Young Qin Hao

Tianshui City, the Qin estate.

"Young Master Qin Hao."

Along an antique corridor, several Qin servants spotted a brocade-clad youth approaching and greeted him with deep respect.

"Mm."

Qin Hao smiled, nodded in greeting, and entered his room.

"Young Master Qin Hao is Tianshui City's greatest genius, yet he never puts on airs. He's so approachable. No wonder a sacred martial institution like the Myriad Phenomena Hall sent an envoy to recruit him early."

"Exactly. Other geniuses in Tianshui City have to compete in the genius selection tournament and place in the top three to enter the Myriad Phenomena Hall. That's a blessing earned over eight lifetimes! But the envoy will personally test Young Master Qin Hao's martial soul. If it's above the third grade, he'll be admitted early. His martial soul must be above the third grade!"

"Of course it is! Back then, Young Master Qin Hao mastered the low-tier Yellow-grade Tiger Roar Fist in just three months, when others might not manage it in a year. He completed body tempering in a mere three days, breaking Tianshui City's all-time record. A genius like him appears only once in a century! I'd say his martial soul is at least fourth-grade..."

"Hiss! How many years has it been since Tianshui City saw a super-genius with a fourth-grade martial soul?"

A martial soul was the foundation of a martial artist. There were ten grades in all, and the higher the grade, the greater one's talent for martial arts.

Of all the geniuses born in Tianshui City in recent years, the highest-grade martial soul had been third-grade. Nearly thirty years had passed since a fourth-grade martial soul had appeared.

Inside the room.

Qin Hao let out a soft breath and shook his head.

To anyone else, having the Myriad Phenomena Hall send an envoy would bring glory to their ancestors. To Qin Hao, it had completely disrupted his plans.

Qin Hao had devoted himself to martial arts. As the foremost power within ten thousand miles, with a legacy stretching back nearly a thousand years, the Myriad Phenomena Hall was naturally the sacred martial institution he longed to join.

But he had planned to place in the top three at the Myriad Phenomena Genius Tournament three months later and enter the Myriad Phenomena Hall that way.

Now the hall had sent a special envoy to recruit him early.

"The Myriad Phenomena Hall's envoy arrived so suddenly. But I've already split my soul three times. If I stop now, those three attempts will have been for nothing."

Qin Hao went to his bed and calmed his mind.

Years ago, he had mastered a low-tier Yellow-grade martial technique in three months, something others might not achieve in a year. Combined with the fact that he had completed body tempering in only three days, this had drawn the Myriad Phenomena Hall's attention.

An elder of the hall had even declared that Qin Hao's martial soul was at least fourth-grade. The news had sent Tianshui City into a frenzy, and Qin Hao was hailed as its undisputed greatest genius.

Qin Hao sat cross-legged and thought, In that case, I might as well continue splitting my soul. As for tomorrow's martial soul test, I'll let nature take its course.

"Heaven and earth bring forth creation. All things begin and return to their source..."

"Urgh!"

Waves of searing pain rose from deep within his body.

A martial soul lay hidden deep inside the human body.

It took shape only when a person reached ten years of age. Once formed, it could absorb spiritual energy for cultivation. Because it was buried so deep, testing it was exceedingly difficult. Only the Myriad Phenomena Hall's special martial soul crystal orb could determine its grade.

Everyone was eager to learn the grade of Qin Hao's martial soul. What none of them knew was that Qin Hao had used a secret method to test it a year ago!

Qin Hao had a fifth-grade martial soul!

A martial soul of such a high grade was a rarity seen only once in several centuries in Tianshui City. Even in the Myriad Phenomena Hall, he would rank among its finest geniuses!

Yet Qin Hao had not rested on his laurels. He had used a secret technique to shatter his fifth-grade martial soul by force and reshape it into a second-grade one.

Today, he would reshape it for the fourth time, reducing it to the lowest possible grade: first-grade!

Crack, crack, crack...

"Argh!"

A force of heaven and earth slammed into the martial soul deep within him. A martial soul was a person's foundation; the pain of shattering it was no less than having one's soul torn apart.

Qin Hao trembled like a sieve. He let out a low growl and passed out.

After an unknown length of time, Qin Hao slowly woke. A tingling sensation spread through his body, and wild joy lit his face.

"A first-grade martial soul. I did it!"

Sure enough.

The martial soul within him, once fifth-grade, had become the lowest-grade first-grade martial soul.

"Three whole years. I've finally reshaped my martial soul into a first-grade one! Now I can cultivate the Great Dao Spirit-Seizing Art!"

Qin Hao's eyes burned with excitement.

The Great Dao Spirit-Seizing Art!

Three years ago, Qin Hao had been practicing his swordsmanship when the sky suddenly changed!

It split open, revealing a spatial rift.

Then an ancient sword...

No. More precisely, a sword tower shaped like a small sword had flown out of the rift. It became a streak of sword-light and plunged into the space between Qin Hao's brows.

Qin Hao had no time to react before he collapsed unconscious.

He had dreamed that he stood in a mysterious space, with a nine-story sword tower floating in midair.

Four ancient characters gleamed in gold upon the tower: Supreme Sword Tower!

Golden light from the four characters filled the space, turning into five-clawed golden dragons that circled the tower. Their roars shook heaven and earth!

In the dream, Qin Hao entered the sword tower.

On the first floor, there was only one ancient book.

It was the Great Dao Spirit-Seizing Art!

When he tried to enter the second floor, the entire Supreme Sword Tower shook violently. An invisible, terrifying force seemed ready to tear Qin Hao apart!

Agony ripped through his soul!

Qin Hao woke with a start and learned that he had been unconscious for half a month.

He knew perfectly well that it had not been a dream.

The Great Dao Spirit-Seizing Art from the Supreme Sword Tower's first floor had been branded deep into his mind.

The Great Dao Spirit-Seizing Art comprised nine sections. Its contents were abstruse and pointed straight toward the Great Dao.

Most unusual of all were its cultivation requirements.

The lower the grade of one's martial soul, the greater its potential!

A first-grade martial soul held limitless possibilities!

Qin Hao had originally possessed a fifth-grade martial soul and could not cultivate the Great Dao Spirit-Seizing Art. But the art also included a secret technique: Soul-Splitting Art.

Soul-Splitting Art shattered a martial soul so it could be reshaped!

Each time it was shattered, the martial soul's grade automatically dropped by one.

The Great Dao Spirit-Seizing Art recorded that the Reincarnation Great Emperor of the Wind and Thunder Divine Realm had been born with a tenth-grade fire-attribute martial soul. He had cultivated Soul-Splitting Art, shattered his martial soul nine times, and reshaped it into a first-grade one...

A tenth-grade fire-attribute martial soul!

Qin Hao had searched through every ancient record held by the Qin, yet found no mention of a martial soul at such a perfect grade.

That someone had possessed a perfect tenth-grade martial soul, then reshaped it nine times into a lowly first-grade martial soul just to cultivate this art, had left Qin Hao stunned.

And although the Reincarnation Great Emperor had reshaped his martial soul, it had risen in grade as he cultivated. It had reached tenth-grade and ultimately surpassed the very bounds of martial souls...

To Qin Hao, it was simply inconceivable!

The higher the grade of a martial soul, the more likely it was to mutate into an elemental martial soul. But Qin Hao had never heard of a martial soul that could keep rising in grade.

Nor had he found any account of one in the ancient records.

To meet the cultivation requirements of the Great Dao Spirit-Seizing Art, he had split his soul four times, reshaping his fifth-grade martial soul into a first-grade one!

Qin Hao suppressed his restless excitement and thought, My martial soul has only just been reshaped. It still needs time to stabilize. It should be ready by tomorrow. I've waited three years; one more day won't matter.

Qin Hao smiled.

To ensure the soul-splitting succeeded, he had stopped cultivating three years ago. His cultivation had remained at the first level of the Body Tempering Realm ever since, and quite a few younger members of the Qin who had once lagged behind him had surpassed him.

That had not diminished his standing as the city's greatest genius. Everyone knew he had not been absorbing spiritual energy to cultivate.

Publicly, Qin Hao said he was working hard on a secret technique. Naturally, he would never reveal a secret as wondrous as the Supreme Sword Tower.

"But..."

"What exactly is the Supreme Sword Tower?"

"If its first floor holds an ancient art like the Great Dao Spirit-Seizing Art, what could be on each of the eight floors above it?"

Anticipation burned in Qin Hao's chest.

Unfortunately, over the past three years, he had tried everything he could think of to enter the sword tower's second floor, without success.

"Perhaps I'm simply not strong enough."

Qin Hao looked forward to the day.

Sooner or later, he would enter the sword tower's second floor!

That evening.

Qin Hao went to a small mountain outside the city.

At its summit stood a modest stone pavilion.

Inside, a girl in purple was practicing her swordsmanship.

Qin Hao stood nearby, smiling as he offered pointers from time to time.

The purple-clad girl had waist-length black hair. Her fitted clothes showed off her graceful figure. When she turned her head, she revealed a lovely face with a fresh, innocent charm.

Tianshui City had three great Lineages: the Qin, the Wang, and the Liu.

The girl was Liu Ruoxue, the eldest daughter of the Liu. She and Qin Hao had grown up together as childhood sweethearts.

Liu Ruoxue was also one of Tianshui City's geniuses. She had mastered a sword technique in just one year.

But while everyone knew of Liu Ruoxue's extraordinary talent for martial arts, no one knew that Qin Hao spent time guiding her every day.

"Brother Qin Hao, you're amazing. I never knew your understanding of swordsmanship was so deep."

After finishing the sword technique, Liu Ruoxue let its momentum carry her into Qin Hao's arms. Her cheeks flushed as she spoke with admiration.

"Think more, watch more, and practice more. You can do it too."

With the beauty in his arms, Qin Hao was rather captivated. "Xue'er, your sword technique just now still wasn't fast enough or fierce enough. Try pressing downward a little as you use it. That might work better."

"I'll remember."

Liu Ruoxue nodded firmly, then said wistfully, "The Myriad Phenomena Hall's envoy arrives tomorrow. With your talent, Brother Qin Hao, you must have at least a fourth-grade martial soul. When you go to the Myriad Phenomena Hall, you mustn't forget Xue'er."

How could Liu Ruoxue know that Qin Hao's martial soul had been fifth-grade?

Of course, Qin Hao now had only a first-grade martial soul.

"Xue'er, come tomorrow too. I'll ask the envoy to test your martial soul. I doubt the envoy will refuse."

Qin Hao considered it. He probably could not go to the Myriad Phenomena Hall this time. Rather than waste the opportunity, he might as well recommend Liu Ruoxue.

It was something Liu Ruoxue had long yearned for.

"Brother Qin Hao, do you... do you really mean that?"

At his words, Liu Ruoxue trembled with excitement. Only the Myriad Phenomena Hall could test a martial soul!

If hers proved to be high-grade, the envoy would admit her without conditions as well.

"Of course I do."

The girl burst into delighted, bell-like laughter.

For a while, the mountaintop rang with the playful voices of the boy and girl.

Meanwhile.

Tianshui City bustled with activity, its streets full of unfamiliar faces.

People from numerous Lineages far and wide had arrived to witness Qin Hao's martial soul testing ceremony the next day.

What an honor it was for an envoy of the Myriad Phenomena Hall to come personally to Tianshui City to test Qin Hao's martial soul!

It was a turning point the city had not seen in a century!

Naturally, the many Lineages wanted to establish good relations with the Qin in advance!