Chapter 168: We’ve All Done It (yes WE)
"Dead already?" Li Yao spoke in disappointment as she watched the remaining particles of the soul disperse into nothingness. Her lips formed a slight pout. "Well, that’s no fun. I didn’t even get the chance to try out my other 999 torturing methods."
"999 others?" The elemental spirits exchanged horrified glances.
Slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, they began retreating. None wished to remain in proximity to someone who casually discussed torture with such enthusiasm. In their collective thoughts, a single question echoed: What was the world thinking, choosing someone like her? The further they could get from this lightning psychopath, the better.
Li Yao casually wiped her hands together, as if brushing away dust after completing a mundane chore rather than obliterating a soul. She turned toward the retreating spirits, her electric blue eyes finding them instantly. When their gazes met, the spirits instinctively looked away, suddenly finding great interest in the ground, the sky—anywhere but her terrifying eyes.
"That was just his soul clone," Li Yao remarked, "He should’ve already received the memories of what has transpired here by now."
She had deliberately chosen to torture the soul clone for such an extended period because the Empress had informed her of a crucial detail: to create a soul clone, one must sever it from the original soul, preventing direct synchronization. Information only returned to the original upon the clone’s destruction. Without this knowledge, she would never have risked such prolonged humiliation—the real Soul Formation expert would have descended upon them long ago.
"Since WE’ve humiliated him so much, he will definitely come to seek revenge," Li Yao stated.
"WE?" the Water Spirit questioned hesitantly, voice barely audible.
Before the spirit could blink, Li Yao had materialized between her and the Fire Spirit, draping her arms around their shoulders with alarming familiarity. The spirits stiffened at her touch, feeling the crackling energy of her essence against their own.
"Yes, WE," Li Yao replied, her smile eerily sweet. "Is there something wrong with that?"
"No! Not at all!" The spirits hastily shook their heads, the others nodding emphatically in agreement.
"Great! Then you guys will go back with me and help me fight him off when he comes," she declared, her tone leaving no room for negotiation.
The spirits nodded silently, resigned to their fate. Li Yao smiled with satisfaction, pleasantly surprised at acquiring such obedient workers. They were strong too—far more useful than the useless old men back at the sect.
Within Li Yao’s spiritual sea, the Empress remained silent, having accepted that she had granted the Emperor throne to a complete psychopath. She could only lament her misfortune at ending up in this situation. Her only hope was to recover her full strength soon, before her legacy and reputation were completely ruined by her unhinged heir.
Meanwhile, in the Wuming Cult’s grand hall, Gao Aotian received the memories of his soul clone’s destruction. A thunderous shout erupted from his throat, the force of his rage causing the entire structure to tremble as if on the verge of collapse. Black-robed subordinates stationed at the corners of the room observed in rigid silence, not daring to utter a single word.
"You dare to humiliate me like this?" the Cult Leader snarled, spiritual energy crackling around his form. "Then don’t blame me for what happens next."
His first instinct was to depart immediately and kill Li Yao on the spot, but after a moment’s contemplation, a more satisfying idea took shape in his mind. A sinister smile spread across his face as he imagined recreating his soul clone, then launching his attack the following day. And when he did...
"No! I can’t laugh yet! I’ve got to hold it in,"
...
As soon as he saw the reset screen, Xiang Yu felt himself pulled into his spiritual sea with an irresistible force. Energy poured into the vast internal landscape like countless rivers converging into an ocean, each stream bringing new power and vitality to the spiritual sea.
The spiritual sea expanded before his eyes, its boundaries stretching outward as if it had no limit. The sudden surge of growth was so dramatic that even the sleeping infant soul was startled awake.
The tiny being rubbed its eyes with diminutive fists before spotting Xiang Yu. Without hesitation, it scampered across the spiritual terrain, climbing his form and settling contentedly atop his head. From this perch, it watched with wide-eyed wonder as the transformation continued.
The expansion affected not just the land but the sea of qi itself. What had once been a modest puddle—barely ten meters in radius—now swelled and spread, flooding the surrounding area until it stretched nearly a mile across. The land extended even further, its boundaries receding beyond Xiang Yu’s perception.
Xiang Yu thought to himself that his spiritual sea was quite strange. From what he understood through cultivation texts, a spiritual sea typically comprised the entirety of one’s inner world, expanding gradually as cultivation advanced. Yet his was fundamentally different—his spiritual sea seemed merely a fraction of his inner world, his inner world was made up of an endless dark void in which the spiritual sea settled.
This puzzled him. Was his spiritual sea not the totality of his inner world but rather a growing bubble within some larger, unfathomable space? He suspected this unusual structure might relate to his system somehow. Deciding not to dwell on mysteries he couldn’t yet solve, Xiang Yu filed away these observations for future consideration. Sooner or later, he would understand the peculiarities of his cultivation path.
His musings ended abruptly when the infant tugged firmly at his hair.
"What is it?" he asked, wincing slightly.
Satisfied at having captured his attention, the infant leapt from his head, hovering before him. Its tiny features settled into an expression of intense concentration as it closed its eyes, adopting a perfect meditative posture.
"Are you trying to show me something?" Xiang Yu watched closely, curious about this unexpected behavior.
The infant’s face contorted with strain, its small body trembling with effort. Concern flickered across Xiang Yu’s features as he observed the little being’s struggle.
"Are you okay?" he asked, but the infant maintained its focus, ignoring his question entirely.
Suddenly, Xiang Yu experienced a disorienting shift in perception. He left the spiritual sea. No! His awareness expanded beyond its boundaries, encompassing the entire Azure Cloud Sect. With this expanded consciousness, he perceived every detail of the compound—cultivators meditating in their chambers, insects crawling along stone walls, even the subtle currents of qi flowing through formation arrays. Solid barriers posed no obstacle; his awareness penetrated doors and walls as easily.
Then, just as suddenly, the connection severed. Xiang Yu’s perception snapped back to his spiritual sea as the infant collapsed from exhaustion, its tiny chest heaving with exertion despite the proud smile adorning its face.
"Was that divine sense?" Xiang Yu marveled, gently patting the infant’s head in acknowledgment of its achievement. Divine sense was an ability typically reserved for Nascent Soul cultivators and beyond. Though his advancement to Mind Level 6, equivalent to Soul Formation realm, had undoubtedly contributed to this development, he recognized the infant’s independent effort as the primary factor.
"Good. You should train it some more," he encouraged, and the infant’s smile widened at his praise.
"I’m coming to keep you company in a while, this time for two hours," Xiang Yu promised. The infant nodded eagerly before settling into a more comfortable position.
With that, Xiang Yu withdrew from his spiritual sea, returning to his physical form. Though he could still summon the system interface to review his progress, he wanted to personally experience the changes in his body. To feel the transformation rather than merely reading about it in sterile numbers.
...
Author’s Corner
Just to clarify, when the cult leader says he’ll wait to reform his soul clone before attacking. It doesn’t mean that he will attack with the soul clone again. He will attack himself. And his army too.
Ig ts can be considered the final battle.
You can place your bets if you want lol
I didn’t time skip any of the two, this is what I did. They’ll probably reunite in tomorrow’s Chapter. I think it turned out alr. What do you guys think?