Chapter 1162: The Secret of the Examination Caves
"...And the last thing we did was resettle the Yao clan in the Soulbeast Forest before Xinyun and I left to come back here."
That was the last statement Bai Yunfei gave in regard to his lengthy story.
Most of his story was summarized quite shortly, but the weight of his story was enough to stun all his listeners into disbelief.
A lot of his story had many details to it that many of his listeners never even knew about, such as the Yao clan being in the Qimang Mountains, or what was going on in the wolf clan's territory in the Soulbeast Forest, or even Bai Yunfei's friendship with the junior headmaster of the Fate School. Everything was almost too much to believe.
The entire hall was silent now that Bai Yunfei finished his story. Every Soul King and Soul Emperor was digesting his story in silence. It would take some time before they were done.
There was one person whose reaction was a little surprising to see. It was Huangfu Nan who was trembling slightly with excitement...
"The Yao clan...descendants of the Alchemy School!!" He cried out loud, his face flushed with excitement. "So they're still alive!
"You say they're in the Soulbeast Forest?" He quickly asked, "Could...you must take me there to see them!!"
It looked like Huangfu Nan wanted nothing more but to have Bai Yunfei take him to the Soulbeast Forest straight away.
"Please calm down, elder Huangfu Nan..." Cang Yu warned him before turning to Bai Yunfei herself. "If possible, Yunfei, please take little Rui to the Yao clan. We...can tell you about her situation in a moment..."
"Yes, of course!" Bai Yunfei replied.
She clearly didn't want to talk about Huangfu Rui in front of everyone.
Yang Yao took the opportunity to speak to Bai Yunfei next. "I heard Zi Jin mention before you created a lifebound armament when you became a Soul King. Now that you're a Soul Emperor, I presume you have a second lifebound armament?"
Bai Yunfei smiled. "Yes, teacher Yang. Aside from the Cataclysmic Seal, I have a few more lifebound armaments such as the Regalias Core Stone, Soul Sealing Mandate, and Soul Sentinel Scarf, there's also my Fire-tipped Spear, the glove on my left hand and the armor I wear now...seven total lifebound armaments."
Everyone drew quiet at once. A few of the elders grew as still as statues even...
"Se—seven?!"
Huangfu Nan gasped, momentarily forgetting about his excitement for the Yao clan. Eyes gaping as if he had just seen a ghost, the elder cried out, "You mean to say you have seven lifebound armaments?!"
"It is as you say, second elder. I have seven lifebound armaments right now..."
"Seven!!"
A few others found what Bai Yunfei said to be hard to believe. Not even Zi Jin and Yang Yao found it very easy to stomach.
"Do...do you have the Core Stone, Soul Sealing Mandate, and the Soul Sentinel Scarf in your possession now?!"
Huangfu Nan asked. While he knew about Bai Yunfei having the Core Stone and Soul Sealing Mandate, he hadn't known about the Soul Sentinel Scarf. Everyone glanced at the strip of cloth tied around Bai Yunfei's forehead—who knew that the legendary Regalia would look like this...
Bai Yunfei instinctively touched the cloth on his head as he nodded. "I do. The Soul Sentinel Scarf was something I came across by chance back in the Soulbeast Forest a few years ago. Actually, I remember fighting a Soul King from the Beast Taming School for it back then. Luckily I managed to kill him, but the Soul Sentinel Scarf is still in some kind of injured state. I have yet to establish contact with its soul, though I've talked with the spirits of the Core Stone and Soul Sealing Mandate."
"Damage to the Soul Sentinel Scarf?"
Zi Jin and Yang Yao spoke together. The two of them looked to one another. They must've thought of the same thing.
After that, everyone began to catch Bai Yunfei up with the current news of the soul cultivator world. Most information wasn't time-sensitive, so for the sake of brevity they talked only about the important ones. The smaller details could be talked about later.
Soon, everyone in the hall prepared to leave for their own rooms.
After the meeting, the kindly-looking Yang Ying called out for Tang Xinyun to see her along with Cang Yu. "I have taken a liking to this student. If you don't mind, Cang Yu, she can become a disciple of mine."
Cang Yu smiled. "I would never mind if it is to Xinyun's benefit...Xinyun, come greet your new master."
"Ah?" Tang Xinyun managed to reply after being lost in the conversation.
Bai Yunfei realized what the two elders were getting at at once. Having this 'small' adjustment would see to having Tang Xinyun and himself be equals, hierarchically speaking. Their 'relationship' wouldn't be as awkward in that case.
He nudged her arm, "Hurry and give your thanks." He whispered.
She bowed immediately. "Yes...thank you very much, master..."
And so everyone departed from the halls with Bai Yunfei and Tang Xinyun going off to meet with their friends for a meal. That night everyone laughed and talked until it was late enough for everyone to return to their quarters.
Back in his old quarters of the western peak, Bai Yunfei found himself enjoying the familiar atmosphere of where he used to train all those years ago. He found it quite amazing how little had changed and how at ease he felt.
The next morning, Bai Yunfei received a missive from his master.
"Yunfei, meet us at the northern peak's examination caves."
This message was transmitted via soul communication, giving Bai Yunfei a sense of urgency to come at once.
The examination caves his master spoke of referred to the caves used to test for a person's aptitude for crafting.
"Master."
Zi Jin was already waiting for him by the time Bai Yunfei arrived at the caves. He was curious on what his master could want from him inside these caves.
Catching his peering into the dark cave, Zi Jin gave his student a smile. "Your strength has long since surpassed your teacher's expectations, Yunfei. You are now a person of power in this world. Today...you have earned the right to learn a few of our school's secrets."
Bai Yunfei's heart leaped to his throat at once—the secrets of his school?! What kind of secrets were they?
"The first secret shall be the one behind the cave." Zi Jin nodded, "Follow me."
Silently, Bai Yunfei followed behind Zi Jin down the caves. This would be the second time in the caves, but they were still as deep as he remembered. He also remembered that 'room' deep within the caves he was able to reach a long time ago with all those powerful soul armaments contained inside.
The more he walked, the more Bai Yunfei began to realize how strange the energy flowed in this cave. He hadn't noticed it before due to his lack of strength, but today he could finally begin to have some idea of what this energy was.
It was definitely something familiar to him.
His suspicions were confirmed the more they traversed the caves. This type of fluctuation in energy was extremely similar to the three Regalia he had!
A...resonance?!
Could this be yet another Regalia?!
Again, Bai Yunfei's heart began to pound wildly against his chest.
"Eh? This...this is a spirit of the armament!! Why does this place have one?!"
It was when they arrived at the end of the tunnels near a pair of gates when a surprised Xiao Fang spoke up in Bai Yunfei's mind.
"A spirit?!" Bai Yunfei questioned, "There's one here, Xiao Fang?! Is there a Regalia here then?!"
"I...it's strange. This is definitely the wavelength of a spirit, but it doesn't belong to any Regalia I know of."
"You don't know?" He was surprised, but Zi Jin was already speaking to him before he could ask Xiao Fang anything more.
"I'm sure you've realized by now, haven't you. The existence of 'that'...." He nodded upon seeing the confusion on Bai Yunfei's face. "Go in. You'll understand when you see 'it'..."
He pressed a palm to the door and pushed it open. Waiting for the gate to fully open, he motioned for Bai Yunfei to follow him in.
Light as bright and red as fire poured out from beyond the gates. Bai Yunfei could hardly see Zi Jin's figure as he walked in and only made him even more confused as he followed behind...
What in the world was behind these gates?