Soul Emperor Awakening

When Lin Xuan came out of the Cyan Cloud Tower, his entire aura had changed considerably. Elder Huang, at the entrance, glanced up, his eyes immediately lighting up. He had only been inside for a day and a half, yet his Cultivation had made such a breakthrough.

However, he didn’t say anything. He just glanced over before lowering his head to continue sorting through some things.

"Elder Huang, I have completed my Cultivation," Lin Xuan said, holding out his Identity Token.

Elder Huang took it, made a quick adjustment, then handed it back, saying, "You still have five and a half days left. If you feel that’s not enough time, you can go to the Hunting Hall to accept tasks. Earning more points will allow you to exchange them for more days of cultivation."

"Thank you for the reminder, Elder Huang." Lin Xuan already knew this, but he still offered a polite, humble response.

As he stepped out, he saw a burly man walking toward him with a frigid gaze. The man had just entered, but his eyes were already locked onto Lin Xuan, filled with a distinct hostility!

Lin Xuan froze. ’I don’t think I’ve provoked anyone, have I?’ The burly man before him looked as if they shared a feud that was years old, like he wanted nothing more than to cut him down.

’Could it be Zhao Hua?’ Lin Xuan considered the most likely possibility. The Inner Hall didn’t have many members, so a newcomer would be easy to spot.

While others might also be hostile toward him, it wouldn’t be this intense. Theirs would likely be more along the lines of disdain. Only Zhao Hua, who was preparing to fight him, would harbor such strong animosity.

"You’re Lin Yunlong?" Zhao Hua asked coldly.

"Yes, I am Lin Yunlong. And you must be Zhao Hua?" Lin Xuan replied with a faint smile.

"That’s right, I’m Zhao Hua!" Zhao Hua wasn’t falling for Lin Xuan’s act. There are no brothers on the Martial Arts Arena; feigned respect was useless.

He sized up Lin Xuan, and Lin Xuan sized him up in return. As the rumors suggested, Zhao Hua’s Cultivation was only at the First Layer of Spirit Refining Stage. However, Lin Xuan could sense that Zhao Hua had also made significant progress in Body Refining. His aura was steady, not at all like someone who had just broken through. He would clearly be a tough opponent. Zhao Hua wasn’t the pushover he had imagined.

"Eighth Layer of Body Refining Stage, fourth-class talent, aiming for the Core Disciple assessment, cultivating the Cyan Cloud Step... Your ambition far outstrips your strength!" Zhao Hua sneered. "If you think you can use me as a stepping stone, you’re dead wrong. Did you really think I’m at the bottom of the ranks? ...Maybe I was before, but things are different after a month or so. You’d better look forward to our match!"

With that, he let out another sneer and walked past Lin Xuan into the Cyan Cloud Tower without waiting for a reply.

’A tough challenge right after I arrived... This Zhao Hua has clearly had some kind of lucky break.’ Lin Xuan frowned. Based on the aura he just projected, Zhao Hua was no longer at the bottom of the barrel. He was even stronger than some of the people he had met in the square earlier!

People change. Being at the bottom before didn’t mean you were at the bottom now, and it certainly didn’t mean you would still be at the bottom a month later! That was why challenge matches were arranged every month, to test whether each disciple’s Cultivation had progressed.

"He must have taken Body Tempering Pills, and quite a few of them, to drastically strengthen his body. He’s indeed stronger than some of the other Inner Hall Disciples... But compared to you, he’s still far too weak. If you can’t even get past him, you might as well just kill yourself," Qing Liuyun quipped.

"Of course..."

Lin Xuan had his own trump card. With the Soul Pearl in his possession, if he couldn’t even defeat Zhao Hua, how could he ever talk about fighting Zhan Lingtian? How could he talk about protecting the Lin Family?

The Hunting Hall was not far from the Cyan Cloud Tower. It took only half an Hour to get there, located in a rather remote corner. The buildings here were quite spread out; reaching the more distant ones would take at least half a day on foot. Unless one sprinted the entire way, just walking would waste a considerable amount of time.

The one thing the Inner Hall had in abundance was land.

Arriving at the Hunting Hall, he saw that its exterior was no different from any other building. The only unique feature was a Stone Stele to the side, on which two words were carved in a flamboyant, calligraphic script: Hunting Hall.

The moment he stepped inside, he felt several gazes land on him, tinged with obvious ridicule and, even more so, disdain. It couldn’t be helped. Lin Xuan’s starting point was too low—only fourth-class talent and a Cultivation at the Eighth Layer of Body Refining Stage. So what if he had the Cyan Cloud Step?

A Celestial Level Martial Art wasn’t something you could master just because it was given to you. When one’s talent was so far removed from their goals, it gave off the impression that their ambition outstripped their ability. They couldn’t understand the Elders’ arrangement, allowing a greenhorn like him to participate in the Core Disciple assessment! This was a privilege originally reserved for the top three, yet it had been snatched away by some kid who had come out of nowhere!

This made every disciple in the Inner Hall, a place teeming with geniuses, feel indignant toward Lin Xuan.

Lin Xuan paid no mind to these stares and walked straight to the task board on the side. It was covered with Task Tokens, most of which detailed the hunting of various Demon Beasts, but there were also some trivial procurement tasks. All of these could be exchanged for a certain number of points.

One could take on an unlimited number of tasks. If you thought you were capable enough, you could accept several at once without any issue. However, these tasks were always secondary. The points they offered weren’t particularly high; the real focus was on hunting other Demon Beasts or gathering Spirit Medicine in the process of completing the task.

These could all be exchanged for varying amounts of points. Qingcheng Mansion was immense and required a great deal of resources, which was why this system was created. On one hand, it could train the disciples; on the other, it allowed the Mansion to acquire resources, ensuring its supplies never ran too low.

’This one will do.’ Lin Xuan took a Task Token from the board.

"Well now, aren’t you ambitious? Hunting a Spirit Refining Stage giant bear. Are you sure you can really handle that?" A disgruntled voice came from the side. Lin Xuan didn’t even need to turn his head to know it was Zhang Qi, with whom he had clashed before.

"Whether I can handle it or not is none of your concern, Zhang Qi. I know my own limits." Lin Xuan put the Task Token away and turned to leave.

But he had only taken a few steps before Zhang Qi blocked his path, standing in front of him with a sinister grin. "Go on, try to run away with your Cyan Cloud Step again. Let me see just how amazing it is."

He was looking for trouble with Lin Xuan simply because he wanted to see the Cyan Cloud Step again, but his tone was like that of someone watching a monkey perform. This time, his eyes were glued to Lin Xuan, and he had no intention of letting him escape so easily. Last time, his attention had been focused on Liu Xuan, which was the only reason Lin Xuan had managed to get away.

"Fifth Elder..." Lin Xuan said respectfully, looking past Zhang Qi.

Zhang Qi hurriedly spun around, only to find that there was no Fifth Elder behind him. The space was completely empty!

"Damn it!"

By the time he realized what had happened, Lin Xuan had already slipped away to the exit, tossing a final sentence over his shoulder: "I don’t even need the Cyan Cloud Step to shake you off, you idiot!"

"Lin Yunlong!" Zhang Qi roared, a mixture of shame and fury on his face. He clenched his fists so tightly that the veins on them bulged, but he couldn’t attack here. Lashing out would get him expelled from Qingcheng Mansion.

The surrounding disciples all cast disdainful glances at the scene. For someone like Zhang Qi to be tricked so easily was truly laughable.

Zhang Qi’s gaze turned cold as he swept it across the room. The other disciples immediately turned their heads, refusing to meet his eyes. No one wanted to be the target of his anger. The truly high-ranking disciples rarely appeared here anyway; they were either in closed-door cultivation or already out hunting Demon Beasts.

Thus, Zhang Qi was the highest-ranked disciple present, so who would dare to provoke him further? He was especially well-known for being a powder keg; anyone who angered him was in for a bad time—with the exception of those who ranked above him.

"Hmph! I hope you really can break into the top fifty. When you do, I’ll be waiting to deal with you personally!" With a flick of his sleeve, Zhang Qi snorted coldly and left.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!