Chapter 517

Deep night!

In the Li family’s back courtyard, the Li family patriarch stood respectfully before Qiu Wangqiu.

Though he was at the late stage of the Primordial Fifth Realm, he dared not display even a hint of his status as patriarch of the Li family before this man.

Not only was Qiu Elder himself a Primordial Sixth Realm powerhouse, but the Qianji Sect he represented was not something the Li family could afford to offend.

The Li family’s foundation lay entirely within the Qianji Domain; if this man gave a single order, the entire Li family would vanish overnight, reduced to ashes.

“Is this all the information on Xiao Yan?”

Qiu Wangqiu glanced at the dossier on Xiao Yan submitted by the Li patriarch, his brow furrowing—he had assumed Xiao Yan was a secret prodigy the Li family had cultivated for years, but now he learned the Li family had only known Xiao Yan for less than a month.

“Your Li family truly trusts blindly, placing your entire clan’s hopes on someone of unknown origin.”

Facing Qiu Wangqiu’s displeasure, the Li patriarch’s expression turned uneasy—the Li family hadn’t pinned all its hopes on Xiao Yan alone; there were three other alchemists, though none had even made the top hundred. But clearly, this Qiu Elder didn’t care about them.

More importantly, the Qianji Sect’s Alchemy Competition has never restricted participants’ backgrounds. Even if Xiao Yan were a demon-human, even if he had killed a Qianji Sect disciple and been wanted by them, as long as the Qianji Sect hadn’t discovered it during the competition, his results would still stand once the scores were announced.

Thus, factions like the Li family never cared about the origins of the alchemists they invited—so long as they were certain the alchemist would give their all in the competition.

Of course, this truth was inappropriate to voice right now.

“Qiu Elder, we Li family have investigated Xiao Yan—he is not a martial artist from the Qianji Domain, but came directly from an outer realm to Bailian City, accompanied by a little girl. I suspect… his identity is not suspicious, which is why we invited him to represent our family in the competition.”

The Li patriarch’s implication was that if Lin Chen were a bandit cultivator or similar, he wouldn’t be traveling with a little girl—he seemed more like a typical martial artist wandering the realms.

Qiu Wangqiu naturally understood the implication. He hadn’t come to accuse the Li family—everything they’d done complied with Qianji Sect rules. He was merely displeased because he’d originally assumed only Wei Yang had a mysterious background, and now another, Xiao Yan, had emerged, proving his earlier analysis to his senior wrong.

If Wei Yang might come from there, then where did Xiao Yan come from?

“Qiu Elder, shall I summon Xiao Yan? You may question him directly—I’m sure he won’t dare conceal anything.”

The Li patriarch ventured cautiously. To the Li family, Xiao Yan’s usefulness had already diminished—he’d secured a top-ten finish, guaranteeing their gains and even elevating their status. That was already in hand. If the Qianji Sect investigated Xiao Yan, the Li family might as well alienate him.

He knew well what was more important.

“I previously stated: no participant is to be disturbed. Now you want me to break my own word?”

“Qiu Elder, that’s not what I meant.”

“Enough. I don’t blame your Li family. Since you promised Xiao Yan two top-tier soul arts, I’ll provide them for you.”

The Li patriarch hurried to say, “How could we possibly trouble Qiu Elder…”

But his words cut off mid-sentence—he saw the coldness in the Qiu Elder’s eyes.

“Thank you, Qiu Elder.”

The Li patriarch instantly understood—the Qiu Elder’s offer of two top-tier soul arts was no kindness; it had another purpose. He only needed to comply.

…

Qianji Sect’s Transmission Pavilion.

Qiu Wangqiu stared at the twenty-one jade slips in the pavilion—these were the most elite soul arts in the Qianji Sect, aside from the Divine Soul Scripture.

“These two will do.”

Qiu Wangqiu reached out and took two jade slips. The soul arts recorded within were derived from the Divine Soul Scripture; to master them, one must first have cultivated the Divine Soul Scripture.

Whether Xiao Yan had ever cultivated the Divine Soul Scripture would be revealed by whether he could master these two arts.

…

…

Guest Courtyard.

After Li Qin delivered the arts and left, Lin Chen stared at the two jade slips, pouring his spiritual sense into them. After reading them, his expression turned peculiar.

These two soul arts gave him a sense of familiarity—they resembled the Divine Soul Scripture, more like its evolutions.

One who hadn’t cultivated the Divine Soul Scripture would never notice, but Lin Chen had cultivated it—even without practicing, he sensed these two arts were undeniably linked to the Divine Soul Scripture.

The Divine Soul Scripture was the Qianji Sect’s foundational secret art. These two arts bore ties to it—how had the Li family obtained them?

Had he overthought this?

Could the similarity between these two soul arts and the Divine Soul Scripture simply be because, at the pinnacle of soul manipulation, all techniques become fundamentally similar?

Such a possibility wasn’t absent. As the saying goes: different paths lead to the same destination. Whether one takes the highway, a narrow trail, or crosses mountains and rivers, all eventually converge at the same endpoint.

“What’s wrong? Are these two arts from the Li family not powerful enough?”

Yin Yue, seeing Li Qin depart, noticed Lin Chen’s shifting expression as he held the jade slips and asked curiously.

“It’s not that they’re weak—they just feel familiar to me, and their names are strange.”

“What names?”

“Great Expansion Soul Art and Great Soul-Sealing Art.”

“Great Expansion Soul Art and Great Soul-Sealing Art? Are these two arts related?”

Yin Yue was startled—she knew many top-tier soul arts of the Yan Emperor’s realm, but had never heard of these two.

To name them with “Great”—how confident must the creator have been in their power?

Top-tier soul arts were typically created by Ten Thousand Forms Realm masters, who would never boast in their titles—“Great” rarely appeared.

Unless the art’s power was truly overwhelming, so much so that even the creator deemed it superior to all others.

But if it truly reached that level, like the Qianji Sect’s Divine Soul Scripture, it would be universally known.

“You can take a look.”

Lin Chen handed the jade slips to Yin Yue. His agreement with the Li family forbade sharing the arts with others for cultivation—but Yin Yue’s status made it impossible she’d secretly practice them.

Having lived with Yin Yue for nearly a year, he understood the Yuepo Clan: due to their unique racial traits, especially among the royal line, they never cultivated ordinary martial arts. Each royal member possessed powerful arts exclusive to their bloodline.

Yin Yue took the jade slips, and after a few minutes, placed them back on the table, gazing at Lin Chen with a slow, thoughtful tone: “Have you already cultivated the Divine Soul Scripture—and succeeded?”

Back in the Linhu Village of Poyang County, Yin Yue had suspected this, but at the time Lin Chen was in the Eastern Sea, where obtaining the Divine Soul Scripture was impossible—so she dismissed the thought, assuming he’d cultivated another powerful soul art.

But now, she changed her mind.

“Why ask that?”

Lin Chen froze—he hadn’t expected her to ask this now.

“Just answer: yes or no. Don’t hide it—it affects my next analysis.”

After a few seconds of silence, Yin Yue knew the answer. But precisely because she knew, doubt flickered in her eyes.

Where had Lin Chen obtained the Divine Soul Scripture?

According to her knowledge, Lin Chen had gone directly from the Eastern Sea to Canglan Sect—he’d never entered the Qianji Domain, so he had no chance to encounter the Divine Soul Scripture. The only Qianji Sect disciple he’d met was Zeng Xi.

But Zeng Xi’s realm at the time should not have allowed him to begin cultivating the Divine Soul Scripture. Even if he had, he wouldn’t have dared reveal it to Lin Chen.

Concealing her doubts, Yin Yue took a deep breath: “These two arts aren’t called Great Expansion Soul Art and Great Soul-Sealing Art. Their true names are Soul Expansion Art and Soul-Shock Art. If you include the full titles, they’re Divine Soul Soul-Expansion Art and Divine Soul Soul-Shock Art.”

“What?”

Lin Chen’s pupils contracted sharply—the names themselves revealed everything.

“You guessed right. These two arts were evolved from the Divine Soul Scripture, created by Qianji Sect masters.” Yin Yue spoke softly: “Not only could the Li family never have obtained these arts—even if they had, do you think they’d dare give them to you?”

Lin Chen fell silent. The Li family would only leak Qianji Sect’s top arts if they wanted their entire clan annihilated.

“But most people wouldn’t recognize these two arts. I can identify them because my clan once mentioned them—their descriptions match the power recorded in these jade slips exactly. There’s no chance of error.”

Lin Chen tapped his fingers on the stone table, then spoke after a long pause: “You mean the Li family delivered these arts on purpose?”

“The Li family didn’t act intentionally—but the one who made them deliver these arts did.” Yin Yue looked at Lin Chen: “The Divine Soul Scripture is the Qianji Sect’s foundational art. Anyone who cultivates it—even without using it—may appear ordinary to outsiders, but not to the Qianji Sect.”