Soul Emperor Awakening

After going upstairs to their room, Lin Xuan and Liu Yue’er started to catch up.

Liu Yue’er had fully recovered her memories. She recalled everything—the extremely painful memories—when her cultivation broke through to the Essence Pill Stage.

After remembering, Liu Yue’er went to look for Lin Xuan, but as it turned out, he wasn’t in the Core Hall. She then tried to find him in the Demon Cloud Sea, but was stopped by both Zi Yi and Lin Xue.

At first, Lin Xue didn’t know the full story. Later, when she learned about Liu Yue’er’s relationship with Lin Xuan, she helped look after her. Because the situation last time was so urgent, there had been no time to explain.

As for how she entered the Core Hall, the process was quite simple. She found a recruitment branch of the Qingcheng Mansion, took a talent test, and after testing with an Eighth-class Talent, she was immediately accepted into the Core Hall. She had been here for some time now and had been cultivating diligently.

Luckily, no one recognized that she was from the Golden Dragon Race; otherwise, it would have been a huge problem. She looked no different from an ordinary person, and as long as she didn’t fully unleash her power, no one could tell she was a Divine Beast.

"Then do you know where the rest of your clan members are now?" Lin Xuan asked.

"I know a little. They should have been settled in the northern part of the Demon Race Continent. As for the exact location, I’m not very clear," Liu Yue’er said after thinking for a moment.

’The Demon Race Continent...’

This region was divided into several continents. The one where humans lived was called the Chenyuan Continent, and the one where Demon Beasts lived was called the Demon Race Continent. The Demon Race Continent was quite far from here. The Golden Dragon King had traveled thousands of miles to get here; hiding on the human continent was relatively safer.

Given their constitution, it wasn’t truly safe for them here either. However, they ultimately perished anyway, succumbing to severe injuries from which they could not recover.

As for them going to the Demon Race Continent, it wasn’t impossible; it just required a very long flight. The main problem was that their cultivation levels were too low. They would encounter countless dangers along the way, and they would likely die before even reaching their destination.

It was precisely because she had considered this that Liu Yue’er hadn’t acted rashly. She was being quite rational.

"If we want to go, we can teleport there right now. But we’re not strong enough to get revenge on the Black Dragon Race..." Liu Yue’er was in agony. Lin Xuan deeply understood that pain—knowing exactly who your enemy was but being unable to take revenge!

He knew very well who his own enemies were, but he lacked the strength to get his revenge. This reminded him of Bingxin, the Ice and Fire Phoenix he had met in the Mysterious Fragrance Forest. Her words were still fresh in his mind. ’She has probably returned to the Demon Race Continent by now. I wonder how things are over there?’

"Don’t think about it too much for now. If we go without enough strength, we’ll only be a burden..." Lin Xuan gently held her and sighed. The struggles between Divine Beasts were even more brutal than those between humans. It was the same principle as ’one mountain cannot contain two tigers.’ Everyone wanted the resources, and crossing boundaries meant war!

"Brother, I really want to get revenge... Those memories keep swirling in my head, causing me so much pain." Liu Yue’er’s tears blurred her vision. Remembering the simple happiness of the past, she now felt an endless sense of guilt.

Her clan members had desperately saved her, yet she was living happily. This made her feel very guilty.

"I understand. Once we’re strong enough, I will definitely help you get your revenge!" Lin Xuan’s eyes flashed. ’This is why I need a massive amount of resources, to constantly break through to higher levels!’

"Speaking of which, how do we get to the Demon Race Continent?" Lin Xuan asked.

"In the Bone Dragon Ruins, there’s a Teleportation Array that leads to the Demon Race Continent. It’s a random teleportation, though, and only I can activate it," Liu Yue’er said.

"There’s a Teleportation Array in the Bone Dragon Ruins?" Lin Xuan narrowed his eyes. He didn’t know about this. The Golden Dragon King’s soul had been very vague; it was already a miracle that he knew Liu Yue’er’s whereabouts.

"Yes. Whenever we want to go, we just need to use that Teleportation Array. It’s just that I’m not strong enough right now... From now on, I will cultivate very hard!" Liu Yue’er said in a resolute tone. Divine Beasts already had astonishing talent; if they also cultivated diligently, their speed would be even more incredible.

When he first met Liu Yue’er, her cultivation was only at the Body Refining Stage Level. Now, more than half a year had passed, and she was already at the Fourth Layer of the Essence Pill Stage. This was even higher than Lin Xuan’s cultivation, a fact that would make anyone feel inadequate. Breaking through to the Spirit Pill Stage was only a matter of time, and it wouldn’t take long.

"In a little over a month, the Core Hall duel will begin. Yue’er, did you sign up?" Lin Xuan asked.

"No. I wanted to, but the Elders said they need to observe me for a period of time before they can decide whether to let me participate or not!" Liu Yue’er was a little dissatisfied. She really wanted to participate but wasn’t allowed to.

Lin Xuan nodded at this. It was quite normal. Liu Yue’er had only just joined, and her character and other qualities had not yet been assessed. How could they let her casually become an Elder candidate?

It seemed to be just as Qing Piaoyun had said: to participate in this Core Hall duel, one had to either be an Elder’s disciple or be recommended by an Elder. Those who weren’t recommended could only watch from the sidelines. This was different from the rules of the Inner Hall, where participating in the duel was mandatory, whereas the Core Hall required a screening process.

As for those who had no intention of becoming Elders, they could still become the backbone of Qingcheng Mansion in the future, so that was also fine. If Qingcheng Mansion faced trouble in the future, they would also come to help. Otherwise, what was the point of putting so much effort into training them? Did they have nothing better to do?

There wasn’t much else to talk about. What they needed to do now was continue their cultivation, stabilize their foundations, and wait for the Core Hall duel to arrive.

「In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.」

Lin Xuan woke from his meditation. He looked at Liu Yue’er, who was meditating beside him, stood up, and said, "It’s about time to go. I must win this Core Hall duel!"

Lin Xuan was determined to win this competition. The benefits of becoming an Elder candidate were too great. He would gain more resources and be able to open a private cultivation realm by himself—all things he desperately needed.

During this month, he had come to the bottom of the Cyan Cloud Tower to cultivate again. However, Tong Yulong and the others were not cultivating here; they had gone to practice elsewhere.

When Lin Xuan walked out of the Cyan Cloud Tower, he saw Lin Xue already waiting for them outside. Lin Xue smiled faintly and said, "I hope I get to be your opponent this time, and I hope I beat you!"

Lin Xuan was taken aback by Lin Xue’s declaration of war, but he quickly smiled. "I hope I run into you too. I won’t hold back when the time comes."

"I don’t need you to hold back!" Lin Xue huffed, taking Liu Yue’er’s hand. "Let’s go to the venue!"

Liu Yue’er had temporarily emerged from her pain and seemed to have regained some of her former innocent and cheerful disposition. She nodded along and said, "Mhm, I’m really looking forward to Brother’s and Sister’s performance!"

Watching their backs as they walked ahead, Lin Xuan looked up at the sky, a resolute glint in his eyes. ’If I can’t even take first place, then it means I’ve wasted all these years of cultivation!’

He was just that harsh with himself. If you couldn’t crush others, then others would crush you.