Soul-Turning Secret Technique

On the thirteenth day of the Ten Thousand Beasts Assembly, the vast Ten Thousand Beasts Space remained as lively as ever.

On a patch of low grassland, Xiao Yan casually slew a sixth-tier magical beast. The score on the back of his hand increased as usual, but he was somewhat dissatisfied. For some reason, his hunting points seemed to have dropped these past few days.

He had assessed his own hunting score, and over the last three days, it had fallen by around thirty percent. Accordingly, his ranking on the leaderboard had dropped to seventh.

Xiao Yan knew that the geniuses fostered by the major powers had begun to exert themselves. Although Lu Zhi was not on the rankings, Lu Mingzhe had taken his place and now occupied third, behind only Xu Yingwu of the Echo Sect and Wan Qing of the Heroes Alliance. Xiao Yan knew that, aside from the Heavenly Snake Mansion, the other five major powers had begun using their influence to farm points. Their influence was there for all to see, and countless people were willing to follow them. More importantly, with more people came more intelligence, so the five major powers had pulled far ahead.

Looking at the leaderboard scores, Xiao Yan gradually developed a headache. Although Yang Lingyan had also been doing his best to secure points for him, the gap had already exceeded three thousand points and would only grow larger. Xiao Yan had considered recruiting people through the Heavenly Snake Mansion, but the quality was truly hard to praise. After all, everyone knew of the Heavenly Snake Mansion's predicament. Many would rather trust a rising star like the Splendid Flower Tower than place their faith in the Heavenly Snake Mansion.

Xiao Yan could only cast aside the distracting thoughts in his mind. It was still early, and there would be plenty of opportunities. Once Qing Lin, Zi Yan, Xun Er, and the others had all arrived, they might not be unable to overtake the others later.

Xiao Yan picked the herb guarded by the magical beast, a "Mist-Swallowing Fruit," and placed it into his storage ring. Though he had only casually swept his awareness through the ring, he immediately sensed that something was wrong. Something had changed. With a thought, a jade slip appeared in his hand. It was incomplete, with more than half of it missing, but its name was still clearly legible: "Soul-Turning Secret Technique"!

After taking stock of the contents of his storage ring, Xiao Yan immediately understood the problem. The yellow clod of earth he had bought that day was gone, replaced by this jade slip. He felt a flicker of delight. This should have been the item's true form. Though he did not know why it had changed, it proved that the warning from that voice had indeed been correct.

Xiao Yan found a secluded place, focused his mind, and scanned the jade slip.

"The Soul-Turning Secret Technique is a secret skill created by myself. Those of later generations who possess the fortune may obtain it. This secret technique is a skill for enhancing soul power."

The more Xiao Yan read while holding the jade slip, the more delighted he became. This secret skill was remarkably wondrous. It could transform one's battle qi into temporary soul power. Battle qi was relatively easy to cultivate, but methods for strengthening soul power were extremely scarce. Usually, it could only grow gradually alongside one's cultivation level.

The only regret was that the secret skill was incomplete. The most crucial portion—the method for using the transformed soul power to attack—had been lost. Xiao Yan had no solution for that. Based on the changes he had experienced, he guessed that the item needed to absorb the power left behind after killing magical beasts in the Ten Thousand Beasts Space in order to unseal itself. It had been extremely easy to damage before, and part of it had broken in his hands. That merchant had likely tried again and again, so the most important part had ultimately been lost.

Even so, Xiao Yan could not contain his excitement. Although he had lost the offensive method, the Soul-Turning Secret Technique was still extraordinarily significant to him. After all, the soul perception converted from his Battle Emperor-level battle qi could greatly improve the efficiency of his hunting.

Xiao Yan then called Chu Qun and Yang Lingyan over and told them about it. Upon hearing this, Yang Lingyan and Chu Qun were overjoyed. The problem of slow hunting speed also stood before them, and they had never expected it could be resolved so easily.

"Since that's the case, the three of us can learn this secret technique together," Xiao Yan said.

Yang Lingyan and Chu Qun were both startled by Xiao Yan's words, then deeply moved. After exchanging a glance, Chu Qun forced himself to say, "Thank you for the offer, but we truly would feel too embarrassed to learn this secret technique."

Yang Lingyan nodded as well. In the end, this was Xiao Yan's personal gain and had nothing to do with them.

Xiao Yan smiled. "What does that matter? We're acting together, so there's no need to divide things so clearly. Without the two of you, I probably wouldn't even have participated in the Small Market. How would I have had the chance to obtain this secret skill?"

As he spoke, he handed the jade slip to Chu Qun. The two could only accept it. After all, they knew Xiao Yan's character well enough. Since he had offered, he had to be sincere.

But as soon as Chu Qun focused his mind and scanned the jade slip, he opened his eyes in confusion. "Huh? There's nothing inside."

Hearing this, Yang Lingyan took it and tried for himself. "There really is nothing."

When Xiao Yan tried it himself, the cultivation method for the Soul-Turning Secret Technique was plainly there. After withdrawing his awareness, he looked at the two of them, equally puzzled.

"Could this thing have some kind of restriction? Perhaps only the first person to see it can learn it?" Chu Qun guessed as he looked at the jade slip.

Yang Lingyan gave a helpless, bitter smile. "That is probably the case. Xiao Yan, it seems only you have this fortune."

Neither of them suspected Xiao Yan in the slightest. After all, if Xiao Yan had not told them, the two of them would never have known anything about it.

"Go ahead and cultivate. We'll stand guard for you!"

Xiao Yan no longer hesitated and focused on learning the method of transforming battle qi into soul power.

Under Xiao Yan's guidance, the battle qi in his body began circulating along an entirely new route. Though it was incomparably sluggish at first, as time passed, Xiao Yan felt his soul power gradually beginning to change.

Two days later, Chu Qun and Yang Lingyan, who had dutifully guarded Xiao Yan, suddenly sensed a change in the person beside them. Xiao Yan had vanished in an instant... Not from sight—Xiao Yan was still sitting there perfectly fine—but from their soul perception. In the area where Xiao Yan sat, there was simply nothing at all.

Both revealed astonishment. Then Yang Lingyan said, "To directly block the perception of two Battle Emperor experts at such close range... this secret technique is far too terrifying!"

Xiao Yan, who had been cultivating with his eyes closed, slowly opened them. Chu Qun even felt an invisible pulling force in Xiao Yan's eyes that made him shudder.

With the battle qi throughout his body nearly exhausted, Xiao Yan slowly rose to his feet. Relying on his terrifying soul perception, he observed the vast world centered around himself. The positions of every magical beast were impossible to conceal.

Xiao Yan looked at the two beside him and said confidently, "Now, it's time to hunt!"