Soul Emperor Awakening

The three benchmarks left Lin Xuan with nothing to say. They were quite difficult, but not impossible. Just as Qing Liuyun had said, the difficulty was set with the Cyan Cloud Step in mind, intended to stimulate his potential. Besides, passing the Asura trial at the Eighth Layer of the Body Refining Stage proved his potential was by no means weak.

This was true. With the Soul Pearl, his Cultivation speed was far beyond that of others. And with the memories of two Spirit Pill Stage experts, Lin Hua and Qing Liuyun, his progress was bound to be incredibly fast.

’It’s just that it feels like Qingcheng Mansion is using me as a pawn,’ he thought. ’I guess it’s to liven up the atmosphere in the Inner Hall, but it’s sure making things hard for me.’

"Lin Yunlong, what are your thoughts on these three benchmarks?" Qing Piaoyun asked, looking at Lin Xuan with a wide grin. He knew they were quite difficult—in fact, exceedingly so—and wanted to see Lin Xuan’s reaction.

"I have no thoughts on it. And even if I did, I doubt you Elders would change a single thing." Lin Xuan knew the terms were non-negotiable. He could either accept them or forgo the assessment. It was that simple.

"You’re right. The standard is non-negotiable." Qing Piaoyun took an Identity Token from his robes and handed it over. "This is your personal Identity Token. In one month, there will be a challenge competition... but your situation is a little different. You’ll be allowed to make two challenges, provided you’re strong enough to win."

In the monthly challenge competition, each person could only challenge one other, and each person could only be challenged once. To put it bluntly, once someone was selected as a target, no one else had a chance to challenge them.

Qing Piaoyun was relaxing the restrictions for him. As long as he had the ability, he could issue one challenge after another! After all, breaking into the top fifty within six months was no laughing matter.

Lin Xuan took the Identity Token. Engraved on it was the name "Lin Yunlong," signifying his status as an Inner Hall Disciple.

"Other than that, there’s no difference. You’ll receive the same treatment as everyone else," Qing Piaoyun said. "I hope that in one month, you will shine brightly and not disappoint us. In particular, you must properly cultivate that Celestial Level Martial Art, the Cyan Cloud Step. As long as you reach the First Layer, I guarantee you’ll break into the top fifty with ease!"

This sounded like encouragement, but Lin Xuan knew it was just an indirect way of painting a target on his back. He could already see the looks from the surrounding crowd, a mixture of shock and jealousy.

The Cyan Cloud Step. In all of Qingcheng Mansion, there was no one who hadn’t heard of it. It was a Celestial Level Martial Art, after all. They all dreamed of cultivating it, as the powerful Body Technique was enough to grant its user a massive advantage in battle.

Yet Lin Xuan had already obtained it, a fact that made everyone’s eyes widen in utter disbelief.

"Understood. Thank you for the reminder, Fifth Elder..." Lin Xuan said, a smile not quite reaching his eyes.

Qing Piaoyun coughed lightly, knowing he had perhaps overdone it. He left with a final word, "We’ll be watching your performance from now on..." With that, he turned and left to attend to his own affairs.

"Brother Lin, so you already know the Cyan Cloud Step. No wonder the Elders are giving you special treatment. Now, forget about you challenging others—everyone’s going to want to challenge you." Liu Xuan shook his head. "Once word gets out, everyone will be lining up to stomp you down. Since the Elders think so highly of you, if someone manages to crush you, maybe the Elders will be impressed with them instead!"

"It was just a bit of luck," Lin Xuan said with a smile. "In that case, I’ll head to the Cyan Cloud Tower to cultivate. At my current level of Cultivation, I won’t stand a chance of winning if I don’t train, even with the Cyan Cloud Step."

After bidding him farewell, he turned and headed toward the Cyan Cloud Tower. With Qing Liuyun giving him directions, navigating the Inner Hall felt as easy as walking through his own backyard.

He had only taken a few steps when a group of people blocked his path. Their leader, Zhang Qi, sized him up and sneered, "Well, well. I hear you know the Cyan Cloud Step. How about you show us a move or two?"

A powerful aura emanated from him; his Cultivation was at least at the Third Layer of the Spirit Refining Stage, making him stronger than Liu Xuan. His rank was just above Liu Xuan’s as well: twenty-second!

Lin Xuan frowned. He had only just arrived, and someone was already looking for trouble. ’Even if you want to make a scene, isn’t this a bit much?’ Aside from Zhang Qi, the others all glared at him with open hostility, which was something he had expected.

Everyone could see that Qingcheng Mansion was setting this up deliberately. But what was even clearer was that defeating Lin Xuan might bring them benefits. It was that simple! They particularly enjoyed putting so-called geniuses in their place.

"Zhang Qi, what is the meaning of this?" Liu Xuan stepped forward, frowning. "Have you forgotten the rules of the Inner Hall?" He chose to stand up for Lin Xuan, unintimidated by the fact that Zhang Qi’s rank was higher than his.

"You dare bring up the Inner Hall’s rules with me? My memory isn’t so bad that I’d forget something like that!" Zhang Qi’s temper flared. He was already annoyed with Lin Xuan, but he was even more irritated with Liu Xuan. "How about it? A match between you and me in next month’s competition? You pathetic loser!"

"You!" Liu Xuan’s face turned frosty, his sunny smile replaced by an icy glare. "Bring it on! You think I’m afraid of you?"

"Fine!" Zhang Qi shot him a furious glare. When he turned back to Lin Xuan, he was shocked to find that the boy had vanished. The others were only just realizing it too.

"I don’t have time to waste on you lot. Brother Liu, let’s catch up another time!" Lin Xuan’s voice drifted over from behind them.

The crowd spun around in shock. Somehow, Lin Xuan was now standing behind them. For a fleeting moment, they felt a terrifying aura emanate from him—the kind of pressure they only felt from an Elder! It was powerful enough to make them shudder.

But it vanished in an instant, making them wonder if they had imagined it.

"Was that... the Cyan Cloud Step?" Zhang Qi was dumbfounded, his earlier anger completely replaced by shock.

’That kid... he’s got some real backbone,’ Liu Xuan thought, watching Lin Xuan’s retreating figure with a newfound admiration in his eyes. He was even more stunned by the incredible display of the Cyan Cloud Step.

They really hadn’t had time to react before Lin Xuan was already behind them. The Body Technique was as phantom-like as the rumors claimed!

"Let’s go!" Zhang Qi snorted, flicked his sleeves, and stormed off with his group. He had meant to put Lin Xuan in his place, but instead, he had been the one to get taught a lesson.

Far from the others, Lin Xuan took a deep breath as he walked, his forehead beaded with sweat. To create the most dramatic effect, he had allowed Qing Liuyun to possess him and execute the Cyan Cloud Step with ultimate power and proficiency. The result was astonishing; he had slipped past them completely unnoticed.

’No need for a war of words; that display was like a slap to their faces.’ When people tried to push him around, he couldn’t just take it lying down. He had never been that kind of person! Not now, and not even when he had been blind!

’The effect was astonishing, but the cost was pretty astonishing too...’ Lin Xuan exhaled. Executing the technique for just that brief moment had consumed thirty percent of his Elemental Power.

"Of course. Celestial Level Martial Arts are astoundingly powerful, so their Elemental Power consumption is equally astounding. Once you break through to the Spirit Refining Stage, your internal Elemental Power will increase dramatically, and you’ll be able to sustain it for longer," Qing Liuyun remarked in admiration. "Still, the effects of that Soul Pearl are just too incredible. For an instant, I felt as if I had completely merged with you. You’ve never even practiced the Cyan Cloud Step, yet you were able to execute it at the level I was at in my prime... If I were still alive, I can’t say I wouldn’t have been overcome by greed and killed you to dig out that Soul Pearl!"

It sounded like a joke, but it served as a stark reminder to Lin Xuan: this secret could never be revealed. Since Qing Liuyun was under his control, he didn’t have to worry about him leaking it; it was impossible.

’So this is the Cyan Cloud Tower...’

Lin Xuan arrived before the Cyan Cloud Tower. Looking up, he saw not a soaring structure, but a tower that was only a single story tall! How could something only one story high be called a tower? The truth was, the Cyan Cloud Tower was built downwards, not upwards!

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