Jiyan had touched the crux of the matter. Reverend Weeping Soul's strength was one thing. But the true headache lay in his ability to sacrifice those Soul Fruits to empower himself. If with a tree of a few dozen fruits, Weeping Soul could push his strength to God-level. What limits could he reach with his original body? How many fruits did he have? Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands? Was there a hard cap to his soul empowerment and a time limit to the boosts he gained? All those were questions that needed immediate answers.
"I have to admit that Reverend Weeping Soul's secret art is extraordinary. It should be a 12th-star grade art created by some Titled Emperor," Harun said. Having learned of the related hierarchy from the System, Harun now knew that traditional cultivation methods, abilities and secret arts, didn't exceed the 13th-star grade. But unlike lower graded goods, 12th and 13th-star grade items possessed universal titles: Imperial and Primeval items.
The Dream Seer Path was one of those that didn't require a cultivation method for progress. As self enlightenment was the main concern, Seers could do without. Nonetheless, arts tailored for the path could hasten their progress while giving them access to varied abilities. The Weeping Soul Mantra was one such art, created by the Truth Scrying Grotto's Soul Emperor over one million years ago. Majoring in defense and minoring in destructive ability, the Weeping Soul Mantra enabled its practitioners to split off a strand of consciousness, and from it cultivate a Soul Tree.
At first, the Soul Tree took the shape of a three meters tall oak tree, but once the practitioner started feeding it souls, it became a Weeping Soul Tree and expanded till it maxed out at 99 meters. The practitioner then had to either refine it into a natal treasure, and keep pushing for the final breakthrough, or stop here, and use it as a battle treasure or avatar producer. If they picked the first road, the Weeping Soul Tree took a gray shade, robbed their sight, and grew a pair of eyes on its trunk—its battle power rose accordingly.
Harun's battle foundation currently relied on two Primeval Arts plus his innate abilities. The Art of the Decaying Flower granted him terrible speed and strength, but reduced his defense and lifespan. The Infernal Claw Style further enhanced his destructive powers, and added great versatility to the mix. But while the Golden Body and Sovereign Essence could take on hordes of rampaging elephants, Harun lacked a skill specifically for defensive purposes. The Weeping Soul Mantra was of a substantial appeal, making Harun wonder if he couldn't learn and improve that grim art—pushing it to the next grade.
At the end of the day, Harun's strongest enemy was not Weeping Soul, but the tribulations he'd face in the suffering and unyielding stages. One extra trick could make the difference between success and failure.
"Do you want to cultivate the Weeping Soul Mantra? Who would your targets be?" Jiyan asked, as if seeing through Harun's thoughts. The Weeping Soul Tree's many spiritual and fleshly benefits came at a hefty price: sentient souls. For the Soul Refining Hall's cultivators, innocent and sage souls were the best options. This made children, scholars and old men their prime targets. But Jiyan didn't believe Harun would follow that path, and even as the question left her lips, the answer rang in her mind.
"Don't we have over 1,000 prime targets? All trained through at least 99 years of study, I don't think we will lack cultivation resources," Harun replied, referring to the Soul Refining Hall's inner disciples and elders. The words made Jiyan's eyebrows arch up, and as if anticipating Harun's next words, her lips curled into a smile.
"Meaning that…"
"After Lord Revelation pacifies Dark Stone City, we're joining the Soul Refining Hall," Harun declared, and stretched out his right hand, making his Golden Silkworm Jar appear. There, a finger-long silk moth fluttered, with blood-red mist rotating in its beady eyes.
…
Meanwhile, news of the horrible fight between the "golden-shroud expert" and the Truth Reverend spread throughout Dark Stone City and neighboring towns. Though Harun and Weeping Soul clashed several kilometers away from any settlement, the tiniest ripples of their battle spread to and rocked all settlements within 300 square kilometers. Experts of celestial level locked their Divine Senses on the clash, and swiftly identified the Weeping Soul Reverend. This fight, the first recorded battle of the First Range's most mysterious expert, drew the undivided attention of countless experts.
Instantly, all realized that the inflated rumors surrounding Weeping Soul's might still failed to give a correct assessment of his skills. But the result, Weeping Soul's brutal death, reminded them all that even in the First Range, more than one expert of godlike strength hid. And perhaps many more awaited the right opportunity to make their move.
Livid, weaker celestials and mortals feared the wanton retaliation of the Soul Refining Hall. But an announcement of the Soul Refining Hall soothed all their fears:
"Reverend Weeping Soul has not left the Soul Refining Hall in the last 20 years. The victim was just an avatar. The Reverend thanks Lord Revelation for this lesson and welcomes him anytime to finish what he started."
At the same time, the Soul Refining Hall spread wanted posters of Birandar, with rewards of 10 Divine Jades for credible information, and 10,000 for anyone that could bring him alive to the Soul Refining Hall's headquarters. Though mortals were riddled by problems money couldn't solve, those celestials hoping to build connections with the top three sects were stirred by the posters, and started the hunt. Birandar's name and relatives soon became public matters. But as dozens of celestials aimed to capture the parents to bait the boy, Lord Revelation made his move, destroyed their cultivation, and kicked them all into the sea.
Though he gave no verbal reason for his actions, Lord Revelation burned all wanted posters and punched half the hunters till their faces swelled like pig's runts. The other half didn't dare rashly go out—fearing that this hunt for Birandar would instead turn into their funerals. Of course, some daredevils wouldn't relent. But when their fellows' heads started hanging above city walls, they all grew obedient.
The world now knew that young Birandar had the full protection of Lord Revelation, a mysterious expert that not even Reverend Weeping Soul would rashly offend. And from a balcony of the Dark Stone Country's royal palace, a young man with bronze skin and a mane of black hair, observed all this with a cool, pensive gaze. But as we often say in moments like these, a matter for another time.