CHAPTER 61: PERFECT

The eyes of the four present lit up. "Five Elements Sand?"

Carrying it would increase their comprehension rate of the Five Essences of Qi! It was a priceless treasure in the Five Elements Trial Grounds!

But why would the Garment Division Master have it? He’s already so powerful...

"I came across it yesterday in the core grounds. It’s useless to me, but it should be useful to you. Take it as a gift."

The four’s suspicions dissolved, but after hearing the latter half of his words, they fell silent again. Useless... useful.

The Garment Division Master had a one hundred percent comprehension rate. Of course he had no need for it. Realizing that, they couldn't bring themselves to be excited anymore.

Tang Yan suddenly thought of something. "Garment Division Master, didn’t you complain about your slow progress in reaching the Perfect Five Elements? This sand has given me an idea, though I don’t know if it’ll work."

Qi Yuan's eyes lit up. So the Five Elements Sand really is the right gift!

As expected, one had to keep experimenting in a game. Who knew when a new storyline got triggered?

"What is your idea?" he asked.

Tang Yan relayed everything he knew. "Five Elements Sand can only form under extremely strict conditions. If it has formed, it means there must be something nearby that the five souls fear. If you can find out what it is and make use of it, you’ll be able to slay the five souls faster and comprehend the Essence Qi more efficiently."

After pondering it over, Qi Yuan found it made sense. The Five Elements Sand was formed by the scorching of the Great Sun. Which meant that the five souls feared the Great Sun!

The Great Sun was their natural nemesis! If he could wield the Great Sun, wouldn’t that allow him to sweep through all the five souls in the Five Elements Forbidden Zone?

Qi Yuan's sense of vengeance burned bright. That's what they get for throwing a party and not inviting me! But the Great Sun...

Suddenly, Qi Yuan recalled the Daydream Art. "Thank you all. Time for me to leave!"

With that, Qi Yuan bolted like smoke, looking for a safe place to dig a hole.

The four exchanged looks, each showing a different expression.

***

On the Seven-Colored Peak, Qi Yuan carefully read the fragmented Daydream Art.

Staring at the contents, his face turned hesitant. "Do I really want to practice this? What if something goes wrong?"

Then, he glanced at the Qi Yuan Scripture. "Well, it shouldn’t be a problem. The Qi Yuan Scripture sometimes makes me a bit mentally unstable and forgetful, but I seem perfectly fine right? My spirit’s good... well, good enough. Besides, it’s not like I need to practice it fully. I just have to imitate the Great Sun’s aura. I’ll unleash it through my giant sword and scare the five souls to death!"

Having reasoned himself into it, Qi Yuan immediately focused on the Daydream Art. It was shallow practice, not true mastery, but it was effective.

In just half a day, Qi Yuan succeeded. His face lit up in joy.

"Hmm...but why do I feel cold?" Coming out of his focused training state, he realized an icy chill was biting into his skin like knives. "Wait, am I in the Void?"

Qi Yuan was puzzled, then froze. "...I am the Void?"

He felt like he had accidentally discovered the truth of the universe. Perhaps the so-called "Void" was really just greatly voided. A hollow cosmos in desperate need of a kidney tonic. He threw on another layer of clothes, but the chill still lingered. Thus, he lit a fire in the courtyard.

When he stepped outside, he spotted Jiang Lingsu, whose face was extremely pale. "Junior Sister, are you alright?"

Jiang Lingsu stared at her senior brother in a daze. "I-I'm fine."

For some reason, her bouts of frost invasion had grown more frequent lately. She was cold all the time now. Seeing her senior brother shivering too, she couldn't help but wonder, Has my frost aura began to affect my surroundings? [T/N] A kidney tonic for you too, Jiang Lingsu? [T/N]

Her condition seemed to be worsening.

"Junior Sister, if you’re cold, why not come to my courtyard? I’ve just lit a fire, you can warm up a little."

Jiang Lingsu curled in on herself. "No need."

She was afraid she'd chill him even further. Turning away, she returned to her room, and burrowed beneath her quilt.

Qi Yuan watched her back retreating and murmured, "The Seven-Colored Peak has two ices, my Junior Sister, and my Master... No, three—the moon as well!"

He glanced at the icy moon over the palace roofs, and blurted out, "Still, my passion burns like fire. It'll melt all the frost in this world!"

Now that he’d the Great Sun’s aura, Qi Yuan felt even more confident.

***

Then, he logged back into the game. Qi Yuan fused with Little Bride as usual and charged into the core grounds.

Upon seeing him, the five souls met him with blazing fury, as if they were enemies. They roared and rushed him.

Qi Yuan, calm as ever, raised his sword. "Great Sun!"

With a cry, the blood-red giant sword flared, enveloped by a layer of white radiance. The radiance held little power, and didn’t boost his sword strength. However, the moment it appeared, the five souls reacted as if they’d seen their mortal enemy.

Fear bloomed in their eye-like organs. The closer they drew to Qi Yuan, the more they sagged and softened, like melting sand. They were nothing more than lambs waiting for slaughter.

"It works!" Qi Yuan's heart leapt. He hacked through the core grounds in a frenzy. "Die! Die! Die!!!"

Any soul that came close to him quickly lost its strength, and Qi Yuan cut them down with ease. On and on he slaughtered, eyes blazing red. His experience bar kept climbing as more and more Essence Qi flooded in.

"I'm tired..."

Slaughtering the souls had exhausted him. Even ordinary folks would collapse if they had to butcher thousands of pigs.

He thought of the battles in history, where hundreds beat armies of tens of thousands. Maybe those armies should’ve just stuck their necks out and let the enemy hack at them until they collapsed from fatigue. Whoever was left standing would be the victor.

That day, Qi Yuan turned the core grounds upside down. Even after his level rose to 94, his XP bar was still swelling. In the end, his body couldn’t keep up, and he logged off. The next day, he logged in again right on time, slaughtering without end.

At midday, as he cleaved apart a Water Soul, his eyes lit with five colors.

He suddenly paused. "Perfect Five Elements."

In just a day and a half, he had achieved Perfect Five Elements.

Right then, Tang Yan said, "Congratulations on achieving Perfect Five Elements, Garment Division Master! We humbly invite you to leave the trial grounds at once. The Five Elements Forbidden Zone has prepared a great gift for you! From this day on, this forbidden zone is yours to command!"

Five radiant halos appeared around Qi Yuan—manifestations of the condensed Essence Qi.

Qi Yuan glanced at Tang Yan, his eyes still bloodshot from slaughter. "I've heard. But I won't be leaving yet. I'll stay here one more day, until every last soul is dead."

His massacre continued. The alien demons were too strong. He was only level 94, far from being their match. This place had monsters. He had to keep farming for more experience. Farm until he was ready.

Tang Yan was caught off guard, but quickly bowed. "We shall wait outside for you."

Then, he withdrew.

Staring at Qi Yuan's towering figure, Li Qin muttered, "He's lost himself to the slaughter... He can't stop now, can he?"

Too much killing could warp a cultivator, leaving them as a soulless killing machine.

The red-robed man gulped nervously. "The Garment Division Master sure is terrifying..."

He regretted bitterly ever speaking ill of the Garment Division Master behind his back. As if that wasn’t enough, the man also overheard him. What if once the souls were gone, the Garment Division Master turned that sword on him?

He quaked inside. Father! Father! Father! Garment Division Master, you’re dashing beyond compare! A dragon among men! A king among monkeys!

Suddenly recalling that they’d soon be offering Divine Reflection to him, he quickly brainwashed himself. Over and over, he chanted in his heart that the Garment Division Master was his father. If the Garment Division Master received those thoughts, surely he would forgive him, right?

Yes, he had always been this shameless.

***

"Level 95 already?"

Qi Yuan had lost track of time. In the core grounds, fewer than a thousand souls remained. His eyes gleamed red and five halos whirled around him. His appearance was anything but human.

"Still not enough. Too weak."

Even combined with Little Bride, his strength barely reached level 100. Although it was enough to spar with Feather, what about the alien demons? He wasn’t sure.

At level 999, he’d have a shred of hope. At level 90000, maybe a little safety. Only at level 9000000000000 would he dare kill someone and boldly leave his name behind.

"’Qi Yuan is the killer.’"

But he knew that was impossible. There were only so many monsters in the forbidden zone.

He charged the last thousand souls. "Die!"

After slaying the Metal Soul, he lowered his sword, sighing. "...Almost level 96."

The trip to the forbidden zone had been fruitful. In just a few days, he had leveled to 96, and practically cleared the entire zone. A good haul.

After so much killing, Qi Yuan felt like his mental illness had been cured. "Alright. Time to claim full control of the Five Elements Forbidden Zone and receive that great gift they promised."

A cold, ruthless aura clung to him.

Breaking from fusion with Little Bride, he found Tang Yan and the others rushing forward.

"Garment Division Master."

Their eyes betrayed their fear at his killing aura. Only Little Bride stayed close to him as ever, clutching at his sleeve.

Qi Yuan declared, "Alright, I'm finished here. Let's go."

"Very well."

Together, they left the area. No sooner had they stepped out, Qi Yuan spotted a familiar figure.

Little Green, eyes rimmed red, glared daggers at him from afar. "If you can't kill the alien demons, I'll never let you go, not for all eternity!"

Leaving behind that threat, she spun and left. Her small, frail back seemed unbearably desolate.