110:

  Xiao Feng had not expected the familiar college campus and its lush lawns that made up his soul space to abruptly vanish like that. Beast Master Zen had certainly not mentioned anything about such a phenomenon, though it was entirely possible that the experience of forming a true bond was unique for every duo of cultivator and beast.

  Now that it was gone, Xiao Feng understood why the college campus had made up the majority of his soul space to begin with. It was so reassuring to have access to a piece of home, a part of the world he had left behind, open for him to access at any time he wished to— for it resided in his own heart and soul. Even if it was just a recreation from his memories, even if the real college campus had likely undergone changes by now, even if time had continued on with its march and the world of Earth, his country, his city had continued to march onwards without him— it had still meant more to him that he could express with mere words alone.

  Xiao Feng had constantly tried to think of the things he had gained since he had arrived in the realm of Sephari, because he was terrified of looking back at what he’d lost, worried that he would never be able to pull away his gaze from the sight. In the endless expanse of white, Xiao Feng felt raw, as if a bandage had been ripped off from a wound he was desperately trying to conceal.

  Taking a deep breath in an effort to calm himself, Xiao Feng tried to distract himself by sweeping his gaze across the expanse of white, looking for his predecessor.

  He found his predecessor sitting cross-legged upon the white landscape, his eyes closed in meditation. Xiao Feng blinked once to make sure that he was seeing right, having gotten the distraction he was hoping for.

  For in a small patch of land around the predecessor, was the only exception to the white landscape’s infinite expanse, as broken, rusted, chipped or otherwise cracked swords, jians, spear shafts, arrows and axes of various lengths were half-buried in a patch of dried, yellowing grass, ensconcing his predecessor from every direction in a roughly circular encirclement.

  Before Xiao Feng could pull away his gaze, his predecessor opened his eyes and met his.

  “Interesting, is it not?” His predecessor asked. “Before my defeat, I had no knowledge on entering the soul space and neither was any imparted to me. And when I finally did discover this realm, your soul vastly overpowered my own grievously injured one, so I never got to see what my own soul space’s appearance was. Until now, that is.”

  Xiao Feng’s eyes widened in realization as he immediately understood the problem. His own soul space had been occluding his predecessor’s manifestation and only when it had vanished for some mysterious reason could his predecessor’s finally reveal itself. But it was not that understanding that shocked him, but rather, it was the juxtaposition between his own soul space and his predecessor’s.

  If the entire college campus represented the health of Xiao Feng’s soul, then compared to it, his predecessor who possessed a soul space that was merely a dozen or so steps in length, well, to know that his predecessor had been grievously injured was one thing, but to see the depth of the injury being represented in such clarity was another.

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  Just how vicious was the attack unleashed upon him and how in the world is he still holding his soul together? Xiao Feng could not help but think along such a direction, recalling that his predecessor had never once ranted or even complained about the condition the attack had left him in, merely alluding to it now and then as an assessment, as if it was a simple fact of life. Just how strong is his will? Instead of being crushed by despair, he is working with me to find his way back to his former strength. I’ve seen most of his memories, I know he has worries like I do, he has his insecurities and he too knows the taste of fear. But his reaction is completely different from what mine would’ve been in his circumstances.

  “Learn something?” Xiao Feng asked, not having missed out on how unique his predecessor’s soul space was. Xiao Feng’s soul space represented a home that he had been torn away from, what made him unique in the world of cultivation and what defined his identity and decisions above all else.

  But Xiao Feng didn’t think a decaying battlefield full of rusted and shattered blades was what made his predecessor himself, what made him unique in the world of cultivation. If anything, he was a solitary, rough blade that had not been crafted by the finest of blacksmiths, but it was a blade that refused to shatter even when pitted against much sharper, much finer and much deadlier blades.

  There was something up with his soul space.

  “Not yet,” His predecessor replied, his gaze sharp as he assessed Xiao Feng. “But it is trying to tell me something. A story. Or perhaps a song.”

  Xiao Feng nodded, his intrigue only going, but he withheld any further questions for now— he had something far more important to do right now.

  “What happened in there?” His predecessor asked in his native tongue, the translation effect of the realm of yul seemingly not applying to him. “I could not see anything either time. Before my gaze, you and your spiritual beast just took turns standing in each other’s soul spaces and then they disappeared.”

  “I showed the kit who I was. Really who I was,” Xiao Feng replied honestly. “And she in turn showed me what she thought was important. Though she did literally hatch today,” He explained, his words spoken in a manner that was still the truth. The kit had shown him what she thought was important and she did hatch today— Xiao Feng had not lied, but he hadn’t gone into detail either. Not even his predecessor could predict that a newborn kit could be hiding such tremendous secrets and in truth, Xiao Feng was afraid of revealing them to him; for his predecessor had never shied away from the fact that he was, above all else, a cultivator and he hadn’t been given reason to believe otherwise yet.

  “I see,” His predecessor replied. “Is it over?”

  “Not yet,” Xiao Feng replied, as he turned his gaze to the baby kit.

  If the Realm of Yul’s translation effect did not extend to his predecessor, then it was safe to say that he was not considered part of the intersection of souls at all. So Xiao Feng believed him when his predecessor said that he hadn’t gotten to witness the interactions that had taken place between him and the baby kit and neither should he be able to comprehend the beast tongue.

  Now, the question was, would the baby kit be willing to accept him after what she had seen?

  “So, you now know who I am,” Xiao Feng addressed the baby kit, not being able to hide the nervousness in his tone. Do you still want to go ahead?”

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