Eye of Water Vapor, First Glimpse of Dark Secrets

The night was as thick as ink that could not be dissolved.

In Dormitory Seven, snores rose and fell like a duet.

Han Yuchen sat cross-legged on his bed, his eyelids drooping as though he were asleep.

His breathing was steady.

Yet his mind had long since traveled far away.

His senses condensed into a single point.

A point smaller than a speck of dust.

That point clung tightly to the crack beneath the iron door leading to the basement of Nuoding City Spirit Hall.

A wisp of water vapor.

The Barus Martial Soul's absolute control over the Water Element turned that wisp into his ears, his skin, the nerve endings he had extended outward.

The feeling was truly strange.

It was like having a portable camera switched on.

The cold texture of stone, the dead-silent air.

And the scent of rust... and blood.

It was faint.

But there was no mistaking it.

Han Yuchen was patient, like an Old Hunter lurking in the grass, waiting for his prey to walk into his trap.

He had already spoken with Master and Tang San.

He had said that Master Ma Xiuno had tried to recruit him, and that Spirit Hall wanted him to join them after graduation.

The excuse was perfect.

Master had frowned, but he had not asked further.

There had been something in Tang San's eyes, but he had said nothing either.

None of that mattered.

The important thing was what came next.

Time passed second by second.

Midnight.

Click.

A faint sound of metal scraping traveled through the vibrations in the water vapor and returned clearly to Han Yuchen's mind.

He's here!

The iron door opened from the outside, and a gust of chilling wind poured in.

Heavy footsteps entered at an unhurried pace.

It was Supervisor Xiao.

The rhythm of those footsteps was exactly the same as when he walked during the day.

Bang.

The door shut once more.

The basement returned to deathly silence.

Han Yuchen immediately focused all his attention and pushed his senses to their limit.

According to the "image" sent back through the water vapor—

It was not a large space. There seemed to be a raised stone platform in the center.

An altar?

The smell of blood in the air instantly grew ten times stronger.

There was also a chaotic, evil energy fluctuation, like countless Vengeful Souls whispering, enough to make one's scalp tingle.

Damn it, it really is a den of filth.

Then Supervisor Xiao's voice rang out.

Low, hoarse, and carrying a kind of... morbid fanaticism.

The sound passed through the heavy iron door, then reached him through the faint vibrations of the water vapor. It came in fragments, but it was enough for Han Yuchen to piece together the full meaning.

"Great Lord of Shadows... supreme Solonsen..."

There it is!

Han Yuchen's heart suddenly clenched.

Solonsen?

It really is that scheming bastard!

A fallen God, the source of all evil.

He had not expected that this tiny Nuoding City would hide one of his followers.

Supervisor Xiao's prayer continued.

"...Your follower offers you the freshest sacrifice... I beg you... grant me greater power..."

"...Purify this filthy world ruled by False Gods..."

Hearing that, Han Yuchen nearly cursed aloud.

Purify the world? Calling the God Realm that maintained order False Gods?

Pah!

A bunch of damn lunatics. Their brains must have been kicked by donkeys, yet they still think they're righteous.

These bastards were harder to deal with than ordinary villains.

Because they simply did not believe they were in the wrong.

The prayer gradually grew quieter.

Supervisor Xiao seemed to be reporting something.

"...the whereabouts... of the fragment... have become clearer..."

"...the Soul Fragment's... fluctuations... are extremely weak..."

Fragments? Soul Fragments?

Even Han Yuchen's soul trembled.

No way?

Could it be... my Soul Fragments?

When he had detonated his godhood, his soul had exploded into countless pieces and scattered across different planes.

Could these lackeys of Solonsen be collecting those fragments?

What did they want?

To revive Solonsen? Or steal the power within the Soul Fragments?

Either possibility was revolting enough.

Just as Han Yuchen desperately tried to hear more clearly—

Boom!

An indescribably cold energy suddenly erupted from the altar!

Like an invisible bomb, it instantly swept through the entire basement.

Was this... Solonsen's response to the prayer?

That energy slammed viciously into the iron door.

And it also slammed into the wisp of water vapor Han Yuchen was attached to.

Pfft!

It was like a needle stabbing brutally into his brain.

Han Yuchen's body, seated cross-legged on the bed, swayed sharply. A metallic sweetness rose in his throat, but he forcibly swallowed it back down.

He let out a muffled groan, and his face instantly turned as pale as paper.

His connection to that wisp of water vapor was forcibly severed.

His Spiritual Power had suffered a slight backlash.

"Yuchen, what's wrong?"

Tang San's voice came from the neighboring bed, carrying a trace of sleepiness and concern.

He had been startled awake.

Han Yuchen opened his eyes and met Tang San's worried gaze.

He forced out a rather ugly smile and waved his hand.

"I'm fine. Just had a nightmare."

He took a breath, his voice a little weak.

"An old problem. I'm frail by nature. A little sleep will fix it."

Tang San looked at him dubiously for several seconds, but ultimately nodded and lay back down.

Before long, Tang San's steady breathing sounded again.

But Han Yuchen had no desire to sleep.

He lay back down, his eyes open as he stared fixedly at the ceiling.

Information swirled through his mind like a storm.

First, Solonsen's followers had already formed a tightly organized group, with clear beliefs and objectives. They did not consider themselves evil; instead, they called themselves the "Purifiers."

Second, they were searching for some kind of "fragment," which was very likely one of his own Soul Fragments.

Third, Supervisor Xiao of Nuoding City Spirit Hall was merely a minor figure, a lowly pawn at the very bottom. Behind him, there had to be a far larger network.

Supervisor Xiao... had to die.

Han Yuchen's gaze instantly turned cold.

Leaving a madman like that alive would only bring disaster.

Who knew how many people he had secretly harmed for the sake of his so-called "sacrifices"?

But he could not do it personally.

At the very least, not openly.

Right now, he was only a six-year-old child, a Work-Study Student who had just awakened his Martial Soul.

Any unusual action would bring unnecessary trouble.

Kill with a borrowed blade.

Those four words rose clearly in his mind.

Whose blade could he borrow?

Master Ma Xiuno?

Not reliable enough. He might not be able to defeat a Soul Master supervisor blessed by an evil god.

I still need to keep this under my control.

Besides, Supervisor Xiao was only a minor character. There would be stronger pieces to use in the future.

The city lord?

Even more absurd. Why would he believe a child?

Han Yuchen's gaze unconsciously shifted to the side.

Tang San.

A brat from the Clear Sky Sect.

The future Sea God and Asura God.

The last successor of the Tang Sect.

Although he was still weak as dirt, no one else on the entire continent possessed this fellow's potential.

More importantly, there was his other identity.

The Tang Sect.

A sect proficient in Hidden Weapons and poison.

Against Evil Spirit Masters hiding in the shadows, was there any better method than poison and Hidden Weapons?

Open and honorable battles were sometimes useless as shit.

The outline of a plan slowly began to take shape in Han Yuchen's mind.

Tang San was a blade—fast and sharp enough.

But he was still too immature.

He needed Han Yuchen to sharpen him.

He had to find an opportunity to "casually" give him a reminder.

He needed Tang San to gain a more direct understanding of Spirit Hall's true face.

He needed him to understand that this world held more than Soul Master duels; it also contained darker things that could not be brought into the light.

He would not count on him this time. Hopefully, he could be used next time.

A cold curve slowly appeared at the corner of Han Yuchen's lips.

A pale hint of dawn appeared on the horizon.

A new day was about to begin.

Han Yuchen slowly sat up. Though he had not slept all night, the exhaustion in his eyes had vanished completely.

In its place was a decision coldly calm to the extreme.

Upon the tiny stage that was Nuoding City—

He would personally plan the first counterattack.