"Spirited away...?"

When Hao Xuan heard her say that, he remembered the several run-ins he had had with he mist back in the Kingdom of Mei. The entire towns vanishing, the nightmarish creatures that came out of the mist that could take on the shape of other people and would know things only they could.

'Maybe the veil had something to do with it? I'll have to look into this more when I get back home.'

Cornelia made a list of all the items and sent it to Baracus who saved it. Hao Xuan had never even heard of them before so he obviously would need an alchemist's help like she suggested.

"Alright, now sit back down. I'll try to stabilize your centers as much as I can. It's not much but still better than nothing. Just relax and meditate."

Hao Xuan closed his eyes and let Cornelia do her thing. On the floor below 3 different formations lit up. Each of them spun in a different direction, connecting with the 13 chains one by one.

Hao Xuan could feel the chains enter his body and if he so wanted, he could resist and even destroy them just by circulating the Qi. The chains passed through every single part of his body, finally reaching the Mind Palaces. They attached themselves onto the palace walls and as soon as they did, Hao Xuan felt a strong, cold energy enter his body.

It had a very calming effect on him and he almost fell asleep as well.

"You have to stay awake. Keep talking to me!" Cornelia swiftly spoke up when she saw Hao Xuan's heart rate drop significantly.

"Talk about what?" Hao Xuan asked while yawning.

"Well, did Ryfon tell you about this year's tournament yet?"

It was like a flip was switched on inside Hao Xuan and he became alert in an instant.

"No, tell me everything."

Cornelia felt elated upon finding out that a topic she knew so much about was something completely unknown to Hao Xuan. She had always been a bit of a 'know it all' and quite chatty since she was young. So when given the opportunity, she would always choose to talk the listener's ear off.

With a wide smile, she started explaining.

"The tournament takes place every 5 years. It is hosted by the three largest institutions in the continent i.e us the Academy of Sollerita, the Temple of Dius, and the Hall of Bellator but other, smaller powers are also allowed to join in."

"By the way, each of the 3 institutions is named after its founding father. Sollertia, Dius, and Bellator were part of the first wave of cultivators that arrived on the beast world and created their own institutions based on their specialties."

"The academy, as you know, floats in the sky above us. We are scholars and scientists mainly focused on the Spiritual arts or the spiritual center of the body. Basically anything related to the soul or spirit, we know it or study it."

"The Temple of Dius is an actual temple that focuses on the physique or the physical center. They are associated with hundreds of thousands of other religious entities and have some of the strongest physique cultivators with hundreds of different physique related techniques like the basic Body Strengthening Mantra or the top tier Diamond Breaker manual and the Sanguine Skeletal Lord physique just to name a few."

"The Hall of Bellator is the largest of the three. It has cultivators from all walks of life since they focus on the Energy center, i.e cultivation. They have every kind of weapon masters and expert fighters."

"Now the tournament. It takes place in a different world every time. These 'worlds' are excavated from the abyss or the deep space by powerful cultivators to be used as our proving grounds. They harbor strange and mysterious creatures, techniques, manuals, and scriptures used by other worlds and long-forgotten tribes. They harbor treasures for those who are willing to take the risks and death for the unlucky ones."

"This year's tournament is a bit different. Normally, only authorized powers from our continent can join in but this time we were allowed to bring in any fighter from anywhere, as long as they fought under the banner of one of the powers from our continent. This, of course, stirred up a storm and many of us reached out to the other continents to borrow their geniuses."

"The cultivation for the participants is limited to the Spirit Realm only since most newcomers are at or around this realm."

In excitement, Cornelia blurted out all that information in one single breath and had to take a seat to regain her composure.

*Huff*

"The last 7 tournaments were all won by the Hall of Bellator so this time the academy and the temple have decided to work together to foster a few geniuses of our just for the tournament. My...um.. 'friend' is a trainer from the Temple of Dius. He just came out of closed-door cultivation and is responsible for training new recruits. Since you also cultivate a physique, I will ask him to help you as well."

As she talked about her friend, Hao Xuan could hear her voice waver, and the volume fall.

'Friend? Her 'man' as Ryfon had put it? So he is from the Temple?'

Cornelia cleared her throat, shaking away her feelings.

"Ryfon will explain the rest.. Let me tell you a few basics about soul cultivation first."

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