Capítulo 123: Hunter 123: Professional Use
"Reincarnation Sect… That name sounds familiar!"
Zhang Chulan muttered to himself as he read about the sect mentioned by Lu Liang, feeling a strong sense of déjà vu.
"Where did I hear that? I've only recently started learning about the Outcast world; before, I knew nothing. Since this guy is the one who mentioned it, it must be Outcast organization, so I must've heard about it recently.
The Outcast forces I've come into contact with lately are Quanxing, Luo Tian Dajiao, Longhushan Tianshi Fu, Fengjia Tianxia Hui, and more… I've heard about quite a few…"
Zhang Chulan began to recall his experiences from the past few weeks.
His life had changed ever since he met Feng Baobao, and then he encountered the Corpse Manipulator… Hmm? Corpse Manipulator, Liu Yanyan!
Zhang Chulan suddenly remembered where he had heard about the Reincarnation Sect—wasn't it that cool guy riding a bicycle who was promoting the church?
He had thought it was something else entirely. So that guy was Outcast too? He hadn't noticed at all back then!
Zhang Chulan: "Are you saying you've been caught by people from that sect? Did you see a handsome young man with a strange temperament?"
Lu Liang: "You know their sect leader?"
Zhang Chulan: "…"
Afterward, Zhang Chulan replied to Lu Liang with a "I can't help you" and then deleted the chat messages. It wasn't that he really couldn't help, but it would be odd to suddenly ask Xu San and the others about the Reincarnation Sect when it was none of his business.
Zhang Chulan was long accustomed to hiding his true abilities. Whether dealing with other Outcast or with Xu San and Xu Si, Zhang Chulan always concealed parts of his true nature and capabilities.
He was very clear about what was necessary and what was trivial, and what could be abandoned.
"Reincarnation Sect… I don't know what to say about that sect leader."
Zhang Chulan tossed his phone aside, laying on his back and staring at the ceiling. He recalled the calm demeanor of the man who had made Lu Liang's life uncertain, riding his bicycle leisurely. Zhang Chulan couldn't help but feel a bit curious.
"Forget it! I'll just ask Xu San and Xu Si about it later if I get the chance!" Zhang Chulan decided to push it out of his mind. What mattered more to him now was his special training—after all, he was already ten years behind other Outcast of his age!
…
"Do you know where the Quanxing Outcast hiding in this city is?"
Lin Jiu asked Lu Liang the next day.
"Well… I do know a few."
Lu Liang wasn't eager to share, but his instincts told him that lying could easily be detected by the other party, and the consequences would be on him.
Lin Jiu's passive soul sense could detect a hint of the target's thoughts—not the exact idea, but he could tell if a simple statement was true or false. Because of this, Lin Jiu found the Soul-Refining technique even more valuable.
...
Same place as always.
This abandoned haunted building had saved Lin Jiu a lot of trouble; maybe he could have Liao Xiaobing and the others renovate it someday.
Three Outcast were tied up and leaning against a load-bearing pillar. Lin Jiu walked over and removed the items stuffed in their mouths.
"Mmhh mmhh~"
Lin Jiu was momentarily puzzled, then realized he had stuffed the rags in too forcefully, dislocating their jaws. He quickly cracked their jaws back into place.
"Sorry about that, I'm still a bit rusty at this."
Lin Jiu said, observing the three. He hadn't sealed off their Qi flow, hoping they wouldn't try any tricks. And they shouldn't forget that Lu Liang's Soul-Refining technique could be used on the dead too.
"Brother, I haven't done anything bad!"
The Outcast with purple hair widened his eyes and pleaded loudly.
But Lin Jiu remained unmoved. It wasn't like he was here to punish them for some heinous crime or to enforce justice. If he had to find test subjects, he might as well use those who were of no value to the country or society—trash, essentially.
"Hmph! Where did these two little brats come from? Trying to deceive! To ambush me…"
The Quanxing Outcast next to the purple-haired one was quite indignant, thinking he was only in this situation because he was ambushed.
Realizing his Qi hadn't been restricted, he started to gather Qi to break free from his bonds, intending to give Lin Jiu a taste of his own medicine.
However, just as he began to move, Lin Jiu, who had been watching them closely, noticed. Before the Outcast could finish his sentence, the blade of [Dawn Shadow] had already pierced through his chest, pinning him to the load-bearing pillar behind.
"Start with this one."
Lin Jiu pointed at the Outcast pinned to the pillar and said to Lu Liang. Afterward, Lin Jiu focused his perception on Lu Liang, concentrating intently.
Under Lin Jiu's intense gaze, Lu Liang struggled to calm his breathing. He extended his hands toward the Outcast pinned to the pillar, who was now barely clinging to life and began to perform the Soul-Refining technique.
Blue Qi enveloped the Outcast, and soon something was extracted from his body, turning into a visible substance.
Whether it was an innate ability or a learned skill, Qi always followed specific patterns when used. However, innate abilities operate on instinct, making them difficult to explain to others.
Lin Jiu couldn't see through meridians and track the flow of Qi, but he could sense that when Lu Liang performed the Soul-Refining technique, his Qi was mixed with his soul power.
The Qi mixed with soul power invaded the target's body, and because of the presence of soul power, his Qi could come into contact with the soul, wrapping it and extracting it.
This was why Lu Liang's targets for Soul-Refining were best if they didn't resist or were even willing. During the process, Outcast who hadn't trained in soul techniques couldn't handle the soul power.
But they could disrupt the portion of Qi mixed with soul power, causing the Soul-Refining technique to fail and potentially even lose some soul power, injuring the user.
"So, if one could control the soul energy to invade others while maintaining a connection with this portion of soul energy, they could achieve the same result."
Lin Jiu pondered.
Soul energy was purer than the Qi used in Lu Liang's Soul-Refining technique, but Lin Jiu couldn't control the soul energy left inside an enemy's body, so he couldn't extract souls.
Lu Liang's Qi was always connected to him, while Lin Jiu's soul energy, once unleashed, was like the Qi orbs Feng Baobao threw out.
"Those Qi orbs… Maybe I can consult the mirrored Zhang Chulan in the trial field when I return to the Reincarnation Paradise."
Lin Jiu thought of Zhang Chulan's series of lightning techniques, which could be controlled after leaving the body. If he could control soul energy after it left his body, it would greatly expand his combat options.
The ability to interact with souls was fundamental; even the Quanzhen Sect's Yangshen Projection could do that. But the uniqueness of the Soul-Refining technique lies in its precise manipulation of souls. Extracting a complete soul required delicate operations, and modifying soul memories required even finer control.
Lin Jiu pulled [Dawn Shadow] back, and the Outcast immediately died, saving Lu Liang the trouble of having to put the soul back.
"This should last a few days."
Lu Liang indicated that this complete soul would be enough for him to work on for quite some time.
Lin Jiu glanced at the two remaining Outcast, who was now terrified, and decided to take them back.
"You can start your performance."
Lin Jiu was ready to observe Lu Liang as he processed the soul using the Soul-Refining technique.
Lu Liang still believed that the Soul-Refining technique was an innate ability and couldn't be taught. Since the other party wanted to watch, he would just go ahead and perform. He figured that once the other party gave up… uh, he might lose his value.
Realizing this, Lu Liang suddenly hoped that Lin Jiu would discover something through his demonstration so that he would have some value and his life would be spared.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder