When Yuan Xiang said this, everyone, including Lin Qian, was extremely surprised.
Gifting a Small World to Lin Qian?
What kind of joke was that, can a Small World even be directly given to someone?
"Elder, are you making fun of me because I'm young, joking with me?" Despite Yuan Xiang being a respected and legendary predecessor among the Human Clan of the Soul Martial Continent, known as Lord Xuan, Lin Qian still looked at him with a face full of doubt.
Seeing Lin Qian's skeptical appearance, Yuan Xiang could understand and pointed at the Small World beneath their feet: "Humans have hearts, and of course, worlds have hearts too. Naturally, a Small World has a heart. If you leave your imprint on the heart of the world, then of course the Small World will be yours."
Yuan Xiang's words made complete sense, causing everyone to nod uncontrollably.
However, Lin Qian immediately picked out the key point and, furrowing his brow, asked, "Elder, from what you're saying, I still need to personally find the heart of this Small World and leave my imprint on it?"
"Smart lad, the old man hasn't misjudged you," Yuan Xiang nodded in satisfaction, praising him with a demeanor that suggested he was worthy of teaching, which just infuriated Lin Qian even more.
"Old man, are you playing me, making it obvious you're telling me to do the task myself, and you still have the nerve to say you're gifting it to me?" Lin Qian said with a face full of dissatisfaction.
Zhao Long, standing by his side with the Tailong Spear in his hands, pointed directly at Yuan Xiang and rebuked loudly, "How dare you, audacious wretch, deceive your lord!"
In Zhao Long's eyes, there were no such things as predecessors or juniors; in his mind, nothing in heaven or earth was greater than the emperor.
Yuan Xiang glanced at Zhao Long, completely ignoring the fool, and continued speaking to Lin Qian: "Young man, don't be anxious. Aren't you curious why your strong soul, your Soul Consciousness, can easily detect the Swift Hidden Clan, yet you can't detect me?"
Yuan Xiang's words did indeed snap Lin Qian back to reality, and it was true.
If it weren't for the vague impression left in his sea of consciousness from yesterday, coupled with Yuan Xiang voluntarily appearing in front of him, he really wouldn't have been able to detect the other party.
Zhao Long was also staring with wide eyes at Yuan Xiang, eager to hear the secrets he would reveal.
As for who Yuan Xiang was, Zhao Long was very clear, and he was no fool. His previous behavior was entirely to cover up his embarrassment from last night, not being able to detect the other party while protecting the emperor's Realm.
"There is a unique aura between heaven and earth, young man. Why not try using your spiritual perception to search for me in this Small World?" Yuan Xiang said mysteriously, shaking his head and smiling at Lin Qian.
After receiving Yuan Xiang's hint, Lin Qian also closed his eyes, his enhanced Soul Consciousness spreading out and carefully sensing.
Indeed, heaven and earth each had their unique aura, just like the aura of the Small World, which was clearly reflected in Lin Qian's mind.
At that moment, Lin Qian also made a discovery.
Clearly, where Yuan Xiang stood, the aura between heaven and earth was much richer, and there was no other person's aura.
Lin Qian had an epiphany. For some reason, Yuan Xiang's aura was identical to that of the Small World; he seemed to have merged with the Small World.
If it hadn't been for Yuan Xiang speaking out to enlighten him, Lin Qian truly would not have been able to sense his presence.
Lin Qian, having understood the reason behind it, had an epiphany and looked at Yuan Xiang before him with a sigh, performing a grand salute, "It turns out that the senior sacrificed himself and merged with this Small World, preserving this fragment of his soul to survive in this world."
By then, Lin Qian had realized that Lord Xuan Yuan Xiang had not simply died of old age, nor had he failed in breaking through to a higher realm, but had integrated himself into this Small World.
The translucent appearance of the other party was enough to illustrate his woeful state.
Hearing Lin Qian's explanation, the others also came to a sudden realization and all respectfully performed a grand salute to Yuan Xiang, faces filled with sorrow.
But when they raised their heads, they didn't understand why Yuan Xiang looked so angry.
Shouldn't we, the younger generation, mourning and respecting him, make him happy? And then leave behind tears of emotion?
Spiritual Energy from the surrounding heaven and earth converged, tapping each person's head, including Lin Qian's, not too hard nor too light, and he spoke irritably, "Who said this old man is dead? I am very much alive right now!"
Zhao Long getting hit was one thing, but the audacity of this old man to tap the head of his sovereign, that he couldn't tolerate.
Lin Qian strictly forbade Zhao Long from acting rashly and, rubbing his head, he looked towards Yuan Xiang, "Senior, you said you're still alive? If that's the case, why do you look ..."
"Didn't I say earlier that to obtain a Small World, one simply needs to leave a spiritual mark upon the World's Heart?" Yuan Xiang said, moving his ethereal and translucent body, "This ephemeral body of mine is actually that mark."
"As for my true self, I have long since left the Soul Martial Continent. This world was already a hindrance to my progress, of course, I had to leave."
After Yuan Xiang finished speaking, everyone finally understood, and for some reason, Lin Qian also felt a sense of relief in his heart.
The contributions this elder had made to the Human Clan of the Soul Martial Continent were immeasurable; if one were to speak of a hero, to the Human Clan of the Soul Martial Continent, Yuan Xiang was a hero.
Therefore, if such a person had died, Lin Qian would have found it incredibly regrettable, but fortunately, the other party had not died.
"This time, the Swift Hidden Clan and the Invisible Clan have entered this Small World with the obvious intention to take control of it, forcibly destroying the mark I left behind, and then claiming it as their own," Yuan Xiang continued, explaining the reason behind the appearance of the Swift Hidden Clan and the Invisible Clan.
When the subject was mentioned, Yuan Xiang's face showed concern, which Lin Qian couldn't quite understand, "With senior's level of strength, it shouldn't be so easy for these two clans to erase your mark, should it?"
"Moreover, for senior, the value of this Small World shouldn't be that great, why be so insistent? After all, this Small World was once jointly managed by the Four Clans, and it wasn't exclusively owned by our Human Clan, right?"
Seeing Lin Qian's continuous questions, Yuan Xiang replied with amusement, "You kid, you sure have a lot of questions. Looks like today, I must make things clear."
"Erasing a mark is actually not that difficult anymore. My current true self might be very powerful, but the me who left the mark at that time was only considerable under those circumstances."
"Time is the strongest force. Under the erosion of the years, the mark left by me at that realm could not be maintained perfectly. When I initially left the mark, my body was substantial, not this ethereal and translucent as it is now."
"Besides, last night, I entered your Soul Consciousness to have a detailed chat with you. Who would have thought that your Soul Consciousness would be so terrifying? It actually scattered me. Although it has stabilized quite a bit now, it is still much weaker than before."
Hearing this, Lin Qian shrugged his shoulders helplessly and said, "Is that my fault?"