“Times up….” The voice returned, waking Yuki up from her cultivative state. She had broken through a minor stage and was not at the second stage of her fourth fate star. She wished she could raise her strength quickly, but she also knew rushing was also not good. 

“So what is the next trial?” Yuki asked coldly as she slowly stood up. Her robes were in tatters, but the wounds she once had were now healed. She knew that this whole trial was good for her, but she also had no idea what the trial was for. She wanted to know what she would gain from all of this, but the person who set the trial would not answer her until she passed the trial. 

“The next trial is similar to the one before but…. This time you must take the souls of those you kill into your body. By doing so, you will take on more than just grudges and memory but also some of their power.” The room around Yuki changed once more, but this time, it was an outdoor area with a cloudy sky and many graves that seemed to go for miles. “You have killed the bones of the fallen, but now it is time to destroy those with partial flesh. You must suck the soul out of each undead you kill.” After saying this, the voice suddenly went silent. A golden light emerged from the darkness and flew into Yuki’s head. Strange symbols appeared in her mind, but what made things stranger was that she was easily able to understand it all.  Once Yuki received the technique, the voice sounded once more. “I wish you good luck.”

“The Soul Consumption technique. Not only will it infuse a fraction of the soul’s power into my body, but I will also be able to strengthen my soul and mind as well…. Both of which are good for pill refinement…” Yuki saw no side effects within the technique, but this did not mean they were not there. But she still felt that this was also a plus. She would only need to collect souls and consume them, making them part of her own power. It was no different than taking in spiritual qi or demonic qi. 

As Yuki was getting to understand this new power, the dirt underfoot began to rumble. A hand covered in rotten flesh pushed out of the ground and tried to grab at her ankles. Yuki, on reflex, dodged and jumped back. She watched as what she would call a zombie climbed up from underground. 

Its ratty black hair flowed down to its waist, and the tattered red robes swayed in the breeze. Yuki looked at the figure in front of her coldly. She did not even hesitate to strike out with her sword. “Swift Slash!” The sword cut through the air and sliced the head off the zombie, causing it to slowly fall to the ground. The zombie’s body swayed slightly before finally collapsing. 

It was then that Yuki saw a white light rising up from the corpse. She realized that this white light was the soul of the zombie she had just killed. Without any hesitation, she quickly took a deep breath and sucked the white light into her mouth, and circulated the soul consumption technique. She felt the soul was kind of like a liquid. It flowed down her throat and began spreading out within her body as she circulated the technique. Within seconds, she felt as if she had gained a bit of strength.

Yuki clenched her fist slightly before a smile formed on her lips. “This kind of feels like a cheat.” 

Yuki had no idea if this was an evil technique or not, but she did not care. Her eyes locked onto the other zombies that had crawled out of their graves and shot forward. She wanted to use this chance to take as many souls as she could. If she could double her strength in this trial, she would be very happy.

One thing she did not realize was the murderous aura that surrounded her began to amplify. The red and black aura that rose up around her like a kind of smoke was growing thicker with each kill once more. 

Within the frozen tundra, Nana finally arrived at a place that had trees. She looked out over the landscape and smiled for once. “Finally, I have reached the edge. I only found ten flags and a bunch of worms….”

Nana did not feel like she had made any progress at all. She felt like she got the short end of the stick since she had arrived in this mystic realm. She was stuck in a frozen wasteland this entire time and had not seen Yuki in so long. To her, even a second without her Yuki was a second too long. She had become too dependent on Yuki being at her side and scaring away the loneliness. She Craved Yuki’s warmth the most. The Look in her eyes and the gentle smile that Yuki only gave to her and her alone. “I think I am obsessed!” 

Nana realized that if anyone ever tried to take Yuki from her, she would probably go insane and never stop trying to kill that person. Her love for Yuki scared even herself. But even if it scared her, she could not stop herself from allowing her feelings to take control of her. Nana pursed her lips and slowly entered the frozen forest. She needed to find something to take her mind off her own inner thoughts before she truly became crazy.