In Nuoding City, the morning sunlight filtered through sparse leaves, scattering across the bluestone-paved streets.
With a simple pack on his back, Ling Xuqing walked lightly along the road to the Spirit Hall Branch.
"Xuqing, what are we doing now?"
From within his sea of consciousness, Xiao Wu's voice rang out, clear and sweet, tinged with curiosity.
To make it easier for them to communicate and let her see the human world with her own eyes, Ling Xuqing had released her divine soul from his sea of consciousness after leaving Wuxi Village. It took the form of a translucent phantom visible only to him, walking at his side.
"First, I'm going to register as a Soul Master at the Spirit Hall Branch," Ling Xuqing replied in his mind.
The Spirit Hall Branch in Nuoding City wasn't very large, but in this junior city, it was still the most prestigious building.
Ling Xuqing walked in as if he knew the place by heart and found the official in charge of registration.
"Name, age, Martial Soul, Soul Power," the official asked without looking up.
"Ling Xuqing, six years old, Martial Soul: Golden Overlord Spear, Innate Full Soul Power," Ling Xuqing answered calmly.
At that, the official abruptly raised his head, a flash of surprise in his eyes.
He studied Ling Xuqing carefully, then pulled out a file. "Ling Xuqing... Oh, I remember now. You're the child whose Martial Soul was awakened by Grandmaster Su Yuntao in Wuxi Village. Innate Full Soul Power—certainly a genius."
The official's manner immediately turned enthusiastic. He took out a brand-new Soul Master certificate and handed it to Ling Xuqing. "Mr. Ling, since you've already reached Level 10, the Spirit Hall can arrange for someone to take you to hunt a Soul Beast and obtain your First Soul Ring."
"Thank you for the offer, but there's no need," Ling Xuqing said with a smile, politely declining. "I already have plans of my own."
Seeing this, the official didn't press him. He simply took out another pouch, heavy with coins, and handed it over. "This is the Spirit Hall's subsidy for genius Soul Masters—one hundred Gold Soul Coins. Please keep it, Mr. Ling."
"Thank you." Ling Xuqing accepted the pouch and left the Spirit Hall.
"Xuqing, why didn't you tell him the truth? You're already Level 28 and have two Soul Rings. Why register with only Innate Full Soul Power?" Xiao Wu's phantom floated beside him, her face full of confusion.
"A tree that stands out in the forest will be battered by the wind," Ling Xuqing said coolly. "I only awakened my Martial Soul yesterday, and now I'm already Level 28. If I let that out, they'd take me back to the Spirit Hall to study me. That's not what I want. I'm still too weak. Revealing my strength too soon will only bring unnecessary trouble."
"Until I have absolute power, keeping my abilities hidden is the best thing to do."
"Keeping your abilities hidden? That does sound like it makes sense! So what now?"
"We'll head straight to the Soul Master Academy."
With his Soul Master certificate in hand, Ling Xuqing went directly to Nuoding City Junior Spirit Master Academy.
Thanks to his certificate as a genius student with Innate Full Soul Power, the academy's teachers treated him with great courtesy. They waived every test and directly assigned him a spacious single dormitory room.
Once he'd settled in, Ling Xuqing sat cross-legged on his bed and began circulating the Soul Power within him, stabilizing his cultivation, which had just surged dramatically.
"Xuqing, what are we doing now?" Xiao Wu leaned on the windowsill, gazing at the training grounds outside.
"There's more than a month until classes start. We'll stay at the academy for now, and I can use the time to stabilize my cultivation." Ling Xuqing closed his eyes, sensing the three forces within him merging.
"Mm, that works." Xiao Wu nodded, then pursed her lips. "But you're already Level 28. Isn't staying at a junior academy kind of a waste?"
"Don't worry, I won't stay at the academy for long." Ling Xuqing's lips curved into a confident smile. "Once my cultivation is completely stable, I'll leave and go out into the world."
Hearing this, a hint of anticipation flashed in Xiao Wu's eyes.
But just then, she seemed to sense something. She suddenly turned around and stared at Ling Xuqing's right leg.
"Xuqing, your right leg... There's a faint soul fluctuation there!"
"My right leg?" Ling Xuqing froze for a moment, then understood. "Oh, that's the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone. As for the soul fluctuation... that's Blue Silver Emperor Ah Yin."
"Blue Silver Emperor Ah Yin? Who's that?" Xiao Wu asked, puzzled.
Ling Xuqing opened his eyes, his gaze growing deep.
With a thought, he drew Xiao Wu's divine soul into his sea of consciousness as well.
"Ah Yin is Tang San's mother."
Ling Xuqing slowly began recounting a long-buried story.
"She was originally a Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor. To become a god and protect her people, she chose to take human form. In the human world, she met Tang Hao, a genius of the Clear Sky Sect. They fell in love and had Tang San."
"Later, Qian Xunji, the Spirit Hall's pope, discovered her true identity and began a relentless hunt. At the brink of despair, she gave herself up to save Tang Hao, offering him her Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Spirit Bone, helping him break through the Level 90 bottleneck."
Xiao Wu listened, stunned, her eyes full of shock and sympathy. "She... She sacrificed herself willingly? Then what happened to her...?"
"She didn't die." Ling Xuqing gave a cold laugh. "The Blue Silver Emperor clan has the racial gift of 'wildfire never dies, and the spring breeze brings it back to life.' As long as even a trace of her essence remains, she can be revived."
"Not long ago, I found the last of her essence and fused with it. She's now a soul within my right leg bone."
Xiao Wu drew in a sharp breath. "Then didn't she die twice? Once when she sacrificed herself to Tang Hao, and once when you fused with her essence and Spirit Bone! And she still survived?"
"That's how terrifying the Blue Silver Emperor is," Ling Xuqing said coolly. "Unless she destroys her own essence, no one can truly kill her."
Xiao Wu fell silent for a moment, then asked:
"Then... Xuqing, what are you going to do with her?"
Ling Xuqing closed his eyes, sensing the faint, mournful soul fluctuation in his right leg bone, one that carried endless humility and pleading.
When he had fused with her, he had once torn her faith to shreds with the cruelest words.
He had told her that Tang Hao had treated her as a stepping-stone to break through from the very beginning, and that her own naivete had brought ruin upon herself and her people.
At that moment, Ah Yin's faith had completely collapsed, and her soul had sunk into endless despair and deathly silence.
Ling Xuqing took a deep breath and spoke coldly in his mind:
"Ah Yin, I know you can hear us talking. Stop pretending to be dead and come out."
The soul fluctuation within the right leg bone trembled violently, but still there was no response.
Ling Xuqing didn't mind. He narrowed his eyes slightly, his voice calm yet carrying an unquestionable authority.
"I'll give you two choices."
"First, become my Soul Spirit, like Xiao Wu, and share life and death with me."
"Second, I'll send you to be reborn, erasing every memory and all the pain of this life."
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