His First Soul Ring Had to Be a Thousand-Year One?

Luo Yun tilted his head. "Why?"

"Because..." Luo Shang paused. "Some people might be unhappy if they learn about your talent."

"So what if they're unhappy?" Luo Yun said, unconcerned.

Luo Shang was momentarily choked by his reply, caught between laughter and tears.

Shen Yinshuang gently added from beside them, "If certain people find out, they might want to take Xiaoyun away, so you'd never see your father and mother again."

Luo Yun's expression finally changed.

His brow furrowed, a solemn look at odds with his age appearing on his little face.

"...I won't tell anyone." He nodded.

Shen Yinshuang reached out and drew him into her arms, resting her chin on his head as she let out a soft sigh.

Xiaoyun was still too innocent.

Luo Shang stood up and looked toward the heavy snow swirling beyond the hall. A trace of coldness flashed in his eyes.

Bibi Dong.

You'd better not set your sights on him.

In the side hall.

Shen Yinshuang sat Luo Yun down in a chair, and soon the table before him was laden with food. He didn't stand on ceremony, grabbing his chopsticks and shoveling rice into his mouth, his cheeks puffed out like a hamster's.

Shen Yinshuang sat beside him, piling food onto his plate. The tearstains from earlier still clung to the corners of her eyes, but her lips had already curved into a smile.

"Slow down. There's no need to rush."

Luo Shang stood by the window, gazing at the snow outside, lost in thought.

"Dad, aren't you eating?" Luo Yun asked around a mouthful of rice.

"I'm not hungry."

Luo Yun gave an "oh" and went back to stuffing his face.

He'd already polished off two bowls of rice, and he was working on his third.

Meanwhile, deep within Luo Yun's Sea of Consciousness...

Two spheres of light floated in his spiritual sea, one on either side.

On the right was a sphere of deep, dusky purple light, intense and profound, radiating a terrifying aura of destruction. On the left was a sphere of emerald-green light, gentle and bright, brimming with vibrant life.

Two voices sounded at the same time.

One was low and icy:

"Destruction Nine Trials, First Trial: Absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring. Reward: ten percent affinity with the Origin of Destruction."

The other was clear and gentle:

"Life Nine Trials, First Trial: Complete the First Trial of the Destruction Nine Trials. Reward: ten percent affinity with the Source of Life."

The two voices fell silent.

The purple and green lights flickered at the same time, as if they had reached some sort of understanding.

Then they both fell silent.

Luo Yun froze as he picked up his third bowl.

His chopsticks hovered in midair. A trace of confusion flashed in his eyes, as if he were listening to something.

Shen Yinshuang was the first to notice something was wrong. "Xiaoyun? What is it?"

Luo Yun didn't answer. His brow creased slightly, and he wore a thoughtful look.

"Dad, Mom."

"Hmm?"

"I just... heard voices in my head."

Luo Shang turned around, his gaze sharpening. "What did they say?"

Luo Yun set his chopsticks on his bowl and carefully gathered his thoughts. "Two voices. One said, 'Destruction Nine Trials, First Trial: Absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring. Reward: ten percent affinity with the Origin of Destruction.' The other said, 'Life Nine Trials, First Trial: Complete the First Trial of the Destruction Nine Trials. Reward: ten percent affinity with the Source of Life.'"

He paused, then added, "They went quiet after that."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Luo Shang's fingers tightened slightly, his knuckles turning white.

Shen Yinshuang sprang to her feet, shoving her chair back with a harsh screech. Her face had gone pale, and her voice dropped to a whisper. "A Thousand-Year Soul Ring? His very first Soul Ring has to be a thousand years old?"

"Mm." Luo Yun nodded, his expression quite calm. "That seems to be what it meant."

Luo Shang fell silent for a moment, then walked over to the table and sat down, lightly tapping his fingers against its surface.

"In the tens of thousands of years of history on this continent, no one has ever absorbed a thousand-year Soul Ring as their first." His voice was steady, but his brows knitted into a deep frown. "For an ordinary Soul Master, the limit of a first Soul Ring is four hundred years. A thousand-year one..."

He didn't finish.

Shen Yinshuang bit her lip, her eyes reddening once more. "What kind of divine trial is this? Is it telling Xiaoyun to throw his life away with his first Soul Ring?"

Luo Yun glanced at his mother and murmured, "Mom, I'm not dead yet."

"Be quiet and eat your food." Shen Yinshuang glared at him, though her voice was clearly trembling.

"Oh."

That was a mother's love for you. It could change in an instant.

Luo Shang stood up and paced around the hall a few times before suddenly stopping.

"Can Xiaoyun's body withstand a thousand-year Soul Ring?" He sounded as though he were talking to himself, or perhaps asking the air in the hall. "Innate Level 20 Soul Power... Perhaps his Martial Soul is already powerful enough to overcome that threshold?"

He turned and looked at Luo Yun.

"But 'perhaps' isn't enough to gamble your life on."

Luo Shang walked over to Luo Yun and crouched in front of him, meeting his gaze directly.

"Starting tomorrow, I'll train you myself."

Luo Yun blinked. "Train me in what?"

"First, we'll build up your body." Luo Shang's tone allowed no argument.

"When absorbing a Soul Ring, the two most important things are physical strength and spiritual power. If you can't improve both, a thousand-year Soul Ring will kill you outright."

"Starting tomorrow, I won't treat you like a child anymore."

At the time, Luo Yun still didn't know what those words meant.

All he knew was that his mother made him soak in a tub of bitter, bitter medicinal water that night, so bitter he started questioning his life.

"Mom, what did you put in this?"

"Coptis."

"...What else?"

"Lots of coptis."

The next day.

Before dawn, Luo Yun was hauled out of bed.

The wind howled through the snow, and the sky was a gloomy gray. The people of Frost Ridge City were still asleep.

Luo Shang took Luo Yun to the courtyard and made him stand shirtless in the snow. The moment the cold wind hit him, his whole body began to shake, his teeth chattering.

"Dad... are you joking?" Luo Yun wrapped his arms around himself, his voice trembling and the tip of his nose bright red with cold. "It's snowing outside. I'm freezing..."

Luo Shang gave him a blank look.

That gaze was like one meant for a soldier, not his own six-year-old son.

Luo Yun's heart gave a jolt.

He turned to look at Shen Yinshuang standing under the veranda, and shouted with all his might, "Mom..."

Shen Yinshuang turned away, refusing to look at him.

Luo Yun: "..."

It was over. His one dependable ally had fallen.

Luo Shang tied a pile of stones together to make a crude pack frame. He hefted it, added two more stones, then placed it on Luo Yun's back.

The stones weighed more than Luo Yun himself.

The weight buckled Luo Yun's knees, and he nearly dropped to the ground.

"Run." Luo Shang said just one word.

"Run... where?"

"Run around the city wall. I'll follow you."

"Fine!"

Luo Yun gritted his teeth and took a deep breath of the freezing air.

He took his first step.

It was heavy.

The second was even heavier.

The snow and wind lashed his face like knives.

The snow on the ground reached past his ankles, and every step left a deep hole.

The stones on his back weighed him down until he could barely breathe, his back bent like a little shrimp.