Chapter 587

Speaking of this, the old man grew a bit interested and added:

“Full True Sect disciples generally have higher life cultivation than their peers, but their fist and foot techniques are terrible,

and they have no real tricks—early on, they’re just durable punching bags, with only soul departure being somewhat useful.”

“But their later development is excellent—the perfect body and soul complement each other,

growing stronger the further they advance; those old Daoist monks are all tougher than the last!”

The young transcendent was initially baffled, but having surfed the internet often, he immediately recognized the analogy:

In gaming terms, most transcendants level up while simultaneously grinding skill proficiency,

advancing their foundational cultivation and defensive methods in tandem, gaining combat advantage early on;

while life-soul cultivators focus purely on leveling up, neglecting skills entirely,

resulting in high levels but mediocre combat power.

But in the late stages, once their level rises, so do attack, defense, health, resistance, and everything else.

If you can’t beat them at the same level, they’ll crush you with higher level!

The greater the level gap, the harder it becomes to fight across tiers.

Not to mention that by the time level rises, the skill proficiency once thought lacking becomes irrelevant.

This may be the advantage of life-soul cultivation: once life and soul are deeply refined, any technique learned or used will be no less effective.

“By comparison, the Golden Light Spell, which also trains life and soul, is quite effective early on too,

useful for defense and offense alike—in pure combat, its opening is far superior to the Full True Sect’s.”

“Oh? The Golden Light Spell is so extraordinary? No wonder it’s a secret art of the Celestial Master’s Mansion.”

The young transcendent’s eyes sparkled; he decided to watch the match closely, not missing a single detail.

After all, Zhang Jie had just demonstrated a formidable Golden Light Spell himself.

Even if he couldn’t see anything now, it didn’t matter—Lingyu Zhenren of the Celestial Master’s Mansion would soon take the stage.

With his talent and cultivation, favored by the Old Celestial Master, his mastery of the Golden Light Spell must surpass Zhang Jie’s.

He also curiously pressed: “Old sir, you know so much—

do you know if the Celestial Master’s Mansion has even more powerful secret arts?”

“The Celestial Master’s Mansion has stood for thousands of years, dominating the scene in recent times—of course it’s not just the Golden Light Spell…”

“Cough, never mind. No matter how powerful an art is, its effectiveness depends on who uses it. Just watch the match.”

The old man instinctively opened his mouth to answer, but halfway through,

he seemed to recall some unpleasant memories, coughed tactfully twice, cut himself off, and steered the topic back.

Seeing he wouldn’t continue, the young transcendent felt disappointed but could only turn his gaze back to the arena.

In an instant, he tossed aside that disappointment—watching the match was far more interesting.

On the arena, Huang Ming’s soul had departed, his spirit form light and ethereal,

not overconfident, but calm and certain as he spoke:

“Senior Brother Zhang Jie, I’m now going to directly attack your soul—please pay attention.”

Immediately, he spiraled through the air at a speed invisible to the naked eye, relying on his soul’s immunity to air resistance

to maneuver swiftly, disorienting Zhang Jie and creating openings to strike.

Zhang Jie remained standing, arms crossed, utterly motionless.

“Here’s the chance!”

After carefully spinning dozens of times, certain Zhang Jie couldn’t track his direction,

Huang Ming’s soul lunged toward Zhang Jie!

The distance between them closed rapidly; Huang Ming’s heart surged with excitement.

Senior Brother Zhang let his guard down—he didn’t dodge!

At this range, avoiding him now would be impossible!

I’m going to win!

Huang Ming’s soul charged forward with fervor.

He would prove to all transcendants that strength lies in the person, not the art—

the Full True Dragon Gate’s internal alchemy, even early on, is no weaker than the Celestial Master’s Mansion’s Golden Light Spell!

Swish—

Suddenly, his vision blurred; Huang Ming found himself frozen,

especially his neck, as if clamped by a vice.

He looked up and saw Zhang Jie’s gentle, handsome, serene face, as if a celestial being had descended.

On that otherworldly face, a faint look of resignation now appeared.

He lowered his gaze and realized this wasn’t a vice at all—it was a clean, slender hand,

like white jade, firmly pinching his neck.

Huang Ming, lifted like a puppy, stared blankly, utterly confused.

What the hell?

What’s going on?

What do I do now?

Who has the advantage—me or him?

And why can Senior Brother Zhang grasp my soul with his hand?

No master or senior brother ever taught me this!

The young spectators in the stands were equally baffled—what’s happening?

They immediately turned to the knowledgeable old man.

The old man: “………”

Does he really think I’m the transcendent world’s encyclopedia, knowing everything?

………

“I’m not saying this to shame you, Master Huang Ming, but soul-departing right before me isn’t a smart move.”

Zhang Jie sighed—not that he didn’t want to spare the young man’s face, but Huang Ming,

a novice who’d barely formed his yin spirit and hadn’t even touched the threshold of yang spirit,

trying to play with soul arts before a planetary-level mentalist?

It was like a duck closing its eyes—utterly unnecessary.

Had Zhang Jie harbored malice, a single mental storm would’ve shattered Huang Ming’s soul,

leaving it scattered forever, doomed to never reincarnate.

Mental force surged; Zhang Jie curled his fingers and crushed Huang Ming’s soul into a ball.

Before forming a true human-like yang spirit, souls are formless and intangible, easily manipulated.

Maintaining one’s original form is merely habit.

With proper visualization, one could become an old man, a child, a woman, even a cat, dog, bird, or beast.

The only risk is prolonged deviation from one’s true form may cause cognitive confusion—

for example, if you stay as a cat too long, you’ll start believing you are one,

developing habits like licking fur, cleaning paws, using a litter box.

So although soul departure is easy and offers endless variety,

most practitioners retain their original form,

at most varying only in transparency due to soul strength.

The stronger the soul, the more its departed form resembles the physical body.

Legends tell of ancient masters who refined their souls to an unimaginable degree,

whose departed souls were indistinguishable from flesh and blood, capable of marriage and bearing children.

Such a state could rightly be called immortality.

Returning from his musings, Zhang Jie gently flicked his finger.

The soul of Daoist Huang Ming returned to his body, and he collapsed at the same time,

Huang Ming’s soul snapped back into his body, and he collapsed, falling into infantile sleep like the other two contestants.