"If there are any points you still don't understand about the fusion process, feel free to speak up, and I will address them one by one."
"If there are no questions, then we will officially begin the fusion of the soul spirit."
Zhongli stood on the platform, his hands clasped behind his back, his expression calm and unreadable. His amber eyes swept across the room. Though he didn't release any oppressive aura or the imposing presence of a superior, his mere presence exuded the air of a true powerhouse.
His demeanor, the tone and pace of his speech, none of it suggested he was an ordinary person!
When the Traveler first arrived in Liyue and met this Zhongli, they immediately sensed that he was no ordinary individual. He seemed like a candidate for the Geo Archon or perhaps even an adeptus.
Zhongli could hide his identity, but his long-standing habits and behaviors always left subtle clues that betrayed his true nature.
Hearing his words, the group exchanged glances and shook their heads.
The Martial God had already explained everything clearly, and he had even repeated the precautions twice. How could they not remember?
"No problem!" they replied in unison.
At this moment, Beibei was extremely excited. His first soul spirit was a hundred-thousand-year-level one! Moreover, after fusing with the Golden Tortoise, it was likely to awaken the trace of Golden Saint Dragon bloodline within him, further enhancing his potential!
"Hmm~" Zhongli nodded, pondering for a moment before continuing, "Beibei, Golden Tortoise, calm your emotions for a moment, then stand at the center of the platform."
Without hesitation, Beibei and the Golden Tortoise quickly moved to the center of the platform.
As a two-hundred-thousand-year-level beast, the Golden Tortoise was quite large, but fortunately, the platform was spacious enough to accommodate its massive body.
Of course, no matter how large the Golden Tortoise was, it was still insignificant compared to the likes of the Dragon King Azhdaha.
"Lord Martial God, I'm ready."
"Lord Martial God, I'm ready as well."
Beibei and the Golden Tortoise spoke one after the other, the latter looking relaxed, finally ready to be freed from its predicament.
The Golden Tortoise deeply regretted its actions. If it hadn't been greedy for more life energy, it would never have ended up on this path.
Di Tian had said that the Life Gold was a gift from the Star Dou Great Forest to the Martial God. It seemed that the master had forgiven it. If not, it might not have even been allowed to become a soul spirit...
"Before the fusion, both of you must make a vow."
"Beibei, you must swear on your martial soul that you will treat the Golden Tortoise well and regard it as your partner."
"Golden Tortoise, you must swear on your soul that you will not assist Beibei in any wrongdoing and will do your best to help him grow."
The current soul spirit system had a significant flaw: after a human's death, the soul spirit could escape to the "Soul Spirit Plane," thus avoiding true death.
If a soul spirit intentionally betrayed its host to escape to the Soul Spirit Plane, it would create a severe crisis of trust.
The fragile relationship between humans and spirit beasts, which had only recently begun to improve, would collapse in an instant.
On the Douluo Continent, both spirit masters and spirit beasts took vows very seriously. Even evil spirit masters would adhere to their oaths. This was a form of binding force.
Though Beibei and the Golden Tortoise were puzzled, they followed Zhongli's instructions and made their vows.
As their words fell, Zhongli nodded in satisfaction.
"Next, the official fusion begins!"
With a wave of his right hand, an amber-colored contract formation appeared beneath Beibei and the Golden Tortoise. As the formation materialized, the two were enveloped in a golden light.
"This is an equal contract. Both of you must shed a drop of blood to sign it. Once the contract is sealed, the two of you will become inseparable partners."
Beibei and the Golden Tortoise exchanged a glance, then without hesitation, each forced out a drop of blood, which fell onto the formation.
As the blood droplets landed, the contract formation erupted with a dazzling light, turning the sky golden.
At this moment, the Golden Tortoise's body seemed to be burning, a scene reminiscent of a spirit beast's sacrifice.
After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the Golden Tortoise completely disappeared, and Beibei entered a martial soul possession state.
A red soul ring with two golden lines quickly rose from beneath his feet, while his original two yellow and one purple soul rings paled in comparison.
On Beibei's torso, a golden light flashed briefly.
Zhongli knew that this was the two-hundred-thousand-year Golden Tortoise Torso Soul Bone!
As the Golden Tortoise's soul ring and soul bone integrated, the golden light around Beibei grew more intense, and his hair turned golden.
Unlike Huo Yuhao's soul spirit fusion in the original timeline, Beibei's fusion resulted in a significant increase in spirit power!
When Huo Yuhao underwent his fusion, his meridians couldn't withstand the surge of spirit power, and most of it was sealed away, leaving him with only a fraction of the energy.
In contrast, when Tang San absorbed Xiao Wu's soul ring and soul bone at level 60, he directly jumped to level 68, an eight-level leap at the Soul Emperor stage!
The Golden Tortoise, both in terms of age and quality, far surpassed Xiao Wu. And Beibei wasn't a Soul Emperor; he was only a quasi-Soul Ancestor. Naturally, absorbing the Golden Tortoise's energy gave him an even greater boost!
Level 41, level 42… level 47… level 49…
When spirit power stalls, there's always a reason!
Beibei's spirit power paused briefly at level 49 before breaking through to level 50!
To everyone's astonishment, as soon as Beibei reached level 50, another red soul ring with two golden lines slowly rose from beneath his feet!
"It's true! Soul spirits… soul spirits can indeed provide multiple soul rings to help spirit masters break through!"
"Heavens, two hundred-thousand-year soul rings…"
At this time, people didn't yet understand the difference between hundred-thousand-year soul rings and beast king soul rings.
A normal hundred-thousand-year soul ring had only one red line. For every additional hundred thousand years, another line would appear.
As for why Xue Di's soul ring was orange, perhaps she was special…
Orange represented beast king soul rings, though their exact age was unknown.
"This Golden Tortoise might even provide Beibei with four hundred-thousand-year soul rings. By then, Beibei could possess a hundred-thousand-year-level martial soul true body!"
"I'm so envious. What else can I say but envy?"
"Why… why am I still five levels away from breaking through?!"
"Soul spirits… I want a soul spirit too!"
Having witnessed the unique power of soul spirits firsthand, the spirit masters' desire for them grew even stronger.
In Beibei's consciousness.
The Golden Tortoise sighed and said, "Kid, you've hit the jackpot."
"Huh?"
"I'm not just a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast. I'm a two-hundred-thousand-year beast king. Do you understand what that means?"
Hearing this, Beibei shuddered, his eyes widening in disbelief.
This Golden Tortoise was a beast king?!
"Our kind, as long as we don't die prematurely, are destined to become beast kings. That's something no other race can match."