Chapter 1152: It Made the First Move

If the Heart Hall was the most mysterious place in the Combat Master Hall, then the Soul Hall was the most bizarre. Here, cultivators could temper their souls, but even a slight misstep could lead to confusion, making it impossible to discern directions.

Zhang Xuan pushed open the door and entered. As soon as he stepped into the passage, a whimpering sound echoed in his ears, like weeping and lamenting, involuntarily drawing him in and making him want to linger.

"It's demonic music..." Zhang Xuan stopped, frowning.

He had encountered such a situation before in Qiuwu Palace. It had a strong hypnotic effect, making it difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion. However, it had little effect on him, as he cultivated the Heaven's Path Divine Art.

After his zhenqi circulated once, the pressure vanished without a trace. He listened carefully, found the direction from which the sound emanated, and continued forward.

This passage was wider than the previously seen Inner Breath Passage and Combat Technique Passage, with a diameter of forty to fifty meters. It was pitch black inside, making it impossible to see anything clearly. Even his spiritual sense was restricted by the formation, preventing it from spreading further.

He moved slowly forward, walking about twenty meters, when suddenly his body tensed. An intense pressure assailed him, threatening to tear his soul apart at any moment.

"Soul pressure?" Zhang Xuan was startled for a moment before realizing, "It seems someone is controlling this passage..."

Someone must be in charge here; if it were merely a simple formation, it wouldn't have discovered so quickly that the demonic music was ineffective and switched to soul pressure.

This kind of pressure would be extremely effective against other cultivators, making them struggle as if trapped in a swamp, constantly enduring the pain of their souls tearing. However, it was equally ineffective against him.

Setting aside the marvels of the Heaven's Path zhenqi, his soul was immense, like a mountain. This level of pressure had no effect on it whatsoever.

The further he advanced, the heavier the pressure became. For an ordinary person, even a peak Saint 3-realm expert, it would likely be unbearable.

After walking two more steps and pinpointing the source of the soul pressure, Zhang Xuan chuckled softly.

"It's rude not to reciprocate. Try mine!"

With a clear shout, a surge of powerful soul energy spread out from between his eyebrows. Although he had no witch soul cultivation methods beyond the Saint-realm, his soul had been tempered by the Conferred Saint Tribulation, becoming like condensed crystal, clear and free from impurities. When he exerted soul pressure, its power was many times greater than before.

Boom! Like mercury flowing across the ground, everything around him came into view. His powerful witch soul, carrying immense might, counter-attacked in the direction from which the pressure originated.

Crack! A shattering sound echoed, followed by the ground shaking, as if something had been trampled and broken.

Although the opponent's soul pressure was strong, it still fell short when compared to his.

"Soul attack? Who are you?" Immediately after, a rough voice boomed, and Zhang Xuan saw a massive Saint Beast striding out.

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

"Azure Soul Beast?" Taking a closer look at its physical characteristics, knowledge about Saint Beasts surfaced in Zhang Xuan's mind, and he frowned.

He hadn't known much about Saint Beasts before, which led to the joke with the Purple Sun Beast. Therefore, while at the Master Teacher Academy, he had specifically studied their descriptions. Now, he was no longer ignorant as before.

The Azure Soul Beast was a Saint Beast adept at soul attacks, possessing naturally strong soul power. By leveraging its soul power, it could induce illusions and dizziness, making it a very bizarre Saint Beast, rarely seen even in the Beast Tamer Guild. He hadn't expected to find one here.

"I'm a master teacher here for the assessment!" These thoughts flashed through his mind, but without time to dwell on them, Zhang Xuan answered.

"Master teacher?" The Azure Soul Beast wrinkled its nose, its enormous eyes revealing intense hostility. "How can a master teacher possess the techniques of a witch soul master? Tell me, who exactly are you?"

"Witch soul master? You must be mistaken..." Zhang Xuan was stunned for a moment, then quickly chuckled.

The profession of witch soul master had been lost for tens of thousands of years. When he had quietly used its techniques before, even master teachers couldn't detect it. He hadn't expected this Azure Soul Beast to discern it at a glance, leaving him somewhat taken aback.

However, like poison masters, witch soul masters were not honorable professionals and were greatly feared by master teachers. To avoid trouble, it was better not to admit it.

"Stop quibbling! I've personally seen witch soul masters and know their methods..." Hearing him deny it, the Azure Soul Beast raised an eyebrow, and then an overwhelming surge of soul power descended upon Zhang Xuan, seemingly intending to tear him to shreds.

"I merely have a naturally strong soul; I am not a witch soul master!" Zhang Xuan smiled.

The opponent's soul power was like a mountain, exerting immense crushing force. Anyone who hadn't reached the Primordial Spirit realm would surely find it hard to resist. But to him, it was nothing.

"Witch soul masters can survive with their souls separated from their bodies; I'll know if you are one after I kill you..." Seeing that its soul attack had no effect on the young man, the Azure Soul Beast snorted coldly again. With another roar, its body suddenly expanded, and its thick, sharp claws shot straight towards him.

Rip! The claws carried a whistling wind, and even before they arrived, they gave off a tearing sensation, as if intending to rip a person in half.

"Hmm?" Zhang Xuan frowned, displeased that this creature attacked without a word, and with lethal intent. He swayed and retreated a few steps, just managing to evade the opponent's assault.

Over the past three days, he had visited all ten halls of the Combat Master Hall, read all the books within, and formed several sets of Heaven's Path Divine Art techniques, completely addressing the shortcomings in his previous cultivation.

Whether it was his punching power, palm power, or defense, everything had greatly improved, reaching an incredible realm.

Three days ago, at most he could fight a Primordial Spirit realm expert to a draw, and the opponent couldn't harm him. Now, at his current realm, he was already invincible.

In other words, anyone who hadn't reached the Half-Step Out-of-Body realm was simply no match for him.

His movement technique, in particular, after integrating numerous movement technique manuals, his Walker Without Boundaries' first stage had finally reached the Heaven's Path level, without any flaws.

Zhang Xuan immediately practiced it once. That was why, in the Movement Technique Hall, he was so fast that even the formation's hidden stakes couldn't keep up.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Missing with one claw, the Azure Soul Beast roared again. Its other hoof-claw swiped through the air, and a grand formation seemed to activate around them, instantly sealing the entire passage, making escape impossible.

Whoosh! With the surroundings sealed, it attacked again.

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

His body flickered, appearing beside the Azure Soul Beast in the blink of an eye, and he delivered a hammering punch.

The Azure Soul Beast immediately flew backward, slammed into the ceiling above, and fell heavily, spitting out large mouthfuls of blood.

"So weak?" Zhang Xuan was startled, then recalled the characteristics of this Saint Beast and suddenly understood.

The Azure Soul Beast specialized in soul attacks; its physical defense and strength were only average. It simply couldn't withstand his Heaven's Path Fist Art.

Just one hit, and it was severely injured.

"I hit too hard..." Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Although the opponent wanted to kill him, it was only because it thought he was a witch soul master, not because it was bloodthirsty.

It was rather embarrassing to inflict such severe injuries with a single strike.

"Never mind, I'll figure out a way to save it..." Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan walked forward.

"Hall Master, it shouldn't be as exaggerated as you say. The Azure Soul Beast has a gentle temperament; it's only responsible for assessing soul strength. It shouldn't conflict with Master Sun!" Hall Master Liao chuckled as they walked.

The Azure Soul Beast was the Saint Beast responsible for the Soul Hall's assessment. Although it would use demonic music and soul pressure to make it difficult for examinees to pass, its personality was generally good, and it rarely did anything out of line.

Furthermore, Master Sun was only here for an assessment. How could he possibly argue with it?

"I hope so too. You know how much it cost to invite the Azure Soul Beast here. I'm really afraid of something going wrong..." Hall Master Xing replied with a bitter smile.

He also hoped nothing would happen. However, this Master Sun was too extraordinary; every time he challenged a trial, he either broke a record or caused a stir. He was truly worried that Master Sun and the Azure Soul Beast would get into a fight over a disagreement.

Any injury to either of them would be a loss for the Combat 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 immediately saw the enormous Azure Soul Beast lying on the ground, tongue lolling out, mouth covered in blood, like a pile of mud.

"Master Sun, what happened here...?" The very thing he had worried about had come true. Hall Master Xing's face twitched, and he felt like crying.

"Huh?" Zhang Xuan was surprised to see them, then turned around, looking embarrassed. "Why are you all here?"

"We were worried you might clash with the Azure Soul Beast. It's only responsible for the assessment and shouldn't have deliberately targeted you. How did a fight actually break out...?" Hall Master Xing said anxiously.

It was truly a case of 'speaking of the devil.' He had rushed over, thinking he could prevent anything from happening, but it had happened nonetheless.

And judging by the Azure Soul Beast's condition, it had been badly beaten and would be difficult to recover from quickly.

"If it were just an assessment, then fine..." Seeing them speak up for the creature, Zhang Xuan waved his hands, about to explain what had just happened, when he saw the Azure Soul Beast behind him suddenly lift its enormous head again and let out an urgent cry.

"Hall Master Xing, don't believe him, he's a wi—" Before it could finish its sentence, the young man not far away swiftly turned around and kicked it in the face.

Its voice instantly caught in its throat. The Azure Soul Beast's massive body flew backward, landing tens of meters away. The hard ground, upon impact, developed a large network of cracks.

Its teeth scattered across the floor, and its head tilted, as it fell unconscious.

"Master Sun..." They hadn't expected the young man to kick the Azure Soul Beast flying right in front of them. Hall Master Xing and the others looked on in dismay, then saw the young man turn around with a helpless expression, spreading his hands and shrugging his shoulders.

"What if I told you... it attacked me first... would you believe me?"

Hall Master Xing: "..."Hall Master Liao: "..."Elder Qi: "..."