Chapter Sixty-Six: City of Three Souls

“We’ve clarified everything,” one of the men in black reported respectfully. “There’s only an outer camp of the Radiant Martial Society at that location—no experts.”

“The Radiant Martial Society has an outer camp there?” The masked woman sounded puzzled.

Her voice was low and husky, tinged with a unique, velvety quality. Her neck was slender and pale, beautiful and graceful, with delicate collarbones that lent her an added allure. Even the black martial attire could not hide her elegant figure, and the coldness in her bearing made her all the more mysterious.

“My investigation shows that some time ago, members of the Radiant Martial Society sensed a fluctuation from a secret treasure in that area. However, they never found anything, though the outer camp was retained.” The man in black gave a slight chuckle. “Now, it’s become a place of exile for the Society—anyone sent there is considered a hopeless novice.”

She, of course, understood what ‘hopeless’ meant.

“An outer camp is no cause for concern,” she replied coolly, “but we must not be careless.”

“Yes, ma’am!” the subordinate answered at once.

“If we succeed in this mission, I’ll recommend you for Little Soul Island,” the woman said evenly.

“Thank you for your guidance!” The man’s delight was barely contained.

***

“The Martial Soul Hall?” Tang Tian was ever curious about the new names Uncle Bing came up with.

“Yes, it’s a place where martial soul fragments are gathered,” Bing’s stiff voice replied. “There are two ways to strengthen a martial soul. One is through self-cultivation; most factions have their own methods. The other is devouring.”

“Devouring?” Tang Tian was startled. The word itself seemed to carry a certain dark power.

“That’s right. By devouring martial soul fragments, one can strengthen their own martial soul,” Bing continued. “The Martial Soul Hall at the new recruit camp is, to be precise, an entrance to the Hall itself. Inside are countless fragments of ancient martial souls. We weren’t the first to discover it—the Scorpio Legion found it first. Soon after, we and the Serpent Legion also found entrances. We suspect the Martial Soul Hall is hidden somewhere unknown along the Heavenly Road.”

“What a strange place!” Tang Tian exclaimed in awe.

“In those days, the Martial Soul Hall was monopolized by the three great legions. It was utter chaos inside, and many from each legion died there. Just from the Southern Cross Legion alone, I recall nearly thirty thousand men lost their lives there in a decade. It was a perilous battlefield,” Bing said.

Tang Tian shook his head vigorously. “Hey, Uncle Bing, in a place that dangerous, there’s no way I’m going!”

Confident though he was, Tang Tian wasn’t stupid. The new recruits of the Southern Cross Legion were far stronger than he was, yet so many of them had died. With his mere third-tier strength, he’d be nothing but a morsel.

“Your strength is indeed a bit lacking, but I can accompany you. I’m a Soul General,” Bing said, cocking his head. “Ophiuchus has fallen, so the Serpent Legion must be gone as well. I’m all that’s left of the Southern Cross Legion. I don’t know if anyone from the Scorpio Legion still lives, or what has become of the Martial Soul Hall.”

“Uncle Bing, are you really that strong?” Tang Tian eyed him skeptically.

“Don’t you want to see it for yourself?” Bing looked at Tang Tian.

“I do!” Tang Tian admitted honestly.

“I want to see it too. After all these years, I wonder what it’s become.” Bing considered for a moment. “My strength has recovered somewhat. As long as we don’t run into any Scorpio Legion survivors, there shouldn’t be any danger. And there’s another way.”

“What way?” Tang Tian asked, his curiosity piqued.

Bing pointed at Ghost Claw. “Take him with us.”

“But isn’t Elder Nong just a projection? How can we bring him?” Tang Tian didn’t understand.

“With your soul cores, you can forge a physical body for him. But it won’t last long—just three days at most,” Bing explained.

“There’s a way like that? Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Tang Tian urged. “How many soul cores?”

“Ten,” Bing replied.

Tang Tian quickly took out ten soul cores and handed them to Bing.

“These soul cores are of rather low grade,” Bing noted. “Ghost Claw’s strength will drop by one tier.”

“That’s still impressive!” Tang Tian said. Elder Nong’s strength at the seventh tier, even one tier lower, was still sixth tier, which was far stronger than himself. With his current strength, Tang Tian could handle most fourth-tier fighters, but he was no match for fifth-tiers.

Each soul core was the size of a soybean. The Green Sandalwood Arm-Ape was a wood-type star soul beast, and its soul cores were a vivid, jade-like green. The ten soul cores merged into Ghost Claw’s body, transforming into countless green rays. Ghost Claw’s eyes suddenly shone a crystalline emerald before fading again.

His once-blurred form now appeared solid.

“Can I use this method again in the future?” Tang Tian asked, pointing at Ghost Claw.

“It’s only for emergencies,” Bing replied.

Tang Tian thought it over—ten soul cores could fetch a fair price, so using them like this routinely would be wasteful. But now, with Bing and Ghost Claw as his bodyguards, he felt at ease.

Bing made a gesture, and the scenery around them changed abruptly.

A luminous gateway appeared before Tang Tian.

***

“How did it become like this?” Bing’s voice was tinged with confusion.

Shops brimming with dazzling wares, the raucous cries of merchants, and teeming crowds—this was no longer a wilderness. There were no more soul generals wandering aimlessly, no lurking foes, no threat of sudden death at any moment.

This was a bustling, magnificent city.

Only the word “Soul” in the name “Three Soul City” hinted at any connection to the old Martial Soul Hall.

Bing’s mood was somber.

There was no clearer way to feel the truth of “the world has changed and people with it.” Unlike Bing’s melancholy, Tang Tian was brimming with curiosity.

Three Soul City was wholly unlike Starwind City. It was far larger, dominated by towering buildings and swathes of crimson roofs glowing like clouds ablaze. The attire of the people was varied and exotic.

But the greatest difference was the soul generals—nearly everyone here had a soul general at their side: some had one, others seven or eight. Tang Tian had never seen such a spectacle, and the strength of the people here astonished him. So far, the weakest he’d seen was fourth-tier. With his third-tier abilities, he stood out conspicuously, attracting curious glances from passersby.

Some eyes lingered on Bing as well; his featureless face was just as striking.

***

Yu Bao had already fixed his gaze on the wary, wide-eyed youth. His instincts were sharp—when he saw Tang Tian’s third-tier strength, his heart leapt. A fat lamb! Definitely a fat lamb!

Though Tang Tian’s clothes were ragged, anyone who could enter Three Soul City at third tier had to be a scion of some great family. Without fourth-tier strength, entry into the city was impossible; the only way a third-tier could enter was with some rarest of treasures. And with two soul generals at his side—one sixth-tier, the other impossible to gauge—Yu Bao only grew more certain. In all his years here, he’d seen thousands of soul generals, but never one as strange as the faceless one.

This was no ordinary young master—he was surely a scion of a powerful family! And such young masters were always easy prey. With no other guards in sight, the boy had probably sneaked out on his own.

“Young master, care to come in and have a look? We have a vast collection of treasures, all remnants from ages past! The famed Scorpion Sting from the illustrious Scorpio Dynasty six thousand years ago—we just acquired one. And something even older, surely you know the Southern Cross Legion? Their most famous artifact? The Cross Medals—gorgeous and noble, each with unique powers. We just got a set of Flame Cross Medals, awarded after the Southern Cross Legion’s victory on Flame Star…”

Yu Bao’s tongue was silvered; he knew exactly what these young masters liked—beautiful, mysterious things, completely unconcerned with their function.

Tang Tian paused at the mention of “Southern Cross Legion,” turning to Bing.

Bing remained unmoved.

Yu Bao saw Tang Tian hesitate and pushed harder. “Come in, young master, have a look at our latest acquisitions—they’re all guaranteed genuine. No obligation to buy; just gracing us with your presence is a great honor. Not to boast, but there aren’t many shops in all Three Soul City with a collection to rival ours.”

“All right, I’ll take a look,” Tang Tian said, stepping inside.

The clerks from the other shops watched Tang Tian enter and exchanged schadenfreude-laden glances.

“That trash peddler might actually make a sale today,” one clerk sneered. “He just picked up a new batch of garbage from Old Cao—lucky him.”

“Well, there’s one born every minute,” another laughed.

Both burst into hearty laughter.

Yu Bao’s reputation on the street was abysmal. He bought up junk at rock-bottom prices from who knew where, then tricked the uninformed into buying it at outrageous markups. His shop generated the most disputes, but as a notorious local scoundrel with distant ties to the city constable, no one dared cross him.

Tang Tian entered the shop.

Inside, the space was vast, with shelves piled high with dusty odds and ends. Every sort of bizarre item could be found, and the shopkeeper was eloquent enough to spin endless tales about even a broken piece of porcelain. The Cross Medals, which the shopkeeper highlighted as his prize, were certainly exquisite, but Bing gave them only a glance before dismissing them.

As for the Scorpion Sting, it was nothing more than a bronze dagger with ornate carvings—Tang Tian sensed not the slightest martial soul fluctuation from it.

Seeing that none of these “treasures” held Tang Tian’s interest, Yu Bao grew anxious.

Suddenly, Bing pointed to a heap of battered junk in a corner. “How much for that pile?”