Star Wheel Ice Staff

The three days passed in the blink of an eye.

During those three days, Chu Yan's life became surprisingly regimented. Every morning, he got up before dawn and went to the Martial Arts Arena to practice the Hunyuan Staff Technique with his father.

Starting stance, cleaving strike, sweeping strike, lifting strike, thrusting strike... He practiced each of the basic moves hundreds of times a day, stopping only when his arms were too sore to lift and his legs were trembling.

Then came an hour of Soul Power cultivation, followed by lunch and a short nap. In the afternoon, he continued practicing the basics of the staff technique and training his physical stamina.

Only after returning to his room at night did he set aside time for the Yan Divine Weapon.

Though three days wasn't long, the results were already clear. He had gotten the hang of the basic moves in the Hunyuan Staff Technique. He no longer needed to consciously hold the starting stance; his body had already begun to develop muscle memory.

His control of the Yan Divine Weapon had also improved, going from four small swords to five. His progress was both significant and solid.

And today was Xu Xiaoyan's sixth birthday.

Early that morning, Chu Yan changed into a clean, well-fitted blue robe. A silver-gray woven sash was tied around his waist, and the Ice Heart Jade Marrow pendant his mother had given him hung from his neck. He looked refined and otherworldly.

As he stepped out of his room, he happened to run into Chu Yuntian coming from across the hall.

Chu Yuntian looked his son up and down and nodded with satisfaction. "Going to the Xu Clan?"

"Mm. Xiao Yan's Martial Soul awakening is today," Chu Yan replied.

"Then go ahead." Chu Yuntian patted his son on the shoulder, then leaned closer and lowered his voice. "By the way, if anyone at the Xu Clan asks about your Soul Ring, use the explanation you gave last time: a special Soul Spirit from the Spirit Pagoda. Don't mention that you condensed it yourself."

He wouldn't be going over. He had a mission to take care of shortly.

"I understand, Father." Chu Yan nodded.

He headed for the gate, where the steward had already prepared a car.

Chu Yan climbed into the back seat and, after saying a few words to the steward, set off for the Xu Clan.

They arrived just a few minutes later.

The Xu Mansion was especially lively today. The gates stood wide open, and several soul-guidance cars were parked outside. It seemed the Xu Clan was not only holding an awakening ceremony for their young lady, but had also invited quite a few relatives from within the clan.

As Chu Yan got out and approached the gate, a steward came to greet him.

"Young Master Chu is here! The young lady's been asking about you since early this morning. Please, come right in!"

Chu Yan nodded slightly and walked into the Xu Mansion.

As he passed through the front courtyard and central courtyard and reached the ancestral hall, he heard a murmur of conversation from inside.

Quite a few people had already gathered in the hall. Besides several elders of the Xu Clan, there were also some relatives from its side branches.

Xu Xiaoyan's father, Xu Zonghan, stood in the middle of the hall, speaking with several elders.

Xu Zonghan looked to be just over forty. He was tall and slender, with a refined face and a pair of warm, bright eyes. He wore a dark blue brocade robe, and an icy-blue jade pendant hung from his waist. His every gesture carried the bearing of a clan head from a prominent family.

Xu Xiaoyu stood beside her father. When she saw Chu Yan enter, she nodded in greeting.

Behind Xu Zonghan, a small figure was on tiptoe, stretching her neck to peer toward the door.

The moment she spotted Chu Yan, her big eyes lit up.

"Brother Yan!"

Xu Xiaoyan ran out from behind her father. Today she wore a pale blue dress embroidered with tiny frost patterns along the hem, and a silver ribbon was tied around her waist. Her hair was parted into two little braids, each tied with an icy-blue ribbon. She was utterly adorable.

"Xiao Yan." Chu Yan smiled and stepped forward. He took a small box from his clothes and handed it to her. "Happy birthday. This is a present for you."

Xu Xiaoyan took the box and carefully opened it.

Inside was a fine silver chain bracelet with a tiny icy-blue crystal dangling from it. A faint light shimmered across the crystal's surface. It was simple yet delicate.

"It's so pretty!" Xu Xiaoyan's eyes lit up. She immediately slipped the bracelet onto her wrist and gave it a little shake. The silver chain and icy-blue crystal gleamed together, looking lovely against her fair, jade-like skin.

She looked up at Chu Yan, her eyes crinkling with a smile. "Thank you, Brother Yan! I love it so much!"

"I'm glad you like it." Chu Yan smiled and patted her head.

Watching them, Xu Zonghan smiled warmly and gave a soft cough. "Xiao Yan, all right. You've received your present. It's time to get ready for the awakening ceremony."

"Got it, Father!" Xu Xiaoyan answered, but she still didn't want to let go of Chu Yan's hand. She led him with her toward the center of the ancestral hall.

The Xu Clan's ancestral hall was a little larger than the Chu Clan's, though its layout was much the same. In the middle stood an ancient Awakening Stone. Its surface was smooth as a mirror, and faint icy-blue patterns seemed to flow beneath it.

The Xu Clan elders had already taken their seats along the sides. There were three of them, all powerful Soul Saints.

Xu Zonghan went to stand beside the Awakening Stone and turned to look at his daughter. His eyes were full of anticipation and concern as he said gently, "Xiao Yan, come stand in front of the Awakening Stone. Put your hands on it, relax your mind, and guide the Soul Power inside you into the stone."

Xu Xiaoyan nodded, released Chu Yan's hand, and walked up to the Awakening Stone.

She took a deep breath and placed both small, fair hands gently on the icy-blue stone.

The ancestral hall fell silent. Everyone held their breath.

Humm...

The Awakening Stone trembled lightly.

Then a layer of icy-blue light lit up across its surface, spreading outward in ripples like those on a pond.

The light grew brighter and more intense, enveloping Xu Xiaoyan's small figure.

"It's responding!" one of the elders murmured, his voice full of anticipation.

Xu Xiaoyan closed her eyes and furrowed her little brow, as if working hard to guide the power within her.

She could feel a warm current stirring inside her. It flowed through her hands into the Awakening Stone, resonating with the icy-blue rock in a strange and wonderful way.

Suddenly...

The icy-blue light on the Awakening Stone abruptly drew inward, as if something had sucked it back in.

Then a completely different aura burst from within Xu Xiaoyan!

Humm!

With a soft sound, a slender, translucent, icy-blue staff appeared in the palm of her right hand.

The staff's body was as solid as thousand-year-old ice, its surface veiled in a faint chill mist. A smooth, round icy-blue orb was set into its tip, and the whole thing was clean and elegant.

At first glance, it looked exactly like the ordinary Ice Staff passed down through the Xu Clan for generations, only a little smaller than Xu Xiaoyu's Martial Soul.

"It worked!" A relieved smile appeared on Xu Zonghan's face.

"It's an Ice Staff!" one elder exclaimed, clapping his hands with delight. "The Xu Clan's legacy has endured for ten thousand years, and our Martial Soul has been passed down to this day. Xiao Yan has certainly lived up to our expectations!"

A chorus of congratulations rang through the hall.

Xu Xiaoyan opened her eyes and looked at the icy-blue staff in her hand, her little face brimming with delight.

She gripped the staff and swung it twice. Her movements were still a little clumsy, but she could already feel the connection between herself and her Martial Soul.

What no one noticed, though, was...

Several tiny silver-white star patterns quietly crept across the surface of the crystalline staff, their faint light flickering in and out.

But the hall was too brightly lit, and the star patterns were too tiny. The moment they appeared, the icy-blue glow covered them up, and no one noticed them at all.

Standing at the edge of the crowd, Chu Yan gazed at the icy-blue staff in Xu Xiaoyan's hand.

He knew her Martial Soul was nothing like the ordinary Ice Staff it appeared to be. It was the Star Wheel Ice Staff, and it had two forms: one for day and one for night.

By day, it looked like nothing more than an ordinary icy-blue Ice Staff, with only the ice attribute.

But once night fell and starlight descended, its true power would reveal itself.

Her Martial Soul was a mutated Ice Staff fused with the power of the stars, in a completely different league from Xu Xiaoyu's purely ice-based staff.

The Xu Clan's ancestors had originally been a side branch of the Star Crown Xu Clan, and their blood carried the lineage of the stars. But after ten thousand years of transmission, that bloodline had severely weakened, and the clan members' Martial Souls had long since become nothing more than pure Ice Staffs.

The original story had also said that even the Xu Clan members couldn't recognize Xu Xiaoyan's Martial Soul as the Star Wheel Ice Staff at first. On top of that, Xu Xiaoyan didn't like cultivating, so they hadn't pushed her to practice. Only after they learned the truth did they start taking it seriously.