The evaluation began at dawn.
Jin Yue was delighted.
Lingyu was not.
Luoyue looked neutral.
Renxue was too proud to admit any concern.
Longyu carried a chart.
Jin Yue looked at the document.
“Are we fighting today?”
“Eventually.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
“Strength first.”
Jin Yue smiled.
“Perfect.”
Longyu did not intend to create an absolute measurement.
Not yet.
The objective was comparison.
All five were the same age.
They had grown up under similar conditions.
They trained together.
But their bodies were different.
Their Martial Souls were different.
Their innate levels were different too.
Renxue had twenty.
Longyu, ten.
The other three, nine.
Comparing them could reveal which factors truly mattered.
Mu Qinghe would supervise health.
Golden Crocodile would supervise physical tests.
Qianjun would handle Soul Power control.
Blue Luan, agility and coordination.
And Jiangmo…
“What is he supervising?” Longyu asked.
Jiangmo smiled.
“Making sure no one gets bored.”
Longyu decided not to ask anything else.
The first test was strength.
Jin Yue dominated.
Not by a small margin.
“Again,” she said.
“We already have the result.”
“I want to improve it.”
Golden Crocodile smiled.
“That’s the spirit.”
Lingyu sighed.
Renxue came second.
Longyu third.
Luoyue fourth.
Lingyu last.
Nothing surprising.
But Longyu did not only record maximum strength.
He recorded strength relative to body weight.
Fatigue after repetitions.
Recovery.
Stability.
Performance loss.
That was where the differences appeared.
Jin Yue possessed enormous strength and good endurance.
Renxue recovered Soul Power absurdly quickly.
Luoyue maintained coordination even when exhausted.
Lingyu recovered physically better than expected.
Longyu…
Mu Qinghe pointed toward his right arm.
“There is still residual inflammation.”
Longyu frowned.
“Very little.”
“It exists.”
“It doesn’t affect—”
“It exists.”
Longyu wrote it down.
He did not like it.
But data he disliked was still data.
The Soul Power tests were more interesting.
Qian Daoliu attended.
Renxue was clearly abnormal.
There was no other word for it.
Her Soul Power quality, quantity, and recovery were all above the others.
Longyu watched her complete a test.
“That’s irritating.”
Renxue smiled.
“Because I’m too good?”
“Yes.”
“You can keep saying that.”
Longyu ignored her.
But they discovered something.
Although Jin Yue was physically stronger than Longyu, her fine control was worse.
Lingyu had excellent precision.
Luoyue had the best control while moving.
Longyu had good compression and distribution.
Renxue simply had too much of everything.
“That’s unfair,” Jin Yue muttered.
Longyu looked at her.
“Finally, we agree on something.”
Then came the important part.
Meridians.
Circulation.
Response to gradual pressure.
Mu Qinghe used his Jade Spirit Lotus.
Lingyu watched carefully.
So did Longyu.
They could not perfectly simulate absorption.
But they could introduce carefully controlled external Soul Power and measure the response.
Jin Yue endured a great deal of pressure.
More than Longyu had before his first ring in several physical parameters.
Jin Yue smiled triumphantly.
“Told you.”
Longyu raised one finger.
“We’re not finished.”
Her circulation showed less flexibility.
When pressure increased, her meridians endured the force well but redistributed it poorly.
“So I’m strong but stiff,” Jin Yue said.
Mu Qinghe thought about it.
“Oversimplified…
but yes.”
Jin Yue looked toward Longyu. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
“Fix that.”
“I’m not a physician.”
He pointed toward Lingyu.
“She is.”
Lingyu looked up.
“I can study circulation exercises and recovery.”
Jin Yue nodded.
“Perfect.”
Longyu thought Lingyu had just been assigned work without asking for it.
That seemed to happen often in their group.
Luoyue was different.
Lower absolute resistance.
Excellent response to flow.
Her meridians seemed capable of tolerating rapid changes in Soul Power direction.
Blue Luan considered it logical.
“An aerial Martial Soul requires constant adjustments.”
Longyu wrote that down.
Lingyu asked:
“Does that mean she can better withstand unstable energy?”
Mu Qinghe shook his head.
“Not necessarily.”
Longyu smiled.
Another variable.
Lingyu produced the strangest result.
Her initial tolerance was not extraordinary.
But her body appeared to stabilize rapidly after every test.
“Healing Angel,” Mu Qinghe said.
Lingyu looked at her hands.
“Is my Martial Soul helping me even without a Soul Ring?”
“Possibly.”
Longyu immediately added:
“We are not concluding that yet.”
Lingyu smiled.
“I know.”
Longyu felt a small sense of satisfaction.
They were learning.
Finally, Renxue.
Qian Daoliu observed in silence.
Her body was not as strong as Jin Yue’s.
But her Soul Power protected and reinforced her meridians extraordinarily well.
Mu Qinghe repeated the test.
Same result.
Qian Daoliu did not look surprised.
Longyu did.
“Does the Seraph naturally do this?”
Qian Daoliu answered:
“To some extent.”
Longyu wrote rapidly.
Another reminder.
Absorption limits did not depend only on the body.
Martial Soul.
Soul Power quality.
Meridians.
Willpower.
Compatibility.
Possibly attributes.
Soul Ring age.
The state of the beast at death.
Too many variables.
The idea of one universal number looked increasingly absurd.
But Longyu also understood why it existed.
It was simple.
Safe.
Useful for most people.
An advanced system would require better evaluations.
That afternoon, they compared the results.
Jin Yue leaned over the table.
“So.”
Longyu already knew what she wanted to ask.
“No.”
“I didn’t even ask yet!”
“You wanted to ask whether you can absorb six hundred years.”
Jin Yue crossed her arms.
“Can I?”
Longyu reviewed the sheet.
“You could probably attempt a range similar to mine under good conditions.”
Golden Crocodile raised an eyebrow.
Jin Yue smiled broadly.
Longyu raised a hand.
“Probably.”
“That counts.”
“It is not permission.”
Jin Yue looked toward her grandfather.
Golden Crocodile thought.
“First, we choose the beast.”
Jin Yue almost celebrated.
“Then we decide the age.”
Her celebration diminished slightly.
But she was still smiling.
For Lingyu, Longyu would be more conservative.
Her Martial Soul could offer recovery advantages, but they did not want to test that with her life.
Luoyue stood somewhere in the middle.
Renxue…
Longyu looked at the data.
Qian Daoliu spoke.
“Say what you’re thinking.”
“She could exceed my range.”
Renxue smiled.
“I knew it.”
“I didn’t say by how much.”
“But I can.”
Longyu looked toward Qian Daoliu.
“Her Soul Power protects her body better than ours.”
Qian Daoliu nodded.
“That does not mean we should push unnecessarily.”
Longyu agreed.
That mattered.
The objective was not to obtain the highest number.
It was to obtain the best ring possible at a reasonable level of risk.
If they found a perfect beast at 480 years and a mediocre one at 650…
they would choose 480.
Age should not replace compatibility.
COMPATIBILITY FIRST.
AGE SECOND.
Jin Yue saw the phrase.
“I don’t like that.”
“I know.”
That evening, they reviewed the candidates again.
Eventually, each list was reduced.
Qian Lingyu
Three candidates.
Jadeheart Deer.
White Spirit Lotus Beast.
Verdant Vitality Deer.
Longyu preferred the Jadeheart Deer.
Lingyu was not certain.
“The Lotus Beast has better purification.”
“But lower vitality.”
“My Martial Soul already has healing.”
Longyu looked at her.
Good argument.
He did not want to choose for her.
“Then we study both.”
Lingyu nodded.
Jin Yue
Two primary candidates.
Golden Armored Crocodile.
Earthscale Dragon Crocodile.
The second possessed a small amount of draconic bloodline.
That intrigued Longyu.
Golden Crocodile was more cautious.
“Bloodline does not automatically mean better.”
“I know.”
“You’re staring at it too much.”
Longyu looked away from the document.
“Maybe.”
Qing Luoyue
Azure Wind Falcon.
Cloudpiercing Swift.
Blue Feather Gale Hawk.
Luoyue preferred the third.
Blue Luan asked why.
“Balance.”
It was not the fastest.
It did not possess the strongest wind.
But it combined flight, control, perception, and maneuverability.
Longyu smiled.
Luoyue was understanding the principle perfectly.
Do not search for the maximum individual value.
Search for direction.
Qian Renxue
Here, an especially interesting candidate finally appeared.
Radiant Sunhawk.
A Light-attribute Soul Beast.
An aerial predator.
It condensed light around its wings and claws for high-intensity attacks.
It possessed minor purification abilities due to its attribute.
Longyu read the records three times.
Qian Daoliu did as well.
“Interesting,” he said.
Renxue looked up.
“How old?”
Longyu checked the sighting records.
“There are individuals between four hundred and seven hundred years old in a region south of Spirit City.”
Renxue smiled.
“Then let’s go.”
“First, we verify.”
Her smile faded slightly.
“You always say that.”
“Because it’s always necessary.”
Blue Luan reviewed the locations.
“The Blue Feather Gale Hawk and Radiant Sunhawk can be found in relatively nearby regions.”
Luoyue looked up.
“Can we search for both during the same trip?”
“Possibly.”
Longyu studied the maps.
That made sense.
They did not necessarily need to kill the first beast they encountered.
Observe first.
Then choose.
Qian Daoliu made the decision.
“We leave in four days.”
Renxue smiled.
Luoyue immediately began preparing her notes.
Jin Yue protested.
“What about me?”
Golden Crocodile answered:
“Later.”
“That’s unfair!”
“Patience can also be trained.”
“I don’t want to train it.”
Jiangmo, standing at the doorway, said:
“She takes after me.”
Qianjun sighed.
Four days.
Longyu looked toward the Whale Glue containers.
He could not progress too far with that research before the trip.
But there was enough time for one thing.
Testing whether the best sample had any measurable effect on physical recovery.
Not absorption.
Not growth.
Only recovery.
A small dose.
Adults first.
Protocols.
Controls.
Longyu smiled.
Mu Qinghe, who knew that expression far too well, said:
“No.”
Longyu blinked.
“I haven’t asked yet.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Lingyu began laughing.