Early the next morning, Zhuo Shi stood outside the entrance to the Sea God Pavilion for a long time.
The door was open. He could see Yun Ming sitting at the table, a cup of tea before him as he read through files.
He did not go in. Standing at the door, he raised his hand, then lowered it. Lowered it, then raised it again.
Yun Ming looked up, saw the figure lingering at the door, and set down the file. "Why are you standing there? Come in and sit."
Zhuo Shi walked in and sat across from Yun Ming.
Yun Ming poured him a cup of tea and pushed it over.
Zhuo Shi took it, drank a sip, set it down, and said nothing.
Yun Ming watched him and waited for him to speak.
Zhuo Shi opened his mouth, then closed it again.
Yun Ming did not urge him. He picked up his own cup and took a sip.
After holding it in for a long time, Zhuo Shi finally spoke. "Pavilion Master, Jing Heng's talent is very high."
Yun Ming nodded. "I know."
Zhuo Shi fell silent again, his fingers rubbing the teacup as he turned it round and round.
"He's already at Four Rings, and he's only eleven. At this age, with this cultivation, how many years has it been since someone like that appeared on the continent?"
Yun Ming looked at him. "What are you trying to say?"
Zhuo Shi hesitated, then gritted his teeth. "He shouldn't waste his talent on secondary professions."
His voice was somewhat muffled. "Forging, Soul Tools—he can learn those things whenever. But his cultivation, his martial soul, his sword, those are the foundation."
"He's at the stage where he should be advancing by leaps and bounds. If he spends his time on secondary professions and falls behind in cultivation, the loss will outweigh the gain."
Yun Ming said nothing.
Zhuo Shi looked at him, waiting for his reaction.
Yun Ming picked up his tea, took a sip, and set it down. "You think he's wasting his time?"
Zhuo Shi froze. "I'm not saying he's wasting his time, I'm saying—"
"You think he's wasting his time." Yun Ming repeated it calmly.
Zhuo Shi opened his mouth but could not say anything.
Yun Ming stood and walked to the window, pushing it open.
The Sea God Lake shimmered with ripples, sunlight falling upon the water and scattering into a field of gold.
He watched the lake for a while. "He went to borrow blueprints from you yesterday?"
Zhuo Shi nodded. "He did. Blueprints for One-Word Armor."
"The day before yesterday, he went to see Lan Muzi, Tang Yinmeng, and Elder Long. Three days ago, he went to see Feng Wuyu and Cai Yue'er."
"He borrowed everyone's One-Word Armor blueprints, spread them all over the floor, and studied them for several days."
Yun Ming turned around and looked at Zhuo Shi. "You think he's wasting his time?"
Zhuo Shi said nothing.
Yun Ming returned to the table and sat down. "When he made the Moon Palace, people also said he was wasting his time. A soul master who didn't cultivate properly and insisted on making Soul Tools?"
He looked at Zhuo Shi. "But the Moon Palace can save his life."
Zhuo Shi fell silent.
Yun Ming continued, "He isn't learning forging to become a blacksmith. He wants to make his own Battle Armor—not have someone else help him, but make it himself from beginning to end."
"He needs to understand the properties of every piece of metal, the path of every circuit, the precision of every component."
"Only then will what he makes be the most suitable for him."
Zhuo Shi was silent for a long time. "I'm just worried he'll be distracted."
Yun Ming looked at him. "Are you worried he'll be distracted, or are you worried he'll take the wrong path?"
Zhuo Shi froze.
Without waiting for his answer, Yun Ming said, "The path he's taking is different from ours back then. Back then, we learned whatever our teachers taught us and used whatever the academy gave us."
"But he isn't like that. He wants to design things himself, choose the materials himself, make them himself. No one has walked this path before, and no one knows whether it's right."
He paused. "But I know one thing—he isn't wasting his time. Everything he does has his own understanding behind it."
Zhuo Shi sat there, looking at the teacup before him.
The tea had already gone cold, but he did not drink it.
Then he suddenly smiled. "All right. I understand."
He stood and headed toward the door.
After taking two steps, he stopped and looked back at Yun Ming.
"Pavilion Master, when that kid makes his Battle Armor, tell me if he lacks any materials. I'll help him find them."
Yun Ming smiled. "All right."
Zhuo Shi left.
Yun Ming sat at the table and picked up his tea for a sip.
The tea had gone cold. He frowned and set the cup down.
Ya Li emerged from the back and sat beside him. "Zhuo Shi left?"
Yun Ming nodded. "He left."
Ya Li looked at him. "What did he say?"
Yun Ming thought for a moment. "He said Jing Heng shouldn't spend his time on secondary professions."
Ya Li was silent for a moment. "What did you say?"
Yun Ming looked at her. "I said he isn't wasting his time."
Ya Li smiled. "You certainly know how to talk."
She paused. "But what do you really think?"
Yun Ming was silent for a long time.
He looked out at the lake beyond the window. Sunlight shone on the water, brilliantly bright.
"I want him to grow up happily."
His voice was soft. "He should do whatever he likes. If he likes making Soul Tools, then he can make Soul Tools. If he likes learning forging, then he can learn forging. If he likes practicing swordsmanship, then he can practice swordsmanship."
"He doesn't need to live to become something, and he doesn't need to live for other people's expectations."
Ya Li looked at him, her eyes reddening slightly.
She reached out and took his hand. "That's what I think too."
Yun Ming looked at her. Ya Li smiled happily.
"He isn't completing a task. He's doing what he wants to do."
Ya Li smiled, then her expression turned serious. "Jing Heng's soul spirit... can't provide any more soul rings."
The hand holding Yun Ming's teacup paused.
"It's gone?"
"Yes. Providing four is already about enough, isn't it?"
"Shouldn't it be able to provide around five?"
"That's a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast soul spirit."
"..."
Yun Ming set down his teacup and raised his head.
This ceiling really was... a ceiling...
Ya Li: stare~
"He has four soul rings now. His first ring is over five thousand years, his second is over nine thousand years, his third is ten thousand years, and his fourth is ten thousand years."
"The energy provided by the soul spirit has nearly been used up. Starting with the fifth ring, there won't be a soul spirit anymore."
He paused. "Either he hunts soul beasts to obtain soul rings, or he finds a new soul spirit."
Ya Li looked at him. "You want him to hunt soul beasts?"
Yun Ming said nothing.
Ya Li continued, "Don't you know how difficult the soul beasts' situation is now?"
"They only have the Core Area left, along with a small patch of forest outside called the Outer Area."
Yun Ming gave a bitter smile. "Then find a new soul spirit?"
Ya Li looked at him. "Where would we find one? The Star Dou Great Forest?"
Yun Ming said nothing.
Ya Li thought for a moment. "The last time you went to the Star Dou Great Forest, you owed Di Tian a favor."
"This time, how are you planning to ask? 'Di Tian, give my son another soul spirit'? Why would he give you one?"
She paused. "And Xiao Jiu is already his soul spirit, a descendant of the Silver Moon Fox King."
"If we find another one, what level would it have to be? Would an ordinary soul spirit be worthy of him?"
Yun Ming was silent for a long time. "A hundred thousand years."
He said, "At least a hundred thousand years."
Ya Li froze. "A hundred-thousand-year soul spirit? How many Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts are there in the entire Star Dou Great Forest? Why would they go with you?"
Yun Ming said nothing.
He stood and walked to the window, looking at the Sea God Lake outside.
The lake shimmered with ripples, sunlight scattering into a field of gold.
He watched it for a long time. "I don't know."
His voice was soft. "But we have to find a way."
"Should we ask the War God Hall?"
"Could the War God Hall have one?"
"We have to ask, don't we...?"
Before you continue