplessly overcome by instinctive fear from deep within its blood.
Of course, the Qilin and Phoenix of this Douluo World were far weaker than the true divine beasts Yun Ze had known in his previous world—the resemblance was only in name.
From Yun Ze's body, a phoenix burst forth, letting out a clear cry as it spread its wings and hovered above him.
Gu Yuena's bloodline aura did not affect the phoenix illusion at all—it was as if the two existed on completely different planes.
Just like before, when facing the Molten Lord, the phoenix once again extended its beak toward the Nine-Tailed Flame Fox, performing an absorption gesture.
At the phoenix's inhalation, the flames covering the fox's body went out of control, sucked away into its fiery belly.
The loss of its flames startled the Nine-Tailed Flame Fox even more. Terror flooded its eyes—it became agitated and restless, retreating in panic.
Moments ago it had desperately longed to escape this place, but now it wished only to retreat back into its confinement.
Unfortunately, that was no longer possible. Once outside, a soul spirit could either kill or be killed—there was no returning.
"Looks like we need to finish this quickly," Yun Ze murmured, sensing a warning premonition. His intuition told him not to waste time.
His body shot forward—pieces of armor materialized one after another, soon covering him entirely. Flames surged around the battle armor, radiating majestic power.
Within the Spirit Ascension Tower, battle armor could be used freely—the amplification effects were nearly the same as outside.
Now that Yun Ze's soul power had reached level forty, his full-armored strength was formidable—he could unleash nearly sixty percent of his combat power.
The surrounding energy fluctuations became intense—the very air ignited under the heat, crackling audibly.
"Grrr…" Seeing the human rush forward, the Nine-Tailed Flame Fox bared its fangs, feigning ferocity—as if to say, come closer, and I'll devour you!
But its bravado was hollow. Under the twin pressures of the quasi-Dragon God's suppression and the phoenix's absorption, its strength was barely a tenth of normal.
Even if Yun Ze hadn't known that, he wouldn't have been intimidated—let alone now, when he fully understood.
He clenched his right hand; a flaming sword condensed in his palm, its sharp aura merging with blazing fire.
The fox, desperate, tried to flee to the side, swinging its tails like fiery whips to fend him off.
Yun Ze shifted his stance and slashed—a sweeping arc of blazing sword light tore through the air, unstoppable, carrying the will to sever all before it.
The Nine-Tailed Flame Fox's defenses were weakened; the blade met no resistance. In an instant, its tails were sliced apart one by one.
A single, simple-looking strike—yet it carried terrifying sword intent and surging soul power, its lethality immense.
Before such a blow, the fox's tails seemed fragile, collapsing under the pressure.
"Grrr—!" The Nine-Tailed Flame Fox howled in agony. Its tails were tied to its very essence—losing several at once dealt a grievous blow to its core.
Those it swung in retaliation were severed just as easily, unable to stop the sword's advance.
The sword light continued forward, striking directly upon its body.
[End of Chapter 110]