"Why won't they let us pass?"
At a checkpoint near the border of the Heavenly Soul Empire, a crowd had gathered at the entrance, bustling and arguing heatedly with the guards there.
"By His Majesty's decree, from this day forward, no one may approach the border without cause. Anyone needing to cross must first state their reason in the major cities and obtain a pass document before being allowed through."
"How can it be so troublesome? In the past, when we passed through here, everything was fine."
"Yeah, and this place hasn't had anyone guarding it for a long time. We're just passing through; we're not going to the Sun Moon Empire."
Seeing that the soldiers' words hadn't dispersed the crowd, an officer suddenly stepped forward, three yellow and one purple, four soul rings rising around him, as soul power surged out in intimidation.
"Silence!"
As his voice fell, the crowd immediately quieted down, almost everyone turning to look at the officer.
"Things are different now from the past. His Majesty's decision is also for the safety of the people. You need only comply. If you continue to cause unreasonable trouble, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
Though there was still some dissatisfaction on their faces, seeing a soul master step forward to speak, no one dared to resist for a moment. Some were already muttering as they turned back, while others lingered, hoping for some leniency.
"Alright, you watch this place well. No one is allowed through." The officer said this and was about to turn back to leave when the soldier beside him shifted slightly, as if wanting to say something.
As a soul master, the officer quickly noticed and turned his head to glance that way.
"What's wrong? They don't understand, but you still don't? Recently, things in the Sun Moon Empire haven't been calm. The situation is different from before. Border matters cannot be taken lightly. Raise your vigilance!"
"Yes!"
The soldier stood straight and responded loudly.
Their conversation also reached the ears of the nearby crowd. Among them was a somewhat thin and frail figure who, upon hearing this, finally turned away, weaving through the crowd to leave the area.
But just as she emerged from the crowd, she accidentally bumped into someone.
"Sorry."
The figure didn't look up, apologized, and then hurried off into the distance.
Yet after walking a few steps, she could still feel a gaze fixed on her, impossible to shake off.
A sense of vigilance rose in her heart. She slowly turned her head and saw a very young-looking face staring intently at her.
"I'm really sorry for bumping into you. Is there anything else?"
Lin Xiao slightly frowned, looking at the girl who had carelessly collided with him.
Her oversized robe concealed a slender body. Though her face appeared disheveled, beneath the dust, one could still discern skin that was clearly not that of an ordinary person.
Either the clichéd scenario of some noble young lady secretly running away from home, or...
Moreover, what caught Lin Xiao's attention wasn't this, but the familiar feeling he sensed from her.
At his current cultivation level, illusions might occur, but rarely. Though he had no recollection of this face in his memory, he had definitely encountered this person somewhere before.
After pondering for a moment, he didn't continue questioning and instead glanced at the nearby checkpoint. "What happened up ahead?"
The girl followed Lin Xiao's gaze. "They won't let anyone pass up there."
This place was still some distance from the border between the Sun Moon Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire. It seemed the recent actions in the Sun Moon Empire had made the Heavenly Soul Empire this cautious.
Lin Xiao slightly raised his head, pondering in his heart.
The Extreme North was perpetually covered in ice and snow, making it hard to judge the seasons outside from the surroundings. Only after leaving the Extreme North and entering the Heavenly Soul Empire did he realize the scenery around him differed from his expectations.
After finally finding someone nearby to ask, he learned that more than three months had passed from when he began his breakthrough until now.
No wonder, toward the end, even with his mental strength, he had lost consciousness.
But the gains from spending so much time were naturally substantial. Just as Electrolux had said, along this path, Lin Xiao could feel a power constantly integrating into his body through the soul core.
That was precisely the soul power accumulated over 700,000 years by the Snow Empress. The Snow Empress's fusion with the undead plane prevented him from directly absorbing her soul ring, and due to this special fusion method, he couldn't obtain her soul bone either.
But similarly, this method left no waste at all. The soul bone wouldn't vanish into nothing; it would fuse with the Snow Empress's vast power, leaving him with no bottlenecks in his cultivation for some time to come.
"You want to sneak across?"
For some reason, when Lin Xiao spoke, the girl unconsciously lowered her guard. Seeing his gaze never leave the direction of the checkpoint, she asked softly.
Lin Xiao turned back upon hearing this. "You want to go over?"
"Yes." The girl nodded repeatedly. "Can you take me across?"
"The highest cultivation among the guards here is only four rings. With your cultivation, how could you not manage to pass?"
Hearing Lin Xiao's words, the girl's body stiffened slightly. "You... how did you know?"
"I don't know what method you're using, but ordinary people indeed can't detect your soul power fluctuations." Lin Xiao replied, not explaining too clearly, and simply turned away on his own.
"Wait!"
"Is there anything else?"
The girl hesitated. She did have cultivation and was quite strong at that; the fact that almost no one noticed her weaving through the crowd was proof.
But for some reason, she hadn't detected Lin Xiao's presence. No, perhaps she had already guessed the reason.
"The Heavenly Soul Empire side is easy to handle, but the Sun Moon Empire's detection methods are extremely tricky. I've tried twice and was discovered both times."
"As long as you can take me across, I'll pay you." The girl said this, seemingly afraid Lin Xiao wouldn't believe her, and rummaged through her clothes to pull out several lustrous, full pearls.
Lin Xiao narrowed his eyes slightly. He wasn't familiar with these things and didn't know their exact value, but they were certainly not cheap.
"I don't lack these. And what are you going to the Sun Moon Empire for?"
"I... I'm going to find someone."
Lin Xiao, hearing this, ignored her and strode off into the distance. He had only stopped to ask about the time; this checkpoint couldn't stop him.
The girl wanted to follow again, but after Lin Xiao took just two steps, she incredulously rubbed her eyes.
Those were clearly quite ordinary two steps, yet Lin Xiao's figure had somehow vanished from sight.
On the other side, Lin Xiao's figure soon appeared within the Sun Moon Empire's territory. However, while he was still in mid-air, piercing alarm sounds rang out from a city near the border, and several hidden auras had already locked onto him.
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