Dugu Yuanshen opened his eyes and looked at Zhang Fei, whose body was beginning to be enveloped in a black aura.
"As expected, heās a demon, but I couldnāt sense his demon aura until now, and it seems to have gone out of control due to his fourth soul challenge. I donāt know what heās facing there, but he must be aware that the challenge before him isnāt real, or heāll be affected by it." Dugu Yuanshen raised an eyebrow when Zhang Fei changed his form, which was a combination of his four forms. "What the hell? Who exactly is this young man? I sense four different auras from his bodyāa human aura, a beast aura, a demon aura, and a deadly aura."
*Boom*
As soon as the explosion occurred, it was followed by a powerful pressure spreading throughout the area. Dugu Yuanshen waved his hand and created a barrier to protect all his disciples who were undergoing their challenges.
Dugu Yuanshen took a deep breath as four shadows appeared behind Zhang Fei. "How is this possible? How can a single living being have four different forms? A human, a fox, a lust demon, and a dragon! If Iām not mistaken, the deadly aura I sensed earlier came from his dragon form, and his dragon form is truly terrifying even to me."
"Master, what happened here?"
"Look at him, Feiyan." Ru Feiyan looked at Zhang Fei, who was pointed at by Dugu Yuanshen. "Have you ever seen a living being like him?"
Ru Feiyan shook her head slightly. "How can he have four different forms, Master? I have never seen a single living being with four forms in one body before."
"I have never seen a living being like him in my entire life." Dugu Yuanshen thought for a moment before flicking his finger, and a golden light quickly shot into Zhang Feiās body. "I donāt want to do this, but if he goes out of control due to his soul challenge, the situation will become even more dangerous, and we will face serious problems as a result."
Ru Feiyan looked at her master. "Are you sure it wonāt cause him trouble? After all, we canāt help other cultivators in their challenges, or theyāll be disqualified by the tower."
"Donāt worry." Dugu Yuanshen pointed at Luo Yunxiao. "That young woman helped him in his second challenge, but the tower didnāt expel him, so I donāt think my help will cause him to fail."
"Could it be because he is different from other living beings?"
"Perhaps." Dugu Yuanshen himself didnāt have an answer for that because he had never encountered such a living being before. "Alright, you donāt need to worry about that man, and you can move on to the next challenge. Only the last three challenges remain for you, and you will come with me to the third floor after you complete them."
"Yes, Master."
Dugu Yuanshen focused his gaze on Zhang Feiās fourth form. "What kind of dragon is that? Iāve met many dragons in the past, but Iāve never seen his dragon form before. If I look closely, his dragon form is a bit similar to Emperor Long, but heās an evil dragon."
Naturally, Dugu Yuanshen had never seen Zhang Feiās dragon form before. After all, there was only one Calamity Demon Dragon in the universe, just like the five-clawed golden dragon.
.
.
.
In the midst of the challenge, Zhang Fei suddenly felt something appear within his soul, and a bright golden light shot out of it, illuminating the darkness that even his light element couldnāt illuminate.
"No... No..." The voice screamed in panic as it happened. "This canāt be happening! I canāt let him get out of this place!"
*Boom*
An explosion occurred when the invisible creature was about to attack Zhang Fei, and the golden light quickly swept through the darkness, revealing the beast.
"I can see you now." Zhang Fei stood up and looked at the beast. "You must be Taotie, one of the four perils."
"I will kill you!" Taotie roared and attacked him again.
Unlike before, Zhang Fei could easily block his attack, and he grabbed his front paw. "I was never afraid of you, Taotie. Before, you could attack me because I couldnāt see you, but the situation has changed now, so Iāll end it now."
"Argh!" Taotie roared in pain as Zhang Fei used his devouring and absorbing abilities. "Bastard! You got lucky this time, but Iāll kill you the next time we meet!"
"Heh!" Zhang Fei snorted and sped up his actions, absorbing Taotieās soul fragment. "Youāre just a soul fragment, so you canāt fight me. When Iām ready, Iāll go meet you out there, and Iāll kill you then."
"Bastard! Donāt get cocky! You wonāt be able to do anything without outside help!"
"I know." Zhang Fei nodded. "Now begone!"
After Taotie vanished and his soul absorbed the soul fragments, Zhang Fei exhaled with relief. "Phew."
.
.
.
The moment Zhang Fei opened his eyes, the four shadows of his four forms immediately disappeared. He looked at Dugu Yuanshen, who was also looking at him. "Thank you for your help, Senior."
"Donāt mind it." Then, Dugu Yuanshen asked him, "Who are you, Young Man? How can you have four different forms? What is your fourth dragon form?"
"My name is Zhang Fei from the Moonlit Passion Temple."
"Oh?" Dugu Yuanshen was taken aback. "Are you the mysterious person who brought great changes to the sect?"
"I am," Zhang Fei replied with a nod. "As for my dragon form, I canāt tell you about it for the safety of myself and everyone around me, Senior."
"But you can tell me about how you can have four different forms, right? A human, a fox beast, a lust demon, and a dragon."
"Long story short, a mysterious woman accidentally killed me in the past, and she revived me. However, I donāt know her identity because I never met or talked to her, and she had already disappeared when I opened my eyes. Since then, I have had three different forms, and I obtained my dragon form several years ago in the Three Mortal Realms." Since Dugu Yuanshen already knew everything, Zhang Fei did not cover it up and showed his four different forms to the old man, stunning him. "I was born as an ordinary human, but her actions made me have the identities of a fox beast and a lust demon."
"Honestly, your story is difficult to believe, but I have never seen another living being with four different forms like you, and I canāt sense your other auras when you use any of your forms." Dugu Yuanshen tried to sense Zhang Feiās aura before continuing. "As of now, I can only sense your human aura, and I canāt sense your beast and beast auras."
"When Iām in my human form, my other three auras are always hidden, so other people donāt know my other three forms."
"I see." Dugu Yuanshen looked at Nalan Wangzi, Tianshi Shengji, Luo Yunxiao, and Helian Xueāer. "At first, I was confused about your relationship with those four women, but I finally got the answer to my confusion after seeing your four forms with my own eyes. No wonder you were able to bring about such big changes in the Moonlit Passion Temple, and you also succeeded in recruiting people from all races to join your sect."
"Haha," Zhang Fei laughed. "Wouldnāt it be great if all races coexisted harmoniously without any problems, Senior?"
"However, peace among all races is very difficult to achieve, Young Man. Whether humans, beasts, winged races, demons, or demihumans, each has their ambitions, which have given rise to conflicts that have been passed down through generations."
"All the conflicts that occur in this universe stem from the ambition and greed of all living beings, and they will never end if those people donāt change their mindset. If they donāt control their ambitions, their actions will negatively impact this universe and slowly destroy it." Zhang Fei sighed. "This universe is too big, and I canāt do anything about it. At least, I can do something for those closest to me, and I want to make my sect the best place for all races to gather in peace."
"Can it really be done? Iāve heard about your sect from Li Tianyu, but Iāve never visited there before."
"You can see everything for yourself, Senior." Zhang Fei created several qi screens showing the situation in the Moonlit Passion Temple, where people of various races gathered and practiced together without thinking about their differences.
Dugu Yuanshen nodded repeatedly as he looked at everyone. "I never thought that all races could truly live together in one place. Have they never clashed with each other?"
"So far, there have never been any clashes between them, Senior. If they dare to do so within my sect, I will punish them severely, including killing them, depending on their offense."
"I see." Dugu Yuanshen nodded in understanding. "In that case, you can continue your challenge again, and weāll have a good talk if you make it to the third floor."
Zhang Fei removed all the qi screens. "Thank you again for your help earlier, Senior."
"You donāt need to think about that, but you must always remember that all the challenges on this second floor are not real. All the challenges that appear before you stem from your fears, and you should be able to overcome them as easily as long as you can overcome your fears."
"Thank you for your advice, Senior." Zhang Fei looked at Luo Yunxiao and the others before moving forward. "Iāll start now."
Dugu Yuanshen looked at Zhang Fei, who had already begun his next challenge. "This kid is really interesting."