Chapter 9: Soul

The Great Elder continued his furious reprimand: "Damn it, rack your brains and remember everything you encountered today! Report it truthfully—if so much as a fly flew past your eyes, you’d better not leave it out, or else..."

The Great Elder let out a sinister chuckle and clapped his hands. Two expressionless guards walked into the hall, holding a pair of tiger shears. They clamped the tool onto the peddler’s arm.

The peddler was kicked to the ground, vomiting another mouthful of blood. His eyes widened in terror at the sight of the shears, and he began to wail, collapsing to the floor, stammering out the same memory he had already repeated dozens of times, without missing a single detail.

Xiao Li furrowed his thick brows, his expression one of calm suspicion: "You say it was a blind box? Are you certain that woman gave it to you personally for you to sell to Bai Ling?"

The peddler nodded frantically.

Xiao Li’s eyes darkened as realization dawned on him. A sinister smile appeared on his face, causing the other elders to tremble.

Xiao Kuangyun had been killed by that woman, but it was Bai Ling who had clashed with him first. Xiao Li chuckled softly: "Heh heh heh... Bai Zhentian and that Bai Ling have lived quite comfortably these past few years under Ji Kun’s protection."

"And that little girl—she seems to be the same one who used to scavenge for trash in Liuyue City," Xiao Li muttered, recalling the portraits plastered all over the streets and alleys from the moment he entered the city gates to the main road of the Xiao family.

"Bai Zhentian, three years ago, you and Ji Kun were the overlords of Liuyue City, forcing even me to give way. Though I do not know why your cultivation has gradually faded, today, since my son has died because of your nephew, then let Bai Ling and that woman pay with their lives!" Xiao Li gazed at his son’s corpse, his expression heavy with grief.

The Second Elder shuddered, trembling as he said, "Family Head, this Bai Ling, Bai Zhentian, and the woman all have deep ties to Ji Kun. If we make a move, I fear we will alert him. With the strength of our Xiao family, I’m afraid..."

At that moment, a terrifying aura of Yuan energy erupted from Xiao Li’s body. The energy in the room surged violently as he looked down at everyone with a faint smile.

"Family Head, you... have you broken through the tenth level of the Spirit Yuan Realm and stepped into the Earth Yuan Realm?" The Third Elder’s expression shifted, his voice filled with shock.

Xiao Li nodded.

"Go. Invite Bai Zhentian, his nephew, and that woman to the Xiao residence for tea," Xiao Li said softly, lifting the teacup from the table.

The six elders bowed and hurried away.

The guards dragged the screaming, terrified peddler out. Moments later, the peddler’s cries grew faint, until they vanished entirely.

Inside the great hall, Xiao Li remained alone, staring at the corpse of Xiao Kuangyun with a sinister smile on his face.

He then pointed his left hand at the body. The spatial ring on his middle finger emitted a dark crimson light, rapidly enveloping the corpse. Seconds later, a phantom figure floated up from the body and drifted before Xiao Li.

This phantom was the soul of Xiao Kuangyun, but it seemed dead as well, its eyes tightly closed, devoid of any aura.

Xiao Li slowly stored it away into his spatial ring. His consciousness flickered as he entered a mysterious space. Inside, thousands of souls were arranged neatly like rows of ghosts.

His expression remained indifferent as he whispered to himself, "A pity, they are all mortal souls below the Spirit Yuan Realm..."

...

In Liuyue City, the two walked through the streets and alleys just as they had in their childhood. An hour passed.

Xuan Ningyue watched as Bai Ling walked into the Bai residence. She clutched the marriage contract he had just given her, her mind replaying his expressions from earlier. After a moment, a radiant smile bloomed on her face.

After standing there for a few minutes, her expression shifted, becoming cold and regal, like an empress, as she headed toward Ji Kun’s house.

Bai Ling returned to his room and took out the blind box he had purchased at the trade center for fifty Yuan crystals.

The blind box was a toy created by a man in Liuyue City that had become widespread. They contained various novel items—pills, Yuan crystals, or mere junk. Two years ago, a cultivator at the Initial Yuan Realm had opened one and found a second-grade Yuan pill; after consuming it, he had broken through to the Spirit Yuan Realm overnight.

The craze for the boxes had exploded, with people spending vast sums to snatch them up. At its peak, a single box was hyped up to a price of a thousand Yuan crystals. However, after people consistently opened them to find worthless trinkets and trash, the price plummeted to around fifty Yuan crystals—and perhaps even lower if one haggled.

But Bai Ling wanted to take a gamble on his luck.

He opened the box cautiously. A palm-sized, yellowed, old scroll caught his eye, and his heart leaped.

What... what was this? Could it be that this blind box contained a cultivation technique?

Bai Ling slowly unrolled the scroll, and upon seeing the three large characters, he sat on the floor and laughed.

"Wind Shadow Technique!"

A line of small print below read: *Cultivating this technique allows one to manifest afterimages, moving as if accompanied by a gust of wind. Whether in combat or in flight, one’s speed is greatly enhanced.*

As the scroll fully unfurled, various complex and intricate patterns were depicted in vivid detail.

Bai Ling spent an hour memorizing it before leaving his room. He went into the courtyard, filled a sandbag, and hoisted it onto his back with all his might.

Sweat dripped onto the ground as he dragged the hundreds of pounds of sand toward the mountain behind the house.

"Hah!"

Standing under the scorching sun, muscles and veins bulging, Bai Ling climbed the mountain step by step, bearing the heavy burden. Moments later, he was drenched in sweat. After a minute, his body began to tremble involuntarily. He felt as if he were carrying a mountain on his back, making every step an arduous struggle.

*Huff—!*

He gritted his teeth, gasping for air, and continued his ascent.

After several exhausting hours, Bai Ling finally reached the summit.

Sweat slid down his face, and he wiped it away, revealing eyes that were profound and resolute. He looked out to see the entire Liuyue City laid out before him, the setting sun casting its light upon him.

As the cool autumn breeze hit him, he felt a fiery power within.

Bai Ling secured a wooden post firmly on the summit and took a deep breath. He was one meter eighty-nine, and the post was crafted to resemble a human, standing at his height.

He clenched his fists and struck the post, the air echoing with the loud thudding of his blows. After an hour of continuous striking, he felt a sense of emptiness within.

He shouldered the heavy sandbag and began the descent.

Since awakening his bloodline, he had possessed Yuan energy; otherwise, no ordinary person could have endured such high-intensity training.

By midnight, the night had descended, the moon hung high, and the temperature had dropped by dozens of degrees. Bai Ling moved with heavy steps, struggling forward. With every step, sweat washed over him like water.

Upon reaching the summit again, his legs were numb and heavy. With a thud, he cast the sandbag aside. Swaying, he walked to the wooden post, let out a low shout, and strained his muscles.

He threw punch after punch into the post, the mountain peak ringing with the sound of his blows.

...

In the City Lord’s Mansion of Liuyue City, Ji Kun sat in his chair, a look of guilt on his face as he gazed at the white-haired Bai Zhentian across from him.

"Brother Kun, might I borrow your Lightning-Struck Mysterious Iron?" Bai Zhentian asked with a smile.

Ji Kun didn’t hesitate, taking out his spatial ring and handing it to Bai Zhentian.

"Brother Zhentian, I am truly incompetent! Jiu'er refuses to listen to me. My daughter has grown up and has her own ideas, I..." Ji Kun stood up abruptly, filled three bowls with strong liquor, and drank them down in one gulp.