Chapter 31: Choice

Lei En's heart hammered, and only after he was a hundred meters away from that shop did his anxious heart finally relax.

Immediately, a wave of ecstatic joy surged in his chest.

He looked down at the two glass jars in his hands, each containing a black Gold‑Eating Ant; they seemed unremarkable, but one of them contained three Elements!

"Ha ha, now I'm rich!"

Lei En was overjoyed; he hadn't intended to come to the Demon Soul Market, yet he got such a huge haul. The demon soul of this Gold‑Eating Ant, even if he didn't use it himself, could be sold for tens of thousands of Gold Shields, perhaps even more.

Ten thousand Gold Shields, when exchanged for copper coins, amount to ten million, enough to cover a ten‑person commoner's household's expenses for a lifetime!

In comparison, the dozen‑plus Gold Shields he spent earlier to confuse the shopkeeper were a drop in the bucket.

Lei En wondered what expression the other would wear if they knew the true value of this Gold‑Eating Ant.

Would they be so angry they'd spit blood on the spot?

"What a pity, I didn't get a chance to see it."

He kept his wealth hidden; even though no one could discern the Gold‑Eating Ant's price, Lei En bought a cloth bag from a roadside stall to conceal it. Moreover, he spent a Gold Shield on two Soul Stones, intending to kill the Gold‑Eating Ant once he got home.

His stomach began to rumble, but Lei En could no longer bother with a meal; he just wanted to go home.

He quickened his pace, and as he passed near the Demon Soul Market's gate, he noticed the Snake Feather was gone.

"I wonder if some discerning buyer or just plain luck caused someone to buy the Feather Snake," Lei En shook his head regretfully. If he had bought the Feather Snake, he could have flipped it for about a thousand Gold Shields; missing such a bargain was indeed a pity.

He left the market without trouble, flagged down a carriage, climbed aboard, and instructed the driver to return to Los District.

The carriage set off, racing down the street.

In the carriage, Lei En couldn't help but admire the Gold‑Eating Ant, repeatedly sensing the three Elements within its soul, and let out a satisfied sigh.

Such a weak demon soul yet harbored three powerful Elements; he truly didn't know how this Gold‑Eating Ant's soul was formed.

Generally, strong Elements are born only within strong souls, but it's not absolute.

The Book of Thousand Souls states that the souls of all things in the world are unfathomably mysterious, and miracles occasionally arise.

Many wondrous Elements are not exclusive to strong souls; any soul may manifest various Elements, from the weakest to the strongest, even legendary Elements, though the odds are extremely low and few encounter them.

And this Gold‑Eating Ant is that exceedingly rare miracle, and he happened upon it.

"It's like winning the top prize in a lottery, and hitting it three times in a row!"

Lei En thought blissfully.

Then, he began pondering how to make use of this Gold‑Eating Ant's demon soul.

His first idea was to sell it for cash, but that was dismissed.

Such an expensive item isn't easy to sell. Either a child with money wandering the market is dangerous, or a buyer capable of paying tens of thousands of Gold Shields either has great personal power or backing by a major force; targeting an ordinary person like him would be far too easy.

Among the people he knows, only Viola of the Violet House and Kaineji of the Mechanical Guild could afford it, but he knows little about either, making any sale unsafe.

If he doesn't sell it, he can only use it himself.

"But how to use it?"

Lei En furrowed his brows, feeling troubled.

He originally planned to become a Wizard, choosing between the Law Seal and Soul Command schools.

If it were the Law Seal school, it wouldn't fit, because that school disassembles demon souls to extract Arcane Elements and forge Law Seals to embed into the soul. Only Arcane Elements can become Law Seals,

and during the demon‑soul processing, other types of Elements dissipate and are lost.

The Gold‑Eating Ant's three Elements aren't Arcane, so after a Law Seal Wizard handles it, nothing would remain.

The Soul Command school, however, can preserve the whole demon soul, using it as a Main Soul for possession or turning it into a summoned Iron Guard.

Among the three specializations, the Thousand Spell Wizard, focused on casting, is excluded unless one only wants to boost defense with a "Steel Body", which would be wasteful; the Ten Thousand Spirits Wizard, who wins by sheer number of Iron Guards, is also ill‑suited. Only the Shapeshifting Wizard, whose focus is transformation, can make good use of this Gold‑Eating Ant.

The Transformation Wizard would need to invest massive soul power to cultivate it, yet cannot use it as a Main Soul.

Because the Transformation Wizard's core Main Soul is the "Transformation Demon", which cannot be altered, or else transformation would be impossible.

Moreover, the Gold‑Eating Ant's demon soul is rather weak; its Elements are rare, but its combat ability is low. If a Transformation Wizard turned into a Gold‑Eating Ant, defense would be high but attack would diminish, and it would look rather unsightly.

The image of himself as a giant ant battling humans made Lei En shudder all over.

"No, I can't become an ant."

He shook his head repeatedly, abandoning the notion.

In fact, the best use is to fully fuse the Gold‑Eating Ant's demon soul into his own soul, thereby bypassing its weakness while perfectly harnessing the three Elements!

Besides, he's only just become an Ascendant; a slightly weaker fused demon soul is fine, since he only needs the Elements, and it's safer.

Yet Lei En doesn't want to give up becoming a Wizard.

Thus, the combat school seems the optimal choice!

By employing the World Tree Meditation Method to fuse the Gold‑Eating Ant, he can absorb the three Elements, cause his power to surge, and still remain a Wizard; thereafter, fusing other demon souls with Arcane Elements will grant him casting abilities.

The only drawback is that before fusing other demon souls, he won't be a Wizard but rather an Iron Guard—albeit a very formidable one.

But compared with the potential gained, this isn't a flaw at all, but an advantage.

A Wizard whose strength is fierce, impervious to blades, whose melee prowess surpasses his casting, is a strange notion, yet oddly exciting!

Besides, the Gold‑Eating Ant has a metallic feel; perhaps this Element could let him moonlight as half a mechanic?

When he previously turned down Kaineji, he thought there was no perfect solution in the world, yet suddenly an opportunity arose.

"Could I truly become a combat Wizard?"

Lei En felt hesitant; the uncertainty of a combat Wizard is too great, and even with a Soul Eye to aid him, his confidence was low.

But there seemed no better way, unless he gave up the Gold‑Eating Ant.

Yet abandoning it would be too foolish.

How many Ascendants at the first level possess three Elements, with one being a supreme Element?

Such a high starting point implies limitless possibilities!

A combat Wizard already has an extremely high ceiling; if he can seize every upgrade opportunity and fuse the most suitable demon souls, what level of power could he achieve?

Lei En only thought of some possibilities, and felt his heart surge with excitement, unable to contain his thrill.

Taking a step back, even if he slips once or twice occasionally, his strength can still crush other superhumans!

"High risk also brings high return."

"If I don't try, how would I know if it works?"

"Since I've come to this world, I'll go all out and give it my all!"

Lei En's gaze gradually steadied; no longer hesitating, he had already decided to become a combat Wizard.

The carriage gradually left the Silver Star District, crossed a bridge, and entered the Los District.

Lei En watched the street scene through the window, and his mood slowly calmed. He relaxed, closed his eyes, habitually activated the sound of all things, and a flood of sound waves entered his ears, constructing a world made of sound in his mind.

He had never forgotten to practice this ability, distinguishing every sound he heard and tracking their sources.

"Hmm?"

Lei En suddenly opened his eyes, his expression startled and uncertain.

He heard a rapid footstep, moving fast as if sprinting. Locking onto the source, the person was over a hundred meters behind, alternating speed, occasionally changing direction toward other places, entering Dao Street alleys, but reappearing shortly after.

"I'm being followed!"

Lei En listened for another half minute, certain that someone was trailing the carriage, keeping a steady distance.

"Who is this person? When did they start following? What is their purpose?"

Lei En's mind wavered, several questions popping up, and he muttered a curse at himself for getting a gold‑eating ant and feeling a bit careless.

He took a deep breath and calmed down.

Glancing at the gold‑eating ant in his hand, he could be sure the pursuer wasn't after the ant—because apart from himself, no one knows its true value.

Thus there was only one answer: the person was a follower of the evil god Luo Xi, who sensed the conflict mark on him.

The speculation gave Lei En a pounding headache.

He had just stepped out for the first time and ran into an evil‑god follower—was he just unlucky, or does Longshandecheng really have so many followers that you can bump into them on any street?

Lei En didn't know how far the conflict mark extended, or how distant a follower could sense it; surely they wouldn't just spot him by passing the carriage nearby, would they?

Very likely, the person met him in the Demon Soul Market and chased the carriage all the way.

Lei En turned around inside the carriage, but couldn't see the other party, nor could he stick his head out the window to observe without exposing himself.

But shaking off the pursuer wasn't difficult.

From the carriage's front window, Lei En whispered a few words to the coachman; the coachman was initially surprised, but after seeing the several banknotes Lei En handed over, he nodded in agreement.

At the next intersection, the carriage changed course, no longer heading back to the apartment.

Lei En locked onto the pursuer's footsteps; when the other turned into a shortcut alley, he called out lightly, and the prepared coachman slowed the carriage slightly, after which Lei En leapt out and slipped into a general store by the roadside.

The whole process lasted only a few seconds, hidden from the pursuer's view, invisible, while the carriage regained speed and kept moving.

Inside the general store, Lei En heard the pursuer's footsteps recede with the carriage, then emerged slowly, stood on a step, activated his Soul Eye, and from afar saw the pursuer, piercing straight into the other's deep soul.

"A second‑rank fighter, an evil‑god follower, or a Shadow Blade Assassin?"