Kong Xiang sat cross-legged in an inn, deep in meditation. Grasped in his hands were spirit stones which he absorbed quickly, taking more from a bigger pile beside him.
Inside his Origin Pool, the Cyclic Core was spinning rapidly, and the origin energy Kong Xiang absorbed was quickly funneled into it. Eventually, the spinning started to slow to a halt, as if on the verge of completing something. The Core visibly expanded, shimmering with a deeper light than before. Kong Xiang opened his eyes and from his glabella, a third eye manifested and shot out a golden ray.
4th Level of Refinement of the Cyclic Core.
This was Kong Xiang's current Cultivation base after leaving the Sect for the past three months. When he left, he joined a traveling mercenary team and tagged along with them in adventurous missions. After falling out with them due to different views, he left to be on his own and ventured to every nearby place that could increase his strength. He had visited sixteen secret realms since then, grasping many cultivation resources and techniques.
As for the golden light that came out of the third eye on his glabella, it was a bloodline ability. When one cultivated to the realm above the Soul Embryo Realm, their bloodline would mutate, gaining certain abilities. These abilities were manifestations of the cultivation bases of the person. A fire cultivator that has cultivated to an extreme realm would most likely be able to produce a bloodline such that his descendants would be able to awaken fire type abilities from it, usually at the Cyclic Core Realm. Kong Xiang knew from his family records that his ancestor had a weak combat strength but cultivated to a very high realm, proficient in Yin and Yang and Divination. The bloodline ability Kong Xiang awakened was the Eye of Truth, which enabled him to see through the essence of all things. What was most surprising was that he gained Enlightenment into the Karma Laws too thanks to this bloodline ability and could now use his Eye of Truth to execute the Karma Laws at Insight Level to see Karmic lines linked to him.
Kong Xiang deactivated his bloodline ability and the eye on his glabella vanished. He stood up and went outside to take his dinner.
"This brother, can I sit here with you?" A big bellied man asked Kong Xiang with a hoarse voice. Kong Xiang took a look at him and gestured him to sit. The man introduced himself, "My name is Da Chen. What is your name?"
"Kong Xiang"
"So it's Brother Kong" He smiled, "I will cut straight to the point. If you don't mind, I will like to purchase your disguise technique."
"Disguise technique?"
"Yes, your disguise technique" He paused, "Your disguise technique is simply too good. I can sense your Cultivation base at the Cyclic Core, but you are also carrying a very young appearance. If you don't mind, I will like to purchase your disguise technique."
Kong Xiang was amused, "I have an elderly aura?"
"Yes, brother" He leaned closer, "Let me tell you, this year, I will be one hundred and eighteen years. Pretty young, right? My disguise technique only lets me look middle aged at best, and my aura technique gives me a youthful aura. If you're interested, I can give you my aura technique and you can give me for technique for disguise."
"I'm actually sixteen years of age" Kong Xiang looked at him blandly.
"The technique allows you to look sixteen. Truly amazing. If you're interested, I can give you my aura technique and you can give me for technique for disguise." Kong Xiang was frustrated. He was indeed sixteen but his elderly bearing made people think he was using disguise techniques. Just a month ago, two old ladies tried to assassinate him to get hold of the supposed technique, even after he had told them he wasn't using one. Three weeks before that, he had experienced something similar too.
In truth, with the Battle Royale at Fate City approaching, apart from the true 'younger generation', some older cultivators were trying hard to obtain aura altering and disguise techniques to pass off as young cultivators. Kong Xiang knew that there was no way they would be able to fool the detection systems and protocols even with their efforts as their life signatures and soul age would be properly examined and verified against such malpractices but of course, there was no lack of people thinking they could circumvent the screening.
While they continued eating, with Da Chen trying hard to get the so-called technique, a commotion started in the inn.