Chapter 1133: It Struck First

If the Heart Hall was the most mysterious place in the War Master Hall, the Soul Hall was the most eerie.

Here, cultivators could temper their souls, but if they were not careful, they could also fall into chaos, unable to distinguish north from south.

Zhang Xuan pushed open the door and entered. As soon as he walked into the corridor, he heard a sobbing sound ringing in his ears, like weeping and complaining, irresistibly drawing him in, making him linger and forget to return.

"It's demonic sound..."

Stopping in his tracks, Zhang Xuan frowned.

He had encountered this situation before at Qiuwu Palace; it had a strong bewitching effect, making it hard to distinguish reality from illusion, but it had little effect on him, who cultivated the Heaven's Path功法.

Circulating his true qi once, the pressure vanished without a trace. After listening carefully and locating the source of the sound, Zhang Xuan continued forward.

This corridor was wider than the inner breath corridor and martial technique corridor he had seen before, with a diameter of at least forty or fifty meters. Inside, it was pitch black, and nothing could be seen clearly. Even his spiritual sense was bound by the formations, unable to extend far.

Moving slowly forward, after walking about twenty meters, his body suddenly tensed. A strong pressure assaulted him, threatening to tear his soul apart at any moment.

"Soul pressure?" Startled, Zhang Xuan suddenly understood: "It seems someone is controlling this corridor..."

Someone must be in charge here. If it were merely a formation, it couldn't have so quickly detected that the demonic sound was ineffective and switched to soul pressure.

This kind of pressure would have a great effect on other cultivators, making it difficult for them to move, as if trapped in a swamp, constantly enduring the pain of a tearing soul. But for him, it was also of little use.

Not to mention the miraculous nature of Heaven's Path true qi, his soul body was enormous, like a mountain, completely unaffected by this level of pressure.

The further he went, the heavier the pressure became. For an ordinary person, even a peak Saint Realm Triple expert, it would already be unbearable.

After taking two more steps forward and pinpointing the source of the soul pressure, Zhang Xuan smiled lightly.

"Courtesy demands reciprocity. Try mine!"

With a clear shout, surging soul power emanated from between his brows.

Although he had no method for cultivating the soul after the Saint Realm, his soul, tempered by the Saint Ascension Tribulation, was like condensed crystal, each grain clear and translucent, free from dust. If he exerted soul pressure, its power would be many times greater than before.

Boom!

Like mercury spreading across the ground, everything around was laid bare before his eyes. His powerful soul, carrying heavy pressure, surged back toward the source.

Crack!

A sound of breaking rang out, followed by the ground shaking, as if something had been crushed underfoot.

Although the opponent's soul pressure was strong, compared to his, it was still a notch weaker.

"Soul attack? Who are you?"

Immediately after, a rough voice sounded, and Zhang Xuan saw a huge sacred beast stride out.

It must have been the one attacking earlier. After suffering backlash, it lost control of its body and crushed many things.

"Azure Soul Beast?" Taking a closer look at its physical characteristics, knowledge about sacred beasts surfaced in his mind, and Zhang Xuan frowned.

Previously, he knew little about sacred beasts, which led to the joke about the Purple Sun Beast. So, at the Master Teacher Academy, he had specifically studied the introductions about them. Now, he was no longer as ignorant as before.

The Azure Soul Beast was a sacred beast adept at soul attacks. Born with powerful souls, it could use its soul power to cause hallucinations and dizziness. It was a very eerie sacred beast, rarely seen even in the Beast Tamer Guild. He hadn't expected to find one here.

"I am a master teacher here for the assessment!"

These thoughts flashed through his mind. Without time to examine further, Zhang Xuan replied.

"Master teacher?" The Azure Soul Beast wrinkled its nose, its huge eyes filled with fierce hostility. "How could a master teacher know the methods of a soul shaman? Speak! Who are you really?"

"Soul shaman? You must be mistaken..."

Startled, Zhang Xuan quickly smiled.

The profession of soul shaman had been lost for tens of thousands of years. Even when he had secretly used it before, master teachers couldn't detect it. He hadn't expected this Azure Soul Beast to see through it at a glance, leaving him somewhat surprised.

However, like the poison master, the soul shaman was not a glorious profession, feared by master teachers. To avoid trouble, it was better not to admit it.

"Stop quibbling! I have seen soul shamans before and know their methods..."

Hearing his denial, the Azure Soul Beast raised its brows, and an overwhelming soul power descended from the sky, landing on Zhang Xuan, seemingly intent on tearing him apart.

"I am merely naturally strong in soul, not a soul shaman!" Zhang Xuan smiled.

The opponent's soul power was like a mountain, giving a feeling of intense crushing. As long as one hadn't reached the Primordial Spirit realm, it would be hard to resist, but to him, it was nothing.

"Soul shamans can have their souls leave the body and survive independently. I'll know after killing you..."

Seeing that his soul attack had no effect on the man before him, the Azure Soul Beast snorted again, let out another roar, and suddenly stretched its body, its thick claws reaching straight for him.

Swoosh!

The claws carried a whistling wind. Before they even arrived, they gave a tearing sensation, as if about to rip a person in two.

"Hmm?"

Unexpectedly, this creature struck without a word and even used a killing move. Zhang Xuan showed displeasure, frowned, and with a flick of his body, stepped back a few paces, just dodging the attack.

Over the past three days, he had visited all ten halls of the War Master Hall, read all the books there, and formed several sets of Heaven's Path techniques, filling in all the shortcomings in his previous cultivation.

Whether in fist strength, palm strength, or defense... all had been greatly enhanced, reaching an unimaginable level.

If three days ago, he could at most fight to a draw with a Primordial Spirit realm expert, with the opponent unable to harm him, now, he was invincible in that realm.

In other words, as long as one hadn't reached the Half-Step Out-of-Body stage, they were no match at all.

Especially his movement technique—after integrating numerous movement manuals, the first level of Wanderer Without Bounds had finally reached the Heavenly Dao level, with no flaws whatsoever.

Thereupon, Zhang Xuan practiced it once, and then in the Movement Technique Hall, his speed was so fast that even the formation traps couldn't keep up.

"Where do you think you're going!"

Having missed with one claw, the Cyan Soul Beast roared again, and another hoof claw grabbed at the air. The surroundings seemed to activate a great formation, sealing off the entire passage in an instant, leaving no escape.

With a crash!

After sealing the surroundings, it attacked again.

Seeing that this creature was vicious with every move, Zhang Xuan dodged several times in succession, then finally shook his head: "Since you insist on fighting, I won't hold back..."

With a flicker of his body, he appeared in an instant at the Cyan Soul Beast's side and punched out.

Bang!

The Cyan Soul Beast was sent flying backward, crashing into the ceiling above and falling heavily to the ground, spitting out mouthfuls of blood.

"That weak?" Zhang Xuan was startled, then recalled the characteristics of this sacred beast and suddenly understood.

The Cyan Soul Beast was a sacred beast skilled in soul attacks; its physical defense and strength were only average, far from able to withstand his Heavenly Dao Fist Art.

With just one blow, it was severely injured.

"I hit too hard..."

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Although the other had wanted to kill him, it was only because it thought he was a Soul Shaman, not out of a love for slaughter.

He felt quite embarrassed to have seriously injured it with a single strike.

"Forget it, let's see if I can save it..."

Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan walked forward.

...

"Hall Master, it shouldn't be as exaggerated as you say. The Cyan Soul Beast is gentle-tempered and only responsible for testing soul strength; it shouldn't cause any trouble with Master Sun!"

As they walked, Liao Hall Master said with a smile.

The Cyan Soul Beast was a sacred beast in charge of the Soul Hall's examinations. Although it used demonic sounds and soul pressure to make it hard for examinees to pass, its nature was still good, and it rarely did anything out of line.

Besides, Master Sun was only taking the test—how could they possibly quarrel?

"I hope so too. You know how much it cost to invite the Cyan Soul Beast back then; I'm really afraid something might go wrong..." Xing Hall Master said with a wry smile.

He also hoped nothing would happen, but this Master Sun was too extraordinary. Every time he broke through a trial, he either set records or caused some commotion. Xing Hall Master was truly afraid he might have a disagreement with the Cyan Soul Beast and start a fight.

No matter which one got hurt, it would be a loss for the War Master Hall.

The three hurried to the Soul Hall and directly entered the Soul Power Passage.

Pushing open the door and entering the room, they saw the massive Cyan Soul Beast lying on the ground, its tongue hanging out, its mouth full of blood, like a pile of mud.

"Master Sun, what happened..."

Not expecting that their worst fear had come true, Xing Hall Master's face twitched, and he felt like crying.

"Uh?"

Seeing them appear, Zhang Xuan was startled, then turned around with an embarrassed look: "Why are you here?"

"We were afraid you and the Cyan Soul Beast would have a conflict. It's in charge of the examination and probably didn't mean to target you. How did you actually end up fighting..."

Xing Hall Master said hurriedly.

It was truly a case of worrying about what would happen. They had rushed over hoping to prevent the incident, but it had already occurred.

And judging by the Cyan Soul Beast's condition, it had been beaten badly and would be hard to recover in a short time.

"If it were just the examination, that would be one thing..."

Seeing the other speak up for the creature, Zhang Xuan spread his hands, about to explain what had just happened, when the Cyan Soul Beast behind him suddenly lifted its huge head and shouted urgently.

"Hall Master Xing, don't believe him, he's a Sou..."

Before it could finish, the young man nearby quickly turned around and kicked it in the face.

Bang!

The sound was choked in its throat. The Cyan Soul Beast's massive body flew backward, crashing dozens of meters away. The hard ground cracked in a large area upon impact.

Its teeth scattered all over the ground, its head tilted, and it fell unconscious.

"Master Sun..."

Not expecting the man to kick the Cyan Soul Beast away right in front of them, Xing Hall Master and the others looked on anxiously. They saw the young man turn around helplessly, spreading his hands and shrugging.

"What if I said... it was the one who attacked me first... would you believe me?"

"..." Xing Hall Master.

"..." Liao Hall Master.

"..." Old Qi.