Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son

Chapter 1593: Second Soul Challenge

Zhang Fei tried to calm himself as he dodged Yuan Xiajie’s attacks. He also tried to read the movements of the woman who continued to pursue him with hatred and murderous intent. "Hey! It wasn’t me who killed your entire clan but the nightmare lord, Meng Zhou!"

"A liar like you must die!" Yuan Xiajie shouted, continuing to chase and attack Zhang Fei.

"Tch! What a stubborn woman! Illusion or reality makes no difference!" Zhang Fei thought of several things to deal with Yuan Xiajie, and he used his soul manipulation ability to strengthen his soul.

[That’s it, kid. The woman chasing you is just a soul fragment, and her strength depends on your fear of her. As long as you’re not afraid of her, she will weaken on her own, and you can overcome her.]

After dodging Yuan Xiajie’s attacks for a while, Zhang Fei decided to stop and fight with her. Since he couldn’t use the demon extermination sword or any other weapon, he transformed both of his hands into swords and attacked her.

Their attacks collided quickly in midair, pushing both of them back. Zhang Fei realized that their strength was evenly matched, but he still had the upper hand over her because he had something else that she didn’t.

As Yuan Xiajie attacked him again, Zhang Fei looked at the white lotus in his soul, realizing that she didn’t have it. He pushed the white lotus out of his soul, enlarged it, and confined her within it.

"Bastard!" Yuan Xiajie shouted in anger and attacked the white lotus from within again and again, but it was not destroyed.

Zhang Fei was relieved that Yuan Xiajie couldn’t destroy his white lotus. Numerous soul threads emerged from the lotus, bound her, and absorbed her soul power.

"Argh! I’ll kill you!" Yuan Xiajie attacked the lotus faster and more brutally.

*Bam... Bam...*

"Phew." Zhang Fei breathed a sigh of relief, but he suddenly felt something in his soul. "This."

[Have you noticed, Kid? Although that woman isn’t real, she was born from the collection of soul power fragments within the tower, so you can absorb her and use her to increase your soul power.]

*Bam... Bam...*

"So, you’re saying I can use all the fragments on the second floor of the tower to strengthen my soul, Old Fox?"

[That’s right, Kid. The purpose of the challenge on the second floor is to strengthen your soul, and you can only strengthen it by absorbing the soul fragments there.] Zhang Fei’s eyes flashed with joy, but Hu Tianlang’s next words washed away his joy. [There are countless soul fragments on the second floor, but they will never be enough to help you reach the Immortal Soul Level.]

"How do I reach the Immortal Soul Level, Old Fox?" Zhang Fei asked, watching the furious Yuan Xiajie inside the white lotus.

*Bam... Bam...*

[First, you have to find my two souls and merge them with yours. Second, you have to defeat my wrath soul and absorb it. Third, you must become the next ten-tailed fox by taking the hearts of both heavenly foxes.]

"Can I reach the Immortal Soul Level by evolving into the next ten-tailed fox?"

[No.] Zhang Fei frowned. [To reach the Immortal Soul Level, you still need a few more things, which you can only find in the Ancient Realm.]

"What are they?"

[No need to rush, Kid. When you transform into the ten-tailed fox in the future, you’ll gain more information, and you’ll know all the items you need at that time.]

Zhang Fei sighed and looked at Yuan Xiajie, who was getting weaker and slower. He could feel an increase in his soul power, but the increase was only minor and barely noticeable. "What kind of challenges will I face next? Yue Xuelian told me that the challenges will become stronger the closer we get to the stairs leading to the third floor."

After some time, Yuan Xiajie had disappeared from within the lotus, and Zhang Fei immediately pulled the white lotus back into his soul.

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When Zhang Fei opened his eyes, he saw Luo Yunxiao smiling at him. "What kind of challenge did you just face? Why did you have such a frightened expression earlier, Husband?"

"Yuan Xiajie."

"Oh! The woman from the Ancient Nether Race."

"That’s right." Zhang Fei stood up as he lifted Luo Yunxiao to her feet. "I was initially afraid of her, but the Old Fox immediately calmed me down; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to defeat her and absorb her. What kind of challenge have you just faced?"

"Nothing." Zhang Fei was confused by that. "Perhaps I have no fear in my soul, so I didn’t face any battles before. Instead, I saw our childhood on Earth, and they turned into soul fragments afterward, so I immediately absorbed them."

"You’re probably right; the Old Fox told me that the challenges that arise before us stem from our fears, and they will be even stronger if we harbor great fear within us."

Zhang Fei looked at Helian Xun’er, Nalan Wangzi, and Tianshi Shengjie, who had just completed their first challenge.

Meanwhile, Yue Xuelian had not completed her first challenge, but her expression did not show any fear. Instead, Zhang Fei saw something else on her face, and he could guess the challenge she was facing.

"Let’s continue." They nodded to Zhang Fei, and they stepped forward together. After they sat down in the second area, their souls were immediately sent to the second soul challenges.

Shortly after they started their second soul challenge, Dugu Yuanshen opened his eyes once again, but his gaze was focused solely on Luo Yunxiao.

"Who exactly is that young lady? Everyone who enters this second floor will inevitably face many tough soul challenges, but she was able to complete her first challenge in just a few minutes. She didn’t even have any difficulty completing it, which is something I couldn’t do." Du Yuanshen shifted his gaze to Zhang Fei and the other three women. "Who is the old fox that the young man is referring to? How can the fox help him overcome his challenges? I’m not surprised that the Celestial Dragon Princess and Helian Xun’er could pass their test, but I didn’t expect Nalan Wangzi to pass her test so quickly, and it seems she also didn’t experience any significant difficulties before."

Dugu Yuanshen watched them for some time before closing his eyes.

A few minutes later, Yue Xuelian opened her eyes, but her expression showed unease. She glanced at Zhang Fei and the others before standing up, and she immediately moved forward for the second challenge.

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Zhang Fei was already on his second challenge, and he was once again sent to an unfamiliar place.

"What kind of place is this?" Zhang Fei wondered as he examined the place, but he saw nothing but a large mountain. "A mountain?"

Zhang Fei considered flying to the mountain, but he decided against it when a giant eye appeared from one side. The eye stared at him and exerted strong pressure on his soul, and he also felt that it was trying to probe him.

"What—" Zhang Fei shut his mouth and swallowed his words when he saw countless eyes appear on the mountain. Soon, the mountain moved and transformed into a gigantic demon beast, which made him realize his identity. "Shit! The Ten Thousand Eyes Demon Beast God, Qian Yan. His form is so gigantic!"

*Roar*

Qian Yan roared loudly, sending everything in the area flying. Even Zhang Fei was pushed back by his single, extremely loud roar.

"What the hell! His single roar can push me back so far!" Zhang Fei hurriedly fled as Qian Yan shot countless rays of darkness at him. "Damn! He was only born from the soul fragments in this tower, but his attack power is already so great, let alone the real him."

*Boom... Boom...*

Those countless rays of darkness rained down on the previous area, causing numerous loud explosions and massive earthquakes in the area.

Zhang Fei stood in mid-air and stared at Qian Yan, thinking of a way to defeat him. With the demon beast god’s gigantic size, his white lotus couldn’t possibly envelop him like it did to Yuan Xiajie earlier.

*Roar*

Zhang Fei rolled backwards as soon as Qian Yan released another loud roar, and the demon god beast once again shot countless rays of darkness at him, forcing him to flee. "Tch! I have to think of a way to get close to him; otherwise, I won’t be able to defeat him."

Zhang Fei suddenly realized that Qian Yan’s attacks were only perpendicular, making him certain that he would not be able to hit him if he approached him in a zigzag motion.

After the demon beast god’s attacks hit another area, Zhang Fei quickly flew towards Qian Yan by weaving in the air.

Once again, Qian Yan attacked him with his darkness rays, but the result was as Zhang Fei had expected, and he was able to dodge all of his attacks easily.

Zhang Fei accelerated his flight towards Qian Yan’s head. However, a darkness dome enveloped the body of the demon beast god as soon as he arrived, sending him flying back as soon as he attacked.

In the next instant, Qian Yan’s darkness dome enveloped Zhang Fei’s soul and absorbed his soul power at a rapid pace, causing him to weaken. "Damn it! This technique is similar to my Demon Absorbing ability!"

Zhang Fei decided to use his Demon Absorbing ability to absorb Qian Yan’s soul power, and he also used his Devouring ability that he mimicked from Ursula back then, making the two of them draw each other’s soul power.