Bing Qin Yang gulped upon hearing those words.
He closed his eyes, in an attempt to calm himself down.
"Huh?" Unexpectedly, he noticed something within his bloodstream.
His veins were bulging, and a soft-sensation of energy was spreading through his body, treating his wounds, and strengthening his body.
"I told you, did I not?
That was my gift to you." Ezoju Ling said plainly.
Bing Qin Yang closed his lips tightly, he began to analyse.
"Curious, why he would he do this?
I mean, if he truly enjoys my pain why would he help me?
Wait, don't tell me.
He is one of those Tsundere teachers that constantly berate and push their students to their limits, but are actually fond of them.
Shit, those are the worst of all!"
Ezoju Ling tilted his head lightly.
"Tsundere, what does that even means?
Whatever the case may be, do not misunderstand me.
I am not fond of you, and the reason why I gave you that aid was because I was forced by my spiritual contract.
You see, the test I gave you, was not actually official, but was one of my own addition.
However, as stated by one of the many norms of my contract, every of such tests, must not endanger the participant, be within an acceptable level of difficulty, and finally, the examiner should reward the participant in case they succeed.
The test I gave you was not really hard, as long as you were brave enough, anyone could do it.
Of course, I never thought that you would actually complete it, I assumed that by the end of it, you would be begging me to stop.
But oh, well, I underestimated you lightly."
Bing Qin Yang sighed exaperatedly.
"So, basically the first test was just torture for your own amusement."
...
He ignored the examiner and began to circulate his Qi.
Of course, he did not attempt to Cultivate his incomplete new technique, after all, he could not take any risks on such a crucial moment.
The two kept their distance, and not spoke with each other.
In the meanwhile, because he was forced to, Ezoju Ling treated all the wounds he could.
The time for rest had ended, and another trial would begin.
Ezoju Ling smiled lightly.
"The last test was a bit too hard, I recognize this.
So, let us make this a bit simpler.
You see, there are many people ignorant outside, people who simply do not know the most basic things, such people are not allowed to be with us.
Having said this, the test I will give you, will be quite straightforward, you simply must state what do you see, be it shape, the result of an equation, or a number.
Let us begin with something simple."
He raised his hand, and lifted his middle and index finger.
"How many fingers I do have lifted up?"
Bing Qin Yang narrowed his eyes.
"3."
An ethereal white light appeared, as another finger materialized itself.
"You were indeed correct."
"What is this shape?"
"A circle."
"The result of this equation?"
"77."
Ezoju Ling body flickered, he appeared behind Bing Qin Yang and whispered
."Now, how many fingers I have lifted up?"
Bing Qin Yang tried to turn his head, but just when he did, Ezoju Ling appeared on the other side.
"What about now?"
"..." Bing Qin Yang sighed, knowing what his so-called examiner was doing, he released his Soul across the area, even though it was being suppressed partially, due to the various methods, he was still able to take a look at his whereabouts.
Ezoju Ling pondered a few times, attempting to catch him off guard, but each of his attempts failed.
Until he revealed a wide smile.
"What about now?" He raised his two hands and charged straight towards him, aiming at his stomach.
"6."
Bing Qin Yang blocked those attacks, on the last second, before he was struck on the eyes again.
"What about now?"
"2."
"What about now?"
...
He was struck over and over again, by the end of the session, his body was filled with bruises, and he was exhausted on the ground, with a lot of cold sweat on his forehead, and some bleeding.
"Alright, the test has ended, you really did great, now, let us take another break..." Ezoju Ling said with a wide smile.
...
Bing Qin Yang circulated his Qi once more, during all this time, Ezoju Ling could not help but realize something.
"Even now, after being pushed so far, he still refuses to reveal the secret.
Interesting, I wonder if my guess is right..." He chuckled.
Before the exam even began he had some suspicions regarding the attainment of the youth, it was essentially impossible for him to develop to this extent, without a proper tutor.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
The Bing Clan was one of those military-oriented Clans, whose population constantly engaged in conflict, and thus had very little researchers, and due to their natural Bloodline Ability, they're prone towards Yang.
Which meant, that even the researchers normally focused on the brain, not the soul.
Yet, he had such a profound Soul Foundation and knowledge.
"Of course, none of that would be proof enough, however, there is another proof I do have.
The research he has been making.
How would I say this?
The concepts behind all his theories are incredible, and the logic is very sound, I could see his experiments actually working and revolutionizing the Cultivation world, yet on practice, all his experiments, look as cheap imitations of the real deal.
That is because they are.
If my theory is not wrong, he must have found an inheritance when he was very young, that would also explain other seemingly foolish behavior, like his tendency to go to ghost houses, or buying crap.
If he had found an inheritance of a prestigious Cultivator, he may have acquired special means, to ponder and see through the truth of things.
Heh.
I naturally, am not daring enough to take your inheritance away from you, however I am daring enough to ask enough questions, until you reveal some of it's contents, with that I would be satisfied."
...
Another test began.
"Alright, this time, let us test the flexibility of your soul, try to move it seventy meters outside your body."
"Now, change the shape of the parts of the soul you're releasing to give them the shape of an spiral, now make a double spiral, now a triple spiral..."
...
Followed by another test.
"Alright, this one will be tough, you will be trying to purify the Soul Qi in this vial on a period of 3 hours or less-"
"ARE YOU NOT BEING TOO UNFAIR?
Bing Qin Yang could not help but shout.
Ezoju Ling's lips curved into a smile.
"Oh, are you not a bit too arrogant?"
Bing Qin Yang raised his arms.
"Look, I doubt that there are many candidates, with half the speed of reaction I have, whose Soul Foundation is a third deep as mine, and who can stretch their soul with a fifth of the precision I do.
Yet, you keep pushing me and pushing me towards my limit.
So, who exactly can pass your tests?
A freaking monster."
Ezoju Ling shook his head.
"No, no, no, you misunderstood me.
You were doing fine, before.
As you said, you are quite good of a candidate, exceptional even.
However, have you forgotten my words?
To join us, you need to undergo hardship, to prove your willpower.
Yes, you may be powerful, but through your soft, meek willpower, you have shown that you are not fit to be with us.
If you keep complaining, you may not pass our tests."
Bing Qin Yang was outraged by those words, however, he suddenly paused.
Recalling, the past words of Ezoju Ling.
"You...You really do not want to be here, do not you?
I get it, you... You are basically trying to sabotage me!"
Ezoju Ling laughed heartily, and began to clap slowly.
"Very well, you have figured out the truth.
Indeed, I do not want to be here, if I could, I would leave this test halfway, but I cannot.
Which is why, I am bending the rules, as much as I can.
As long as I give proper reasoning, that aligns with the contract, I can basically do whatever I want!
Hehehe, who is going to stop me?"
What Ezoju Ling was doing, was not very unusual.
Very often, when people were subjected to unilateral Spiritual Contracts, they....Tended to become rebellious, even if there was once loyalty, once the realizations kicks in, that you are basically an slave for your whole life, you would become treacherous.
Even if you were not allowed to go against the contract, you would do your best to guarantee that the results would go poorly.
Of course, there were even more stricter contracts out there, that prevented even things like free thought.
But...
Who would even accept such contracts?
Who would rather become a puppet, than to simply die like a human!
...
On the current world, it was known that those subjected to spiritual contracts, did very poor workers.
Bing Qin Yang crossed his arms, at the unfairness of the situation.
"You, you are sabotaging your association!"
Ezoju Ling shrugged.
"I am, so what?
Is not, as if I want to give any of those fuckers, a bit more of power."
"..."
On that moment, Bing Qin Yang realized something.
"Since the beginning you have been pushing the laws of what is acceptable.
You woke me up earlier, made me eat my vomit, and pushed me in all other ways and forms.
None of those terms, are 'above', what are you expected to make, however, by pushing everything to the edge, you are able to grind me out, mentally and physically, making the test progressively harder.
Moreover, you are also looking for excuses to decrease my amount of points, and will also resort to nitpicking and you may even add more of those 'extraofficial tests.'
So basically, I need to excel at everything, have a huge mental power, resilience, resistance, endurance, and I must be able to endure whatever bullshit to throw at me.
All, just to get the minimum grading calification.
Am I right?"
Ezoju Ling smiled widely.
"Hey, is my duty as your examiner to tell you, that the time is still ticking, you need to clear up that vial."
...
Resigned, Bing Qin Yang raised his index finger, creating a tiny translucent blue flame.
This flame began to heat up, the Soul Qi, until it began to boil.
Bing Qin Yang created an spiritual barrier to isolate his soul from the object in question, to prevent soul corruption.
When most of the Soul Qi had been cleared away, he directly absorbed it into his bloodstream.
...
Another test begun soon enough.
"Alright, let us begin with another one.
This one is quite special, as it is related to the creation of the Artificial Wills.
Do you remember what a will is right?
Basically, like a ghost, a concentration of high density of Soul Essence, which often is related to a certain emotion.
The wills that emerge from strong emotions, are the most common type of wills, and are called 'Emotion Wills.'
But I guess you already knew this, right?" Ezoju Ling narrowed his eyes briefly.
"Huh, very strange...
I sense no soul fluctuation that indicates he knows this, but this is something elementary."
He coughed.
"Ehem, if you are confused, allow me to explain a bit.
Ghosts, often acquire an ability based on their obsession, a ghost of a drowning man, may acquire the ability to drown others, basic, right?
But...Why are those abilities exclusive to ghosts?
Could not you technically split a tiny piece of your soul, give it a certain shape, and feeling, to create the same thing?
That is on essence an Artificial Will, or more specifically an 'Emotion Will.'
An 'Emotion Will', even though is far below the level of a ghost, are also quite helpful, as you can give them a myriad of abilities, based on the feeling you had when you made them.
You can create a will to heal yourself, to comfort yourself, to attack, to defend, to move, etcetera, it depends on your intent.
Of course, that is not all.
To finally create a Will, you must 'cut' it, outside your soul, all while retaining your control over it.
You can do so by using an spiritual string.
Anyhow, there are many kinds of will, but we will begin with this one first."
While Ezoju Ling explained this, he kept observing the youth.
"mmm....He may have been taught those concepts, but with a different terminology?
Regardless, the knowledge of creating wills is not available to the public, as it's quite dangerous, and thus he should have no prior knowledge of this.
If he has done this before, he will feel a bit of wariness, and will carry certain steps to ensure his safety, that will be the final proof I need, to know that he received an inheritance."
However, at the next moment he sighed.
"Anyway, as stated by the contract, I have to explain you some tips to perform this.
To create an emotion will, there are many ways, but the easiest of all, is to convince yourself about something.
To believe that you cherish something so dearly in your heart, or that you despise it with all your soul, that is more or less the gist of this."
Ezoju Ling lifted his hand and he began to drag a tiny pebble towards himself.
"Let me give you an example."
The tiny rock reached his hands.
He caressed the rock; he put his cheek close to the rock, as he muttered.
"I love you, I love you my dear rock.
You are the prettiest gem on the world!"
He hugged and kissed the pebble.
"You fill the gap in my heart,
that the wife I never had left."
Ezoju Ling began to lick the pebble.
"You are oh, so precious..."
Bing Qin Yang looked dumbfounded, as Ezoju Ling signed awkwardly an strange song.
He kept playing with the rock, as if it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
Bing Qin Yang was about to look away, until he heard a tiny crack on the pebble.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
Ezoju Ling screamed loudly, tears came out of his cheeks.
An overwhelming celeste light appeared all around his body, which began to concentrate around his arm, then towards his right hand, creating a dark-blue sphere.
With the nails of his left hand, he cut the sphere, and created a thin thread connecting him to it.
Ezoju Ling cleared away the tears on his cheeks.
"Alright...Alright...I have already cleared all my emotions, huff, that was quite the trip." He said with a very tired tone, before turning his glance towards Bing Qin Yang.
"Ehem, as I said is all about convincing yourself about one thing.
Of course, the difficulty on doing this varies depending on the beliefs you already have, for example, is easier to convince yourself that you love a woman than a man, if you're straight, and the opposite is truth if you are gay.
In summary, even though is possible to forcefully fool yourself into believing something, is far easier to draw and amplify any desire you already have."
Bing Qin Yang tilted his head lightly, looking at the broken pebble on the ground.
"Today has been quite the trip.
I am beginning to second-guess my decision about joining here, hell I am even beginning to consider ditching out Soul Path!" He could not help but mutter.