……..
“Before you reach the Core-compression stage and you fully control the crystal, there are certain things I cannot properly convey to you. Thus, until then, we’ll focus on getting you to the point where you can use your soul practically.”
“Practically?”
“You need to learn about Soul Attacks and how to strengthen your soul. The bracelet should be more than enough to defend your soul, so I’ll leave that aspect for later.” the Chairman said.
Zilan nodded. He was interested in learning how to use his soul.
“As far as I can tell, your soul has already gone through some strengthening. What exactly did you do?”
A confused expression appeared on Zilan’s face for a second before he regained his usual countenance, “I absorbed Universe energy and used it to increase my mental strength.”
“Ah, I see. The mind and the soul are closely linked to one another; although they have slight differences in their practical use, it is universally known that one cannot operate without the other. Your method is interesting, simple in theory but putting it into action can only be done by beings born from the Universe.”
“Well, that makes my job easier. I thought I would have to fork out more of my elixirs, but it looks like that won’t be necessary. Let’s move on to…”
“Ehem.” Zilan had to interrupt the Chairman, at least, that was what his heart told him. How could he let elixirs as rare and precious as the ones the Chairman mentioned slip out of his grasp?
“I need them.”
“Hmm?” The Chairman shook his head. “Your method..”
“Don’t worry about that. I need them.”
“Instead of raising your soul’s strength through external items that, despite their effectiveness, contain some impurities, it would be in your best interests to use pure Universe Energy,” stated the Chairman.
Hearing his argument, Zilan had to admit that he did indeed have a point.
“However, considering the state of the Universe energy in this plane, I suppose you will need some items to facilitate your soul’s strengthening. I’ll place them in the Hall, and you can go and exchange for them with your merit points.”
Listening to the first part, Zilan was overjoyed, but towards the end his jaw dropped. He couldn’t help but marvel the Chairman’s pettiness.
The man being stared at dismissively waved his hand in dismissal, “A mere merit point for the items you’ll be receiving is equal to getting them for free.”
Zilan thus calmed down.
“Remember, these items are not for your daily cultivation. They are to be used solely for strengthening your soul.”
“Understood.”
“Now, about soul attacks. The first thing you need to understand is that there are many methods, types, and forms of soul attacks. Allow me to demonstrate.”
Before Zilan could react, the Chairman snapped his fingers, and an illusionary sword suddenly materialized within his sea of consciousness and struck at his soul. A dull collision echoed out as the sword dissipated after contacting the tiled shield that protected his soul. Despite the lack of damage, his ears rang.
“That sword is but an example of Manifestation-type attacks. I added a little more power to it, so you could understand their danger.”
“Manifestation? You mean conjuring things.”
“Precisely. Depending on the technique, inspiration, or even preference, practitioners use their soul’s power to conjure weapons, creatures and many other things to attack the souls of their opponents. Naturally, no type of physical defence is effective against them, and depending on the technique and who is using it, these Manifestation-type attacks are usually extremely dangerous.”
“Then there’s Suppression attacks. These are self-explanatory, but, so that you can better understand, I shall demonstrate.”
Once again before Zilan could say or do anything to stop him, the Chairman snapped his fingers. A suffocating pressure descended, Zilan’s body seemingly gave up on him because no matter how much he commanded it to move, nothing happened. The feeling was difficult to describe, but it felt like a foreign force much greater than his own had pinned down his soul. Needless to say, it was one of the most uncomfortable sensations he had ever experienced.
When the suppressing force grew to the extent of being on the verge of consuming him, the tiled shield floating in his sea of consciousness exploded without warning into a million tiny pieces before re-assembling. Only this time, it looked not like a shield but more like a towering unshakable mountain.
A powerful repulsion surpassing that of even the Chairman’s Suppression attack erupted from within the mountain, and like a desert storm, it blew away everything foreign from Zilan’s sea of consciousness.
“Now you know what a Suppression attack feels like.”
Zilan’s face paled as he calmed his breathing. He could not help but wonder why these ‘demonstrations’ appeared even more dangerous than his regular training.
“Is it possible to not target me to demonstrate these attacks?” he asked.
“This is the best way for you to perfectly understand the variety and danger of soul attacks.” the Chairman said, “There’s no need to worry. No harm will come to your soul, this is simply a demonstration after all.”
Smiling, he continued, “Now we will move on to Soul poisoning. You may not know this but souls can be poisoned too, and it is actually not that difficult for those well-versed in the soul to do. Luckily for you, there aren’t many of that caliber in the Universe. If the Roho were still around though… Anyway, like any other poison, those that affect the soul cause it to weaken and eventually die. The ingredients to form these poisons almost always stem from [Death] and/or [Darkness].”
Zilan’s expression turned serious as many thoughts ran through his mind.
“There is no such thing as invincible. For every strength, there is a weakness. To do away with this weakness is known as Ascending the Heavens by the humans, and to beings like us, it is evolution. You, of course, are in a separate category. You are one of the few existences in the Universe that are truly unpredictable. That, however, is a story for another day.”
The final parts of the Chairman’s sentence surprised Zilan. It was almost like the Chairman was hinting towards the existence of something but at the same time not acknowledging it.
“Soul poisoning? Is it anything like the Soul Spectre technique you used on me during the trial?” asked Zilan.
The Chairman laughed. “So you knew what it was.” He explained, “Well, the complete Soul Spectre technique is indeed a powerful poison attack; however, the one you experienced was nothing but a fake. All I wanted was to put you into an illusion. Had I used the complete Soul Spectre, you would not have survived for even a second.”
“It’s that powerful!?” Zilan was shocked.
“Soul attacks are indeed terrifying. They ignore your physical capabilities as well as your cultivation, no matter how accomplished you are, and they appear in the most unexpected ways. Of course, you are too weak at this point, so you naturally have to fear them. But in truth, very few people are able to initiate even rudimentary soul attacks, let alone soul poisoning and suppression. In my current state, even I would probably lose my life if I tried to initiate something like the full Soul Spectre technique.”
“Why?”
“Because I am not what I used to be. Picture all Universe energy disappearing; what do you think will come of your cultivation?”
“I see.”
“Enough of that for now. There are other forms of soul attacks, but we can slowly explore them over time. My point in telling you as well as showing you all of this is that unlike humans, beasts, and other existences who specialise in their chosen soul attacks, you will have to master every single one of them.”
“Ah!?”
“That is what it means to be Roho.”
“This is not just limited to attacks either. At some point, you will have to master all forms of defence as well everything else that makes up the Way of the Soul. Prepare yourself,” stated the Chairman. “This is the Inheritance you wished for.”
