Xu Jiawei's words were deeply imprinted in Xu Jiujiu's heart.
She understood that for a peerless talent like Caelus, his future achievements were limitless.
If she relied only on the resources and protection currently provided, he might be grateful and serve the Empire for a period, but this connection would be fragile. Once a greater temptation appeared, or once he grew strong enough to fear no constraints, the bond might break.
However, affection nurtured from a young age was different.
When he was still weak and had yet to fully reveal his edge, she entered his life as an elder sister, caring for his growth, sharing his joys and worries, subtly making him accustomed to her presence, and regarding each other as trusted, reliable kin.
This kind of emotional connection established during the process of growth was far purer than an exchange of benefits, and much more reassuring.
She was investing in the future, and emotion was the best guarantee to ensure this investment yielded the richest and most stable returns.
Therefore, her attentiveness toward Caelus stemmed both from political foresight and genuine recognition of Caelus himself.
Watching him grow step by step and become increasingly outstanding, her heart was indeed filled with comfort and a sense of accomplishment.
The carriage drove away from the academy. Xu Jiujiu leaned against the soft seat, recalling Caelus's boundary-breaking spirit ring configuration and those two outrageous Martial Soul Abilities. A satisfied smile couldn't help but curve her lips.
Deep within the Evil Demon Forest, all was silent, and even the sound of decaying leaves peeling off seemed particularly jarring.
The Death Qi permeating the air was so thick it felt substantial, creating a suffocating pressure.
In a clearing in the forest, an unequal hunt was nearing its end.
A massive creature, a Nether Ghost Tiger with cultivation nearing fifteen thousand years, was letting out a desperate, silent roar.
Its body was huge, its fur displayed an ominous dark purple, and its entire body was wrapped in materialized resentment. Pale Soul fire burned in its tiger eyes.
This creature was originally a fearsome top predator on the outskirts of the Evil Demon Forest, yet now it was like an insect caught in a spiderweb, tightly bound in place by countless strands of crimson thread, fine as hair but incredibly tough.
These crimson threads were not physical; they were formed by pure mental force and Soul Power. They precisely wrapped around the Nether Ghost Tiger's joints and throat, preventing it from mobilizing even a trace of Soul Power. Its massive body maintained a rigid pouncing posture, frozen in place, with only boundless anger and fear burning in its pale tiger eyes.
Not far behind the Soul Beast, Fei Yan, dressed in a Gothic Lolita style, stood quietly. There were no ripples in her crimson eyes; she simply raised a small hand casually, fingers slightly spread, as if controlling invisible puppet strings.
For her, a Rank Ninety-seven Super Douluo, subduing a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast was no different from playing with a real doll.
"That is enough, Holy Maiden."
Fei Yan's voice carried a slight doll-like tone, exceptionally clear in the dead silence of the forest.
As her voice fell, Castorice, who had been standing still and observing, moved.
She wore a purple and white dress, and her silver-white hair flowed with a faint light in the dim surroundings.
Facing the completely restrained Nether Ghost Tiger, she showed no expression, her amethyst eyes as calm as a deep pool.
A strangely shaped, massive scythe, entirely condensed from black-purple Death energy, silently appeared in her hand—this was precisely her First Spirit Ability, the "Styx Death Scythe."
Without the slightest hesitation, she flashed forward, and the Styx Death Scythe in her hand drew a cold arc, precisely slicing across the Nether Ghost Tiger's throat.
There was no fierce collision, nor was there overflowing energy.
Where the scythe blade passed, a slender purple wound emitting thick Death Qi appeared on the Nether Ghost Tiger's neck.
The wound did not bleed, but the power of Death upon it instantly eroded its vitality and extinguished its burning Soul fire.
The Nether Ghost Tiger's massive body twitched violently. Its pale eyes completely dimmed, and the resentment wrapped around its body suddenly dispersed as if losing its support.
Fei Yan retracted the crimson threads in time.
The Styx Death Scythe in Castorice's hand also dissipated.
She didn't even look at the Soul Beast corpse, which was rapidly losing its life force, and walked straight to the side to sit down cross-legged.
A profound black spirit ring emerged from the Nether Ghost Tiger's corpse, carrying the immense energy and ferocious resentment unique to a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast, and was slowly drawn toward her.
The moment the ten-thousand-year spirit ring enveloped her, massive energy surged into her body like a breached flood.
Her petite body trembled slightly, and faint golden, fine patterns appeared on the surface of her skin—this was the Golden Scion Bloodline automatically manifesting under the impact.
Simultaneously, two brilliant purple spirit rings spontaneously surfaced behind her, slowly pulsating around her body.
The first spirit ring, purple!
The second spirit ring, purple!
An eight-year-old child surrounded by two thousand-year soul rings—this sight alone was enough to overturn the common sense of the Spirit Master's world.
And now, she was attempting to accommodate a third spirit ring, and it was ten-thousand-year Rank.
Terrifying energy and spiritual resentment rampaged through her body, attempting to tear apart her Meridians and erode her Soul.
But Castorice's Meridians were as if cast from the toughest alloy, remaining unshakable under the support of the Golden Scion Bloodline.
As for the spiritual resentment that would drive a Soul Master of the same Rank insane, it struck her sea of consciousness, which had been tempered by the "Regent of Death" Martial Soul, like waves crashing against a reef, only to dissipate in vain.
Throughout the entire process, Castorice didn't even frown.
Time quietly flowed. When the third profound black spirit ring was completely stable, standing alongside the previous two spirit rings and emitting heart-stopping light, the Soul Power fluctuations on Castorice's body suddenly broke through the Bottleneck and stabilized at Rank Thirty-three.
Purple, Purple, Black.
Three circles of magnificent spirit rings hovered behind an eight-year-old girl. This scene, defying all common sense, was filled with ultimate beauty and silent shock.
Even Fei Yan, who had personally facilitated this, watched the unimaginable scene before her, and a trace of undisguised astonishment and complexity flashed across her crimson eyes again.
Two years. In just two years, this little girl, who was taken as a Disciple by the Supreme Cult Master, soared all the way from Rank Thirteen, having just acquired her first spirit ring, to her current Rank Thirty-three.
Excluding the Rank increase brought about by absorbing spirit rings above her level, she averaged a seven Rank increase in Soul Power per year.
What kind of terrifying Cultivation speed was this?!
Fei Yan knew very well that Castorice had never Cultivated the wicked methods of the Holy Spirit Cult that devoured life and Soul.
What she relied on was entirely her own special Bloodline, her Heaven-Defying talent, and her innate affinity for and control over the Law of Death.
All the Holy Spirit Cult provided were mountains of top-tier resources and the most brutal combat environments.