154 The Secret to Souls (1)

Read 60 advance chapters and support the novel @

Patre on.com/Fanharem

(Link also in the synopsis.)

***

And please vote~

***

Home to many great spirit masters and even more professional ones who found achievement in more civilized acts like cooking or arraying instead of hunting, finding a nice establishment to meet Yu Xiaogang at wasn't a task even worthy of being an F-rank quest. Although the Winged Diners had the highest customer turnover, it lacked privacy and customer service, leading Ja Sun to choose the Spotless Inn as the location of the meeting.

Since he is the one to initiate the meeting, Ja Sun had to take up the cost of paying for the room and setting it up appropriately for the meeting. Entering the room, Ja Sun, Liu Erlong, and Tang Yuehua saw how neatly it was set up. It was a space divided into two rooms and a connected bathroom. Yu Xiaogang was found peacefully sitting on one of the single-seater couches in the living room. On the other side sat the only Spirit Sage of his team.

But Ja Sun's focus was set on Yu Xiaogang. Last he met the man was inside the throne hall of the Supreme Pontiff where he introduced himself as a rank 47 Spirit Ancestor yet at this moment, in a little over 4 weeks, Yu Xiaogang's cultivation was firmly settled at the level of spirit king. More precisely— Rank 53.

This was a speed now even unknown to Ja Sun. After all, when he was at the edge of becoming rank 58, Ja Sun broke through by absorbing a spirit bone, the excess spirit energy in return pushed his cultivation to the peak of rank 58, and only after two weeks did he cross that hurdle, entering rank 59. He actually had the right to reach rank 60 before the competition started since he still had another spirit bone remaining. Nonetheless, Xiaogang's speed had startled him.

"Ah, it is a pleasure to finally meet the Grand Priest's personal disciple."

Kun Chen, the Rank 71 30-year-old Spirit Sage had his eyes roaming Liu Erlong and Tang Yuehua as he spoke while remaining seated comfortably.

"Are you really?" Ja Sun smiled, "Because I can see that you are a man with a refined taste that views breasts more important and I don't happen to have such a set of pleasing assets."

His words instantly made the surroundings turn tense while Kun Chen looked at him. This was the only individual Ja Sun hadn't cornered to find out Yu Xiaogang's whereabouts since his actions will be then deemed unnecessarily high-profile.

"Now you have the pleasure of meeting me," Ja Sun extended his hand. Being 30 this month, Kun Chen looked older than anyone in this room. Long dark hair tied into a straight tail and well-defined features with tanned skin. His hands looked quite roughed up, too, as he slowly raised his right hand to shake Ja Sun's extended hand. He had the 'innovative' idea of intimidating the man with a strange set of gold-green eyes and a green dot on his darker skin. Clearly enjoying the idea of finally bullying the last member, Ja Sun had his hands wrapped in the Vajra Gauntlets. Usually wearing full-sleeved shirts or robes, his left arm formed of yin-yang, and war god's quality remained hidden.

The instant the man gripped the gauntlet-covered palm, quite confident in his own strength, he squeezed the palm tightly. Anyway, Kun Chen felt that he wouldn't end up hurting the opponent, who insulted him, by a large margin.

'I just said that I will be pleasant in this meeting... so no bone fractures,' Ja Sun sighed internally and squeezed Kun Chen's hand. With his level of physique and the unreasonably tough nature of the Vajra Gauntlets that Ja Sun had nurtured personally, Kun Chen sucked in a breath of cold air that made Yu Xiaogang's eyes twitch while Liu Erlong and Tang Yuehua smile. They have had their fair share of encountering terrible people... of which Ja Sun takes the prize but one thing Ja Sun did was remain true to his heart.

Firstly, he knew better than to leer at Hu Lana or Jun'er. In fact, Ja Sun's friendship with Hu Lana and Jun'er bordered the territory of siblings. Secondly, if he did look at the remaining girls weirdly, he also didn't deny it, and when truly in serious matters, he would even rebuke others should they let themselves get distracted by his words. The last part is especially true when Yuehua would lose her cool at times while sparring with Ja Sun.

"Kun Chen, right? Apologies if I don't use the honorifics. I hardly know you. Would you like me to stop before breaking your hand?" Ja Sun inquired. There is nothing more embarrassing than a hidden competition being exposed when you're losing and Kun Chen's cheeks were turning red with exertion.

"I-" he gasped, "Don't understand what you might be talking about!"

"Fair enough," Ja Sun smiled and let go of Kun Chen. Being part of the Spirit Hall, his information was already by Bibi Dong's desk by the end of the day he was introduced. Gesturing for Yuehua and Liu Erlong to sit, Ja Sun made sure that it was Liu Erlong who sat closer to Yu Xiaogang. He didn't want to be in the way when Liu Erlong did lose her fuse. Meanwhile, next to her sat Yuehua and with a smile, Ja Sun sat closer to Kun Chen.

"This is the first time we are holding a conversation, right?" Yu Xiaogang inquired.

"A peaceful one, yes," Ja Sun smiled.

"And what do you want to speak of?" Yu Xiaogang inquired as his gaze settled on Yuehua. Both knew of each other. Mutated martial souls in the form of beasts with a range of intelligence to them.

"Just a simple discussion to understand our differences, and the mutual benefit that would emerge by learning these distinctions," Yuehua replied calmly.

"Then others won't be required," Yu Xiaogang nodded.

"You asked to meet me, Liu Erlong, right? Speak, I'm busy." Said the woman who was lazing behind her desk with her legs stretched out until a few minutes ago.

Yu Xiaogang looked at the woman.

"You're Second Uncle's daughter, are you not? That makes us cousins, Yu Erlong."

"Liu Erlong," she corrected with a cold tone and her posture grew threatening by the second. If Yu Xiaogang meant well, he wouldn't keep making the same mistake and thus her hands itched to attack.

"Why would you give up on the clan name?" Yu Xiaogang, too, frowned. Yuehua and Ja Sun glanced at each other while Liu Erlong chuckled in anger, "Is that what this is about? I wasted my time coming here."

She stood up when a strange form of suppression hit her, stifling her movements.

"I've come to realize that my martial soul has a suppressive effect on others with draconic lineage. With your weaker mutation, you must be feeling it, too, right?" Yu Xiaogang narrowed his eyes. Ja Sun and Yuehua looked at Liu Erlong's whose expression turned cold and surprising Yu Xiaogang, she caught his collar roughly and pulled him up, "And that sissy wave of energy is supposed to intimidate me?" She growled and her expression took a terrifying turn. Her intent exploded out as Kun Chen's expression changed.

'She's going to kill him!' Kun Chen had raised his cultivation through many battles. He instantly readied himself when his body trembled.

"Let the two of them enjoy, come on," Ja Sun smiled and had Kun Chen rooted with just his gaze. The Spirit Sage's body was frozen for he had never been locked on by such a disgusting intent that made his soul almost crawl out of his body.

On the other hand, Yu Xiaogang frowned and spoke coldly, "You think escaping the clan is simple, Yu Erlong? In the competition between us from the Spirit City, my Master has called the Clan Leader to witness my progress. My father, I mean, and yours, too, will be here and I will not have our Clan's name muddied just because of your arrogance."

"He will be here?" Liu Erlong suddenly stopped and let go of Yu Xiaogang, "Well what a nice surprise."

She turned around and left but Ja Sun could feel the lava inside of Liu Erlong ready to erupt. It was preparing to emerge with the greatest force she would have even revealed.

"I only wanted to tell Yu Erlong that being the Clan's younger generation, she will have to face her truths someday. I have nothing to discuss about my martial soul with you."

Yu Xiaogang looked at Tang Yuehua and left with a flustered Kun Chen.

In just a few seconds, Yuehua and Ja Sun were left alone as he slumped back.

"Brother Ka-ul, why didn't you help calm Sister Erlong?" Yuehua inquired. She couldn't completely understand killing intent aside from the physical manifestation of it through the domains possessed by Bibi Dong and Tang Hao. But she did feel quite a bit of it from Liu Erlong while Ja Sun simply kept Kun Chen in check.

"Yu Xiaogang is a Spirit King, so is Liu Erlong. Why should I step in? Granted that Yu Xiaogang's sudden increase in spirit ranks is thought-provoking... anyway, the goals I had in mind might not be accomplished." Ja Sun sighed.

Yuehua smiled rarely after being sister-zoned by her Elder Brother. She was slowly beginning to recover, too, and having friends around, especially people as boisterous as Hu Lana and Jun'er helped a lot. This time, too, she smiled and revealed a slightly proud expression, "I may not be so certain about that, Brother Ka-ul. I think I've managed to understand a few things."

"Oh?" Ja Sun straightened himself.

"But in this scenario, I'm assuming that all the Enlightened Martial Souls have the same requirement: A greater mental fortitude, please keep that in mind."

"You mean to say that in your case, your mental aptitude was high enough to resist another force's consciousness growing and it instead formed a symbiotic relationship with yours meanwhile, in Yu Xiaogang's case, the sudden unshackling of the Martial Soul while his mental energy is still not enough affected his behavior... did I get it right?" Ja Sun inquired, leaving Tang Yuehua stunned.

"H-how did you know?" Yuehua inquired as Ja Sun shrugged.

"Of course I researched Yu Xiaogang. He wants to vie for the Supreme Pontiff's seat against Bibi Dong so she has quite a large scroll on the man. Previously, in his clan, Yu Xiaogang compensated for his lack of spiritual talent by learning new things. He was on the way to becoming a great tactician. But why would he suddenly change after his martial soul awakened? There was no benefit in stop delving into various formations and tactics but he still did and Bibi Dong's current information on Yu Xiaogang suggests that he has become quite a bit brutal as opposed to his previous personality."

Ja Sun explained everything, "The only thing that started this change was none other than the awakening of his martial soul. I realized while helping you that strangely, mental fortitude is one of the greatest requirements. You're only a Spirit Grandmaster but you needed mental energy equivalent to a Spirit Ancestor before awakening Clear Phoenix... that was one of the greater clues."

Rolling her eyes at Ja Sun, Yuehua couldn't help but retort, "Then why did you want to set this meeting up?"

"Because I want to know more," Ja Sun spoke, "Is there a chance at awakening again? Could these martial souls evolve? If they do, what impact would it have on the spirit master? After all, Yu Xiaogang's reports state that he has different spirit skills so the chance of his martial soul evolving is greater than yours."

Yuehua sighed and then pursed her lips.

"What is it?" Ja Sun inquired.

"Is... evolution really what truly matters in the end? If I cannot evolve my martial soul then..."

"I hope that it is your recent rejection that's making you think like that," Ja Sun cut her off as she looked up at him.

"Because your spirit skills are enviable. And it is a dreadful thought what they may become if you possibly enhance your martial soul... but evolution is not restricted to the martial soul itself."

With his Vajra Gauntlets still wrapped over his hands, Ja Sun poked Yuehua's forehead. He continued to prod twice or thrice until it began to ache and that's when Ja Sun continued, "Evolving your thoughts is of an equal importance, too. Just because someone doesn't like you doesn't make you entirely useless."

His words stunned Yuehua for many reasons. Gratification bubbled inside of her as she matched Ja Sun's eyes with her own blue orbs and continued to inquire, "Brother Ka-ul... what do you mean by not entirely useless.?"

"You still lack in hand-to-hand combat. After all, you personally cannot use your spirit skills so you need to practice more," Ja Sun shrugged and Yuehua smiled.

"I will."

"What about the Clear Phoenix? Are you ready to try and absorb a purple spirit ring?"

"I'm making progress. It won't be long and as you use the Mental Acupuncture Technique on me, it allows me to have an even better understanding of the connection between me and Clear Phoenix," Yuehua nodded.

"No worries, we still have two weeks until the beginning of the competition and I can sense another breakthrough for myself so there is one vacation trip remaining." Ja Sun snickered.

"Let's go then," Yuehua smiled and stood up but Ja Sun remained seated.

"Brother Ka-ul?"

"I paid for 3 hours... I'm going to stay," Ja Sun smiled. He would be sitting somewhere else, too, so might as well have his money's worth here.

"Then I will meditate with you here," Yuehua smiled and sat on another couch before closing her eyes.

Ja Sun silently looked at her and sighed internally, 'I was going to try and absorb the other 63000-year-old Nightmare's Fantasy Skull Bone...'

---

By the end of the week, Ja Sun realized that it will take Tang Yuehua a little longer to achieve her objective and so he finally absorbed the remaining Spirit Bone he had in mind while utilizing Ah Yin's domain to mask his energy.

[Objective: Absorb the 63000-year-old Nightmare's Fantasy Skull Bone and find an enclosed space privately to pump your fist.

Mission Rank: B

Mission Rewards: Natural Arrays and Their Wonders.

Time Limit: 1 day]

With a newer set of knowledge in the arrays since the Fantasy and Nightmare beasts themselves were born of such a phenomenon, Ja Sun pondered on his new changes.

Right now, he had absorbed three spirit bones. Two of them were inside his arms that gave him a combined skill with versatile use and a Skull Bone.

In reality, Ja Sun had two sets of identical spirit bones. He absorbed the Skull Bone and it required great control and endurance to pain but otherwise, this absorption of identical spirit bone furthered the quality of the two combined. In his head, now, there was one 99999-year-old Nightmare's Fantasy Skull Bone. A simple addition would reveal that the combined cultivation should be equivalent to 126000 years but cultivation is hardly additive. It's a geometric rise in spirit energy.

Once his Skull Bone reached this level, the remaining energy couldn't upgrade the quality of his Skull Bone to the fabled 100000-year level and was thus absorbed by Ja Sun. Even if he had reached the bottleneck, the energy would stay reserved and erupt at once the moment he materializes his sixth spirit ring.

Ordinarily, a 10000-year-old Spirit Soul could provide four spirit abilities. Nightmare's Fantasy only provided three. And now, even his Bright Goddess Butterfly had reached this rank and had another spirit skill capable of converting into a spirit ring but Ja Sun didn't think of that.

After his sixth spirit ring, he aspired to get a Spirit Soul even greater so that his martial soul can take another step forward. To him, gaining three spirit skills from his spirit souls each was already enough.

His breakthrough was indeed a quick one and the group factored a Spirit Bone with a moment's thought, something Ja Sun did not deny. They were yet unaware of his left-arm spirit bone so he simply revealed that this spot was now filled, too.

However, with no one else ready to breakthrough their bottlenecks, Ja Sun was almost made to go out alone. Of course, he wanted Ah Yin to follow in the guise that he would need her ability to keep himself safe... from his own actions and only after constant promises that he won't waste his time with any more parties, Ja Sun was allowed to leave with Ah Yin.

Of course, he had his toes crossed under his boots.

Why wouldn't he want to have fun alongside Ah Yin? And it was about time that he revealed one of his greater secrets about the Spirit Souls to Ah Yin and later even assist her in getting one for herself. After all, she would only need one spirit soul and she would be set for life... quite literally. And Ja Sun happened to know a plant easily persuaded.