As soon Wu Guang was escorted by a pair of soldiers to the room he was assigned, he closed the doors and exhaled.
"How tiring is to feign being a young genius with no real knowledge" He half-muttered, half though.
And indeed, Wu Guang had been acting for a few days already. Leaving aside his interactions with Deng Zian, he had been very careful to continue with an image of a genius with a normal, if not low, amount of knowledge. Why? Because it was the image he had presented before, and now it was the time to reinforce it even more. After all, if not for his overall conduct, who would believe that he did not know anything about the Soul realm? About why or how he got a Soul far stronger than normal?
Thankfully he could stop acting like this in a pair of days. Right after he bound the key, he was supposed to set sail towards Half-Island, to unlock the sealed pocket realm. Afterward, on his own decision, he should be granted an opportunity to return to Black Island and use the Astral Gate. Even if the controlling formation was set up before the cataclysm and so did not work, he should be able to create a small coordinate formation by using a stabilizing orb and leave the plane. And in a new plane... He should be able to assume a new identity and act far more naturally.
Here one should understand that Wu Guang's thoughts about leaving when he wanted did not imply he would do it right away. Granted, he did not have any strong feelings for the Sect or the Island, but there were a few people he considered close to him, and so he thought that guaranteeing their safety was something he had to do. In his thoughts, it was something akin to "I am no saint, but I have people that I call my brothers, friends, or even followers... So before leaving, I have to make sure they are safe. I do know that I can forget about it, but, who knows? Inner demons are something that can appear from any unfinished business".
The so-called 'Inner Demons' basically were strong feelings of regret, shame, or other ones coming from negative thoughts and emotions. Almost no cultivator liked to talk about them, but they did exist... and they did make each breakthrough far more dangerous. This was easy to explain even to someone who did not cultivate, after all, if you felt so badly about something, how could you clear your mind and enter the right mindset for cultivation?
Another matter to be resolved was his oath to Kass Shaa'r. He had promised to meet him in a few months, which have almost passed and to take him out of this plane. Still, this should be not so hard to do, especially as a bound beast should be practically considered his possession and so no one could have a say on what he did.
Clearing his mind of the obligations he had to fulfill before leaving, Wu Guang also did not forget to set himself an objective. Which was nothing else than reaching the Sage realm before moving to another plane. This was understandable, as his objective would be a middle-tier plane, and cultivators below the Sage realm would be practically mortals in there. For this, he was required to learn and master at least seven more Martial Skills, plus breaking into the secret or lost level. Leaving the latter, seven Martial Skills were indeed an important goal. After all, even after considering that he could recall the 'Shadow Clone' one, he still lacked six. Elder Mo had promised him free access to the library, but even so, he doubted that he would be allowed to take more than a pair of the present skills. And considering the, about to start, war... most probably he would be required to do something to get more.
After thinking about everything he had to do before actually leaving, Wu Guang decided to center first on his current situation. Granted, there were no indications of him being targetted or used, at least more than he knew, but... a confirmation was always good.
"Chun Hua, are you able to move around the fortress?" He asked via the connection.
"Yes, there are some... formations? But they don't sense me, so I can move around freely"
"Good, can I ask you to go find Xue Ru and listen for anything related to me or the Three Hills Sect?"
"...will do"
"Thank you. And don't worry, I do remember my promise to find you a body. I think that the war should be the perfect cover to snatch one"
"Mmm, I'm off"
________________________________________________________________________
Not content with simply waiting, Wu Guang also decided to work on the disguise of his senses. His sensing capacity was far above most, if not all, cultivators on the plane, but it could still be felt by cultivators of the Warrior Lord realm. Meaning that methods to sense such as specialized formations or skills would do the same, being the reason for their constant hiding or retracting since he was picked up by Deng Zian.
Such an objective could be achieved in two ways, either using a powerful soul to disguise as a weaker one and infuse one's senses into the aura, or by using mind-power to hide one's actual level when others sensed or analyzed them. Until now, Wu Guang had been using the latter, but he was not sure of what level of Mind-power he had, after all, there was no way to know it without either fighting someone whose level was known or using a special formation. Or by using the easiest way, allowing someone else to check it for you by using their mind-power. Regretfully for Wu Guang, neither of the three options were possible for him, at least for now. It was obvious that no one would give him a stabilizing orb, while the other two were out of the question because he would reveal his possession mind power. That left a single way, using his soul.
The soul, Bai Qi's, he had fused with was at the maximum possible strength for the plane, namely the Warrior Lord 3rd level. So if he used it for the disguise, there should be no issues until he somehow met one of the main players of the plane. Something that hopefully would not occur ever, as meeting someone of that status meant that Wu Guang was considered someone far above a normal, young genius as the one he posed as.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Still, his own body was not ready to use such kind of power, mainly because of his cultivation level. But, risks were something that any cultivator would have to cope with, and so with no other way, Wu Guang spread his aura and began working on infusing his senses into it while disguising both them as 'normal' 2nd level senses and the aura as a 4th level Soul realm cultivator. The latter level being the one he had shown to Tian Xue, he had no option but to continue using it. Even though his actual Soul power, without damaging him, should be a level higher, the 5th level.
________________________________________________________________________
When a sumptuous dinner requested by him arrived, Wu Guang was, successfully, done. He had to make an effort to look like someone who was simply familiarizing with his soul as the one delivering it was his assigned assistant, or jailer, who was also a Soul realm cultivator. He did it well, but internally he knew that he had overexerted himself. Not only most of his soul-power and qi were spent, but even his physical body was affected. Granted, it was only an accumulation of tiredness, but... How hard it was to move and act normally when every single inch of your body ached and demanded rest!
Still, the objective was reached. His aura was expanded and felt like the one a normal strength 4th level Soul realm cultivator should have. While if examined closely, it would reveal that his senses, 2nd level, were infused into it. Such practice was common for cultivators, as most Soul realm and above ones preferred to use the aura for everything, including locating enemies or threats. Obviously, 2nd level senses at his age and overall time of cultivation were amazing, but, they were still under the threshold of a being referred to as 'Genius'.
________________________________________________________________________
Not long after Wu Guang finished eating, Chun Hua contacted him. She did not return to the room, but their connection worked over all the 10 miles restriction distance.
"I found the one you tasked me to, currently she is speaking with the one you called captain. About you"
"I see, can you transmit to me what you hear?"
"I can do better" After these words, Wu Guang grew dizzy.
It wasn't an attack, but more as if Chun Hua's senses were now shared with him.
Leaving aside the fact that a second set of senses was hard enough even on him, Chun Hua's ones were not normal either.
Being something prowling outside the physical space, her vision was akin to looking through a stained, very stained, window. Not only that, but she actually saw even the normally invisible qi, making the already blurred image appear as if covered with colored specks, dust, or even fog. The latter depended on how much qi there was in the location.
Luckily, Wu Guang did not need to see Xue Ru or Tian Xue, with hearing being enough this time. So a few moments later, as soon as the dizziness calmed and his mind more-or-less was used to the new sensations, he simply choose to stop seeing, fully concentrating on hearing.
And thank the heavens, Chun Hua's hearing was pretty normal. Granted, the voices were a bit muffled, but no more than that.
"...his combat capabilities currently are equivalent to mine. Even though I appeared to hold back, I was using most of my strength. Even more, during the technique and skills exchange, as instructed by the Lord, I only allowed the formation to suppress them to half of my full ability"
"And?"
"He almost managed to fight me to a standstill with his techniques suppressed to a tenth"
"..."
"I can not even guess what would have happened if we fought without suppression, or if he knew a martial skill"
"I see, so it is indeed as my uncle said, Wu Guang's prowess is at least three levels over his usual cultivation"
"Putting it lightly"
"It's a shame then that he can not be recruited or at least convinced to remain on the plane then"
"The Lord said it himself, we shall not attempt to forcefully, or not, convince him of anything. As soon as he considers his matters finished, he will be granted his wish of leaving the plane"
"...still, I do think there may be a way"
"Anything that may be on your mind, please reconsider it. The Lord has spoken about the matter, so there is no reason to risk infuriating him for a single cultivator. Whatever his prowess or talent maybe"
"I do not plan on doing anything that will go against my uncle's wishes. Still, with a strong enough obligation, considering what we have seen about his character, Wu Guang would remain on the plane voluntarily"
"...obligation? You mean?"
"Yes"
"Are you sure that you, yourself, will come to terms with such?"
"I don't see why not. My family has been pestering me about the matter, and he is not the worst candidate. Not only his talent easily surpasses most of the young geniuses, but his status as a successor for the empire-created Sect is not bad either. Even more, from the reports I read, he can compare in riches with any of the merchant families"
"So you have decided?"
"...yes"
At this moment, the connection stopped.
"What happened?"
"It seems that I have reached my limit"
"So it's your ability?"
"Yes"
"I have listened enough, so there is no problem. Thank you"
"Mm, remember your promise. I'll be taking a rest"
"I do, I do. Rest well"