Establishing Authority and Dividing the Crowd
In the clearing of the valley, a dark blue boulder had already been erected. The sunlight was blinding, and the crowd stood clearly divided. Wu Meng stood with his arms crossed, the scar on his face taut, surrounded by several Soul Master. Shi Jian was on the other side, with more people behind him, most of whom still had a spark burning in their eyes.
The room fell silent when Lu Yuan walked over. Lin Xiao followed behind him, carrying a coarse cloth bundle. Mo Chen squatted by the stone, drawing circles with a charcoal pencil.
"Gentlemen," Lu Yuan began, his voice low but barely audible, "the Cloud Mist Sect's nose is practically at the mountain pass. Time is short; some things must be clarified today."
Wu Meng frowned. "What do you want?"
"Not so great," Lin Xiao chimed in, his tone blunt. "Let me show you whether coming with us is a bad deal or not." With that, he shoved the cloth bundle into the ground, revealing a cold, hard metal crossbow inside.
Mo Chen stood up and dusted himself off. "This is called ' Bee Sting.' I modified it." His voice was hoarse, but his eyes were bright. "The materials are ordinary; even Soul Scholar can barely activate it once."
A gasp rose from the crowd.
Mo Chen crouched down and gripped the crossbow handle. His rough, deformed fingers were unusually steady. A wisp of pale yellow Soul Power seeped into the runes on the crossbow, and with a soft hum, a short arrow condensed in the crossbow groove.
He didn't aim at the center of the stone, but at the circle drawn with charcoal, and pulled the trigger.
Swoosh. The short arrow was slow, its trajectory clear. Before striking the stone, the arrowhead exploded into a pale blue vortex, blowing away the dust and withered leaves within the circle. The short arrow, having exhausted its own force, clattered and fell outside the circle.
"Controlling the crossbow isn't for killing." Mo Chen put down the crossbow. "The input of Soul Power must be steady and accurate. Once you've practiced it, even Soul Scholar can use it. It's not about talent, it's about practice."
A man next to Wu Meng muttered, "All show and no substance..."
Lin Xiao laughed, his tongue licking his canine teeth. "A showpiece? Fine."
Before the words were even finished, the person had vanished. It wasn't teleportation, it was sheer speed. A shadow darted out along the ground, instantly circled around to the side of the boulder, and disappeared into the waist-high weeds.
The blades of grass parted abruptly.
Lin Xiao shot out like a cheetah, crashing diagonally into a protruding stone ridge behind the boulder! While in mid-air, his right elbow was bent, and his Soul Power was extremely concentrated at the tip of his elbow, emitting a dull, compressed hum.
Bang!
The elbow slammed hard against the base of the stone ridge—not in the center, but on the side, where a tiny weathered crack appeared.
The base of the stone ridge cracked with a snap, sending fragments flying. Lin Xiao used the momentum to twist his body, his left leg whipping out like a whip, his toe precisely striking a fist-sized fragment of flying rock.
The pebbles changed direction, whistling as they shot straight at the front of the boulder—directly towards the center of the circle that Mo Chen had cleared.
From startup to the ejection of the fragments, it took less than three breaths.
Bang! The rubble crashed into the center of the circle, carving out a shallow pit.
Lin Xiao landed as lightly as a leaf. He dusted off his elbows, his amber vertical pupils sweeping across the crowd before settling on Wu Meng's face.
"Did you see that clearly?" he spoke quickly. "I am Soul Elder. Even Soul Ancestor Sect would have a hard time smashing that stone edge with their bare hands. I found a structural weakness, used explosive techniques, and borrowed the opponent's force. In that final strike, was the speed and force of the shattered stone enough to graz the skin of an unsuspecting Soul Ancestor member?"
He paused, then added, "If a fight really breaks out, I have a knife. And it's not in my elbow position."
A chill crept up many people's spines.
Wu Meng's expression changed completely. As Soul Ancestor, his eyesight was excellent. Lin Xiao's movements, his grasp of timing, control of the point of Soul Power burst, and precision in using leverage to change direction, exceeded the scope that could be explained by pure level. It was a skill that broke down the battle into details and then connected them in the most effortless way.
What alarmed him even more was that Lu Yuan watched calmly throughout Lin Xiao's demonstration, his eyes showing no surprise, only an almost cold assessment.
It was as if everything had been planned in advance.
Only the sound of the wind remained on the field.
Lu Yuan then took a step forward and stood in front of the boulder. He didn't look at anyone else; his gaze was fixed on the dark blue-green stone surface.
"What they demonstrated was 'use,'" he began, his voice still steady. "Using existing conditions, using understood techniques, to achieve effects beyond the surface level. This is crucial; it's the foundation of survival."
He raised his right hand, extending his index finger.
There were no Soul Ring, no violent fluctuations. A faint, almost imperceptible pale blue light seeped out from his fingertips.
"But before that, you have to 'understand' it."
My fingertips fell and touched the stone surface.
A soft hissing sound rang out, like a red-hot iron rod being branded into ice. Lu Yuan's fingers began to move, slowly, steadily, with a strange rhythm. Pale blue lines of Soul Power were "carved" into the hard stone as his fingertips moved.
The lines meander and intertwine, forming patterns so complex they are dazzling. They resemble runes or some kind of loop, interconnected and linked together.
Everyone held their breath.
It's not uncommon for Soul Power to be projected into form. But to "solidify" Soul Power so stably and precisely onto the surface of an ordinary stone, while still allowing the lines to continue to glow and flow... the precision of control required is astonishing.
What's even more chilling is that as the micro-circuit gradually becomes complete, the air around the boulder begins to subtly change.
The light dimmed slightly. Fine dust on the ground moved without wind, slowly gathering at the base of the boulder. Those who approached felt a slight stagnation in the flow of their Soul Power, as if they were being subtly drawn by the glowing circuits on the stone.
Wu Meng's pupils shrank to pinpoints. He stared intently at the increasingly bright blue pattern, his mind blank. This wasn't Soul Skill, at least not any Soul Skill he knew. It was more like using Soul Power to directly write some kind of... rule?
The final stroke is completed.
The entire miniature circuit suddenly lit up, the blue light stabilized, and stopped flickering. It was like a living thing, slowly breathing and flowing on the stone surface, continuously emitting a faint light and an eerie pulling force.
Lu Yuan withdrew his hand, and the blue light at his fingertips dissipated. His face was paler than before, and there was a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead, but he stood ramrod straight.
"Soul Power isn't just for crashing and burning." He looked at the self-operating circuit, speaking as if to a stone, yet also to everyone, "It's a form of energy, with its own properties and laws of flow. Understanding these laws allows you to do much more with it—stabilize structures, guide environmental energy, and even..."
He paused, then left without finishing his sentence.
But there's no need to finish speaking.
A deathly silence enveloped the open space. Wu Meng stood with their mouths agape, their eyes filled with shock and bewilderment. Shi Jian's men, on the other hand, had gleaming eyes, clenched fists, and trembling with excitement.
Lu Yuan turned to face all the residents. His sweat-drenched hair clung to his forehead, making him look tired, but the calm and decisive look in his eyes was clearer than ever.
"The demonstration is over," he said. "As you can see, we have something a little different. It's not a magic manual, but a method for seeing the world and using power."
His gaze swept over Wu Meng, over Shi Jian, over every face.
"We're leaving soon to establish a new base in the ancient ruins deeper within the Black Stone Mountain Range. The threat from the Cloud Mist Sect is imminent; staying here will only lead to our discovery sooner or later."
The sound was clear and resonated deep within everyone's heart.
"Now, the choice is before you. Those who are willing to trust us, willing to cast aside the old ideas of ' Trash Martial Soul ' and 'no future,' and willing to try a different path, can come with us. We will provide protection to the best of our ability, impart the knowledge we understand, and together we will build a new home."
"Those who are unwilling can stay. We will leave behind some food and medicine, as well as some simple defensive deployment suggestions tailored to the valley terrain. But from now on, we will go our separate ways and have no further connection."
He looked at Wu Meng, his tone calm, his words as firm as iron.
"Wu Meng, you can stay in the Soul Ancestor, or you can lead your own people and find another way out. I respect your choice. But there's one thing—"
Lu Yuan's gaze suddenly turned cold, the chill not biting but heavy and suffocating.
"If anyone attempts to leak our whereabouts, or information about the location of this valley, to the outside world when or after we leave..."
He didn't finish his sentence.
Wu Meng felt a chill run down his spine. His throat went dry, and he wanted to glare back defiantly, but he found himself unable to look directly into those overly calm eyes.
A long silence.
Shi Jian was the first to step forward and stand behind Lu Yuan. He didn't say anything, but simply straightened his back.
Like toppling the first domino.
One, two, five, ten... More and more people stepped out. Most of them were those with incomplete Martial Soul, along with their families, and some ordinary Soul Master who had been observing from the sidelines. Their eyes held trepidation and fear, but more than anything, they held a burning flame of defiance, a refusal to accept their fate.
Ultimately, more than two-thirds of the residents chose to follow suit.
Wu Meng stared at the remaining people with a grim face. Apart from his four core brothers, only a handful of elderly and weak people who were either too timid or reluctant to leave their homes remained unmoved.
The tide has turned.
His chest heaved violently a few times, then he flung his hand away and turned to leave. His four brothers quickly followed.
Lu Yuan didn't stop them. He gestured to Mo Chen and Lin Xiao to pile the pre-allocated supplies at the edge of the open space. He also had Shen Moxin hand over the written defense guidelines to an old man who stayed behind.
Then, no longer looking at the valley, he gave a brief order to the dozens of people who had gathered.
"Pack your essentials. Meet at the valley entrance in 15 minutes. Depart under cover of darkness."
The crowd responded with a roar and quickly dispersed.
As darkness fell, a silent procession quietly left the valley, disappearing into the deeper shadows of the Black Stone Mountain Range. The torches were few, illuminating only the rugged path beneath their feet. The procession stretched out, filled with suppressed gasps and the sobs of children, but no one looked back.
Lu Yuan led the way, with Lin Xiao flanking and keeping watch. Mo Chen and Shen Moxin covered the middle, while Lu Qinghe brought up the rear.
A new journey, and a new test, lies on this dark mountain road beneath our feet.
Unbeknownst to them, less than an hour after they left, a group of about ten people, dressed in the Cloud Mist Sect attire, appeared on the low slope outside the valley, carrying bright Soul Guidance Lamp.
The light swept across the messy, fresh footprints and tire tracks at the valley entrance. The middle-aged Soul King, who was leading the group, squatted down, touched the soil, and looked up into the boundless darkness deep within the mountains.
"Chase them." He stood up, his voice cold and hard. "They haven't gone far. Signal the people from the Stone-Splitting Sect to go around to the east and block them. The sect leader has ordered that they must be found alive or dead—especially that brat named Lu Yuan."