A few weeks later.

Bing Qin Yang entered towards the room, where he found Ezoju Ling who was frowning.

There was a letter on his hands which he was reading attentively.

This picked his attention, he tilted his head lightly and he began to read it's contents.

"Oh, so I will receive my first mission already?" He said with a tone as plain as he could, yet, he could not conceal the rising smile on his face.

Ezoju Ling looked at him directly, immediately noticing his expression.

"Are you that eager to get rid of me?" He said with a smile on his face.

Bing Qin Yang remained silent.

"Yeah, that is what I thought, but I would not be so glad if I were you." The man said.

He closed his eyes and sighed.

"I admit that I had my motives, but I did not lie you when I said our job is very dangerous, and while your Soul Cultivation may be great, and you may be very resistant to corruption, that is not enough.

Any drunktard on the street, could beat you to a pulp.

If any ghost takes over them, you will either have to resort to extreme measures or die.

None of those two outcomes is good for me."

Those words only made Bing Qin Yang frown more deeply.

"But whose fault is that?"

During the past weeks, the two had been engaging in a very curious manner.

To delay the deployment of Bing Qin Yang, Ezoju Ling was forced to find an excuse.

The best excuse he found, was to give him classes, to prepare for his future missions.

He gave him 5 hours of classes daily, classes which were recorded and monitored by the will of many external parties.

However, those classes took simply too much of their time, to more or less compensate for this, the two formulated another idea.

During those classes, the two communicated through telepathic means.

And thus, they engaged in two conversations at once, in one the two had a seemingly ordinary class, whilst in the other, they made all kinds of deals and agreements.

That was already hard on itself, but it was even harder by the fact that they constantly had to pretend that nothing else was happening.

And that was just the beginning.

Those first hours of the day, where used to scheme, negotiate, plan and discuss, however they also required more time to execute those plans.

After the classes were over, they engaged in other kinds of cooperation.

The two engaged in various process, of refining Wills, researching ways to complete Bing Qin Yang's Sutra among various other things during the rest of the day.

Finally, on the night he would finally leave the room.

After Ezoju Ling left, Bing Qin Yang to somehow find the energy and time to Cultivate, and interiorize whatever he was taught on the morning.

Then, when it was late enough, he would use a technique to force himself to sleep, before waking up in the morning.

To make matters worse, during this time, almost all the food he eat was made of pills!

Pills to enhance the production of Soul Qi, pills to accelerate the blood flow, pills to increase muscle mass, pills to get calories, pills to get nutrients, pills to enhance one's concentration, pills to deal with the side-effects made by the other pills.

Pills, pills, pills.

He was already getting sick of them.

The worst part was that even though his body was receiving all the nutrients it required, his stomach still felt empty, which made him feel hungry, yet when he tried to eat, he was unable to.

....

He needed a break of his new schedule, and he would accept any excuse.

Immediately, after reading all the letter, he ran outside the room.

But Ezoju Ling shook his head helplessly.

"Hopefully that idiot will not show off his abilities so early, as long as he can shut up for a few months, I will be able to create the perfect Red Herring."

Currently, the greatest threat on their cooperation was the following.

Bing Qin Yang was too suspicious.

If anyone were to look at his records, they would find many strange events, and whilst they may assume that he inherited his eccentricity from his father, as long as they got curious enough, many clues would be revealed.

After this point, as long as they took matters on their own hands, just like he did, that poorly-concealed secret would get revealed.

To prevent this, he was planning to do something similar with money laundering, but with knowledge.

Those recorded classes were the perfect place in where he could play-pretend as a teacher, in those transactions he also familiarized with the knowledge of that youth, and he would become better at replicating it.

On the future, if the two knew more or less the same theory, if the two were regarded as teacher and student, and if the two spent enough time together, then all further doubts would be removed.

People would assume that any ability showcased by the teenager was a product of his excellent teaching.

.....

Meanwhile.

Bing Qin Yang finally arrived at the hall, which looked very chaotic.

Like a funny mirror maze, in where a myriad of locations were shown, a place where his reflection was distorted in very strange patterns.

Until finally, he found the right mirror.

He jumped towards it.

The mirror immediately absorbed it.

As he entered into the portal his body began to curve and deform, many flashy lights went through his head, that soon settled down.

He turned his head side to side, and he realized that he was on a deep forest.

Bing Qin Yang frowned, he heard some heavy footsteps nearby.

He closed his eyes, and expanded his Soul Perception.

Immediately he scanned his surrounds, and turned his head.

"Two women and...Someone in armor?" He muttered.

One of the women smiled at him from the distance.

"Oh, so are we allowed to peek, huh?" She said with a smirk on her face.

A thin blue ray was shoot towards him, followed by other two.

This was a blinking ray that constantly changed of shape.

Every time it did, it revealed a different tissue.

Firstly, it revealed his skin, then it revealed his muscles, then it revealed his muscle pathways, followed by his organs and finally his bones.

But just when it was about to scan his brain, Bing Qin Yang frowned.

"I will not allow another bastard to read my mind." He activated the power of his secrecy will.

The secrecy will, created a layer of cold ice, that slowly began to cool down those rays of light, which quickly began to condense, the three felt a sharp pain spreading through their beings.

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They immediately retreated their soul perception, yet there was still a feeling of coldness spreading through their bodies.

Especially their heads, which felt as if they're freezing.

One of the woman exclaimed.

"Amazing!

You really are amazing!"

The woman began to clap.

She had a very dark gray hair, almost completely black.

This hair was long and very messy, it even looked dirty, as there was an strange powder scattered around it.

Her head was very big compared to the rest of her body, and across her cheeks, there were many freckle-like pattern, made of that same powder.

Finally, she had very large and shiny eyes, that fluctuated from green to yellow, the strange pattern on her eyes, and the childish smile on her face, made her look very juvenile.

"Teeh-heeh, you seem to be a book of surprises, honestly when I first saw through your records, I could not believe it.

Why the Association such a weakling and, is he really the son of the incredible Bing Zhang Hung?

Heheh.

But now I see, your soul is very pretty, it has the color of the blue skies on the morning, yet it has the shape and texture of a cloud-like being.

mmm, if I were able to touch your soul, I do not know if I would hug it, or eat it.

mmm...What would be it's taste like, like cotton candy?"

"What?" Bing Qin Yang said, he took a few steps back and raised his guard.

...

The woman remained with her childish smile.

After a long pause, Bing Qin Yang on an attempt to decrease the tension asked.

"May I know your name?"

The woman tilted her head lightly, and pinched her own cheeks.

"Oh, yes, that is right!

I am Da Bao Sha, I have 15 years.

As for the paths I Cultivate?

Well, I have interest in many, but there are two which I like the most.

Soul and Explosion Path.

Hahahah, yes, I made something wonderful.

You see, do you know about that property of Soul Path of phasing out of reality?

Of remaining invisible to the eyes of everyone?

Well, I asked myself one tiny question.

Was it not possible to create a mine, a mine nobody could see or perceive.

Until it exploded.

One time, I began to experiment.

And it looked gorgeous.

It produced a very beautiful blue mushroom on the skies, a mushroom surrounded by many roses, with beautiful thorns.

Ahhh, it reminds me of my hometown."

Bing Qin Yang's eyelids trembled, he looked at her and asked.

"How...How did you came up with that technique?"

Da Bao Sha giggled.

"Oh, the story is very funny you see, on our family everyone happens to Cultivate Explosion Path and we have a little game like tag.

Basically we throw many mines and we scatter through the ground, the first who triggers a mine loses.

I used to play that game with my older brother but he always defeated me."

Bing Qin Yang's lips trembled.

Any person who did not Cultivate Soul Path, would naturally become insane after being struck with such a method.

"So...Did you ever ended up using against your brother?"

Da Bao Sha scratched her head, she winked.

"Well, kinda of...

I tried but, well, I did not knew how to control it and...

It blew up on my face."

Bing Qin Yang did not knew all the details but he could more or less guess what was the reason why she joined to this group.

"She wants to repair the damage on her Soul and or brain." He thought.

"Cough Cough Cough." A woman said interrupting his thoughts.

He turned his head and saw her.

This woman looked far more mature than the last one, she had a gray-pink trimmed short hair; her pupils were unusually large, so large that her eyes were almost completely black, and were shining with an intense light.

It looked quite creepy.

There was also her ample cheeks,and the thin layer of pale-brown skin on her body.

"My name is Zhen Zha, I happen to specialize on Ocular and Soul Path, with a bit of Earth Path on the middle to protect myself.

Anyway, as you may guess I specialize in investigative, ocular and scouting methods, through my means I am able to detect from afar, I am able to determine the composition of a material from the distance, it's aura, Qi Composition among other qualities.

I happen to be very good on detecting the weak spots of any material, and I also am quite good on telepathic methods to communicate with my allies.

To enhance the range I can use, I generally use earth path methods to create pillars where I can see things more clearly, and where I can communicate without any interference.

I also use it to protect myself on battle."

As she said this, she formed a telepathic conversation with him.

"Among you and I, those other two are insane.

Some time ago, we had a mission when we were tasked to deal with the ill.

I do not know when exactly, but at some point, they two caught the illness, and have begun to fell prey to insanity.

At some point, it got worse, their personality has been slowly warped, slowly tainted.

As if a different entity that was beyond human had taken over them, every time I see them, I see a familiar face,

with an unfamiliar expression, worse off, I am beginning to see those same damn signs, across other groups.

They are spreading, a disease that never ceases, sometimes I ask myself if I am the one who has truly lost her mind.

Yet, now that I see you I realize that we are kindred spirits, you too have-"

Da Bao Sha pinched Zhen Zha's cheek, while narrowing her eyes.

"Hey, has she begun to tell that crazy-fake story?

Do not believe a word she says, she is a pathological liar."

Even though she said this, Bing Qin Yang did not know what to think.

He began to analyse, the earlier behavior of her, until suddenly he heard laughter.

"Ah, come on, what is life without a healthy dose of deception?" Zhen Zha said.

...

...

...

Bing Qin Yang paused.

He turned his head towards the last one who remained.

There was an armored person there.

It was a very funnily looking armor that would have never existed back on earth.

Why?

Because it held not a single hole on it.

There was no place to breathe, no place to see, nothing.

There was not a single hole on it where a face could be seen.

Back on earth this design would be suicidal as it would both suffocate and blind it's user, but here, it was not actually THAT bad.

That was due to the diversity of Cultivation methods across the world.

On this world it was not that rare to see a Cultivator who could produce their own air, or see beyond their senses.

Of course that did not meant it was optimal.

After all, even though those techniques could technically be used, that did not meant they were cheap.

The process of using those techniques constantly took a burden on it's user, constantly forcing them to expend their mental energy, Qi and strain their meridians, to basically achieve the same feat they could achieve by throwing away that ridiculous armor.

This kind of armor was mostly used on two ways.

One was to train the user, by forcing them with this armor, they could both give them a heavy burden across their bodies, and could train them to not rely on their own physical senses, but instead on their spiritual means to enhance their perception, and also teach them how to maintain a Cultivation Technique for hours.

Two, was basically if you were afraid of death.

If you feared to be struck by an arrow from afar, cheap-shooted, or if you simply did not want to get hurt by any blades you could cover yourself like this, and while yes, you may be weaker, you were also safer.

So, if you were a soldier and did not care if your country died or if you were a mercenary and did not care if your client died, you could perfectly use this armor!

Unfortunately not many people were willing to work together with someone who was screaming that they were cowards.

Besides, it still looked funny.

Bing Qin Yang frowned however.

"Still, I do not know why I am thinking of this, but...I do not get the vibes that they're cowardly, instead they give me the feeling of a prideful warrior, a noble elite fighter, a veteran who engaged in a thousand of battles..."

He inspected very carefully the armor with a rising admiration on his eyes.

The armor was pristine and gorgeous, it looked like a delicate artwork.

Across the neck there were various folds of chain-armor, stacked together forming many beautiful and stylized loops.

Whilst the upper-chest of the armor was made of mostly steel, with a few gems like sapphires, mixed in between, together with a few lines made of pure gold.

Across the armor there were many engraved patterns of that of snakes, and tall dragons.

That pattern clearly proved that an spiritual array had been made, an array which protected the armor.

The person in front of him, was touching with unprecedent confidence, the scabbard of their weapon, taking a sharp sword.

They caressed the sword with their metallic gloves.

"I do not know why, but I can tell that inside that armor there must be a MAN, a real man who engaged in combat, who is able to kill with a flicker of his hands, someone who commands his troops with bravery.

Who engages in the heat of the battle with a smile on his face, someone brimming with vitality, brimming with power, brimming with manhood."

Bing Qin Yang paused again.

He began to recall his own words.

"Am I gay?" He could not help but wonder.

He had never made himself this question, but after hearing himself, he could not help but at least consider this possibility.

The man who was wearing his powerful armor approached.

He moved his feet slowly, and every time he did, there was a heavy sound spreading through the ground.

Every footstep was simple, but noble, elegant, grandiose.

"Oh, so I am the only one remaining?

Very well then, let me tell you who I am."

His voice was deep and commanded respect.

A voice that resonated across Bing Qin Yang's bones, in an almost harmonious way.

"My name is Li Zhua De and I am a native from-"

Da Bao Sha jumped on his back, she moved towards the helmet, and began to pull it down.

Li Zhua De raised his hand.

"Hey get out of me-"

As the two struggled, Li Zhua De was unable to keep his balance and shortly, he fell to the ground.

His helmet had been forcefully removed, and the image of the stoic man had been shattered.

Instead, one could see a boy with silver hair and eyes.

The boy quickly put his gaze away from Bing Qin Yang.

"Hahaha, why did you waste so much money on buying that ridiculous thing?

Your real voice is so much cooler!

And you look far cuter."

The boy sighed, he pushed his body up and looked at Bing Qin Yang with a resigned expression on his face.

"A-As I was saying, I am Li Zhua De.

And hey, I may not look like it, but I have 23 years of age.

I just look like this, because someone used an strange technique on me when I was young!

I Cultivate Sword, Soul and Wind and even have a Bloodline Ability which allows me to increase the sharpness of anything close to my aura.

My ability is so good that I can cut a sword with the air."

Bing Qin Yang raised his eyebrows, both surprised by his real appearance and by that odd ability.

"Interesting, that ability sounds powerful, I am surprised I have never heard of your Clan, could you tell me it's name?"

Li Zhua De shook his head.

"I have no Clan whatsoever, I just was born like this."

"Hey, I do not want to bother you, but what is your Bloodline Ability?" Zhen Zha asked intrigued.

"Yes, I have heard a lot about your Clan, especially about your grandfather's, father's, and brother's ability.

Yet, I have never heard about yours...

Is it something forbidden?

A mutation so powerful that nobody could ever hope to comprehend?" Da Bao Sha added.

Bing Qin Yang laughed awkwardly as he said.

"Well....I happened to be born without one."

Before he realized, Zhen Zha who had appeared before his back touched his shoulder.

"Hey, but what is your specialty?" She said with her sharp eyes.

....

With every second he spent here, the more bewildered and wary he became.

"Are you all insane?" He could not help but say.

..........

In that moment, he could not help but remember a conversation once he had with Ezoju Ling.

"Hah, are you saying that I am insane?

That I am too eccentric for your tastes?

Pfff, do not make me laugh.

Do not act as if you were sane either.

Just accept it, you are a weirdo, a freak, why, because you Cultivate Soul Path.

Or what do you really believe that a mentally-well person, would accept to play with their own mind?

Of course not.

Besides, have you never heard about this little joke.

9 out of 10 Soul Path Cultivators are insane, and the last one is very good at hiding it."