Unsealing Emptiness

After they were finally allowed inside the palace and given an important task, Rose should have soon reported her situation to whoever had sent her.

He, however, had underestimated her cautious nature.

Having already noticed how she gave everyone a cautious glance before silently trotting out of the room. After feeling her emotions, he had no doubt about where she was going.

Letting Jinx roll to the side, he stood up from the bed and slowly walked out as well.

Raven and Blaze noticed him leaving, but as they were about to follow him, he motioned them to stay and mouthed ‘I will be back’.

Although curious, they understood the assignment and quietly sat back, eyeing each other in wonder. But soon, they joined Zier in cultivating to consolidate their power in the Soul Liberation stage.

In this stage, they could not only feel their ‘soul’ but also manipulate it to their will!

Though Ozul had learned that this ‘soul’ was just another form of energy associated with a cultivator’s own body. One thing that he found interesting was its visibility. When any cultivator of the Soul Liberation stage unleashed their soul, it protruded out of their body almost like a burning fire, but of distinct and unique color for each cultivator.

.....

Raven’s energy was black in color, Blaze’s had a deep blue, while indigo showed up in Zier’s case.

Ozul couldn’t help but wonder if the color depended on a person’s hair color. Because in their case, it most certainly looked like it did.

While the trio experimented with their soul energy, it quickly became apparent how easy it had become now to overwhelm masses of people weaker than them. They simply had to force their soul energy onto them, and they would all be incapacitated instantly. Just like how the king had forced them onto their knees with a single thought.

. . .

As Ozul trailed behind Rose hidden amidst the shadows, he arrived at the training grounds.

‘She really is cautious... well, good for her.’

She pretended to train her Spiritual Arts for about an hour until she confirmed that there was no one keeping watch on her.

And it really did help as Ozul felt another person’s presence leave the moment she had started training.

‘So they are suspicious as well, huh... Makes it easier for me.’ He smirked internally as he watched Rose finally drop her facade and naturally stroll toward the estate wall.

It took a few more minutes before she reached the wall, behind one of the weaponry storage buildings.

He watched solemnly as Rose took three large bricks out of the wall, creating a narrow hole to pass a rolled-up paper, he didn’t see from where she pulled out, to the other side.

‘Ho...?’ his senses locked onto the man who received the paper on the other side of the wall. A man barely at the initial stage of Nascent Soul Realm.

He didn’t hesitate for another moment before moving over to the other side of the wall.

There lay a man with his back resting against the high and mighty walls of the palace estate.

From anyone’s point of view, he looked like a drunkard who didn’t know any better. Even an average cultivator wouldn’t find anything wrong as he was equipped with an artifact to conceal his Spiritual Essence.

The haggard man placed his palm on the rolled-up paper and ‘struggled’ to stand up as he pushed himself up using that hand. Even though there was no one there, the man still kept up his act.

Unfortunately for him, Ozul had already set his eyes on him.

He followed the man until he reached a dark corner before appearing behind him like a gust of wind.

The man stopped in his tracks as he haggard to the side, his face painfully brushing against the wall.

“Nice act. Would you mind handing over that paper and telling me who you work for?” Ozul asked as nicely as he could, knowing full well that the man wouldn’t simply comply like that.

It had been a while since he felt this. He had changed a lot. If it was before, he wouldn’t have made such small talk. But it didn’t feel like something he should worry about. He had changed, but so does everything. It did, however, make him do things he used to believe were pointless in the past.

The man in question didn’t try to act dumb and shot at him with the intent to kill.

But of course, he was no match for Ozul. The Purity shot out of his body and instantly held that man’s hands, legs, and neck in place. He squirmed to get free, but all his efforts were futile in the face of absolute power.

Ozul arrived before him and put his hand inside his pocket, taking out the paper before taking a few steps back.

“So... feel like telling me anything? I might spare your life. Be careful with your words though, they might be your last.”

He gave the man a death stare before unrolling the paper to read the message.

“You blue shits can go to-*Khu...!*”

Before he could continue, his neck was cut open and blood sprayed out.

None of it reached Ozul as he had already left along with the paper.

He would have liked to torture the man and at least learn which kingdom had sent them, but he wasn’t in the mood for that.

He had already established that she was a spy, and that was sufficient enough for him. Whatever kingdom it was, it made no difference. The fact that he had discovered someone to lay all the blame on was all that mattered.

On his way back to the palace estate, he read the paper and destroyed it immediately afterward.

There wasn’t anything in it that he hadn’t already expected. She had just reported everything that had happened and assured the person that she was gaining the trust of the royal family.

And there was even a whole paragraph about him alone. It seemed like he had caught their attention.

Seeing as how she wrote about him and the general situation inside the palace estate the most, he could conclude that there wasn’t anything particular that she was after.

She was just an ordinary spy sent to keep watch if anything unusual goes around the palace. As these were turbulent times, all the surrounding kingdoms had their guards up.

As he arrived back in the room, Rose looked at him with a little vigilance before she quickly hid it behind a flirtatious smile.

She found it a little odd that he had left the room after her and came back after she came back as well. Being a spy, she was vigilant of everyone and everything.

Ozul didn’t mind her as he went back to his bed. If he was the talkative type, maybe he would have tried to manipulate her into doing her bidding. Fortunately for her, he found all of it a bother.

When one really thought about it, being able to sense the emotions of other living beings was quite a scary ability. In the hands of a man with quick wits in conversations, this ability could produce huge feats.

Given to a skilled manipulator, they could veer people in any direction that they wanted. After all, given such power, they would know at every moment what the other person felt.

Alas, Ozul didn’t wasn’t one to talk too much. Even now when he had felt himself change little by little, he didn’t feel like making long conversations.

And since he didn’t feel like it, he simply wouldn’t do it. That was the only legacy his mother had left him.

He went back to sleeping again until the next morning came.

It was a little before midday when one of the soldiers arrived at their door to convey the king’s summoning.

The king had heard everything from his delegates yesterday, but he didn’t call them so they could have a night’s rest.

Once again, everyone made their way toward the palace together. It took a few minutes before Ozul readied himself to get up from the bed.

As if repeating their routine, one of the guards once again escorted them to the throne room before leaving them.

This time, however, there was another man present in the room except for the king.

The man stood in shining armor but his slightly hunched shoulders conveyed the respect and loyalty he had toward the man sitting on the throne.

Their group walked forward and stopped only behind that man.

Learning from their mistake in the past, Ozul slightly bowed his head to which the king nodded in satisfaction.

Ozul knew full well he didn’t have the strength to displease that man and he saw no problem in nodding to someone with just a slight arching back.

“I heard your feats young man, and I must say you did well in bringing glory to the Blue Lion Kingdom and putting those beggars in their place.”

The king slapped the arm of his throne as he praised him.

“They were overstepping their boundaries,” Ozul replied with a straight face contrary to his prideful words. He couldn’t tell him that he did it because he was bored and wanted to go back and sleep.

“Indeed, you did well, young man.”

As the king praised him once again, the man in shining armor gave him a sidelong glance before also inspecting Kumao.

“It would have taken days to settle the talks. Since it’s done early, I have another task for you.”

Although Ozul kept up a straight face, he was twitching in annoyance. They just completed a four-day trip, and now they had to move again?

*Sigh...*

But he didn’t say anything since it seemed something important. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been an Origin cultivator in the throne room at the same time as them.