Chapter 1153: You Want Me to Hit Who?

Hall Master Xing and the others were completely exasperated.

"We saw with our own eyes, you kicked the Azure Soul Beast in the face, nearly kicking it to death... And now you're claiming... it attacked first! Could you be any more ridiculous? How exactly did it offend you, to deserve such a beating?"

"Master Sun... if the Azure Soul Beast did anything wrong, please forgive it. It was brought to the Combat Master Hall at a huge cost... if anything happens to it, the Soul Hall will have great difficulty operating..." Utterly resigned, Hall Master Xing explained. *You're a super genius, why are you arguing with a beast...?*

"Uh..." Seeing that the other party clearly didn't believe the Azure Soul Beast had attacked first, Zhang Xuan knew further explanation was useless. He immediately shook his head and said, "Never mind, I'll treat it..."

"Treat? Our Combat Master Hall has the best healing medicines. I can just notify them to come over..." Hall Master Xing said, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw Zhang Xuan was no longer hostile.

"Medicinal treatment is quite troublesome; I'll handle it myself!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand, "Don't worry, I'm also a physician. A healer's heart is like a parent's heart!"

"Haha, I almost forgot, Master Sun is also an impressive physician..." Hall Master Xing suddenly realized this and couldn't help but smile. This person before him could even cure Elder Qi's potent poison, so healing the Azure Soul Beast's injuries was naturally no problem.

"Indeed, Master Sun's medical skills are profound. The Azure Soul Beast's injuries are merely superficial, nothing serious..." Elder Qi also nodded, "Let's all witness how Master Sun performs the treatment..."

As he spoke, he smiled and looked over. Before he had even finished his sentence, he saw the young man walk up to the Azure Soul Beast and kick it once more. The Azure Soul Beast was kicked into the air, flying straight upwards.

Elder Qi, Hall Master Xing, and Palace Master Liao were dumbfounded. *Didn't he say a healer's heart is like a parent's heart? Didn't he say he was a physician and would heal it faster? Is this how one treats?* All three were on the verge of tears.

"Master Sun... what exactly are you trying to do..." Unable to restrain himself any longer, Hall Master Xing rushed forward, grabbed the young man who was happily kicking, and asked directly. If not for the fact that the young man was his benefactor and had made enormous contributions to the Combat Master Hall, he probably would have slapped him already.

Pulled back by him, Zhang Xuan had no choice but to stop. The Azure Soul Beast fell to the ground and looked over with an angry expression: "Hall Master Xing, get out of the way..."

"Huh?" Hall Master Xing was stunned. Before he could even ask what was going on, he saw this sacred beast, which they had brought in at immense cost, shamelessly approach Zhang Xuan: "Master Sun, Brother Sun, Grandfather Sun, could you kick me a few more times? As long as you kick me, I'll even acknowledge you as my master..."

"..." Hall Master Xing, Elder Qi, Palace Master Liao. They had been afraid the sacred beast would leave the Combat Master Hall in a fit of anger, which was why they had tried to intervene. Unexpectedly, this fellow actually enjoyed being abused... *Just kick you... and it's willing to become a master's beast...? Damn it, when we first invited you, you acted so arrogant and pompous, so why are you so groveling now? Are those skilled in souls all so perverse?*

*Wait, if it acknowledges me as its master, the Combat Master Hall won't have to worry about it leaving at any time...*

"Cough, cough, Azure Soul Beast, how about this: acknowledge me as your master, and I'll kick you..." After a moment of thought, Hall Master Xing stepped forward and spoke with righteous conviction.

"..." The Azure Soul Beast.

"..." Zhang Xuan.

"Now, are you sure about my identity, that I'm not a Soul Oracle?" Zhang Xuan turned to look at the sacred beast.

"Uh... no!" The Azure Soul Beast said, a corner of its mouth twitching. It felt that if it dared to say the other party was a Soul Oracle again, it would be beaten to death on the spot.

"A Soul Oracle? What Soul Oracle?" Hearing the conversation, Hall Master Xing looked over.

"Oh, it thought my soul was powerful and that I was a Soul Oracle, so it attacked me..." Zhang Xuan said.

"A Soul Oracle?" Hall Master Xing shook his head and looked at the sacred beast before him, "It seems you really misunderstood. The reason Master Sun's soul is powerful is because... he's a formidable Soul Imparter! He even healed my severely wounded primality spirit!"

"A Soul Imparter?" The Azure Soul Beast was stunned for a moment, then realized, looking utterly embarrassed. Soul Imparters are also very proficient with souls; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to imbue souls into weapons or help cultivators stabilize their primality spirits. It had actually mistaken a Soul Imparter for a Soul Oracle and even launched an attack...

"You just said you've seen a Soul Oracle, isn't that profession long extinct?" Seeing that the beast was no longer suspicious, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and asked. He had personally witnessed the methods of Soul Oracles. Could it be that, besides Mo Hunsheng, there were other Soul Oracles who had survived from ancient times?

"Yes, when I was traveling around back then, I encountered a Soul Oracle. Their methods were extremely powerful; they could devour others' souls to enhance their own strength, eerie and unpredictable! My friend was devoured, and I only managed to escape by relying on my powerful soul energy... That's why, whenever I see someone with a powerful soul, I get a bit overly agitated..." The Azure Soul Beast said.

Zhang Xuan frowned. Soul Oracle techniques were extremely complex, and indeed there were methods to devour others' souls to increase one's own soul energy. However, such methods were vicious, and he had never learned them.

"Where did you encounter them?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Jibei Marsh..." The Azure Soul Beast thought for a moment and replied.

"Jibei?" Zhang Xuan was puzzled: "Could it be related to the Ruthless One?" Previously, Cang Xu had tried to kill him, and through Cang Xu's memories, Zhang Xuan knew that another clone of the Ruthless One was hidden in Jibei Marsh. Now this beast claimed to have met a Soul Oracle there as well. Could there be a connection?

"There's a Soul Oracle in Jibei Marsh? Why have you never mentioned it?" Hall Master Xing's expression also darkened. The responsibility of Combat Masters was not only to deal with the Spirit Devourer tribe but, more importantly, to maintain the safety of humanity. If a Soul Oracle capable of devouring souls appeared, they had an inescapable duty to eradicate it.

"I wanted to mention it, but unfortunately... the Combat Master Hall had no one with a soul strong enough to contend with it. If I had truly told you, it would have resulted in the loss of even more Combat Masters!" the Azure Soul Beast said.

"This..." Hall Master Xing's face flushed. It was clear that the other party didn't believe in the strength of their Combat Master Hall.

"Hall Master, there's no need to feel embarrassed. Soul Oracle techniques are eerie and unpredictable, not as simple as one imagines. Without precautions, let alone ordinary Combat Masters, even you would suffer a great loss if you went. The reason I agreed to come to your Soul Hall back then was twofold: first, to train Combat Masters and temper their souls; and second, to train myself, hoping that one day I could personally exact my revenge!" As it spoke, intense hatred gleamed in the Azure Soul Beast's eyes.

Seeing its appearance, Hall Master Xing finally understood and nodded. No wonder the Azure Soul Beast had never cared about compensation over the years; it turned out it wanted to increase its soul energy to personally find the killer who murdered its friend back then.

"Could you describe the situation back then in detail? If the other party truly is a Soul Oracle, I might be able to help!" Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment before saying this. His Soul Oracle cultivation had reached a point where he no longer had Heavenly Dao cultivation techniques, making it impossible to advance further; he needed to find new methods. Furthermore, if it was related to the Ruthless One, he needed to investigate even more.

"Master Sun's soul energy is so powerful that even I can't resist it. If you could help, that would be for the best..." Hearing him say this, the Azure Soul Beast's eyes lit up. Over the years, it had tested many Combat Masters, but none were satisfactory. Although the person before it wasn't old, his soul energy was so powerful that it wasn't even his match. If they were to truly confront that individual, there might indeed be a chance to win.

"My companion was a Qingyi Beast. Its cultivation was the same as mine, also reaching the Primordial Spirit realm. We heard that Jibei Marsh had Floating Soul Flowers, which could greatly increase one's soul energy after consumption, so we went there together. After experiencing many things, and before we even found the Floating Soul Flower, we encountered that Soul Oracle. We fought, and he couldn't defeat us, so he turned and fled. Who knew that in the middle of the night, he attacked us in soul form? He shouted my companion's name, and its soul was immediately extracted from its body, then captured and devoured. I tried many methods, but I couldn't save it... Immediately after, he came for my soul. Fortunately, I was naturally skilled in soul energy, which is how I managed to preserve myself and escape successfully... Otherwise, I would probably have already perished somewhere and never returned!" Recalling the scene at that time, the Azure Soul Beast still found it terrifying. It was skilled in souls and knew the horror of soul experts. They could be said to be all-pervasive, even capable of drawing away someone's soul in their sleep, making them impossible to guard against.

"Its soul was extracted from its body just by being called out?" Zhang Xuan frowned. The inheritance he had received from Mo Hunsheng didn't include such bizarre attack methods.

"Yes, as long as they knew your name and called it out, your soul would be immediately extracted, and resistance would be useless... It's extremely terrifying!" The Azure Soul Beast nodded.

"Soul Oracles are indeed difficult to defend against..." Recalling the many techniques he knew, Zhang Xuan nodded. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Palace Master Wei hurry over.

"Hall Master, they're here..."

"They're here?" Hall Master Xing nodded. "Master Sun, let's discuss this matter later. The big trouble I mentioned to you earlier has arrived..."

"I was just wondering who would dare to cause trouble for the Combat Master Hall. I'll go beat them until they're spitting teeth right now..." Zhang Xuan nodded, knowing it wasn't the time for detailed questions. He followed behind the Hall Master and walked out.

After leaving the Soul Hall, they soon arrived at a vast plaza. Before they even got close, an excited shout rang out.

"Teacher, we've been looking for you everywhere... you're already here!" Turning his head, he saw Wang Ying and Zheng Yang hurrying over to greet him. Behind them, countless members of the Xuanxuan Society were neatly lined up. Upon seeing him, they uniformly cupped their fists and exclaimed, "President!"

"Mm, it's good that you're here. I happen to be about to spar with a powerful expert, so you can take this opportunity to observe!" Zhang Xuan nodded. He had originally been thinking of asking Hall Master Xing if the Xuanxuan Society members could come and learn, but remembering that the Hall Master was currently preoccupied, he hadn't felt comfortable bringing it up. Now that they were here, there was no need to say anything more.

"A spar? Teacher, who are you sparring with?" Wang Ying asked, puzzled.

"With... wait a moment, let me ask!" Zhang Xuan was startled for a moment, then turned to look at Hall Master Xing behind him and grinned, "Hall Master, which one is the big trouble? Who do you want me to beat up?"