Chapter 361 - Advancing

“First trial cleared,” an electronic voice announced. “You may choose to absorb a thousand-year wind wolf spirit soul! You have ten seconds to decide.”

A golden door appeared before Tang Wulin and his team. It wasn’t as large as the one that brought them here, but it was equally as mysterious and a transparent wind wolf hovered in front of it.

“Let’s go!” Tang Wulin waved to his companions as he stepped through the door.

All of them could choose to fuse with the transparent wind wolf floating in front of the door. But they simply rejected it and continued to the second trial. They stepped through the doorway in a flash of light, and the next moment, they found themselves in a room identical to before. It was an octagonal room with eight metal doors as well.

Light flashed in Tang Wulin’s eyes as he motioned to his companions. They reformed their triangle formation without another word. Xu Lizhi, however, sat down to meditate instead of using his soul skills. All seven hailed from Shrek Academy, so every one of them possessed exceptional judgement and perception. Xu Lizhi didn’t use his soul skills because, after the first trial, he became confident in the strength of his teammates. As a support-type soul master, it was crucial for him to properly decide how much soul power to spend on each of his teammates.

Furious roars suddenly began filling the air as the eight doors suddenly opened. Eight giant flaming lions emerged, one from each door. They were blazing demon lions, old friends of class zero.

A smile formed on Tang Wulin’s lips. It looks like the spirit soul tower isn’t that different from the spirit ascension platform. Both possess similar soul beasts!

Judging from their figures and energy levels, Tang Wulin could tell that they were all female blazing demon lions of the hundred-year level. However, they were at least five-hundred-years or above.

Before anyone could say anything, Xie Xie stepped forward. “Let me handle this,” he said, dashing straight at the lions.

Tang Wulin sat down and began meditating, and the others followed suit. Their goal was not on the lower floors. Even if these floors yielded thousand-year spirit souls, they wanted high-grade thousand-year spirit souls. Wind wolves couldn’t satisfy anyone, and neither could blazing demon lions. This was only the second floor. Xie Xie was more than enough to handle a few hundred-year blazing demon lions.

The lions were still mid-roar when Xie Xie reached his first target. He soared into the air, his figure twisting to avoid the spewing flames before suddenly accelerating toward the lion. A second later, the lion went weak in its knees and collapsed.

A single dark spot could be seen on the lion’s back, the only sign that Xie Xie had stabbed it. His feet barely touched the ground before he rushed toward his next target.

Tang Wulin nodded approvingly. Xie Xie had grown more skilled at Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and no longer seemed to be struggling with it. Now he looked as though he were dancing.

After the first lion died, the remaining seven worked themselves into a frenzy. Four pounced at Xie Xie while the other three charged Tang Wulin’s group. Relying on his insane speed, Xie Xie eliminated another lion. This left three lions surrounding him. He used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to zigzag between them like a wraith, unleashing his soul skills at the same time to leave countless cuts on their bodies. At the center of the room, a hazy figure darted out from Tang Wulin’s group to meet the other three lions. In the blink of an eye, one of them collapsed onto the floor, dead. The instant after that, the other two collapsed as well.

It was Xie Xie’s Shadow Dragon Clone!

Tang Wulin stared at it with narrowed eyes. Even with his high spiritual power, he could only, just barely, make out the outline of the clone.

All of a sudden, the clone flew toward Xie Xie. However, before it could reach him and fuse, Xie Xie’s body exploded with light, and both he and the clone leaped into the air. They met face to face, momentarily crossing paths in midair. Then, in the next instant, the remaining lions dropped dead.

So he’s learned a new trick! Tang Wulin’s eyes gleamed. He’s using his clone withdrawal as a combat technique now! His clone moves faster than it normally does when it’s returning to fuse with him, but he doesn’t actually have to fuse with it! He can use that technique to call back his clone for some quick assistance. He has really grown… now he can skillfully control two bodies at once. How long will it take for him to gain full control over all of his clones then? By the time that happens… he’ll be a force to be reckoned with.

The two Xie Xies fused back together and returned to his companions as one. The electronic voice filled the room once more, but this time they had ten seconds to choose whether or not they wanted a thousand-year blazing demon lion spirit soul.

Xie Xie grinned at Yuanen Yehui as he passed her.

She regarded him coldly, growling, “Don’t block the way.”

Another door of light formed and the team entered it, proceeding to the next trial. They didn’t need everyone to clear the following trials, so they took turns clearing each one. None of them even worked up a sweat clearing the first eight trials, but the soul beasts they faced grew stronger as they continued. In the eighth trial, they faced six soul beasts around the two-thousand-year level. Yuanen Yehui had instantly taken care of them like a bolt of lightning. They promptly reached the ninth trial.

Upon arrival, Tang Wulin spoke up. “We’ll be fighting together for this trial,” he said.

At this point, it was too difficult for only one or two of them to clear a floor. Doing so would consume too much soul power. It was time for them to fight as a team.

Just like before, they found themselves in an octagonal hall with eight doors. This time, however, only four of them opened. A burly soul beast stepped out of each doorway for a total of four. They were covered in snow-white fur and possessed an air of majesty. It was Tang Wulin’s first time seeing such soul beasts. They clearly weren’t inhabitants of any forest.

“Those are ice bears!” Xie Xie exclaimed. “They’re powerful soul beasts found in the far northern lands! The they’re huge and should possess cultivation levels over three-thousand-years!”

“Be careful everyone,” Gu Yue warned. “The ninth floor of the spirit soul tower is a major milestone. This trial will be far harder than the ones we’ve faced until now. What do you think of them, Xiaoyan?”

Xu Xiaoyan’s eyes glittered. “They’re great! Amazing! These bears are so cute! I want to cuddle them!”

Cute…? Everyone looked at her strangely. You’re choosing your spirit soul based on cuteness?

The ice bears glared at Tang Wulin and his team. The air started getting colder and colder the moment the they had appeared. Frigid fog already began to fill the room. The breathing of the ice bears grew deeper and deeper, as if fanning the flames of their fury. The four bears didn’t attack them from all sides. Instead, they gathered together and advanced slowly.

Tang Wulin stared straight into the eyes of the bears. “Everyone, stay vigilant! These ice bears are far more intelligent than the soul beasts we faced up to this point.”

Yuanen Yehui moved toward the ice bears, her three soul rings appearing beneath her as she walked.

Yue Zhengyu summoned his soul rings as well and advanced alongside her.

Bluesilver grass slithered out of the ground and surrounded Tang Wulin.

In the end, this was just the ninth trial.

At that moment, the lead ice bear made its move. It roared toward the ceiling, and the entire room trembled before its declaration of might. Snow began materializing out of thin air, rapidly intensifying into a blizzard that obscured everyone’s vision.

A snort resounded through the icy onslaught and a blazing fireball erupted from the center of Tang Wulin’s group, dispelling the surrounding snow. Yet the remaining bears roared one after another and the blizzard returned, howling and wailing with renewed vigor.

It was a blizzard powered by the combined strength of four ice bears!