Chapter Six: The Soul Howls at the Moon

The old Xu family estate was a sprawling manor covering over ten thousand acres of mountains and waters. Originally, it had served as the princely residence of the Sun and Moon Empire's royal family, thus situating it in the very heart of the bustling capital city. Within the estate, layers of pavilions and towers overlooked verdant hills beyond, their ancient-style architecture standing in stark contrast to the modern skyscrapers of the capital—as if two entirely different worlds coexisted side by side.

As for why the Xu family residence was not the original imperial palace, it was because the current palace had become a historic monument, belonging to the Douluo Federation as a whole, rather than being private property of the Xu family.

At this moment, Xu Zhao returned home, cradling a soul spirit as he passed through the overlapping pavilions and towers, entering the private training room perched on an independent hill. He lowered his gaze toward the glowing orb holding the slumbering mutated silver wolf and softly said, “Little one, since you have mutated with a lunar attribute, from now on you shall be called ‘Howling Moon.’”

Through the orb, Xu Zhao gently caressed the sleeping mutated silver wolf within. This glowing sphere was called a Soul Spirit Ball, whose function varied depending on the level of the soul spirit contained. For a defective soul spirit of the tenth level, the ball’s sole purpose was imprisonment, preventing the spirit inside from escaping and being lost. However, the ball in Xu Zhao’s hand contained a century-old soul spirit transformed from a spirit beast. Its function was not only to confine but also to induce a deep slumber.

This was because soul spirits of a hundred years’ age already possessed a certain degree of combat strength, and those transformed from spirit beasts were among the elite, boasting extraordinary power. Without inducing sleep, the soul master might suffer accidents during the absorption process before the soul spirit contract was fully established.

Xu Zhao sat cross-legged at the center of the training room, placing his hands upon the Soul Spirit Ball. His internal soul energy began to flow under the guidance of his will. The power of his mind surged, and the form of his Martial Soul manifested through his dual eyes—his left eye blazing fiercely like the sun, his right eye icy cold like the moon. Under the influence of his mental power, his eyes truly seemed to embody the sun and moon, radiating their respective energies.

His mental force penetrated the Soul Spirit Ball, linking with the consciousness of the slumbering mutated silver wolf inside. As the mental energy seeped through, a timid and nascent awareness cautiously emerged, tinged with the innate wariness of the wolf clan.

“Do not be afraid, I am not your enemy.”

Xu Zhao conveyed his goodwill into the wolf’s consciousness.

“I am here to form a soul spirit contract with you. Be good, don’t resist…”

Under the influence of this mental power, the mutated silver wolf gradually relaxed its natural instincts and chose to trust the voice without reservation.

As the fusion progressed steadily, the soul spirit and Martial Soul began to nourish each other in return.

The spiritual Martial Soul gained strength from the mutated silver wolf, becoming more powerful. The pure mental energy began to affect the seven elemental energies lingering in the air of the training room. Slowly, a thin layer of frost crystallized on the floor and walls.

The mutated silver wolf, infused with mental energy, saw the lunar pattern on its forehead flicker incessantly, resonating with the Bright Moon Light Pearl held in the right claw of Xu Zhao’s other Martial Soul—the Primordial Ancient Dragon.

Its back transformed as well, sprouting a second pair of silver-white wings between its ribs, standing alongside the first pair.

Soon, the fusion was complete.

Xu Zhao’s own soul energy broke through its bottleneck, and a deep yellow soul ring slowly materialized around him.

“Only level twelve? As expected, even with the same seven-hundred-year duration, soul spirit rings can never match up to spirit beast soul rings.”

Soul spirit rings differed from spirit beast soul rings. For artificially created soul spirits in their initial state, absorbing a soul spirit ring did not provide any soul energy feedback. In other words, if a soul master’s soul energy accumulation had not met the conditions for advancement, absorbing such rings would not increase their soul energy level.

However, matured artificial soul spirits and those transformed from spirit beasts were somewhat better, able to return a modest amount of soul energy to the soul master when granting soul rings.

But since a soul spirit could provide multiple soul rings, the energy returned was far less than that of a spirit beast soul ring of the same age.

A century-old soul spirit could provide two soul rings, so the energy feedback was divided between them.

If a century-old soul spirit advanced to a millennium, it could provide three soul rings. The energy feedback of the third ring would stem from the additional power accumulated during the soul spirit’s growth.

Howling Moon’s age was seven hundred years, so its two soul rings shared the feedback, each equivalent to a spirit beast soul ring at three hundred and fifty years.

Xu Zhao had only just awakened his Martial Soul and had not undergone meditation training, thus lacking soul energy accumulation. His breakthrough to level twelve relied entirely on the soul ring feedback provided by Howling Moon.

“Howling Moon, come forth.”

With a thought, a pale moonlight glowed from Xu Zhao’s body, descending to the ground and transforming into a majestic silver-white wolf, four wings sprouting from its back. Aside from the lunar pattern on its forehead, its coat bore no blemish.

Howling Moon’s eyes sparkled with intelligence and vitality.

It looked at its master, then swiftly controlled its form to shrink.

In just a moment, its muscular body, originally two meters long, reduced to less than half a meter and leapt into Xu Zhao’s embrace.

“Woof! Woof! Woof!”

Howling Moon emitted friendly barks, its fluffy tail wagging briskly.

“……”

Xu Zhao was stunned.

His Howling Moon, how had it changed from a wolf into a dog?

But then again, historically, dogs were domesticated and evolved from wolves.

So perhaps this was a side effect of mutation…

Xu Zhao pondered silently, his hands unconsciously stroking Howling Moon’s soft fur.

“This feels so good. No wonder once people start petting dogs, they can’t stop—it’s truly delightful!” he exclaimed.

A moment of petting brings joy; endless petting brings endless joy.

Today, Xu Zhao finally understood this truth.

Cradling Howling Moon, he stroked its fur as he stepped out of the training room.

Having absorbed the soul spirit, it was time to attend to more important matters.

Xu Zhao’s ambition was to stand at the pinnacle of the world; cultivating his own power base was an essential prerequisite.

Where was he now?

In the capital city, the Douluo Federation’s most prestigious aristocratic families were rooted here, with more than half established in this metropolis, many closely connected to the Xu family.

And Xu Zhao’s target was the talents of these noble families who were his peers.

Talent must be nurtured from childhood, so he had to take action immediately.

His first target was a branch family of the Xu clan.

Years ago, the ancestor of this branch, having failed to awaken one of the Xu family’s three great inherited Martial Souls, instead awakened the super Martial Soul Dark Demon Scythe and thus split from the main Xu family to establish his own lineage.

Over the years, this branch had maintained contact with the main house, keeping their relationship relatively close.

Xu Zhao’s present objective was a prodigy from this branch who had once again awakened the Dark Demon Scythe Martial Soul—a peer named Xu Yucheng.