Soul Emperor Awakening

"Huh, why is Wan Ning’s name gone?"

"It really is! Wan Ning’s name is actually gone! Was he expelled from the Qingcheng Mansion, or is he dead?"

"He probably died in some kind of accident. I think he accepted a mission and left a while ago, but he still hasn’t returned."

...

The crowd noticed that a name had suddenly vanished from the ranking Stone Stele, and that name was none other than Wan Ning. Normally, an Inner Hall Disciple’s Essence Blood was fused with their Identity Token. For a name to disappear from the ranking stele, the disciple had to either be expelled from the Qingcheng Mansion or be dead.

Upon death, the ranking naturally vanished, and the Identity Token would lose its function. Last time, Lin Xuan hadn’t yet obtained an Identity Token, so his name wasn’t inscribed on the ranking Stone Stele, which is why no one knew his status.

Now that Wan Ning’s name was gone, everyone suspected he was dead. If he had been expelled from the Qingcheng Mansion, the Elders would have surely made an announcement. To vanish without any notice meant he was dead...

Upon learning of the news, the Elders immediately dispatched men to conduct a thorough investigation, determined to find out who had killed Wan Ning. Accountability would be determined based on the circumstances. If Wan Ning was at fault, the Qingcheng Mansion wouldn’t pursue the matter. But if someone else was to blame, the Qingcheng Mansion would see it through to the very end.

Wan Ning’s body was in the Bone Dragon Ruins. Finding it would be extremely difficult, unless the Illusion Array was broken and someone could get inside.

"Wan Ning is dead..." Qing Piaoyun’s brow furrowed. "Who could have done this?"

"No matter who did it, we must investigate thoroughly!" Fourth Elder Qingyu’s face was like ice. The death of a top-ten Inner Hall disciple was an extremely serious matter.

SLAM! Someone slapped their hand down hard on the table, drawing the gazes of all the other Elders. To dare to slam the table in front of so many of them, this person’s status was clearly not simple. It was none other than the Second Elder of the Qingcheng Mansion, Qingyun Feng!

Qingyun Feng’s expression was just as grim. He looked at the others and said, "This must be investigated thoroughly. No matter who did it, or which family they belong to, they will pay the price. No exceptions!"

His words carried great weight, revealing just how highly he regarded Wan Ning. He had declared that whoever was responsible would pay the price.

The Elders exchanged glances. Wan Ning was certainly a talent, but wasn’t this level of protectiveness a bit much?

However, no one dared to object. It was best to investigate first; anything said now would be pointless.

"Speaking of which, the tenth spot is now open. Do we just let the eleventh-ranked disciple move up?"

This raised a new issue. Wan Ning’s position was now vacant. Under normal circumstances, the eleventh-ranked disciple would move up. It would be quite a sweet deal to enter the top ten so easily.

"I propose that we let the twelfth-ranked Lin Yunlong take the tenth spot directly!" Qing Piaoyun recommended. "In my judgment, his strength already surpasses that of the eleventh-ranked disciple. If not for the rule limiting challenges to a ten-rank gap, he probably would have challenged the eleventh-ranked disciple directly."

On this, however, Qing Piaoyun was mistaken. Even if Lin Xuan could have challenged the eleventh-ranked disciple, he wouldn’t have. He would have definitely challenged the twelfth-ranked Chen Yun first. The reason was simple: Chen Yun had provoked him, so of course he would be the first target.

"I agree with that assessment, but I wonder if the eleventh-ranked disciple will be willing to accept it?" Qingyu said in a low voice. "Perhaps we should speak with him first. If he disagrees, they can just follow the usual challenge procedure. If he wins the challenge, then he’ll have completed his second requirement..."

"Just make him the tenth. No more discussion needed." The Second Elder, Qingyun Feng, made the decision with a wave of his hand. "This is perfect. We can hold a top-ten challenge tournament next, reshuffle the rankings completely, and see just how high he can climb!"

The other Elders exchanged glances. Since the Second Elder had spoken so decisively, none of them wished to say anything more. Everyone was in agreement, so there was no need to overthink it.

As he finished speaking, a cold glint flashed in Qingyun Feng’s eyes, vanishing in an instant. No one noticed it.

「Inside the Bone Dragon Ruins.」

Lin Xuan had no idea that upon his return, he would become the tenth-ranked disciple without even needing to issue a challenge. What was supposed to be a challenge for the tenth spot had turned into a top-ten tournament.

The top-ten challenge tournament was an event where all the top contenders gathered for a series of challenges to determine the one true King. To put it simply, if Lin Xuan kept winning, he would eventually face Ling Tian!

The purpose of this event was that the top-ten rankings rarely changed all year round. This was the only way to see who had progressed and who had fallen behind.

’The loot from two people is pretty substantial. Even though Lu Sheng was one of the Eldest Prince’s men, his possessions were rather meager. Wan Ning was about the same, I only got a single Celestial Level Martial Arts manual from him. Still, there are plenty of Weapons and Elixir Pills, enough to last me a while.’ Lin Xuan was very satisfied. He had just received a significant restock.

After finishing his inventory, he glanced at Wan Ning’s body and shook his head. "I was actually looking forward to challenging you fair and square. If you hadn’t come to ambush me with the intent to kill, I would have truly wanted to have a proper fight with you."

He shifted his gaze back to the Bone Dragon Ruins. With the help of the Soul Pearl, his surroundings were laid bare before him. The ground was covered in a fine powder. This Dragon Bone Powder wasn’t worth much and had no particular effect. ’No wonder the Dragon Power here is so dense,’ he thought. ’It’s all emanating from this powder.’

’This Soul Pearl is incredible. It can easily see through an Illusion Array that even a Core Formation Stage expert can’t penetrate.’ Lin Xuan moved deeper into the Bone Dragon Ruins. The path was covered in the same fine powder, but he didn’t see the soul he was hoping to find.

After rounding a bend, he saw Liu Menghua sitting on the ground, meditating and engaged in Cultivation. She wasn’t bothering to search anymore. After all, from her perspective, it was just an empty field with nothing in it.

It wasn’t just them; even Lin Xuan, who could see through the illusion, couldn’t spot anything of value.

As he ventured further in, he saw more people sitting and cultivating. They must have searched the entire area, found nothing, and given up.

Lin Xuan ignored them and pressed deeper. The scenery remained a world of white powder. The bones had been here for so long that the Dragon Bones had completely disintegrated into dust.

"This... this is..."

As he passed through a corridor and stepped out, the scene before him left him completely stunned. What appeared before him wasn’t a trove of Dragon Bones. The ground was still covered in Dragon Bone Powder, but the one difference was in the center of the chamber: a majestic, throne-like chair carved with images of soaring dragons.

But that wasn’t the main focus. The true centerpiece was the hollow, humanoid skeleton sitting on the Throne. Its right hand rested on the armrest, propping up its chin as it seemed to gaze in his direction.

The moment Lin Xuan’s eyes met the skeleton’s, his heart pounded violently. A terrifying Long Wei pressed down from above, so immense that his legs buckled, nearly sending him to his knees.

Before him was clearly just a skeleton, with no eyes to speak of, yet it felt as if a supreme expert was sitting on that Throne, looking down upon a lowly mortal. The pressure grew stronger and stronger, feeling like tens of thousands of pounds of iron had been piled onto his back—and the weight was still increasing, trying to force him to his knees in worship of the skeleton before him.

’A soul!’ Lin Xuan’s heart jolted. Inside the skeleton’s hollow chest cavity, he could see a ball of soul floating, so faint and ephemeral it looked as if it could dissipate at any moment.

He sensed that this terrifying Long Wei was emanating from that very soul. ’Could this soul belong to a Dragon King?’

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