The Prodigies War

Humans often unleashed unseen potential in response to danger and the threat of death.

Ghost King Xuan Kong imparted the knowledge of how to bring out this hidden potential in ordinary battles to Lin Xun!

In short, this method could be summarized in five words——

Heart pounding and spirit shaking!

Let the heart and spirit be fully mobilized during the battle, just like the cultivation, in order to reach a state of readiness to erupt in full.

“Under the threat of death, the heart and spirit are greatly affected. Some people will become desperate and some will lose all hope.

“But some would call on unprecedented fighting spirit and erupt with beyond ordinary strength.

“For example…”

Ghost King Xuan Kong suddenly rushed forward, a sharp blade appearing in his grip, and aimed it right at Lin Xun’s throat.

Fast!

Unbelievably fast!

From beginning to end, he showed not a shred of hesitation.

Lin Xun’s hair stood on end, his heart leapt to his throat, and his spirit trembled violently.

He did not doubt that Ghost King Xuan Kong’s attack could easily take his life just like the shadow of death!

Run!

At the same time, a powerful survival desire ignited every part of him. His whole body was like a fully drawn bowstring being released.

With a swoosh, he wildly retreated.

“This is called heart pounding and spirit shaking.”

Ghost King Xuan Kong put away the sharp blade and looked at Lin Xun in the distance before saying, “Carefully think about what happened just now. If you can understand the mystery, then you can truly tap into your strength and maximize it.”

The wound across Lin Xun’s throat slowly healed, and it was soon repaired like nothing happened.

He stood still in the same spot, lost in thought.

Hovering between life and death was terrifying.

Under such a nerve wrenching experience, anyone would be filled with fright.

But at the same time, that experience could stimulate their potential!

Why was it that every time after Lin Xun survived an extremely dangerous and intense battle, his strength would significantly improve?

It was because battles strengthened and honed his daos and arts, and allowed him to identify and correct his flaws, thereby further improving himself.

But more importantly, battles of life and death released his hidden potential and turned it into part of his strength!

Lin Xun very quickly understood this.

Then, he began to recall and study what he had just experienced. The series of movements of when he was assassinated appeared in his mind like still scenes.

No, not this…

He realized that there was no mystery in those scenes. The key was in his own consciousness, instinct, qi and energy...and his immediate reaction to the assassination.

If he was able to capture those details, he might be able to glimpse into the true secret of tapping potential.

……

One day later, Lin Xun woke up disoriented and confused.

“Senior Brother, please.”

“Okay!”

The two were embroiled in a fight once again. Strangely, occasionally during the battle, Lin Xun’s strength would turn much more reliable and efficient, striking much more accurately than usual.

Ghost King Xuan Kong knew that Lin Xun had begun to touch upon the true secrets to releasing his full potential!

But it was not entirely steady.

After the battle, Lin Xun sweated profusely, breathed rapidly, and collapsed on the ground, exhausted.

But his black eyes had become unusually bright.

In his mind, he faintly captured that mysterious state.

He ignored everything else and fell into deep thought.

……

Another two days passed.

Lin Xun drew a deep breath and stood up, saying, “Senior Brother, sorry to trouble you.”

“Please!”

Another battle broke out.

This time, Lin Xun’s cultivation did not change, but his combat strength was evidently much different from before as if he had been reborn!

Only occasionally would his strength abruptly weaken and return to its previous normal state.

A satisfied gleam shone in Ghost King Xuan Kong’s eyes. This junior brother is the latest to join the sect, but he is indeed exceptionally talented. In just three days, he had figured out the true secret of tapping his potential!

Although he is still a little short of being proficient, it is only a matter of time.

“Junior brother, your path is different from mine and there is nothing else I can teach you,” Ghost King Xuan Kong stated.

Lin Xun was taken aback at first before deep gratitude filled his heart and he bowed respectfully. “Senior Brother, thank you for all your guidance!”

Whether it was guiding him to reach the state of divine connection in martial arts or practicing methods to tap his potential, Ghost King Xuan Kong had put in a lot of effort and taught him everything he knew without any reservations. How would Lin Xun not be appreciative towards him?

“Junior Brother, this secret method of tapping potential is called Extreme Absolute by the ancient great sages, which means to release everything to the extreme level and leave absolutely nothing behind.”

Ghost King Xuan Kong reminded him, “If it is not a life and death fight, do not use this method so often. Otherwise, once you exhaust yourself, you will not have the energy to continue and fall into a hopeless pit.”

Lin Xun nodded.

This method of extreme release was indeed very miraculous and terrifying, but at the same time, it consumed a huge amount of physical strength and so could not last for long.

“Come with me,” said Ghost King Xuan Kong, leading Lin Xun onto the thousand-foot altar.

The altar looked like it was made of jade, and its surface was adorned with complicated diagrams that added to its ancient charm.

On top of the altar was a cracked and broken table.

But the surface was visibly engraved with complicated and cryptic texts.

To Lin Xun’s surprise, he recognized the words alone, but when he tried to put them together, he could not make heads or tails of them.

“This Tragic Death Land is actually formed from the remnant of a Saint treasure. This Saint treasure is called Tragic Death City and it is a Xiantian item. Its fragmentation was a result of the battle of the Nine Domains that took place in ancient times.”

Ghost King Xuan Kong’s expression turned complicated, with a mix of hatred, sorrow and melancholy.

“If it weren’t for this Tragic Death Land, then the remnant of my soul would have been annihilated long ago. But it is also because of this place that I had to suffer endless torture and live a life worse than death…”

Ghost King Xuan Kong restored calmness to his features and said aloud, “Originally, I wanted to use the corpse to realize the dao and reshape the path of my life. But if I did this, I would lose my will in life and become a monster that is neither human nor ghost nor demon. If that’s the case, then I would rather choose to sleep here forever!”

His voice was low but resolute.

Lin Xun’s gaze turned complicated.

He could not imagine the despair, helplessness, and pain that a pinnacle Big Saint felt for his remnant soul to be trapped here. He also could not imagine the torture and suffering of spending endless years here.

But he was certain that the feeling would make the majority of cultivators break down!

Ghost King Xuan Kong said aloud, “Junior brother, do me a favor. The Tragic Death Land has existed to this day because of the Xiantian Clear Pearl buried under it. That object is the source of the Saint treasure Tragic Death City. It needs to be removed for me to be liberated.”

“Liberated?” Lin Xun had a bad premonition. “Senior Brother, is there no other way?”

Ghost King Xuan Kong chuckled optimistically. “No. The Tragic Death City exists to help souls find peace. Unfortunately, the city was destroyed back then, leaving only this tragic Death Land, and has long lost its power. Otherwise, I would have been liberated here a long time ago…”

“I will look for other ways!” Lin Xun vowed. He had only known Xuan Kong for a few days, but he was already impressed by his character, personality and charisma.

From the bottom of his heart, he did want to watch Xuan Kong disappear!

Xuan Kong clapped him on the shoulder and reassured him in a gentle voice, “I can’t wait any longer. If you hadn’t come, I…I likely would have turned into a complete monster. Fortunately, the heavens have been kind to me and allowed you and I to meet here. Even if I disappear into nothing, I still have no regrets in my heart.”

Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered something and took out a pale green bamboo leaf-shaped jade pendant to hand to Lin Xun.

“Junior Brother, if you have the chance to meet the clansmen of the imperial Jiang Clan, then please return this item to them and tell them that this belongs to Jiang Xingque.”

An imperceptible tender look came to Xuan Kong’s eyes, which was very quickly replaced by melancholy and a sense of loss.

Lin Xun held the jade pendant firmly in his hand and nodded strongly. “Senior Brother, you can rest assured that I will return this item to the Jiang Clan even if I have to travel to the ends of the earth.”

Xuan Kong smiled and then pointed to the piece of obscure text on the table. “Junior brother, I am going to try my best to uncover this sealed text and you must seize the opportunity to retrieve the Xiantian Clear Pearl and leave this place as soon as possible.”

“Senior Brother!”

Lin Xun opened his mouth to speak, but Xuan Kong interrupted with a wave of his hand, “No need to say more, I have made up my mind.”

Boom!

The next moment, his hand stretched towards the piece of text, and beams of terrifying dao light collided with deafening rumbles.

Crack!

Xuan Kong gathered up inch after inch of the text in his hand, but at the same time, his face twisted in a grimace like he was under unimaginable pain.

Meanwhile, Lin Xun noticed a bottomless cave under the altar table, pouring out a blast of splendid clear and pure light.

That was the great dao pure qi!

“Hurry!”

Xuan Kong shouted as terrifying deathly qi resurfaced in his eyes, and his face started to become distorted like a malicious spirit.

Swoosh!

Without hesitation, Lin Xun rushed into the cave.

After a while, Lin Xun safely returned with a bright and clear dove egg-sized pearl, swirling with chaotic energy and dense dao light.

“Junior Brother, quickly go!” Xuan Kong roared like a berserk beast about to collapse, veins almost bursting on his forehead. “Remember, refine the pearl into your body and don’t let others see it!”

Lin Xun took another deep look at Xuan Kong, gritted his teeth, turned around and darted into the distance.

Roar!

A shrill, mournful roar resounded from behind him.

He looked back and saw that on the thousand-foot altar, Xuan Kong’s purple hair was dancing wildly and his body was enveloped in black fog like a ferocious ghost demon.

“Senior Brother…”

Lin Xun’s voice choked up, emotions churning endlessly in his heart. He fought the urge to run back.

“Junior Brother, take care!”

In the black fog, Xuan Kong’s voice echoed out. It was hurried, hoarse, tired, and also filled with a sense of relief that he never showed before.

When Lin Xun looked back again, only the billowing black mist remained on the altar. Xuan Kong’s figure had long disappeared.

A pinnacle Big Saint had shaken heaven and earth in his lifetime. To protect the Ancient Wasteland Domain and fight back the invasion of enemies from the eight domains, he had no regrets about shedding his blood and sacrificing his life.

Now, after being trapped for endless years, the remnant of his soul was finally freed…