Child of Light

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Chapter 7: Child of Light

Standing before a wall inside the Sea God Pavilion, Mu En raised his hand and pointed lightly.

Golden light flared, and everything around them became illusory. A rich golden halo instantly enveloped Ye Xixuan's body. His vision filled with light, and he felt as though his feet had stepped into empty air.

The next instant, the golden light around him quietly vanished, and he appeared in a pitch-black room.

Dense dark-element energy filled the room, prickling against Ye Xixuan's skin like a cold, viscous liquid. It felt as though he had entered another world of nothingness, or sunk into an endless abyss beneath the sea. It was suffocating.

As a Soul Master whose Martial Soul possessed the ultimate darkness attribute, Ye Xixuan instead felt increasingly like a fish in water in this environment. He loosely curled his right hand, and black currents flowed between his pale fingers, swirling endlessly. Even the Soul Power within his body began circulating rapidly on its own.

Yet his gaze remained fixed on the depths of the dark space.

It was an instinctive intuition. Within this darkness, there seemed to be another hazy consciousness besides his own.

Just then, Mu En's voice rang out within Ye Xixuan's Sea of Consciousness.

"Have you heard of the Heavenly Snow Woman?"

"The Snow Empress, the Heavenly Snow Woman who ranks first among the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North?" Ye Xixuan's talent in spiritual power was extraordinary as well. On his very first attempt, he learned how to communicate with Mu En through his Sea of Consciousness.

Born into a great Soul Master clan, he was hardly as ignorant as the Huo Yuhao of his previous life's memories. He had studied Martial Souls and Soul Beasts since childhood, laying a foundation for his future cultivation.

Mu En smiled. "Correct. On the list of the continent's ten greatest ferocious beasts, the Heavenly Snow Woman ranks third, with nearly seven hundred thousand years of cultivation. Every ferocious beast that makes that list possesses an ancient and noble bloodline. That Heavenly Snow Woman's circumstances are even more unusual than those of the others. She was born of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth when the time was ripe, nurtured from the purest wisp of ice spirit energy in the Far North. Soul Beasts of this kind are also known as elemental Soul Beasts."

"When I traveled the continent in my youth, I encountered a similar Light Elemental Soul Beast and obtained an exceptionally powerful Soul Bone. Unfortunately, I already had all six Soul Bones at the time, so I could only let the opportunity slip through my fingers. I thought having such an encounter was fortunate enough, but I never expected to discover a Dark Elemental Soul Beast in the same place. Perhaps it was what people call light and darkness giving rise to one another."

"However, that Dark Elemental Soul Beast was much weaker and had yet to develop a consciousness of its own. Only later did I learn that the most unusual thing about elemental Soul Beasts is that their consciousness remains in a state of chaos until they reach a thousand years of cultivation. Once they cross that threshold, their intelligence grows rapidly, and they assume all sorts of forms. Calling it a single step into the heavens would be no exaggeration."

"Mu En, is that Dark Elemental Soul Beast here? Do you want it to become my first Soul Ring?" Ye Xixuan immediately understood.

Mu En sighed. "Normally, that Dark Elemental Soul Beast should have reached a thousand years of cultivation long ago. I used the Golden Tree's power to seal it underground. To me, your arrival seems like the guiding hand of fate. An elemental Soul Beast in a state of chaos will merge directly into your Martial Soul Origin. All you need to do is sit cross-legged and meditate. With the compatibility of your ultimate-darkness Martial Soul and the boost your innate ability gives your physical strength, you should have no trouble absorbing it. Begin now."

"Yes, Mu En." Ye Xixuan did as instructed, though inwardly he was surprised.

The characteristics of these elemental Soul Beasts were remarkably similar to those of certain artificial Soul Spirits from later generations. Merging with a Martial Soul would only make that Martial Soul more powerful.

Steadying his mind, Ye Xixuan devoted himself entirely to cultivation. There was no need to guide them deliberately. The dark elements naturally resonated with his Martial Soul, pouring into his body at a speed visible to the naked eye, like a great whale drawing in water.

Inside the room, the darkness rapidly receded, replaced by the Golden Tree's own brilliant golden radiance. A pure aura of light spread continuously outward from it.

;psme&;psme&

After roughly two hours, the dark aura had withdrawn completely into the mind demon marks on Ye Xixuan's skin. His pale skin, however, had become translucent and pure, forming a strange resonance with the Golden Tree's radiance.

Light and darkness coexisted in uncanny harmony. Though clearly distinct, both had appeared within the same person.

An enormous golden silhouette unfurled above the Sea God Pavilion-the phantom image of the Golden Tree. The inner court students and teachers on Sea God Island all raised their heads to watch the strange sight in the sky.

"Cough, cough-" Xuan Zi sat on a rock in the clearing before the Sea God Pavilion, happily gnawing on a chicken drumstick while picking at the sole of his foot with one hand. At the sight, he nearly choked.

"How did the Golden Tree's energy get stirred up? Surely that little fellow couldn't have done this?"

"Xuan Zi, what do you mean, 'couldn't have'?" Two other figures stood beside him. The one who asked was a boy who looked about Tang Ya's age. Tall and slender, he was well developed and already had something of an adolescent's bearing. His short, dark blue hair shone like a gemstone, and his handsome face wore a gentle smile with a hint of carefree irreverence.

The other was a stunning woman of about twenty. Her long black hair fell to her waist, and her black eyes were bright and intelligent. Her delicate face was fair and flawless, and her quiet, gentle presence was unforgettable.

She withdrew her gaze from the Golden Tree and asked softly.

"Xuan Zi, Mu-";psme&;psme&

"En asked me to come over. Was there something he needed?"

"Let Mu En explain it to you afterward. Lexuan, wait here a while, and keep that little rascal Bei Bei in line while you're at it. I'm going to see Mu En first." Xuan Zi hurriedly replied, then vanished in a flicker. His words also revealed the pair's identities: Zhang Lexuan, the inner court's senior sister, and Bei Bei, Mu En's great-great-grandson.

In the underground world beneath the Golden Tree, a splendid purple Soul Ring rose from beneath Ye Xixuan and pulsed slowly.

Yet compared with Ye Xixuan's Martial Soul and Soul Ring, his crystalline, translucent physique, brimming with an aura of light, clearly shocked Xuan Zi and Mu En far more as they stood side by side.

"Child of Light?" Radiance stirred in Mu En's clouded eyes. This legendary physique of pure light had actually appeared in a Soul Master with an ultimate-darkness Martial Soul. It was truly inconceivable.

"A body of light, a soul of darkness..."

"Mu En, what on earth is going on?" Xuan Zi's jaw dropped in astonishment.

"How could a dark-attribute Soul Master's physique have such an affinity for the light element?"

(End of chapter)