It didn't take long for Jun to return to the Inn. After entering he was greeted by the many disciples chatting and discussing topics happening all over the city.
As the Chosen Tournament got closer and closer the tension between everyone was slowly increasing, resulting in many fights between renowned and unknown geniuses breaking out across the city.
Jun greeted everyone back before he made his way up the stairs with Tai in his arm, still in his cat form.
On the third floor, he came to a stop in front of a room door. Without knocking he entered, and inside Lihua, Fang Chen, Fei Yin, Mu Fan, Li Wen, and Yang Su could be seen all sitting or standing around.
When the door opened they all looked towards him.
"So, what happened? Was it that bastard?"
Mu Fan asked.
"Tai didn't sense the connection he shares with Master from him, and I still didn't sense Master's Karma String either."
Jun said closing the door behind him.
"However, it's strange. Even though everything points to the fact that he's not Master, he's strangely similar to him in many ways."
"Can you explain?"
Lihua asked.
Jun organized his thoughts for a moment then began explaining Dai Hee's behavior when they interacted.
Like how he petted Tai with such familiarity and his bartering with the attendant so he could use less of his spirit stones. There were other smaller things as well that were noticeable, his speech pattern, how he walked, or little habits and movements he would instinctively do without thinking.
It wasn't that these things could only be found in Li Shen. It could be that there was just someone who talk like him, walked like him, had the same nature to dress like him, or have the same penny-pinching nature as him.
But there was one more thing that made all of these characteristics of Dai Hee even more suspicious.
"What?! Did he really have Young Master's storage ring?"
Li Wen blurted out.
Jun nodded and said.
"The color was black while the craftsmanship and design were exactly the same as the storage ring Master uses. With this along with all those small details, he must be related to Master somehow."
"What do you mean he must be related? Did you say all of that to come to that conclusion? It's obvious it's that bastard, why didn't you bring him back here?"
Mu Fan said with a frown.
"Can you think for once, or is your brain just full of nothing but picking fights and eating like a pig?"
"What?!"
Mu Fan hearing that yelled and shot Lihua an annoyed look.
"Lihua's right."
"Huh?!"
Mu Fan spun his head to glare at Fei Yin.
"I mean what she was inferring."
Fei Yin said while holding up his hands.
"Even with so many similarities and even the storage ring, can't you see he's someone else? He isn't wearing a disguise, that's his true appearance."
Fang Chen chimed in.
"Isn't there a possibility his soul just entered someone else's body? Even with his physique, going through spatial tear would have torn him to shreds. He must gave protected his soul somehow and then possess someone else's body."
Everyone hearing Mu Fan's words remained silent.
It wasn't that they haven't thought of something like this. Since they knew Li Shen was alive, they were prepared to find him severely injured, perhaps on the brink of death.
But seeing Dai Hee, his soul could have been the only thing that remained after entering the spatial tear. They all knew Li Shen's soul was almost on par with the strength of a Nascent Realm cultivator's soul, and it was said a Nascent Realm expert could survive without a physical body and possess others with their strong soul to regain a body.
"But if that's really him, why can't he remember us?"
Jun ask, and this was the most important point.
"Bah! Maybe that bastard is just pretending just to mess with us."
Jun shook his head.
"Are you forgetting my ability to detect lies? He wasn't pretending to not know us, he genuinely didn't."
"Then...is it that his soul was absorbed by that person? Maybe the Blood Oath tribulation only worked beca-"
"No."
Yang Su suddenly interrupted Fei Yin from continuing.
"That's Master, no one else. If it was like you said I would have known, but it isn't, that person may look different but the soul inside him is definitely Master's."
Everyone turned to Yang Su as he said that.
"You were like this before at the stage too, you insisted we track him down and have Tai try sensing his connection with him. How did figure out he's related to Faction Leader, or rather, how are you so sure it's him?"
Upon hearing Lihua's question, Yang Su lowered his head and remained silent for a moment.
"It's because… we share the same the same soul."
"What?"
Mu Fan hearing this was dumbfounded, the others reacted the same way as well.
"Elder brother, what do you mean?"
"Do you mean your his clone and you share the same soul?"
Hearing Mu Fan, everyone wore skeptical looks.
Yang Su immediately shook his head and said.
"No, stop being ridiculous, that's not what I meant. Maybe I should have phrased that better. What I meant is that back when I first met Master I had accidentally absorbed a strand of his Soul Power, and ever since then I had a vague connection with him."
"Something like that actually happened?"
Fei Yin said slightly surprised, it was the first time he along with everyone was hearing of this.
Lihua meanwhile had a thoughtful look on her face.
She then said.
"So that's why you're so sure that he's Faction Leader. Then if that's truly him, what's the reason for him not remembering us but instead thinking he's the original owner of the body?
"Maybe the possession was incomplete because his soul was injured. It's not easy to possess a Core Formation Realm cultivator with an injured soul."
Jun thought for a moment then said.
"Wait, brother Yin that might not be it. When Master's mask was first taken off, he was recognized by someone and that person was shocked that he was alive."
Li Wen chimed in next.
"Then Young Master possessed a dying person?"
"It's not certain, we don't know when that person was killed. But if it was during the six months Master disappeared then things would add up."
"Then it's not that the bastard failed to possess a living person that he doesn't know us. His soul is probably just injured, and isn't the soul what makes us who we are? With his soul injured then it isn't a surprise he lost his memories and instead thinks he's the original owner of the body."
"He went to the Auction House to buy Soul Nourishing pills."
With that last statement from Jun, everyone was on the same page as to what happened to Li Shen. But now that they found him, what now?
He doesn't remember who he is, will he ever remember?
A new fear suddenly began to raise in everyone's heart.
After so long they had finally found Li Shen, but now they discover he lost all his memories of them. What's with this messed up situation?
Silence fell in the room for a moment before Yang Su said.
"We just have to help him remember us. As long as Master's soul heals his memories might come back."
"There's going to be a Soul Nourishing Pill that has at least 95% medicinal effect in an Auction' being held tomorrow night. Master is going to go to bid for it."
"If it's a Soul Nourishing Pill with a 95% medicinal effect, every cultivator in this city that's in the Core Formation Realm will be at this auction. That includes the many geniuses here to participate in the Chosen Tournament that's from powerful backgrounds."
Fang Chen said this with a solemn expression, and everyone knew getting this pill would be difficult. But the thing is if they helped Dai Hee get the pill all those geniuses would come after them.
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