"Bang—"
Inside the Mingdu Imperial Palace, the door to Xu Jing's study was forcefully thrown open. Zhongli Wu stood at the entrance, his expression cold and his aura completely unrestrained. The surrounding guards encircled him, their faces filled with fear, trembling slightly.
"Your Majesty, what is the meaning of this?"
Though he addressed Xu Jing as "Your Majesty," there was no trace of respect in Zhongli Wu's tone.
"What is the meaning?" Xu Jing slammed his desk. "The Crown Prince was sent to inspect the borders under your protection, and now his life hangs in the balance. Yet you dare ask me what I mean?"
"That assassin came prepared to die, and I did my utmost to protect him. But imprisoning my Holy Ghost Church disciple without cause—isn't that going too far?"
"Hmph." Xu Jing let out a cold snort. "Your disciple? Who's to say whether they're a disciple of your church or a spy from an enemy nation? How else could the Crown Prince's whereabouts have been exposed?"
"My Holy Ghost Church disciples would never betray us." Zhongli Wu might not be certain of other things, but on this point, he was more confident than anyone. Disciples who had undergone the Spirit Ascension Ceremony would never act against the interests of the Holy Ghost Church.
"Besides, someone close to the Crown Prince launched a sudden attack. Instead of thoroughly investigating the traitors within your court, you suspect my church's members?"
"The people close to the Crown Prince are already under investigation," Xu Jing replied. "But your church's members cannot be spared scrutiny either. I allowed your Holy Ghost Church a place in the Sun Moon Empire to serve us, not to act with impunity."
Zhongli Wu's eyes grew colder, but Xu Jing's words sparked a sudden realization.
Xu Jing didn't seem as enraged as he appeared. Though Xu Tianran was gravely injured, with the Sun Moon Empire's technology, his life could at least be preserved. Xu Jing likely knew that the Holy Ghost Church wasn't responsible for leaking Xu Tianran's whereabouts.
This wasn't an act of anger. Imprisoning someone was a minor move; Xu Jing's true goal was likely to use this as leverage to impose conditions, forcing the Holy Ghost Church to fall under the empire's command.
With this thought, Zhongli Wu's gaze grew even icier. "Xu Jing, don't forget how you ascended to that throne!"
"Insolent!" Xu Jing's voice rose sharply, and a dazzling golden light emanated from his body.
Zhongli Wu didn't back down an inch. The aura of a Super Douluo erupted, causing the entire study to tremble. "I'll say it again: this matter has nothing to do with my church. If any of my disciples are harmed in the slightest, I will hold you accountable to the end."
With a fierce flick of his sleeve, Zhongli Wu turned to leave. The next moment, the furnishings in the study were reduced to dust in a gust of wind.
"Outrageous! Outrageous!" Xu Jing's roars echoed from the study, but Zhongli Wu paid no heed. He grabbed a nearby guard. "Tell me, where are the people you've detained?"
"I-In…"
As the guard stammered, a palace servant hurriedly approached, trembling. "Enshrined Zhongli, please show mercy."
"Who are you?" Zhongli Wu turned sharply, sensing considerable cultivation from this servant.
"This humble one serves His Highness the Crown Prince," the servant said in a low voice. "His Highness has awakened and requests Enshrined Zhongli to visit the Eastern Palace for a discussion."
Zhongli Wu glanced back, then fixed his gaze on the servant.
Xu Jing's earlier behavior, though not explicit, had revealed his stance toward the Holy Ghost Church. After ascending the throne, he was likely already plotting to suppress the threat posed by the church.
As for Xu Tianran, though he had survived, the loss of his legs and the severe reduction in his strength made his position as Crown Prince precarious.
The court was full of opportunists, and in such circumstances, Xu Tianran had few forces he could rely on. So, he turned his attention to the Holy Ghost Church…
Zhongli Wu stood in place, deep in thought, silent for a long time. Finally, he raised his head slowly. "Lead the way."
"Yes, please follow me."
Days passed, and within the imperial prison, Lin Xiao hadn't been subjected to any torture. His storage soul tool had been confiscated, and a pair of golden soul tools now bound his wrists.
At the moment, Lin Xiao leaned against the prison wall, eyes closed.
He wasn't meditating; the soul tools on his wrists blocked his soul power, making meditation impossible.
However, while his soul power was restricted, his mental power was unaffected. Without the interference of soul power, Lin Xiao even felt his mental power flowing more swiftly and under greater control than before.
His consciousness sank into his mental sea. The restriction on his soul power didn't prevent him from connecting with his martial soul. With a slight shift of his mind, a translucent shadow slowly emerged from his brow.
Lin Xiao examined it briefly before summoning another remnant soul. Under the pressure of his mental power, he forced them to draw closer to each other.
Yet, even as they were compressed and deformed, there was no sign of them merging.
As expected, it wasn't that simple.
Though he possessed the ability to attract and control remnant souls, and after days of practice, manipulating them with his mental power had become manageable, taking the next step remained elusive.
With a quiet sigh, Lin Xiao recalled the two shadows and withdrew his mind, turning his attention to the remnant souls he had previously collected.
It seemed he needed to start with their memories.
He had realized that souls and memories were inseparable. These remnant souls carried the memories and partial will of their former selves, which was why, though dead, they seemed to linger in the world.
To progress further, he would need to understand the essence of souls more deeply.
The prison was silent, with only the sound of Lin Xiao's breathing filling the cell. A faint beam of light streamed through the skylight, illuminating half of his face, casting it in a mix of light and shadow.
Strength—it all came down to strength.
Whether it was the Spirit Ascension Ceremony or his current predicament, it was all because of his insufficient strength.
Whether witnessing death or manipulating souls, he would seize every opportunity to grow stronger.
Lin Xiao's eyes snapped open, a glint of cold light flashing within them. The next moment, a scream rang in his ears, and memories flooded his mind.
Raised as an orphan by the imperial family, subjected to rigorous training from childhood, and ultimately tasked with assassinating Xu Tianran… the past experiences of that assassin surfaced in Lin Xiao's mind. He knew these memories were incomplete, and the assassin's will was on the verge of dissipating.
If the memories were no longer whole, he would fill in the gaps. If the will was crumbling, he would forge a new one… Lin Xiao's mental sea churned violently, and the remnant souls he had collected began to vanish one by one. He seemed to be gradually grasping how to craft an entirely new soul.
In stark contrast to the calm soul power within his body, Lin Xiao's mental sea boiled with mental energy. After an unknown amount of time, a translucent shadow emerged once more from his brow.
In his ears, it seemed a newly born will was softly calling out.