'So this is why I have been feeling odd lately. Who would have thought that it was hidden so deep within my soul? If I never took the time out to search around and failed to discover it so soon, then I would have lost over 90% of my soul power!'

What a terrifying thought! Although his soul would still be considered as monstrous compared to those around him, within the Seven Realms, he would be labeled a laughing stock with such weak soul power amongst peak cultivators. Fortunately, he was able to catch the condition in time before it spread to a dangerous level.

​​

'I was careless. I should have entered into a deep meditative state days ago.'

But, Jin could not be blamed for this. After all, these past few days had been chaotic and hectic. Even now he still had much that needed to be taken care of, however, this was a matter of utmost urgency.

'The soul shock must have occurred when I split a piece of my soul. Normally, it should have healed in a few days without issue, however, the lack of spiritual essence in this world may be what allowed the soul devourer to remain so well hidden.'

For most cultivators, experiencing a soul shock was the end of their cultivation journey. However, for someone with an incredibly strong soul, it was similar to an injury rather than certain destruction. Therefore, he was not really worried about the soul shock itself. Instead, his troubles came from the soul devourer that took advantage of the gap in his soul's defenses caused by the soul shock.

A soul devourer was not an actual entity and yet it existed as if it was alive. It was something that was a part of nature itself, and it was difficult to define it with normal words alone. Mortals and weak cultivators would never feel the threat of a soul devourer due to their souls being weak, however, strong souls were sought after targets.

'Luckily, my cultivation is still weak. I never thought there would exist a day I would be thankful for weak cultivation.'

While a soul devourer feeds off the soul of its host, its power cannot exceed the level of the host whose soul it resides within. In a few months, there was a good chance that his cultivation level would have decreased if this strange energy ever grew out of its budding state.

If the soul devourer managed to feed off that growing energy, then not only would it have greatly decreased his chances of advancing, but it may have even threatened his life!

'Now that I know it's there, the soul devourer is no longer a threat. As for the soul shock... with the soul devourer gone, it should heal itself fully as it originally was supposed to.'

Using the masterful control of his natural soul energy, Jin guided the energy slowly towards the soul devourer. If it had to be given a physical appearance, the soul devourer would resemble that of a two-headed snake made out of pure white energy. It possessed four dark blue markings that one would mistake for a pair of its eyes, but those markings were really the source of its strength.

If he was at full strength, then he would be able to simply crush the soul devourer using brute force alone. However, due to his state of soul shock, Jin had to approach the situation in a more subtle manner.

Eeeeek! Woosh!

The soul devourer emitted a strange noise as it felt that something was off. All of a sudden, its supply to the soul energy of its host had been terminated. Before it could even see what was coming, Jin's soul energy split into four thin strings. Each of these strings shot straight towards the dark blue markings on the soul devourer.

Phhtk!

In one swift motion, the four thin strings of soul energy pierced into their respective targets as the energy of the soul devourer grew weaker and weaker. In a last-ditch desperate attempt, the soul devourer was ready to self-destruct and take Jin's soul with it! One had to know that the destruction of one's soul was the same as true death. That person would never exist again.

However, Jin had already anticipated the reaction of the soul devourer. Now that it was weakened, he could finally take action. Hundreds... thousands... millions of strings formed from his soul energy had formed. In a matter of seconds, the strings formed a sphere around the soul devourer before closing in instantly. He completely devoured the devourer!

As soon as he finished, Jin opened his eyes as a new look of clarity could be seen hidden away within them. He released a deep breath as foul energy that could not be seen by the naked eye came spewing out of his mouth! It was the remnants of the soul devourer that had been terminated by Jin. After a few seconds, its energy dispersed and there was not a single trace of it left.

Jin felt as if a heavy burden had just been lifted off his shoulders. He looked over at the phone located on the dresser next to his bed and saw that it had been around two hours since he entered into his deep meditative state.

'Hm?'

Jin noticed that there was no one else currently in the hotel room with him. He got up out of his bed and almost immediately lost his balance. Luckily, he was able to keep standing on his own two feet. Although, he was still a bit light-headed.

'Overusing one's soul energy comes with a price. I should gain most of my strength back by tomorrow. After a couple of days, my soul strength will be back to normal.'

He walked towards his room door and made his way into the living. However, before he could do anything else, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching the room door. One of them was familiar... No, wait a second... Both sets of footsteps were familiar to him. One of the footsteps belonged to Reilei, as for the other set of footsteps-

The door to the hotel room opened as Reilei stepped inside. She gave a small polite bow to thank the person standing outside the room. It was then she noticed that Jin who rarely took a step out of his room was actually in the living area.

"Ah, Jin. What perfect timing, I was just talking about you. Come, you must meet this respectful young man who helped your mother." Reilei said with a lovely smile on her face. She knew that ever since he was a young boy, her son always had trouble making new friends.

It was rare to meet such a respectful and nice young man around Jin's age, therefore, she secretly hoped that the two of them could be friends.

"If he helped you, mother, then I must personally thank this gentleman." Jin said returning a smile of his own. How could he not know what Reilei was up to? He had clear memories of that face and what it meant plenty of times before during the earlier stages of his childhood. He inwardly shook his head as he walked over towards the doorway to meet the young man Reilei was referring to.

"Zhang Jin, this is Kong Dishi. Kong Dishi, this is my son, Z-" Reilei was speaking, however, before she could even finish her words, the young man blurted out in a voice full of shock.

"Izroth! You're brother Izroth, right?!" Kong Dishi exclaimed.

Reilei was confused. Izroth? Who was this Izroth Kong Dishi was speaking of?

Jin stood there and silently observed Kong Dishi. From his demeanor to his voice, and his footsteps; all of it matched up exactly the same as that guy!

Due to Jin's silence, Kong Dishi felt embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Ah, sorry. I must have mistaken you for someone else I know. Don't mind me, ahahaha." Kong Dishi said in a slightly awkward manner.

"It seems you carry yourself in RML the same way you do in the real world, Guan Yu." Jin said with a carefree expression on his face and a small amused smile. The young man named Kong Dishi was actually the same Guan Yu from RML!

"I knew it! Ahahaha, it truly is you brother Izroth! No, we're in the real world now. So I should call you Brother Zhang? Ahahaha, this is great! Wait till the others hear about this." Kong Dishi spoke with a joyous and festive tone of voice.

Reilei looked back and forth between Jin and Kong Dishi. She still had no idea what was going on, but from the sound of things, it appeared that her son was already acquainted with Kong Dishi!

When Jin saw the confused look on Reilei's face, he gave her a reassuring look and said, "I'll explain everything."

Knowing that Reilei would not be able to keep track of all the gaming terminology, Jin kept it short and to the point while leaving out many of the unnecessary details.

"Jin is so cool." Reilei said with sparkling eyes as she listened to how they met within the video game her son was playing and ended up adventuring together. While she did not understand a lot of it, she still understood the core concept.

She then continued to say, "Maybe I should give it a try. Though I don't think I'll be any good at fighting those monsters you talk so much about." Reilei released a small giggle. Of course, she was only joking when she said those words.

"Sure. After all, RML is more than about simply fighting. I have a spare headset, so you can try it whenever you'd like." Jin said. When he went to purchase a new headset last time, due to the fire destroying his previous headset, Jin bought a spare just in case anything unforeseen happened to his current headset.

"If anyone dares try to bully you then, of course, me and brother Zhang will take care of them!" Kong Dishi said with a voice full of confidence. People online could be cruel and harsh, especially in online games. To someone like Reilei who had probably never played a video game in her life, she would most likely be taken advantage of as a newbie and even scammed!

"E-Eh... My, I suppose I'll have to think about it since its two against one." Reilei gave a delightful smile as she responded.

After chatting for a bit, Jin found out that Guan Yu, or rather Kong Dishi, worked for the security company who was contracted to the hotel they were currently staying in. At the moment, he was still on his lunch break and so he was able to roam around freely for the time being. He also warned Jin to be careful of that Wendell guy who was most likely also staying at the hotel.

Kong Dishi gave Jin his personal phone number in case anything came up and told him not to hesitate to call. He would come rushing over without a second thought!

'So, those two are also at this hotel... Do not worry, I have not forgotten my promise.'

Jin's heart grew cold as he thought about the promise he made to the original owner of this body. Their previous crimes were not enough and now they wanted to further humiliate him and Reilei! Not only that, but according to Kong Dishi, if he had not interfered, then Wendell would have actually struck her!

Every dragon had a reversal scale that should not be touched and Wendell nearly crossed his absolute bottom line!

'A quick death would be too easy for you. No, you will not be allowed the satisfaction. You will lose everything. Your money, your lifestyle, your lover, I will see to it that before you leave this world, you will have nothing.'

Jin personally thanked Kong Dishi for intervening. He made sure that Kong Dishi knew that he owed him one.

After exchanging a few more words, Kong Dishi had to take his leave as his lunch break was about to end.

"Tomorrow afternoon, right? I'll be on! Heh, now that I know you live in this area, we're definitely going out some time, brother Zhang! Ahahaha, until then." Kong Dishi said his farewells and gave a proper, as well as, respectful goodbye to Reilei.

"I never knew that you had such a nice young man as a friend, Jin. Be sure to get along well with him. Polite young men like him are difficult to find these days." Reilei said as she turned to look at Jin. From her expression, one could tell that she was thrilled for him. He even called her son brother!

Jin nodded his head and replied, "Indeed, his type is difficult to find." To find someone who was always straight forward and never afraid to speak their mind, while also carrying a set of moral values they not only believed in but followed as well, was difficult no matter which world one was from.