The Soul Hall-a towering behemoth!
Within its ranks, Dou Zong served as Guardians, while Dou Zun were called Venerable Elders.
Even Dou Emperors and Dou Wang, who counted as mighty figures on the Northwest Continent, could only serve as Soul Envoys.
For now, City Lord Ding Dian's allegiance was effectively Chen Cang's allegiance.
And so...
The good news: he had the continent's strongest guild at his back. Even as an unofficial member of an unofficial member of an unofficial member, that was still enough to intimidate people.
The bad news: this guild's days were numbered. It was only a matter of time before the entire clan was wiped off the board.
That was the situation before him.
Quickly recovering from his initial dismay, Chen Cang felt an audacious idea take root and sprout in his mind.
Perhaps this was not disastrous news after all.
The collapse of the Soul Clan and Soul Hall would not happen overnight. He still had at least twenty or thirty years to grow, and that much time was enough to accomplish a great many things.
If City Lord Ding Dian could become a Soul Envoy of the Soul Hall, so could Chen Cang.
He could even set his sights on becoming a Guardian Heavenly Venerable.
Perhaps one day, he could even raise his arm and cry, "Are kings, nobles, generals, and ministers born to their stations?"
Only by doing so could he make the fullest use of the Soul Hall's resources to strengthen himself.
This plan could work!
"Have you chosen?" Ding Dian's voice broke into his thoughts.
"I'll take Crimson Fire Refinement. Thank you for granting me this cultivation method, City Lord."
"It's a small matter. A cultivation method of this grade is hardly precious. You'll obtain plenty yourself in the future. Still, since I rarely venture out, my collection isn't particularly extensive. You may only keep this scroll for half a month. Once you've committed it to memory, you must return it to me, so don't lose it." Ding Dian chuckled teasingly and casually put away the other scroll.
Chen Cang nodded in agreement.
After granting him the cultivation method, Ding Dian offered more encouragement, occasionally wandering off topic to reminisce. His rambling made him seem like a kindly elder.
Chen Cang responded to everything he said, though he always seemed a little distracted.
Watching him, Ding Dian could not help laughing inwardly. However talented he might be, he was still a child-slightly more mature than others his age, but not by much.
Someone with that temperament would be easy to handle.
After spending over an hour together in "brotherly affection and respect," Chen Cang was finally allowed to leave. He followed a middle-aged man who looked like a steward to his assigned lodgings.
It was a small courtyard, but like a sparrow with all five organs, it had everything he needed.
At noon, the person delivering the Dou Techniques arrived and presented six for Chen Cang to choose two from. All were High Yellow-Tier Dou Techniques.
One each for saber, spear, sword, fist, palm, and finger.
In truth, Chen Cang had no shortage of Yellow Tier Dou Techniques. But under the man's unwavering gaze, he still turned them over and carefully compared them, spending ten or so minutes before reluctantly pushing four aside.
The two he kept were...
The spear technique, Mountain-Splitting Rend.
The palm technique, Sea-Splitting Palm.
Chen Cang chose the former because he had obtained a Low Xuan-Tier Dou Technique called Starpoint from a previous instructor's memories. It was also his only Xuan-Tier Dou Technique.
Since both were spear techniques, Chen Cang hoped practicing Mountain-Splitting Rend would help him draw connections and grasp Starpoint's essence more quickly.
As for Sea-Splitting Palm, he chose it purely because he had already seen it in an instructor's memories. Practicing it would yield twice the results for half the effort, leaving more time for cultivation.
With everything settled, Chen Cang's life at the City Lord's Residence fell into a steady routine.
Thanks to the city lord's relaxed supervision, Chen Cang found plenty of books to read outside his cultivation hours. Every three to five days, he also made time to wander seemingly aimlessly through the city, when in reality he was using those opportunities to keep searching the crowds for the information he wanted.
Day followed day, month followed month.
In the blink of an eye, half a year passed.
Through such tireless persistence, Chen Cang's understanding of his current circumstances grew ever clearer.
First was geography. The Tianxing Empire lay southeast of the Chu Yun Empire, and the Black Eagle Mountains behind Tianying City formed the natural boundary between the two empires.
The Black Eagle Mountains stretched for tens of thousands of li. Magical beasts ran rampant within, including high-level beasts capable of human speech. They were exceedingly dangerous, which was precisely why there was almost no contact between the Tianxing Empire and the Chu Yun Empire.
That was also why there was no news whatsoever of the Jia Ma Empire.
It was simply too far away.
During those six months, Chen Cang had also met City Lord Ding Dian several times. Through repeated attempts, he pieced together his understanding of the Soul Hall's Soul Envoys like a jigsaw puzzle.
As it turned out, Soul Hall Soul Envoys were not cannon fodder.
They were more like a logistics department, or an information network.
A Soul Envoy's duty was to facilitate the Soul Hall's operations, including but not limited to providing information, introductions, and surveillance. Their identities usually remained secret. Only after promotion to Guardian would they carry out special missions, receive mission quotas, count as full-fledged Soul Hall employees, and earn the right to cackle "kekeke."
At noon, in the square of the City Lord's Residence.
A figure moved as lightly as a startled swan and as gracefully as a roaming dragon, swinging a long spear with tigerish vigor. In almost an instant, he thrust more than a dozen times around himself, so fast that afterimages nearly appeared, while piercing whistles rang out without pause.
Chen Cang was now ten years old. Perhaps it was the plentiful food over the past six months, or perhaps it was the increase in his strength, but his physique had changed rapidly.
He was no longer so lean, having grown much taller and sturdier. Compared to when he first arrived at the City Lord's Residence, he had gained nearly half a head in height and now stood around 1.7 meters tall. On the planet of overworked beasts of burden from his previous life, he would certainly have been an exceptionally tall, early-developing child. On the Dou Qi Continent, however, he was entirely unremarkable.
As Chen Cang grew, the childish softness faded from his face, replaced by a measure of youthful spirit. His looks were not breathtaking, but he could certainly be called handsome.
He wielded his spear again and again, seemingly tireless, his clothes already soaked with sweat. Only after exhausting nearly all the Dou Qi in his body did Chen Cang stop, panting heavily.
"Not bad. Unfortunately, hard practice alone can no longer do much to improve your Starpoint. What you need now is real combat, a baptism of blood. Only then can you truly shed your old skin and be reborn. Besides, you must break through to Dou Shi as soon as possible. Using a Xuan-Tier Dou Technique as a Dou Zhe is still far too taxing. Without my pills to sustain you, you wouldn't last long at all."
A gaunt old man in black robes entered the square and raised his hand, tossing over a perfectly rounded pill.
Chen Cang caught it securely and popped it into his mouth without hesitation. His nearly depleted Dou Qi began replenishing rapidly.
Qi Nourishing Powder, a second-rank pill, could accelerate recovery.
Within the City Lord's Residence, only Master Mo could casually produce such a pill.
Unlike the strangers they had been at their first meeting, Chen Cang and Master Mo had clearly developed a friendship. They could even be described as both mentor and friend.
Chen Cang's initiative in breaking the ice had been crucial to this change.
Thanks to his ability to examine memories, Chen Cang knew many little secrets hidden from everyone else.
For instance, City Lord Ding Dian had no interest in women, had no children, and really did only have a tiny little thing.
Then there was Master Mo, the Peak Third-Rank Alchemist. Though he appeared proud and aloof, he was genuinely a good man. Advanced in years and all alone, he suffered an inexpressible loneliness. His only wish was to find a disciple to keep him company and, along the way, inherit his legacy.
Thus, knowing both himself and the other party, Chen Cang had no difficulty building a good relationship with him.
A shamelessly thick skin, coupled with wholehearted enthusiasm, was enough.
What lonely old man could withstand such a trial?
Befriending an alchemist brought enormous benefits.
Ever since becoming acquainted with Master Mo, Chen Cang had never worried about exhausting his reserves. He pushed his cultivation harder, and his strength increased ever faster.
"I want to break through too, but I only became a Nine-Star Dou Zhe yesterday. Even with your pills helping me, Master Mo, and even if I train like my life depends on it, I'll probably need another month and a half before it's possible."
Reaching nine stars in half a year was already extraordinarily fast.
Without Master Mo, Chen Cang estimated that he would only be at seven stars now.
Master Mo nodded slightly. He was deeply pleased with Chen Cang: talented, courteous, well-behaved, and warmhearted. At the same time, he felt genuine regret. Why did the boy not have even a trace of Wood Attribute? Otherwise, he would have been the perfect candidate to take as a disciple.
"There's no need to keep yourself wound so tightly. Perhaps you should try a different approach. With your current strength, you can venture around the outskirts of the Black Eagle Mountains. It would also be a good opportunity to experience life-and-death combat."
"Unlike me, you aren't an alchemist. You can only rely on yourself for everything. Real combat is especially important!"
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