Hodan had cultivated a Fate God Clone and chosen External Godhood at the same time. As a result, his original body's soul split in two once more, instantly returning to the state it had been in before he absorbed the Soul Golden Bead.
"I still don't have enough cultivation resources." Hodan sighed. He wished he had an endless supply of Soul Golden Beads so his original body's soul could recover quickly. Then he could study other laws and rules, while his Fate God Clone could use the beads to reach the limit of a Lowgod. But aside from a set of Thunder Godheads and a few supplies to save his life, he had nothing else. All he could do was endure the feeling of his soul being incomplete and keep cultivating in silence.
Yulan Continent
After returning to the Arctic Icefield, Hodan built a Snow House beside the Plane Teleportation Array, just like the one in the original story, and settled in to collect his thoughts. He also realized he had cultivated a Fate God Clone. This was a Divine Clone he had cultivated on his own, and it followed one of the Four Rules of the highest order. He couldn't help feeling encouraged: there was still a path forward for him. At the same time, he considered his next move and how to obtain the opportunities on Yulan Continent.
First, he needed to confirm the current year on the Yulan Calendar. He knew Linley definitely hadn't been born yet. After all, Hodan had only just arrived on Yulan Continent to take up his post, and a Plane Overseer's term lasted at least a thousand years.
Hodan also knew that the Coiling Dragon Ring was in the ancestral hall of Baru's old home. It was such a small place that he could find it just by searching. But the Baruch Clan was one of Beirut's experiments. Beirut didn't keep them under constant surveillance, but he did occasionally turn his attention to the clan to see whether any new blood had appeared.
So Hodan couldn't go to Baruch Mansion himself to investigate. He would have to get someone else to do it.
"How can I get someone to do it for me without letting the secret slip?" Hodan was stumped.
"Wait, I've got it!" Hodan's eyes suddenly lit up. "A Soul Seed!"
By condensing his soul power into a Soul Seed and implanting it in someone else's soul, he could bring that person completely under his control. The servant and master could also communicate soul to soul. Most importantly, as long as he didn't do anything conspicuous, no outsider would know that the person had been implanted with a Soul Seed.
As one of the Four Rules, the Fate Rule couldn't manipulate souls as deftly as the Death Rule, but its study of the soul was still among the best. It naturally had a method for condensing soul power into Soul Seeds. His Fate God Clone couldn't risk sending one over, but he still had his Thunder God Clone.
His Thunder God Clone's soul had reached the limit of a Mid-God, and the Soul Seed didn't need to be very powerful. It only had to control a third- or fourth-rank warrior. The Baruch Clan would surely welcome a third- or fourth-rank warrior who came to do odd jobs.
Hodan got right to work. His Fate God Clone quickly learned how to condense Soul Seeds, then shared the method with his Thunder God Clone on Yulan Continent through shared perception.
After conducting countless experiments, Hodan gradually mastered the method of condensing Soul Seeds. He couldn't help but notice the difference between his Fate God Clone and his Thunder God Clone. His Fate God Clone had only just reached Lowgod strength, yet after learning the method, it took only a few tries to condense a Soul Seed successfully. But even with a soul at the limit of a Mid-God, his Thunder God Clone had needed a whole month to manage it. Hodan couldn't help reflecting that each field had its own specialist.
Hodan looked at the little ball in his hand, no bigger than a fingernail, shimmering with a hazy gray light. Such a tiny ball could bring someone completely under his control. The servant and master could also communicate soul to soul. Hodan couldn't help marveling at the wonders of creation. His next step was to find someone and test whether the Soul Seed worked.
Hodan realized he had been holed up in the Arctic Icefield for a month. He supposed Beirut had let down his guard by now, so he stepped out of the Snow House, ready to head to Yulan Continent and find a bandit to test his Soul Seed.
But the moment Hodan stepped out of the Snow House, his soul suddenly trembled. He felt something sweep over him, and his soul sensed a pressure of an entirely different order in the scanning wave.
As it happened, ever since meeting Beirut, Hodan had been holed up in the Snow House in the Arctic Icefield. Beirut had left him alone. A month had passed, and Beirut was merely sweeping the area with his divine sense to see what Hodan was doing.
Beirut knew Hodan had been sent by the Eight Great Clans. Though he didn't think Hodan could cause trouble on his turf, Hodan was still under close watch. Beirut wanted to prevent him from stirring up any trouble on Yulan Continent. After all, aside from Beirut's own family, Hodan was the strongest person on the continent. He could do whatever he wanted.
Hodan froze. He clearly sensed that someone was watching him, but his divine sense couldn't detect anyone investigating him. The only person on Yulan Continent who could scan him like that was Beirut. The three Harvey brothers couldn't do it, either. Their strength might surpass Hodan's, but fundamentally, they were still Mid-Gods.
Hodan would have sensed their probing at once. Besides, there were no Soul Mutants on Yulan Continent at this point in time. Most importantly, during this probing, Hodan's soul had clearly sensed a pressure of an entirely different order.
That was what had left Hodan stunned. His soul could actually sense a Chief Sovereign watching him. This had never happened before: a god sensing a Chief Sovereign's scrutiny. If he could sense a Chief Sovereign, then he could also sense anyone beneath one, including a Paragon. That was a life-saving ability.
Hodan thought this might be a trait he had gained by crossing over, or perhaps his cheat. With that in mind, he no longer felt the need to hurry out. The most important thing was to understand his own abilities. How could someone grow stronger if he didn't even understand what he could do?
Hodan returned to the Snow House, connected with his original body, and immersed himself in his soul. He carefully studied it and discovered a layer of hazy gray mist covering his blade-shaped soul. It blocked probing by divine sense and soul power. When the mist merged with his soul, it also changed his soul's aura.
Hodan stared at the gray mist for a long time. Then he suddenly thought of the biggest boss in the Coiling Dragon World—Oufu, the Fate Chief Sovereign. Oufu was a member of the Bula Clan, which had a racial secret art that could transform the soul. Since each Divine Clone contained different information, the soul aura of each clone was different, too.
His talent was so similar to the Bula Clan's. When the gray mist merged with a Divine Clone's soul, the soul's aura changed. Divine Clones were made of divine power and could change their appearance at will. Add the change in their soul aura, and if Hodan wanted to take on someone else's appearance, even Elder Muli, one of those closest to him, wouldn't recognize him.
The most important essence of a person in the Coiling Dragon World was the soul, because all divine bodies were formed from divine power. Moreover, most magical beasts took human form after becoming gods. Before they revealed their true forms, no one could tell whether they had cultivated from magical beasts or had been human from the start.
Most people judged by appearance, but at heart, they relied on the soul's aura. That was the most reliable method. The Renars Clan identified its own members the same way. Only people who had never met someone before would use their appearance to recognize them. Of course, that was also because gods weren't in the habit of changing their appearance. The strong had their pride.
Naturally, they also took a person's aura and strength into account. A weakling couldn't pass himself off as a strong warrior simply by changing his appearance. The god-level experts weren't fools; they could roughly tell how strong someone was by his bearing and actions.
A strong person's bearing couldn't be faked. It came from the composure that strength brought. Weaklings who lived in constant fear couldn't cultivate that kind of presence.
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