Against Heaven's Will
Against Heaven's Will - Chapter 97: Soul Crusher

Xuefeng expected to hear the details of the Forbidden Art first, so he got comfy on the bed and squeezed Ming into his chest, connecting a pleasant activity with the boring task. Who would have thought his eyes would suddenly lose sight of her and his surroundings turn black?

He panicked for a second but soon a familiar voice coated his mind in peace.

"Don't worry, it was my doing. This time, the learning process won't be as smooth sailing as before. You can't use any of my help to execute this Forbidden Art, so I will have to take you through some rigorous training process first," Ming explained. "I need you to focus fully, so you can't get distracted with caressing of my chest. I'm sorry."

"Ahh… It's okay. I feel like I'm already the most spoiled Cultivator in the whole World anyway. Some hard work from time to time won't hurt me," Xuefeng replied with a sigh, realizing he has been relying on the girls too much. "Tell me what to do."

Ming didn't beat around the bush and swiftly acted, filling the space around him with endless white light.

"Such a good boy. You are currently inside your own Soul where I created a virtual training grounds for you. As you already have the Forrest Elf Bloodline, I decided to give you a Forbidden Art that will work together with it and enhance your ability. I call it a Soul Crusher," Ming informed, making Xuefeng excited with just the name alone.

"Will I be able to crush Souls perhaps?" Xuefeng guessed excitedly, causing Ming to giggle.

"Hehe, only if you can master the Forbidden Art properly."

Bang!

His mind hurt for a split second as if it exploded and he suddenly appeared on the make-shift arena, standing on the side of two human-like ghosts.

"As I'm using your mind to power this visualization, it might hurt a little but you will have to bear it this time," Ming explained apologetically. "I will make it up to you later with a lot of kisses."

"Don't worry baby, I will still love you even if my head is near exploding," Xuefeng assured and the battle in front of him started.

Only when the two ghosts moved did he realize one of them looked exactly like him. He felt like cheering for himself but instead focused on the art displayed.

Xuefeng's ghost didn't move from his spot aside from extending his hand forward. Xuefeng instantly felt the familiar power of his bloodline as it wrapped around the nothing suspecting opponent.

Surprisingly, it didn't do anything to him other than hindering his movement at the start, but that wasn't all.

Boom!

A sudden shockwave crushed against the body of the ghost, striking him from all directions. His body was clearly shaken, unable to move, or even respond which Xuefeng's ghost took advantage of. He jumped forward and punched the ghost's head, destroying him.

"Oof! What was that?!" Xuefeng couldn't help but exclaim only for his body to teleport, appearing on his ghost's spot with already another opponent ready to battle him.

"That was a Soul Crusher Art. In the original version, you are supposed to send a part of your soul near the enemy and detonate it, causing his soul to enter into a shocked state for a couple of seconds. After all, the Soul is the foundation of the body so this Art is extremely effective. This small window allows you to swiftly finish your opponent off," Ming explained shortly.

"Huh? But didn't you use the Power of my Bloodline too?" Xuefeng noticed.

"Yes, because I improved it. Without your Forrest Elf Bloodline, you would need to learn how to use your Soul Power but with your Bloodline, it won't be necessary. You already know very well how to manipulate your Soul Power which will come in the handle. All you need to learn is how to split a part of your Soul and how to detonate it," Ming answered, but that made Xuefeng worry.

"Isn't that dangerous then?"

No one wanted to damage their Soul for a reason. Not only was it extremely painful but also very hard to heal. In their stage, the Soul was the Foundation of the whole cultivation with all Qi stored it in. By damaging it, you are basically ruining your chases for improvement.

"It is dangerous, but I'm not teaching it to you for your daily uses. As long as you can beat the opponent without using it, that's for the better. You can only use the Soul Crusher if your life is in danger and we cannot win normally. Treat it as your trump card," Ming corrected.

"As your Soul is filled with Qi, all you need is just a tiny bit for it to have immense effects. The Soul Destruction is actually the most powerful attack a cultivator can offer, but naturally, it leads to death. If I detonated my Soul right here in the Capital, it would destroy at least half of the whole City."

"Whoa…" Xuefeng opened his mouth in amazement. "Teach me please."

"It is actually easy but I still want you to practice. I don't want you to rip a big chunk of your soul by accident and find it hard to recover later. Even with me and Ling helping you, it would take us days to recover just a small part of your Soul. This is why Soul Crusher is a Forbidden Art as it involves self-harm, no matter how much power it gives," Ming warned before instructing.

"First try cutting a part of your Soul the size of your fingernail before splitting it into a few parts. Once you are done, you can carry them towards your opponent using your Soul Power. Slow them down with your Bloodline Ability before detonating the Soul parts. It should be enough to shake your enemy."

"Alright, let's try it," Xuefeng called out, all fired up when Ming's next words caused him to pause.

"Work well. I will go teach one Art to Tianshi as well. You can call me once you are done."

Before he could question her, she assured him as if she read his mind.

"Don't worry, I will not teach her anything involving self-harm. I have something special prepared just for her."