Survival for All: I can deconstruct projections and synthesize everything.

The Soul Master seemed to sense his wariness, and a helpless smile appeared on his lips.

"Alliance Leader Lin Xiao, I know what you're worried about."

He paused, then continued, "You're worried this is a trap, aren't you?"

Lin Xiao did not deny it, and nodded: "That is indeed a concern."

The Soul Master laughed, but there was a hint of bitterness in his laughter.

"Your concerns are valid. In this world, there really isn't anything that can be completely trusted."

"But I can assure you that my invitation is sincere."

He stood up, walked to Lin Xiao, and extended his right hand, which was formed from the power of his soul.

"The Soul Clan has been oppressed by the Misty World for countless years, and we have been waiting for an opportunity."

"And you are that opportunity."

His voice was sincere and firm, without a trace of falsehood.

Lin Xiao looked at him and remained silent for a moment.

Then, he extended his right hand and clasped it with the Soul Master's.

In that instant, he could sense the fluctuations of the Soul Master's soul power—stable, gentle, and without any intention of attack.

"I hope we have a pleasant working relationship," Lin Xiao said softly.

The Soul Master smiled slightly: "It's a pleasure to cooperate with you."

For the next few days, Lin Xiao stayed with the Soul Clan.

The Soul Master arranged for him to have a separate palace, which was formed from the purest soul power and was decorated in a simple yet elegant style.

There was no excessive luxury, no deliberate attempt to please; everything was just right.

This humble yet assertive attitude actually made Lin Xiao feel more favorably toward the Soul Master.

On the first day, the Soul Lord invited Lin Xiao to visit the Soul Clan's territory.

The buildings formed from the power of souls, the soul entities floating in the void, and the strange and mysterious rules of souls all broadened Lin Xiao's horizons.

The civilization of the Soul Clan is completely different from that of the Survivors.

They have no technology, no industry, and not even a physical body.

Their civilization was built upon the power of the soul—using the power of the soul to build palaces, create tools, and communicate.

Their social structure is also unique.

The Soul Lord is the supreme ruler, below him are twelve eighth-rank elders, then hundreds of seventh-rank lords, and then countless ordinary clansmen.

The entire ethnic group has a population of approximately tens of billions.

Although their numbers are not as large as those of the Eternal Alliance, every Soul Clan member is a born warrior.

Their soul attacks ignore physical defenses and directly target the target's soul.

On the battlefield, this ability is extremely terrifying.

The next day, the Soul Master and Lin Xiao held their first formal meeting.

The meeting focused on how to unite all resistance forces to launch a general offensive against the Misty World.

The Soul Master proposed a detailed plan: first, to contact the resistance forces in various regions of the Mist World and establish a resistance alliance; then, to choose a suitable time to launch a simultaneous attack on the seven regions of the Mist God.

"The eight ninth-ranked Mist Gods are each guarding one of the seven major regions." The Soul Master pointed to the seven regions on the star map, his voice calm and clear.

"This area we are in was originally guarded by the High Priest of the Dark Eclipse Cult. After the Dark Eclipse Cult was destroyed, the High Priest is still alive, but he has lost his foundation. In the short term, he cannot pose a threat to us."

"But in the other six areas, there are still six ninth-rank beings."

He paused, then looked at Lin Xiao.

"Therefore, we need to unite with resistance forces in other regions and launch simultaneous attacks to prevent them from supporting each other."

As Lin Xiao listened to the Soul Master's plan, the Omniscient Rule was operating at full power, analyzing every detail.

The plan is very detailed and thorough; it sounds like there are no problems at all.

But upon closer examination, he felt that something was amiss.

That feeling didn't come from reason, but from intuition.

His omniscient rules told him that the Soul Master's plan was feasible and that the Soul Master's sincerity was genuine.

But his intuition told him that something was being hidden.

"What do you think?" the Soul Master asked, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes.

Lin Xiao hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"The plan is good, but we need more time to prepare."

The Soul Master smiled: "Of course. This will take time. I suggest we spend a month contacting the resistance forces in other areas before deciding on a specific time to attack."

Lin Xiao nodded: "Okay."

After the meeting, Lin Xiao returned to his palace.

He sat cross-legged, the omniscient rules were in full operation, and his consciousness probed into the deepest part of the microcosm.

He was thinking.

On the surface, the Soul Master's plan appears to be without any problems.

Uniting all resistance forces and launching a simultaneous attack is a very reasonable strategy.

But he always felt that the Soul Master's attitude was a bit too enthusiastic.

That kind of enthusiasm doesn't seem like the attitude one would expect from an ancient monster who has lived for hundreds of millions of years.

An existence that has lived for hundreds of millions of years, experiencing countless failures and betrayals, should be wary and suspicious of everything.

But the Soul Master's trust in him came far too easily.

"Could it be that the destruction of the Dark Erosion Cult gave him a glimmer of hope?" Lin Xiao murmured, his brows furrowing slightly.

"Or is it because... there are other hidden reasons that I'm unaware of?"

He closed his eyes, and the Omniscient Rules were operating at full power, trying to find flaws in the Soul Master's words and actions.

But he couldn't find it.

The Soul Master's performance was too perfect.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

On the third day, the Soul Master once again invited Lin Xiao to visit the core area of ​​the Soul Clan.

That is the most sacred place for the Soul Clan, the source of soul power.

"This is the sacred ground of our Soul Clan, the Spring of Souls." The Soul Lord pointed to a lake and spring formed from pure soul power, his voice filled with piety.

"All the Soul Clan members were born from this spring."

Lin Xiao looked at the lake, and the Omniscient Rule quietly penetrated into it.

He could sense that the lake contained an extremely rich spiritual power, a power so pure and profound that it seemed capable of cleansing away all filth.

But in the deepest part of the lake, he sensed something unusual.

It was an extremely subtle fluctuation, somewhat similar to the aura emanating from the Soul Master, but not entirely the same.

There was a hint of unnaturalness in that fluctuation.

Lin Xiao's brow twitched slightly, but she quickly returned to normal.

He showed no sign of anything amiss, simply nodding and exclaiming, "It's truly amazing."

The Soul Master smiled slightly and said nothing more.

Afterwards, the Soul Master led Lin Xiao to visit other important places in their clan.

Along the way, Lin Xiao also noticed that the Soul Master was observing him during each visit.