Chapter 779: 1,000,000 Transformation
Unfortunately, the students in the university all wore the same outfit and type of mask. Their auras and magical technique fluctuations were changed. Even their voice and general physical stature was altered so that one’s identity was completely secret. It wasn’t even possible to identify gender differences.
Therefore, though Xu Qing felt the need to be on guard, he actually had no idea who this person could be. After all... after this big development for the Xeno-Immortal School, there were a lot more people paying attention to them. And there were obviously going to be multiple people digging for information.
Looking at the student who had asked the question, Xu Qing said, “I’m a new member, so there’s a lot I don’t understand. But now that you mention it, I guess our schoolmaster is like that.”
The student looked thoughtfully at the schoolmaster, then back at Xu Qing. Although this was her first time looking at Xu Qing up close, given how few people were actually members of the Xeno-Immortal School, she had long since dug up a bit of information about all of them. Although she didn’t know the true identities of any of the members, she did know how long they had been members and what they were known for accomplishing within the university grounds. In fact, that was common knowledge by this point.
And of course, her information mentioned this new student who called himself Sir Dark-Thunder. She knew that he had just joined this school of thought, and though she had some suspicions regarding his identity, she put them aside. Based on her personal experience from that day, she was certain that the enigmatic master everyone was wondering about couldn’t be a brand new member.
Beyond that, she wasn’t interested in who Sir Dark-Thunder really was. Right now, she was thinking about the handful of words she had exchanged with that master from the Xeno-Immortal School. Taking a few steps forward, she faced the schoolmaster, who was sitting there with his eyes closed. Clasping hands, she bowed at the waist.
“Schoolmaster, I would like to join the Xeno-Immortal School.”
Everyone else in the tower looked over. Although a lot of students had come to ask about the school recently, this was the first who had actually asked to join.
Beneath his mask, Xu Qing’s eyebrows shot up, and the vigilance in his heart grew more intense. It made sense that so many people had come around seeking information. But for someone to suddenly ask to join was unusual.
Even the schoolmaster seemed surprised as he opened his eyes and looked at the group of students.
He looked dignified, but at the same time, extremely happy. That said, he sounded very relaxed as he said, “Our school of thought has a rule. Only conclave students can learn our techniques!”
Eyes flashing with determination, the young woman said, “That’s fine! But I have three questions that I’m hoping you can clear up for me, schoolmaster.”
The schoolmaster looked closely at the group of students to identify the one who was asking the questions. He smiled.
“Go ahead.”
“My first question is about souls. I heard that your school of thought teaches a technique to make soul threads. And that requires the constant improvement of the soul. So, does the Xeno-Immortal School have any unique or unusual soul-nourishing techniques?”
As she spoke, she kept her attention focused closely on the schoolmaster’s eyes.
His eyes remained completely calm as he answered, “The Summer Immortal’s lone thought brings the immortal body into play. This concept becomes as deep as the sea, the soul will reach fruition.”
Everyone in the tower hesitated. In the past, most people would have scoffed at such words, as they were seemingly nothing more than jibber-jabber. But considering that a true master had emerged from the Xeno-Immortal School, someone with hundreds of thousands of soul threads, people were now paying close attention to such things. Even the three conclave students all seemed to be committing the words to memory.
Only Xu Qing reacted, blinking a few times.
The young woman frowned under her mask, thought for a moment, then asked her second question.
“Schoolmaster, is it true what people are saying, that it takes a really, really long time to make soul threads?”
That was the question most inquiring students were most keenly interested in. Even the three existing conclave students were interested to hear the answer to this question.
The schoolmaster lifted his chin arrogantly. Sounding completely confident, he said, “A thousand years ago, our school of thought changed our techniques. We now have private and public versions. According to the rules laid forth by our patriarch, conclave disciples who study for a certain number of years will be taught the private technique. The public version is indeed very slow. But the private technique is incredibly fast!”
The listeners stirred. Although most of them still weren’t fully convinced, when they thought about that secret master with the hundreds of thousands of soul threads, they hesitated.
It was the same with the young woman, who was now frowning with even deeper anxiety than before. She was starting to get the feeling that this schoolmaster was no slouch. The answers he gave were given in such a way that he revealed no pertinent information.
After some more thought, she decided not to ask her third question. Instead, she bowed.
“I have no further questions, and I sincerely want to become a conclave disciple of the Xeno-Immortal School.”
The schoolmaster nodded, all while thinking, So, you’re here probing for information about the enigmatic master, huh?
The reality was that, as the schoolmaster, he had quickly seen through her two questions. He wasn’t alarmed. Not even he knew the identity of the enigmatic master. But that didn’t curtail his desire to use this event to increase the prestige of the Xeno-Immortal School. After all, that enigmatic master really did use the soul threads of the Xeno-Immortal School. That was enough for him. As for the enigmatic master, he would surely reveal his identity when it was appropriate. He also wasn’t concerned that this person had angered the Star Emperor Preeminence Sect by stealing from them. The schools of thought from the Imperial University were incredibly important.
With such thoughts on his mind, he waved his hand, sending a jade slip flying over to the new student.
She caught it and put her mark on it.
“Go stand with your Elder Brothers,” the schoolmaster said. He closed his eyes.
Seeing all this happen caused Xu Qing’s guard to go up to the highest level.
Based on this person’s questions, either they’re really interested in the Xeno-Immortal School, or they might have ulterior motives. It’s hard to say. The one explanation that would cover everything, and is most logical, is that this person... is the same one I clashed with. But who exactly is she?
Xu Qing looked at the student with narrowed eyes.
Just like that, a day went by.
Xu Qing, the new student, and the other three students met with hundreds of inquirers. The young woman kept an eye on Xu Qing and the others, and occasionally asked some questions. However, for the most part, she seemed to be focusing mostly on the schoolmaster.
She was watching the schoolmaster. Xu Qing was watching her.
As time went by, Xu Qing became more convinced that his suspicions were true. There was probably a fifty to sixty percent probability that she was the person he had fought with that night. He was also convinced that, as time went by, that probability would increase as he got more information. After all, though this person was clearly clever... so was he.
That night, he bid farewell to the schoolmaster, left the white tower, and went back to the mansion. After thinking back to everything that had happened, he closed his eyes, took out a piece of Crimson Mother’s flesh, and began a session of cultivation.
Half a month flashed by.
The identity of the enigmatic master from the Xeno-Immortal School continued to be the subject of a tempest of rumors. However, because no further incidents occurred, the schoolmaster’s proud announcements of a revival of the school turned out to be empty words.
After all, any kind of excitement will die down after the passage of enough time. At first, hundreds of students a day were visiting the school to ask for information. But soon that number dwindled to dozens.
Even still, the school was dramatically busier than before. Nine more students joined, bringing the total student population up to thirteen. The students were a very mixed lot that came from a variety of backgrounds. At first, they asked a lot of vague questions, but eventually their questions became more direct. Xu Qing and the other four students stuck close to the new arrivals and had a lot of discussions with them.
Half a month of observation had convinced Xu Qing that the fifth student to join... was definitely the mysterious young woman he had fought. He remembered her aura when she attacked. It had seemed like part-cultivator, part-god. It was almost a different type of power that was as domineering as a cultivator and as aggressive as a god.
What am I dealing with here? In all of the research he had done in the various schools of thought in the Imperial University, he hadn’t found any clues that might explain the situation. Eventually, he put the matter aside.
His cultivation of soul threads reached an even higher level. The Xeno-Immortal School actually did have a higher-level method of soul cultivation that went a lot faster than the ordinary method. In order to prove that he was telling the truth, the schoolmaster demonstrated the technique, although only to Xu Qing and the other four conclave students.
He was careful to explain that it was a transitional technique, and wasn’t the actual private technique. He said he would explain the real technique later based on the age and qualifications of the students.
His words seemed effective. As a result, the spies from the various other organizations gained a renewed interest in the subject.
The technique was definitely more effective, but in the end, didn’t provide a very significant boost. To the other three conclave students, it might result in an extra one or two soul threads in an entire month.
But things were different for Xu Qing. By using the higher-level technique with Crimson Mother’s flesh, he was able to significantly increase the production of soul threads.
As a result, during the half month that passed, he absorbed almost everything possible from Crimson Mother’s flesh. The result was that he was very close to 1,000,000 soul threads.
He only needed three more. That night, he had planned to go all out to make those final threads.
At the moment, he was thoughtfully contemplating the nearly complete set of godsource soul threads. They weren’t active like they had been in the past. It was as if they took themselves more seriously. What was more, they were pulsing with an aura of transformation.
Xu Qing pondered the situation. He got the feeling that if he reached 1,000,000 soul threads, a dramatic transformation would occur. He wasn’t sure of the details, and there wasn’t any information in the technique description. From ancient times until now, no one in the Xeno-Immortal School had ever accumulated such a terrifying level of soul threads. In fact, not even the creator of the technique had ever cultivated it to that level.
Xu Qing’s eyes glittered as the sensation of transformation became stronger.
What’s going to happen...?
Focusing on the techniques, he continued with his cultivation.
After an incense stick of time passed, a soul thread appeared in his sea of consciousness, glittering brightly. When it appeared, all of the other soul threads vibrated. The aura of transformation grew stronger.
Xu Qing kept working. About an hour later, a second soul thread appeared, and Xu Qing’s sea of consciousness vibrated loudly. Two hours later, the final soul thread appeared. He had a complete set of 1,000,000 soul threads!
And that was when a transformation without parallel in history began in his sea of consciousness!