The Astonishing Heavenly Eye

Old Man Gu's withered body trembled violently.

He sprang up from the broken chair, staggering from the force of his movement as his twig-like fingers shook and pointed at Zhua Yun.

His skull-like face twisted with rage, and chilling light burst from his eye sockets.

"You wretch! I taught you the Nine Secrets so you could join forces with outsiders and force me from my position?!"

"You... you actually revealed something so secret to an outsider! Do you... do you still see me as your master?!"

His voice was furious and hoarse, distorted beyond recognition. His chest rose and fell violently, as though he might collapse from lack of breath at any moment.

"Master, please calm your anger! Your disciple knows his mistake!" Zhua Yun hurriedly kowtowed.

"Without your permission, this disciple privately told Junior Brother Long about the Grafting Technique. This disciple was indeed in the wrong, utterly rebellious!"

"But Master, this disciple only had your best interests at heart! This disciple could not bear to see you sink into despair day after day, nor could he bear to see your life's work come to nothing!"

"This disciple... this disciple only wanted to win you a chance!"

"Had my interests at heart? Win me a chance?" Old Man Gu laughed in extreme anger, and the sound was even harsher than crying.

Yet the towering rage within him seemed unable, for the moment, to be fully vented upon the disciple who had accompanied him for so many years.

He abruptly turned his blazing, furious gaze upon Long Zhanye, who knelt nearby, equally terrified.

"This is all because of you! You ignorant little brat!"

Old Man Gu let out a low roar and suddenly clawed forward with his withered hand!

An invisible yet vast surge of Soul Power instantly rushed forth, forming a powerful force of suction.

Like an invisible giant hand, it seized Long Zhanye's body and forcibly "lifted" him from the ground, leaving him suspended in midair!

Long Zhanye felt his entire body tighten, as though cold iron hoops had locked him in place. Even breathing became difficult.

He stared in horror at Old Man Gu's face close before him, twisted by rage into something as vicious as an evil ghost.

"I truly want to cripple you, you little brat who doesn't know his place and covets my inheritance—along with that second Martial Soul of yours! Then you won't be able to cause trouble again!"

Old Man Gu roared as his other hand shot out like lightning, its Five Fingers forming a claw as it pressed directly against Long Zhanye's dantian!

"Let me see what exactly this so-called second Martial Soul of yours is, to give you such audacity!"

Before his words had even faded, an incomparably pure and immense wave of Soul Power forcibly poured into Long Zhanye's already fragile meridians!

The strength of this Soul Power far exceeded Long Zhanye's imagination. It was definitely not something an ordinary Soul Saint could possess!

"Urgh—!" Long Zhanye let out a muffled groan of pain.

Yet just as Old Man Gu's Soul Power drove straight in—

Bzz—!

An indescribable majesty, like an obscure ripple from the dawn of primordial creation.

Like a sleeping dragon completely awakened, it suddenly erupted of its own accord from the depths of Long Zhanye's brow!

It was more like the inviolable pressure naturally emitted by a supreme existence disturbed by the prying of an ant!

The instant Old Man Gu's injected Soul Power touched that ripple—

Like ice and snow meeting a blazing sun, it was effortlessly and completely swept away!

And not only that.

A faint yet utterly distinct rebounding force surged back along his Soul Power and slammed fiercely into his senses!

"What?!"

Old Man Gu shuddered as though struck by lightning, and the hand pressing against Long Zhanye instantly recoiled as if electrocuted!

The suction force vanished abruptly as well. Long Zhanye crashed to the ground with a thud, clutching his chest as he coughed violently.

Meanwhile, Old Man Gu seemed like a stone statue that had suddenly lost all strength.

He staggered back three or four steps until his back struck the cold stone wall with a bang, barely managing to stop himself.

His withered body stood frozen, his sunken eyes bulging as though they might burst from their sockets while he stared fixedly at Long Zhanye sprawled on the ground.

His face was filled with indescribable shock, horror, and a kind of... bewilderment that was almost worshipful.

"You... you... y-you..." He raised a finger trembling like a fallen leaf in the wind and pointed at Long Zhanye.

His lips quivered, but he could not utter a complete sentence, as though he had suddenly lost the ability to speak.

"Master! Master! Are you all right?!" Zhua Yun was terrified by the sudden turn of events as well.

He hurriedly scrambled up from the floor, rushed to Old Man Gu's side, and supported his swaying body as he called out anxiously.

Long Zhanye struggled into a sitting position, equally bewildered.

He had only felt a strange heat flare between his brows moments ago, but it had now returned to calm.

Seeing Old Man Gu's expression, as though he had seen a ghost—no, as though he had seen a deity—filled Long Zhanye with even greater doubts.

A deathly silence spread through the secret chamber.

Only heavy breathing and the uncontrollable clacking of Old Man Gu's Teeth could be heard.

After a long while, Old Man Gu's violently surging aura finally began to settle with difficulty.

He pushed away Zhua Yun's supporting hand and straightened himself, but his gaze never left Long Zhanye's... forehead.

His voice remained hoarse, but it was no longer icy or enraged.

Instead, it carried an incredulous, dreamlike daze, along with a faint tremor that was hard to detect.

"That ripple just now... above your forehead... that vertical slit, normally almost impossible to see..."

He took a deep breath, seeming to gather every bit of knowledge and courage he possessed before voicing that earthshaking guess.

"...Could that actually... be an eye?... An eye not yet fully opened, yet already possessing supreme majesty?"

His gaze locked tightly onto Long Zhanye's brow. "The legendary... Heavenly Eye?"

Old Man Gu's voice was as light as a feather. "Could this be..."

Zhua Yun had already been left dumbstruck. Coming back to his senses, he hurriedly cut in, his voice trembling with shock. "The Heavenly Eye?!"

He only knew that Long Zhanye was a genius treasured by the sect, someone who possessed Twin Body Martial Souls. He had never known what Long Zhanye's second Martial Soul actually was.

"Isn't the Heavenly Eye merely something from legends and ancient records, praised as a God-Level Martial Soul capable of seeing through all things, distinguishing truth from falsehood, and wielding part of the heavenly laws—as mighty as a god?"

"It is said that only someone with immense fortune, great destiny, or perhaps even the reincarnation of a god, could possibly Awaken it!"

"How... how could such a thing truly exist?!"

Although Long Zhanye knew something of his second Martial Soul, the Heavenly Eye, and understood that it was mysterious and powerful.

He had never imagined that, in the eyes of a true expert and top researcher, it would possess such a terrifying origin and reputation.

His thoughts raced, and he immediately realized that this might be the key to turning the situation around!

Suppressing his weakness and discomfort, he followed Old Man Gu's words and said with carefully measured desolation, "Elder Gu's insight is truly piercing. You are correct."

"This junior's second Martial Soul is indeed the Heavenly Eye. Unfortunately... this junior is ill-fated. My Martial Soul was crippled, and my life force is nearing its end."

"Even with such a legendary Martial Soul, I lack the strength to nourish it, much less display even one ten-thousandth of its power."

"I fear that... for the rest of my life, it can only remain buried in dust and... perish alongside this junior."

Three parts truth and seven parts performance, his words painted a vivid portrait of a tragic figure who possessed a supreme treasure yet faced imminent death, his great ambitions forever unfulfilled.