Chapter 573: Lu Chong's Peculiarity
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
The cultivation of the young man before him was exactly the same as before—Zongshi realm. At the same time, there wasn't the slightest soul energy to be felt within him. It was as if what Zhang Xuan saw before in the other party's consciousness was just a dream.
"Something is wrong..."
Zhang Xuan frowned.
He had once dived into the other party's consciousness, and putting aside how the other party's consciousness extended far beyond where his eye could reach, the other party's soul was also as humongous as a mountain.
A thought popped into Zhang Xuan's mind.
'Is it because he hasn't drawn his soul out yet?'
The strength of one's soul couldn't be perceived that easily. Only when one's soul was drawn out could it be assessed.
Harboring such thoughts in mind, Zhang Xuan instructed, "I'll impart you a soul cultivation technique. From now on, you should just focus on cultivating your soul; there's no need for you to cultivate your zhenqi anymore!"
Raising his hand, he placed a finger on the other party's glabella.
Weng!
A simplified version of Heaven's Path Soul Guiding Formula appeared in Lu Chong's mind.
Lu Chong's Zongshi realm cultivation wasn't built on zhenqi cultivation but the Poison Body he had cultivated through poison tempering. Physical body cultivation complemented soul cultivation more than zhenqi cultivation, and thus, Lu Chong would benefit more from this.
"Thank you, teacher!"
After swiftly browsing through the cultivation technique in his mind, Lu Chong turned to look at his teacher and clasped his fist in gratitude.
Even though his soul had gone into dormancy, he was still able to perceive the happenings around him subconsciously through his senses.
In other words, he was well aware of what his teacher had done for him ever since he'd gone into a coma.
Fighting against a Transcendent Mortal realm expert in Xuanyuan Kingdom despite being only at Zhizun realm; buying down the Soulless Metal Humanoid and venturing into the dangerous soul oracle tomb; severing his soul to nurture the Soulrouse Grass...
The favor that the other party had shown to him was so great that it would be impossible for him to repay it within this lifetime.
Not only so, the other party even gave him such a valuable cultivation technique without any hesitation...
Clenching his fists tightly in determination, Lu Chong thought, 'Teacher, don't worry. I'll cultivate diligently so as to not disappoint you!'
He used to be a willful and lively person, but after the tragedy that befell his clan, reticence overshadowed all of his traits. Rather than expressing his gratitude verbally, he would rather show it through his diligence and perseverance.
After browsing through the cultivation technique manual twice and memorizing it entirely, Lu Chong exhaled deeply and sat down on the floor.
Zhang Xuan also sat by the side to guard him.
A soul drawn out for the first time was extremely vulnerable. The slightest mistake could possibly cause one's soul to dissipate along with the wind. Back then, Zhang Xuan had drawn his soul out in an underground tomb, and on top of that, he was also cultivating the complete version of the Soul Guiding Formula. As such, he wasn't exposed to such vulnerability. However, the same couldn't be said for Lu Chong.
Zhang Xuan drew his soul and began observing Lu Chong's condition intently.
Sometime later, Lu Chong's body swayed, and his eyes gleamed brightly. A silhouette sharing the same appearance as him struggled out of his body.
He had succeeded in drawing his soul out!
"Hmm? His soul seems to be weak..."
Zhang Xuan frowned deeply.
Despite having drawn out his soul, Lu Chong still wasn't as powerful as Zhang Xuan thought he would be. Rather, just like any other cultivator drawing his soul out for the first time, his soul was extremely weak, and even the weakest gust of wind could easily dissipate it.
What was going on?
Given the size of the latter's consciousness and soul back then, how could his soul be so weak?
"Teacher!"
The world a soul perceives is very different from what one's eyes can see. Seeing a different world before him, Lu Chong was visibly excited.
"Your soul is still very weak so try to suppress such intense emotions. Take this spirit stone and quickly cultivate to stabilize your soul!"
After throwing a middle-tier spirit stone to Lu Chong, Zhang Xuan tapped his glabella once again, imparting him the Heaven's Path Soul Art.
Not just wind, even intense emotions could induce instability in a nascent soul. Thus, it was best for Lu Chong to cultivate as quickly as possible to stabilize his condition.
But in any case, given that Zhang Xuan was guarding by the side, and there were sufficient cultivation techniques and middle-tier spirit stones to drive Lu Chong's condition, there shouldn't be any trouble at all. After all, these were much better than the conditions Zhang Xuan had back then.
"Yes!"
Suppressing his emotions, Lu Chong's soul sat before the middle-tier spirit stone and began absorbing the spiritual energy contained within to cultivate.
"His cultivation speed isn't too fast either. Was I really mistaken?" Zhang Xuan scratched his head.
The rate of Lu Chong's cultivation contradicted what Zhang Xuan had seen in the other party's consciousness.
If Lu Chong really possessed Acquired Soul Physique, given his strong fundamentals, his cultivation would surely improve at an unimaginable speed, such that even Zhang Xuan might be left in the dust.
But contrary to Zhang Xuan's conjecture, there was nothing extraordinary about the latter's performance.
Could it be that... he was mistaken? Did Lu Chong not possess Acquired Soul Physique?
But if Zhang Xuan was mistaken, why would Lu Chong's consciousness and soul be that huge?
While thinking about these doubts, Zhang Xuan noticed that Lu Chong's soul had already stabilized. Since the other party had already overcome the vulnerable period, there was no need for him to stand guard anymore. Thus, Zhang Xuan left the room, looked for Mo Hunsheng, and raised his doubts with him.
Even though Mo Hunsheng had already imparted his techniques to him, the other party's knowledge of souls still far surpassed his.
After all, the latter was a 6-star soul oracle who had lived several ten thousand years.
"That... I'm not too sure as well. Why don't I take a look after Young Master Lu Chong is done with his cultivation?"
Mo Hunsheng wasn't too clear what was going on as well, so he could only shake his head uncertainly.
It would be better if he could take a look personally so as to better understand the situation.
"Un!" Zhang Xuan nodded his head before returning to his room.
He had spent the entire night guarding Lu Chong for his cultivation, and the Master Teacher Tournament would commence that day. No matter what, Zhang Xuan should make some preparations for it.
While the prize of middle-tier spirit stones was no longer as attractive to him as before, it was still a good opportunity for him to strike out his reputation.
Otherwise, it would be hard for him to advance further as a master teacher.
Walking into the room, Zhang Xuan saw the clone cultivating by the side and said, "From today onward, you're called Clone, and you shall address me as the Main!"
The clone nodded his head.
"I'll be participating in the Master Teacher Tournament soon, so you can't stay here anymore. Otherwise, if someone were to see you while cleaning up the room, it would be difficult for me to explain the matter..."
The residence they were currently staying at was offered by Zhao Feiwu, and there were attendants from the Alliance Head Residence here to tidy up the place. It was one thing if Zhang Xuan was still at the residence, but if he was off participating in the Master Teacher Tournament and one of the attendants were to see another Zhang Xuan here, wouldn't that person be scared to death?
As for disguising himself as Yang Xuan... While the clone was capable of executing Heaven's Path Disguise Art, he didn't possess the Library of Heaven's Path. That made it likely for him to give himself away if he were to meet high-rank master teachers.
The clone had also considered this problem, and he replied, "I'll go into your storage ring then!"
"You can go into my storage ring?" Zhang Xuan was stunned for a moment before a bitter smile appeared on his face.
The space in the storage ring was a vacuum. If any being were to enter the premises, they would die swiftly. Putting aside Transcendent Mortals, even Saints would be unable to survive under such conditions!
However, his clone was different. The physical body of the clone was crafted from a God artifact, the Nine Hearts Lotus. Breathing wasn't required for its existence, flame and water couldn't impair it, swords and sabers couldn't wound it. It wasn't a problem for it to be placed in the storage ring.
However, as Zhang Xuan was too used to the concept of 'lifeforms cannot exist in the storage ring', he instinctively asked the question.
"Store!"
Knowing that the clone could enter his storage ring, Zhang Xuan stretched out his hand and drew the clone into his storage ring.
Hu!
The clone immediately entered the storage ring, disappearing from sight.
Bringing his clone along with him would help him avoid many unnecessary problems. As for Yang shi being absent from the residence... It would only be weird if a high-rank master teacher of the other party's caliber appeared frequently around the residence!
Leaving his room, Zhang Xuan headed for the main hall, where he saw Pavilion Master Kang, Ruohuan gongzi, and a few other people waiting.
At this moment, Ruohuan gongzi had already reinforced his cultivation as a Transcendent Mortal 4-dan pinnacle sturdily. His eyes were filled with a brilliant energetic glow.
On top of his cultivation, it seemed like his comprehension of master teachers as an occupation had deepened significantly.
Upon seeing Zhang Xuan, Pavilion Master Kang chuckled and gestured.
"The Master Teacher Tournament is a public event, and it will be conducted on the field outside the Alliance Head Residence. Zhang shi, let's proceed over!"
"Alright!"
Nodding, Zhang Xuan was just about to leave when a figure suddenly stood in front of him.
"Senior, I'll accompany you!"
"Se-senior?"
Zhang Xuan was taken aback. Turning around, he saw that Garden Owner Xue was in the room as well.
At this very moment, Garden Owner Xue exuded a steady aura which reflected perfect harmony between her soul and her physical body. Clearly, she had broken through her bottleneck and reached Transcendent Mortal 5-dan, Consonant Spirit realm!
It was only due to the impairment of her soul previously that she had been unable to progress any further from Clarifying Turbidity realm pinnacle.
But half a month ago, 'Yang shi' imparted her a technique that could heal her impaired soul. Along with the strong foundation she had built up through the years, she successfully advanced to become a Consonant Spirit realm expert.
On top of that, one could vaguely sense that her cultivation had already reached Consonant Spirit realm primary stage pinnacle. All she was lacking now was an impetus to advance to intermediate stage.
Zhang Xuan was initially surprised by the rapid growth of the latter, but after thinking about it, he soon came to a realization.
In order to treat her impaired soul, Garden Owner Xue had been spending the past few decades absorbing the spirit of the medicinal herbs in her herb field. Even though it wasn't able to heal her impaired soul, it didn't go to waste either. If Zhang Xuan's conjecture wasn't off, there was a good chance that her cultivation would surge all the way to Consonant Spirit realm pinnacle within a short period of time.
"Indeed. Yang shi has accepted me as his student, and given that you're his direct disciple... Isn't it only right for me to address you as senior?" Garden Owner Xue clasped her fist.
"Ah... That's true!" Only then did it hit Zhang Xuan.
That day, due to the urgent circumstances, he knew that there was a chance that his 'scare' might not work. Thus, he accepted Xue Yiyao as his student and imparted her with a technique to resolve the issue of her impaired soul.
Through doing so, he would be able to earn her gratitude.
And fortunately, everything went according to plan. A golden page was formed out of her gratitude, and it was through this that Zhang Xuan was able to smash Sect Leader Bai, thus successfully instilling fear into the others.
It was on a whim that he decided to do so—after all, there was no better solution then—so he forgot about the matter after that. He didn't expect the other party to take it seriously.
Given that Garden Owner Xue was 'Yang shi's' student and Zhang Xuan was the direct disciple, given the higher ranking of direct disciples in the lineage, it was indeed right for her to address him as such.
"There won't be any danger in the Master Teacher Tournament, so you need not worry about it. It would be better if you stood guard here!"
Even though he knew that the other party was doing this out of goodwill, Zhang Xuan waved his hands to turn her down.
Given that the Master Teacher Tournament was an activity organized by the Master Teacher Pavilion, anyone who dares to cause trouble in it would be deemed as an enemy of the Master Teacher Tournament. There was no one who would dare to take such a risk. Thus, it was unlikely there would be any threat to Zhang Xuan's safety.
"This..." Garden Owner Xue hesitated.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine!"
Waving his hands, Zhang Xuan followed behind Pavilion Master Kang and walked out of the main hall.
'Master Teacher Tournament, here I come!'