Her lips moved slightly.
"How did you do it?" Her voice was soft, as if she were asking herself.
Yun Jingheng thought for a moment.
"If four formations weren't enough, I added one more. If the energy of five formations wasn't unified, I used a piece of Silvery White Metal to synchronize them."
"The core supplies energy, that metal controls the rhythm, and the formations operate according to that rhythm."
He paused. "That's all."
Cai Yue'er fell silent.
That was all.
He made it sound like he was stacking building blocks.
But this was not stacking building blocks. This was forcibly twisting five things with entirely different frequencies together, making them breathe, beat, and step in unison.
If any one of them lagged by half a beat, the entire system would collapse.
Yet the system before her had not collapsed. It was running, steadily rising and falling like a heartbeat.
She stared at the Moon Palace for a long time.
"Can I hold it?" Her voice was a little dry.
Yun Jingheng handed the Moon Palace over.
The instant Cai Yue'er took it and her fingers touched the palace walls, she felt it. It was stable, gentle, like tides surging and receding in her palm.
Her pupils contracted slightly.
This was not Level 5. It was Level 6.
A Level 34 Soul Elder had used Level 4 formations to create a Level 6 Soul Tool.
Her mind churned for a long time, but she could not make sense of it.
"Why?" she asked, her voice drifting slightly. "Why can it operate?"
Yun Jingheng thought for a moment.
"Because of that metal. It adjusts itself, corrects itself, and brings everything back into balance. The energy from the five formations makes one circuit through it, and when it comes out, it's synchronized."
He looked at Cai Yue'er. "Didn't you know?"
Cai Yue'er did not answer.
She knew that Lunar Divine Metal was Heavenly Forged Metal. She knew it could develop intelligence. She knew it was extraordinarily precious.
But she did not know it could be used like this.
Using Heavenly Forged Metal as a controller to synchronize five low-level formations and produce the effects of a high-level Soul Tool.
No one had thought of it, and no one had done it.
Because no one would use Heavenly Forged Metal to prop up a table leg.
But Yun Jingheng had done exactly that, and he had propped it up very steadily.
Feng Wuyu rubbed the back of his head and leaned over, craning his neck to glance at the Moon Palace.
He did not understand Soul Tools, but he understood metal.
He saw that piece of Lunar Divine Metal embedded beside the core. It was the size of a fingernail and glowed faintly. The corner of his mouth twitched.
"My Lunar Divine Metal..." he muttered quietly.
Cai Yue'er ignored him.
She turned the Moon Palace over and over in her hands, examining every angle, every pattern, every band of light.
After looking for a long time, she handed it back to Yun Jingheng.
"Put it away," she said. Her voice had regained its calm, but her hands were still trembling.
Yun Jingheng accepted it and stored it in his Storage Soul Tool.
Cai Yue'er watched him put it away, then turned and left.
After taking two steps, she stopped and looked back at Yun Jingheng.
"What's the maximum range?"
Yun Jingheng thought for a moment.
"In theory, if there's enough Soul Power, it can reach one hundred meters. Right now, I can only maintain ten meters."
Cai Yue'er nodded and turned away.
Her boots clicked crisply against the floor.
When she reached the end of the corridor, her steps paused. She looked back once.
Yun Jingheng was still standing at the doorway, while Feng Wuyu had leaned in as if he wanted to say something.
She withdrew her gaze. Even as she descended the stairs, her hands were still trembling.
Not because she regretted the core, but because she could not understand it.
Why could that thing be made? And why, once made, could it actually function?
Level 4 formations put together to form a Level 6 Soul Tool—it was like building a palace from broken roof tiles. It stood there, untoppled by wind and unbroken by rain.
She thought about it all the way, but still could not figure it out.
Feng Wuyu stepped up to Yun Jingheng and opened his mouth to speak.
"Little Jing Heng, that thing of yours—"
"Move, move, move!" A voice exploded from the other end of the corridor.
Before Feng Wuyu could react, a figure had already squeezed in front of him and shoved him aside.
Feng Wuyu crashed into the wall again, this time smacking his forehead. "You crazy old man! You—"
Zhuo Shi ignored him.
He stood before Yun Jingheng, bent at the waist, with a mysteriously smug grin on his face, like a weasel that had stolen a chicken.
"Jing Heng, come with me. I have a surprise for you." He reached out to pull Yun Jingheng away.
Feng Wuyu rushed over, clutching his forehead.
"What are you doing?! I haven't finished talking! I want to take him as—"
"Take him as what? We'll talk later."
Zhuo Shi scooped Yun Jingheng up, tucked him under his arm, and turned to run.
He moved as swiftly as a gust of wind, his robe flaring behind him.
"Zhuo Shi! Put him down!" Feng Wuyu chased after him.
Cai Yue'er had just reached the stairway when she heard the commotion and looked back. Zhuo Shi was charging down the corridor from the other end with Yun Jingheng tucked under his arm, while Feng Wuyu chased behind him, cursing nonstop.
She looked at the two men and took a deep breath.
"Stop!" she shouted, breaking into a run after them.
"Don't make trouble here!"
The teachers and students of the Outer Court witnessed a bizarre sight.
Zhuo Shi raced ahead with Yun Jingheng in his arms, wearing an expression so stern that he looked as though he were carrying out a secret mission.
Feng Wuyu chased behind him, shouting, "Stop right there!" His robe was running crooked.
Cai Yue'er ran last, shouting, "All of you, stop!"
Three Super Douluos, each one faster than the last.
The Outer Court students stood by the roadside, watching the three figures sweep past them. The wind they raised tossed their hair into disarray.
"Was that Elder Zhuoshi?"
"The one behind him was Elder Feng, right?"
"Why is he carrying someone around?"
"No idea."
"And the one in the back?"
"Elder Cai."
The three ran past the training grounds, past the Outer Court gates, past the stone road, and across the stone bridge.
Feng Wuyu chased them the entire way but failed to catch up.
Cai Yue'er chased them the entire way, then gave up.
Zhuo Shi carried Yun Jingheng into his own territory, an inconspicuous little building in a corner of the Outer Court. He shut the door, leaving Feng Wuyu and Cai Yue'er outside.
Feng Wuyu pounded on the door.
"Red Worm, you old man! Open the door!"
Zhuo Shi shut the little building's door, locked it, then closed the windows and drew the curtains.
Then he set Yun Jingheng down, rubbed his hands together, and smiled even more mysteriously.
"Come, come, sit." He pressed Yun Jingheng into a chair, then turned and rummaged through a cabinet for a box.
The box was not large. It was made of wood, its surface polished smooth, with silver metal wrapped around its corners.
He held the box in both hands as though carrying something fragile. Walking over to Yun Jingheng, he took a deep breath and opened it.
Inside the box lay a Soul Bone, silvery white all over, with a faint luster flowing across its surface like frozen moonlight.
Fine patterns were carved into the bone. They were not man-made, but naturally formed, resembling the patterns on the moon and the ripples of the tide.
It glowed on its own inside the box, faint and gentle, as though it were breathing.
Yun Jingheng stared at the Soul Bone and froze for a moment.
A Soul Bone?
And this Soul Bone gave him the same feeling as the piece of Silvery White Metal in his hand, the same feeling as the moon in his spiritual sea.
He was responding to it, and it was responding to him as well.
Zhuo Shi watched his expression, the corners of his mouth curving upward.
"The torso bone of a six-hundred-and-sixty-thousand-year Jade Rabbit. The Silver Moon Jade Rabbit, an ancient soul beast, the legendary messenger of the moon."
"This Soul Bone should suit your martial soul very well." He paused.
"I bought it specially for you. I had your father inspect it. There's absolutely no problem with it."
Yun Jingheng looked at the Soul Bone, then at Zhuo Shi. "Grandpa Zhuo, isn't this a little too precious—"
"What's so precious about it?"
Zhuo Shi stuffed the box into his hands. "Things are meant to be used, not stored away."
"You weren't even distressed about using Lunar Divine Metal as the controller for that little palace of yours. What do I have to feel distressed about?"
He looked at Yun Jingheng and suddenly smiled.
"Alright, put it away quickly."
Yun Jingheng obediently stored the box in his Storage Soul Tool. "Thank you, Grandpa Zhuo."
"Hahaha, it's nothing, it's nothing~" Zhuo Shi laughed until his eyes narrowed into slits, then ruffled Yun Jingheng's hair with a large hand.
It felt pretty good. No wonder that old Feng Wuyu always wanted to take him as a disciple.
"By the way... what is Lunar Divine Metal?"
Zhuo Shi's hand stopped.
He looked down at Yun Jingheng. Yun Jingheng looked back at him with a very serious expression, clearly not joking.
"You don't know?" Zhuo Shi's voice drifted.
Yun Jingheng blinked. "Should I?"
Zhuo Shi opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again.
He remembered how Feng Wuyu had chased him around half the Outer Court that morning, shouting, "Put him down! I still have something to say!"
And yet this kid did not know what Lunar Divine Metal was.
He had taken it, used it, embedded it in the Moon Palace as a controller, created a Level 6 Soul Tool, and then he did not know what it was.
Zhuo Shi took a deep breath, then another.
He suddenly wanted to laugh, but he also felt a little sorry for Feng Wuyu.
"Lunar Divine Metal," Zhuo Shi said slowly, "is Heavenly Forged Metal. Feng Wuyu spent many years begging before he managed to obtain that piece. He kept it in a hidden compartment and could barely bear to touch it."
He paused. "That piece of Silvery White Metal you took last night was Lunar Divine Metal."
Yun Jingheng's expression changed.
"No wonder it could synchronize the energy of five formations. Heavenly Forged Metal... so that's why."
He lowered his head and glanced at his Storage Soul Tool, as if recalling what the metal had looked like.
"Should I return it?"
"No need." Zhuo Shi said, "If he wanted it back, he would have stopped you yesterday. He didn't stop you, so he gave it to you."
Yun Jingheng nodded and said nothing more.
Knocking sounded from outside. Feng Wuyu's voice squeezed through the gap in the door, carrying a gritted-teeth fury.
"Red Worm, you old man! Open the door! Don't think you'll be fine just because you hid in there! I still have something to tell him!"
Zhuo Shi rolled his eyes and lowered his voice.
"Hear that? He chased you here. He's not here to ask for the Lunar Divine Metal. He's here to take you as his disciple."
Yun Jingheng froze for a moment. "Take me as his disciple?"
"To teach you forging."
Zhuo Shi curled his lip. "He saw you flipping through books in the forging room all night and thought you were interested in forging. He was waiting outside early this morning, wanting to bring up taking you as a disciple. Then Cai Yue'er shoved him aside, and I beat him to it."
He looked down at Yun Jingheng and suddenly lowered his voice. "Do you want to learn forging?"
Yun Jingheng thought for a moment. "I was a little curious, but I have other things to do now."
Zhuo Shi nodded without asking further.
He stood, patted his clothes, walked to the door, and pulled it open.
Feng Wuyu had his fist raised, ready to knock again. When the door suddenly opened, his punch nearly struck Zhuo Shi in the face.
Zhuo Shi tilted his head aside to dodge it and looked at him expressionlessly. "He doesn't want to learn forging. At least not right now."
Feng Wuyu's fist hung in midair. The anger on his face turned to astonishment, then the astonishment turned to disappointment.
"He said that?"
Zhuo Shi stepped aside. Feng Wuyu saw Yun Jingheng rise from the chair, walk to the doorway, and look at him.
"Grandpa Feng."
Feng Wuyu opened his mouth. "You don't want to learn forging?"
Yun Jingheng shook his head. "I'm quite curious, but not right now."
Feng Wuyu looked at him for a long time.
The boy stood in the doorway, speaking with complete seriousness, not as if he were brushing him off.
Then Feng Wuyu smiled, ever so faintly.
"Fine. I'll wait."
He turned and left.
After taking a few steps, he stopped again and looked back at Yun Jingheng.
"That piece of Lunar Divine Metal—you put it to good use."
Yun Jingheng stood in the doorway, watching Feng Wuyu's back vanish at the end of the corridor.
He lowered his head and glanced at his Storage Soul Tool, falling silent for a moment.
Zhuo Shi leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed. "What, feeling guilty?"
Yun Jingheng shook his head. "Not guilty. I just think... Grandpa Feng was pretty generous."
Zhuo Shi snorted. "Generous? He just feels sorry for you. Let someone else try taking his things, and he'd break their legs."
He reached out and ruffled Yun Jingheng's hair. "All right, don't overthink it. Those things are more useful in your hands than gathering dust with him."
Yun Jingheng nodded and took the Moon Palace from his Storage Soul Tool, holding it in his palm.
It hovered there, five ribbons of light circling it steadily. "Grandpa Zhuo, this Soul Bone?"
Zhuo Shi froze for a moment. "I found the Soul Bone myself. It has nothing to do with anyone else."
He paused. "Your father knows about it too."
Yun Jingheng looked at the Moon Palace in his hand, then at Zhuo Shi.
"Then I owe Grandpa Feng a piece of Lunar Divine Metal, and I owe you a Soul Bone."
Zhuo Shi looked at him and suddenly laughed. "What do you mean, owe? We watched you grow up. We just gave you a few things to keep."
He paused. "If you feel bad about it, just make us more good things to see in the future."
Yun Jingheng thought it over, then nodded. "All right."
Zhuo Shi ruffled his hair again. "All right, go back. Your mother's waiting for you to eat."
Yun Jingheng put the Moon Palace away and headed out.
Zhuo Shi remained standing in the doorway, watching him.
Before you continue