Ja Sun blinked and gazed at Ah Yin with a stunned expression. He had just woken up and was still on his mattress while Ah Yin was sitting near the pool while looking towards him. Although her expression was indifferent, the sheer smugness in her eyes couldn't be controlled at all.
Taking a deep breath, Ja Sun glanced towards the sleeping Oliver and his expression worsened slightly.
"I don't believe you already have your fifth ring. it's only been three days," Ja Sun finally uttered.
Without replying, Ah Yin jumped down. She wore a blue training robe with a pair of white trousers and had her flowing blue hair pulled up in a bun. Thick locks framed her side and she smiled as her rings slowly appeared around her like divine halos. Their light basking her enchanting face and eyes with their glow.
Two yellow rings formed near her calves then two purple rings appeared around her hips and thighs. Finally, all the ethereal presence of Ah Yin seemed to vanish and Ja Sun's body felt a strange pressure. A pitch-black ring surrounded with black mist seemed to suck the light of the previous four rings. It rotated around her waist and even the two owls woke up in surprise and started hooting.
"Danger..."
"Danger..."
Seeing the source of danger, the two owls calmed down and flew around Ah Yin's head.
"You believe me now?" Ah Yin questioned calmly.
"I'm never going to know how you got so good at cutting hair," Ja Sun shook his head when Ah Yin waved her hand and her purple ring glimmered. Her Martial Soul appeared around her hand and thin vines shot out towards Ja Sun. Meanwhile, Ja Sun continued to stand still as the vines passed through his cheeks, one particular one stopped right in front of his neck and a few of them waved around his slightly longer hair.
Instantly, his facial hair was removed and his hair was shortened.
'Too bad I still can't trust her with my pubes or she would be the best partner!' Ja Sun sighed as he dusted off the strands of hair from his clothes.
"I'm a natural." Ah Yin spoke calmly.
"No you're not," Ja Sun scoffed, "I'm going to find out how you became this good!"
Matching his glare, Ah Yin sneered, "I can tell you if you agree to join my Blue Silver Palace."
"It's not even a real thing," Ja Sun chuckled, "Besides, just a secret to being a good barber isn't enough. This Evil Grandson will be pursued by all if the world realizes my true value!"
Ah Yin shook her head before stretching her arm out. Caihong perched over her arm and Ah Yin gazed in Ja Sun's direction, "Go on. Tell Caihong how much you love him."
Releasing a defeated sigh, Ja Sun walked close to Caihong and spoke softly, "Caihong... I really wronged you in the past. If there comes a day where we are out of food... then I promise to name the dish made out of you— Colorful Leg Piece (Caihong means rainbow.)
"Danger! Danger!" Caihong instantly flew and perched on top of the crystals while glancing towards Ja Sun warily. Meanwhile, Olivia flapped over and smacked her son on the back of his head.
"There." Ja Sun snickered while Ah Yin's shoulders slumped.
Ah Yin didn't share her experience of absorbing the spirit ring but once she heard about Ja Sun's encounter with Violet and their further conversation, she also revealed that Violet followed her to the outskirts of the town and asked to be taken in.
With that, the group continued their life once again. Since there were only two months left, Ja Sun could barely control his excitement anymore. He could cover his hands and move once again in a matter of few dozen days!
---
"Daddy! I don't wanna sleep!" In a village a few kilometers away from the nearest town to the Star Dou Great Forest, a young girl with short brown hair pouted and crossed her arms with an indignant expression.
The strangest thing was that the middle-aged man wore his dark hair in the shape of a dumpling. His head was perfectly shaved up aside from the round bun.
"Hush, do you want me to tell you about the Barber of Abyss once again? Go to sleep! If not, she will cut your hair in the shape of a dog and pull you into the abyss!"
The girl shivered and hurriedly climbed up the bed before hiding inside the thick blanket.
"You always scare little Ni!" A slap over his bald head made the man yelp in surprise as he turned and glanced at the woman with envy. The woman had a beautiful face, and a very presentable body. She even wore lighter clothes in the night with the intention to light up the man. However, the man only gazed at the woman's flowing brown hair with unconcealed envy.
He instantly broke up in tears and hugged his wife's waist.
"I don't know why only the men are targeted! Old Bo, Liu, and others! Everyone has been targeted! Why?! I... I feel so blocked! Every day I look at my reflection, I only see a steamed bun. Just the other day, Old Xin said that he didn't want the rabbit over his head and shaved his head completely. The next day... his... lower bush was trimmed into the shape of a bunny!"
"Now, now," the woman sighed and gently pushed her fingers through the bald man's hair, "I really think you look cute. If you stop crying... I will," lowering her head, the woman whispered something into the man's ears as his sobs instantly turned quiet and he looked up, his face marred with tears and snot.
"Really?" He took a deep breath.
With a heavy blush, the woman nodded.
"Yes!"
"That house... they will be awake for a while," a beautiful woman with flowing blue hair and a white mask over her face whispered as she gazed at the excited couple entering the different room than their daughter. The woman didn't stay to see the rest. Instead, she chanced upon a drunkard
"Hmm... hmm..." He hummed a soft tune and hurriedly stood next to a tree. Shuffling his pants down, he looked high in the sky with a relieved sigh.
*Swish*
*Swish*
*Swish*
A white glow covered him and the blue silver grass underneath him instantly elongated with a sharp light. The man only felt a cold breeze before all of his hair was cut alongside his clothes.
"Aaahhh! The demon! The barber demon!" The drunkard yelled and all the lights in the village began to light up one after another. But by this time, the strange being in the mask was long gone.
'My precision... has become extremely high now. Too high, in fact. To think that such a mundane task would increase my control to this level...' the figure sighed. The image of a slightly lazy and crazy youth flashed in front of her.
'I wouldn't have even thought of this if it wasn't for his influence... I worry what I may think of next to get even higher power...'
The legend of the Silent Barber of Abyss will continue through this village. The villagers were simply too traumatized. Ironically, they would also enter in a period of growth and development due to increased pace in... 'creation' of children.
---
2 months later.
"Ohhh... I forgot how comfortable these gauntlets are," Ja Sun moaned as he slowly wore the white gauntlets with intricate golden patterns on their surface. The Vajra Gauntlets.
Ja Sun observed the pitch-black egg the size of a thumb and placed it inside the essence storage. The egg was an S-ranked reward related to his Evil Title. Although he couldn't figure out its use now, there was no saying that he wouldn't require it in the future once he finally places his attention on his first martial soul.
After a few minutes, Ah Yin walked into the cave and the moment she gazed at his hands, she revealed a look of absolute shock.
"Can you... finally understand reason?" Ah Yin inquired with a strange expression but not even bothering with the remark, Ja Sun stretched his body. His body was nourished to the same quality as his blood. That means, the quality of his body was comparable to a Spirit Ancestor. This also relieved the pressure of his two spirit rings slightly. Not only that, once the quality of his body matched the quality of the Revitalized Blood Qi Art, the technique finally showed some progress!
Ja Sun looked at Ah Yin, his green irises surrounded a pale-gold pupil that seemed to meld with the green color of his irises itself.
"You..." Ja Sun narrowed his eyes. The Fiery Golden Pupils were divided into three realms— Define, Golden, and Fiery.
Ja Sun had just reached this realm this morning. Every level of the technique will permanently boost his eyesight and perception. Not only that, his mental attacks will be reinforced by another level. This means that the full blow of his mental energy could match a Spirit Sage! But the most important aspect of the Define realm is to see through illusions and deceptions. Since this technique permanently changed his eyes, there was no activation and he would remain in this state unless he willingly suppresses his perception.
The golden stage meanwhile blocked mental attacks and the Fiery Stage counterattacked it.
"What?" Feeling Ja Sun's eyes turning weird, Ah Yin frowned.
"Nothing," Ja Sun smirked, "I just noticed that your clothes are much tighter."
Exhaling softly, Ah Yin inquired, "Why did you cover your hands?"
"Because I'm tired of staying here all this time. It's been a complete year and I'm almost ready to find my third ring. I don't think we need to stay here further. What do you say? Do you want to travel or stay here?"
"As long as we stay away from Balak, Silvers, and other major cities, I don't mind," Ah Yin nodded.
"Let's go then," Ja Sun laughed. He could still observe a strange blue energy floating around Ah Yin with the phantom of her martial soul behind her back but he finally chose not to look at it too much. His vision of Ah Yin turned normal but overall, his eyes could still see many things which he couldn't previously.
"Hey, Ah Yin, remember that weird Cave with illusion as the entrance? Let's check it out once again."
Taking Olivia and Caihong in their embrace, the two slowly made their way towards the other hidden location and Ja Sun could instantly see the large entrance instead of the vines. However, he still couldn't find anything else about the cave and the two left once again. This time, the duo traveled without any carriages since they were quicker than a horse and with all their belongings in the Storage Essence Tool, the travel to the town where Ah Yin was staying was completed without any hassle.
"Woah... this town is completely barren," Ja Sun exclaimed.
"The war is finally taking the main turn. As you said previously, over the past few months, aside from a few skirmishes, nothing really took place. But now, both the kingdoms are raising their banners," Ah Yin sighed softly.
"Man... we really can't enter the war?" Ja Sun inquired while looking at the mission in front of him.
[Objective: Participate in the war between Silvers and Balak Kingdom and gain merit.
Optional Objectives:
1) Remain Unscathed
2) Become the critical reason for the victory of your faction.
Mission Rank: Based on the quality of the achievement-S-S
Rewards: Based on the quality of the achievement—Crystal of War God's Essence—20000-year-old Tyrant Elephant Torso Spirit Bone.
Time Limit: 95 days.]
He of course hadn't accepted the mission but rewards made Ja Sun think that the reason for war may as well be based on a spirit bone. After all, most of his rewards are based on the achievement itself and if the achievement is the victory in war then this gave Ja Sun a reason to doubt that a spirit bone might be one of the major reasons for the war.
"If you really want to die, you can go. But I won't be following you into the war where there will be at least one Title Douluo on either side," Ah Yin stated calmly.
"Really? You won't die for me?" Ja Sun scoffed, "And after all I did for you!"
Ah Yin kept a small smile while staying silent as they rested in an inn for the day. At night, despite the partition of the wall, Ja Sun could spread his influence in extreme control. This influence, though intangible, could now be controlled expertly. After all, Ja Sun had been using it for a full year!
The next day, with the two owls in hand, the duo left the town as Ja Sun sighed deeply.
"We did leave the forest but what should we do? The main goal of every cultivator is to cultivate but cultivation without high resources is too slow. Do you know any place we can find a good amount of resources?"
"The war," Ah Yin stated.
"Hmm?" Ja Sun looked at Ah Yin with a surprised expression as she stated calmly.
"The war will take place based on merit system for external spirit masters who do not belong to any faction outside of the Balak Kingdom and the Silvers Kingdom. The only way to participate is by entering one of the kingdom's capitals, register, get ourselves tested to be cleared as a spy, and receive our missions with a blood-bound token.
The token will act as the record within the directories of the kingdom. However, should the spirit master abandon their missions midway, they will be chased and treated like Deserters..."
"Missions?" Ja Sun's expression brightened.
"Yeah," pursed her lips, "The war will take place between ordinary soldiers that constitute the kingdom's army. Meanwhile, the spirit masters will act as supporters. For instance, a team of spirit masters will be allocated as the guards to protect the food supply. Or to secure the perimeter. But the two kingdoms have decided to ban the spirit masters from active participation in the war."
"Oh... then isn't it more interesting?" Ja Sun chuckled, "We will get to meet the most dangerous of spirit masters! Think of the abilities they will have..."
"Wait," Ja Sun suddenly stopped, "If this war isn't to conquer the land but fight for a completely different reason, what about occupied territory? What are the conditions of victory?"
Ah Yin stared at Ja Sun for a moment before saying lightly, "Death of the Third Prince of the Silvers Kingdom or the Second Princess of the Balak Kingdom."
"Pfft! Hahahaha!" Ja Sun laughed loudly.
"Is it that amusing?" She stroked Caihong's head as it hooted softly.
"Isn't it?" Ja Sun chuckled. His chuckle turned into a laugh once again, "Do you even need to think that this war isn't about spirit masters? My guess is that the armies will collide once. At max, it will be twice. The two Kingdoms will never risk their foundation.
Hehe, the actual war is between external spirit masters! Their death won't affect the kingdom and the two kingdoms can use this chance to lower each other's foundation while striving to grow further. The two are neighboring kingdoms, right?" Ja Sun smirked while Ah Yin.
It would seem that her own understanding of the true nature of war was still lacking while Ja Sun understood it all. After all, he would have done the same. Not only that, his tactics may have been more direct and swift in nature.
"Then..." she uttered.
"Then this means higher the risk, higher the rewards. The actual targets in this war will be the spirit masters. In fact, the two kingdoms may have a tacit understanding to not openly hurt each others' armies. This means, our missions may restrict us to spirit master only."
"What if someone actually harmed the army?" Ah Yin frowned.
"Would you believe me if I said that after the war they will suddenly be titled evil cultivators and chased by the two kingdoms together?"
Her expression froze in shock.
"You don't mean..."
"The chances are as high as 90%!" Ja Sun smirked. It wasn't even that hard to deduce all that. After all, think of the worse possibilities and all of this would reveal itself.
"This means that in this war, the two kingdoms have a chance to survive with the least injuries. Their competition will continue even after the war. After all, there are no eternal enemies but only eternal benefits. The Heaven Dou Empire will also stop the two kingdoms from destroying each other. On the other hand, the empire as a whole will have a chance to reduce the strength of rogue cultivators and those that excel in the war will be recruited by the kingdoms and the empire."
"You... are you really from a village?" Ah Yin inquired suspiciously.
"When you roam as much as me, you learn things," Ja Sun shrugged. But the sincerity in his voice couldn't be denied and she nodded.
"Then are you really willing to participate in the war?" Ah Yin inquired.
"Let me ask you something. There is probably a greater reason why you want to reach rank 60 as quickly as possible. What if the war has resources that can help you reach your goal in 2 years. Or 1 year. A 20-year-old Spirit Emperor. Would you participate in the war?"
Ah Yin nodded without hesitation.
"Then let's find out what the rewards are," Ja Sun shrugged and the two continued to travel once again.
***
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