Soul Emperor Awakening

’I knew there’d be an attempt on my life, but I never expected them to use this method. Surrounded by so many Demon Beasts, anyone would eventually be worn down and killed! Still, this move is a safe bet for them. It’s nearly impossible to trace who did it. Since the Demon Beasts are the ones doing the killing, the most anyone could discover is that it was a setup.’

With so many people around, who would know who threw out that bag of powder? A dead man tells no tales! Chen Zhiquan and Jiang Yuan didn’t dare to make a move themselves. They weren’t Death Warriors and had no desire to face life in prison.

The entire ground began to tremble as hundreds of Demon Beasts went berserk. They attacked anything in sight, growing even more frenzied at the sight of humans. As a result, Lin Xuan immediately became the target for the massive horde.

’The effect is impressive, but it’s useless against me.’ Lin Xuan felt not a shred of panic. In an instant, the Golden Dragon King’s soul possessed him. A powerful Long Wei radiated from his body, and a golden light flickered in his eyes.

The moment the Long Wei was released, the Demon Beasts that were about to pounce immediately recoiled, not daring to advance another step! Their bloodshot eyes filled with boundless terror. The absolute pressure of a superior being allowed them to overcome their frenzy—or rather, the object of their frenzy was no longer Lin Xuan.

Against less intelligent Demon Beasts, which primarily acted on instinct and aura, the pressure from an absolute superior was enough to inspire terror. It was just like with Liu Yue’Er last time; the Cyan-Scaled Python was so terrified of her that it fled without a fight.

If a Demon Beast was highly intelligent, however, it wouldn’t hesitate to attack as long as its target wasn’t stronger than itself, regardless of any oppressive aura. The unintelligent ones, on the other hand, could be easily driven away without any trouble.

’It works just as I thought, same as with Yue’Er...’ A golden glint flashed in Lin Xuan’s eyes. He immediately turned, pointed in the direction he’d previously felt eyes on him, and commanded coldly, "Go that way!"

A powerful wave of Long Wei swept forward, compelling the Demon Beasts to charge in the direction he had indicated. Terrified of Lin Xuan’s aura, the beasts let out a furious roar and truly stampeded where he pointed. The ground shook under the force of their charge, like a mighty army on the march.

「Meanwhile.」

"Heh heh, we really have the changes to this assessment to thank. With so many more Demon Beasts around, after tossing out a big bag of Cooking Powder, that Lin Yunlong is going to be trampled into meat paste!" Chen Zhiquan sneered, already picturing Lin Xuan being worn down to his death. Surrounded by such a dense horde of Demon Beasts, escape was impossible unless he could fly.

"Yeah. If this were before, the effect would have been negligible. At most, we’d have attracted a few Demon Beasts to surround him. Nothing on this scale," Jiang Yuan said, rubbing his palms together. "Even if he doesn’t die, he’ll be half-crippled. I wonder what kind of reward the Eldest Prince will give us?"

The two of them were hiding in a relatively safe corner. Just as they began to fantasize about the rewards they would receive, a rumbling tremor reached their ears, causing their faces to pale.

"What’s going on? Why are the Demon Beasts heading this way?" Without another word, the moment Chen Zhiquan saw a Demon Beast appear before him, he turned and bolted.

Jiang Yuan quickly fled after him. But no matter where they ran, the Demon Beasts seemed to have locked onto them, chasing them relentlessly at a speed that was barely slower than their own. To their horror, they hadn’t run for long before their path ahead was also blocked by Demon Beasts. The powder’s effects were incredibly potent; a gust of wind had spread it across a wide area, and the Demon Beasts’ keen sense of smell had done the rest.

"Damn it, what’s going on?! It’s like these Demon Beasts are fixated on us!" Chen Zhiquan swiftly drew his Weapon, preparing to fight his way out. But when he saw the horde of powerful Demon Beasts lunging at them, his face went white. ’What the hell is happening?!’ he wailed internally.

"Chen Zhiquan, did you get some of that powder on you?! Why else would they be attracted to us!" Jiang Yuan cursed, but his hands didn’t slow in the slightest. He also drew his Weapon, preparing to break through the encirclement.

"No way! I was extremely careful about that, okay?!" Chen Zhiquan shot back, completely bewildered. Faced with the charging Demon Beasts, they had no choice but to brace themselves and fight back.

Instantly, they threw everything they had into breaking out. If they failed, death—or at the very least, grievous injury—awaited them.

The other participants in the area had certainly noticed the commotion and had long since retreated. None of them dared to get closer. Even if Chen Zhiquan and Jiang Yuan screamed their lungs out, no one would come to their aid.

Of course, they could choose to crush their Jade Bracelets to call for help, but the price for that was failing the assessment. Therefore, they didn’t dare to crush them lightly, or they would end up with the lowest rank.

Lin Xuan watched from a distance. The surrounding Demon Beasts didn’t dare approach him at all as he weaved through their ranks. Seeing the two men struggling for their lives amidst the horde, he couldn’t help but sneer. "If you’re going to play dirty, you should pick your targets more carefully!"

After one last glance, Lin Xuan turned and left. It was impossible not to be furious after they had plotted against him like that. If not for his ability to use Soul Possession, he really would have been severely injured. His own retaliation could hardly be called vicious, but it was the only way he could get back at them. If he had taken action personally, he would have only brought trouble upon himself.

However, he would eventually settle this score—just not now.

Using Soul Possession and relying on the Golden Dragon King’s soul, he was able to expand the range of his Spiritual Sense to survey his surroundings. It didn’t take long for him to find a Demon Beast at the Peak of the Spirit Refining Stage.

There was almost no difficulty involved; he had considered this part a freebie from the start. A normal Cultivator’s Spiritual Sense couldn’t reach very far, but being possessed by a Spirit Pill Stage Level expert was a different story. It vastly increased the range of his own Spiritual Sense, allowing him to locate a Demon Beast at the Peak of the Spirit Refining Stage with ease.

While possessed by the Golden Dragon King, he killed the Spirit Refining Stage Demon Beast with absurd ease, as it simply stood there obediently. If these Demon Beasts had a higher Cultivation, they wouldn’t be so compliant. A Demon Beast’s intelligence increases significantly with its Cultivation, and at higher levels, they would never submit so willingly.

"Time to head back. That should be a perfect score." Lin Xuan put the corpse of the Peak Spirit Refining Stage Demon Beast into his Storage Space and started heading back.

This round of the assessment was far simpler than the previous ones—for him, at least. For everyone else, it was considerably more difficult.

’The real test is the next one!’ A glint appeared in Lin Xuan’s eyes. There were four rounds in total, and the final one was a duel. That was the only thing that could make his blood boil with excitement.

If he won, he would enter the ranks of the Core Disciples. How could he not be excited? As he made his way back, he could still see the Demon Beasts rampaging in the area. He had no idea if Chen Zhiquan and his accomplice had made it out, but that no longer had anything to do with him.