Chapter 26: Soul Spirit Dream Butterfly

Shi Quan, having come to his senses, finally awoke from his cultivation, his expression full of shock and doubt.

"Prestige Treasure Chest?" Shi Quan's expression suddenly turned somewhat strange; he had not expected that there would be this type of treasure chest.

Up until now, the treasure chests he had triggered, including this current Prestige Treasure Chest, totaled four types.

The first type was the Awakening Treasure Chest triggered during his Spirit Awakening; this type of chest was clearly a one-time chest, and it was obviously impossible to obtain it again later, because it was impossible to awaken a martial soul a second time, right?

The second type was the Destiny Treasure Chest; regarding the trigger pattern, Shi Quan speculated that it could be triggered as long as he met and interacted with someone favored by destiny. Tang San was the destiny male lead of the novel, Xiao Wu was the destiny female lead, and the only one left who might trigger a Destiny Treasure Chest was the destiny supervillain, Bibi Dong. As for whether Qian Renxue counted, Shi Quan had no idea.

The third type was the Soul Power Chest; the trigger pattern for this one was relatively simple: it would be triggered every time he made a Breakthrough to a new realm and completed the absorption of a Soul Ring.

The current Prestige Treasure Chest was the fourth type.

Shi Quan had not expected that he would trigger this fourth type of chest so inexplicably; it was truly a case of sitting at home while the treasure chest fell from the sky.

"Fame initially revealed..."

Shi Quan muttered to himself with a smile on his face: "Does that mean there is also 'fame illustrious' or 'known to all'?"

At the very least, judging from the system prompts, Shi Quan speculated that the Prestige Treasure Chest, like the Destiny Treasure Chest and the Soul Power Chest, was a chest that could be triggered multiple times.

"Since that's the case, I must find a way to participate in the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament."

Previously, he had no plans to participate in the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament; the rewards of the competition held no attraction for him, and rather than going to the trouble of fighting so many battles, wasn't it better to just watch the excitement from the sidelines?

But now it was different; if he wanted to farm prestige, wasn't the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament the best place to farm it?

If he could also take the championship, he would instantly become illustrious across the entire continent, and there would be no need to bitterly research Spirit Master theories and then argue and publish them.

Although he didn't know if he could trigger it, he had to try after all; he could not give up any opportunity that could trigger a treasure chest!

From the first treasure chest until now, the items from every single chest had been useful to Shi Quan.

This also made Shi Quan certain that although the treasure chests were difficult to trigger, every item from a chest was a premium product and was bound to be useful to him, so he could not miss any opportunity that could trigger a treasure chest.

"But what is a Nightmare?"

Withdrawing his thoughts, Shi Quan's attention returned to the new reward opened from the treasure chest.

System Space.

What came into view was a mass of black mist; the specific appearance of the Nightmare could not be seen clearly, and one could only see streaks of purple outlines within the black mist, as if pairs of eyes were staring directly at you.

Nightmare: Soul Spirit, it is the source of nightmares, lingering between nightmares, feeding on fear, growing in the darkness, it is the embodiment of pure, evil, primitive power, transcending the constraints of the spiritual Domain, shuttling between the mortal world and the dream realm.

Note: This Soul Spirit is a life-bound Soul Spirit, 100% loyal to the host.

"A Soul Spirit!" Shi Quan widened his eyes; this thing seemed to only appear in the second installment of the series, and he did not know much about Soul Spirits, only knowing that Soul Spirits could not only evolve into Soul Rings but also assist the host in battle...

"But what is a life-bound Soul Spirit?"

Shi Quan frowned and asked tentatively: "What does the system's note about a life-bound Soul Spirit mean?"

His mind was silent, and just as Shi Quan was shaking his head in disappointment, he noticed that the note for the Nightmare had changed.

Note: This Soul Spirit possesses growth potential, can continuously improve alongside the Spirit Master's own improvement, and is 100% loyal to the host.

"It can do that?" Shi Quan's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but give the system a thumbs up.

To put it simply, a Soul Spirit that can grow together with a Spirit Master is a life-bound Soul Spirit.

"In that case, this life-bound Soul Spirit, Nightmare, is a good thing; this Soul Spirit is definitely arranged for my third martial soul, the Spirit Soul."

Shi Quan rubbed his hands in excitement, and just as he was about to extract it, his gaze suddenly fell on the card next to the Nightmare.

Soul Spirits produced by the system possess 100% loyalty; if he used a Critical Hit Card to get another life-bound Soul Spirit, wouldn't that be incredibly awesome?

Even if the reward didn't double, if the strength of the Nightmare, which was already a life-bound Soul Spirit, doubled, then how strong would the resulting Soul Spirit be?

Use it?

Or not use it?

Shi Quan's expression was conflicted.

Go for it!

Use it early to enjoy it early; who knows when the next treasure chest will be triggered? The top priority was to maximize the rewards, and increasing his strength was the most important thing.

"System, use the Critical Hit Card, critical hit the Nightmare reward."

"Ding, the host has used a Critical Hit Card. The system will refresh the Prestige Treasure Chest reward and open it again. Are you sure?"

"Refresh?" Shi Quan's expression paused, and he asked doubtfully: "System, will the reward after the critical hit become something new?"

"Ding, host, after the Critical Hit Card is used, a brand-new critical hit reward will be added to the treasure chest, and the original treasure chest reward will be multiplied by two. After the treasure chest is opened again, a new reward will be drawn from the treasure chest again."

Hearing the system explain it this way, Shi Quan's expression suddenly became hesitant; if, after the critical hit, the thing that opened wasn't a Soul Spirit, wouldn't he be at a loss?

No...

Even if it wasn't a Soul Spirit, the item from the critical hit reward would definitely not be worse than the Nightmare reward.

He hadn't forgotten the description of the Critical Hit Card; the critical hit reward would either double the reward or be even better, so it absolutely wouldn't be worse than the Nightmare.

"Either way, it's useful to me... go for it!"

Shi Quan gritted his teeth and nodded: "System, confirm!"

"Ding, Critical Hit Card used successfully, critical hit reward has been added for the host."

"Ding, the Prestige Treasure Chest has been opened again for the host. Congratulations to the host for obtaining the reward... Dream Butterfly!"

"Dream Butterfly?"

There was no "times two" after the reward, which meant the newly opened reward had become even stronger than the previous one!

"Dream Butterfly and Nightmare only differ by one character; it looks like it's still a Soul Spirit!"

Shi Quan hurriedly summoned the System Space.

The slot that originally held the black mist Nightmare had now turned into a gorgeous butterfly.

The outer edges of the Dream Butterfly's wings were a bottomless black, gradually transitioning inward to cyan and then to white; the wings were like flowing light, existing between reality and illusion, and two long, slender tail feathers swayed gently, scattering specks of starlight.

The first impression it gave was beauty that transcended the mundane.

And this was still just in the storage slot.

"As expected of a critical hit reward; just by its appearance, it doesn't seem to be in the same league as the Nightmare."

Shi Quan looked at the notes for Dream Butterfly with a sigh of admiration.

Dream Butterfly: Soul Spirit, the embodiment of natural will, the controller of illusions and dreams.

Note: This Soul Spirit possesses growth potential and can continue to improve alongside the Spirit Master's advancement; it possesses a special Mental Inheritance Origin and is one hundred percent loyal to its host.

Compared to the Nightmare, the introduction for the Dream Butterfly was simpler and clearer, and the notes only contained one extra special entry: Mental Inheritance Origin.

From the introduction, one could see that the Nightmare and the Dream Butterfly were simply not in the same league; one was the embodiment of purely evil, primitive power, while the other was the embodiment of natural will; one was the source of nightmares, while the other was the controller of dreams and illusions.

A nightmare is merely a type of dream, and since the Dream Butterfly can control dreams, it is clearly the superior of the Nightmare.

Shi Quan exclaimed in his heart, "I've struck gold, I've struck gold."

He looked at the bright moon outside.

Shi Quan stood up, pulled the curtains shut, locked the Dormitory door from the inside, and only after ensuring everything was secure did he return to his bed.

Fortunately, Maerde had gotten him a single Dormitory, otherwise he would have had to go outside the academy to find an inn again.

"Extract Dream Butterfly."

Cyan and white light spots scattered down, outlining perfect lines as they took physical form; as the wings fluttered gently, a mild aura washed over him.

Beautiful!

It was a beauty akin to nature itself, the kind that makes one sigh in admiration at a single glance.

The diameter of the Dream Butterfly's two wings was nearly one meter, with slender tail wings curving slightly and extending outward to the sides; as the wings fluttered, countless starlight scattered, and the Dream Butterfly's entire body shimmered, as if it were illusory.

The Dream Butterfly's nimble eyes looked Shi Quan up and down.

"Master."

Suddenly, an intimate and soft female voice rang out in Shi Quan's mind.

"Dream Butterfly, are you the one speaking?" Shi Quan looked at the Dream Butterfly before him in surprise; this Dream Butterfly was actually capable of communicating with him directly through his spirit.

"Yes, Master." The Dream Butterfly flapped its wings lightly, its graceful body taking flight to circle Shi Quan once; cyan and white light spots landed on Shi Quan, making his mind feel exceptionally peaceful.

"Master, summon your martial soul and let me become your strength."

Hearing the Dream Butterfly's eager voice, Shi Quan finally came back to his senses, secretly thinking to himself that the intelligence level of the Dream Butterfly before him was already comparable to a human's.

Amidst his thoughts, Shi Quan had already circulated his Internal Energy and summoned his martial soul, Spirit Soul.

The Dream Butterfly sensed the existence of the Spirit Soul almost immediately; the radiance scattered by its wings emitted a dazzling luster, and its huge wings slowly descended to wrap around Shi Quan's small frame, while the two slender antennae on the Dream Butterfly's forehead touched Shi Quan's brow.

The Spirit Soul's originally illusory figure seemed to turn into substance; countless cyan and white light spots emanated from the Dream Butterfly and landed on the Spirit Soul, and silver fluctuations emerged from the Spirit Soul's body to intersect with the light spots.

A consciousness belonging solely to the Dream Butterfly was transmitted into Shi Quan's mind, a feeling filled with intimacy and dependence.

The aura on the Dream Butterfly was exceptionally comfortable, as if it had swept away all the disturbances in his heart, leaving only a pure land; Shi Quan's inner self reached a feeling of unprecedented tranquility for a moment.

He opened his heart, accepting the Dream Butterfly wholeheartedly, while the Dream Butterfly likewise poured its entire being into Shi Quan's body.

Sleep! My master, inherit my power within the dream.

Listening to the Dream Butterfly's ethereal voice, Shi Quan's consciousness gradually drifted into a deep sleep.

Inside the dream.

Shi Quan seemed to have transformed into the Dream Butterfly, fluttering gracefully in the air, wandering everywhere, feeling the vastness of the world; there was no need to think, no need to worry, as if it were a part of this world, immersed within it, even gradually forgetting his original appearance, as if he had achieved the unity of heaven and man, even forgetting that he had been transformed from Shi Quan...

(End of this chapter)