Chapter 1117: Assessment of Spiritual Awakening Masters

Frankly, he had already been quite discreet by not seeking out Master Wu, President Han, or the Combat Master Hall. Yet, this fellow insisted on presenting himself, practically inviting a beating...

It was truly hard to resist a laugh!

Never mind. A magnanimous person doesn't dwell on the faults of lesser individuals; I, Zhang Xuan, am simply that virtuous and principled...

Ignoring the fellow, he turned his gaze back to Vice President Xu, who was standing nearby.

Noticing his gaze, the beautiful woman's eyebrows twitched.

She had spoken in his favor for two reasons: first, he was a master teacher, and second, there was the principle of "first come, first served." She had planned to intervene and scold Dao Kou if he truly attacked, but she never imagined the fight would be over before she could even utter a word...

And it was such a decisive, overwhelming victory!

A peak Saint Realm first-layer cultivator... knocking out a fourth-layer expert with a single punch...

Where did this anomaly come from?

"Could he be... an expert from the Combat Master Hall?"

The members of the Combat Master Hall typically cultivated in seclusion and rarely interacted with others. Even though they were in Qingyuan City, she had seen very few of them.

As such, even she knew very few of them. This individual, easily defeating a Nascent God Realm expert while only at the Saint Realm first layer, was likely one of them, and of no small standing.

No wonder he could so casually produce a Saint artifact of that caliber.

She had previously thought he relied on the Master Teacher Pavilion's protection for his safety. Now, it was clear that with his own strength, no one would dare to casually bother him.

"Young Master, it would still be wise to be cautious. The Ji Bei Twin Heroes are renowned not because of Dao Kou, but primarily due to his elder brother, Qin Tianxiong Zang Xu! It is said he has already reached the peak of the Nascent God Realm and possesses numerous formidable techniques, making him extremely difficult to deal with..."

Although she knew he was formidable, she still decided to send a telepathic message as a warning.

It was naturally impossible to earn the title of Overlord of Ji Bei with merely an early-stage Nascent God Realm cultivation. Between the two, the truly formidable one was his elder brother, Qin Tianxiong Zang Xu!

His cultivation was unfathomable; even she would have to avoid him if they met.

After all, Soul Enchanters are merely auxiliary professionals, not particularly skilled in combat.

"Thank you for the reminder, President!" Zhang Xuan smiled faintly, acknowledging her good intentions but not appearing concerned. He then asked, "When might it be convenient for you to help me awaken the spirit of this weapon?"

"Let's begin now!"

Without much hesitation, Vice President Xu nodded.

She circled the Golden Origin Cauldron twice, then gently pressed her palm onto a specific spot.

A ray of light immediately enveloped the cauldron.

Zhang Xuan watched with intense anticipation.

After roughly ten minutes, she withdrew her hand, and Vice President Xu stumbled back several steps, her face pale. "It seems I underestimated the situation," she said. "Your cauldron, as I can see, was likely struck by lightning, which caused it to fall into this slumber. With my current abilities, I'm afraid I cannot awaken it!"

"Lightning has a profoundly destructive effect on spiritual essence, a fact I'm sure you're aware of. If it had fallen into slumber for any other reason, I could manage to awaken it with some extra effort, but this particular case..." Vice President Xu shook her head.

"Then... President, do you know who might be able to awaken it?"

Vice President Xu pondered for a moment before speaking. "The lightning not only invaded its spiritual essence but also left residual energy within the cauldron. To awaken its spirit, one must overcome this lingering electrical presence. To truly accomplish this, it would likely require an expert at the Out-of-Body Realm. Their Nascent Souls, having been tempered by lightning, no longer fear its power. As for who in particular... no one in the Qingyuan Empire Soul Enchanter Guild possesses such ability!"

The strongest member of the Qingyuan Empire Soul Enchanter Guild, their own President, had only just reached the peak of the Nascent God Realm, a significant distance from the Out-of-Body Realm, and thus was also incapable of performing the task.

"You mentioned... there's residual lightning in the cauldron... If someone's cultivation hasn't reached the Out-of-Body Realm, but their soul doesn't fear lightning, could they still awaken it?"

Zhang Xuan's brows furrowed as he grasped the conditions implied in her statement.

"It should be possible, provided, of course, that their understanding of Soul Enchanting reaches the seven-star level! However... where would one find a soul unafraid of lightning?" Vice President Xu offered a wry smile.

Nascent Souls and spirits, being inherently yin and dwelling within the body, are most vulnerable to lightning. To date, she had never heard of anyone below the Out-of-Body Realm whose Nascent Soul or spirit was impervious to thunder.

"Understanding Soul Enchanting to the seven-star level?" Zhang Xuan paused, then looked up. "President Xu," he asked, "what are the requirements to access your guild's library?"

Since the person before him couldn't awaken the Golden Origin Cauldron, he decided to try it himself.

Others might fear lightning, but he had undergone the Sea of Thunder and the Conferred Saint Tribulation. His soul was now perfectly tempered, rendering ordinary lightning harmless to him.

"To read books?"

Unexpectedly, he suddenly brought up this question. Vice President Xu, though puzzled, hesitated briefly before explaining, "Unlike other professions, our guild's books don't have level restrictions preventing access to those below a certain rank. Instead, by paying a fee, anyone can view or even transcribe them, though the originals cannot be taken out."

Zhang Xuan nodded. "I'd like to read all the books up to the seven-star level. How much would that cost?"

Only truly specialized professions, those with complete inheritances, impose strict level restrictions. Most general professions don't have such stringent requirements.

Some even deliberately relax their conditions to attract more practitioners and promote their growth.

"To access books up to the seven-star level, you'll need to pay five thousand high-grade spirit stones..." Vice President Xu calculated and then stated.

"Here you go!"

With a flick of his wrist, spiritual energy shimmered as five thousand high-grade spirit stones clattered onto the floor.

"This..."

Vice President Xu stood rooted to the spot.

Five thousand high-grade spirit stones — even she couldn't produce such a sum so casually. The fact that he was so quick to pay, just to read books... it spoke volumes about his immense wealth!

"I'll still trouble you, President Xu, to lead the way!"

Five thousand high-grade spirit stones were trivial to Zhang Xuan now. Learning a new profession and potentially awakening the Golden Origin Cauldron made it absolutely worthwhile.

"Very well!"

Seeing his serious demeanor, indicating he wasn't joking, Vice President Xu collected the spirit stones. "Follow me," she instructed.

Zhang Xuan placed the Golden Origin Cauldron into his storage ring and followed closely behind her.

They exited the room, walked along a corridor for a while, and arrived at a spacious chamber.

It was the Soul Enchanter Guild's library.

"Here, you can read and cultivate. Should you gain insight, there are corresponding puppets in the room for you to practice Soul Enchanting. Successfully imbuing them with intelligence indicates you've reached the appropriate rank..."

Standing before the entrance, Vice President Xu handed him a token and explained.

While Soul Enchanters were sought after in the Qingyuan Empire, they were not considered a "specialized profession," meaning they had fewer regulations, and even their assessments were quite straightforward.

"Thank you!"

Zhang Xuan took the token and nodded.

"Go on in. Many come daily to study and learn the Soul Enchanting profession, but only a few ever truly succeed!"

The Soul Enchanter profession was so lucrative that it attracted many daily learners. However, becoming a true Soul Enchanter required a powerful and refined soul – a talent not simply acquired by reading books.

Without another word, Zhang Xuan pushed open the door and entered.

The library wasn't vast, featuring only dozens of rows of bookshelves, appearing to hold a few hundred thousand volumes at most.

Inside, many people were indeed browsing books, likely also aspiring Soul Enchanters, just like him.

To avoid drawing attention, he approached a bookshelf, casually pulled out a book, and pretended to read it intently, while his eyes rapidly scanned the entire shelf.

Whoosh!

As his gaze swept across, countless books were instantly absorbed into his consciousness.

In under ten minutes, all the books from the dozens of rows of shelves had been recorded in his library.

"Correct!"

With a thought, a book materialized before him. He gently opened it and began to read.

It was the Heaven's Path cultivation method for a four-star Soul Enchanter.

After a swift read, Zhang Xuan gained a profound understanding of the profession.

So-called Soul Enchanting, in essence, involved using one's soul power to nourish the spiritual essence and souls of weapons or cultivators.

To achieve this, one must first render their own soul devoid of attributes. This prevents the target's body from rejecting it, thereby successfully activating or strengthening their spiritual essence.

For most, this initial step was nearly impossible, but Zhang Xuan was an exception.

The Witch Soul he cultivated through the Heaven's Path Divine Art inherently possessed no attributes; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to impersonate anyone without detection.

After finishing the book, he circulated his soul power through his body once and had mastered the four-star Soul Enchanter cultivation method, all in less than half an hour.

"Let's see if it works..."

Upon reaching one side of the room, Zhang Xuan indeed spotted a strange puppet standing in the corner. It possessed eight arms and four heads; its level was indiscernible, as was the material it was crafted from.

Too lazy to use his Eye of Insight, he instead mentally communed with his soul, a stream of intent flowing directly upward. At the same time, he gently pressed his palm to the floor.

A ray of light completely enveloped the puppet.

In the blink of an eye, his consciousness seemed to plunge into a pitch-black world, which he then began to illuminate.

Creak! Creak!

After a few breaths, the puppet before him came to life, its spiritual essence activated. It began to move, its eight arms flailing and four heads wildly swiveling.

"It seems four-star Soul Enchanting is quite straightforward..."

Zhang Xuan opened his eyes and smiled.

He had thought this profession would be much more challenging, but activating the spirit so effortlessly indicated it wasn't as complex as he'd imagined.

Having accomplished this, he proceeded to the second floor.

The second floor similarly held dozens of rows of bookshelves, hundreds of thousands of volumes. He replicated his previous method, quickly absorbing them all, thus forming the five-star Heaven's Path Soul Enchanting cultivation method.

After mastering the new level, he approached the corner, successfully enchanted another puppet, and then ascended further.

Two hours later, he reached the fourth floor.

This floor displayed only seven-star Soul Enchanting books. He absorbed them into his mind, learned the Heaven's Path cultivation method, then proceeded to the area designated for puppets. After a quick glance, his brows involuntarily furrowed.

"There are no puppets on this floor? What is this pillar?"

"It's likely a weapon. If I can enchant it, I should qualify as a seven-star Soul Enchanter!"

He pondered inwardly as he approached the object.