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Fang Shuan walked across the Golden Mountain Range until he finally found his destination, an abandoned set of ruins composed of black and purple stone. The entrance was open; the gate had been shattered by what seemed to have been a single, incredibly strong punch.
âHah, that monster probably opened this place forcefully after it didnât allow him entrance, huh?â Fang Shuan wondered.
The Temple of One Hundred Demon Souls, according to what he had been told by the Heavenly Demon, is considered one of Bestiaâs âImmemorial Treasures,â certain places, areas, or buildings within the world of Bestia that contain an immense quantity of Dao Particles and possess special abilities or effects.
This Temple in particular, is said to have been made at the beginning of the world of Bestia by an ancient, now extinct race of beings that are considered the ancestors of all the beast tribes of Bestia, the Dokkaebi.
The Dokkaebi were demon-like entities with many animal features, although chimeric. They possessed unparalleled comprehension of the Heavenly Dao compared to the new Beast Tribes, as they were born in an Era where the Nine Heavens existed and where countless rivers of Primordial Yin and Yang Ki flowed everywhere.
Their legacy could be found all across Bestia, inheritances, ancient temples, Immemorial Treasures, and even in the many techniques and the bloodlines that every beast tribe possesses, which all descend from degenerated and weakened powers the Dokkaebi once wielded.
âIt sure has an intimidating Aura to itâ¦â Fang Shuan muttered. âIâve never visited another world similar to my own before to think they had such an Immemorial Treasureâ¦â
The Golden Emperor walked inside the temple, and as he stepped into the long corridor that led inside, torches with purple flames lit up one after another, eerily illuminating his path.
âThisâ¦?â
And the moment he reached the end, he found himself inside a large room; there were three sealed gates and the giant statue of a purple-colored lion in the middle.
The lion was strange though, with the legs of a bird, two more heads, one of a wolf and a sheep, and the long tail that ended with a snake head.
And of course, wingsâbat-like wings.
âA chimera of some sort? Was this⦠Is this how the Dokkaebi looked like?â
Fang Shuan felt surprised, but to be fair, if they were rumored to be demon-like and chimeric, combining the many animal features that the beast tribes of Bestia had, then it made sense.
âThereâs something in their jaws.â
Fang Shuan treaded carefully, noticing that each jaw had a purple jewel in it; they glowed brighter the more he walked forward.
Once he touched one out of curiosity, as there were no manuals or anything telling him what to do.
The statueâs eyes moved, looking down on him.
âUgh?!â
He couldnât get his hand out of the jewel anymore; no matter how hard he tried or pulled back, he couldnât!
âW-What is this- AARGH!â
As the statueâs eyes glowed with purple flames, Fang Shuan screamed in agony as his soul was sucked inside the beastâs statue.
The more it was sucked, the more painful it felt, and the three jewels slowly began glowing brighter.
The statue finally stopped sucking and eating his soul once all three jewels were completely full, flaring with purple fire.
âUghâ¦!â
He was finally freed, as he desperately pulled his hand away.
âM-My soulâ¦! What kind of excruciating pain is this?! It hurts so much!â
Fang Shuan groaned in agony; he couldnât cry as he was now a golem-like being, but he would if he could; the pain was sharp, like a thousand needles piercing a personâs hand.
âHahhh⦠W-Why did it do that? Is this how Iâll temper my soul?! Has that damned crow tricked me?!â
However, before he could say anything else, a voice reverberated, coming from the three heads of the statue.
âYOUR OFFERING HAS BEEN PAID. YOU MAY NOW ENTER THE FIRST DOOR OF SOUL TEMPERING⦠DO NOT LOSE YOURSELF IN THE PLEASURE OF CULTIVATING ONEâS SOUL, OR YOU MIGHT BRING YOUR OWN DEMISEâ¦â
The statue finished speaking; the gate in front of Fang Shuan opened, rumbling through the entire temple.
âHah⦠S-So thatâs⦠how it is, I needed to give an offering using my soul? If it was a normal soul, it wouldnât have been even able to resist the sacrifice; it would have been fully consumed before even filling all three jewels!â Fang Shuan muttered. âThis is certainly not something young master Anna could doâ¦â
Fang Shuan was a unique existence; his soul was a very powerful âSoul Legionâ composed of over a hundred Martial Souls from his own Golden Soldiers, which protected him as the Golden Emperor, the Boss of the Murimâs Abandoned Temple Dungeon.
Because his soul was composed of over a hundred more souls, although he lost a big chunk of it, he had yet to have his entire soul devoured. The Heavenly Demon knew he was the only one that could withstand this arduous training.
âThis is the only way for me to become stronger, to help young master Annaâ¦â Fang Shuan gripped his golden fists. âAnd to avenge my family, my friends, and my world against fatherâ¦â
His Father was now a Constellation of incredible power; to go against such a powerful being, he would need to become stronger than ever before, which he had tried to cultivate, to go even further than just leveling.
However, because he lacked a living body, he could not temper his body, and he could not grow stronger. The only thing he could do, according to the Heavenly Demon, was temper his soul and cultivate it instead.
âYour soul is composed of over a hundred brave warriors; you met the qualifications to go thereâ¦â the crow had told him. âCultivate your Soul and comprehend the Dao of Soul⦠And you might be able to reach new heights or die trying, hahaâ¦â
He still felt slightly angry over the Heavenly Demonâs laughter at the end; he was clearly mocking him. Fang Shuan, as someone that belonged to the Orthodox Faction, greatly hated figures that inspired fear and anguish, such as the villainous Heavenly Demon, yet he had no option but to ask for his help now. His pride was greatly damaged, but it wasnât as if he could do anything now.
For his young master, Anna, he had to become stronger. Stronger than ever before, so he could ease the burden that she carried over her shoulders, the immense weight of protecting an entire world, which his father had failed to carry until the endâ¦
âLetâs do thisâ¦â
He walked forward, entering the first gate.
And what he found inside was a boiling cauldron with purple-colored liquid inside.
There were three monstrous heads in each wall, and once he entered, the gate sealed shut.
âOFFER YOUR SOUL TO THE CAULDRON OF ONE HUNDRED DEMONS.â
âTEMPER YOUR SOUL, TORTURE YOUR PSYSCHE.â
âONLY THROUGH ENDLESS AGONY, YOUR SOUL SHALL ASCEND.â
The heads spoke with loud, intimidating voices. Fang Shuan would swallow saliva in nervousness in this moment, but he had no such thing in his current form.
âThis is going to hurt even more isnât it?â
He jumped into the cauldron without hesitation; his tempering began.
.
.
.
âYou might have reached Tier 2 of my Martial Arts, but youâre only at the very beginning! I donât think Iâll ever be able to help you get Tier 10, but Iâll make you grow those Seals as much as possible!â
The Heavenly Demon kept bossing me around as I found myself in front of my next Trial. And perhaps the last of all the Seal-based Trials.
It was a double one, like the one from before, where I would be using Frustration and Desire together. I have no idea how thatâll work though, but here we are.
There was an ocean of pink color as far as the eye could see; it resembled a sea of wine more than normal water. It had a strange, sweet smell as well.
âYou are right now in front of the Sea of Broken Dreams,â he said. âSwim as far as your body can carry you, and youâll eventually find several islands full of valuable materials; donât take them, and keep moving. Even if you starve, even if you want to rest, and even if you want to give up. Keep swimming, until the very end! If you ever dare stop, or if you ever give up and come back, youâll stop being my disciple!â
âWhat?! Another ridiculous trial, I see!â I sighed. âI assume I can only use Desire and Frustration for this, right?â
âIndeed, use the Seal of Desire to recover your depleting Lifeforce and Ki as you fight back the sea martial beasts that will come to eat you,â the Heavenly Demon nodded. âAnd use Frustration to give you the explosive boost in power youâll require to swim through thousands of kilometers without stopping. If you can manage to reach the very end with both, youâll pass the trial.â
âHah⦠Okay, letâs do this. No point in crying hereâ¦â I sighed. âWhat about Ying Shen?â
âHeâs already training in another place; Iâve done as you asked, and Iâve given him ways to train his abilities efficiently, but itâll be up to him if theyâre effective or not,â the Heavenly Demon smiled. âNow, what are you waiting for?! Jump in!â
âOkay, okay, let me prepare myself a bit, Jesus!â I sighed. âI canât just swim with these clothesâ¦ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
I quickly changed my clothes into a one-piece swimsuit, which Iâve saved from my younger years, and that fit me really well.
The Heavenly Demon yawned without even caring about my appearance at all. I was relieved we were so different biologically he didnât care. But maybe if I were a cute bird girl, would it be different?
He sure fell for that crane woman, though⦠Even when heâs denying the fact.
Well, whatever, letâs go.
â{Fourth Seal: Desire}! {Fifth Seal: Frustration}!â
I activated both Seals at the same time, as I felt my Ki erupting and raging, flowing through my body constantly. The Seals glowed brightly, and my body was illuminated by the colorful tattoos.
Purple and red colored energies flowed across my body as my emotions became a chaotic swirl of negative thoughts.
Desire to improve, desire to get more, desire to never stop, desire to save my home, desire to have all the strength I can.
This endless desire inspired me to step into this perilous trial without hesitationâa step into the purple waters, and I was already swimming my way to my destination.
I need power.
I need treasures.
I need strength!
I need skills!
I need, I need, I need!
The endless Desire constantly flowed through my mind, numbing my senses as I started smiling maniacally the moment I saw an island on the horizon.
It wasnât in front of me, so it wasnât the end; however, its surface was glittering with gold piles; there were all kinds of amazing Martial Treasures, potions, and Ki pearls.
And I could get all of that and become so strong!
âI should go there; maybe he wonât realize? If I go quickly andâ¦â
NO!
Stop, I canât!
I bit my own tongue as the pain woke me up from my daze. I was already about to reach that islandâs beach, but I quickly redirected my trajectory.
âI canât⦠I canât⦠I must endure; I must persevere⦠I canât even use Temperance here, but⦠Ugh!â
I kept swimming forward, the power of Frustration making me stronger the more frustrated I felt about not being able to get the treasures I wanted.
âDammit that old bastard!â
It didnât take too long for a dozen monsters to begin chasing me downâgiant shark-like creatures, octopus-like monstrosities, and the occasional crab creature.
I had to beat them with my bare fists and feet, crushing them with punches and kicks, further boosted with the power of Frustration, which erupted like a raging volcano.
As I fought, the power of Desire helped me get through; my Ki and Stamina were already depleting many times, but by absorbing the energies of these creatures, it was restored time and time again.
Yet the exhaustion was slowly weighing me down, my speed decreased, and I reached the point where I was gasping for air. I was thirsty and had hunger. The power of my new Physique Ability didnât take away the sense of hunger and thirst, even though I didnât need to eat or drink for a while.
I was unable to eat the monsters that I fought; the power of Desire consumed them completely into energyâ¦
Drinking this sea made me go even more insane; I was hallucinating.
âCome on, Anna⦠Why even try? Why should you do what that awful man told you to do?â
The tender voice of Dan Baihe echoed behind me.
She appeared, walking over the seas.
âCome on, letâs go back home⦠Just use the skills and powers you already have! No need to work so hard, right?â
âNo, no⦠I canât⦠Youâre not real!â
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