A Demon's Path Volume 1 Chapter 5

Cheng Qiantai said with little enthusiasm, "Let me introduce you to these two. The girl is my daughter, Senior Sister Cheng Yu for you. The boy is your Senior Brother Li Yuanhuan."

Ling Xiao was beaming from ear to ear as he bowed toward the two. "Greetings, Senior Sister, Senior Brother."

Even though Ling Xiao's exaggerated bow really got on everyone's nerves, nobody found fault with him for his courteous behaviour. After all, someone couldn't be blamed for standing on ceremony. Cheng Yu slightly cocked her head to one side and lightly snorted, "Hmph."

Li Yuanhuan was the tall and powerful youngster standing beside Cheng Qiantai. Compared to Cheng Yu, he was warm and forthcoming. "There's no need for such formalities, Junior Brother Ling."

At this time, Cheng Qiantai casually took out a soul chain.

If he had seen this only yesterday, Ling Xiao wouldn't have had a clue of how it was done. But ever since he obtained the Demonic Seven Souls Chain, he didn't think it was such a strange sight. Naturally, he faked a shocked expression, staring at Cheng Qiantai as if waiting for an explanation.

Cheng Yu rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Country bumpkin!"

Cheng Qiantai didn't seem to care about his daughter's rudeness in the slightest. Rather, he ignored her and spoke to Ling Xiao instead. "This soul chain is for you. It contains the Northern Jade Sect's fundamental boxing cultivation technique—the Northern Jade Celestial Fist. Your Senior Brother will teach you how to use the cultivation technique, and help you fuse with this soul chain."

"I'm greatly honoured, Master." Ling Xiao respectfully accepted the soul chain with both hands. He lovingly doted on it, as though it was the single most important thing in the world to him. This facade greatly differed from how he really felt. You cheap bastard! What a lousy chain. It only has one gem and is woven out of grass! Why can't you be more like Ancestor Qi Mo?

Ling Xiao felt that Cheng Qiantai was really stingy, especially when compared to the generous Ancestor Qi Mo. But he didn't pay much heed to this, as the answer was only natural. Nothing came for free, including the many items he received from Ancestor Qi Mo.

"Husband, is this your new disciple?"

Ling Xiao subconsciously lifted his head and looked toward the door from where a charming and alluring voice floated over. His eyes stopped dead in their tracks, fixated on a woman who was in her early thirties.

With his many years of experience dealing with the young ladies in the Floating Red Courtyard, Ling Xiao had developed an eye for judging women. He concluded this middle-aged woman's charm could be summarised in four points: big boobs, thin waist, perky buttocks, and long legs.

This woman wouldn't have a moment of rest in the Floating Red Courtyard!

She wasn't the most attractive woman, nor did any of her features stand out, per se. In fact, her daughter was far more beautiful. It was just that Cheng Yu's youth and inexperience lost out to the unique charm of a mature woman.

A cold shiver ran down Ling Xiao's spine as his eyes met hers. He was all too familiar with that look, he had seen it far too many times. It was an expression unbefitting of a lady of her status. They were the eyes of a huntress, a woman who couldn't commit to just a single man.

Without a doubt, she was Cheng Qiantai's wife!

Cheng Qiantai noticed the unbridled attention with which Ling Xiao was observing certain parts of his wife's body. Though they were but fleeting moments, they didn't escape him.

Cheng Qiantai couldn't stand how men looked at his wife. On a daily base, he caught some with that perverse look in their eyes, leaving him especially sensitive to it.

If Celestial Soul Masters from other sects dared ogle his wife, Cheng Qiantai could just barely swallow his anger. But his own disciple, a new one at that? What face would he have left if he let this slip by?

The disciples present tried to hide the smirks from their faces as Cheng Qiantai's face turned ashen. Haha! The beggar is dead! He dared to look at Master's wife.

Sensing the atmosphere quickly turning sour, Senior Brother Li Yuanhuan broke the silence. "Master, I'll bring Junior Brother Ling to his room so he can sort out his luggage."

Cheng Qiantai suppressed the scorching flames of anger flaring in his heart as he viciously glared at Ling Xiao and snarled, "Dismissed."

Ling Xiao had been reading people's expressions since he was a kid, so how could he not understand the meaning behind Cheng Qiantai's?

Grateful for Li Yuanhuan's timely interference, Ling Xiao bowed toward Cheng Qiantai. "Master, Mistress, Disciple Ling Xiao will excuse himself first."

The woman remarked with a coquettish giggle, "What an interesting lad."

Cheng Qiantai didn't make a peep. He didn't know how vicious and terrifying he looked right now.

Hundreds of single room houses lined the very back of the Northern Jade Sect. Li Yuanhuan took Ling Xiao to one of them to the far right and lit a white fluorescent powder lamp, lighting the room up.

"Junior Brother Ling, this'll be your new home," Li Yuanhuan said.

Ling Xiao looked at his room. In one corner stood a bed, barely large enough to fit him. Other than that, there was a small table and a basin to wash himself. There wasn't even a chair to sit on!

"Thank you, Senior Brother," Ling Xiao said with a smile on his face as he placed his knapsack on the table.

The knapsack was empty, its only goal to conceal the existence of his chain depository in which he had long since stored his valuables.

"You're too polite, Junior Brother Ling. Anyway, leave your luggage here. Since you don't have much with you, let's head to the dining hall and have some dinner."

When Ling Xiao recalled the terrifying look in Cheng Qiantai's eyes, an uneasy feeling arose in his heart. "I'm too tired, I'm not hungry. I just want to rest for the night. I still have some rations, so that will suffice! I'll come to the dining hall tomorrow."

Li Yuanhuan didn't insist. "In that case, I'll take my leave. I'll come find you after dinner. Cultivation is something you can't delay, even by a day."

Only then did Ling Xiao remember that Cheng Qiantai had tasked Li Yuanhuan with helping him step onto the path of cultivation. Unlike his Master, Li Yuanhuan had a warm heart. Ling Xiao couldn't help but feel grateful. "Thank you, Senior Brother. I'll wait here for you."

Li Yuanhuan smiled and said, "Junior Brother Ling, we belong to the same sect and should have each others' backs. You don't need to be so polite. I'll see you after dinner."

Looking at Li Yuanhuan's tall figure as he walked away, Ling Xiao felt a slight hint of belonging.

Li Yuanhuan was the first person who didn't discriminate against him and treated him with sincerity. Wandering around the streets and observing people for 12 years taught Ling Xiao how to differentiate the good from the bad.

When he remembered that Li Yuanhuan was going to teach him how to fuse with his soul chain, he couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. I wonder what the difference between this single-gemmed soul chain and my other one is.

Li Yuanhuan enjoyed a short dinner before hurrying back to Ling Xiao's place who had used this time to down a few rations, turning his complexion for the better. He no longer looked as pale and weary as before.

Li Yuanhuan even nodded in praise when he saw him. "Junior Brother Ling, you look much more energetic than before. This is good. Mental strength is very beneficial to Celestial Soul Masters who are cultivating the Strength Soul."

"Strength Soul?" Ling Xiao didn't understand the term Li Yuanhuan used, so he was staring at him with his eyes opened wide.

Li Yuanhuan laughed, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "I forgot you just entered the sect for a moment there. Let me introduce you to a few basics."

Seeing as Li Yuanhuan was extremely serious when he spoke these words, Ling Xiao reciprocated the same attitude in listening to him.

Ling Xiao learned from Li Yuanhuan that the so-called Chain Soul Masters were powerhouses that fused their souls with a soul chain. One could tell a Chain Soul Master's rank through the colour of their soulforce. There were seven ranks in total: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

The difference between Celestial Soul Masters and Demonic Soul Masters was the way they cultivated and the skills they used.

Celestial Soul Masters paid particular attention to letting nature take its course, steadily progressing in their cultivation. Even their skills followed this principle.

On the other hand, Demonic Soul Masters were the complete opposite. They believed that humans had unlimited potential. No matter what the cultivation method was, they were extremely overbearing and defied the natural order of the world. Their cultivation even harmed others just for personal gains, absorbing their victims' soulforce to strengthen themselves for example.

Demonic Soul Masters cultivated at a rapid pace, but there were unusually large side effects to those who cultivated too fast. It wasn't strange for them to lose their rationality, driving them insane and even becoming addicted to murder.

Therefore, Celestial Soul Masters viewed Demonic Soul Masters as bonafide demons. While to commoners, they were the nightmares you didn't even wish upon the person you hated most. There was simply no hope of survival for a commoner when they had the poor luck of running into one.

However, Demonic Soul Masters and Celestial Soul Masters both cultivated the Strength Soul.

Humans had seven souls. They were the Heavenly Soul, Spiritual Wisdom Soul, Spirit Soul, Strength Soul, Core Soul, Essence Soul, and Heroic Soul.

The Sunken Wind Valley mainly cultivated the Strength Soul and since the Northern Jade Sect was its subsidiary sect, they naturally did so too.

The Strength Soul focused on strengthening a cultivator's physique, using their bodies to fight their enemies.

The Strength Soul resided in the chest, while connected to the center of one's hands and feet.

Soul chains were of vital importance to any Chain Soul Master. They would fuse their soul into the chain. So if their soul chain was destroyed, their soul would perish with it! They could escape such a fate by transferring their soul to another soul chain, leaving the original one a dead item. Only after a sacrificial fusion could it be used again. Naturally, this meant Chain Soul Masters could only use a single soul chain at a time. As such, a soul chain was everything to a Chain Soul Master!

Chain Soul Masters cultivated to strengthen their soul stones, the gems on the soul chain.

As he was digesting all this information, Ling Xiao recalled his interaction with Ancestor Qi Mo. The old demon had given him the Demonic Seven Souls Chain, yet hadn't died! Moreover, he had self-destructed another soul chain in his final battle with the Seven Grand Holy Lands.

When his thoughts reached this point, Ling Xiao felt a billowy feeling sprout in his heart.

There were only two possibilities from this outcome. The first was that Ancestor Qi Mo had transferred his soul to another soul chain when he handed the Demonic Seven Souls Chain over to him.

The other possibility was that Ancestor Qi Mo was like him—a twin soul oddity!

Even though Ling Xiao was surprised by his conjecture, he'd only heard Ancestor Qi Mo say that he could use two soul chains at the same time. He didn't know whether he could also commence the sacrificial fusion with two soul chains.

However, Ling Xiao would soon find out whether he could really use two soul chains simultaneously.

In the brief moment that his Senior Brother took a break from talking, Ling Xiao took the opportunity to ask a question that had been bugging the back of his mind. "There were five soul stones on that blue-robed person's soul chain earlier today. Can Chain Soul Masters cultivate all seven souls simultaneously when they have a chain with seven soul stones?"

Chapter end