Chapter 40: Soul Hall Trial Grounds

Hun Lao Gui pointed at the curtain; from outside, one could not see where it led, only that darkness lay beyond, with not a single ray of light penetrating through.

"Where does this door lead?"

"The Soul Realm."

"The Soul Realm?"

Hun Lao Gui rose like a zombie, speaking slowly: "This is the passage to the Soul Realm—only a Soul Body may pass through. But you lack the qualification to enter the Soul Realm; you will be transported to the Soul Hall Trial Grounds in the Black Horn Region."

"The Soul Hall's cultivation isn't just about cultivating Dou Qi—it emphasizes cultivating the Spiritual Soul and Soul Techniques. You may also choose to trial Soul Techniques, fighting with Soul Force."

Xiao Yan squinted at Hun Lao Gui. Though only sixteen, due to the Mysterious Ring, he knew many things.

Besides Dou Techniques, the world held another kind: Soul Techniques—methods specifically for cultivating the Spiritual Soul and fighting with Soul Force. But Soul Techniques were exceedingly rare; even among the Mysterious Ring's many treasures, only a handful of books on the Spiritual Soul existed, and the Soul Techniques were merely fragmented remnants, utterly untrainable.

For Xiao Yan, an Alchemist, the strength of Soul Force was paramount. He had long sought a Cultivation Method and Soul Technique suited to his own Spiritual Soul cultivation.

Alas, not even Wutan City, let alone the Jia Ma Empire's largest merchant clan, the Miter Clan, had ever possessed a Soul Technique. Even Jia Nan Academy had never heard of any Cultivation Method or Soul Technique for Spiritual Soul cultivation.

Xiao Yan had once believed such Cultivation Methods and Soul Techniques had been lost on the Dou Qi Continent—but now he saw they weren't lost; they were sealed away, never passed on.

Now recalling it, Xiao Yan realized Hun Xu Zi had never used Dou Qi at all—he had relied solely on Soul Force. Back then, Hun Xu Zi was almost certainly nothing but a Soul Body, not a physical form.

"Scared?"

Xiao Yan smiled, said nothing, and walked straight into the pitch-black passage.

Xiao Yan didn't ask what would happen if he failed the Trial—he had pondered it for two years. He had once considered becoming a frog at the bottom of a well, spending his life hidden in the Jia Ma Empire's tiny pond.

But after two years, his heart filled slowly with resentment. In his past life, he had been aimless; in this one, how could he lose again?

The instant Xiao Yan entered the Soul Realm passage, the Soul Token in his pocket flew out automatically, emitting a beam of Soul Light that illuminated the entire space.

The Soul Token's glow enveloped him, and Xiao Yan felt a sudden dizziness in his mind.

Moments later, black characters suddenly appeared above the Token.

【Age: sixteen, Cultivation Realm: Eight Star Dou Zhe, Talent Evaluation: Yellow Grade Low.】

-_-||

Xiao Yan's face darkened with exasperation—Yellow Grade Low? That was the weakest possible rating! In all his life, he'd never been told his talent was weak. If he knew some were born with power rivaling a Dou Zong, he didn't know what to think.

"Sigh. Xun Er was right—this world is truly vast."

【Assigned to Yellow Grade Low Trial Grounds.】

Before Xiao Yan could complain, the next second, a mental disorientation struck—he felt as if stars and constellations had shifted, and instantly found himself in another space.

Xiao Yan opened his eyes and saw he stood on a circular Arena Stage, no larger than a standard basketball court, surrounded by a special Barrier with no exit.

A soft hum—white light appeared, and a man materialized not far from Xiao Yan. He appeared thirty to forty, robust and muscular, wielding a large saber. After scanning the surroundings, he fixed Xiao Yan with a ferocious, menacing stare.

Opponent! This was the first Trial of the Soul Hall Trial Grounds.

Zhang Hongguang, seeing Xiao Yan's naive, wide-eyed gaze, felt confident and sneered: "Hahahaha! A little brat? Lucky me!"

Xiao Yan reached out and caught the slowly falling Soul Token; on its back, the words "Yellow Grade Low" had appeared, beneath which a number: 1.

"Kid, what's that treasure?" The burly man, seizing Xiao Yan's distraction, crept closer step by step, face twisted, eyes locked on Xiao Yan like a hunter stalking prey.

"You don't have this? Then how did you get in?" Xiao Yan caught a clue and raised the Soul Token.

But unfortunately, though the man looked like a crude oaf, he was extremely cautious and said not another word.

"Hand it over for me to see. Of course, you have no right to refuse!"

The instant Zhang Hongguang entered attack range, his eyes flashed with murderous intent, and he growled: "If you want to know, ask Yama in hell!"

Zhang Hongguang suddenly surged forward, his leg muscles bulging—he had cultivated a Yellow Class Body Technique, granting him a moment of explosive speed!

Xiao Yan showed no concern, calmly stowing the Soul Token—he had already guessed what was happening.

"Die!" Seeing Xiao Yan seemingly stunned, Zhang Hongguang felt triumphant. He was a top expert of a Mercenary Group, granted entry by his leader, who told him that if he entered a Ruin and passed the Trial, he'd gain powerful Cultivation Methods and Dou Techniques.

In a rage, he slashed through the air—his saber blazed like fire, fierce and dominant. Zhang Hongguang held nothing back, swinging straight for Xiao Yan's neck—a lethal strike meant to sever his head.

Xiao Yan didn't retreat—he stepped forward. Zhang Hongguang's petty maneuver, in Xiao Yan's eyes—whose Soul Force surpassed his Cultivation Realm—looked like a child's clumsy motion.

Fingers curled into a fist, Xiao Yan sidestepped the blade slowly, then drove his fist straight into Zhang Hongguang's throat bone—instantly fatal, no hesitation, no waste.

Xiao Yan didn't hold back as he had in family trials or at Jia Nan Academy's Arena—this was the Soul Hall, not a place of kindness. Here, the primal law of the jungle ruled.

You entered here out of greed and swung your blade at me—I have no reason to spare you. And Xiao Yan scanned the surroundings: this Arena Stage offered no surrender.

Zhang Hongguang twitched a few times on the ground, then fell still. A thread of invisible Spiritual Soul fragment was absorbed by the space. With his Dou Zhe-level cultivation, he couldn't become a Soul Body.

The number on Xiao Yan's Soul Token changed from 1 to 2.

"So this is Soul Points."

Xiao Yan confirmed his suspicion: from Hun Xu Zi and Hun Lao Gui's words, he deduced they were from the Soul Sovereign clan, and the Soul Hall was their family organization.

The Xiao Clan of Wutan City had a similar structure—after coming of age, Xiao Yan's two older brothers, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li, took basic Cultivation Methods, Dou Techniques, and a few resources to Mo Tie City and founded a Mercenary Group.

Mercenary Groups naturally recruited members, and the valuable resources they gathered were sent back to the clan, expanding the clan's influence.

Xiao Yan guessed the Soul Sovereign and the Soul Hall operated the same way.

In truth, Xiao Yan didn't know that even Jia Nan Academy had originally been founded by a disciple of the Dou Emperor Family, the Lei Clan.

Of course, the Soul Hall was vastly larger than any Mercenary Group—its influence likely lurked in every corner of the Dou Qi Continent, and possibly even within the Jia Ma Empire itself.