The next day, the Great Star Dou Forest seemed to have returned to its usual tranquility. The unusual movement from the core area the previous night hadn't persisted.
Under Cai Mei'er's leadership, the team continued deeper inward to find suitable targets for students needing soul rings.
They encountered Blue Sea Spirit Apes, Purple Shadow Lions, and a rare ten-thousand-year Ghost-Faced Butterfly.
After several battles, they successfully obtained an appropriate soul ring for Mo Xuan in the team, an auxiliary-type soul master.
The ten-thousand-year Ghost-Faced Butterfly was swiftly killed by Gu La and preserved using a specially designed soul device capable of temporarily storing soul ring energy.
This was a technique he'd learned from Xuan Ziwen, intended for Zhou Sichen who was about to break through to fifty levels.
Just as everyone thought the journey was nearing a successful conclusion, they intruded upon the territory of a ten-thousand-year Blood Red Baboon troop—or rather, the baboons actively sought them out and launched an attack.
The lead Blood Red Baboon King was exceptionally massive, with a cultivation age of fifty thousand years. More notably, its eyes flickered with unusual red light, seemingly possessing characteristics of a spiritual-type soul beast.
Huo Yuhao's eyes instantly lit up. Spiritual-attribute soul beasts were rare to begin with, let alone one with such high cultivation age that appeared to have undergone beneficial mutation.
He immediately decided this would be his fifth soul ring target!
Gu La's eyes flickered slightly as he recalled the original storyline.
Originally, Huo Yuhao would have been prevented from absorbing this beast by the Three-Eyed Golden Lion transformed as Wang Qiu'er, and instead obtained a purer spiritual-attribute soul beast, the Silver Brave Beast, gaining an extremely practical "Duplication" soul skill.
"This time, without Wang Qiu'er interfering, I wonder what soul skill he'll gain..." Gu La felt curious.
The battle was practically without suspense. With the team's coordinated efforts—especially Gu La slightly revealing his strength to suppress them—they quickly subdued the frenzied Blood Red Baboon troop.
Huo Yuhao cleanly dispatched the Blood Red Baboon King and began absorbing its black soul ring that flickered with violent red light.
Huo Yuhao's physique had been strengthened multiple times. Although absorbing a fifty thousand-year soul ring put him under pressure, there was no significant risk.
Soon after, he successfully fused the soul ring and opened his eyes.
However, his eyes carried a trace of undeniable disappointment.
"The soul skill is... 'Battle Intent Surge.'"
Huo Yuhao explained to everyone, "It's a spiritual-attribute variant of the Blood Red Baboon's bloodthirsty nature."
"By releasing special spiritual fluctuations, it stimulates allies' combat instincts and willpower, temporarily enhancing their battle intent and mental focus. For my own direct combat power... the improvement isn't significant."
This soul skill was undoubtedly extremely useful in team battles, greatly enhancing the team's overall combat capability.
But for Huo Yuhao, who pursued ultimate enhancement of personal strength, it wasn't the most ideal choice.
Still, he quickly adjusted his mindset.
"Spiritual-attribute soul beasts are too rare. Finding a fifty thousand-year one is already fortunate—I shouldn't be greedy. This soul skill will be very significant in team combat."
Gu La heard this and nodded inwardly.
"It seems the protagonist blessed by fate doesn't get everything his way either. I've changed so many plotlines—even his soul ring choices have been affected... the power of fate correction has limits. It can't conjure a perfect soul beast out of thin air for him."
Just as everyone had obtained the soul rings they needed and prepared to leave the Great Star Dou Forest, an unexpected change occurred.
A group of uninvited guests chased after scattered Blood Red Baboons and appeared before them. Three soul masters clad in black robes with cold, sinister auras—Zhongli Tian, Zhongli Di, Zhongli Ren.
The Three Evil Soul Douluo Brothers of the Holy Spirit Cult. Their martial soul was the Underworld Snake, specializing in torturing and enslaving soul beast spirits, refining them into "beast souls" controlled by themselves.
Vice Dean Cai Mei'er frowned deeply, initially planning to feign friendliness and probe their intentions.
However, since Gu La had killed three Holy Spirit Cult Titled Douluos in the Sun Moon Empire, his portrait and characteristics had already spread throughout the Holy Spirit Cult. The Zhongli brothers recognized him at a glance.
"Angel Gu La!"
The three exclaimed simultaneously, their expressions changing drastically. Without hesitation, they released their Underworld Snake martial souls.
Instantly, cold winds howled. Countless twisted, painful beast soul phantoms radiating bloodthirsty resentment circled around them, emitting soundless shrieks that made the surroundings resemble the netherworld.
Cai Mei'er's Level 94 Titled Douluo aura erupted instantly to intimidate them. But Gu La stepped forward, blocking her.
"Vice Dean, let me handle this."
A flash of light appeared in Gu La's hand as he condensed a scorching Sun Holy Sword. A smile of pure delight—like a hunter seeing prey—appeared on his face.
"I never expected such a pleasant surprise before leaving. Evil soul masters, are you ready to face the judgment of light?"
Zhongli Tian, as the eldest brother, forced composure and shouted angrily.
"Gu La! Don't think your Angel martial soul lets you dominate us brothers! We're not ordinary evil soul masters!"
Indeed, the Underworld Snake martial soul itself was merely dark attribute, not Ultimate Evil. But their cultivation method—torturing soul beasts to create and consume beast souls to strengthen themselves—was undoubtedly pure evil.
The three brothers knew Gu La's terrifying reputation well. Daring no reservation, they simultaneously activated Martial Soul True Body.
Three massive Underworld Snake phantoms, constructed from cold soul power, coiled upward. The surrounding beast souls became more solid, forming a strange aura similar to a domain, continuously emitting death waves that weakened enemies' spirit and life force.
However, before Gu La's utterly pure sacred light, all darkness and evil melted like snow in sunlight.
"Holy Sun Angel, attach!"
Brilliant sacred light shot toward the sky. Four black, three red soul rings—seven astonishing rings—circled up from beneath Gu La's feet.
The terrifying pressure from those three blood-red hundred-thousand-year soul rings made the Zhongli brothers gasp, their hearts instantly filled with fear.
"The intelligence was wrong! How could he be a Soul Saint?! With three hundred-thousand-year soul rings?!" The three simultaneously considered retreating.
They tried to unleash their strongest eighth soul skill to force Gu La back and escape. But Gu La gave them no chance.
His sixth soul ring—the vivid, blood-red hundred-thousand-year ring—suddenly lit up.
"To die under a hundred-thousand-year soul skill is your honor," Gu La's voice was cold and authoritative.
"Sixth soul skill · Sun Nuclear Fusion Explosion!"
Boom—!!!
Light and flame elements within several kilometers surged toward Gu La's holy sword as if summoned by a king.
Even without deliberate power accumulation, this strike's might was world-shattering.
A sword slash!
Not a massive light blade, but infinite Ultimate Light and Ultimate Fire compressed into a thirty-meter radius before him, then—detonated!
Indescribable blinding light instantly devoured everything, followed by an earth-shattering explosion.
Light and fire compressed to the extreme released the purest destructive energy. Trees, rocks, soil, even the air within range were instantly vaporized and annihilated.
Only a bottomless, charred crater remained where they stood. Terrifying shockwaves spread outward in rings, snapping trees at the waist in the distance.
When the light faded and dust settled.
Where the Zhongli brothers had stood, only three soul bones emitting intense dark aura—but identical in shape—lay quietly at the crater's bottom.
Gu La slowly descended, casually collecting the three soul bones.
The Holy Sun Angel spirit soul returned to his body, beginning to digest and purify the vast sacred power brought by these three evil Soul Douluos.
Gu La didn't need to increase his soul power level temporarily, so he let the spirit focus on increasing its own cultivation age.
The entire battlefield fell deathly silent.
Cao Jinxuan's mouth hung open. After a long moment, he muttered: "T...team leader... so strong..."
Zhou Sichen swallowed hard, his voice dry: "Do... do we even need to participate? The captain alone... could sweep the entire tournament, right?"
Ning Tian's beautiful eyes were filled with shock. This was the first time she'd so directly felt the terrifying power of dual Ultimate Attribute martial souls.
The thought of recruiting Gu La into the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect that had just arisen in her mind disappeared helplessly—such a heavenly talent could never be subservient to others.
Huo Yuhao was similarly stirred. After two years apart, Gu La's strength had reached heights he could scarcely imagine.
His Ultimate Ice could create large-area freezing effects, but in terms of pure instant killing power compared to Gu La's strike, the gap was obvious.
Vice Dean Cai Mei'er barely suppressed her shock, maintaining her elders' composure as she announced loudly: "Enough. The commotion just now was too great—it might attract powerful soul beasts or even fierce beasts. This place isn't safe to linger. We must leave the Great Star Dou Forest immediately."
Everyone snapped out of their shock, nodding hurriedly. Not daring to delay another moment, they followed Cai Mei'er at top speed toward the forest's outer edge.
On the way out of the Great Star Dou Forest, Gu La flew while studying the three peculiar soul bones obtained from the Zhongli brothers.
A faint golden light flashed imperceptibly in his eyes, and the soul bones' information became clear to him.
"Just as I thought—Three-Life Wolf Ape left leg bones... and three from the same source, all possessing the same soul skill—Teleportation. When the three were fused, they could exchange positions within a certain distance or instantly move to each other's location..."
Gu La murmured to himself, "Pity—this ability is nearly useless to me."
His Psychic move "Teleport" was far more convenient and faster than this soul bone skill, with greater range.
He quickly made his decision, finding Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong'er flying side by side.
"Yuhao, Dong'er."
Gu La called them over, two identical soul bones appearing in his hand.
"These two soul bones dropped from those three brothers—they're from the same set."
"I'm keeping one for Xiao Xiao. Its individual soul skill is Teleportation. If you both fuse them, you can instantly move to each other within a certain distance, or exchange positions."
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong'er's eyes instantly brightened.
As a couple who often fought side by side, they knew the value of such an ability in actual combat. Mutual rescue in critical moments, tactical coordination—everything would reach a new level.
"Gu La, this..." Huo Yuhao's breathing quickened, but then his expression turned troubled. "But... we probably don't have anything valuable enough to exchange for soul bones..."
Soul bones were priceless, especially paired ones with combination skills—they were worth more than any amount of money.
Wang Dong'er also bit her lip. Though extremely eager, she knew Huo Yuhao spoke the truth.
Gu La looked at them calmly.
"No rush. Think about what I might need. Or perhaps some unique secret technique or knowledge could serve as exchange."
Huo Yuhao sank into thought. His treasures—like Ice Empress and Brother Tianmeng—were naturally not something he could trade.
Other things seemed insufficient to match the soul bones' value. Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind—Electrolux's secret technique that he had further refined.
He hesitated, looking at Gu La, then at Wang Dong'er, finally seeming to make up his mind.
He raised his head, looking honestly at Gu La: "Senior Brother Gu, I do have a unique secret technique. It's... a method to form an equal contract with soul beasts, transforming them into soul spirits to assist soul masters in cultivation and provide soul rings."
Wang Dong'er looked at Huo Yuhao in surprise—she knew what this secret technique meant to him.
Huo Yuhao continued, "I had planned to make this public when the time was right in the future, hoping to establish an organization to promote this contract and reduce the killing between soul masters and soul beasts."
"Now, I can give it to you early for research. Though it might not be perfect yet, it contains new possibilities."
A flicker of surprise appeared in Gu La's eyes—he hadn't expected Huo Yuhao would offer this.
This was precisely the original spirit soul contract he'd been curious about.
Though this version wasn't as stable as the Spirit Pagoda's improved version ten thousand years later, its "original" nature might preserve more unregulated, possibility-filled elements—like Jiang Nannan's Ruby Soft Tendon Python spirit soul that could learn its host's soul skills.
When Wang Dong'er heard Huo Yuhao say it was meant to be shared anyway, she also nodded in support of his decision.
Gu La didn't hesitate, nodding.
"Good. Use this secret technique for exchange. I'll research it." He directly tossed the two soul bones to Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao hurriedly caught them, his heart pounding with excitement. Carefully handing one to Wang Dong'er and gripping the other, he said solemnly to Gu La.
"Thank you! I'll organize the detailed cultivation method and precautions for the contract and give it to you when we return."
The trade was sealed, both sides satisfied.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong'er exchanged glances, seeing joy and anticipation in each other's eyes.
Suppressing their excitement, they prepared to find a quiet corner back at Shrek Academy to fuse these Teleportation soul bones that would greatly enhance their power.
Back at Shrek Academy, the group dispersed. Gu La approached Xiao Xiao and handed her a dark green left leg bone.
"Xiao Xiao, this soul bone is for you."
Xiao Xiao had been chatting with Jiang Nannan. Hearing this, she turned in surprise, seeing the soul bone radiating strange energy fluctuations in Gu La's hand, and waved her hands: "Ah? This is too precious—I can't accept it!"
Gu La explained calmly, "This is a left leg bone with an Teleportation soul skill. Your Three Lives Soul Sealing Cauldron leans toward control and defense, with slightly weaker mobility. Your Azure Phoenix martial soul is prone to healing, control, and support, with weaker combat ability."
"With this, whether attacking, retreating, or avoiding danger, you'll be much more flexible. Take it—it's of little use to me."
Xiao Xiao looked at Gu La's resolute gaze, then at the soul bone, her heart moved, realizing Gu La was considering her needs.
She no longer declined, carefully accepting the soul bone with a sweet smile.
"Thank you, Gu La. I'll definitely use it well."
"Mm, find a safe place to absorb it quickly." Gu La nodded.
Jiang Nannan watched Gu La, her heart heavy with sadness. She wasn't envious of Gu La giving Xiao Xiao a soul bone—she envied Gu La's demeanor, something the carefree Xu Sanshi could never learn.
In truth, after what had happened, besides choosing Xu Sanshi, her only other option was to live alone in solitude. How it would end seemed foreseeable.
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