Soul Emperor Awakening

When Lin Xuan appeared in the center of the plaza, everyone once again stared at him in shock. His speed was simply unbelievable; he seemed to be back in just a couple of hours, as if he’d only gone out for a stroll.

Ling Tian and the others hadn’t even returned yet. Lin Xuan was much faster than he had been during the previous top-ten finals assessment. This was an absolute advantage that left them feeling numb. He had truly come out of nowhere, maintaining an incredibly high standard as he surged forward.

"This is a Demon Beast at the Peak of the Spirit Refining Stage." Lin Xuan tossed the Demon Beast’s corpse out from his Storage Space, proving that he had truly completed the task.

Qing Piaoyun glanced at it before nodding. "Yes, this is one of the Demon Beasts we placed inside. You have passed the assessment perfectly. Full marks!"

They had marked all the Demon Beasts inside. If someone were to hunt a Demon Beast at the Peak of the Spirit Refining Stage from the outside and bring it in, it would throw the entire assessment into chaos.

Everyone gasped, still shocked by the outcome. It all felt like an illusion.

Lin Xuan observed their expressions with satisfaction. He was doing this on purpose—acting with a high profile. There was no use in staying low-key anymore. ’When it’s time to lay low, you lay low. But when it’s time to show off, you have to show off!’

’Besides, you have to be high-profile to become a Core Disciple. Who would accept someone without talent as a Core Disciple? If you don’t display the necessary potential, why would they give you any resources?’

’Qing Liuyun was a perfect example. He surged to the top with an indomitable attitude, even creating his own Cyan Cloud Step. That immediately earned him the position of Grand Elder and put him in line to be the next Mansion Master of Qingcheng Mansion! That’s the advantage of being high-profile. Display enough potential, and you’ll receive the resources and status to match.’

’As for this so-called "laying low," it’s all just a pretense for those who can’t actually deliver when it counts.’

"How were you able to find the Demon Beast so quickly?" Qing Piaoyun inquired.

At this, all eyes fixed on him, eager to hear his answer. They wanted to know what incredible ability he possessed that allowed him to find the Demon Beasts so quickly.

"Of course, if it’s a secret, you don’t have to tell me. I was just asking casually," Qing Piaoyun added after a moment’s thought. Everyone has their trump cards; that’s what gives them an edge. If he were to reveal it, it would no longer be an advantage.

Lin Xuan smiled and pointed to his head. "I’m a Pattern Master, so my Spiritual Sense is quite strong. That made it easy to find it. As for the result of the fight, I don’t need to explain that, do I?"

The answer was unassailable, and the many disciples who had hoped to learn his secret looked disappointed. Who didn’t know that a strong Spiritual Sense was helpful? The problem was that at their level of Cultivation, their Spiritual Sense was bound to be limited. The method was right in front of them, but it was one they couldn’t replicate.

Anyone could begin the path of a Pattern Master, but reaching an advanced level was a different story altogether.

Lin Xuan immediately ignored the others’ discussions and sat down to meditate and restore his Elemental Power. The Golden Dragon King’s Soul Possession was very draining, especially since he had maintained it for so long. When the crowd saw him meditating, they breathed a collective sigh of relief. It seemed Lin Xuan wasn’t invincible after all; he still needed to recover his strength.

’Of course I’m not invincible. My Elemental Power is finite. If it were infinite, I’d just keep Soul Possession active all the time. As my Cultivation increases, so does my Elemental Power capacity, but the amount I consume has also increased.’

’That’s mainly because a higher Cultivation allows me to draw out even stronger effects from the soul, so the drain is always staggering.’

Time passed in a flash, and Ling Tian finally appeared. When he saw Lin Xuan already sitting there in meditation, his face twitched. Without a word, he tossed out the corpse of a Demon Beast at the Peak of the Spirit Refining Stage to prove his success.

As time passed, more people returned. To Lin Xuan’s slight surprise, Chen Zhiquan and Jiang Yuan were in the third group to come back. However, they were in an extremely sorry state, both having sustained significant injuries.

The sight of them almost made Lin Xuan laugh. ’Still, I’m a bit surprised by their strength,’ he thought. ’It seems they can carve out a bloody path when they work together.’ However, both were badly injured. Many of the other disciples were confused; everyone else was fine, yet these two were wounded.

They offered no explanation, forced to swallow their grievance in silence. If the truth were to be investigated, it would only reveal that they had brought this upon themselves.

"That bastard... he’s completely fine..." Chen Zhiquan slumped to the ground, utterly exhausted. He probably wouldn’t be able to participate in the next round.

The next stage of the assessment would begin soon, and there wouldn’t be much time to rest. It was a test of their recovery abilities as much as their actual strength.

The two of them glared at Lin Xuan with venomous eyes, unable to comprehend what had happened. ’How is he unhurt? And why did all those Demon Beasts charge at us?’ They didn’t connect it to Lin Xuan’s manipulation; that would be absurd. They had never heard of anyone who could control a horde of frenzied Demon Beasts and send them to attack others.

’So they didn’t suspect Lin Xuan. At most, they suspected that the powder they had tossed might have stuck to them instead. The substance was colorless and odorless, detectable only by Demon Beasts, which was why they’d dared to use it without fear of being discovered.’

Lin Xuan chose to ignore them. ’It looks like Chen Zhiquan will still make it into the top four, though,’ he mused. ’His original rank was third; my participation just pushed him down to fourth. His strength is still considerable.’

’If we end up fighting later, I’ll have hit the jackpot. It would be an easy win. Since Chen Zhiquan is injured, he’d just be handing me the spot.’

After a short rest, the next round of the assessment finally began.

"This is the final assessment! The top four are Lin Yunlong, Ling Tian, Lei Zhantian, and Chen Zhiquan. The rest will not participate in the duels!"

Qingcheng Mansion’s rule was for their own good. If the other disciples were strong enough, they wouldn’t have ranked lower. For them to face the top four would be suicide, so to save time, only the top four would proceed to the duels.

After the announcement, the crowd shook their heads. None of them had expected Lin Xuan to achieve the highest score; it was a complete surprise.

Of course, the highest score didn’t mean much. The true outcome would be decided in the final duels. Everything else was just talk. No matter how high one’s score, a loss in the duels would still place them at the bottom. The preliminary assessments were only for selecting the final four. That’s not to say the scores were useless—at the very least, his potential was now clear for all to see.

"Now, the four of you will draw lots to determine your opponents!" Qing Piaoyun announced, holding out four bamboo lots with numbers written on them.

After they had all drawn, Lin Xuan found that his was number four.

"Alright, the matchups are number one versus number three, and number two versus number four," Qing Piaoyun explained.

’I’m against number two?’ Lin Xuan looked up, his eyes meeting Lei Zhantian’s battle-hungry gaze. Looking down, he saw that the bamboo lot in Lei Zhantian’s hand was indeed marked with the number two.

’It’s a shame I didn’t draw Chen Zhiquan. Instead, I get the thunderously domineering Lei Zhantian. This could be tricky. I was looking forward to crushing Chen Zhiquan, but it’s a pity that wish won’t be coming true.’