Chapter 129 - 128: The "Soul Beast" Takes Shape
Pei Yin glanced at the message on his Star Brain. "Why did they change the notice?"
At the same time, Ling Yanzhi also saw the notice.
He frowned, feeling like something was off.
But Pei Yin’s words put his doubts to rest.
"The competition has always been held on other planets. This is the first time it’s here, so I can see why Si Xu would be worried about too many people showing up and causing delays. A few changes are understandable."
Pei Yin entered Villa No. 6 first. "Sheng Yue and Si Xu are usually in charge of the auditorium. We’ll have them keep an eye out tomorrow. Maybe they’ll even be able to catch the person."
He turned and, unable to resist, gently pressed his palm on top of her head.
Ling Yanzhi felt a lingering unease. "I’ll come get you as soon as I’m finished, baby. Ji Shiyin is still held up, so I need to go meet him. Don’t want those people from the other academies to start any trouble."
"Mm," Jian Yu said, looking up. She found she could only see his chin.
She lowered her gaze, thinking to herself as she walked.
’Imperial Capital Star occupies the center, and all the Alliance’s resources are funneled to it. But then there are Emperor Wolf Star, Emperor Tiger Star, and Emperor Source Star.’
’The people from those planets aren’t that capable, but they’re famous for their arrogance and recklessness.’
’It’s true that someone needs to keep them in check.’
Pei Yin switched on the identification machine’s startup screen.
He lowered his voice, not wanting to sound too harsh, and urged her, "It’s getting late. Let’s start now."
Jian Yu looked around the empty testing room, momentarily baffled.
Realizing what he meant, she raised her hand and summoned a swirl of smoke.
’To create the illusion of a Soul Beast and pass as an Awakener, I have to let people see the physical threads of mist.’
Jian Yu turned her head to the side. "Can you see it?"
"Yes." Ling Yanzhi suppressed his combative instincts.
The Fierce Beast’s aura was too strong.
[Identification complete.]
[Identification Result: Level 3S Fierce Beast. Personality: Unknown. Skills: Unknown. Danger Level: 3S.]
Jian Yu pursed her lips, her long, lowered eyelashes trembling slightly.
She’d just felt a flash of killing intent from Ling Yanzhi.
It was even more intense than the killing intent she’d felt from Pei Yin when they first met.
The calm she had just found was shattered. All sorts of terrible possibilities flooded her mind, and she unconsciously took two steps back.
Seeing Jian Yu’s stunned expression, Ling Yanzhi’s frown softened.
His fingers brushed against his purple brooch. His voice was gentle as he said, "It’s the same color as this. Very beautiful."
Pei Yin frowned. "Can you two stop being so lovey-dovey? Now is not the time. Her Fierce Beast aura is even more intense than Shi Zhao’s. It has to be concealed."
Otherwise, even if she formed it into the shape of a Soul Beast, it might not be enough to fool anyone.
"A normal Awakener only emits that terrifying Fierce Beast aura when their Soul Beast rampages. That’s how they get mistaken for one."
Pei Yin slapped the machine. "Hey, wake up! Are you broken? Be serious. Scan her again."
[Identifying... with great seriousness...]
[Identification complete.]
[Identification Result: Super 3S Level Fierce Beast [Suspected]. Personality: Unknown. Skills: Unknown. Danger Level: Super 3S.]
Pei Yin turned off the machine.
He opted to reboot it. "This machine has to be busted. A Super 3S Level Fierce Beast aura, and that’s when she’s calm? The pressure from her Beast Soul alone would scare the low-level kids witless."
[Startup successful.]
[Identifying... with extreme, extreme seriousness...]
[Identification Result: Super-Super-Super 3S Level Fierce Beast [Suspected]. Personality: Unknown. Skills: Unknown. Danger Level: Super-Super-Super 3S.]
The ever-talkative Pei Yin fell into a rare silence.
The air grew still, as if it, too, was left speechless by his antics.
Seeing that Pei Yin was no help, Ling Yanzhi turned to Jian Yu. "Baby, before Shi Zhao left, did he tell you how to control the aura of his ’imitation’ Soul Beast?"
"He mentioned a little." Jian Yu didn’t say that she and Shi Zhao had exchanged Star Brain IDs.
Shi Zhao’s chat logs weren’t exactly suitable for others to see.
Jian Yu formulated her thoughts. "Once the mist threads take on a color in front of others, the scent pours out uncontrollably. I can’t pull it back in."
Shi Zhao couldn’t retract his, either.
"However, Shi Zhao said that only the scent of the Soul Taming Breath [blackish-purple] is aggressive. He told me to try and switch to the Hidden Beast Aura and the Tamed Spirit Breath when I use my power."
The Hidden Beast Aura [reddish-pink] is alluring and bewitching, while the Tamed Spirit Breath [cyan] is for healing. Both of them also attract attention easily.
Jian Yu observed their reactions. "Are these three scents different?"
She couldn’t smell them herself; she only knew from what Xi Yu had told her that it was a delicate fragrance of yulan and white tea.
She conjured three wisps of smoke from her fingertips.
Pink, cyan, purple.
Pei Yin froze. "You can’t smell them?"
He remembered the harsh words he had said on the first day they met, and his voice cracked slightly as he repeated, "You can’t smell them?"
Jian Yu looked up, her expression deadpan.
She spoke slowly, "You never asked."
Pei Yin lifted a hand, and the ornaments on his person jingled.
His fan-like lashes, which naturally drooped at the corners of his eyes, arched slightly, giving him a seductive charm.
Unfortunately, the moment he opened his mouth, he ruined the aesthetic. "My bad. I didn’t ask you, baby, and now you’re unhappy. Next time, I’ll just grow a couple more mouths."
Jian Yu was speechless.
’If he had two more mouths, no one else would ever get a word in.’
"They’re also white tea and yulan fragrance." Ling Yanzhi didn’t join the banter. His gaze lowered in thought.
He explained again, trying to be as clear as possible.
"The Hidden Beast Aura that Shi Zhao mentioned is a mix of white tea and yulan. The scent is rich, but not pungent."
"As for the other two, the cyan smoke has a light yulan fragrance. It’s very pleasant."
"The Purple Smoke is a rich white tea fragrance that spreads quickly. It’s also pleasant, but it has this... murderous undertone to it, like it wants to devour you."
Jian Yu’s heart tightened.
There was no time for her to hesitate.
Pei Yin’s commanding voice sounded in her ears.
"Try switching to the scent of the Hidden Beast Aura. This time, transform the image into a Soul Beast and let’s see if we can fool the machine."
Preliminary checks showed that healing others would deplete Jian Yu’s energy much faster.
At first, it might just be drowsiness, but later, it could become more serious.
Pei Yin believed, "It’s better to captivate them than to waste energy healing them."
Jian Yu pursed her lips and made a few simple movements.
Her fingers snuffed out two of the smokes, leaving only a small ribbon of purple smoke to drift gracefully from her fingertips.
The Yulan Tea Fragrance filled the air.
Jian Yu closed her eyes, the image of a deep-sea jellyfish appearing in her mind.
About twenty-five feet above her in mid-air, the smoke gradually took shape.
A translucent, gradient purple, the edge of its bell was circled by hundreds of delicate white filaments.
Its body was semi-transparent, and its tentacles were like silken threads—long and weightless.
The bell was plump and round, as adorable as its creator.
Ling Yanzhi’s eyelids lifted, his sharp gaze fixed on the silken smoke.
A flash of scarlet passed through his eyes, seemingly beyond his control.
His eyes fell on Jian Yu’s upturned profile. Her skin was fair, her features delicate. The faint blush at the corners of her eyes looked like a dusting of eyeshadow.
He slid one hand into his pocket, a study in feigned nonchalance and an effort to appear calm.
"It might incite a rampage among the Low-level Mutant Beasts."