Soul Palace Training Ground

Soul Palace Training Ground

Hun Lao Gui pointed at the door curtain. From outside, there was no telling where it led. All one knew was that behind the curtain was absolute darkness, without the slightest trace of light able to seep through.

"Where does that door lead?"

"The Hun Realm."

"The Hun Realm?"

Hun Lao Gui stood up like a corpse and said slowly, "This is the Hun Realm Passage. Only a Soul Body can pass through it, but you are not yet qualified to go to the Hun Realm. You will be transported to the Soul Palace Training Ground in the Black-Corner Region."

"Soul Palace cultivation is not limited to cultivating Dou Qi. It places even greater emphasis on cultivating the soul and practicing Soul Skills. You may also choose to trial Soul Skills and fight with your soul."

Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes as he looked at Hun Lao Gui. Though he was only sixteen years old, because of that mysterious Storage Ring, he knew quite a few things.

In this world, aside from Combat Techniques, there was another kind of technique called a Soul Skill. It was a method specifically for cultivating the soul and using Soul Power to fight. But Soul Skills were extremely rare. Even among the many items stored in the Storage Ring, there were only a scant few books related to the soul, and there were even fewer Soul Skills, all of them incomplete remnants that could not be cultivated at all.

For Xiao Yan, who was an alchemist, the strength of his Soul Power was especially crucial. He had always wanted to obtain a Skill and a Soul Skill suitable for cultivating his own soul.

Unfortunately, never mind the whole of Wutan City—even the Mite'er Family, the largest merchant association in the Jia Ma Empire, had never possessed a Soul Skill. Even Jia Nan Academy had never been rumored to have any Skill or Combat Technique for cultivating the soul.

Originally, Xiao Yan had thought that Skills and Soul Skills for cultivating the soul had already been lost on the Dou Qi Continent. Now it seemed they had not been lost at all; they had merely been locked away and never passed down to outsiders!

Thinking back now, Xiao Yan realized that Hun Xuzi had never used Dou Qi at all back then, only Soul Power. At that time, Hun Xuzi had almost certainly been only a Soul Body, not a physical entity.

"Scared?"

Xiao Yan smiled but did not answer. He walked straight into that pitch-black passage.

Xiao Yan did not ask what would happen if he failed to pass the trial. He had already spent two years thinking about it. He had once considered being a frog at the bottom of a well and simply hiding in the Jia Ma Empire for the rest of his life.

But after two years, Xiao Yan's heart had slowly filled with unwillingness. In his previous life, he had achieved nothing. How could he lose again in this life!

The instant Xiao Yan entered the Hun Realm Passage, the token in his pocket flew up on its own. The token released a beam of Soul Light that illuminated the entire space.

The light from the token shone down and enveloped him. Xiao Yan only felt his mind grow hazy.

A moment later, a line of black text suddenly appeared above the token.

Age: sixteen. Cultivation Level: Eight-Star Dou Zhe. Cultivation talent evaluation: Yellow-Rank Low-Level. -_-|| Xiao Yan's face went dark, his expression helpless. Yellow-Rank Low-Level—did that not mean the weakest! In all his life, this was the first time anyone had said his talent was weak. If Xiao Yan knew that some people were born with strength comparable to a Dou Zong, who knew what expression he would have.

"Sigh, Xun Er was right. This world really is huge."

Assigned to the Yellow-Rank Low-Level Trial Ground.

Before Xiao Yan even had time to complain, in the next second, under another bout of mental dizziness, he felt as though the stars had shifted around him, and he instantly arrived in another space.

Xiao Yan opened his eyes and focused. At this moment, he was already standing on a circular arena. The arena was not large, roughly the size of an ordinary basketball court, and was wrapped in a special barrier on all sides, with no exit.

With a buzz, a white light appeared. Not far in front of Xiao Yan, a man appeared. He looked to be about thirty or forty years old, with a strong and healthy build, holding a large saber. After glancing around, he stared at Xiao Yan with a vicious expression.

A duel! This was the first trial of the Soul Palace Training Ground.

When Zhang Hongguang saw Xiao Yan looking around in such a young and inexperienced manner, he was full of confidence. He smiled coldly and said, "Hahahaha, it's actually a little brat. How lucky."

Xiao Yan reached out and caught the token as it slowly fell. On the back of the token, four new words had appeared: Yellow-Rank Low-Level. Beneath them was the number 1.

"Kid, what treasure is that?" The burly Big Man took advantage of Xiao Yan looking at the token and slowly approached step by step, his face savage. Like a hunter stalking prey, his eyes were fixed firmly on Xiao Yan.

"You don't have one of these? Then how did you get in?" Xiao Yan instead picked up a bit of information and raised the Soul Token as he asked.

Unfortunately, though the other party looked like a crude brute, he was extremely cautious and did not say another word.

"Why don't you bring it over and let me have a look? Of course, you don't have the right to refuse!"

The instant Zhang Hongguang approached within attacking range, a fierce glint flashed through his eyes, and he said darkly, "If you want to know, go to hell and ask King Yama!"

Zhang Hongguang suddenly exerted force, the muscles in both legs bulging abruptly. He had actually cultivated a Yellow-Rank movement Combat Technique that allowed him to unleash explosive power for an instant!

Xiao Yan did not seem to take it seriously at all and leisurely put away the token. In truth, he had already guessed what was going on.

"Die!" Seeing that Xiao Yan seemed as if he had failed to react, Zhang Hongguang was already pleased inside. He was an expert from a Mercenary Group, and the reason he could come here was because of his commander's recommendation. Their commander had told him that as long as he entered a certain relic and passed the trial, he could obtain powerful Skills and Combat Techniques.

In his fury, the saber tore through the air. The blade was like blazing fire, sharp and domineering. Zhang Hongguang held nothing back, slashing straight at Xiao Yan's neck. This strike was filled with killing intent, determined to cut off Xiao Yan's head in one blow! Instead of retreating, Xiao Yan advanced, taking a step forward. In Xiao Yan's eyes, with Soul Power surpassing his Cultivation Level, Zhang Hongguang's little movements were like those of a child.

His five fingers clenched into a fist. Xiao Yan slowly turned sideways, dodging the saber, then punched toward Zhang Hongguang's throat bone. It was instantly fatal, without the slightest hesitation.

Xiao Yan did not show mercy as he had during the clan competition or Jia Nan Academy's sparring matches. The Soul Palace was not a kind place. This was the most primitive Law of the Jungle.

Since you came in here out of greed and swung a blade at me, I have no reason to let you go. Moreover, Xiao Yan had looked around; this arena likely did not allow surrender.

After Zhang Hongguang twitched a few times on the ground, he had no aura left. A wisp of invisible soul fragment was absorbed by this space. With Zhang Hongguang's Dou Zhe Cultivation Level, he was not yet able to become a Soul Body.

The number 1 on the Soul Token in Xiao Yan's hand also changed to 2.

"So these are Soul Points."

Xiao Yan also confirmed his own guess. From the conversation between Hun Xuzi and Hun Lao Gui, Xiao Yan roughly understood that they were clan members from the Hun Clan, while the Soul Palace was the Hun Clan's family organization.

The Xiao Clan of Wutan City also had an organization like this. After Xiao Yan's two older brothers, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li, came of age, they took some basic Skills and Combat Techniques along with a small amount of resources and established a Mercenary Group in Mo Tie City.

A Mercenary Group naturally also needed to recruit people, and the precious resources it obtained would be sent back to the clan, continuously expanding the clan's sphere of influence.

Xiao Yan guessed that the Hun Clan and the Soul Palace had this sort of relationship.

In truth, Xiao Yan did not know that even Jia Nan Academy had originally been founded by disciples of the Lei Clan, a Dou God Clan.

Of course, the Soul Palace was far larger than any Mercenary Group. Every corner of the entire Dou Qi Continent likely hid the forces of the Soul Palace, and it was even possible that the Jia Ma Empire bore traces of the Soul Palace as well.