"With the family's backing, a thousand-year soul spirit at the one-ring stage is just your starting line," Qiangu Dongfeng's voice echoed with cold authority.
He began pacing, outlining a future that would make any other Spirit Master weep with envy. "By the four-ring stage, we will use the Spirit Ascension Platform to evolve your Evil-Breaking Dragon into a ten-thousand-year beast. Four black rings, Zhangting. You won't just be a genius; you will be invincible among your peers."
Dongfeng's eyes gleamed with a fanatic light. "And once your mental force hits the Spirit Abyss Realm, we'll push for a hundred-thousand-year soul spirit. You'll walk among the Titled Douluos with four black and five red rings. A configuration that defies the heavens."
It was a masterclass in nurturing talent. On paper, it was flawless.
But to Qiangu Zhangting, it sounded like a gilded cage.
Invincible among peers? Zhangting scoffed internally. If I can't dominate my entire generation—if I can't crush Shrek Academy under my heel—then all this status is just a death sentence waiting to happen.
"Grandfather, we had an agreement," Zhangting interrupted, his voice cutting through the old man's lecture like a blade. "I awakened with Innately Full Soul Power. By your own word, the choice of my soul spirit belongs to me."
Dongfeng froze. His face stiffened, the air around him thickening with the pressure of a Demi-God. He had made that promise to motivate a child, never expecting the child to actually hold him to it. For the Master of the Spirit Pagoda, breaking a promise was a stain on his pride.
"The Evil-Breaking Dragon is a dead end," Zhangting continued, stepping forward, his gaze never wavering. "Artificial spirits are capped. They can't reach the hundred-thousand-year mark through the Ascension Platform. Why would I cut off my own future for the sake of a 'safe' path? If I don't prove my worth now, how will I ever vent the frustrations you've carried for decades? How will I suppress Shrek?"
The mention of Shrek acted like a magic word. Dongfeng's rigid posture softened. The dragon's fury was replaced by a flicker of curiosity.
"Then what is it you want?" Dongfeng asked, his voice low. "To gamble on a Spirit Beast spirit like your Great-Grandfather?"
"No," Zhangting replied as they reached the high-security Spirit Beast Transformation wing. "I'm going further. I want to participate in the Extreme Single Soul Spirit Plan."
The silence that followed was heavy.
The plan was legendary—and suicidal. It was the pursuit of the 'Natal Soul Spirit,' where a single entity provides every single spirit ring as the Master grows. To succeed, one's physical body must rival a Titled Douluo and one's mind must reach the Spirit Abyss Realm before the five-ring stage. It was a feat only a twin-spirited sage in history had ever attempted, and even then, at a horrific cost.
"It's madness," Dongfeng hissed, his refusal immediate. "You only have one spirit, Zhangting. To push a single soul spirit past the hundred-thousand-year mark while you're still a Spirit Ancestor? The mental pressure alone would turn your brain to ash. I will not watch you waste your youth on a zero-percent chance."
Zhangting sighed. He knew his grandfather was a wall of stubbornness. It was time to bring out the big guns.
"Fine," Zhangting said, pulling out his soul communicator with practiced ease. "If you won't listen to me, let's see what Great-Grandfather Dieting thinks. I'm sure a Quasi-God would appreciate a bit of ambition."
"He is in seclusion!" Dongfeng roared, lunging forward with a speed that blurred the air. He snatched the communicator out of Zhangting's hand before the call could even connect.
The grandson smiled. He had poked the dragon, and now, the real negotiation was beginning.