Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son

Chapter 486: Soul Mark

After listening to Qiao Liangren and Shang Yingyueʼs instructions, Zhang Xiaolong [3] immediately took out his soul and tried to form his soul mark, but he first sealed his senses to make it easier to concentrate.

Following their instructions, Zhang Xiaolong [3] utilized the Yang and Yin Qi within his body, then circulated them into his soul. Additionally, he also absorbed Qi from the air, causing a Yin-Yang diagram to quickly form above him.

”Do you think heʼll succeed in one try, Senior Brother?”

Qiao Liangren shook his head in response. ”Longʼer is indeed talented, but itʼs not easy to form a soul mark. It took me ten tries before I managed to form one, so Iʼm not sure if heʼll be able to do it in one try.”

”I myself failed dozens of times before I managed to form my soul mark.” Shang Yingyue then sighed softly and observed Zhang Xiaolong [3]ʼs face. ”Look at him; his concentration is deeper than usual, so I think he might succeed in the first try.

If he really succeeds in doing so, he will be the first soul cultivator to do so, and our master will be even more eager to take him as his next direct disciple.”

”Yeah.”

Murong Mengying unexpectedly arrived and took a seat next to them. Having observed Zhang Xiaolong [3] for over a month, she was eager to witness his next unexpected move. As she repeatedly sipped her wine, her eyes remained glued to his face. A faint smile appeared on her face, but no one knew what was on her mind. ʼShow me your miracle, kid.

I know you are not an ordinary kid, and you are a miracle kid who will bring change to this universe.ʼ

One hour.

Two hours.

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After five hours had passed, the three people saw Zhang Xiaolong [3]ʼs soul shaking quite strongly, and a symbol slowly began to appear in the center of it, which shocked and amazed them at the same time.

”Longʼer… He almost succeeded in forming his soul mark, senior brother.” Shang Yingyue spoke with a trembling voice, filled with excitement.

”Shang Yaolin hit a jackpot by finding this kid, and he will undoubtedly surpass you, Liangren.”

Qiao Liangren shook his head at Murong Mengying. ”I am not a genius in the cultivation path, and there are still many soul cultivators who are better than me, so it is useless for Longʼer to surpass me. To become the best in the soul cultivation path, he must surpass Senior Sister Jing Qiuyue, Senior Brother Lin Moxian, and Master Hun Di.”

”After your master, Jing Qiuyue and Lin Moxian rank second and third, respectively. They are geniuses, but this kid is more genius than them.

I fully believe that this kid will surpass them in the future, and he might even surpass Senior Hun Di.” Shang Yingyue turned to Murong Mengying with a slight raise of her eyebrows, especially since she had repeatedly praised Zhang Xiaolong [3] over the past month or so, and she was also so confident in him. ”You donʼt need to look at me like that, Yingyue.

Even though his future is still far ahead, Iʼm willing to bet that he will stand at the top of the cultivation world one day, and we have to look up to him as the highest standard. Thatʼs why it would be good for us if we were always on his side, especially since having an enemy like him would be terrible for anyone.”

”I donʼt know how you can have such high confidence in Longʼer, but you might be right about his future.” Murong Mengying smiled at Shang Yingyue and sipped her wine.

”However, he still has to go through a tough and steep path to stand at the peak of the cultivation world, and he will also encounter many obstacles on the way there, especially from powerful cultivators who have stood at the peak for a long time like the nameless one.”

”Do you think the nameless one is really the strongest in this universe?” Not only Shang Yingyue, but Qiao Liangren also immediately turned to Murong Mengying. ”I know that he is the strongest in the upper realms, but I always feel that the seven divine realms are not the final stage of our cultivation, and I think about the possibility of other stages after that.

If my thoughts are correct, he is not the strongest, and there should still be people stronger than him in this universe.”

”Where did you get such an idea from?”

”My master.” Murong Mengying then took out a parchment and handed it to them. ”As you both know, my master is a traveler, and he has explored all the planets in the upper realms. The writings on the parchment are the results of his visits to all the realms, and he suspects that there are other realms above the upper realms.

Unfortunately, a guess is just a guess if it cannot be proven true, but he didnʼt give up on his conjecture, so he continued to wander in search of solid evidence to prove the truth of his guess. He once discussed this with the nameless one, and he also agreed with him.”

After hearing that, Qiao Liangren and Shang Yingyue immediately read every word on the parchment seriously, especially since they knew Murong Mengyingʼs master very well, and he was not a random thinker.

After reading everything, Qiao Liangren immediately spoke to the two women. ”Honestly, Senior Xia Tian may be right about his guess, but I donʼt want to think too much about it with my cultivation still at the Divine Fusion Realm.

Perhaps I will follow his footsteps to go wandering around this universe after my cultivation reaches the Divine Ascension, but it may take thousands of years for me to reach that stage.”

”I agree with you, Senior Brother.” Shang Yingyue then returned the parchment to Murong Mengying. ”Instead of thinking about that, it would be better if we continued to concentrate on improving our cultivation, so we could go wandering in search of the truth.”

”Yeah.”

After they waited for another hour, they finally saw a clear symbol inside Zhang Xiaolong [3]ʼs soul, indicating that he had successfully formed his soul mark.

”Six hours! He only needed six hours to form his mark! He didnʼt even fail once!” Shang Yingyue said with a disappointed look, but she was disappointed with herself.

”Hehehe.” Murong Mengying chuckled at that. ”Do you still need to question my confidence in this kid? Even Senior Hun Di couldnʼt form his soul mark in one try, but he managed to do it in one try, which already proved his talent.”

Shang Yingyue sighed softly and nodded to Murong Mengying. Even though she felt disappointed with herself, Zhang Xiaolong [3]ʼs success actually spurred her enthusiasm to become even better.

”Iʼll go back now.” Murong Mengying quickly vanished without waiting for a response.

A while later, Zhang Xiaolong [3]ʼs soul had entered his body again, and he immediately opened his eyes before smiling in relief. ”Thanks to the guidance from both of you, I finally managed to form my soul mark.”

”We guided you, but you succeeded through your own efforts.” Qiao Liangren then threw a scroll that he had prepared beforehand to Zhang Xiaolong [3]. ”Soul mark is the second stage in the soul cultivation path, and there are three other stages.

The third stage is to expand our soul space into a soul sea, but you can only do that when your soul power has reached the heavenly soul level like ours, and it is much harder than forming a soul mark. The fourth stage is to evolve our soul sea into a soul world, and my master said that we must first reach the venerate or divine soul level to be able to do that.

The fifth stage is to form a soul universe, but my master has no information about that.”

”Does that mean Senior Hun Diʼs soul space has turned into a soul world?”

”Not yet.” Qiao Liangren shook his head in response. ”My masterʼs soul level is still at the saint soul level, so he canʼt do it yet.”

Zhang Xiaolong [3] fell into a daze after hearing that, especially since Hun Di was the best soul cultivator in the upper realms, and many people respected him, yet he still hadnʼt succeeded in forming his soul world.

”All right, you donʼt need to think that hard, and you just need to cultivate your soul as usual.”

Zhang Xiaolong [3] nodded in agreement with that. ”Senior brother, what exactly is the function of our soul mark other than attacking our enemyʼs soul?”

”A soul mark still has many other functions, and one of them is that you can sense your partnersʼ situation if you plant your soul mark into their souls. If you do that, you can tell whether they are in danger or not, and you can immediately move to save them if they are.”

”Oh?” Zhang Xiaolong [3] was taken aback by this and immediately considered implanting his soul mark into their souls. ”I didnʼt expect that a soul mark would have such a great function.”

Qiao Liangren then explained to Zhang Xiaolong [3] about the other uses of the soul mark. ”I believe you should return now, particularly since cultivating your soul after forming your soul mark is not beneficial. You can wait three days to begin cultivating your soul again.”

”Yes, Senior Brother.”

After Zhang Xiaolong [3] came down from the mountaintop, Qiao Liangren asked Shang Yingyue, who looked pensive. ”What are you thinking about? Are you feeling pressured by Longʼer?”

”Donʼt you feel pressured by his progress, Senior Brother?” Shang Yingyue asked back.

”No.” Qiao Liangren immediately released his soul. ”Yingyue, our master has always emphasized that jealousy, envy, and fear will only weigh us down. Longʼer has better talent, but the two of us are not bad either. Otherwise, our master wouldnʼt have accepted us as his disciples, right? Thatʼs why we donʼt need to think about him, and we only need to focus on ourselves.”

”Yeah, youʼre right.” Shang Yingyue immediately stood up from her seat. ”I wonʼt bother you anymore, Senior Brother.”

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Zhang Xiaolong [3] did not immediately return to the Shang Clan residence, especially since Shang Yaolin had not yet completed his task, and he went elsewhere after he found Shang Xinyu alone. ”What are you thinking, Big Sis?”

”I donʼt think about anything, and I just want to enjoy my relaxing time.” Shang Xinyu then turned to Zhang Xiaolong [3], who was already sitting beside her. ”Did you just come back from the top of the mountain?”

”Yes.” Zhang Xiaolong [3] then told Shang Xinyu about his previous activities. ”Fortunately, I have Senior Brother Liangren and Senior Sister Yingyue who are willing to guide me patiently, so I managed to do it. However, my journey on the soul cultivation path is still long, and I must strive hard to surpass them.”

”Haha.” Shang Xinyu laughed and rubbed Zhang Xiaolongʼs head [3]. ”Youʼve already achieved all that despite being so young, so donʼt be too hard on yourself. Both of them have been cultivating for so long, so it will take a lot of time for you to reach their level, and you have to do it patiently. Otherwise, the results will be bad if you rush things, especially if your body and soul are injured.

Anyway, do you want to go to that place? Xiaoyin and the others are returning to our realm, and they wonʼt be back until a week later. Since youʼre also a body cultivator like me, the beast blood pond will be beneficial to you, and your body will become stronger if you soak in it often.”

”Can I invite Big Sis Yaolin to join us?”

”Sure.”

Zhang Xiaolong [3] immediately contacted Shang Yaolin afterward, but she asked him to wait because she was still working on her assignment, so he waited for her while chatting with Shang Xinyu.

An hour later, Shang Yaolin had already arrived there, so Shang Xinyu immediately led them to Shang Xiaoyinʼs secret place. Even though he had been there many times, Zhang Xiaolong [3] couldnʼt possibly tell the two women about it.

With the cultivation of the two women, it didnʼt take long for them to arrive there, and Shang Xinyu immediately led them into the underground area.

As they walked down, Shang Yaolin asked Shang Xinyu. ”So you guys kidnapped us and brought us here before?”

”Yes.” Shang Xinyu then explained the events of that day to Shang Yaolin. ”However, we are still unsure about the identity of the person who saved you two, but we suspect that it was Senior Yingyue.”

”I see.”

Before long, they had arrived at the bottom, and Shang Yaolin looked jealous when she saw so many resources there, especially since Shang Xiaoyin had only shared them with Shang Xinyu and the other two women.

”Are you really going to take Longʼer to soak in that pond?” Shang Yaolin asked as she pointed at the beast blood pond, and she felt horrified at the sight.

”Yaolin, Longʼer is a body cultivator, and the blood from the beast in that pond will benefit his body, so you donʼt need to worry about him.” Shang Xinyu promptly removed her dress and asked Zhang Xiaolong [3] to follow suit. ”You are not a body cultivator like us, so you cannot soak in there, or you will die.”

Shang Yaolin nodded in understanding and took off her clothes too, given that they were already naked. ”Longʼer, I think it would be better if you used your adult form while youʼre soaking in there.”

”Eh?” Shang Xinyu turned to Zhang Xiaolong [3] in surprise. ”Do you really have an adult form, Longʼer?”

”Haha.” Zhang Xiaolong [3] laughed and nodded to Shang Xinyu. ”Actually, Big Sis Yumei taught me the transformation technique, so I can turn myself into a grown man.”

Shang Xinyu seemed curious about it, so Zhang Xiaolong [3] immediately returned to his adult form, which left her dumbfounded. ʼImpossible... how could this happen? His face and figure are exactly the same as the man I met in my dream...ʼ

Shang Xinyuʼs reaction piqued Shang Yaolinʼs curiosity, especially since she kept staring at Zhang Xiaolong [3] with a strange gaze; even her pupils seemed to tremble. ”What happened to you? Are you fascinated by his adult form?”

Shang Xinyu did not answer Shang Yaolinʼs question, and instead, she rushed into the beast blood pond. However, her heart was beating rapidly, and her face flushed red as she remembered her dream from a while ago. ʼUgh! How could Longʼer be the man in my dreams? What should I do now? How can I face him?ʼ

Shang Yaolin turned to Zhang Xiaolong [3] with a raised eyebrow, but he responded to her with a shake of his head, and he immediately joined Shang Xinyu in the beast blood pond.

On the other hand, Shang Yaolin was looking for stones that matched her element, and she immediately sat in front of them after she found them. She glanced at Shang Xinyu a few times with suspicious eyes, but she immediately ignored her and began to cultivate.

Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaolong [3] was already sitting beside Shang Xinyu in the pond, and he could hear her loud heartbeat, causing him to smile faintly. He then took her hand and gently questioned her. ”Are you acting like this because of the man in your dream, Big Sis? Do I look like him?”

Shang Xinyu turned to Zhang Xiaolong [3] feeling hesitant to answer him. She attempted to remove her hand from his grasp, but he held it even tighter, making it difficult for her to calm her feelings.

In the end, Shang Xinyu decided to admit the truth to Zhang Xiaolong [3]. ”I donʼt understand how this could happen, but your adult form is really the same as the man in my dream. Even though the dream has long passed, I can never forget his face, and I still remember it to this moment.”

- To Be Continued -