One-Eyed Monster

Kuyi Tulan was clearly in a dominant position. Although he was still muttering to himself, anyone could see that he was putting up a struggle.

This Spirit wasn’t so easy to deal with either. It possessed formidable strength and was rich in battle experience; it wasn’t the sort to be knocked down in a single round.

Igor and Kadi used their own defenses to fend off the rampaging Energy, and it seemed that even for them, holding back Energy of this degree was stretching them thin.

”You were born with a fate that should just rest. You were supposed to be asleep—if you refuse to sleep, then serve me!”

”Do you even know what arrogance is? Seeing everything beneath you—that is arrogance. You don’t understand a thing. All you know is your own overwhelming power, and you ignore the effort of others.”

From these words Igor could tell that Kuyi Tulan was now having a deeply engaged exchange with this Spirit, an exchange that was bordering on a quarrel.

This was a struggle for control. Kuyi Tulan was fighting for his own body, and at the same time fighting for the right to be himself.

Igor understood the situation Kuyi Tulan was in now, and gradually they began to feel that what Kuyi Tulan was doing was the right thing.

Even though Kuyi Tulan was an enemy, Igor still felt that this Kuyi Tulan, right now, was someone worthy of his respect.

A person who is wholeheartedly determined to be himself can’t be entirely in the wrong, even if his character is highly questionable, even if he might be a complete bastard.

But as far as this matter goes, his approach was not wrong. To return to oneself, to find that self—that is the most important thing.

This was something Igor was unwilling to interfere with. By now he had adapted to these Energy Fluctuations; at the right moment he could launch a sneak attack on Kuyi Tulan, but he did not do so, because he felt that someone fighting to be himself was worthy of his respect.

Kadi gripped his twin blades, equally bewildered by what he was seeing. But he had always respected people who strive to be themselves. After seeing Igor’s attitude, he too calmed down.

So they simply stood there, quietly watching Kuyi Tulan wrest his self back.

It was a process that could be called neither long nor short. But throughout it, Igor and Kadi neither made a move nor interfered, even though they knew that after noon Kuyi Tulan’s strength would grow.

They expressed their approval of this act of being oneself. They wanted to fight a proper match against the true Kuyi Tulan. They would not take advantage of others in a moment like this, nor would they pour oil on the fire at this time.

The Energy on Kuyi Tulan’s body kept surging. These Energies had no pattern, spreading in all directions. Igor and Kadi could now easily evade these Energy Fluctuations. Even something without a pattern still has a rhythm, and it was by this rhythm that Igor and the others dodged.

”You will never understand what our effort is like.” Kuyi Tulan spoke again. Clearly his quarrel with that Spirit had not yet ended. But that Spirit now seemed unable to seize control of Kuyi Tulan’s body anymore.

”So none of your ambitions will ever be fulfilled, because you lot are forever stuck on the surface. You don’t realize that when many things are recombined, they can burst forth with new power.”

”New things will always replace some ancient ones. That’s a law of nature. Such a simple truth—do you not understand it? No wonder you cannot gain a foothold and endure in our world.”

The more Kuyi Tulan spoke, the more at ease he seemed, as though his advantage was expanding. Throughout the whole process, he did not stop infusing blood and fragments into his body.

”What on earth is going on?” Igor was puzzled. He didn’t understand Kuyi Tulan’s actions at all. Why Xiso’s blood and fragments? What exactly were they for?

”He… he’s found it—the weakness of the Devouring Power…” said Xiso at Igor’s side.

In this short time of rest, Xiso had already recovered somewhat. Given how much blood he had lost, the fact that he had managed to hold on until now meant he was an incredibly strong person.

Igor supported Xiso, knowing that Senior Xiso surely understood more.

Just as Igor had expected, Xiso now finally opened the floodgates of his words.

He didn’t know how long he could keep talking, but he knew he had to tell Igor and the others these things, because this was their wealth, and in the battles to come, that wealth would play a crucial role.

”I know you’ve been fighting the Spirits for a long time. In the period when I was captured by Kuyi Tulan, that guy told me a lot of information.”

Xiso spoke slowly, at a pace that was neither too fast nor too slow. Too fast and his body couldn’t take it; too slow and he wouldn’t be able to hold on. This even tempo was just right for him to express all he had thought about during this time, so that Igor and the others could understand some things.

During the time Xiso was held by Kuyi Tulan, most of it was spent listening to Kuyi Tulan’s accounts.

Kuyi Tulan didn’t mind in the slightest that Xiso knew everything. It was as if he had everything under complete control and feared no risk at all.

Precisely because of this, Xiso was able to sort out all of it. His intelligence was far above that of others, and so he could deduce many things that no one else knew.

It was also because of this that, after being captured, he was able to get in touch with Bigas, and have her lead all the Soul Guardians to guard that common burial ground.

You could say that half of the credit for Xiso’s talents being put to use was due to the information provided by Kuyi Tulan.

Yet no matter what Kuyi Tulan tried, he could not pry any secrets out of Xiso. The things he wanted, he could not obtain from Xiso, and in the end he could only resort to this extreme method to extract the added power on Xiso’s body.

”We mustn’t look down on ourselves too much. Spirit Power may arise by attaching itself to Energy Fluctuations, but Spirit Power is not a weak existence, nor does it simply shatter whenever it encounters Energy. The Spirit Power System is something we ourselves discovered—it is the crystallization of all our wisdom!”

Xiso knew he had to keep it short, and he felt that a youngster like Igor would definitely understand him.

Igor indeed understood what Xiso meant. He recognized his previous confusion regarding Energy—at that time, he felt he had neglected the Spirit Power System. Now that Senior Xiso had spoken of this, he felt as if he had suddenly opened a door once more.

That door was not a new one. It was the old, former door that Igor had once shut, now opened again.

”Hahaha, well said. That is the crystallization of our wisdom, the things we have discovered through exploration. You Spirits will never understand the preciousness contained within it!” Kuyi Tulan had been listening to Igor and the others the whole time; no one knew how he still had the leisure to do so.

But now, with those words coming out of his mouth, they truly carried great force.