Super Gene Optimization Fluid

Orthodox Spiritualist?

Xia Fei was absolutely shocked to hear this. Never did he expect that not having a Seed of Life and that strange Soul Mark, which was sealed up in his seventh brain region, were actually traits unique to a true Spiritualist!

Fuchen looked at Xia Fei and spoke in all seriousness. "Remember: We aren't Spiritualists or Soul practitioners; we are Orthodox Spiritualists! We embody the word 'orthodox' more than everyone else and are of a different echelon from the other existences in this universe!"

"Just like how soul practitioners are split into the two paths of soul hunting and soul eating, we, Spiritualists, have our differences as well. The Soul Mark in your seventh brain region right now is called the Unrestricted Soul Spirit, able to utilize both spirit and soul-type arts."

"There are very, very few who have this sort of Unrestricted Soul Spirit Mark, so you need to cherish your good luck and don't belittle yourself, much less learning parlor tricks from some insignificant Spiritualist who hardly had any descendants to speak of. What even is this Feather Spirit Codex? If any other Orthodox Spiritualists were to learn of this, you'd surely become the laughingstock of the century to them! Besides, what you had isn't even the real Feather Spirit Codex, just a little handbook they give to outsiders. It's practically worthless; only you would treat it as a treasure."

Xia Fei was left speechless. Though he also thought that the Feather Spirit Codex was not an inheritance, for something like that would not be so easily gifted to an outsider, Xia Fei simply could not fathom why Fuchen had described the Feather Spirit Codex as garbage. HAving personally tested it out, it could not truly be considered terrible. Without it, he would not have been able to create the soul weapon, Eight Tunes Golden Falcon.

This was when Fei Xingye entered the great hall alone, closing the doors behind him. He proceeded to take out a soul weapon from his spatial ring with shaky hands. Judging from its appearance, this soul vessel was an ax about half a meter long. What should have been a fairly decent soul weapon had unfortunately been reduced to trash because there was a split right down the middle from the soul power backlash it experienced.

"Ancestor, you must save us, Feis. This is the only soul weapon of quality, which has been passed down through generations, in our family. For a family of soul practitioners to be without a decent soul weapon, I'm afraid that we'll die sooner or later!"

Fei Xingye beseeched, tearful and looking wretched. He actually knelt on the floor again, causing Old Fuchen to somewhat remark testily, "I already told you that I had specially made the trip out here to help your family. Do you doubt my words? It's just a grade 3 soul weapon, not even reaching intermediate grade. Repairing it will hardly take any effort."

Fei Xingye got up, incessantly expressing his gratitude as he did. Fuchen made him exit the main hall first, leaving just him, Xia Fei, and that soul weapon inside.

"There are grades to soul weapons. This Green Glare Ax of Soul Hunting is barely grade 3 and can only be considered decent in the Alpha Universe's core regions. Xia Fei, are you able to repair this ax?" asked Fuchen with a smile.

Xia Fei frowned, ruminating over the proposition for several minutes. The repairing of a soul weapon required a sufficient reserve of spirits. The Fei family's manor hardly had any spirit energy source, and there were only a few souls stored in Xia Fei's seventh brain region. While they were deemed as soul power source, they could not be used to repair soul weapons.

"I can give it a shot if there's any spirit energy source around, but all I have is soul power right now, so I don't think I can repair this soul weapon." Xia Fei gave a straightforward and simple answer.

Fuchen grinned, rather pleased with himself. "I knew that you're lacking in terms of your cultivation. We, Spiritualists, not only need to keep a reserve of soul power but also spirit energy. If you want to be an accomplished Spiritualist, you must learn how to use these two systems of power interchangeably. You're just a beginner, so there are still plenty of things you have to learn."

Fuchen asked, "Then can you tell where this soul weapon's damage lies and what method must be used to repair it?"

Xia Fei answered without missing a beat. "While this soul weapon's damaged part appears to be that split shaft, that's truly not the case. What's actually causing this soul weapon to be so unusable is the damage it sustained in the vein. With this vein transmitting power severed, the only solution is to reconnect it. The ax will then automatically heal itself.

"As for the method of repair, I think that flooding it with spirit energy will do the trick. All soul weapons have veins inside, and they're densely packed like a spider's web. If I were to connect each of them one by one, it'd take a long time. That's not worth the effort. Since it's damaged, why not just flood it with spirit energy? Even if every vein fails to connect, it'll still create a brand-new energy connection. This isn't a bad outcome, for the shaft is the only thing that's not functioning. As long as the energy can keep flowing inside a soul weapon, the amount of veins connecting will hardly be an issue."

Fuchen was startled. Xia Fei's idea was truly bold: Not connecting all the energy veins but creating a new vein in the soul weapon to channel the energy. Like that, not only could he circumvent the complex energy system, the combat strength of the soul weapon would not be reduced, either!

This was akin to walking on a path. If there was no way to tread the conventional path, then build a bridge over it, and the issue of traffic congestion could be avoided, too.

Fuchen sneaked a peek at Xia Fei. The former found the latter's whimsical idea to be very refreshing. Perhaps it was because he had been taught by his master since young, but Fuchen was someone who carefully kept to the rules in everything he did despite his fairly wild and uninhibited nature. He was completely different from Xia Fei, a Spiritualist who had appeared from out of nowhere. This young man was bold enough to think outside the box and do anything he saw fit.

Fuchen chuckled and thought that Xia Fei was truly very interesting, thinking inwardly, 'Shall I give his method a try? If I fail, I'll just compensate the Fei family with another grade 3 soul weapon.'

....

"It actually worked?!" Fuchen shook his head in amazement.

Fuchen had followed Xia Fei's line of thinking and spent five minutes completing the repair. He first gathered spirit energy from his seventh brain region, and once he had judged that the amount was sufficient, he promptly flooded the damaged soul weapon with it!

Instantly, a brand-new vein formed inside the soul weapon, then the Green Glare Ax of Soul Hunting gave off a blinding light. The break point was repaired, the soul weapon now restored how it used to be!

"This…" Fuchen, who felt that he did not have enough brainpower to process what had just happened, muttered, "so this method works, too?"

Xia Fei took that ax from Fuchen's hands, swung it a few times, testing the soul power within, and said nonchalantly, "It's just a system of circulation, so no need to make things so complicated. Don't you agree?"

Fuchen froze for a moment before hurriedly saying, "That's right. You and I share the same line of thinking here. Since creating a new connection sufficed, there's no need to mess with the complex veins. It's better to just seal all of them and create an entirely new pathway. The time and energy used doing it this way became a lot less as a result."

Calling Fei Xingye in, Fuchen handed back the Green Glare Ax of Soul Hunting. The old man was already weeping upon seeing the repaired soul weapon, his voice trembling in excitement, "Ancestor lives up to his name! It's barely been a few minutes, and you managed to save the life of the entire Fei family!"

Fuchen casually dismissed the praise when, really, he had been thinking all along that, if not for Xia Fei's suggestion, he might have to spend several days repairing the said soul weapon.

The more Fuchen thought about it, the more interested in Xia Fei he got, and the eyes he used to look at Xia Fei had now become filled with appreciation.

"Well, it's getting late; I've used up a lot of energy." Fuchen acted all tired. "When Fei Lingyi was still alive, he once obtained a pair of Pearl Emerald Bamboo Shoots. If you still have that pair, serve it up quickly; it'll help nourish this elder's body."

Truly, Fuchen would talk about food every chance he got. He had just finished repairing the soul weapon, yet he was already starting to ask for precious ingredients just to satisfy his cravings.

Fei Xingye was slightly taken aback, but he soon laughed. "Of course! The ancestor helped the Fei family immensely, so forget the Pearl Emerald Bamboo Shoots, even if you asked for our entire estate, that would be an appropriate compensation."

Fuchen chuckled and then instructed Fei Xingye to prepare two types of cuisine using that pair of bamboo shoots, with one being soup and the other being a palate-cleansing cold dish.

Raising an eyebrow mischievously at Xia Fei, Fuchen salivated as he said, "So, are you keen on sharing this tasty blessing with me? Pearl Emerald Bamboo Shoot is basically a top-grade ingredient among ingredients, and it'll be very beneficial for the body."

Xia Fei could not help but laugh. Indeed, Fuchen was no ordinary immortal, being far too keen in his pursuit of good food. Fei Xingye busied himself with taking notes of Fuchen's requested preparation method for the ingredients, and he managed to write a dozen pages worth of instruction; it was very likely that actual preparation would be a lot more complex.

Fei Xingye carefully stowed away the soul weapon but did not leave just yet. He asked with a glum expression on his face, "Ancestor, I'll definitely have my cooks do their best to prepare the Pearl Emerald Bamboo Shoots as you requested. It's just that, although you managed to repair the soul weapon, my pitiful grandson is still unconscious. If you could…"

Fuchen was stunned as he spoke in a severe tone. "What's this?! Fei Haizhen has lost consciousness?! When did this happen?"

Fei Xingye answered, "My grandson Fei Haizhen lost that fight, and his soul weapon got ruined. That's when he lost consciousness. Ancestor did manage to repair the soul weapon earlier, but my grandson…"

Fuchen frowned. "Quick, bring me over so that I can take a look at him."

...

Backyard, in a separate room.

Xia Fei and Fuchen went to see the heavily injured Soul Hunter, Fei Haizhen.

A crowd of servant ladies were presently attending to him, turning his body from time to time, cleaning him. Fei Haizhen was doing nothing aside from breathing, and even his eyes were not moving. It seemed as though he were just a block of wood. What had once been a powerful figure was now lying in bed paralyzed, gradually weakening as time went by; his face even sported many wrinkles.

Fuchen did not say a word. He promptly chased away all the help and sat at the bedside, carefully inspecting Fei Haizhen's condition.

"What silliness! Your grandson only has two Soul Marks and can hardly use the Green Glare Ax of Soul Hunting. In the end, he forcibly bonded his life with it; that in itself is a great taboo! Since the soul weapon was ruined, your grandson suffered from the backlash!" explained Fuchen sternly.

Fei Xingye knelt once more, pleading in pitiful voice, "My grandson has always been eager to do well in everything he set himself to. This time, he clearly knew that he had no hope of winning in that fight, but his desire to risk it all resulted in him bonding with the Green Glare Ax of Soul Hunting.

"No matter what it takes, on account of our forefather and this ancestor's fated bond, I beseech the esteemed elder to save my grandson's life! I heard that a Spiritualist of your rank could mend a person's soul. If you're unwilling to lend a hand, my grandson will surely have difficulty getting out of his current predicament!"

Bonding was an interaction between a soul weapon and its owner, just like how Hosu was with his Overcast Wind Mace, making it impossible for one to part ways with the other.

The benefit of forming such a bond was a more secure connection between the weapon and the owner, able to react at a deeper level with each other, but the drawbacks were also very obvious. The moment the soul weapon got destroyed, the owner would also experience physical destruction. Fei Haizhen being in a comatose state now because of a soul weapon backlash was a good example of this.

Fuchen sighed as he explained with a grim expression, "It's not that I'm unwilling to save your grandson's life; it's just that soul mending requires a Spiritualist of Healing. That's something I can't help you with even though I very much want to."

Fei Xingye was still crying, creating this very morose atmosphere.

This was when Radix quipped, "Did he say healing? Xia Fei, aren't you a Spiritualist of Healing?"