C29 The Black Claw Specter

En route to the Sanctuary for Spiritual Growth, Zhou Mu dialed Zheng Hao to clarify the intricate relationships at play.

His second aunt and the principal were twin sisters, both having fallen for their second uncle.

Over a decade ago, during a fierce battle, his second aunt fell victim to a surprise attack by the nefarious Brightsmiths and was killed. This tragedy extinguished his second uncle's capacity for love, turning his quest for vengeance into his life's sole pursuit.

Through the years, a myriad of foes met their end at his second uncle's hands, his heart growing ever colder with each battle.

The principal sought to heal his second uncle's emotional wounds, but her advances were consistently spurned, leading to a prolonged stalemate.

Zheng Hao, serving as both bodyguard and secretary to his second uncle, secretly hoped for a union between the two. Yet, his second uncle's obstinate nature left no room for the principal's overtures.

"Ah, such tormented souls," Zhou Mu lamented, overcome with a wave of melancholy.

What is this thing called love, that it commands such life-and-death devotion?

Tragic, indeed. Heartbreaking.

...

The gateway to the Sanctuary for Spiritual Growth was tucked away behind the office building. Guarded by a level ten Animal Whisperer, it was impenetrable unless confronted by a trio from either the Vision of the Ended or the Poisongarde.

Zhou Mu shattered the key in his grasp, vanishing amidst a ripple of space.

The journey through teleportation was serene. Once the vertigo cleared from his mind, Zhou Mu discovered he had arrived somewhere entirely new.

It was a place of shadows and silence, devoid of animals, plants, wind, and celestial bodies.

A peculiar essence permeated the air—indescribable yet oddly soothing to Zhou Mu.

"Truly, this is a Sanctuary for Spiritual Growth," he marveled, sensing a subtle yet tangible enhancement in his soul's intensity.

Summoning Gator and Goldie, the two creatures explored their new surroundings with keen interest.

"Boss, what is this place? It's incredibly comforting!" Goldie remarked, pawing at the ground to dig a hole, driven by a simple, instinctive urge.

Such a mundane act was expected to be inconsequential.

Yet, as is often the case, reality had a surprise in store—a ghostly figure emerged leisurely from the freshly dug pit.

"Damn!"

Goldie let out a startled cry, flapping its wings in an attempt to slice the entity in two, but what happened next was even more horrifying.

Its wings might as well have swished through an illusion, inflicting no damage whatsoever.

"What is this thing?"

Zhou Mu's brow furrowed as he watched the white apparition emerge from the pit.

Standing half a meter tall, cloaked in white, it floated aimlessly through the air, seemingly devoid of any intent to attack them.

It reminded him of a ghost from Western tales of old, more a tool for frightening the faint-hearted than anything else.

Gator opened its jaws and released a cloud of venomous mist. Just like with Goldie, the white specter seemed impervious; the mist simply wafted through it.

"Hiss hiss hiss!"

Perplexed, Gator drew its tail from the backpack, ready to strike, but Zhou Mu intervened.

"It's a soul body. You can't touch it, nor can you harm it."

With that, Zhou Mu unleashed a soul spike.

Sure enough, as soon as the soul spike, a concentration of soul energy, touched the ghost, it dissipated into a wisp of white smoke, leaving no trace behind.

Simultaneously, Zhou Mu sensed the soul energy he had expended rapidly replenishing. In under ten seconds, it was fully restored.

Moreover, he noticed a slight increase in his soul energy.

"This place is incredible!"

Zhou Mu exclaimed, now understanding the nature of the Sanctuary for Spiritual Growth.

Martial arts were futile here, spirit animals ineffective; only soul techniques could damage the ghosts.

Due to the unique properties of this location, not only could one swiftly recover spent soul energy, but it could also incrementally enhance the upper limit of one's soul intensity.

In essence, this was a sacred training ground for soul techniques.

With this realization, Zhou Mu's excitement surged.

If he could train here for a year, his soul intensity might well recover to over 50 points.

And with additional time to strengthen Goldie and Gator, adversaries like the Sinister Six would be no match for him—bring on ten or eight at a time, and Zhou Mu would remain undaunted.

Without urging Goldie to resume digging, Zhou Mu and his spirit animals pressed on, soon encountering several more aimless spirits.

The discovery of the spirit animal in the pit turned out to be sheer luck. Spirit animals, lacking a physical form, could pass through most materials with ease.

Had Zhou Mu not dug the pit and chosen to chop down a tree instead, he might have stumbled upon a spirit animal just the same.

Dispatching several spirits with ease, Zhou Mu set his sights on a direction and pressed on.

He relentlessly executed soul techniques, taking down spirit after spirit.

In a mere two hours, Zhou Mu's soul intensity had increased by 0.1 points.

This boost came while keeping his soul energy in relative balance. Fighting ten hours a day, he'd gain a minimum of 0.5 points in soul intensity. That's five points in ten days, and fifty points in a hundred days.

A year spent in the Sanctuary for Spiritual Growth could elevate Zhou Mu's soul intensity to 200 points, equivalent to a level ten Animal Whisperer.

What was this place?

It was freaking paradise!

But that was just wishful thinking.

If reaching level ten were that easy, the Noshar Empire would have been unbeatable long ago.

Moving on, Zhou Mu soon encountered a different kind of spirit animal.

In contrast to the previous, more innocuous creature, this one boasted a pair of menacing black claws.

Clearly, it was aggressive.

"Both of you, fall back!"

Spirit beasts couldn't interact with spirits, but the spirits had no trouble touching them.

This might involve some interplay of the corporeal and ethereal, and Zhou Mu would have risked Gator and Gator's safety if necessary.

But now, it wasn't.

The soul spike hit the black-clawed spirit without warning.

Indeed, this creature was a cut above the earlier spirits—not only was its soul body more robust, but it could also retaliate.

"Aooo!"

The black-clawed spirit's mouth gaped open, emitting a silent roar.

Zhou Mu's mind reeled as the spectral entity suddenly closed in on him.

"This is bad!"

The situation was dire. Gator and Gator were too distant, and it was doubtful they could intervene in time.

Zhou Mu tried to evade, but his physical reactions paled in comparison to the spirit's swiftness.

With no other option, he braced for a direct confrontation.

The second soul spike struck the black-clawed spirit, causing its phantom form to quiver violently, as if struggling to keep its shape.

Wang Yan didn't dare to delay a moment longer, unleashing another soul spike.

"Crack!"

The Black Claw Phantom finally vanished, but not before its talons grazed Wang Yan's body.

There was no pain, just a wave of weakness and disorientation.

Undoubtedly, despite its seemingly corporeal form, the Black Claw Phantom was essentially a soul.

Once struck by it, a soul would suffer severe depletion, plunging into a state of frailty.

If the soul energy couldn't withstand the phantom's assault, it would disintegrate completely.

"It appears unassuming, yet its peril exceeds that of clashes between spirit beasts and martial arts."

Wang Yan wiped away the nonexistent sweat from his brow, resolving that should he encounter another Black Claw Phantom, he must eliminate it without hesitation.

"Boss, guess what I found?"

Jinzi's voice rang out nearby. Wang Yan turned to see a soul shard clutched in its mouth.

It could increase soul intensity by 0.3, with a maximum of 5 points.

It was of no use to Wang Yan at the moment, but it could be sold for money or exchanged for credits.

Of course, Wang Yan had another option—to trade it with the system.

He received 400 points!

"Damn it, what a rip-off! Wasn't the square deal system supposed to exchange a shard for 500 points, not just give me 400?"

Hearing the system's prompt, Wang Yan couldn't help but let loose a string of expletives.

After a solid ten minutes of swearing without any response, Wang Yan ceased his tirade.

Truth be told, the system was relatively fair, albeit a bit of a gouge, but it was far better than some that would offer only a fraction of the value.

Take diamonds, for instance—costing 100,000 yuan to purchase, but upon resale, hardly anyone would take them for 10,000 yuan.