Soul Emperor Awakening

Zi Yi followed the guards, fleeing swiftly toward land. They rowed for their lives, never pausing for a moment, constantly looking back to see if anyone was chasing them.

"Vice Pavilion Master Zi Yi!"

The shout came from ahead. Everyone looked over and saw that their reinforcements had arrived. Also in a boat, two Spirit Pill Stage experts were rushing toward them, rowing so fast they practically flew across the water.

"Quick, go save Chief Lin!" Seeing the experts arrive, Zi Yi, who had been holding herself together, was on the verge of tears.

After the two Spirit Pill Stage experts were quickly briefed on the situation, one of the guards volunteered to board their boat, wanting to accompany them back to the Sea of Weapons to help with the rescue. After all, the experts didn’t know what Lin Xuan looked like, so someone had to go along.

It didn’t matter that Lin Xuan was the Chief Appraiser; his spirit of sacrifice alone had fired up the guards. Their blood boiling, they desperately wanted to stay and fight to the death alongside him. However, they knew protecting Zi Yi was their top priority. More importantly, they knew they stood no chance against the enemy.

The two Spirit Pill Stage experts and the guard quickly rushed back. Regardless of the outcome, they had to try.

"My lady, Chief Lin will definitely be alright..." Even as the guard offered these words of comfort, he found them hard to believe himself. Lin Xuan could use Elemental Power Wings, but that didn’t mean his energy was inexhaustible. Once his Elemental Power ran out, the consequences would be unimaginable.

As for replenishing his energy with Elixir Pills, the amount of Elemental Power consumed by the Elemental Power Wings was too great for ordinary pills to restore. It would require a top-tier Recovery Elixir, the kind that restored energy almost instantly. But even if he possessed such a thing, he probably didn’t have it on him.

"This is all my fault." Zi Yi’s eyes grew red. It was all her miscalculation. Normally, one wouldn’t encounter Pirates in the Sea of Weapons. They had entered it many times before without incident.

But of all times, they had to run into Pirates on this trip. One could only say their luck was abysmal. If they had just brought a few more experts, they wouldn’t have had to fear anything.

But there was no use for regret. What happened, happened. As for whether Lin Xuan could be saved... only Heaven knew.

The rest of the journey back was uneventful. The might of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion was on full display. Besides the two Spirit Pill Stage experts sent out, another was guarding the shore. Anyone who dared to give chase would be courting death. They had stopped just short of summoning a Core Formation Stage expert. If the enemy had actually sent a Core Formation Stage cultivator, the Pavilion could have matched them, but that was a move reserved for the highest echelons.

The moment they set foot on shore, people swarmed them, demanding to know what had happened. After all, the Communication Jade Zi Yi had crushed was an important one, not to be used unless the situation was dire.

"What? You crushed an Emergency Communication Jade just to save this Chief Lin? Zi Yi, do you realize how serious this is? The Emergency Communication Jade is not to be used unless it’s a matter of grave importance!" The leader of the group, a Spirit Pill Stage expert named Elder De, was clearly displeased. He’d heard a little about some "Chief Lin"—supposedly just a teenager whom Zi Yi herself had granted the title.

Only a select few knew Lin Xuan’s true identity; the information hadn’t been disseminated to everyone. Many of those stationed here at the border of the Demon Cloud Sea, for instance, were in the dark. Lin Yunlong? Only the heavens knew.

"How is it not serious? A Core Disciple from the Core Hall, the chief disciple of Qing Piaoyun! You tell me, Elder De, is that important or not?!" Zi Yi glared at him, her eyes red with fury and grief.

Elder De was struck speechless, his mouth hanging agape. He might not know Lin Yunlong, but he certainly knew Qing Piaoyun. ’A Core Disciple, and Qing Piaoyun’s chief disciple to boot...’ His expression soured instantly. ’Damn it all, this kid is a ticking time bomb!’

"Ahem. This situation is, in fact, quite urgent," Elder De said with a slight cough. If it had been an ordinary person, they wouldn’t have needed to mobilize so many resources. It wasn’t that they were heartless, but in the vast, boundless sea, the target would likely be dead by the time they were found. It would simply be a waste of manpower.

To be blunt, they wouldn’t expend so much effort on someone who wasn’t valuable enough.

"Well, well, if it isn’t my fiancée. Why are you crying so pitifully?"

Just then, the last person Zi Yi wanted to see appeared. Zhao Fei sauntered over. He had been in the area preparing to enter the Demon Cloud Sea himself and had rushed over after receiving the emergency alert.

"I hear that Lin Yunlong fellow is being hunted by Pirates out at sea? I doubt he’ll be coming back. If you don’t have the skills, you shouldn’t just waltz into the Demon Cloud Sea. Don’t you know how dangerous it is? And what was the haul from this trip, anyway? I heard he can identify Spiritual Artifacts, but who knows if that’s true. Zi Yi, you really should be more careful about swindlers!"

Zhao Fei’s tone was dripping with sarcasm—or more accurately, with unconcealed glee. He was thrilled to hear about Lin Xuan’s predicament. He hoped Lin Xuan would never return and couldn’t resist twisting the knife with a few more snide comments.

Zi Yi stared at him coldly. With a sweep of her arm, she threw out twenty-eight weapons, which all stabbed into the ground around them. "Elder De," she said, her voice like ice, "take these weapons back to be reforged. If a single one of these twenty-eight is not a Spiritual Artifact, I, Zi Yi, will resign as Vice Pavilion Master!"

Her tone was resolute, leaving no room for doubt.

"Are you saying these are twenty-eight Spiritual Artifacts?" Elder De’s eyes widened. If every single one was a Spiritual Artifact, then they had hit the jackpot.

A normal trip into the Demon Cloud Sea that yielded three or four Spiritual Artifacts was considered a great success. To pull out twenty-eight at once... that was a miracle.

"Yes!" Zi Yi said without hesitation. She then turned and walked to the shoreline to await news of Lin Xuan.

Zhao Fei’s face turned livid. He sneered, "Fine. We’ll see if these are really Spiritual Artifacts. As it happens, there’s a Forging Furnace right here!"

With trembling hands, Elder De collected the rust-covered weapons and took them to the nearby Forging Furnace to be restored. Half a day later, Elder De returned, his body shaking and his face flushed with excitement. Zhao Fei was nowhere to be seen.

"Vice Pavilion Master... those twenty-eight weapons... they’re all Spiritual Artifacts. Every last one of them..." Elder De was trembling internally. Even for a Spirit Pill Stage expert like him, the explosive news was almost too much to bear.

The nearby guards stared wide-eyed, their minds reeling. If Lin Xuan had stayed with them, their contributions to the Pavilion would have skyrocketed. Now they finally understood why Zi Yi valued him so much.

It wasn’t just a matter of valuing him; the man was a walking treasure vault!

But there was no sign of joy on Zi Yi’s face. She simply stared blankly at the distant Demon Cloud Sea, praying for Lin Xuan to return.

...

「Elsewhere.」

"I told you to go out and find something useful, and you bring me back some half-dead guy? You have until the end of the day to get rid of him. If the higher-ups find out about this, we’re dead!" a coarse voice boomed, jarring the unconscious Lin Xuan awake.

Lin Xuan groggily opened his eyes. He seemed to be in a cold, damp cave. His injuries were too severe, however, and he quickly lost consciousness again.

In his hazy state, he felt something cool and moist being spread over his body, slightly easing the pain. This was, perhaps, the most difficult ordeal he had ever faced.