The Second Palace Master looked at the slightly downcast Xiao Chen and said, “Don’t be too disappointed. You are not a cultivator specializing in Soul Energy, so you don’t have to learn too much. However, it is truly somewhat of a pity that you did not specialize in Soul Energy with your talent.”
Specialize in Soul Energy?
Xiao Chen had never considered it. As far as Soul Energy went, he only used it as a supplement, so he would not end up flustered if he met with a Soul Energy expert.
“How horrifyingly strong are Soul Energy experts?” Xiao Chen asked.
After some thought, the Second Palace Master replied, “That is hard to say. The Soul Dao is equally vast and deep. The strongest experts I have seen have even trained their will clones to be as strong as the main body. These are known as soul bodies. Compared to the cultivation of the main body, they have some advantages that the physical body does not have and are exceptionally hard to deal with.
“There are also people who can merge their Soul Energy into their Eye Techniques. With one look, they can force their target’s soul into a deep trap, restraining the soul. The scariest ones are from the Demonic Dao sects. The ghost pennants they refine are extremely evil…”
The Second Palace Master spoke about many things, widening Xiao Chen’s horizons. The Central Great Realm’s Soul Dao experts were truly hidden talents.
The Soul Dao was much more challenging to cultivate; hence, Soul Dao cultivators were even rarer than physical body cultivators. However, one would be exceptionally horrifyingly strong when they became accomplished.
“Second Palace Master, can you let me experience a Soul Energy attack?”
Xiao Chen was raring to try, wanting to see how strong the powerful Second Palace Master’s will of soul was.
Second Palace Master Jue Yang thought for a while before saying, “Alright, that’s a good thing. I’ll restrict my cultivation to the Holy Light Stage and use my Soul Energy Martial Techniques to attack you. This way, we can test out how you use the Sun and Moon Shining Together to defend against my Soul Technique attack.”
Right after Jue Yang spoke, Xiao Chen suddenly felt him emanating a terrifying will of soul.
“Whoosh!”
Xiao Chen turned into a lightning bolt and quickly dodged, practically purely on instinct.
After Xiao Chen landed, he was somewhat horrified to discover that his afterimage had a sharp short spear stabbing into it. The short spear was formed from Soul Energy and looked solid. If it struck, it would riddle one’s soul with holes.
“Boom!”
Before Xiao Chen could even let out a sigh, the Second Palace Master’s will of soul turned into a painting of mountains and rivers and spread out.
Instantly, Xiao Chen suffered from many restrictions within this will of soul. The efficiency of his Movement Technique and Veritable Essence Energy declined by more than half.
The Second Palace Master’s hand grabbed gently, and a dragon claw made by Soul Energy clutched at Xiao Chen.
Due to the restriction on Xiao Chen’s Movement Techniques, he only managed to dodge for a moment before carelessly getting caught.
Just then, Xiao Chen felt like a piece of his soul was sliced off, an unbearable pain.
In several instances, Xiao Chen wanted to bring his Holy Venerate Will out. However, the Second Palace Master’s Soul Techniques rained down at him at every moment in a relentless assault.
This forced Xiao Chen to focus on evasion, preventing him from bringing out his Holy Venerate Will.
“Whoosh!”
Suddenly, the pressure on Xiao Chen decreased.
Just as he felt confused, a dragon soul descended from the sky, charging at him with vast Dragon Might.
This pressure reached the depths of Xiao Chen’s soul. His body could not move at all. His soul felt suppressed.
Xiao Chen was terrified. If he allowed this dragon soul to come down, it would swallow up his soul.
Sun and Moon Shining Together!
At the crucial moment of life and death, Xiao Chen erupted with unprecedented potential under the immense pressure.
A bright moon and a blazing sun soared into the sky at the same time, hanging high in the air.
In the next moment, the light of the sun and the moon entered Xiao Chen’s body, which immediately flickered with light. Day and night cycled continuously.
“Bang!”
The dragon soul crashed into Xiao Chen’s body and exploded with powerful shock waves. The entire dragon soul shattered, but his soul suffered only some light injuries.
“Very good. As long as you can bring out the light of the sun and the moon before this pressure, you will be able to protect yourself, even against a Sovereign Personage’s will of soul,” Second Palace Master Jue Yang said with a faint smile after the shock waves dissipated.
Xiao Chen panted slightly. He felt that the Second Palace Master had not gone all out, yet he was already in a sorry state.
This truly felt somewhat embarrassing. Xiao Chen did not dare to accept such praise.
“Second Palace Master, many thanks for the pointers.”
Jue Yang smiled faintly and left. Then, the First Palace Master’s figure slowly appeared before Xiao Chen.
The First Palace Master looked at Xiao Chen and said, “This is truly surprising. How did you control the light of the sun and the moon? Originally, I thought that you would take at least three months to achieve free control of it. Unexpectedly, you managed to grasp it and use it in practical combat in less than half a day.”
“First Palace Master is overpraising me.”
The First Palace Master shook his head and said, “I am not overpraising you. You just lack some accumulations. If you had been cultivating in a large sect of the Central Great Realm from childhood, you would have been famous long ago. However, that is still possible now. Sooner or later, your fame will spread all over the northern region, even the entire Central Great Realm.”
The First Palace Master clearly thought highly of Xiao Chen. He continued, “I heard that Jue Yang brought you to see that person in the Starry Heavens Dragon Prison. It seems that he had new comprehensions regarding the Supreme Dragon Fist.”
Xiao Chen nodded and said, “Yes. He had new understandings of what it means to be supreme. It involves many things that I do not understand.”
After that, Xiao Chen told the First Palace Master everything he had seen and heard at the Starry Heavens Dragon Prison.
The First Palace Master said somewhat ruefully, “There is no way to prevent him from furthering his understanding of this world even when imprisoned. However, you don’t need to bother with all that for now. Your Supreme Dragon Fist has not reached that level yet.”
“Right.”
“In the future, you will find that some of the mysteries within the Supreme Dragon First will be easier to understand as a Heavenly Dragon.”
The First Palace Master said, “Let me teach you about Firmament’s Rage first. Show me your Firmament’s Rage.”
Xiao Chen nodded and smashed down with a stretched-out hand. Immediately, the rage of a Great Desolate Eon Ancestor Dragon covered the sky.
A humongous burning hand with knife-like fingers covered the sky and sun, flickering with resplendent electric light and icy saber light. It gave off a vast might and pressure, feeling incredibly horrifying.
After observing for a while, the First Palace Master said, “Alright, that’s enough.”
Xiao Chen retracted his hand, and the Firmament’s Rage flew off into the distance, crushing a mountain peak. Then, he quietly waited for the First Palace Master’s pointers.
Xiao Chen still felt very satisfied with the might of this Firmament’s Rage. That earlier strike had drained only one percent of his energy.
“You have not found the five elemental attributes, right? You are seeking out the Five Element Divine Lightning?”
The First Palace Master could tell that the second stage of Xiao Chen’s Firmament’s Rage had already reached perfection and could begin infusing the energy of the five elements.
Xiao Chen nodded. “The Five Element Divine Lightning is very compatible with my Thunder Great Dao and is also a peak five-elemental energy. It was the most suitable for fusing into my Firmament’s Rage.”
“However, this Five Element Divine Lightning is not easy to find. Furthermore, many experts want it. I will keep an eye out for you. When news of a Five Element Divine Lightning appears, I will immediately inform you.”
“Many thanks, First Palace Master.”
“You are too polite. For now, your Firmament’s Rage does not require much advice. You have already grasped the state and mysteries behind it. All you lack is variation.”
Feeling curious, Xiao Chen said, “How so?”
“Like this!”
The First Palace Master stepped forward and smashed his hand down. Then, his palm turned into a claw as he swiped down.
The First Palace Master instantly executed Firmament’s Rage. Before Xiao Chen could react, he felt the horrifying rage of a Great Desolate Eon Ancestor Dragon encasing him. Boundless sword Qi assaulted his body. If he made a rash move, this rage would consume his physical body, and the sword Qi would tear him to shreds.
What was even scarier was that the First Palace Master’s five fingers had already grasped Xiao Chen’s head. However, he contained the Firmament’s Rage and did not unleash it.
The wind was light, and the clouds were calm. The First Palace Master already had complete control over the release of the rage.
This was unlike Xiao Chen, who could not control the Great Desolate Eon Ancestor Dragon’s rage. Once he executed Firmament’s Rage, he had to vent the rage quickly. Otherwise, that rage would cause him to explode.
“Whoosh!”
The First Palace Master pulled his hand back. Xiao Chen felt sweat pouring off his head. He released his bated breath as horror flashed in his eyes.
Xiao Chen had never thought that Firmament’s Rage could be executed that way.
There was no shocking and overwhelming aura or rage spreading in the sky, simply casual execution.
Moreover, Xiao Chen was certain that the First Palace Master had not brought out even thirty percent of his Firmament’s Rage’s might.
“What do you think?”
“It is a great eye-opener, truly incredible. I am ashamed of myself.” Xiao Chen answered honestly, not exaggerating anything.
The First Palace Master smiled and said, “This is the result of my hundreds of years of comprehension. Of course, you are not comparable. There is no need to feel ashamed. Speaking of which, I am the one who should be ashamed. Back then, I took an entire year to practice the second stage. Even so, my master already praised me to the skies, saying that I was a rare genius of the Heavenly Dragon Palace, one that shows up only once every thousand years.”
As the First Palace Master reminisced, he had a somewhat sorrowful expression. Then, he said seriously, “Come, I’ll teach you how to vary it.
“First is to control the rage, containing it but not unleashing it. Rage but do not show it. Finally, you will reach a level where you show your might without the rage.”
The First Palace Master was very patient, repeatedly coaching Xiao Chen on how to control the rage.
This was a very dry process. On seeing Xiao Chen patiently learning, the First Palace Master was delighted and smiled with satisfaction.
“Next is condensing the Firmament’s Rage. There is no need for it to make the skies rage. Isn’t it better if your rage is what shakes the skies? Right?
“Good, that’s the way. Withdraw the rage. Take it step by step. There is no need to rush. Ah…failed. Don’t rush. Again, again. Watch how I do it.”
It was difficult to imagine that a person who practiced Firmament’s Rage to such a level could have such a good temper, patiently giving pointers, guiding another through every step. Even Xiao Chen felt somewhat embarrassed.
Xiao Chen felt that he was too stupid. With such detailed guidance, he still could not learn it.
Focus! Focus! Focus! Xiao Chen repeatedly told himself. He showed a serious expression, not daring to get distracted.
“Try it again. Control the rage. Good, that’s the way. Don’t rush. Don’t show the rage. That’s right, very good. Condense the Ancestor Dragon’s rage, as well as the Thunder Dao and the Saber Dao, into your hand.”
Soon, the First Palace Master stopped speaking. Xiao Chen became utterly immersed in the process, reaching the point where he forgot about everything else.
Then, Xiao Chen suddenly raised his hand and bent his fingers, forming a claw as he nimbly moved his hand.
“Boom!”
A tyranny that looked down on the world appeared in Xiao Chen’s eyes. With this gentle swipe, the firmament trembled.
“Success!” The First Palace Master’s voice rang out once more. He beamed with gratification, appearing entirely satisfied.