Ming Capital Upheaval, Soul Ring Selection

At that moment, water and fire intertwined within his body. Half of him felt as though he had fallen into ice and flames, while the other half felt as if it had been placed inside a furnace.

Amid this indescribable agony, Xu Tianming's body began to tremble violently despite himself.

The difficulty of cultivating the Yin Yang Profound Pole Body Refining Art had somewhat exceeded Xu Tianming's expectations. This was also because he had been born with the power of Solar True Fire and Lunar Moon Essence within his body.

How could Xu Tianming's meridians possibly withstand these two forces, each comparable to an Ultimate Attribute?

But with the arrow already nocked, Xu Tianming could not possibly stop cultivating the technique over a little pain.

And this was precisely the most crucial stage of cultivation.

"Return to your positions!"

Enduring the searing pain brought by the two Ultimate Attributes within him, Xu Tianming abruptly changed the hand seals in his hands.

His spiritual power divided into two streams, guiding the Lunar Moon Essence within his body into the Li position of heart fire, and the Solar True Fire into the Kan position of kidney water.

Boom!

It was as though a thunderclap exploded within Xu Tianming's body.

This was not an actual sound, but a fluctuation of energy produced when the two currents of energy collided fiercely within him before merging together.

Xu Tianming's entire body jolted, and he uncontrollably spat out a mouthful of blood onto the brocade quilt covering his bed.

One half had frozen, while the other half was boiling!

Yet after the two attributes returned to their positions, Xu Tianming's heart fire, nourished by the Lunar Moon Essence, became a little less violent and gained a little more lively vitality.

His kidney water was not evaporated by the Solar Power either. Instead, it lost some of its freezing chill and gained a measure of warm, nourishing vigor.

"Is this the realm of Li Fire Gives Birth to True Yin and True Yang Appears in Kan?"

An unprecedentedly gentle and balanced aura emerged from the middle dantian where Xu Tianming's heart and kidneys converged, slowly flowing through his limbs and bones.

Wherever this aura passed, ice melted and fire receded. The intense pain vanished in an instant.

In its place came a numb, warm, and vibrant sense of comfort.

An exceedingly faint, lustrous sheen, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, gradually appeared over the surface of Xu Tianming's bones. As his blood flowed, it too seemed to gain a trace of dense, weighty depth.

But the most noticeable change was still in his eyes.

Xu Tianming slowly opened his eyes and let out a long breath of turbid air.

Faint black-gray particles could be seen within that breath. They were impurities expelled from Xu Tianming's body.

A faint layer of fluorescence also flashed across his already fair and tender skin.

However, the most obvious changes were still in his eyes.

The golden glow of his left eye and the silver radiance of his right remained distinct, yet the restless violence they had possessed when his Martial Soul first awakened had now become a gentle, restrained gleam.

"It seems the first session of cultivation went fairly smoothly. I have reached the realm described in the Yin Yang Profound Pole Body Refining Art: Water and Fire Accomplished, Kan and Li Intercourse."

Xu Tianming got out of bed and clenched his fist. He could clearly feel that the strength throughout his body had increased considerably, while the circulation of Soul Power within him brought an indescribable sense of comfort.

"Still, I am far from the major completion realm described in the technique, where Bones Turn to White Jade and Blood Becomes Profound Spring."

Seeing that the sky outside the window had already brightened, Xu Tianming rubbed his stomach.

Time was never counted during cultivation. He had no idea how long he had cultivated, only that he was extraordinarily hungry now.

"Strange. Why hasn't Mother come looking for me?"

"Could she have seen me cultivating and decided not to disturb me?"

Without thinking much of it, Xu Tianming changed into a fresh set of clothes and headed for the main hall of the City Lord's Mansion.

"Mother... Huh, Father? Didn't you say you were going to Ming Capital?"

At that moment, there was someone else in the main hall of the City Lord's Mansion besides Kong Yue.

It was Xu Xiang, who had previously said he would head to Ming Capital to seek advice on choosing a Soul Ring for Xu Tianming's Martial Soul.

However, neither of them looked well at the moment. Only after seeing Xu Tianming did they barely manage to conceal their expressions.

"Father, Mother, what happened?"

Xu Tianming frowned and asked cautiously.

"Something has happened in Ming Capital... Your father, your father may not be able to go to Ming Capital for the time being."

Only after Xu Xiang exchanged a glance with Kong Yue did he finally speak.

"Why?"

Xu Tianming's brows furrowed slightly, and confusion appeared on his face.

"You may be young, but you have been intelligent beyond your years since childhood. Now that your Martial Soul has awakened, I will not treat you as a child."

Ignoring the worry in his wife's eyes, Xu Xiang fell silent for a moment before speaking in a deep voice.

"We just received word: the Crown Prince has been assassinated, and Ming Capital is in chaos!"

"The Crown Prince was assassinated... Xu Tianran was attacked?"

Xu Tianming froze for a moment before finally reacting.

Although he was a transmigrator, he did not remember every detail of the original story clearly.

He was especially clueless about major events within the Sun Moon Empire.

"The situation in Ming Capital is unclear right now. My position is awkward, so I cannot leave Dongyang City."

Xu Xiang was telling the truth.

He was a close relative of the imperial family. He could not afford to have even the slightest connection to something like the Crown Prince's assassination.

Otherwise, given Xu Tianran's sinister and ambitious nature, he would rather kill the wrong person than let anyone off.

"Father is right. You left Ming Capital in the first place because you wanted to stay away from the filth among the imperial family."

"Now, you cannot return to that mire."

Xu Tianming sighed. He greatly agreed with Xu Xiang's decision.

Perhaps because of his physical disability, Xu Tianran's mentality had become somewhat twisted after the assassination attempt.

Though he still possessed the qualities of a formidable ruler, his actions were extraordinarily extreme.

He cared nothing for so-called blood ties and family affection.

"What are your own thoughts regarding your first Soul Ring?"

Since they could not go to Ming Capital to seek advice from those Title Douluo-level experts, Xu Xiang wanted to hear his son's plans.

"Father, my Martial Soul is my eyes, and organs like eyes are often related to spiritual power."

Xu Tianming had already formed his own ideas about his first Soul Ring when his Martial Soul awakened.

In a sense, his Martial Soul resembled Huo Gua's Spirit Eyes.

However, the innate strength of the two could not be compared at all.

"Setting aside the sun and moon attributes, I want my first Soul Ring to come from a purely spiritual-type soul beast."

Xu Tianming calmly laid out his thoughts.

"A purely spiritual-type soul beast will not affect the two opposing attributes within my body, and it is also extremely compatible with my eyes."

This well-reasoned argument immediately left Xu Xiang silent.

Only after a long while did he speak with a complicated expression.

"You truly have your own plans, child. I just never expected you to know so much about Body Martial Souls as well."

To be honest, Xu Xiang felt that even some of the Sun Moon Empire's Title Douluo might not be able to offer such a clear and targeted theory regarding Martial Souls and Soul Rings.

"Father, didn't you say that the person who understands a Spirit Master's Martial Soul best is the Spirit Master themself?"

Xu Tianming blinked at Xu Xiang.

"After my Martial Soul awakened, it gave me these impressions in some inexplicable way."