Cheng did not lie. A mere week later and he had reached the 1st stage.

Sarina as well.

The three of them stood together in one of the warehouses of the Mansion. It was deep into the night.

Cheng had Jin remain standing up in front of him. Then, he accumulated his will within his palm. The character ‘魂’ materialized in blue within his palm. He then opened his palm and rushed at Jin

Cheng’s palm connected to Jin’s dantian and then…

Jin saw his own body from behind.

Cheng spat a mouthful of blood and some dripped from his nose.

Jin was no longer in his body.

He was…what was he?

“What’s going on?” he asked slightly freaking out.

Sarina explained: “The only way for you to see another’s soul is to be aware of your own. However, that is something beyond your actual level. So, we had to figure out a different way for you to come into contact with your own soul. And this was the best way”

Cheng wiped the blood off his nose with his sleeve and added: “I separated your soul from your body. Right now, you are nothing more than your soul and, as such, in the best state to understand what your soul is”

Jin looked at himself.

He was still him but he was translucent. One could see right through his shape. It was as if he was here yet not here.

And he could feel some kind of pulling force from upwards. He could not help glancing up only to be greeted by the usual ceiling. Yet, the force remained constant. It was there, whatever it was.

Cheng noticed and stated: “Feeling an upward pull? That’s death. Every soul when leaving their bodies are attracted by the heavens to return to the circle of rebirth depending on their accumulated karma. Right now, however, your body is not dead and your soul is still connected to it. See that chain linking both your body and soul?”

Jin looked down and discovered a chain, translucent like his present body (his soul), that linked his present body to his physical one. The chain extended from one dantian to the other.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Jin asked: “What if that chain broke?”

Cheng stated matter-of-factly: “You die, soul grabbed by the heavens and so on”

Sarina added: “Don’t worry though, that thing does not break easily and certainly won’t by itself. However, you should not remain as a soul for too long either as it can deteriorate both body and soul”

Cheng continued: “Your training will consist of being separated from your body and comprehend your soul state for now. I’ll be your partner for those sessions with Sarina to assist just in case. After all, if anything were to go wrong, it would be better with both of us to hold the line”

Jin nodded. Then he asked: “How long can I stay in this form?”

Cheng showed two fingers as he said: “Two hours every five days”

Jin asked: “Would it deteriorate my body and soul if we did more?”

Cheng shook his head sideways and added: “No, you could probably support more. But we could not. This is very high-level techniques and, to be honest, beyond what our bodies should be capable of. I bled quite a lot just from using it once…”

Sarina added: “It is a safety measure for us in order to be able to remain in top shape. If something happened while we were not in top shape…Let’s just say it might not be good”

Jin acknowledged their point. Certainly, it was better not to take too much risks if one could help it.

And as such, since time was limited, he should not waste any more of it. He began to focus on himself and tried to comprehend his state.

From time to time, the two gave him pointers.

As the two hours were reached, Cheng moved closer and focused once more. The ‘soul’ character reappeared on his palm as he made a grabbing motion and jerked back his fist back.

Jin felt himself being pulled and he reopened his eyes within his physical body.

He failed to his knees and retched as blood dripped from his eyes.

It was painful.

Though bearable to him.

He endured.

A few moments later, panting, he looked up. Nothing much seemed to have changed but he could slightly feel a difference within himself though very minuscule. It was as if there was something yet there was not.

Sarina said: “Don’t worry, it’s expected to take many sessions for you to grasp this, there is no need to rush. Just go about your life as usual until we manage to get you there. We might be acting under time restraints but we are still relatively safe if my guesses are right”

Cheng was panting. He seemed like he wanted to add something but was so tired that laziness triumphed and he did not speak.

Jin was in much a similar state.

The group separated and from that moment on, they met every five days for two hours of heavy training related to the soul.

…

Three years and some later,

After another session of training,

Jin stood up and started to see it. An outline around the two. He had grasped the very beginning of the soul mysteries. He could see other people’s souls.

The trio grinned.

Sarina laughed as she said: “Took less time than I thought, let’s move onto the next step then”

Cheng nodded as he started to instruct Jin on how to recreate the skill that he used to push Jin’s soul out of him.

The first skill related to souls that one would ever learn.

And the only one that enabled one to interact with a soul.

“SOUL TOUCH”