Chapter 363 - Teasing (1/2)

Yuanen Yehui turned to Tang Wulin, confusion in her eyes as she watched him direct his bluesilver gra.s.s.

“We'll just restrain it for now to buy some time to rest and recover,” he explained as the gra.s.s slithered over to tie up the surviving ice bear. He then turned to Xu Xiaoyan. “Are you sure you want this one, Xiaoyan?”

The four ice bears had actually been quite powerful and could be considered top tier thousand-year soul beasts. Furthermore, these bears were of the three-thousand-year level, which was perfect for Xu Xiaoyan. She would be in danger if she absorbed a spirit soul that was too strong for her, so Tang Wulin wanted her to be certain.

And Xu Xiaoyan nodded immediately.

Even if there was a chance of encountering stronger ice-attribute soul beasts later on, she wasn't tempted to try her luck. If they encountered such beasts, they would still have to defeat them. In addition to that, she would have to be strong enough to fuse with the resulting spirit soul. Desire was all well and good, but greed definitely wasn't. Besides, she liked how fearsome the ice bears were. She had no doubt that fusing with one of their spirit souls would greatly increase her strength. She especially hoped to obtain their blizzard ability. With it, she would be able to exhibit a wider range of control and even work with Gu Yue.

“Quick!” Tang Wulin said to Xu Lizhi as he sat down. “Give me ten pork buns!”

Xu Lizhi rolled his eyes. “I don't give buns away, I sell them! But… fine. I have a pork bun!”

Tang Wulin chuckled as he took the pork bun that appeared and devoured it. His stomach instantly converted the bun into a flood of blood essence that rapidly restored his reserves. After eating a few, Tang Wulin realized that each bun provided very little soul power. Considering the fact that they came from Xu Lizhi's first soul skill, it made sense. The important thing was how they restored stamina. Soul masters usually disregarded physical stamina since soul power was far more potent, but Tang Wulin definitely didn't. He could convert his stamina into blood essence, so these buns were perfect for him. Xu Lizhi's first soul skill didn't eat up too much of his soul power, so he was an excellent match for Tang Wulin.

The rest of the team quickly gathered by the tied up ice bear and began resting as well. Compared to the previous trials, the ninth exhibited a sharp increase in difficulty. The rest of the team understood that, if not for Tang Wulin's quick decision-making, they would have been in trouble. The blizzard had drastically restricted their vision and only those with Purple Demon Eyes could see through the veil of swirling snow.

They had been quite lucky. Their team composition countered this trial.

Xu Xiaoyan walked over to the tied up ice bear, which now resembled a giant rice dumpling, and gently rubbed its head. “I'm sorry. I'm not sure if you're real or if you're an illusion, but I'm really sorry about this. We couldn't just sit back and let you attack us. You are quite cute though. Nice and chubby. You look reliable.”

The ice bear seemed to be taken aback by her words, but it quickly regained its composure and continued to regard her coldly.

“I've decided!” Xu Xiaoyan muttered to herself, her eyes s.h.i.+ning with resolve. “I want an ice bear for my second spirit soul. I know you probably don't want to join me since we killed your friends, but the spirit soul tower will reward me with an ice bear spirit soul once we kill you. There's nothing I can do about that, and I'm sorry. You'll be able to rest easy though. I'll treat my ice bear spirit soul really well.”

Fear flashed in the ice bear's eyes, and it let out a low roar.

“So... how do you want to die? I think Wulin pummelled his bear to death. It was a cruel way to go. I couldn't even bring myself to look at the corpse. Don't worry, I won't be so harsh with you. I'll make sure you die in one piece. How does that sound?” Blue light flashed and a spear of ice condensed in her hand. She brandished it right in front of the bear, the tip nearly touching its eye. “I'll make it quick so you don't feel too much pain. I sincerely hope you're just a virtual projection and not a real ice bear. If you're real… I pray that, in your next life, you'll be able to hide far away from humans. That your next life will be a good one.”

The bear roared frantically, it's eyes filled with terror.

“Huh? What did you say?” Xu Xiaoyan stared at it in bewilderment, but the bear only continued to roar in panic. “You're not making any sense. I don't speak bear! Well, I guess I'll get it over with. Bye!”

Xu Xiaoyan hefted her spear, poised to strike, but the ice bear roared once more. Instead of fear or frustration, a hint of sad resignation could be heard. Without warning, the bear's body collapsed in on itself and turned into specks of light. These tiny lights then formed a miniature ice bear that floated toward Xu Xiaoyan. Using one of its claws, it pointed at her, then pointed at itself.

Xu Xiaoyan beamed. “You want to be my spirit soul? Really?”

The bear grunted and nodded vigorously.

“But… I'm not forcing you to. Are you sure you want to?” Xu Xiaoyan gave it a sweet smile.

The miniature ice bear nodded.