Rourou?
'How frustrating,' Ye Tian thought. 'This Soul Body with its nascent Spiritual Wisdom clearly has the disposition of a child, yet a being like this possesses the power to crush and kill me in an instant.'
"Ah, bad guy! I found you! Hehehe..."
Suddenly, a doll-like humanoid figure, glowing with a faint blue light, appeared before Ye Tian. At that moment, the splitting headache he felt intensified, making it almost impossible for him to keep his eyes open.
After scrutinizing it, however, he could make out that the one causing him this excruciating pain was actually a little girl who looked no older than five or six.
The little girl was biting one of her fingers, letting out a string of bell-like giggles. She just stared blankly at Ye Tian, not making a move.
But the longer the girl stared at him, the more Ye Tian felt a pain like his very soul was being torn apart. It seemed that if this continued, his soul would eventually disintegrate, reaching the state of Divine Soul Destruction that the War Dragon Remnant Soul had mentioned.
"Hiss... Just give me a quick death!"
Ye Tian glared at the little girl and couldn't help but roar. The feeling was simply too unbearable. He'd rather just die and get it over with!
But his glare seemed to frighten the glowing blue Soul Body, which took several steps back. "Waaah! You're such a mean bad guy! Why are you glaring at Rourou like that? If you keep glaring at Rourou, Rourou won't be nice to you anymore!"
Hearing this, Ye Tian sneered. "Oh really? I'd like to see what you can do. Bring on whatever tricks you have. I, Ye Tian, am not so easily frightened!"
To Ye Tian's astonishment, however, the little girl just pouted. With a cry that sounded just like a human's, she ran straight at him. Raising her lifelike little fists, she began to "ferociously pummel" his chest!
"Waaah, bad guy, bad guy! Rourou is hitting you! Hitting you!"
The terrifyingly powerful attack he had imagined never came. As Ye Tian watched the tiny fists strike his chest, not only did he not feel the slightest discomfort, but the splitting headache he'd had before actually vanished!
A potent surge of Soul Power entered his body, making his soul feel as if it were soaking in a warm, comfortable hot spring.
Not only that, but at this moment, Ye Tian felt his damaged Divine Sense begin to mend, and it even showed signs of growing stronger!
Just as Ye Tian was reeling in confusion, the War Dragon Remnant Soul exclaimed in shock, "My goodness, this Dragon misjudged! This isn't a Soul Body that has gained Spiritual Wisdom at all! It's a Soul Skill that has gained Spiritual Wisdom!"
Ye Tian was also momentarily stunned. He couldn't help but ask in his mind, 'A Soul Skill that's gained Spiritual Wisdom? What's that?'
The War Dragon Remnant Soul organized its thoughts for a moment before replying excitedly, "That's right! Just like a Combat Skill, a Soul Skill is an extremely powerful method of attack. However, it requires Soul Power to be used. People with weak Soul Power aren't even qualified to practice them. Only those with exceptional talent can cultivate Soul Skills, using them to temper their soul, before they can finally be unleashed!"
When Ye Tian heard this, he was amazed. 'There are actually offensive skills in this world that can be unleashed using the soul? These Soul Skills are too profound!'
"Then this little girl is...?"
Ye Tian was full of doubt. The War Dragon Remnant Soul continued to explain, "At first, I thought this was a product of Spiritual Wisdom formed from a Soul Body. But now, it seems this is a legendary product of Spiritual Wisdom formed from a high-level Soul Skill. A being like this only releases immense Soul Energy but possesses no Attack Power of its own, because its true form is just a Soul Skill."
Hearing the War Dragon Remnant Soul's words, Ye Tian heaved a long sigh of relief. Knowing that this so-called sentient Soul Skill had no offensive capabilities meant that he and Zhang Xinlan were no longer in mortal danger. They were just temporarily unable to withstand the pressure of this sentient Soul Skill, which was causing them some pain.
"So what do I do now? The exit is sealed, and I can't do anything to her. I can't be trapped here forever, can I?"
Ye Tian was frustrated. He looked down at Zhang Xinlan in his arms, who showed no signs of waking, and began to worry again.
"Foolish boy! What are you worried about? A massive opportunity is right in front of you! You have to understand, Soul Skills are legendary things to begin with. And now you have a Soul Skill so high-level that it's gained Spiritual Wisdom—that's a treasure even this Dragon has never seen! You should be happy! As for the exit, that's simple. You just need to successfully communicate with this Soul Skill, comprehend even a tiny fraction of it, and take control of this sentient, girl-shaped form. Then everything will be solved."
The War Dragon Remnant Soul's words made everything click for Ye Tian. He couldn't help but grow excited. 'If I could control a Soul Skill, wouldn't I be able to invisibly kill enemies with my Soul Power? That's too insane!'
"Ahem! Don't get ahead of yourself, boy. Reaching that level is still a long way off. Your aptitude is already extremely Heaven-defying, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to endure this for so long without passing out. But even so, you'll only be able to cross the threshold of practicing Soul Skills when you reach the Six Vein Realm."
"It would be an achievement just to reach minor proficiency by the time you cultivate to the Nine Veins. Soul Skills are powerful, but at the Nine Veins level, a Soul Skill can at most restrain an enemy. If you want to kill with one, you'd probably need to cultivate the legendary Immortal Power within your body..."
Immortal Power!
Ye Tian had heard this term again. It seemed the path of cultivation was truly a long and distant one. Even the War Dragon Divine Venerable had many unknown domains he had yet to understand or explore.
"Alright, stop thinking about all that nonsense. You might feel comfortable getting hit by this little girl, but this Dragon's Remnant Soul is suffering! Hurry up and communicate with this sentient Soul Skill, claim it, and get out of here. Even if you can't cultivate it for now, at least we can get free!"
Heeding the War Dragon Remnant Soul's reminder, Ye Tian didn't dare to delay. Zhang Xinlan was still unconscious, her soul constantly under pressure. Who knew what problems might arise if this went on for too long?
'The day's events have left me deeply shaken,' Ye Tian thought. 'I can't believe even a Soul Skill can gain Spiritual Wisdom. Could a high-level Combat Skill do the same? The world is so vast, and all things within it are truly wondrous!'
Ye Tian calmed his mind and focused, casting aside all distracting thoughts. He looked at the pouting little girl before him and began to attempt to communicate with her through his soul.
"Hey, why are you so angry? I didn't do anything to you!"
Before, Ye Tian could only perceive the girl's words with his soul; she couldn't hear what he said. But now that he was communicating via his soul, she could hear him.
"Huh? You bad guy can actually talk to me?"
The little girl was surprised, and a humanlike look of confusion appeared in her faint blue eyes.
"You're not being a very good little girl. I'm not a bad person, so why are you so hostile towards me? You should call me 'big brother,' you know?"
Ye Tian continued to communicate with the sentient Soul Skill, hoping to first reason with her and get her to withdraw her immense power. Otherwise, Zhang Xinlan could be truly harmed.
"Hmph! Rourou is the best-behaved! I can call you 'big brother,' but you have to play with Rourou. If Rourou is happy, then I'll call you 'big brother'!"
When Ye Tian heard the sentient being's request, his face lit up in a smile. "Of course I can! But that name, Rourou, isn't very nice. How about big brother calls you Rourou or Rou'er instead?"
Ye Tian continued to cajole the sentient Soul Skill, hoping to win her approval.