Soul Emperor Awakening

Lin Xuan exhaled, finally calming the soul power within him. The drain wasn’t as intense anymore. His continuous barrage of attacks had consumed over half of his Elemental Power. The price for such an extreme outburst was steep; if a few more opponents had appeared, he really wouldn’t have been able to last.

The toll was simply too high, and his attacks grew weaker the longer he fought. Still, it was manageable overall. ’If I were really up against Zhang Bin and his men, I’d have to fight with everything I have, even if it meant coughing up blood.’

"Of course I’m at the Fourth Layer of the Essence Pill Stage. Weren’t you able to sense that already?" Lin Xuan glanced down at Wei Song’s injuries, deeply moved. He had been able to perceive the outside world even while he was frozen.

’Wei Song hadn’t abandoned him. Instead, he had stood guard, prepared to die rather than leave. In his heart, Lin Xuan had already accepted Wei Song; he was definitely someone worth befriending. Anyone else would have long since dropped to their knees and begged for mercy, or used him as bait to distract the Liao Brothers and buy themselves enough time to escape.’

’But Wei Song hadn’t. He had stubbornly stood his ground, determined to protect him from any harm.’

’It reminded him of Tuo Yunhai. They were both the same type of person—neither would ever choose to abandon him. They would rather sacrifice themselves to ensure his safety!’

That was part of the reason he had so brutally and instantly killed the Liao Brothers. The fact that they had tried to kill Wei Song was reason enough.

"You’re right, but that display of power was just incredible. The Yulan Pearl’s effects are extremely potent, aren’t they?" Wei Song was envious, but not jealous.

To be blunt, even if Lin Xuan were to dig it out for him right now, he wouldn’t be able to absorb it. It was a matter of strength, which made jealousy pointless. After all, the fact that even members of the Demon Fox Race had taken turns and failed to control it proved just how unruly the item was.

Luckily, Lin Xuan possessed the Soul Pearl and was able to absorb the Fox King’s soul; otherwise, it would have been truly impossible. Now, the absorbed Yulan Pearl rested stably inside him. He could unleash its power at will without suffering any backlash. It had truly acknowledged him as its master and become a part of his body.

"Of course it’s strong. It almost killed me," Lin Xuan said. "But fortune favors the bold, right? I’m just glad I actually succeeded. Otherwise, you would have never seen me again." He wasn’t lying. It had been an incredibly difficult opportunity to seize, but he had pulled it off. ’Looking back, I have to admire my own nerve,’ he thought.

"But you were only able to succeed because you have the strength. I honestly had no idea you were so powerful, Brother Lin. If word of this got out, you’d shock all of Unity City. But I advise you to keep it quiet. If others find out, there’s no guarantee they won’t get greedy!" Wei Song said with a grave expression, warning Lin Xuan to lay low.

Lin Xuan was well aware of this. Even though not everyone could absorb the Yulan Pearl, it didn’t mean they wouldn’t want to try—especially the truly powerful experts. If they came for him, his current Cultivation wouldn’t be nearly enough to stop them.

"Absolutely," Lin Xuan said in a low voice. "Let’s collect what we can and get out of here. It’ll be a disaster if those guys get out and discover us."

"Right! Let’s loot this place dry! Without the Liao Brothers around, we have nothing to fear!" Wei Song laughed, his eyes alight with excitement.

Smiling, Lin Xuan walked over and picked up the two Storage Rings belonging to the Liao Brothers. Without a glance, he tossed one to Wei Song. "Here, your spoils of war. We’ll each take one. What’s inside will depend on your luck."

"Brother Lin, this is yours..." Wei Song said, his expression urgent as he tried to give the Storage Ring back.

Although neither of them had looked inside, they could guess that the wealth held by the Liao Brothers was nothing short of terrifying.

"Giving it back would be an insult," Lin Xuan said in a low, serious voice. "You protected me and refused to leave. For that, never mind one ring—I’d give you both if you’d take them! I’m someone who clearly distinguishes between kindness and enmity. Since you treated me this way, I won’t short-change you one bit. Don’t treat me like a stranger."

Wei Song fell silent for a moment before accepting the ring. "Alright, I’ll take it. Since you’re being so generous, Brother Lin, I won’t stand on ceremony."

After that, they began to loot the nearby rooms, only to find very little left besides some items of low value. When they finally inspected the Liao Brothers’ Storage Rings, they found that most of the valuables were already inside. It was as if the brothers had conveniently packed everything up and delivered it right to them.

To be thorough, they did another sweep of the area. Aside from one room with an unopened Stone Gate, everything had been picked clean. It was impossible to know how much had ended up in the Liao Brothers’ Storage Rings and how much had been taken by Zhang Bin’s group.

Still, the Storage Rings contained plenty of good things. Lin Xuan even found some Five-Colored Spirit Wood—more of the good stuff. Its Grade was similar to the piece Xu Qianlong had previously destroyed; it was all hundred-year-Level Five-Colored Spirit Wood. It seemed the brothers had done a fine job collecting it.

The quantity wasn’t large, but there were several pieces—enough for him to carve something new, which was precisely what he needed. It was a shame there was no higher-Grade Five-Colored Spirit Wood; the results of his carving would have been even more amazing. ’I definitely wouldn’t complain about having a few more top-tier experts on my side,’ he thought. ’If I did, the Liao Brothers would have been nothing!’

"All collected! Let’s hurry and leave while they’re still trapped inside!" Wei Song was ecstatic. With all the things they had gathered this time, he’d truly struck it rich. The mission he was supposed to complete had been completely forgotten.

They would have to do everything they could to cover their tracks, maybe by pretending they’d been on a different mission, so that no one would suspect they had been to the Demon Fox Ruins. As the saying goes, don’t flaunt your wealth. They’d rather lie and say they never came than admit the truth. They had simply acquired too many treasures; if word got out, they would be done for.

Wei Song wasn’t in much danger, since he had Wei Jun to protect him. Lin Xuan, however, was a different story. If he were to leave the city, he’d be a dead man.

After emerging from the Teleportation Array, they scanned their surroundings. Seeing that the coast was clear, they quietly rushed toward the passageway. Just before they left, Lin Xuan glanced toward a nearby corner but said nothing, simply following Wei Song as they snuck away.

Once they were gone, a fiery red figure emerged from the very corner Lin Xuan had glanced at. Staring in the direction they had disappeared, the figure murmured in shock, "That human absorbed the Yulan Pearl... Th-that can’t be real, can it..."

She had sensed the aura of the Yulan Pearl emanating from Lin Xuan. Her kind was far more sensitive than humans, especially to the faint, lingering traces of the Yulan Pearl’s power after its use—an aura that only the perceptive Demon Fox Race could sense.

"This... I don’t need to report this up the chain. This is an incredible development..." The fiery red Demon Fox’s figure vanished on the spot, and the area finally fell into true silence.