11: Chapter 11 Calling for the Soul of War

The Incarnation of the Ancestor of the Wang Family had arrived.

The old man took one look and saw the corpses of the Wang family disciples scattered across the ground, saw Wang Teng slumped weakly on the floor, and finally... saw the fragments of star-fall secret silver in the hands of Ling Hao.

"Junior," the old man's voice sounded like metal grinding against metal, "hand over the secret silver and cripple your own cultivation, and I might leave your corpse intact."

A terrifying pressure bore down like a mountain.

This was the pressure of a Golden Core Stage Cultivator; even if it was just an Incarnation, it was enough to shatter the mind and spirit of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Yet Ling Hao stood his ground, his back straight as a rod.

He even smiled.

"The Old Ancestor has arrived just in time." He raised his hand, cradling the fragments of secret silver in his palm, "I intended to give these things to someone anyway."

The old man's eyes sharpened: "Give them away? To whom?"

Ling Hao did not answer.

He merely turned his head to look at the Void Realm behind him that was shrouded in a seven-colored halo.

In the Void Realm, that humanoid silhouette was now clearly visible—

It was a tall man wearing broken golden armor, his body semi-transparent. The man's eyes were closed as if he were in a deep slumber, yet the aura radiating from his body was... ancient, vast, and powerful enough to be suffocating.

The seven-colored halo of the star-fall secret silver was flowing continuously into the man's body.

As the halo poured in, the man's body was shifting from illusory to... solid.

The Incarnation of the Ancestor of the Wang Family revealed a look of shock for the first time.

"This is... an Ancient War Spirit?! You actually used star-fall secret silver as a sacrifice to awaken the Ancient War Spirit in the depths of the ore vein?!"

Ling Hao withdrew his hand, and the last trace of the star-fall secret silver's halo vanished completely into the body of the Ancient War Spirit.

The Ancient War Spirit opened its eyes.

They were a pair of hollow, deathly still eyes, yet they contained monstrous killing intent.

It slowly turned its head, its gaze landing on the Incarnation of the Ancestor of the Wang Family.

Then, it raised the broken war spear in its hand.

No words, no roar.

Only a single thrust of the spear.

The world changed color.

When that spear thrust out, the world fell silent.

There was no sound of wind, no whistling of spiritual power, not even the sound of it breaking through the air. The broken war spear was like a dead branch cutting through the surface of the water, thrusting silently toward the Incarnation of the Ancestor of the Wang Family.

But the expression of the Ancestor of the Wang Family changed drastically.

Although this Incarnation only had thirty percent of his original strength, it still possessed the power of the Golden Core Stage Early Stage; an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator couldn't even stand steadily before him. Yet, facing this spear, he actually felt a... tremor originating from the depths of his Soul!

"Ancient battle technique... this is the true essence of slaughter from the ancient battlefield!"

The old man shrieked, his hands forming seals frantically. A brilliant red light flared around his body, transforming into nine flaming shields that circled him. Each shield burned with Core Fire capable of melting gold and stone; the nine shields linked together was already a superior defensive technique of the Golden Core Stage.

The war spear struck the first fire shield.

"Sss—"

Like a hot knife cutting through butter.

The fire shield couldn't even block it for an instant and was annihilated instantly.

The second, the third, the fourth...

Wherever the war spear passed, the fire shields shattered one after another, not even causing the slightest ripple. That broken war spear, which seemed like it would snap at any moment, now displayed an absolute sharpness capable of cutting through everything!

"Impossible!" The Ancestor of the Wang Family's eyes were bloodshot, and he retreated violently.

But the war spear followed like a shadow.

The seventh fire shield shattered.

The eighth fire shield shattered.

The ninth—

"Puff!"

The war spear pierced into the old man's chest.

There was no blood, because this was just an Incarnation. But the old man's body began to tremble violently and twist, like ice thrown into boiling water, dissolving rapidly.

"You... you wicked spawn..." The old man stared fixedly at Ling Hao, his eyes full of resentment, "Awakening the Ancient War Spirit... will surely bring backlash... you will die a miserable death..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the Incarnation completely disintegrated, turning into specks of light filling the sky.

A gentle breeze blew past, and the specks of light dissipated without a trace.

[System Prompt]

[Unexpected event detected: Descent of the Divided Soul Incarnation of the Golden Core Old Ancestor of the Wang Family, awakening of the Ancient War Spirit]

[Warning: The Ancient War Spirit is the remnant Soul of an ancient warrior who died in battle; after absorbing the star-fall secret silver, it has temporarily awakened and cannot distinguish friend from foe. It is recommended that the host evacuate immediately.]

[Special Prompt: The Ancient War Spirit contains a fragmentary "Origin of War"; if the host can absorb it, you can condense a "Battle Spirit Body".]

[Current Status of the Host]

[Ling Hao: Origin power is weak (forced use of Disintegration Dao Pattern twice)]

[Abilities Mastered: Disintegration Dao Pattern (Basic, Complete Version, remaining uses today: 1)]

[Special Existence: Ancient War Spirit (Awakening, friend or foe unknown)]

At the entrance of the ore vein, there was dead silence.

Wang Teng sat slumped on the ground, dumbstruck. His final reliance, the Wang family's greatest trump card, that Golden Core Divided Soul capable of sweeping away any Foundation Establishment Cultivator in Qingyun City... was just gone like that?

Stabbed away by a single spear strike?

Ling Hao also stood where he was, his face pale as paper.

Not because of fear, but because of... excitement.

At the very moment the Ancient War Spirit thrust that spear, he clearly "saw" it—not with his eyes, but through some deeper perception.

He saw the blazing red-gold fire of the Origin within the Ancient War Spirit.

The Origin of War.

Ancient, pure, containing the most primal will of slaughter. It did not need to be drawn from the heavens and earth like spiritual power, nor did it need to circulate through the Meridians like True Qi. It simply existed, just like a heartbeat or the flow of blood; it was the most instinctive rhythm of life.

[Unowned 'Origin of War' detected]

[Quality: Fragmentary (remnant of an Ancient War Spirit)]

[Can be absorbed]

[Warning: The Origin of War contains a strong will of slaughter; if the host does not have a firm Dao Heart, you will become a Puppet that only knows how to kill after absorbing it.]

[Suggestion: Use the System as a medium to purify and dilute it before absorbing; consumes 20 Origin Points.]

The System light screen flickered rapidly in his field of vision.

Ling Hao stared at that red-gold flame and took a deep breath.

"System, begin absorption."

[Execution confirmed. The absorption process is estimated to take thirty breaths; during this time, the host will completely lose the ability to act. Do you wish to continue?]

"Continue."

As soon as he spoke, an invisible suction force erupted from within Ling Hao's body.

It was not targeting spiritual power, nor was it targeting flesh and blood, but was directly targeting that red-gold fire of the Origin!

The Ancient War Spirit turned its head abruptly.

Those hollow, deathly still eyes showed emotional fluctuation for the first time—it was astonishment, anger, and also a trace of... relief?

It opened its mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but there was no sound. It could only let the red-gold fire within its body be extracted bit by bit by Ling Hao, flowing along an invisible channel into the body of the youth in green robes.

When the first wisp of the Origin of War entered his body, Ling Hao's whole body shook violently.

It was not pain, but a feeling of... explosive expansion.

It was as if thousands of voices were roaring in his mind simultaneously, and thousands of battlefields were unfolding before his eyes at once. Clashing weapons and armored horses, mountains of corpses and seas of blood, broken spears and shattered armor, and the Battle Intent that would never be extinguished.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

The red-gold fire surged through his Meridians; wherever it passed, his flesh, bones, and internal organs were trembling, reorganizing, and strengthening violently. His originally pale skin took on a metallic luster, and his thin body became upright and solid at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Body Refining First Layer.

Body Refining Second Layer.

Body Refining Third Layer...

The Origin of War did not bring spiritual power cultivation, but the purest strengthening of the Physical Body! With every wisp of the fire of the Origin that merged, his Physical Body strength surged by a notch!