CHAPTER 456: REFINEMENT OF WILL AND SOUL

Through the arrangements automatically done by the system governing the whole store, two separate private lecture halls had been created on the second floor of the Divine Convenience Store.

On the left, the hall dedicated to Xingxing shimmered with an ethereal, pearlescent light. The atmosphere inside was suffused with her calming, beautiful aura and floating motes of petal-like light that drifted through the air. The seats were plush, arranged in a semi-circle around a simple, elegant jade dais. It was a space designed for serene contemplation as well as aesthetic admiration.

On the right, Danzhu’s hall was functional and it smelled faintly of burning ingredients and rare herbs. It was a proper alchemical laboratory, with rows of reinforced stone tables, demonstration cauldrons, and complex diagrams of molecular structures and energy flows projected onto the walls. It was a space for practical, dangerous work.

When Lin Mo saw those halls, he was reminded of those specialized electives in the college he attended back on Earth. Those professors would often insert their quirk in their lecture halls, making it as if they were some important subjects when they only gave out a few credits at best.

Still, the memory he had of that time was quite fond. He could slack off during those lectures, after all.

The attendees of the specialized lectures split according to their interests. The High Priest, along with the other Venom Masters and the Eastern Abyssal Domain’s most prominent alchemists and artificers, filed eagerly into Danzhu’s laboratory. Their eyes were wide with the fervent hunger of scholars about to witness a master reveal his secrets. Unfortunately for the talisman masters like Grandmaster Lian of the Red Lotus Academy, Danzhu’s lesson was not for them.

As for Lin Mo... he had no choice in the matter. Venom Master Xun’s grip on his arm was as delicate as silk but as unyielding as steel. And instead of going into Danzhu’s lecture hall, she guided him, along with a reluctant Liu Xiaoyu, a curious Wu Meiyu, and a silent yet sharp-eyed Jiang Jianxin, into the ethereal hall of the Goddess of Beauty and Refinement.

While there were a few men in the hall who were like Grandmaster Lian, wherein their specialty wasn’t aligned with the Sage of Alchemy and Elixirs, the other attendees were mostly female cultivators, along with a few sect masters like Yan Tianfeng, whose wind arts emphasized grace and flow.

In front of them was a divine being who bore the title of being a Goddess of Beauty. No woman could resist that. And that’s why Xun Caiyin also picked this one.

"Welcome," Xingxing’s melodic voice washed over them as they took their seats.

Following that, the light screens sealed the entrance again, plunging them into a world of serene beauty. Her amethyst eyes, however, were fixed solely on Lin Mo with a playful and beguiling glint. "Welcome to the true lesson. The general lecture was for the masses. This is for the masters. And for you, my dear Shopkeeper."

She gestured for him to come forward, ignoring the fact that he was surrounded by women and one was even clinging to him.

"The topic of this lecture is ’The Refinement of the Will and the Soul’. But theory is boring. We shall have a practical demonstration." She continued.

Lin Mo felt a bead of sweat trickle down his back. Lihua’s warning was blaring like a horn in his mind. He was a divine guinea pig.

"Shopkeeper..." Xingxing said, her voice dropping to a whisper that only he could hear, "... you have a Perfect Foundation, a body tempered by Taihao’s meticulous methods, and a soul attuned to the starlight Dao. Might I say, you’ve become an uncarved, primordial gem. But the artisan who carved you was a grumpy old man who only knew how to use a hammer and a chisel. You lack... finesse. And polish. Allow me to show you something different."

At that, Lin Mo, who was hesitating to come and join her there, could only stand up and approach her. Venom Master Xun also reluctantly let go of his arm, whispering something about their ’private audience’ he promised.

While Lin Mo walked up to her stage and stood behind her, Xingxing turned to her captivated audience as she started with her topic.

"A cultivator’s true power is not in the size of their spiritual sea, but in the quality of their will." Xingxing paused for a moment before continuing, "Regardless of whether you’ve heard it before or not, that is the principle of the lecture I wish to impart to you. In short, while a cultivation base can measure your current insight into the path of immortality, having an uncultivated will can impede you from passing through that ’Gate’."

"For example, a refined will can infuse a simple technique with the weight of a fundamental law, no matter how trivial it is. And a refined soul can resist domain pressures and psychic attacks regardless of the difference between their cultivation bases. In the end, it can be compared to a difference between a blacksmith’s hammer and a doctor’s acupuncture needles."

Her gaze returned to Lin Mo, who was now standing awkwardly on the stage beside her. "Let us examine our dear Shopkeeper. A perfect specimen for demonstrating the theory behind my words."

While Xingxing closed the distance between them, she didn’t touch him. Instead, she waved a hand and Lin Mo felt a gentle yet profound sense of being ’seen’. It was not a spiritual scan but more like a conceptual one. Like being scanned by a machine.

A moment later, a holographic projection materialized beside him, displaying not his meridians, but something far more abstract. It was a shimmering, star-filled sphere representing his spiritual sea and foundation.

[Subject: Lin Mo]

[Cultivation: Early Foundation Establishment Stage]

[Foundation: Perfect (Starlight Attuned) - Grade: Excellent. Raw potential is immense.]

[Physique: Stillwater Body - Grade: Good. A naturally-formed physique which made the subject a resilient and harmonious vessel.]

[Techniques: Flowing Star Combat Style - Grade: Promising. A nascent style with a solid philosophical core. Can be further developed without restrictions.]

[Will & Soul Resonance: Grade: Passable. The will is strong which pointed at his unyielding stance about convenience but unhoned. The soul... is mundane.]

Lin Mo’s eye twitched. Mundane? What does that mean? And what does the resonance mean?

Xingxing let out a soft, melodious laugh. "Do not be offended, Shopkeeper. Your soul has the resilience of a mortal who has worked a nine-to-five job, endured a tedious commute, and found solace in simple snacks. It is a stubborn, enduring soul. But it is not the soul of a sovereign, a master of his own destiny. It is the soul of an employee."

Once again, Lin Mo couldn’t help but react. This time, one of his brows rose unexpectedly. Or rather, he didn’t expect Xingxing to mention those terms that would only be understood by someone from Earth.

Taihao must’ve shown her his past life.

Is this why Lihua warned him? He thought.

A murmur went through the audience. Venom Master Xun’s eyes gleamed with understanding. Wu Meiyu looked at Lin Mo with a new, analytical curiosity. Liu Xiaoyu frowned, a protective anger flaring in her eyes. Jiang Jianxin’s hand subtly moved to the hilt of her sword but let it go right away as she knew it was absurd to raise a sword against a divine being like her.

Lin Mo, however, simply offered a wry, self-deprecating smile. "An employee’s soul in a manager’s body. I suppose that’s inconveniently accurate. So, how does one refine a mundane soul, Your Divinity?"

Xingxing’s smile widened, pleased with his quick acceptance. "An excellent question. You cannot hammer a soul into shape. You must... persuade it. You must show it in a more beautiful or a more refined way of being. Observe."

Her amethyst eyes seemed to glow, and her divine presence focused entirely on him. It wasn’t an oppressive pressure like a tribulation, but an irresistible, all-encompassing charisma that seemed to reach into the very core of his being. He felt an instinctual urge to please her, to align his will with hers.

She placed a single, slender finger on Lin Mo’s forehead.

As soon as that happened, he felt a wave of warmth fill his body. It was the sensation of a master artisan taking a piece of raw jade and beginning the long, meticulous process of polishing away its microscopic flaws.

His consciousness was pulled inward, into his own spiritual sea. He saw his perfect foundation, his star system of six nodes. But under Xingxing’s divine guidance, he soon found himself in a mental domain.

It was a white expanse where a figure of him sat alone, meditating. But upon closer inspection, the figure was shivering as images of his past life flashed behind it like a rolling film.

"That is the representation of your soul, dear Shopkeeper," Xingxing’s voice echoed in his mind, gentle and all-knowing.

"It is strong, yes. Resilient. It has endured the mundanity of your previous world and the absurdity of this new world. But it is... burdened.

"Weighed down by the lingering echoes of a life that is no longer yours. It clings to the identity of an ’employee’, a follower, someone who takes orders."

"It limits your will and prevents your soul from truly resonating with your foundation. You cannot be a true sovereign of your own power if a part of you still believes you are a mere subordinate."