Chapter 2746: Fraudulence
"What a powerful ripple of vitality. It's already surpassed the Fifth Heavenly Layer, truly reaching the domain of the Sixth Heavenly Layer. I never thought Kun Tian would actually end up breaking through after staying in the Land of Soul Destruction for three years." A middle-aged man in white robes hovered in front of a divine hall with four Primordial realm experts behind him.
He was the second hall master, Arna. He was also a Sixth Heavenly Layer Infinite Prime.
"So what if he's broken through? He's remained in the Land of Soul Destruction for three years. In the history of our Darkstar race, no one has managed to remain in there for so long, apart from our emperor. We all know too well just how dangerous the Land of Soul Destruction is to the soul. I just hope that Kun Tian won't suffer from any side effects because of this. Otherwise, even if he's broken through, he'll probably be stuck like this forever, without any room for improvement in the future," the seventh hall master said in a strange manner. He had always been on bad terms with the fifth hall master Kun Tian, so he obviously had nothing good to say about him.
Behind the seventh hall master, An Lie and Kasol emerged from the divine hall as well. They also looked in the direction of the Land of Soul Destruction. After hearing what the seventh hall master had said, An Lie immediately sniggered, "The fifth hall master's releasing his presence meaninglessly near the Land of Soul Destruction. There's even a pulse of vitality among it all. In my opinion, there's nothing normal about this at all. Perhaps the hall master really might be right. While the fifth hall master has successfully reached the Sixth Heavenly Layer, he must have paid a certain price. His soul might even be damaged."
Vice hall master An Lie had basically spoken the seventh hall master's mind. The seventh hall master could not help but smile from the fifth hall master's suffering as he said in an unhurried manner, "If his soul really is damaged, that'll be troublesome for him. Within our Darkstar World, heavenly resources that can influence the soul are rare in the first place, let alone precious items that can heal the soul. Kun Tian's erupted with his presence the moment he's left the Land of Soul Destruction, even using his vitality. He makes it seem like he's locked in battle with someone. This is clearly far too abnormal."
When he reached there, the seventh hall master's eyes gradually lit up. In the beginning, he was just venting slightly, but the more he spoke, the more reasonable it seemed, because Kun Tian's current behaviour really did clash with his usual personality.
"Don't tell me I'm right?" The seventh hall master thought. His eyes shone brighter and brighter, now containing a sliver of joy and eagerness.
"An Lie, Kasol, let's go. Come with me to have a look." The seventh hall master immediately led his two vice hall masters to the Land of Soul Destruction.
After the seventh hall master left, the remaining hall masters all stood in front of their respective divine hall as their eyes flashed. Their emotions were slightly mixed.
"Don't tell me something's really happened to Kun Tian? The day of our great ceremony is approaching. Once it's complete, the will of the Grand Exalt of the Wood Spirits will weaken once again, and we'll be able to reach Chaotic Prime that we've only been able to dream about. If Kun Tian really is injured in the Land of Soul Destruction, it'll severely affect his future breakthroughs. He might even be overtaken by the people below him and lose his position as hall master," the second hall master Arna said in some worry. He was on relatively good terms with the fifth hall master, so he did not wish to see Kun Tian become like this.
In the next moment, Arna moved, also shooting towards the Land of Soul Destruction. He wanted to check on Kun Tian's situation personally.
With Arna's departure, another two hall masters took off for the Land of Soul Destruction. The five other hall masters remained outside for a while, before returning to their divine halls, no longer paying attention to this matter.
Outside the Land of Soul Destruction, the three vice hall masters of the fifth divine hall travelled with lightning speed, arriving at the entrance very quickly. Behind them were the second hall master Arna, the seventh hall master Getti, the eighth hall master Sen Ran and the tenth hall master Feng Xue. They had brought their vice hall masters with them, all following behind the three vice hall masters of the fifth divine hall at a steady pace. Clearly, they wanted to let the three vice hall masters reach Kun Tian first.
"Something really has happened to Kun Tian." When he was still quite far away, the seventh hall master smiled slightly, because he had already discovered with the senses of his soul that Kun Tian had already fainted outside the Land of Soul Destruction. He immediately took great delight in Kun Tian's fate.
"Hall master!"
The three vice hall masters all arrived before the unconscious 'Kun Tian'. Their expressions all changed, filled with worry and unease.
Anyone could tell that something had happened to Kun Tian with the state he was currently in. When they thought about the special characteristics of the Land of Soul Destruction as well as the landscape that Kun Tian had destroyed, all of them confirmed their suspicions.
That was although Kun Tian had successfully broken through, his soul was heavily affected as well. It might have even been damaged.
The exact thing that the Land of Soul Destruction harmed was the soul!
If something really had happened to Kun Tian, the status of the fifth divine hall would plummet drastically.
Without the support of their hall master, their three vice hall masters would be one step lower than the nine other divine halls. They would never be able to stand with their chests held high again.
As a result, the three vice hall masters worried about Kun Tian's situation the most.
"Let me check where Kun Tian is injured." The eighth hall master Sen Ran went up to Kun Tian and wanted to extend his hand to check up on him.
"Hold on!" The tenth hall master Feng Xue appeared in front of Sen Ran. She was a woman who seemed to be in her forties. Even though she seemed middle-aged, she still possessed her charm. Time had failed to leave behind too many traces on her face.
Feng Xue stopped Sen Ran from checking Kun Tian. She said, "It's best that no one touches Kun Tian with the state he's in right now. It's extremely likely that he's harmed his soul. This is extremely difficult to deal with, so let's take him back to the divine hall first."
Afterwards, the unconscious Kun Tian was taken back to the divine hall by one of his vice hall masters. The second hall master, eighth hall master and tenth hall master entered the fifth divine hall together.
The seventh hall master did not follow them in. Instead, he returned to his seventh divine hall jubilantly. He had already confirmed that something had happened to Kun Tian, which made him overjoyed.
In the fifth divine hall, a vice hall master took out a jade bed and placed Kun Tian on there, before taking a step back, standing beside the two other vice hall masters. All three of them frowned firmly. Clearly, they were extremely heavy-hearted and worried right now.
To one side, the second and tenth hall masters were stern as well. Clearly, they were on relatively good terms with Kun Tian. They were discussing how to treat Kun Tian.
The Darkstar race did not have any methods to heal the soul, so the three hall masters all felt rather helpless with Kun Tian right now. They had no idea what to do, and they were afraid of acting recklessly as well.
The eighth hall master Sen Ran remained composed. He scanned Kun Tian in deep curiosity. Afterwards, an extremely obscure power appeared from Sen Ran's feet, passing through the tough tiles of the divine hall, silently approaching the jade bed which Kun Tian laid on without even alerting the second and the tenth hall masters. Very soon, it wormed its way into the jade bed, approaching Kun Tian gradually.
Disguised as Kun Tian, Jian Chen had actually been conscious the entire time. He had been observing the surroundings constantly, so he discovered the eighth hall master's attempt a long time ago even though the two other hall masters had failed to notice anything.
"It's about time for me to wake up." Sensing the obscure, probing power from Sen Ran getting closer, Li Qingshan knew he could not continue like this. If Sen Ran really did see through his cover, all of his hard work would go to waste.
Jian Chen's eyes trembled slightly as they gradually opened.
"The hall master's awake! The hall master's awake!" The eyes of the three vice hall masters had been glued to Jian Chen the entire time, so they immediately noticed any small movements Jian Chen made.
The second and tenth hall masters who were discussing how to treat Kun Tian stopped as well. They all looked over at Kun Tian.
Sen Ran could only give up on his probing after Jian Chen woke up. He sighed inside in pity, "He actually woke up now. What a pity, I was just a bit too late."
"Argh, my head, my head hurts so much…" As soon as he opened his eyes, Jian Chen's face twisted in agony. He immediately became extremely pale as he clutched his head with both hands, even rolling off the jade bed. He laid on the ground, banging his head against the jade bed and producing a series of heavy thumps.
"Hall master… hall master, what's wrong…"
"I- it should be due to staying in the Land of Soul Destruction for too long. His soul's been affected by the residual consciousness of the planetary beast…"
The three vice hall masters all looked at one another. They watched 'Kun Tian' behave in an abnormal manner blankly as they clearly seemed rather helpless.
A while later, 'Kun Tian' finally settled down. He seemed rather tired and weak. He looked at the people in complete confusion as he asked with no idea at all, "Who are you?"
When the second, eighth and tenth hall masters heard those three words, they immediately shuddered inside. At first, they were shocked, before being followed up by disbelief.
"Kun Tian, y- you don't remember us?" The tenth hall master stared at 'Kun Tian' with widened eyes. He was in complete shock.
'Kun Tian' scratched his head and his confusion deepened. He murmured, "Kun Tian? Who's Kun Tian? That's strange. Why does it sound so familiar, as if I've heard it somewhere before?"
Afterwards, he looked at the three hall masters again and said, "You still haven't told me who you are. And, where is this place? Why am I here?"
The second hall master and tenth hall master looked at one another. They both fell silent.
The eighth hall master gazed at 'Kun Tian' deeply, before suddenly letting out a deep sight, "Looks like Kun Tian's lost his memory. He's successfully broken through to the Sixth Heavenly Layer, but the breakthrough's come at quite the cost." Sen Ran no longer had a reason to remain, so with that, he turned around and left.
"Hall master, don't you remember us? I'm Bing Yuan…"
"Hall master, I'm Tarot. Think carefully. You should remember me…"
"Hall master, I'm Dou Wujin. Have you forgotten? You once said that I'm the fiercest general under your command…"
The three vice hall masters of the fifth divine hall all said together. They all struggled to believe this. Their hall master was a mighty Sixth Heavenly Layer Infinite Prime. How had he lost his memory so easily?
"Bing Yuan… Tarot… Dou Wujin…" Jian Chen murmured softly. He seemed to be in thought, as if he was doing his best to recall the past, but after quite a while, he still ended up shaking his head. He said in a despondent manner, "I don't have any impression of these things at all. The only thing I can recall clearly is the Land of Soul Destruction. I can't remember anything else."