"Soul Fire" is a Two Stars Soul Secret Technique, while "Soul Spike" and "Soul Radiance" are only One Star Soul Secret Techniques. Soul Secret Techniques, unlike cultivation techniques and martial skills, are classified into Nine Stars based on the power they exhibit, with One Star being the weakest and Nine Stars being the strongest.
In the continent, Five Stars Soul Secret Techniques are very rare, and Six Stars Soul Secret Techniques are almost extinct.
Along the way, Chu Ming multitasked—traveling, reading "Soul Explanation", and cultivating Soul Secret Techniques simultaneously.
The soul is the essence of a martial artist. If any martial artist loses their soul, they will become lifeless. Even a Life and Death Realm King, who can perform Blood Rebirth, would find it extremely difficult to recover if their soul is damaged.
Moreover, the soul is also the most fragile part of a martial artist, thus, martial artists place great importance on their soul.
Fortunately, Chu Ming’s soul power and comprehension are not weak. Additionally, during the soul duel with the grey-robed elder, he had already developed a vague concept of soul attacks. Thus, he did not find cultivating the Soul Secret Techniques difficult.
In just one day, Chu Ming finished reading "Soul Explanation", and he had a clear understanding of soul power. Generally, martial artists cannot study souls because they lack methods. Chu Ming speculated that the two ancient books from Elder Qing were obtained by chance since such items would never appear in low-level countries.
Chu Ming’s understanding of soul power allowed him to make rapid progress in comprehending the three Soul Secret Techniques. By the third day, he could effortlessly use "Soul Spike" and "Soul Radiance" without any hindrance.
On the fourth day, Chu Ming began studying "Soul Fire". As a Two Stars Soul Secret Technique, "Soul Fire" was undoubtedly more challenging to cultivate compared to the previous two. While Chu Ming was engrossed in the Soul Secret Technique, the corpses of the Eldest Prince of Yellow Moon Kingdom and the grey-robed elder were discovered. However, by that time, Chu Ming was already approaching the Black Rock Empire, leaving them no choice but to abandon the pursuit.
On the tenth day, Chu Ming encountered a trade team on the road. The team consisted of nearly a hundred people with varying levels of martial strength. The strongest was a True Dao Seventh Layer martial artist, while the weakest was only a Transcendence Realm First Layer, with a significant disparity in strength.
Clad in white, Chu Ming’s distinguished appearance caught the attention of the martial artists in the trade team with just a glance.
"Young master, the road ahead is dangerous with many evil people. How about traveling with us?"
As Chu Ming passed by the trade team, a curtain of a nearby carriage was lifted. A pretty girl with fair features emerged and invited Chu Ming. She wore plain white clothes and, unlike typical girls, exuded a natural elegance.
"Miss, this is unwise. What if he is a bad person..."
As soon as the girl spoke, a grey-clothed martial artist beside the carriage quickly advised against it.
"It’s alright; this young master doesn’t seem like a bad person!"
The girl interrupted the grey-clothed martial artist before he finished speaking and smiled gently at Chu Ming. Seeing Chu Ming’s pure white attire without any evil aura, the martial artist relaxed his guard.
"Where are you headed?"
Chu Ming did not agree directly but asked in return.
The girl in white answered.
Black Dragon City is one of the twelve major county cities of the Black Rock Empire, far larger than the entire Yellow Moon Kingdom in terms of area. The grandeur of Black Dragon City, like the other eleven counties, divided the Black Rock Empire into twelve governed regions. The County Prefects held the power of life and death, although this primarily applied to ordinary people.
For the powerful sects within the Black Rock Empire, the authority of the County Prefects was somewhat limited.
Chu Ming responded indifferently. The girl in white, evidently new to the martial world, had no ulterior motives or precautions against Chu Ming. After giving a few instructions, she looked slightly unwell and quickly returned to the carriage.
"I warn you, don’t harbor any ill intentions towards our young lady, or I won’t spare you!"
After the girl entered the carriage, the grey-clothed martial artist angrily warned Chu Ming, reaching out to grab Chu Ming’s collar.
Chu Ming gently pushed away the grey-clothed martial artist’s hand and calmly walked to the back of the trade team.
The grey-clothed martial artist was stunned for a moment and then sneered at Chu Ming. To him, Chu Ming was just a young master from a wealthy family out for a leisurely trip. He believed Chu Ming’s presence would only slow down the entire trade team. It was only due to the young lady’s kind-heartedness and lack of vigilance that she made the suggestion.
The trade team continued forward. The reason Chu Ming joined the team was his fatigue from continuous travel. In the trade team, the martial artists took turns keeping watch at night, allowing him to rest intermittently.
Riding a horse, Chu Ming looked into the distance. They still had six or seven days to reach Black Dragon City. Even while on horseback, Chu Ming did not idle and continued cultivating.
He had already cultivated "Soul Fire" to its peak, but to his disappointment, he could still only control one percent of his soul power. The rest, Chu Ming couldn’t mobilize at all, like possessing a treasure mountain but unable to mine it, which frustrated him.
Despite this, once Chu Ming activated Soul Fire, he could turn an ordinary True Dao Eighth Layer martial artist into an imbecile.
As they advanced, Chu Ming gradually integrated into the trade team. From the conversations with the martial artists, Chu Ming learned the white-dressed girl’s name was Lin Yue’Er, the second young lady of a small family in Black Dragon City. They had just completed a transaction with a family in far-off Red Dragon City and were returning home.
Lin Yue’Er usually treated people kindly. Perhaps because she was new to the martial world and lacked scheming, she treated her subordinates like family, earning their admiration and respect from all the guards.
The trade team arrived at a steep mountainous region. The peaks on both sides reached into the clouds, with mist swirling around the summits. To pass the cliffs, there was a narrow path between two peaks, just wide enough for five people to walk side by side.
The meditating Chu Ming suddenly opened his eyes on horseback, shooting out two beams of light that seemed like sword auras, almost tearing through space.
His strong soul power sensed numerous mysterious soul fluctuations in the dense forest along the mountain path, prompting his alert.
The martial artist beside Chu Ming remained unaware of the danger and asked curiously. However, his expression quickly changed dramatically as he saw several black figures leaping from the dense forest on both sides of the mountain path.
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