Chapter 592: Awakening

Inside the black tower, the ethereal glow on the Armor flickered like never before, and within this flicker, there was even a hint of fear—something that had almost never happened throughout countless years!

"That palm print… it's him!! Could this person be related to him… he… could he also have come here!!" Intense panic filled his Divine Thought.

Originally, with his composure, his mind would never have shown such panic. However, the figure of that person in his heart was too terrifying, too dreadful, to the point that even with his cultivation, just remembering it now made his heart tremble!

"Although this person's palm print has many deviations, it is seventy percent similar to that person's Divine Ability… This… is it a coincidence, or…"

"Wang Lin!!!" A thunderous roar echoed from the sky. It was one person's shout, but also the soul's cry of over a hundred million souls fused together!

This sound rumbled through, creating a series of sonic booms that changed the color of the heavens and earth, as if only this single sound remained reverberating.

Wang Lin's Primordial Spirit, which had been invaded by the Immortal Ascension Fruit, actually gained a trace of clarity under this sound. Although his eyes were still filled with monstrous red light, at this moment, a rare hint of lucidity appeared.

He turned around and looked behind him. A black cloud, dense and roaring, swept across the horizon. This black cloud was composed of countless souls, each brimming with Soul Power, emitting terrifying fluctuations as they roared.

Beneath this black cloud, a young man in black robes stepped through the Void Realm. This person had an ordinary appearance, but a strong hatred surged in his eyes. He stared at Wang Lin, gritting his teeth and shouting, "Wang Lin, do you still recognize me?"

A clear look appeared in Wang Lin's eyes. He looked at the person and said in a low voice, "Hu Pao."

"You still recognize me! Wang Lin, today, I will personally kill you!" Hu Pao laughed maniacally. Amidst his laughter, the soul cloud above him trembled, and an immense pressure emanated from the countless souls, enveloping the heavens and earth.

"Wang Lin, you never expected this, did you? That I, Hu Pao, would have this day. Back then, you were an irresistibly powerful existence in my heart, but now, in my eyes, you are like an ant!!" Hu Pao stared at Wang Lin, fully venting the resentment he had harbored for over a decade. He wasn't in a hurry to attack; he wanted to vent!

"Indeed, I didn't expect it," Wang Lin's voice remained calm.

"You abandoned me and Shi San back then. Do you know how much we suffered? Especially me, whose Meridians were crushed and bones broken by that Commander.

In that Black Prison, I endured endless torment and humiliation. Where were you then??

When I called out countless times, hoping you would come to save me, where were you?? In your eyes, Shi San and I were nothing but pawns. It's laughable that Shi San is still in the dark, unaware of your true face!"

Hu Pao screamed frantically. The hundred million souls above him seemed to sense his agitation and roared in response.

"Fortunately, heaven had eyes and did not let me die, but gave me a new life, allowing me to meet my master. Here, my Soul Refining Technique reached Major Achievement. I Cultivated daily, accumulating hundreds of millions of souls. Today, in my eyes, you are destined to die! However, I won't kill you so easily. I will Seal your soul in your Physical Body, throw you into the most brutal Black Prison in the Nine Counties of the World, and let you endure humiliation there without being able to seek death!

Then, I will extract your soul and keep you alone in a Soul Banner, tormenting you every day!"

Hu Pao stared venomously at Wang Lin, a sneer flashing in his eyes, and added, "Did you ever think that one day, someone would use the Divine Ability you taught them to kill you? I wonder if you've ever tasted the flavor of a hundred million souls devouring the body!"

"After I collect your soul, I'll return to the Soul Refining Tribe and turn everyone there into souls!" Hu Pao's body trembled, a tremble caused by excitement. He burst into maniacal laughter.

"You, you really hate me this much," Wang Lin said slowly after a long silence.

"Hate? Of course I hate you. I, Hu Pao, will never be ordinary in this life. With this Soul Refining Technique and these hundreds of millions of souls, I will definitely stand at the Peak of the Demon Spirit Land. You are simply unworthy of being my master, even if you once were! You must die!"

Arrogant laughter came from Hu Pao's mouth. At this moment, he indeed had the right to be arrogant; with hundreds of millions of souls, his power was immense!

Especially since these hundreds of millions of souls were almost all Heroic Souls from this Ancient Battlefield. Their cultivation before death was not weak, and there were even some Demon Commander-level souls among them, making it even more terrifying!

"With this Soul Banner in hand, who can stop me besides the master who saved my life? No one can stop me! One hundred million souls is nothing; my goal is one billion, ten billion! I want the Demon Spirit Land to have a Tenth County from now on, and the first Demon Emperor of this Tenth County will be me, Hu Pao!!!"

Wang Lin quietly watched Hu Pao and slowly said, "So, you want to kill me, and hatred only accounts for half of it. The other half is that you want to kill everyone in this world who knows the Soul Refining Technique, so that no one else will use the same Divine Ability as you and compete with you for souls… right?"

Hu Pao stared at Wang Lin and gave a sinister laugh, "As expected of my former master. That's right, you treated me as a pawn and taught me the Soul Refining Technique. Even if I hated you for this, it wouldn't be so much. But in that Black Prison, I realized, why should you be my master? Why should others, who dislike you, take their anger out on me? Is it just because you are powerful? What if I become even more powerful in the future!

So, from the moment I was saved, I swore that I would become stronger, surpass you, and then kill you!"

Wang Lin shook his head slightly, looked closely at Hu Pao, and said, "In just over ten years, to Cultivate to your level, this is something I, Wang, have never seen in my life. Even the 'Heaven's Chosen Daughter' from back then couldn't compare to you in this aspect.

Originally, I, Wang, was a bit puzzled. Although your Aptitude is excellent, even stronger than Hong Die, whom I met back then, it's impossible to Cultivate to this level in just over a decade, let alone contain and control so many souls. But now, I understand the reason for all of this! You must have Cultivated a Cultivation Technique that stimulates potential and life. You will reach a Peak in a very short time, but the duration of this Peak will definitely be very short, probably not even exceeding a single day…"

"Shut up!" Hu Pao's face twisted in a ferocious grimace. He pointed to the sky with his right hand, and immediately, a black mist separated from the soul cloud, transforming into millions of souls. Under Hu Pao's指, they roared directly towards Wang Lin.

"Let me show you first what a million souls look like. You've probably never seen a million souls in your life, have you!" Hu Pao laughed wildly.

The conversation between the two was heard clearly by Xu Ligou inside the Immortal Sword. He watched Hu Pao from within the Immortal Sword, disdainfully thinking, "This brat doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth. Your Grandpa Xu has rebelled many times without success. If you succeed, I'll change my surname from Xu to Hu, and be called Hu Ligou!

Rebellion is a very terrifying thing; it requires brains, especially rebelling against this Star of Calamity. How could it be as simple as you think!"

Wang Lin looked up quietly at the sky. Millions of souls transformed into a black mist, roaring towards him. He hadn't seen this scene in a long time. This dense mass of souls, each ferocious and roaring, seemed unwilling to give up until they completely devoured him, madly rushing towards Wang Lin.

Wang Lin sighed softly, extended his right hand, and pressed it towards the sky. In his palm, a rune flickered.

The millions of souls, at the moment of swallowing, suddenly paused in unison, all staring at the rune, motionless. This scene was so bizarre that Hu Pao was momentarily stunned.

"The Soul Refining Technique is not used like this!" Wang Lin said softly. With a wave of his right hand, in that instant, the eyes of the millions of souls simultaneously showed respect!

In the Divine Sense of these souls, Hu Pao was their master, but after seeing the rune in Wang Lin's hand, they immediately understood that the person before them was the true master!

"This… this is impossible… impossible!!" In Hu Pao's mind, the connection with the millions of souls suddenly vanished completely. Stunned, a ferocious look appeared on his face as he roared, "Hundred Million Soul Devour!"

As these words left his mouth, the endless black clouds in the sky frantically pressed down, and hundreds of millions of souls immediately rushed out. At this moment, the space between heaven and earth seemed to be occupied by souls, without beginning or end!

Hu Pao's face revealed a ferocious expression, as if he saw Wang Lin about to be devoured.

Hundreds of millions of souls roared forth. Wang Lin merely released his Divine Sense from his body, sweeping it around. The flaws left in the Soul Refining Technique back then immediately erupted. Any soul formed by someone who Cultivated the Soul Refining Technique taught by Wang Lin could be absolutely controlled by Wang Lin!

The hundred million souls trembled in unison, and each soul's eyes immediately showed respect, surrounding Wang Lin and forming a black cloud. In contrast, Hu Pao's eyes were now dull; there was no longer a single soul around him.

This drastic difference, this bizarre scene, left Hu Pao's mind completely blank.

"Although your Soul Refining Technique has been modified to allow for more flexible control, the foundation of this Soul Refining Technique, without a true Legacy, without tens of thousands of years of refinement, how could it be easily changed!"

Wang Lin is the direct inheritor of the Soul Refining Technique. The Soul Refining Sect reveres this Soul Banner. Although this technique is not some earth-shattering Divine Ability, it has been researched and refined by countless generations within the Soul Refining Sect for tens of thousands of years. How could it be directly reconstructed by someone in a mere decade or so without any Legacy!

Hu Pao's benefactor couldn't do it. If it were the person in the Armor, perhaps he could, but he wouldn't waste his mental energy on such trivial matters.

"Impossible… how could this be… my benefactor clearly told me that the flaw in this technique had been fixed… why…" Hu Pao's dull eyes suddenly showed madness. He stared at the souls around Wang Lin and shouted loudly, "souls, return quickly!"

His voice was even somewhat hoarse, but the souls around Wang Lin didn't even glance at him, remaining respectfully around Wang Lin!

"souls, return quickly!!" Hu Pao roared frantically, but those souls still lingered around Wang Lin.

Hu Pao was so enraged that he spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood. For over a decade, he had refined souls day and night, and his confidence had gradually inflated. By the time the hundred million souls gathered, he believed he could break through the heavens and had become a strong expert, fully capable of killing Wang Lin and taking his place!

But at this moment, all of it vanished into thin air when facing Wang Lin. Over a decade of hard work was handed over to Wang Lin. This rage burned through his entire body, causing him to almost collapse!

"Wang Lin, I'm going to kill you!!!" Veins bulged on Hu Pao's face, and he completely went insane. At this moment, he seemed even more deranged than Wang Lin after consuming the Immortal Ascension Fruit.

Because there was hope, when that hope was shattered, the disappointment and madness would be even greater!

Wang Lin's eyes showed a complex expression. He waved his right hand, sighed, and said, "You rebelled because of me. I will let you witness the true Divine Ability of the Revered Soul Banner before you die!"

The Revered Soul Banner, with its billion souls, flew out from his Storage Pouch. With a shake, the surrounding hundred million souls immediately trembled and rapidly fused. In the blink of an eye, the hundred million souls transformed into a single soul!

This soul, crystal clear throughout, punched towards Hu Pao from a distance!

As the punch landed, Hu Pao's body trembled, and along with his soul, he was torn into pieces!

Wang Lin sighed softly, waved the Revered Soul Banner with his right hand, and all hundred million souls were collected within it. A clear but struggling look appeared in his eyes. He gazed forward, and from this position, he could see a black tall tower far in the distance.

Below the tower stood an old man, dressed in black Armor, also looking towards him.

Wang Lin's gaze shifted from this person and landed on the black tower. He could feel a strong Devilish Qi emanating from it.

This was true Devilish Qi, distinctly different from the Qi produced by Cultivators who practice demonic arts.

After regaining consciousness, Wang Lin's pupils contracted. This Devilish Qi was very strong, extremely strong, and the person inside the tower was an unparalleled expert. Wang Lin took a deep breath. His Primordial Spirit had not yet fully fused with his Physical Body; it would still take half a month to reach the Realm of Primordial Spirit and Physical Body Unity. Only then would he truly stabilize his Soul Transformation stage.

"The Immortal Ascension Fruit is too overbearing. While resisting that person, it also plunged me into an unprecedented madness…" Wang Lin exhaled, his gaze still fixed forward.

The black-armored old man beneath the tower took a step. With this step, the ground trembled, the vibrations reaching Wang Lin's feet.

"Late Stage Soul Transformation… this person's cultivation… no, this person's true cultivation isn't that high, it's the Armor on his body!" The clear look in Wang Lin's eyes struggled again. The madness of the Immortal Ascension Fruit was counterattacking, trying to replace Wang Lin's Divine Sense and plunge him back into that frenzy.

A cold glint flashed in Wang Lin's eyes. He snorted, suppressing the Immortal Ascension Fruit's frenzy once more. He raised his right hand, pointing to the sky. With a rumble, a great river appeared out of thin air, streaking across the heavens.

Immediately after, he touched his left hand to his brow, and a golden light flowed from his brow to his left fingertip. Ling Tianhou's Sword Qi appeared!

The black-armored old man's gaze flickered, and he stopped his steps.

—

Today, xian ni has reached two million characters. This is Er Gen's first two million characters, and I'm very excited. From June last year until now, ten months have passed in a flash. Thank you to all the great readers for being with me through thick and thin. Over these ten months, xian ni's performance has been excellent, and all of this is inseparable from everyone.

The first two million characters are finished, and the second two million characters won't be far off. As of now, half of xian ni's story has unfolded. Please rest assured, Er Gen hasn't forgotten the earlier plot points; in my outline, plot developments will gradually appear in the next two million characters!

Excited, I drank a bottle of beer!