Chapter 218: Chapter 208: Soul Fox

Jingjing had short legs. By the time it scurried over, taking tiny, hurried steps, the area inside the gate was already densely packed with people—quite a spectacular sight.

Luckily, it was small. With its agile yet stocky build, it successfully navigated the sea of people and leaped into Tang Mo’s arms.

...

The moment she hugged Jingjing, Tang Mo felt its immense weight.

Jingjing must have eaten very well during the days she was gone. Holding it was now a bit of a struggle for her.

Tang Mo made a decision. From now on, she would hold Jingjing more often. Perhaps it would help her get used to wielding Heavenly’s axe faster.

It would be like carrying a sandbag around every day.

’Jingjing, do you recognize that mutant beast?’

Tang Mo was communicating with Jingjing telepathically. With so many prying eyes, it wasn’t wise to speak aloud.

This was the very reason she had been in such a hurry to summon Jingjing.

She hadn’t called Jingjing over to fight, but to ask it some questions.

Before its update, the ID Watch originally had an item appraisal function that Tang Mo had used back at school.

But after the update, this feature was gone. The item appraisal function vanished, as did the one for identifying mutant beasts.

They were replaced by a Treasure Compendium and a Mutant Beast Bestiary.

Only treasures and mutant beasts that had already appeared in the world and become widely known were listed in the guides.

This fox had obviously just made its appearance. Since no one knew anything about it, its entry in the bestiary was naturally not yet unlocked.

But Jingjing had a miraculous ability, something Tang Mo had discovered long ago in a previous battle.

Even though Jingjing was a Crystal-eating Beast, which sounded like it was only concerned with Crystal Stones...

...in reality, Jingjing was incredibly powerful—a beast that had received a legacy of knowledge from birth.

It could perfectly identify every species of mutant beast in its mind and recall their individual traits.

You could say Jingjing was the ultimate cheat code for fighting, killing, and looting.

’Jingjing, do you recognize that one?’

Tang Mo directed her spiritual power toward the fox, which was still sitting calmly beyond the line of fire.

Jingjing was also a Spiritual System mutant beast, so of course it could perceive the scene.

After a brief mental scan, it knew exactly what the creature was.

’It’s a Soul Beast, an Earth-rank Mutant Beast.’

’A Soul Beast? An Earth-rank Mutant Beast?’

Both terms were completely new to Tang Mo.

But this clearly wasn’t the right time for one of Jingjing’s little lectures.

’What are its attacks, traits, and weaknesses?’

Tang Mo pressed on, as this was the most useful information for them at the moment.

’Soul Beasts are a unique classification among Earth Level mutant beasts. In other words, they are the Spirit Attribute type of mutant beast. They have very little combat power or direct attack methods on their own. They rely primarily on a single skill: control.

’Soul Beasts use spiritual power to control other mutant beasts, so they usually have a flock of underlings. The exact number they can control depends entirely on the strength of the Soul Beast’s own spiritual power.

’This soul fox, for instance, can control over seventy Advanced Mutant Beasts. Its spiritual power is strong. Extremely strong.’

Jingjing explained.

’Then are you a Soul Beast, too?’

Tang Mo suddenly interjected with the question.

After all, Jingjing was a being beyond Advanced Mutant Beasts and also possessed a Spirit Attribute superpower.

’Momo, I’ve told you before, I’m a Crystal-eating Beast!! I’m not some mere Earth Level mutant beast. Even a Heavenly Level Mutant Beast isn’t worth one of my little claws!’

Jingjing was a little peeved that Tang Mo would compare it to a trash-tier Earth Level mutant beast.

’Sure, I said the soul fox was powerful, but that was only compared to the humans here. It’s nothing compared to me!’

’So you can’t control other beasts, huh,’ Tang Mo thought, a little disappointed.

She recalled the Wildman Tribe she had encountered near the Xing Clan. That tribe had conquered the mountain by using controlled poisonous insects to silently kill the few ape guards.

However, Tang Mo had led her forces in such a swift attack that the enemy had no time to react, so the Wildman Tribe never got a chance to use its ultimate technique.

Still, it was a regret for Tang Mo.

’Beast Control... who wouldn’t want a skill that powerful?’

She’d thought Jingjing might have it as well.

’Momo!’

Hearing the disappointment in Momo’s tone, Jingjing was furious. ’What I can do is way better than simple Beast Control, okay?!’

In truth, Tang Mo had a rough idea of what a Soul Beast was now.

It was like how a human Spiritual Ability User could contract a Beast Pet; as long as your spiritual power was strong enough, you could theoretically contract as many as you wanted.

Furthermore, Tang Mo had discovered through experimentation that it was far easier to use spiritual power to control one’s own species than to control an Alien Race.

For example, it wasn’t easy for a human Spiritual Ability User to contract a mutant beast, but temporarily controlling another person was much simpler.

The only problem was that the human body and brain were too fragile. Tang Mo suspected that if she used Spiritual Control on a human, the victim’s brain would likely be destroyed in the process.

They would be left a drooling imbecile even after the control was released. That was why Tang Mo had never tried this technique, and she wouldn’t do so lightly.

In contrast, it was simple for the soul fox to control mutant beasts. Controlling humans was the truly difficult part.

’So how do you deal with a Soul Beast?’ Tang Mo asked, getting straight to her most pressing question.

’Up close, a Soul Beast is very easy to kill. After all, it has almost no attack power and is very fragile. But they almost never give their enemies a chance to get near. There are two ways to kill a Soul Beast.

’First, you can withstand the Soul Beast’s spiritual attack, break through the horde of mutant beasts it controls, and kill it directly.

’Second, you can use a vastly superior spiritual power to overwhelm its own, causing a backlash. But if you mess it up, your spiritual power will be absorbed by the Soul Beast, and you’ll die before it does. However, if your spiritual power is powerful enough, it’s theoretically possible to contract a Soul Beast.’

’Based on this Soul Beast’s spiritual power, what do you think my chances of success are with a remote attack?’

Jingjing’s words made Tang Mo eager to try.

’Thirty percent. The other seventy percent is you getting hit by the backlash. As for contracting it, forget it. You don’t even have a ten percent chance.’

Jingjing, still fuming over Tang Mo’s earlier comment, replied bluntly.

To be fair, while Tang Mo’s current Spirit Attribute ranked first in all of Huaxia, most of that power came from fusing with the Spirit Light Ball. Her own innate spiritual power didn’t actually account for much of it.

Even with over ten thousand points, she barely had a thirty percent chance of killing this Soul Beast with a remote spiritual attack.

The spark of excitement in Tang Mo’s heart was instantly extinguished. Just a moment ago, she’d been thinking she was getting pretty powerful. Now, it seemed she still had a long and arduous road ahead of her.

What Tang Mo didn’t realize, however, was that her current spiritual power was actually more than enough to kill a Soul Beast remotely.

The problem was that the Soul Beast she had run into today was exceptionally powerful—strong enough to control nearly a hundred Advanced Mutant Beasts. It was not a foe that could be dealt with so easily.

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