Chapter 752: Gained the Legacy! Hidden Danger of the Essence Soul Mark!

"Oh?" Xu Jingming's eyes instantly lit up.

These are all valuable treasures!

"Come! Accept my legacy! All my combat techniques are inside!"

Hum—

With a soft sound, Zachli pulled from his body a spherical mark roughly the size of an infant's fist.

The spherical mark's surface was engraved with intricate patterns, faintly shimmering with purple-black light.

After pulling out the spherical mark, Zachli's lingering soul instantly dimmed, visibly weakening before the eyes.

Never let your guard down; even though Xu Jingming had already become his disciple, who knew if Zachli harbored ill intent?

He pushed his SS+ class perception technique, "Mind Net," to its limit, confirming no anomalies on the mental energy sphere.

Only then did Xu Jingming extend his right hand and touch it.

Whoosh—

A flood of memories surged into Xu Jingming's mind.

These were the legacies of Zachli, a Peak Ninth-Stage mental energy adept!

Among them, there were five SSS-class combat techniques alone! Other SS-class and S-class techniques numbered over twenty!

A-class and B-class techniques were countless, even including an SSS-class mental cultivation art named "Purple Soul Contemplation Method!"

"The 'Purple Soul Contemplation Method' is my life's work, developed specifically for mental energy adepts.

If you find it unsuitable during study, you need not continue.

Just find a talented mental energy adept to pass it on to.

My requirement is simple: he need only have one-tenth your talent."

After transferring the combat techniques, Zachli seemed much older, then asked with slight confusion:

"Just now, I seemed to sense a special mark within your consciousness sea?"

"That's the Essence Soul Mark left by a Great Xia powerhouse, designed to protect me from manipulation by other mental energy masters."

Xu Jingming replied after absorbing all the memories.

The "Lei Hai Contemplation Method" was created by Lei Shen, a supreme adept of the Thunder element who also possessed the SS-class "All-Heaven Divine Thunder."

Relatively speaking, it was naturally more suited to his cultivation than the mental energy-based "Purple Soul Contemplation Method."

I'll set this cultivation art aside for now; I can pass it on to someone suitable later.

"For a genius like you, having anti-manipulation measures is only natural."

Zachli nodded, then mused: "Still, just to be safe, let me take a look."

"Thank you, Master Zachli!" Xu Jingming quickly bowed in thanks.

Although Councilor Liu was a Ninth-Stage Martial Saint of Great Xia, after the Feng Kuan incident,

he truly worried whether some Ninth-Stage councilors of Great Xia had already been manipulated by the Destiny Cult.

If Councilor Liu was compromised, the Essence Soul Mark he left behind would be nothing less than a time bomb.

Whoosh—

A tendril of mental energy drifted from Zachli's body; Xu Jingming offered no resistance, allowing it to enter his consciousness sea.

After carefully observing for over ten minutes, Zachli retracted his mental energy and frowned:

"This Essence Soul Mark does defend against mental attacks, but it has numerous flaws.

Normally, only the caster could know these flaws.

Only someone with my experience could spot them—through these flaws and the mark itself,

the caster could easily brainwash or manipulate you."

"So the one who gave me this Essence Soul Mark is likely compromised?" Xu Jingming's face turned grim.

There were few Ninth-Stage mental energy adepts in Great Xia, and the strongest among them was Councilor Liu, a Mid-Ninth-Stage.

If even he was compromised, the trouble would be immense!

Who knew how many prodigies he had implanted this mark into?

"I can't be certain, but it's highly probable."

Zachli mused, "But it's not a major issue—just cultivate your own Soul-Subduing Tower and imprison it beneath the tower to eliminate all risks."

"I'm only Mid-Seventh-Stage—how can my Soul-Subduing Tower suppress a Ninth-Stage Essence Soul Mark?" Xu Jingming asked skeptically.

It wasn't that he lacked confidence; his power was still far from Ninth-Stage.

"Of course! Do you think your teacher is an amateur?

In complexity, my Soul-Subduing Tower is ten thousand times more intricate than his Essence Soul Mark!"

Zachli boasted, then added with disdain:

"Mental manipulation requiring hidden backdoors is too crude—nowhere near as refined as the Slave Heart Mark I gave you.

If you focus on cultivation, once you reach Ninth-Stage, you can reverse-manipulate it entirely using the Slave Heart Mark."

"No wonder Master Zachli is so formidable!"

Xu Jingming exhaled in relief and promptly gave a thumbs-up.

The SSS-class Soul-Subduing Tower was transmitted via mental energy infusion.

He had already achieved preliminary understanding; if he wished, he could now allocate points immediately.

"Alright, I've given you the mental energy legacy—can I go now?"

Zachli floated midair, looking relaxed.

"Aren't you coming with me, Master?" Xu Jingming was surprised.

Though he'd obtained the mental energy legacy, Zachli, from the Second Civilization Era, was undoubtedly a vast treasure.

Having him by his side would provide more options in case of emergencies.

"No."

Zachli shook his head and smiled:

"My greatest legacy mission is complete. Now, I must seek a way to repair my fragmented soul.

I'll also observe the development of your Third Civilization—perhaps when we meet again, you'll see a Zachli restored to his peak."

He was merely a fragment of his original consciousness; the hope of restoration was slim, but he had to try.

What he hadn't expected was that his legacy would find a suitable heir so swiftly after awakening.

"Then alright—if you need help during your journey, just come to Great Xia and find me.

My name is known to most people in Great Xia."

Xu Jingming grinned.

Though their time together had been brief, Zachli had left a favorable impression.

"So you're already famous? Of course—someone with your talent couldn't possibly be unknown.

Fine. When my path ends, I'll come to Great Xia to find you."

Zachli laughed heartily.

Then his entire spiritual form dissolved into a phantom and shot out of the civilization ruin.

"I never expected opening a civilization ruin would give me a new master—and a mental energy legacy. This trip was a massive win."

After Zachli left, Xu Jingming mused aloud.

He had a hunch that the Slave Heart Mark and Soul-Subduing Tower would prove immensely useful later.

As for Zachli—he was a mental energy master; with caution, he should face no major issues roaming Blue Star.

"S-class, your fortune is truly incredible. I thought opening a ruin would only yield research data and mental energy combat techniques."

Eva blinked her clear, large eyes and softly praised.

Zachli, this mental energy master,

even in the Second Civilization Era, was a legendary figure.

"His Ninth-Stage peak soul has survived until now.

Eva, I'm increasingly convinced that some Second Civilization Era adepts may still be alive."

Xu Jingming stroked his chin, speculating.

"That possibility cannot be ruled out."

Eva nodded. "By the way, in the Second Civilization Era, my mother had another Seed Project.

Its goal was to preserve existing masters and young prodigies, fleeing the rampant Fire-Monster beasts.

But when Mother's Hope Ship crashed, the Seed Project had just begun—I don't know if it succeeded."

The Hope Ship's crash destroyed Eva's core AI, shutting down nearly all sub-entities and artificial intelligences.

It wasn't until a thousand years later that they slowly began repairing—so they never learned the Seed Project's final outcome.

Yet the perceptual range of a Sovereign-level Fire-Monster was terrifyingly vast—the likelihood of the Seed Project's success was extremely low...