To understand Harun's actions toward Birandar, we must first reveal his stat screen.
[Name: Birandar]
[Attributes: Senses (9), Physique (10), Luck(1), Dao Attunement (10), Willpower (8), Charisma (5)]
[Destiny: Star of Calamity]
[Age: 16]
[Cultivation Base: None]
[Physique: Dual Soul Root]
With the system, Harun had access to the stat screens of all he came across of. This enabled him to figure out the Dream Seer's true identity. Pairing that with Birandar's data, he immediately deduced Reverend Weeping Soul's aim. Throughout the Heavenly Dream Land, one man could only have one physique. Just like one could only have one soul, there was no loophole or way around this. A new physique would replace the old one, end of the story. However, there was one exception to this iron rule. Children born with an ethereal root in their soul that would slowly mature to produce a second soul. At that point, they could not only have two physiques, but condense an extra body connected to the original one. If kept separate, both possessed extreme talent. But once combined, their deduction capabilities and aptitude transcended heaven's will.
For that reason, Heaven placed them all under the Star of Calamity, ensuring that before they set foot on the cultivation road, they'd experience a fatal disaster and perish in the cradle—so to speak. Birandar's Dual Soul Root neared maturity. Once its growth peaked, he'd grow a second head and an extra pair of arms—directly becoming ostracized by all throughout the world. Unfortunately, that wasn't his ordained calamity. At first, Reverend Weeping Soul didn't spot Birandar's physique. But as a master of ethereal arts, a single probe enabled him to see the truth. And after taking an interest in the boy, he naturally probed his talent.
Knowing that, Harun didn't doubt that regardless of his choice or deeds, Birandar would be seized by Reverend Weeping Soul, and have his Dual Soul Root robbed—death was the only result.
Could the Truth Reverend resist the appeal of an extra soul and higher sensory aptitudes? Unlikely. And knowing that Harun had seen through the situation, Reverend Weeping Soul shook his head.
"You misunderstand. If he showed a willingness to pursue the Truth, and progressed faster than I would have after stealing his Dual Soul Root, why would I harm his life? We Dream Seers have two fundamental values we shall never stray from:
Respect the Founder and give all you have, your life and hopes included, to the achievement of the Truth. The most outstanding and devoted of our faction will naturally receive utmost care. But at the same time, if sacrificing one can push us faster toward the goal, why should we hesitate? If we cannot find a way to solve his ordained calamity and push him to the peak, why can't we put his gifts to good use?" Reverend Weeping Soul casually replied, But met a derisive laughter made worse by his inability to see Harun's face.
"Is the so-called Truth not merely the Cosmic Law? What tragedy are you planning to cause with it? You'd think that the Dharma Ancestor's inventions wouldn't become the spears of blood-crazed lunatics," Harun jabbed at the Reverend's beliefs. But once the words "Cosmic Law" and "Dharma Ancestor" echoed, his brain disjuncted, and he staggered.
"How could you…"
A tearing sound halted the Reverend's words.
Bridging the distance at lightning speed, Harun rammed his clawed hand into the Reverend's chest, and tore through his heart, "Careful, don't lose your cool in a fight. Your opponent might just be waiting for that," he said. Withering Essence of an eerie silver-gray mix surged from Harun's claws to corrode the Reverend—turning him into dust.
But as Harun straightened his back, with his eyes half-closed in a grimace, dust particles assembled at his back, merging to form a pristine Reverend Weeping Soul. "Then let's start over, shall we?" Reverend Weeping Soul whispered in Harun's ears, and his hands chopped at the plaguebringer's neck. Hidden by his clothes, Harun's neckline took a golden hue. The Truth Reverend's strike clashed with a metallic surface, and without looking back, Harun smashed his elbows into Weeping Soul's abdomen.
Raising his right leg, the Dream Seer blocked Harun's strike. A shockwave followed, pushing them both into opposite directions. Harun turned 180, Reverend Weeping Soul steadied himself, and for a second, the two reappraised one another.
"Around the seventh Celestial Knight level in physical skills, and that's just for a warmup," Reverend Weeping Soul inwardly said. Throughout the First Range, only he could compete with an expert of that level. How could he not watch out for such a man's appearance? However, up until today, the Reverend had not heard of such an individual in the First Range. Instantly, he linked Sangar's death to the unknown man before him, and his heart soured.
"Are you from the Ancestral Land?" The Truth Reverend directly asked. Harun ignored him. Through the system, he could see that the one before him was merely an avatar. At first, he wanted to use the chance to probe the Soul Refining Hall's depths, but realized he'd underestimated his opponent. On paper, Reverend Weeping Soul was a late-stage Truth Reverend. But in that brief exchange, Harun felt that the true body's battle-power went far beyond that.
"Comparable to celestials or deities." Only now did Harun realize the exactness of the Reverend's previous words to Birandar. Perhaps in this avatar form, Reverend Weeping Soul approached the limits of the celestial level. But once his true body emerged, Harun would clash against an entity of Ascending God level. No wonder he refused the World Association's Excellence Assessment.
Cracking his neck, Harun closed his eyes, and loosened his limbs in a poised yet frenetic dance. In the Reverend's eyes, one man turned into 20 that encircled and controlled all escape roads. Silver vortexes formed before Harun's palms, feeding the extreme forces of his Infernal Claws. Harun created and added this dance to his Infernal Claw Style by studying Nakula's Bewitching Blade of Extermination. But while the blade's destabilizing skills relied on Nakula's Devil Essence, Harun's came from particles released by bees he stored in his glabella.
For a moment, all the Reverend's mental fortitude collapsed, and he caught himself following Harun's moves while slowly getting closer to the dancing mirage. A brutal assault replaced the tribal dance. Harun's claws rained on the Reverend—drawing dazzling silver lines in their path.
Snapping out of the enchantment, Weeping Soul narrowly avoided Harun's claws, but the Withering Essence grazed his right arm, which directly turned into dust. The trick he used to rebuild his body consumed massive energy resources, and in the long run, wasn't sustainable. So this time, the Weeping Soul Reverend didn't bother. Dozens of elongated branches and vines emerged from his broken sleeve to replace his lost arm. Gray leaves and weeping-faces-shaped fruits adorned the branches, which rippled with a baleful force.
Stretching to 100 meters each, the branches whipped at Harun and his afterimages, tearing through the false to slam into the true!