by Translator: Pokka; Author: 我本纯洁 (I Am Pure); Licensed From: Migu
After fully digesting the power of the astral expansion flower, Xiang Shaoyun felt that the gap between him and the peak seventh-stage Skysoar Realm had widened considerably. His initial plan was to reach the peak of the seventh stage while on his way to the Dragon Phoenix Academy. But now, it seemed like he would need more time. That could in a way be considered an adverse effect of expanding his stars.
However, although the speed of his advancement slowed, it did not mean his strength would not grow. On the contrary, among those with the same cultivation level, the size of one's stars determined one's endurance and combat prowess in battle. Now that he was heading to the Dragon Phoenix Academy soon, he had to accumulate more resources so as to deal with the freaks coming from all over the dominion.
Of course, his current focus would be placed on Green Youth Ye Linshan of the Ye Clan. As for Ye Youfei, he was most likely a vanguard testing the waters for Ye Linshan. He was an ordinary chess piece that would not pose any threat whatsoever.
Chapter 539: Their Physiques Are Really Terrible
The next day, Xiang Shaoyun met Tang Longfei and made an appointment to head for the academy three days later. He then returned to the Skeleton Gang. There, he found that Devouring Ghost had returned. He brought two masked experts with him.
Xiang Shaoyun couldn't even sense the strength of the two experts. Therefore, he was sure they were no weaker than the Sovereign Realm. Since they could follow Devouring Ghost around, it was clear they were Green Ghost's devoted subordinates.
"Young master, I've already drawn a rough plan on how to handle the Skeleton Gang. Let me tell you my plans," said Devouring Ghost. He then went straight to the topic.
His plan was simple—to merge the Skeleton Gang into the Ghostface Sect. The Ghostface Sect would manage everything the gang had. As for the gang members, the sect would train them before sending those with potential out for tempering. From an outsider's perspective, the gang had been swallowed by the sect.
But in reality, the sect would not swallow anything belonging to Xiang Shaoyun. When he returned, everything would fall under his control again. Even the trained gang members would be under his command.
If it were anyone else who had proposed this plan, Xiang Shaoyun would reject it without hesitation. But since this was Devouring Ghost's plan, he had full confidence Devouring Ghost would handle it properly in a way that he wouldn't suffer any losses. In any case, Devouring Ghost was even hinting that even the Ghostface Sect could fall under his command if he wished.
An outsider would find it hard to believe everything Devouring Ghost was saying. But Xiang Shaoyun believed him wholeheartedly. He had personally witnessed the obedience Green Ghost showed Devouring Ghost. He also sincerely believed that even if the world betrayed him, Devouring Ghost would not. He had an odd sensation that, in a previous life, Devouring Ghost was a brother he could trust with his life and someone worth his absolute confidence.
After listening to the plan, Xiang Shaoyun agreed with zero hesitation. After all, the territories of the Skeleton Gang and the Noxious Blood Gang were nothing for the present Xiang Shaoyun, even though outsiders considered their territories a delicious cake. Xiang Shaoyun knew that so long as he kept growing, he could get anything he wanted in the future with his own strength.
Xiang Shaoyun then introduced the Han Clan sisters to Devouring Ghost. He did that so Devouring Ghost could find a way to fix the flaws in their physiques.
"Devouring Ghost, help me take a look at their talent for cultivation," Xiang Shaoyun went straight to the point.
"Yes, young master," Devouring Ghost answered. He then said to the sisters, "Come, let me read your pulse."
The sisters appeared confused, but they still listened and walked over. They had already learned from Han Pojun the proper method of conducting themselves after becoming Xiang Shaoyun's followers.
They had to know their place and obey his words, or they would have no chance of entering the Dragon Phoenix Academy. Devouring Ghost first read Han Qianwei's pulse, and an odd look appeared on his face. He then did the same to Han Xuewei.
"Alright. Got it," said Devouring Ghost before signaling Xiang Shaoyun with his eyes.
Xiang Shaoyun understood tacitly and said to the sisters, "You may leave first."
The sisters nodded and left the hall.
"Big sister, who is that person? Young Master Xiang seems to trust him a lot?" Han Xuewei asked through voice transmission.
"He's obviously a hidden expert behind the young master. When I faced him, the sensation he exuded was even scarier than when I face uncle," said Han Qianwei. "But don't worry. Young Master Xiang only wanted to know our cultivation talent. We both have the Yin Frost Physique, so our talent is decent. Everything will be fine."
"That might be the case, but the ancestor mentioned that we have some flaws to our physiques. What we have aren't perfect physiques," said Han Xuewei as she pouted.
"You can't be thinking that Young Master Xiang will abandon us, right?" Han Qianwei asked.
Han Xuewei shook her head, but then she quickly nodded. "He is a man of his word, so he won't easily renege. I believe he is just trying to evaluate how useful we can be in the future."
"Exactly. Uncle said that we should work hard and catch up to him as soon as possible. Otherwise, we won't be qualified to be his followers, let alone his women," said Han Qianwei.
"Big sister, you finally admitted it! I thought you didn't want to be his woman?" Han Xuewei teased.
"So what? Don't tell me you're not thinking the same?" Han Qianwei admitted frankly.
"I, y-yes..." Han Xuewei lowered her head and answered with a blush before running away.
...
In the main hall, Xiang Shaoyun asked Devouring Ghost, "So?"
"Young master, are you sure you're bringing them to the Dragon Phoenix Academy?" Devouring Ghost asked.
Xiang Shaoyun nodded. "Yes."
"If possible, abandon that thought. Their physiques are terrible!" Devouring Ghost sighed.
"Is it that bad? I heard they each have a Yin Frost Physique. Although their versions are flawed, it can't be that bad, right?" Xiang Shaoyun was astonished.
"What do they know? What they have isn't even the Yin Frost Physique. They merely have some innate frost in their body. This tiny talent can at most help them reach the Dragon Ascension Realm. It's almost impossible for them to reach a higher height," said Devouring Ghost with disdain.
"What? That bad?" Xiang Shaoyun blanked out.
"There's more to it. They won't live past 50," said Devouring Ghost.
Xiang Shaoyun staggered. He had assumed that their talents wouldn't be that bad, so this was quite a surprise.
"What's up with that? Don't they look fine right now?" Xiang Shaoyun asked nervously. If they were really that bad, he might really have to give up on them. It wasn't that he looked down on them, but he needed followers with potential instead of followers that would die young. Also, he wouldn't know how to face Han Pojun after they died. In this scenario, bringing them with him would be an arduous and thankless task.
"Their innate frost energy should be something accompanying them since birth. You can also call it fetal frost energy. If they possess a full Yin Frost Physique, they would be fine. Moreover, they would have excellent talent in cultivation. Unfortunately, they each only have a strand of fetal frost energy in them. At birth, they were mere babies that couldn't control the fetal frost energy, resulting in the energy damaging their natural lifespan. They might look fine, but the stronger they become, the stronger a backlash they will suffer from their fetal frost energy, ultimately leading to death," said Devouring Ghost gravely.
Chapter 540: Repairing the Overlord Skyslaying Saber
Xiang Shaoyun was blanked out for quite a while before asking, "Is there nothing we can do about this? I mean, is there a way to let them live longer?"
In truth, even if he couldn't bring them into the Dragon Phoenix Academy, he still wished to change th
eir fate of dying young.
"It's hard. The fetal frost energy is innate, and it has already intruded into all their internal organs. It's impossible to fully remove the energy," said Devouring Ghost.
Xiang Shaoyun was going to sigh when Devouring Ghost continued, "However, if they are lucky to find a place of extreme yin and frost, absorbing the extreme yin frost energy there will help them assimilate their fetal frost energy to form true Yin Frost Physiques. It will solve their crisis and reform their talents. But it is also an exceedingly dangerous method. There were people who tried doing the same before, and nine out of ten died."
"In other words, without using that method, they can still live till 50, while using the method is risky but still holds a tiny hope?" Xiang Shaoyun clarified.
"Yes," Devouring Ghost sighed. "The Dragon Phoenix Academy is one of the Four Great Ancient Academies. They occupied the ancient lands surrounding the Dragon Phoenix Mountain Range. Perhaps there's a land of extreme yin and frost there."
Xiang Shaoyun swept his gaze at Devouring Ghost before sinking into contemplation. He was clear Devouring Ghost would not lie to him. In that case, should he attempt to help the sisters? He would be the one making the decision, not Devouring Ghost. Devouring Ghost did not say anything and waited for Xiang Shaoyun's decision silently.
After spending an hour in thought, a resolute look covered Xiang Shaoyun's face as he said, "Since I have made them a promise, I will give them this chance. I hope they can seize it."
Xiang Shaoyun wasn't one to randomly change his mind. His initial thought to give up on the sisters wasn't due to the follower spots that would go to waste. Rather, it was due to their short lifespan, which was as short as a blink of an eye for a cultivator. With such a short lifespan, he wished for them to live a happy ordinary life instead.
He ultimately decided to let them stay by his side and to give them a chance to change their fate of dying young. Perhaps there would be such a chance in the Dragon Phoenix Academy. Otherwise, Devouring Ghost wouldn't have bothered mentioning it. If they really ended up not encountering such a location or ended up failing the transformation, that could only mean that their short lifespan was their destiny.
No matter what, he wouldn't regret it so long as he had tried his best to help them. Devouring Ghost wasn't surprised that Xiang Shaoyun would make such a decision. He also didn't believe that Xiang Shaoyun was the kind of man to act recklessly for a woman. In his opinion, Xiang Shaoyun simply wasn't attaching much importance to the two follower spots.
In any case, the Dragon Phoenix Academy was filled with geniuses. His young master would have plenty of time to gather followers during his time there. After spending some more time talking about their future plans, Xiang Shaoyun returned to his room. His current plan was to refine his Overlord Skyslaying Saber in the remaining three days he had left.
He had a lot of emperor and sovereign materials accumulated. It wouldn't be hard to use some to further refine the Overlord Skyslaying Saber. Although the original grade of the Overlord Skyslaying Saber was high, he did not have materials of corresponding grades to fully restore the saber. Thus, he could only slowly refine it bit by bit.
After nurturing the saber in his body for an extended period of time, he had fully become one with the saber, which indicated that the Overlord Skyslaying Saber had formed a certain connection with him and that the saber was now akin to an extension of his body he could freely control. Thus, he could easily refine it.
For others, refining their own fate weapons would require the help of outside forces to temper the weapons. That was not the case for Xiang Shaoyun. He had Yun Flame in his astral cosmos sea and could refine the saber right inside his astral cosmos sea using the materials that were also stored in the same astral cosmos sea. He didn't need to take anything out of him and could control the refinement process with a thought. It granted him a massive advantage over others.
He first needed to submerge the saber amid Yun Flame, softening the saber, before burning and mixing the various materials with the saber. The materials would then fuse into the saber and slowly restore the saber. Emperor and sovereign materials were top-tier treasures for many people, but for the Overlord Skyslaying Saber, they were merely some insignificant materials. After the refinement process, the Overlord Skyslaying Saber looked much better than before.
Xiang Shaoyun then proceeded to further nourish the saber with his innate lightning energy and vicious gold energy before feeding the saber with some of his essence blood, increasing the spirituality of the saber.
With the current strength of the Overlord Skyslaying Saber, it was capable of unleashing the might of a peak emperor weapon and withstanding the attack of sovereign weapons without being destroyed. In short, this round of refinement had allowed the saber to recover even more of its original might. After gathering more sovereign materials, Xiang Shaoyun would be able to repair the saber back into a sovereign weapon.
"This much will be enough for quite some time. After getting some more better materials, I will continue upgrading it," muttered Xiang Shaoyun to himself.
Done with all that, he did not leave his room. There were two more days left, and he did not wish to waste any free time. His gaze landed on Yun Flame as he thought, Time for it to return. He then willed Yun Flame to return to the flame star. After fusing with the devil flame seed, Yun Flame had reached a brand new level in power. Not even an Emperor would dare to lightly touch a flame of its level.
One could say that Yun Flame had further evolved from its original form, and perhaps only one or two more types of flames were required for it to evolve into a flame equivalent to a ten millennia flame. At that time, it would become a sacred flame. Of course, it was far from that level currently, but its current destructiveness was scary enough.
Prior to this, Xiang Shaoyun had entered the seventh stage by borrowing the power of the silver lightning core and the yin devil wind. To consolidate his gains, he hadn't allowed Yun Flame to return to the flame star.
Now that he was done with consolidating and was growing once more with the expansion of his stars, it was time for Yun Flame to return, which would also further improve his cultivation. As Yun Flame returned, the flame star erupted with power, fusing once again with it.
Bang! Bang!
The star burned, and it felt like cracks were going to appear due to the intense heat. It was a sensation Xiang Shaoyun had experienced before, but that did nothing to alleviate his current pain. After all, the Yun Flame had also grown, and its prowess wasn't something one could easily withstand.
A layer of red enveloped Xiang Shaoyun's body, as if he was being cooked. Steam rose from his body, making it look like he was in terrible suffering. This state lasted a day and a night before it ended. Fortunately, he had outstanding willpower. Otherwise, he would have fainted from the pain. Naturally, his cultivation level had grown from the process.
Chapter 541: Heading to Dragon Phoenix Academy
Three days passed quickly, and soon, it was time for Xiang Shaoyun to head to the Dragon Phoenix Academy. The weather was calm, and the sky above the Bloodsin City was clear, as if the devilish energy and bloody aura enveloping the city had thinned considerably.
After taking a bath, Xiang Shaoyun brought the Han Clan sisters and Devouring Ghost to the Ghostface Sect. There, Lady Shura was waiting outside the sect entrance. She was still wearing her ghostface mask. The tight-fitting martial outfit she wore showcased her seductive figure, one that caused the Han Clan sisters to feel inferior.
In terms of looks, they might not lose out to Lady Shura. But in terms of figure, they were somewhat lacking compared to her. On top of that, she exuded a kind of wild beauty that could fill all men with a desire to conquer.
"Let's go," said Xiang Shaoyun with a faint smile.
Lady Shura nodded obediently. "Ok."
The hearts of the sisters skipped a beat. They had been imagining the day when they finally became Xiang Shaoyun's women, but now, he was h
olding the hand of a different woman before them. They could feel their hearts shattering.
Han Qianwei was still able to hold in her sadness, but Han Xuewei was already tearing up. Xiang Shaoyun saw, but he did not give any explanations. Instead, he brought Lady Shura to the front of the group.
Han Qianwei wanted to give Xiang Shaoyun a tongue-lashing, but she found that there really wasn't anything she could say about this. He had long made it known to their uncle that he was uninterested in them. He only wanted them as followers. In other words, even if he had a different woman, that had nothing to do with them. Instead, they had to comply with his wishes.
Xiang Shaoyun's actions were intentional. If the sisters didn't even have the resilience to face something like a heartbreak, they wouldn't be qualified to be his followers.
"Don't cry, little sister. That will only cause that scoundrel to look down on us. There are so many men in the world. Is he our only choice?" said Han Qianwei through voice transmission.
She was comforting both her sister and herself.
Han Xuewei wiped her tears and said, "Let's go. We're his followers, not his women. It is not our place to interfere with his personal life."
Han Qianwei looked at the heartbroken Han Xuewei and said, "If you really can't stand this, it is still not too late for us to leave."
Han Xuewei replied resolutely, "No, I refuse to remain a weakling. I can take this!"
Han Qianwei did not know what to say. She looked at the pair in front of her with mixed emotions. As for Lady Shura, she wasn't bothered about Xiang Shaoyun's relationship with the sisters. For her, as long as she occupied a place in his heart, it was enough.
Her thought process was completely different from that of an ordinary woman. Since young, she had undergone harsh training. She was nowhere as innocent as the sisters. This was a world where it was completely normal for a man to have more than one wife. Even if she was to find that Xiang Shaoyun actually had feelings for the sisters, she wouldn't be shocked.