The enormous walls of Spirit City appeared on the horizon shortly before noon.
Longyu observed them from the distance with a feeling quite different from the one he had when he left.
Only a few days had passed.
Nothing had changed in the city.
The same white walls.
The same towers.
The same banners of Spirit Hall moving in the wind.
And yet, something had changed.
Longyu raised his hand slightly.
Weng.
A yellow ring appeared around his body.
His first Soul Ring.
He observed it for only an instant before making it disappear.
He had left Spirit City as a six-year-old child with two Martial Souls and far too many questions.
He was returning as a Level 11 Soul Master.
With even more questions.
“If you keep summoning your ring every ten minutes, you’ll end up wasting Soul Power just to admire it.”
Longyu looked toward Jiangmo.
“That was the third time.”
“So you were counting.”
“Yes.”
Jiangmo smiled.
“That makes it worse.”
Qianjun walked several steps ahead of them.
“Leave him alone.”
Longyu raised an eyebrow.
So did Jiangmo.
Qianjun continued walking.
“When I obtained my first Soul Ring, I did the same thing.”
Jiangmo fell silent.
Then he smiled slowly.
“I’m going to remember that.”
Qianjun stopped.
“No.”
“Too late.”
Jin Yue burst out laughing.
Even Renxue smiled.
Longyu looked toward the walls again.
It was good to be home.
They entered Spirit City without stopping.
The guards immediately recognized Qianjun and Jiangmo.
No one asked any questions.
That was convenient, because Longyu preferred that the story of an expedition led by two Worships and accompanied by five six-year-old children did not begin circulating throughout the city.
Especially after what they had found.
The Ruinclaw Dragon Lizard.
A species that Spirit Hall’s records considered extinct for more than three centuries.
And a population whose location Longyu had no intention of turning into public knowledge.
Luoyue seemed to think exactly the same way.
For almost the entire journey back, she had worked on her notes.
She had not merely written about the beast Longyu had absorbed.
She had organized everything they had observed.
Habitat.
Tracks.
Territorial behavior.
Physical characteristics.
Age estimate.
Remains of prey.
Claw characteristics.
Interaction with Soul Power.
Evidence of juvenile individuals.
Minimum number of different track sizes observed.
And at the top of the page:
RESTRICTED INFORMATION — LOCATION OMITTED.
Longyu had seen that phrase at least four times.
Luoyue was taking the matter very seriously.
He liked that.
When they finally reached the Worship Hall, Longyu expected to rest.
His mother had other plans.
“Qiangu Longyu.”
Longyu stopped.
Lanyue was waiting at the end of the corridor.
His father stood beside her.
Ye Zhenyuan raised a hand.
“Before you say anything, remember that I tried to convince her to wait.”
Lanyue slowly turned her head.
“Really?”
Zhenyuan lowered his hand.
“I said nothing.”
Longyu decided retreat was impossible.
His mother walked toward him.
She examined him from head to toe.
Then she looked at Qianjun.
“Is he injured?”
“No.”
Mu Qinghe answered before Qianjun could.
“He has mild inflammation in several meridians.
Nothing permanent.
I recommend two days without intense training.”
Lanyue looked back at her son.
“Two days?”
Longyu immediately knew the correct answer.
“Two days.”
“No training?”
“No intense training.”
“Longyu.”
“No training.”
Jiangmo began laughing behind them.
Qianjun suddenly found a wall extremely interesting.
Longyu looked at him.
His grandfather did not return the look.
Coward.
Zhenyuan approached and placed a hand on his son’s shoulder.
“Did you get it?”
Longyu nodded.
This time, he allowed himself to smile.
The yellow ring appeared around his body.
Lanyue’s eyes immediately changed.
The worry was still there.
But so was pride.
A great deal of it.
Zhenyuan whistled.
“Pretty.”
“It’s a Soul Ring,” Lanyue said.
“It can still be pretty.”
Longyu dismissed the ring.
His mother touched his hair.
“Congratulations.”
A simple sentence.
But Longyu smiled a little more.
“Thanks, Mom.”
They did not have much time to rest.
Qian Daoliu wanted a report.
And when the Grand Worship requested a report, it usually meant rest could wait.
An hour later, the doors to one of the Worship Hall’s main chambers opened.
Longyu entered with the others.
This time, the atmosphere felt different from the awakening ceremony.
All seven Worships were present.
But Longyu no longer saw them merely as seven extraordinarily powerful figures gathered around Qian Daoliu.
He had begun to know them.
More importantly, he was beginning to understand that each of them was different.
Qian Daoliu occupied the main seat.
Calm.
Imposing.
Difficult to read.
Not far away sat Golden Crocodile Douluo.
His arms remained crossed as he stared directly at Jin Yue.
Jin Yue, who normally seemed intimidated by absolutely nothing, straightened her back slightly.
Blue Luan Douluo appeared more relaxed.
His gaze first passed over Luoyue and then the notebook she carried in her hands.
Qianjun and Jiangmo took their places.
The remaining Worships stood nearby.
Longyu still did not know all of them well.
That would change.
“Begin,” Qian Daoliu ordered.
Qianjun spoke first.
He explained the journey.
The tests performed before their departure.
The original candidates.
Their arrival at the Great Star Dou Forest.
And finally…
the Ruinclaw Dragon Lizard.
The expressions of several Worships changed.
“Ruinclaw?” one asked.
“That’s impossible,” another said.
Luoyue raised her head slightly.
Longyu saw her tighten her grip on her notebook.
Qianjun did not argue.
“We thought the same.”
Qian Daoliu looked toward Luoyue.
“You documented the discovery.”
It was not a question.
Luoyue stepped forward.
“Yes, Grand Worship.”
“Show me.”
She walked toward him and handed over the notebook.
Qian Daoliu began to read.
The room remained silent.
He turned one page.
Then another.
Blue Luan Douluo watched his granddaughter.
Qian Daoliu finally stopped.
“You omitted the location.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Luoyue answered without hesitation.
“Because we don’t know how many remain.”
Qian Daoliu closed the notebook.
“Explain.”
Luoyue took a breath.
“We found evidence of several individuals.
At least four different track sizes and one juvenile scale.
That proves the beast Longyu absorbed was not necessarily the last.”
She paused.
No one interrupted.
“If we publicly record the location and other Soul Masters discover that their Soul Rings possess a property capable of interfering with Soul Power defenses…”
Luoyue briefly looked at Longyu.
“They’ll hunt them.”
Blue Luan Douluo spoke for the first time.
“And would that be bad?”
Luoyue looked at him.
The question seemed simple.
Longyu suspected it was not.
“Not necessarily.”
Blue Luan waited.
“We hunt Soul Beasts to cultivate,” Luoyue continued.
“We just did it ourselves.”
Her gaze briefly fell toward Longyu’s first Soul Ring.
“But if there are ten left and we kill nine without even knowing how they reproduce, where they live, or how many actually exist…”
Luoyue frowned slightly.
“Then we could destroy a species before we even understand it.”
Silence.
Blue Luan extended a hand.
Qian Daoliu passed him the notebook.
The old man reviewed several pages.
“Habitat.”
He turned another.
“Diet.”
Another.
“Territorial patterns.”
Another.
“Differences between tracks.”
Luoyue nodded.
Blue Luan looked up.
“Longyu studies which Soul Beast a Soul Master should absorb.”
Longyu watched the old man.
Blue Luan turned his eyes toward his granddaughter.
“And what do you want to study?”
Luoyue took a few seconds to answer.
“The Soul Beast.”
“To find better Soul Rings?”
Luoyue thought.
“That too.”
Another pause.
“But first, I want to understand it.”
Blue Luan smiled.
It was not a large smile.
But Longyu saw it.
“Then you are not following Longyu’s path.”
He closed the notebook.
“You are beginning to find your own.”
Luoyue remained still.
Then she took back her notes.
“Thank you, Grandpa.”
Longyu noticed that she held them a little tighter than before.
The report continued.
When they reached the estimated age of the Soul Ring, Golden Crocodile Douluo stopped looking relaxed.
“How old?”
“Between five hundred and eighty and six hundred and twenty years,” Qianjun answered.
Golden Crocodile looked at Longyu.
Then at Jin Yue.
That was enough.
Jin Yue raised her hand.
“I want one too.”
“No.”
The answer was immediate.
Jin Yue blinked.
“But—”
“No.”
“Longyu endured one!”
Golden Crocodile pointed at Qianjun.
“Longyu is his problem.”
Then he pointed at himself.
“You are my problem.”
Jiangmo laughed.
“Finally, someone sensible.”
Jin Yue frowned.
“I’m physically stronger than him.”
Longyu intervened.
“Probably.”
Jin Yue looked at him in surprise.
“You’re on my side?”
“No.”
Her expression fell again.
Longyu continued.
“Being physically stronger doesn’t automatically mean having a greater absorption capacity.”
“But it helps?”
“Probably.”
“Then I want an older one.”
“That’s not how it works either.”
“I don’t like your method.”
“That doesn’t change the data.”
Golden Crocodile stared at Longyu for several seconds.
Longyu was not entirely sure whether he had just helped Jin Yue or made her situation worse.
“What age would you propose for her?” the old man asked.
Longyu did not answer immediately.
“I don’t know.”
Golden Crocodile raised an eyebrow.
“You don’t know?”
“We haven’t evaluated her.”
Longyu pointed toward Jin Yue.
“My absorption proves that I was able to endure that Soul Ring under those conditions.
It doesn’t prove Jin Yue can.”
Jin Yue crossed her arms.
“I can.”
“That’s not evidence either.”
“I can hit you to prove it.”
“That would prove something else.”
Renxue brought a hand to her mouth to hide a smile.
Golden Crocodile, however, began to laugh.
A deep laugh.
“Good.”
Jin Yue looked at him.
“So I can have a six-hundred-year Soul Ring?”
“No.”
“Grandpa!”
“But you can prove you’re prepared to attempt it.”
Jin Yue immediately stopped complaining.
Her eyes lit up.
“How?”
Golden Crocodile pointed at Longyu.
“Ask the researcher.”
Longyu felt as though he had just been given more work.
Strangely, he did not mind.
Then it was time to discuss his Soul Skill.
Longyu manifested the Destruction Coiling Dragon Staff.
His first Soul Ring appeared.
Several Worships immediately noticed the subtle changes in the coiled dragon.
The scales.
The claws.
The open eyes.
Qian Daoliu was the first to mention it.
“It changed.”
“Yes.”
“Did it evolve?”
Longyu shook his head.
“I wouldn’t use that word yet.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know whether it is a permanent evolution, a modification directly caused by the Soul Ring, a normal characteristic of integration, or something specific to the compatibility between the two.”
Jiangmo placed a hand on Qianjun’s shoulder.
“Your grandson needs to learn shorter answers.”
“I’ve tried.”
“Not hard enough.”
Longyu ignored both of them.
He explained Ruin Dragon Strike.
Impact amplification.
Concentration.
Rupture.
Erosive interference.
And he made it clear which parts were still estimates.
When he finished, Qian Daoliu remained thoughtful.
“Has your theory been proven?”
“No.”
Longyu answered immediately.
Qian Daoliu nodded.
“Good.”
Jin Yue looked confused again.
“Why is everyone happy when he says he hasn’t proven anything?”
No one answered.
Qian Daoliu stood.
The chamber immediately became quieter.
“One observation does not constitute a system.”
Longyu nodded.
“I agree.”
“An extraordinary Soul Ring does not constitute a method either.”
“I agree with that too.”
“Then we will publish nothing.”
Longyu looked up.
He did not disagree, but he wanted to hear the reason.
Qian Daoliu understood.
“The limits currently used did not appear from nowhere.
They were built upon generations of Soul Masters who succeeded…”
He paused.
“And upon many who died.”
The children’s expressions changed slightly.
“If you want to question them, you may.
If you want to improve them, you may do that as well.”
Qian Daoliu’s eyes fixed on Longyu.
“But I don’t want confidence.”
“Evidence,” Longyu finished.
“Exactly.”
Longyu smiled faintly.
“That was what I intended to do.”
The meeting could have ended there.
It did not.
Golden Crocodile looked toward the four girls.
“Good.”
His eyes passed over Jin Yue.
Luoyue.
Renxue.
“The boy already has his first Soul Ring.”
Jin Yue smiled.
She knew exactly what was coming.
“What about them?”
Longyu looked toward his four friends.
He had thought about that during the return journey.
A lot.
His own selection had begun with five words.
Power.
Dragon.
Breaking.
Bloodline.
Destruction.
Now they needed to do the same for them.
But not just him.
Longyu looked at Jin Yue.
“Golden Crocodile.”
She nodded.
“Strength.”
Longyu added:
“Defense.”
Golden Crocodile Douluo spoke.
“Endurance.”
Jin Yue thought for a moment.
“Bloodline.”
Longyu smiled.
Four directions.
Then he looked at Luoyue.
She already had her notebook open.
“Flight.”
“Speed,” Longyu added.
“Wind.”
Blue Luan Douluo intervened.
“Maneuverability.”
Luoyue wrote down all four.
Longyu looked at Lingyu.
She took less time.
“Healing.”
“Vitality,” Longyu said.
Lingyu thought.
“Purification.”
Mu Qinghe, who remained near the entrance, added:
“Support.”
Finally, everyone looked at Renxue.
She crossed her arms.
“Attack.”
Longyu almost laughed.
“Of course.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Qian Daoliu spoke.
“Light.”
Longyu added:
“Purification.”
Renxue thought for a moment.
“Sacred fire.”
Longyu nodded.
There was a difference.
Jin Yue, Lingyu, and Luoyue could use their first Soul Rings to begin constructing a direction.
Renxue was different.
Her Six-Winged Seraph was already extraordinarily complete.
She did not need Longyu trying to turn it into something else.
She needed him to avoid ruining it.
“Your case will probably be the most difficult,” Longyu said.
Renxue raised an eyebrow.
“Because I’m the strongest?”
“Because your Martial Soul is already too good.”
Jin Yue made a face.
“That sounded unfair.”
Longyu continued.
“We don’t need to correct an obvious weakness.
We need to find something that strengthens what you already possess without introducing unnecessary characteristics.”
Renxue smiled.
“Then find something good.”
Longyu shook his head.
“We’ll find it.”
Renxue looked at him.
Longyu pointed toward all four girls.
“All of us.”
Luoyue closed her notebook.
“The archives?”
“The archives.”
Lingyu raised a hand.
“Can we also review medical records from previous absorptions?”
Longyu looked at her.
He smiled.
“Yes.”
Jin Yue sighed.
“More books.”
Golden Crocodile slapped her on the back hard enough to nearly send her a step forward.
“If you want a six-hundred-year Soul Ring, start reading.”
Jin Yue looked horrified.
Longyu decided he liked Golden Crocodile Douluo very much.
The meeting ended shortly afterward.
However, as the others began to leave, Blue Luan called out to Luoyue.
“Wait.”
She stopped.
The old man lifted her notebook.
“Tomorrow, you’re coming with me.”
“Where?”
“My archives.”
Luoyue blinked.
“You have records on Soul Beasts?”
Blue Luan looked at her as though the question had offended him.
“I have traveled this continent for more than a hundred years.”
Luoyue’s eyes widened slightly.
“How many?”
“I don’t know.”
Longyu, who was still nearby, stopped.
I don’t know.
That was a problem.
How much knowledge existed inside the Worship Hall that had never been organized?
How many species had Blue Luan seen?
How many had Golden Crocodile hunted?
How many places did Qianjun and Jiangmo know?
How many details existed only in their memories?
And someday…
they would no longer be there.
Longyu looked at Luoyue.
She seemed to have reached a similar conclusion.
She opened her notebook.
She wrote something.
Longyu tried to look.
Luoyue closed it.
“It’s mine.”
Longyu raised both hands.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You were looking.”
“Observing.”
“It’s the same thing.”
“Not scientifically.”
Luoyue walked away.
Longyu smiled.
That night, after dinner, Longyu finally returned to his room.
His mother had temporarily confiscated his training staff.
Mu Qinghe had forbidden exercise.
Qianjun had refused to help him.
Betrayal everywhere.
So there was only one option left.
Research.
Longyu opened his notebook.
On one page were the four preliminary profiles.
Qian Lingyu — Healing / Vitality / Purification / Support.
Jin Yue — Strength / Defense / Endurance / Bloodline.
Qing Luoyue — Flight / Speed / Wind / Maneuverability.
Qian Renxue — Light / Sacred Fire / Purification / Attack.
They needed candidates.
Many of them.
Then they would have to discard most of them.
Compatibility.
Age.
Habitat.
Availability.
Observed Soul Skills.
Physical characteristics.
Long-term effects.
And this time, they would have something Longyu had not fully taken advantage of during his own search.
The personal knowledge of the Worships.
Longyu turned the page.
There were the two words he had written in Star Dou.
Whale Glue.
He stared at them.
Four first Soul Rings.
A medicinal substance whose true potential in this era he did not know.
Five bodies they could measure.
Five different Martial Souls.
Five future cultivation paths.
Longyu picked up his pen.
Beneath Whale Glue, he wrote:
First: determine what Spirit Hall currently knows.
Then he added:
Second: obtain samples.
Third: do not consume anything until Lingyu and a Healing Soul Master determine that we are not idiots.
Longyu stared at the last line.
He considered crossing it out.
He did not.
It was a reasonable precaution.
He closed the notebook.
His first Soul Ring had only been the beginning.
Now he was no longer researching only his own path.
There were four more before him.
And Longyu was beginning to suspect that if he truly wanted to change Spirit Hall’s future, finding better answers for five children was a fairly good place to start.