Chapter Sixteen: The Ceremony of Sealing Techniques

  As he turned around, an old man with a faint smile stood quietly behind Zong Yin, giving him a big fright.

  Zong Yin gazed warily at the old man who had suddenly appeared, but he didn't sense any fluctuations in his soul power. The old man's long shirt was tattered and worn out, and his white hair was disheveled, yet Zong Yin felt that this person was not ordinary. He stood behind him, giving off an unobtrusive feeling, like a speck of dust that wouldn't attract attention.

  He rubbed his eyes hard, confirming that there was indeed a person in front of him. Zong Yin's face was extremely strange, and if he hadn't seen the old man with his own eyes, he would have suspected that his soul power had been overworked these past two days, causing hallucinations.

  "Be careful, this person is not simple."

  Just as Zong Yin was still lost in thought, Hun Yu's slightly solemn voice rang out first. This tone of voice, even when Hun Yu was discussing that mysterious black shadow back then, Zong Yin had never seen before.

  Zong Yin's heart was suddenly shocked. Since learning about Hun Yu's identity, Zong Yin could be said to have been completely obedient to his words. Anyone who could make Hun Yu say that they were not simple people must be extraordinary, let alone this old man who looked very dangerous at first glance.

  "Yes, sir."

  With Mo Yu's reminder, Zong Yin immediately bowed his head respectfully and replied.

  "Your attitude isn't bad either. Alright, I have a soul skill here that's very suitable for you, take it and cultivate it well, work hard!"

  The old man's smile expanded several points on his face as he saw Zong Yin, and he took out a gray rectangular stone slab from his pocket and handed it to Zong Yin.

  "Is this a one-time gray star assist ultimate move?!"

  Zong Yin's reading in the library over the past few days wasn't for nothing, as a look at this stone-faced man revealed a hint of surprise. Modern soul techniques are all recorded in books, and to successfully cultivate them, one needs some special materials to assist. Even the cheapest soul technique materials cost tens of gold coins, and the materials for Zhao Yajing's White Star Healing Technique had cost over a hundred gold coins to collect.

  Moreover, having the materials does not necessarily mean that the cultivation will be successful. Each soul skill has its own unique soul pattern, and to imprint the soul pattern on the soul stone requires a certain level of soul power control ability. If it fails, one can only restart by finding new materials and continuing to cultivate.

  But in the Soul Society three thousand years ago, training in soul techniques did not have such requirements. At that time, all soul techniques were directly engraved on stone tablets, wooden boards and other objects, and these objects that carried soul technique patterns were called Seikijin. In the process of engraving the soul technique pattern, those special materials had already been secretly added to the Seikijin, so it was enough to use them directly.

  However, as history changed, the secret method of carrying special materials was lost, and later generations retreated to seek secondary methods, recording soul techniques in books.

  Nowadays, those sealed technique scrolls that have recorded soul techniques are all rare items. They are often used once or twice, and the power stored in them will be exhausted, causing the scroll to lose its effect. It's truly a case of using one lessening one's stock. Sealed technique scrolls can mostly only be found in some ancient ruins, and even gray star soul technique scrolls have been sold at sky-high prices at auctions.

  Unexpectedly, it has now appeared in front of Zong Yin. Judging from the color and shape of this square stone slab, Zong Yin can easily see that it is a gray star's auxiliary soul technique. In the past, triangles represented combat-type martial soul techniques, circles were healing-type recovery soul techniques, while rectangles were versatile auxiliary-type assist soul techniques.

  That's it, what's most important is that with Zong Yin's memory ability, this auxiliary soul-assisting technique isn't even recorded in the "Soul Technique Encyclopedia"!

  As soon as he thought about it, Zong Yin had already roughly guessed the origin of this stone slab, after all, there was an ancient relic under the city of Gutai that had been left for many years.

  "What...huh? Where's everyone?"

  Zong Yin lowered his head and was stunned for a while, he had already realized the value of this unrecorded soul technique, even if it were a gray star level, it would probably be snatched away by countless people.

  No work no pay, he just wanted to politely decline, but when Zong Yin raised his head, the old man was gone without a trace, as if he had never appeared before. If it weren't for the stone slab in his hand being real, Zong Yin would have suspected that he was having hallucinations due to mental fatigue.

  "That old man was just one step away from the realm of returning to the truth, and the six soul stones in his body had already begun to slowly merge together. Unexpectedly, there was actually someone who dared to merge soul stones. Doesn't he fear becoming one with heaven and earth?"

  Hun Yu's voice was still filled with solemnity, and even carried a hint of shock and confusion.

  "Why did he give me this letter then?"

  Zong Yin and Hun Yu were different, after all, he hadn't personally experienced the terror of that level. What he cared about was only this thing in front of him. In his opinion, if that old man was so formidable, then the things he brought out must have been extraordinary.

  As soon as he finished asking, Zong Yin discovered that a faint stream of soul power extended from his hand into the stone slab.

  "When someone reaches his level, everything is done according to their preferences. This is a growth-type soul technique, and since he gave it to you, it means you're really suitable for this soul technique. People at his level rarely misjudge, so just focus on cultivating it with peace of mind. How could someone fuse with a soul stone without being assimilated by the heavens and earth? It's extremely strange..."

  A moment later, the voice of Hun Yu sounded again, casually answering two sentences from Zong Yin, and then sank into the depths of Zong Yin's soul with a faint whisper.

  Zong Yin completely ignored Mo Yu's last mutter, saliva had already dripped from the corner of his mouth. A growth-type soul skill! Among the 30,000 known soul skills, only a few dozen were growth-type soul skills, each marked as gray-starred soul skills, but they would increase in power with the advancement of the Soul Master's level.

  By the middle to late period, it is already comparable to the soul technique of Hei Xing. The most crucial point is that each growth-type soul technique requires a large amount of extremely rare auxiliary materials to learn, and ordinary people can't even gather those materials even if they know the cultivation method.

  But the ancient stone slab in front of him did not have such restrictions, Zong Yin could vaguely judge that the function of this soul-assisting technique was to temporarily enhance his abilities in all aspects. The image that emerged in his mind was that of a man with a scar under his left eye, who could make part of his body gigantic, wearing a grass hat. Excited, Zong Yin had already begun to tremble constantly.

  No matter what reason it was, he had already decided to cultivate this soul-assisting technique.

  Like a thief, he looked around cautiously to make sure no one had discovered his treasure, and then Zong Yin quickly stuffed the stone slab into his bosom and rushed back to his dormitory.

  At the entrance of the library, he met Xiaoluo Lanhui again, and this time she was followed by a large group of boys. From their eyes, it could be seen that these people were the legendary flower protectors.

  Zhong Yin, who had a guilty conscience, was not familiar with Lan Xin to begin with. At this time, seeing such a large crowd of people, he naturally didn't have the mood to greet them. He lowered his head and didn't even glance at the crowd, quickening his pace as he walked away.

  The gate of Naihe Library was just a little bit open, and Zong Yin wanted to go out, but he had to squeeze together with Lan Xin and the people around him.

  "Aren't you blind! Can't you see beautiful Miss Blue is going in! Sir, do you know! Wait on the side!"

  A certain Li Zongyin, who had recently died, saw Zong Yin walking quickly with a bright eye. Suddenly he took a step forward, and with one hand heavily pushed on Zong Yin's shoulder, loudly shouting in an arrogant tone.

  The boys around him pouted, with a hint of regret in their expressions, as if they were unhappy about being preempted by him.

  Zong Yin had formed a Human Soul Stone, but unlike others, he didn't use his soul power to strengthen his body. His physique was naturally inferior to those who had undergone soul power strengthening, and with this one push, he retreated several steps, almost falling on his butt.

  A surge of anger suddenly burst forth from Zong Yin's eyes, and the man's expression only fueled his ire. He hated this kind of arrogant thing the most - with a face that looked like he was the number one in the world, what a joke! Even if your father's name is Li Gang, there are still many people who can kill you, what makes you so arrogant?

  Furthermore, during this period of time, he was constantly being bullied, but couldn't find anyone to vent his frustrations on. Neither the mysterious black figure, nor Black Forest who was evaluated by Muxi as having a meticulous mind, nor even Muxi himself could be moved by him. However, at that moment, the person in front of him, whom he regarded as trash, suddenly stirred up a surge of evil fire that rushed to his heart.

  The person who pushed Zong Yin was Shen Peng, a classmate of Lan Xin's. He is one of Lan Xin's admirers. Today, their instructor gave them a day off, so he and other admirers of Lan Xin accompanied her to the library to study.

  The name of reading books is actually false, finding opportunities to get close to Lan Xin is the real one. He already knows some small secrets about Lan Xin. If he can win Lan Xin over, his life in Soul School will undoubtedly be much more glorious and easier.

  Shen Peng, who was thinking about how to stand out from the crowd and make Lan Xin look at him in a new light, suddenly found an opportunity that came knocking on his door. Seeing Zong Yin's dark and thin appearance, he didn't hesitate for a moment. Shen Peng immediately showed off his most handsome and domineering side, and ruthlessly pushed Zong Yin out of the way as he was about to squeeze through the crowd.

  Shen Peng was still waving his hand and adjusting his posture, smoothing out his bangs, feeling quite good about himself, and didn't even bother to look at what kind of reaction Zong Yin had.

  Zong Yin's face was filled with rage, and he suddenly rushed up, punching Shen Peng's face with a loud bang. He knocked him to the ground, and then kicked Shen Peng in the stomach, spitting a mouthful of saliva on his face.

  "Everyone thinks I'm a pushover! A rabbit will bite if cornered, and a dog will jump over the wall when desperate! Are you guys trying to force my hand?! You sons! Don't think you can keep being arrogant forever! One day, I'll trample all of you underfoot!"

  Zong Yin's emotions were stirred up and he burst out scolding loudly, although it was directed at Shen Peng, but the content was clearly not about him.

  Shen Peng was completely stunned, and it wasn't until Zong Yin finished scolding him that he came back to his senses. He had never expected that Zong Yin would dare to rush up in front of so many people without making a sound. Did he not know that he was alone?