Chapter 30 - Broken Soul, Fate

''Ey, old man, you seem like a strong person, what's your Mana stage?'' Lyse asked as they walked through Lightwood Townhouse. Xian Zi stared at him for a few seconds before saying with a proud tone, ''Emperor Stage.''

''If you're going to lie, at least pull a believable b*llshit, everyone knows that it goes from 0-Star to 7-Star, there is no Emperor Stage!'' Lyse said while looking towards Xian Zi with contempt.

The old man's eyes twitched uncontrollably before he smugly said, ''From 0-Star to 7-Star, aside from the System's classification, they are named differently. The stages are Mana Core, Mana Sea, Mist, True Awakening, Noble, Lord, King, Emperor. It's worth mentioning that Mana Sea corresponds to 1-Star and 2-Star at the same time.''

''Eh, so you're thinking I'll believe that within a single week, you went from an ordinary old man to a 7-Star badass?'' Lyse narrowed his eyes in suspiciousness, not believing the old man

''...'' Xian Zi was speechless, he never said that he started his path as a Mana User a week ago. With a blank expression, he said, ''I never said that I'm from your planet, I'm what you call otherworldly human.''

''So shameless...'' Lyse muttered before saying with contempt, ''You're treating me as a three-year-old kid, aren't you? Don't pull that half-baked b*llshit on me, I doubt any all-powerful 7-Star being would be in beggar clothing!''

If even his little 0-Star was so powerful, what about a 7-Star? Lyse didn't really dare to imagine their power.

''What can I do to prove my power, then?'' Xian Zi asked in a distressed manner, he truly was confused, how come the little brat didn't believe him?

''Hmph, help me increase my power to Peak 0-Star, and I'll consider believing you.'' Lyse said disdainfully, but his eyes widened as Xian Zi suddenly stretched out his hands towards his forehead. There was a faint white-colored light shining in his fingertips.

Meanwhile, on the crops raised by the plant Mana User.

Haize was carefully observing everything when suddenly, his eyebrows twitched. His eyes sharpened and after looking around, he saw the old man stretching out his hands, trying to touch Lyse's forehead. Their distance was around 100 meters, and the golden-eyed man unsheathed his Katana.

Swooosh!

The air around him shifted slightly, and the distance of around 100 meters was crossed in a single second. Golden and black rays of light were flying endlessly around Haize, as the Infinite Sun Flames and Abyssal Wind danced, wrapping his Katana as a whole. His body spun once, and then, his Katana descended upon Xian Zi's hand.

''Hm?'' Xian Zi glanced at Haize indifferently, before his hand changed directions. The Katana blade stopped right between his index and middle finger, not moving even an inch, ''Why are you so aggressive, kiddo?''

''Don't touch my brother...'' Haize hissed, he didn't know why, but he felt bad after Xian Zi's hands approached Lyse's forehead. It was obviously beneficial to Lyse, but his instincts told him it would hurt, a lot.

Xian Zi looked towards Haize in an interested manner, while feeling curious about the over-protective brother. Then, he playfully said, ''Oh? I wonder what you can do about me touching his forehead?''

Blood suddenly dripped from a very small cut on Xian Zi's fingers, and this shocked the old man. He felt as if the whole world was pressing down on him, and the blood flowing through his veins seemed to be burned. Xian Zi's eyes widened, 'This is bloodline suppression? How come... How come he can suppress my bloodline?'

Haize's golden eyes suddenly turned black, and the sun-like marking on his forehead shone with a bright radiance. An endless abyss suddenly enveloped the old man for less than a fraction of a second, ''I dare you.''

''To touch him.'' Madness was clear in Haize's eyes, and he was determined not to let Xian Zi come even near his brother. Even if it cost his life, Haize wouldn't let such a thing happen. Maybe he was being overly over-protective, but that was just how he was.

It was unknown how, but Haize suddenly fell to the ground, unconscious. Lyse didn't even see how it happened, but Xian Zi had appeared behind Haize, ''How come this kid is so over-protective towards you, little brat? I was just going to help you clear your stage bottleneck, it's just that it was going to hurt a bit...''

In contrary to Xian Zi's expectations, Lyse was very calm about the whole situation. It was as if there was something deep inside him, telling that the old man's words were true, and so he said, ''Nine years ago, our parents died in a car accident. Since then, Haize changed, he didn't show emotions when outsiders were around. Everything related to me was over-cautious.''

''If not because I'm such an useless younger brother, maybe he would be able to live in a more carefree manner...'' Lyse muttered under his breath, and Xian Zi was shocked by the pureness in the youngster's eyes.

Xian Zi ability was Space-based, and it was called Eyes of Space, it granted him absolute control over the Space element, and the ability to see through others' souls. At that moment, he saw that there was no traces of impurities on Lyse's soul, only bright pureness.

Without hesitation, he checked Haize's soul, just to see the same sight. It was just that there were countless blood-red spots on Haize's soul, and he sighed bitterly, 'What a pure, but broken soul...'

Blood-red spots on a soul meant that they were slowly dying inside, and it was very hard for such a soul to recover. Soul was the main ''ingredient'' of a living being, and so it was the most important part. It represented a person's temper, personality and way of living.

It was unknown why, but at that moment, Xian Zi decided that if not for his own longing for a disciple, he wanted to fix such a saddened soul. What the old man didn't know was that...

Such a decision changed his fate.

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