Fate Spirit

What everyone in the hall felt was the sudden increase in Spirit Essence density in the air. At first, they didn't think much of it, but as Xuefeng's glow reappeared, the light breeze on their faces turned into a chaotic current that whipped their hair in every direction.

The Shadow Guards closest to Xuefeng struggled to stand as the suction force pulled them in. They had to channel their Spirit Qi to stabilize themselves, but not everyone had such skills. Elder Ming, standing with the children, evacuated them further into the hall before creating a Spirit Qi barrier to protect them from the wind.

When all the Spirit Essence in the hall was depleted, a strong current began pouring in from the hole in the ceiling. The vortex resembled Liu Mei's phenomenon, but it was just the normal Spirit Essence being pulled from the Clan's surroundings. It was so dense that even a normal person could see it with the naked eye.

'Yes! More, more!' Xuefeng called excitedly in his mind.

By now, he had refined so much Spirit Essence that he unknowingly filled the small space in his dantian. When his Spirit Qi reached the faint barrier, it shattered effortlessly and spilled out into the new space. Xuefeng shuddered at the exact breakpoint, feeling as if something inside him had unlocked.

He tried to inspect it with his mind and was surprised to see his surroundings change. He was no longer in the hall but rather in his own dantian, standing in front of a clone of himself. The spirit was shining with a golden light and emitting sky-blue Qi from its mouth.

'So this is what my dantian looks like. Wait, this golden light looks familiar...' He moved closer to his spirit and placed his hand on its shoulder. Feeling the familiar warmth, he finally realized what it was.

'It's that Fate Spirit from before!'

All of a sudden, an abrupt suction force pulled him inside the spirit. He panicked at first, but then he calmed down, knowing he was inside his own body and nothing could harm him.

He checked his surroundings and found himself in a boundless white space, with a golden orb hovering right in front of him.

"You have finally arrived," a profound voice resounded in the space.

Startled, Xuefeng questioned cautiously, "Who are you?"

"Right now, I'm just a mere Fate Fragment, but I will become a powerful Fate Spirit with your help. Would you like to become a Fate Holder and change your destiny?" the voice replied, sounding more like a teenage girl.

"If you agree, I will finish improving your talent and continue aiding you in your future adventures," she added, much to Xuefeng's surprise.

"Wait, so it was your doing?" This whole time, he thought he was the one who managed to improve his talent.

"Yes, improving talent is one of my Fate Abilities. Just imagine what you could achieve if you were to obtain such power," the lady urged, tempting Xuefeng to accept her offer. "If you are willing, approach the golden orb and place your hand on top of it. We will make a contract."

Imagining the possibility of having a Golden Talent, Xuefeng didn't hesitate to follow her instructions. He walked over to the orb and touched it, feeling a sharp pain in his chest. It only lasted a moment before the orb began to shrink, becoming the size of a fist.

"Thank you for accepting me. I look forward to growing with you," the Fate Spirit acknowledged as it landed on his palm. "I can't wait until you find your first Fate Fragment for me to absorb. I am too weak in this state."

"Wait, what? Care to explain?" Xuefeng raised his eyebrows at the Fate Spirit's statement.

"Right, I didn't explain it earlier. For the Fate Fragment to grow into a Fate Spirit, we need to absorb the Fate Qi of other Fate Fragments. You will need to kill other Fate Holders so I can extract their energy," the Fate Spirit explained.

"That's quite an important detail..." Xuefeng commented speechlessly. "How many Fate Fragments do you need?"

"Well, I don't know exactly, but maybe a few thousand? Fate Fragments don't have a lot of Fate Qi, so we have no choice but to catch a lot of them," the Fate Spirit replied casually, but Xuefeng was momentarily dumbfounded.

"Did you just say a few thousand?" he repeated to be sure. "You want me to kill a few thousand people for you?"

"Well, it all depends on how much Fate Qi they have. If you defeat stronger Fate Holders, you will only need to kill a few hundred of them. It shouldn't be that hard after I raise your talent. You should be able to grow your cultivation in a matter of days."

"That doesn't change the fact that I have to kill people when I've never killed before..." Xuefeng sighed, suddenly regretting the deal he had just made. "What if I can't do it?"

"Well, I would be forced to consume your soul and find another host," the Fate Spirit announced shamelessly. "Don't worry, I will lead you to become a powerful cultivator so that won't be necessary. I would rather stay with one host instead of switching and starting from the beginning."

For the first time in this world, Xuefeng was left completely speechless.

"Okay, we will talk about it later. For now, you promised to increase my talent. Time to keep your part of the deal," he said, setting aside future problems to focus on the current issue.

"Alright, just let me control your body and I will take care of everything," the Fate Spirit agreed just before sinking into his palm. He felt a gradual loss of control over his body but didn't resist her.

As much as he hated that she tricked him, having a great talent was of utmost priority to succeed in this world.

***

While Xuefeng was making deals with his Fate Spirit, everyone in the hall was stunned by his results. They were already surprised he improved his talent to sky blue, but now he began cultivating, reaching the Spirit Master stage on the spot.

"Is he cultivating now? He became a Spirit Master in just a moment," the Lu Clan Leader pointed out curiously. "I guess he used the Spirit Awakening Liquid to increase his talent and also to break through into Spirit Master at the same time. It's like I'm watching a miracle."

"When the liquid was not enough, my son started gathering Spirit Essence from the air. He is truly a genius," Mu Lan added.

"Still, his Spirit Talent is only sky blue. With it, he will become a Spirit King but only with some good opportunity could he attack the Spirit Lord Stage," Emperor Zhen said with a fake sigh. Even as the Emperor, he also only had a Sky-Blue Talent. Despite his enormous reach, he had trouble finding opportunities to break into the Spirit Lord stage. He had even asked the Kingdom for a forth rank Breakthrough pill, but it had not yet arrived.

"Why is he still absorbing Spirit Essence? Do you think he can still increase his talent?" the Lu Clan Leader asked again, confused by the phenomenon.

"I don't think that's possible. If it were so easy to increase your talent, why has no one else succeeded? It's already a blessing that he managed to get a Sky-Blue Talent," Emperor Zhen replied, only to hear a chuckle from the end of the table.

Everyone looked towards the corner and saw Manager Wu with an intrigued smile. "It's not the end. Just watch."

They followed her gaze back to Xuefeng, whose eyes had finally opened. Much to their surprise, Xuefeng's irises had turned gold and emitted a faint golden light.