Chapter 65: The Lost Soul
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The Lost Soul was the best name for this place. The whole world would agree.
The edge of the cliff was no more than ten yards wide. Below was a bottomless abyss. Blocked by the mountain on the opposite side, there was only one thin strip where light could enter.
As a result, it was always gloomy at the Lost Soul.
The wind here sounded like the wails of ghosts and howls of wolves, a sound that could freeze one’s blood.
Under solitary confinement at the Lost Soul, one day seemed like a year. This wasn’t exaggerating at all.
Generally speaking, solitary confinement at the Lost Soul wouldn’t last more than seven days. Jiang Chen’s case was really rare. People would only get a month’s punishment if they had made a severe blunder.
Jiang Chen had never had such a hard time before, neither in his previous life nor in this life.
But Jiang Chen didn’t spend his time grumbling, he took the chance to practice.
However, there are only 24 hours in a day. It was impossible to practice constantly. He had the toughest time when he wasn’t practicing.
I didn’t expect Ning Haotian to have such a great influence in the Natural Law School. Now, there is no way to take it back.
He had killed Ning Ping. If he left the Natural Law School, he would be killed by the Black Dragon City immediately. What’s more, his family would be involved as well.
Fortunately, Ning Haotian isn’t the only power here. Otherwise I would have suffered more.
I am sure there are elders who can tell right from wrong, but for now they don’t want to offend Ning Haotian over me.
It’s all right. When I achieve the Mental Wander State, half of my holy pulse will recover. I’ll gain attention by then, and I’ll tell the whole world that Ning Haotian’s holy pulse will disappear soon. He will lose his advantages completely by then.
When he was in the Sacred Zone, his father told him to be calmer than usual when facing danger.
Jiang Chen was thinking the situation through and planning what he was going to do.
At that moment, he heard footsteps coming from far away. Jiang Chen was curious as to who was coming. He mumbled to himself, “It’s not time for food delivery yet.”
When the person was finally visible, Jiang Chen found it was a man in his fifties or sixties. He was in a grey robe, and looked young and vigorous. He was making big strides.
“A Mental Wander State? Is he an elder of the school?” Jiang Chen speculated.
“Are you Jiang Chen?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“My name is Xiao Haoran. I am a swordsmanship teacher in the Martial Technique Department.”
“Oh?”
To Jiang Chen’s knowledge, only senior disciples had access to the Martial Technique Department. It was difficult to make progress in martial arts techniques simply by reading. As one of the top ten sects, the Natural Law School started their own Martial Arts Technique Department and appointed elders with great martial arts technique as teachers to instruct the disciples.
However, Jiang Chen had no idea why this guy had come for him.
On top of that, his friendliness made Jiang Chen a bit uncomfortable.
“I’ve heard that you’ve mastered the spirit of the sword. Your light beam achieved hundreds of zhangs in the recruitment test?” Xiao Haoran said with a warm smile.
“Yes.”
“You are a rare genius. I think you’ll go very far. If you want, be my disciple and I’ll take you out of here,” Xiao Haoran said.
Jiang Chen was dumbfounded. This was good news for him. He lacked supporters in the Natural Law School, people who could speak on behalf of him.
Xiao Haoran also thought he had made Jiang Chen an offer that he couldn’t refuse. Before Jiang Chen could open his mouth, Xiao Haoran went on, “But you have to promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?” Jiang Chen wasn’t surprised. He thought a request was reasonable. He didn’t expect it to be for free.
“You are talented and will achieve something big in the future. You’re having a hard time because of the misunderstandings between you and Ning Haotian. If you want, I’ll take you to see him. You can apologize to him so that you two will be on good terms again. I’m sure it will work if I put in a good word for you.”
Xiao Haoran didn’t notice that Jiang Chen’s expression had changed. He was quite satisfied with his plan and went on saying, “You future in the Natural Law School will be much brighter.”
“Misunderstanding? Apologize?”
Jiang Chen thought maybe he had misheard, or the elder wasn’t clear about what had happened between Ning Haotian and him.
“Elder, do you know what kind of misunderstanding there is between Ning Haotian and me?”
“According to the Black Dragon City, your father sold your holy pulse to them and asked for a sky-high price. Therefore there was a conflict between them.” Xiao Haoran frowned, dissatisfied with Jiang Chen’s question.
Jiang Chen sneered and sat back onto the ground. He said, “Elder, please go back. Even if Ning Haotian kneels down before me asking for my excuse, I won’t give up punishing him. You want me to apologize to him…”
“Don’t you know what the current situation is like? What can you do if you stay here?” Xiao Haoran said.
“With a noble spirit that never perishes, I’m not afraid of demons,” Jiang Chen said.
“So you don’t accept?”
Xiao Haoran’s smile was still there, but he had lost his kindness. It was like a mask on his face.
“No,” Jiang Chen said.
“How ignorant! As foolish as you are, it serves you right to suffer,” Xiao Haoran scolded him and left.
“You don’t deserve to be my teacher.” Jiang Chen smiled with disdain. He looked up to the opening.
He started to feel strange, as if he were looking at the sky from the bottom of a well.
Suddenly, the wind blew in from the opening. It sounded like the cry of a ghost.
Jiang Chen spent another three days at the Lost Soul. He hadn’t broken down yet, but he was so close. He felt anxious, and didn’t dare practice, afraid that it would go wrong.
But as a result, it was even more difficult to kill time.
I used to think solitary confinement was a good opportunity to practice, since no one would disturb me and I wouldn’t get distracted. Now I know how naïve I was.
I finally understand why the word seclusion can’t be used in just any occasion.
Only the powerful were qualified for seclusion. They had rare will and wisdom to bear the solitude and loneliness.
That day, Jiang Chen thought he couldn’t go on the same way, otherwise he would definitely break down within a month.
He looked up to the opening again. He somehow sensed something before looking up there.
The wind sounded loudly due to the terrain. The backflow of the wind made it sound like an evil dragon was flying around madly.
Jiang Chen thought he could merge it into his knife method.
Precisely speaking, into that Slashing at the Mountain!
So he started to think about it. Without a long knife, he could make do with his hand.
Maybe it was because he had rested for too long. Now that he had a goal, he dedicated himself to it completely.
One day later, Jiang Chen slashed forward with his right hand.
There was no wind, but the unique sound appeared at the Lost Soul again. This time it had come from Jiang Chen’s right hand.
The long knife transformed by genuine yuan slashed onto the stone wall and left a knife mark as deep as a foot.
It would be much more powerful if I had a real knife.
I’ll rename it the Lost Soul!
Suddenly he heard footsteps again. This time they sounded very rapid, as if the newcomer had an emergency, but there at the Lost Soul, there was no living creature except Jiang Chen.
What was weird was the person didn’t even look at Jiang Chen when he came in. Instead, he walked straight inside and brushed by Jiang Chen.