Interest

Eve transmitted the information about the Soul Severing realm into my mind, and I pondered about it. This stage was different from the ones before, since all the energy the cultivator gathers would be used to strengthen their souls, so they could 'sever' it at the peak of the realm, without dying. They also learn how to use their souls to amplify their power, and when it could be drawn out of the body after being 'severed', it will multiply the cultivator's power at least tenfold, and enable 'soul flight'. All this is inconsequential to me, of course, but it does bring the benefit of purifying the qi I can store in my dantian and spiritual artifact, and that will in turn be highly beneficial for both Eve and me. So the cultivation method we came up with was focusing heavily on this aspect, while ignoring most of the aspects that increase its power amplification effects. There were some exceptions to this though, at the fifth, seventh and eighth stages of the Soul Severing Realm - Soul Defense, Soul and Body, and Soul and Energy. At these stages the soul, body and dantian would be strengthened significantly, so that the ninth stage of Soul Splitting goes more smoothly. Even I had to pay special attention at these stages, because splitting the soul was a truly dangerous process, with the potential of harming, crippling, or even killing the cultivator if it's not done right. I only had to put a heavy emphasis on the defensive aspect though, so it would be still much easier than the path of other cultivators, but I also needed to consume some rare resources at these stages, that wouldn't be available to me via ordinary means. Luckily, my means to acquire these resources were anything but ordinary. I can just gather these resources from the various treasuries of large clans, sects, organizations and powerhouses, by teleporting them out, or if their spatial defenses were too powerful, by stealing them in person.

I compiled a list of the resources needed and the procedures of advancing through the nine stages of Soul Severing, while the elder overseeing the trials made an announcement.

-The first two battles have concluded. Those still remaining in the arena are already accepted as inner disciples of the True Fate Sect. Those that haven't managed to obtain a spot, should reflect on the lessons learned here today, and try again in two years. From here on out the fights will determine your rankings in the inner sect, so we'll take note of the time it takes to obtain victory. From here on out you're not allowed to kill your opponents, since you'd be killing an inner disciple of the True Fate Sect, which is an offense to the sect, punishable by death. You may continue your duels when the platforms finish merging.

The platforms moved slowly to merge again, and the barriers reformed, stronger than before. It was now basically impossible to use any kinds of secret treasures or special tools under the power of the barriers. The opponent before me was a young lady in a blue gown, and a spiritual artifact in the shape of a fan materialized in her hand. I sent her flying with another sword qi the moment she looked at me. I stood there for a moment, than sat down to internalise all the knowledge I've recently obtained and started planning out my moves after the trials. It was important that I prepare for every eventuality, since I can't expect to be meeting weaklings like I did so far, after I win the Inner Trials and go to the Heavenly Fate Sect.

While meditating about my future, the fights between the other disciples concluded, and the platforms merged yet again. Then another opponent got sent flying out of the barrier with a sword qi. Nobody even had the time to put up some basic defenses or say anything before they were shot out of the barrier like a cannon. The audience had to be thoroughly impressed by now, since I also showed off a bit by having them all land right in front of the elder in charge for curing the injuries of the defeated disciples. It was quite feat, since regular spiritual perception was blocked by the barrier, and the elder was moving around the platforms quite a lot. None of this posed any problems to my spatial perception ability though, so, while impossible for others, it was surprisingly easy for me. I could even detect some signs of mental breakdown on the face of the elder. Well, anybody would get flustered after having several disciples shot at them, landing right in front of them, knocked out, without any heavy injury. The frightening aspect of it, of course, was that with this kind of aim, it would be extremely easy to have them smashing into her instead of the ground before her, and it would be hard for her to avoid injuries in that case. She was basically hoping that I didn't make a target out of her, always fearful at the beginning of each round.

After 8 rounds, the platforms were the quarter of the size of the original arena, and the voice of the supervising elder could be heard again.

-Congratulations to the final four disciples for having reached this stage in the trials. You have all displayed an impressive battle prowess. From here on out you will have the option of becoming an outer disciple of the Heavenly Fate Sect, or staying at our sect as a top inheritor candidate. Your next two battles will determine who will have a chance at becoming an inner disciple of the Heavenly Fate Sect. The battles will be fought one after the other, on a special platform.

A part of our four platforms broke out and drifted to the middle of the arena, to form a smaller platform. An even more powerful barrier got erected around it. With a simple scan, I managed to conclude that this barrier had the power to suppress spatial abilities and external qi as well. If I only comprehended some basic spatial abilities and a sword intent, I wouldn't be able to display them at all. But with a great perfection sword, saber, fist, palm and gun domain, as well as the advanced spatial comprehension, this barrier didn't pose any hindrance to me. As for the suppression of external treasures and tools, I've never even used any of those, so that was meaningless against me.

I scanned the final four contestants out of boredom, but failed to see anything special about them. But then one of the finalists, a girl with long red hair, a perfect body and a pretty face, looked at me with a surprised expression on her face. Well, I was thoroughly surprised at this as well.