Chapter 3: The First Soul Spirit, Auspicious Beast: River Otter (Part 1)

"Divine-grade physical martial soul."

Zhao Xuanzhen clenched his fist; the martial soul his ancestors had dreamed of, rivaling the Dragon God, seemed abnormally terrifying in strength—but…

He turned his head slightly toward Leng Yaoju, whose face flushed with excitement—the wisdom of a sage…

"Teacher, are you slandering the Silver Dragon King?"

Sensing her student’s glaringly odd gaze, Leng Yaoju cleared her throat, instantly regaining the dignified poise of Deputy Director of the Spirit Transmission Tower, and said:

"Xuanzhen, you have innate full soul power. I’ll take you directly to fuse your first soul spirit."

"Understood, Teacher."

Zhao Xuanzhen agreed, silently weighing his options for a soul beast along the way.

With 188 points of Soul Penetration-level spiritual power and as the sole direct disciple of the Heavenly Phoenix Douluo, he would never be forced to fuse a ten-year artificial Blue Silver Grass like Tang Wulin—the Spirit Transmission Tower’s headquarters held countless soul spirits for him to choose from.

The first soul spirit is the foundation of a soul master’s entire life; the more choices, the more caution required.

The Spirit Transmission Tower’s early advantage lies in soul spirits and the Ascension Platform; soul spirit cultivation level isn’t the primary criterion—recall how the former Director, Qian Gu Die Ting, forcibly elevated his soul rings to nine reds using the Ascension Platform. Strength and compatibility matter most.

Unlike fixed beast or artifact martial souls, the physical martial soul symbolizes the soul master themselves, and humans hold infinite potential—strength, speed, spirit, and elemental affinity are all viable paths. Zhao Xuanzhen must firmly choose one path among countless intersecting Dao paths!

Leng Yaoju and the Bai sisters, seeing Zhao Xuanzhen deep in thought, said nothing to disturb him. The four silently left the awakening chamber, taking the elevator straight to the Spirit Transmission Tower’s underground levels.

The underground space was a vast hall, dozens of staff bustling as they dispatched soul spirits to branch towers across the continent. On the opposite side stood numerous metal corridors, each guarded by high-level soul masters radiating formidable aura.

As Deputy Director of the Spirit Transmission Tower, second only to the Director, Leng Yaoju’s face was the best pass; under the ninety-degree bows of the guards, she led the three juniors into the central blood-red corridor.

After advancing dozens of meters, they entered another elevator. After descending for another Shiji seconds, the four emerged in a circular chamber.

The room was constructed of pure white metal, its walls lined with giant soul-tool screens displaying a lush green world, soul beast images flickering intermittently.

"This is your first time here," Leng Yaoju smiled. "This is the Spirit Transmission Tower’s virtual storage space for soul spirits, simulating the ancient Star Dou Great Forest’s environment.

I’ll pull out a few for you—see if any catch your eye."

With practiced ease, Leng Yaoju operated the system. Above the virtual world, divine hands, invincible and majestic, descended, snatching up several soul beasts and displaying them one by one before Zhao Xuanzhen.

"Straight to the ace cards…"

After six years of grinding, Zhao Xuanzhen instantly recognized the first soul beast, his eye twitching.

A simian soul beast, its fur pitch-black as ink, limbs covered in muscles more massive than granite, bulging like small hills. Its lantern-sized golden eyes blazed with ferocity, showing no fear despite being controlled.

Six-hundred-year-old Titan Ape!

Child of the Earth, one of the mightiest power kings among soul beasts—no weaknesses in offense or defense, an absolute top-tier soul beast!

Zhao Xuanzhen nodded, shifting his gaze to the side.

A silver eye floated midair, its appearance bizarre—like a balloon, covered in brown blotches, two silver tentacles drooping limply to the ground.

Evil Eye, a spirit-type soul beast, five-hundred-year cultivation!

The Evil Eye clan, also known as the Tyrant Evil Eye clan, the face of spiritual affinity. Ten thousand years ago, the Tyrant Evil Eye Sovereign ranked second only to the Beast God Di Tian on the Douluo Continent’s Ten Most Dangerous Soul Beasts list.

After careful observation, Zhao Xuanzhen suddenly realized: this Evil Eye was a rare pure-spirit type, sharing the same origin as the Tyrant Evil Eye Sovereign!

"Eighty percent chance it’s a descendant of the Evil Emperor—every spiritual soul master on the continent dreams of this as their first soul spirit…" Zhao Xuanzhen murmured in awe.

The third soul spirit radiated the sharpest aura, its body sheathed in thick keratin armor, studded with countless sharp black spines. Under sunlight, the spines gleamed coldly, capable of piercing armor effortlessly.

Eight-hundred-year-old Thorn Dragon, dragon bloodline, space affinity!

OUT!

Zhao Xuanzhen immediately eliminated the Thorn Dragon.

Soul spirits and soul masters influence each other. Having awakened a martial soul immune to the Silver and Golden Dragon Kings’ suppression, absorbing a dragon-type soul beast would cause an explosion!

"Let me see the last one—oh, Twin One-Eyed Giant?"

Thousand-year Twin One-Eyed Giant!

Towering humanoid form over three meters tall, its body covered in black-and-white fur, shoulders bearing two single-eyed heads, pupils radiating piercing light.

Among the four soul beasts, the Twin One-Eyed Giant had the highest cultivation but the weakest bloodline. Yet Zhao Xuanzhen sensed a familiar aura from it.

"Hum—"

His True Self martial soul manifested; a strand of black hair turned pale. Behind him, a colossal Yin-Yang Taiji diagram appeared. Seeing this, the Twin One-Eyed Giant froze, its two eyes instantly softening with sycophantic charm, winking repeatedly at Zhao Xuanzhen!

"Looks like the Twin One-Eyed Giant really likes you," Leng Yaoju teased. "And it’s female, by the way."

"Hmm." Zhao Xuanzhen clenched his fist. "It’s eliminated."

Have you ever seen brute strength?

Have you ever seen a female brute strength soul beast winking at you?

Enough. Stop emitting that damned charm!

Just imagining this thing accompanying him for life, Zhao Xuanzhen would rather fuse the Titan Ape!

Beside him, Bai Haoze and Bai Zhichen cast wary glances at the Twin One-Eyed Giant, wholeheartedly agreeing with Zhao Xuanzhen’s wise decision.

Scanning the four soul spirits from left to right, Zhao Xuanzhen fell into deep thought. Leng Yaoju was truly a veteran of the Spirit Transmission Tower—each soul spirit she selected had its own merits.

The Titan Ape implied True Self’s future path: physical strength and defense. The Evil Eye emphasized spirit. The Thorn Dragon leaned toward speed.

Leng Yaoju’s keen mind had even considered Zhao Xuanzhen’s Yin-Yang affinity—the Twin One-Eyed Giant possessed the continent’s rare Yin-Yang attribute.

That was precisely why the Twin One-Eyed Giant had gone all out to seduce him: True Self’s Yin-Yang affinity surpassed it, guaranteeing a hundred percent bloodline evolution upon fusion!

After a long silence, Zhao Xuanzhen sighed and asked: "Teacher, does the Spirit Transmission Tower have any soul spirits suitable for me?"

Leng Yaoju frowned. "These four nearly cover every cultivation path. You didn’t like any of them?"

"Each one falls short," Zhao Xuanzhen said frankly. "True Self is an extremely balanced martial soul. The first soul spirit sets the foundation for a soul master’s entire life. Focusing on just one aspect—body, spirit, speed, or affinity—is wasting potential.

Teacher, I want my first soul spirit to match True Self’s Yin-Yang affinity while possessing moderate physical and spiritual capabilities—like the Golden-Haired Lion Dog’s ability to ignore bloodline suppression.

With my spiritual power, fusing a two-thousand-year soul spirit isn’t a problem. Filter by that upper limit—include even those that resist forming contracts with human soul masters…"

"Unyielding soul spirits!"

(End of Chapter)