Ordinary Days

Aolai City, the Tang household.

Time quietly slipped away amid ordinary, warm days. The swaddled infant had learned to toddle, run, and jump. His blue hair was soft, and his eyes were like gems immersed in seawater, clear and bright. Tang Wulin—the name bestowed upon him amid wind and snow—had become deeply etched into the lives of Tang Ziran and Lang Yue.

As the child grew, the Eternal Snowflake and embroidered cloth patch once sewn onto his red bellyband naturally could no longer be used. Lang Yue thought about it for a long time before finally coming up with an idea. She carefully removed the somewhat worn but still strangely textured white cloth, trimmed away its overly tattered edges, and kept the most intact portion, embroidered with the words "Tang Wulin." She then sewed it into a soft, loose little scarf for a child. The fabric draped beautifully. Loosely tied around his neck, it did not constrict him, while one corner would always rest gently against his skin, especially near his heart. As for the crystalline snowflake, Lang Yue threaded it onto the finest silver chain and made it into a necklace worn close to his body, hidden beneath his clothes against his chest. The snowflake constantly emitted a steady, faint warmth and became Tang Wulin's "protective charm" as he grew up. Even in his childish confusion, he felt safe whenever it touched him and never allowed anyone to take it away.

Tang Wulin's childhood was no different from that of most children in Aolai City's working families. His father, Tang Ziran, became increasingly skilled at his work in the dock warehouses and occasionally picked up side jobs. Besides caring for the household, his mother, Lang Yue, also did handicrafts to supplement their income. Their life was poor, but laughter never left their dinner table.

Only, the child seemed exceptionally healthy. He almost never fell ill, and he was far stronger than children his age. Even when he got little cuts and bruises while playing, they healed quickly. Tang Ziran and Lang Yue merely took it as a sign that their son was healthy, feeling comforted, while burying the secret of the snowflake and scarf's origins even deeper.

What they did not know was that whenever the night grew quiet and Tang Wulin fell asleep, the snowflake on his chest would glimmer faintly, suppressing something buried far deeper. Within his tiny body, the Golden Dragon King's God Core, which had suffered severe damage and was continuously resisting the lingering power of the Genesis Sword Strike, was very slowly and passively absorbing the life force and soul power that overflowed as he grew, carrying out the most basic repairs. Within the God Core, a faint yet incomparably proud will, filled with violence and greed, would occasionally rise from profound extinction.

"Mortals... weak flesh..."

"Wait... nourishment..."

"The Sea God's seal... Tang San's mark... and this damned snowflake..."

"When the God Core reforms... when this vessel matures... devour... merge..."

"The Dragon God's power... shall return..."

This remnant consciousness was like a murmur from the abyss, vague and fragmented, silent most of the time as it struggled against its injuries and seals. Yet it truly existed, like a poisonous seed buried deep within fertile soil, quietly waiting for the day it broke through the earth. The Sea God's divine power lingering within the snowflake and scarf was like the toughest sealing threads. Together with the God Core's injuries, it formed a double set of shackles that firmly imprisoned this evil intent at the edge of slumber, buying Tang Wulin a precious, carefree childhood.

Eastsea City, Seafood Street.

After several months of wind and sun, the sign for "Yuling Grilled Fish" had worn slightly around the edges, but the fragrance drifting from the shop had only grown richer and more enticing. Huo Yuhao—known to the neighbors as Boss Huo—had completely settled into life here.

He still did not speak much, but his grilled fish was truly outstanding and fairly priced. Over time, it became one of Seafood Street's most reputable specialties. Besides the shop's signature secret-recipe grilled fish, he occasionally introduced distinctive fish soups or side dishes based on the day's ingredients, each of which drew eager praise from gourmets. Uncle Liu from next door, who sold Iron-Pot Beef, had become a regular. Every so often, he would bring over some of his beef to trade for two grilled fish to go with his drinks. The two could chat in the evening breeze about dockside news or whatever strange new Soul Guidance Devices had appeared.

Xiaoling had also shed her initial awkwardness. She was quick with her hands, clear-headed with the accounts, and could offer diners a much more natural smile. Yet occasionally, when students from lower-level soul master academies passed through Seafood Street in groups, enthusiastically discussing soul skills, Soul Spirits, and the Spirit Pagoda's Ascension Platform, her gaze would become especially intent, and her fingers would unconsciously tighten around her cleaning rag. After closing, she would carefully recount every small piece of information to Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao's life followed a strict rhythm. During the day, he was the owner of a grilled fish shop, one among the bustle of ordinary folk. After closing at night, he spent the first part of his time teaching Xiaoling about Soul Guidance Devices, from recognizing the most basic energy circuits to the principles behind making simple, practical items, such as thermostatic soul lamps and basic water-purification runes. Xiaoling was remarkably gifted, and her sensitivity to energy flow allowed her to progress quickly.

The latter half of the night, when all was quiet, belonged to Huo Yuhao himself. He would enter deep meditation, not to restore his divine power—the sealed sphere remained troublesome—but to temper his Soul King-level spiritual power, making it more condensed and refined. At the same time, he cautiously used the projected aura of the Sword of Life to nourish his meridians and the cursed scar on his chest. The progress was slow, but steady. His daily, unchanging task was to sense the Eternal Snowflake in the direction of Aolai City. The stable, healthy, increasingly vigorous feedback of life was the calmest anchor in his heart.

During the last two days of every month, a wooden sign reading "Owner has business to attend to, closed for two days" would hang outside Yuling Grilled Fish. The regular customers were used to it, assuming Boss Huo had gone to purchase supplies or visit relatives.

Over those two days, Huo Yuhao would quietly leave Eastsea City with Xiaoling. Usually, he would first visit the city's larger Soul Guidance technology bookstores, old book markets, and even acquire or exchange a batch of books and materials through some less-than-legitimate channels. The books covered a vast range of topics: basic works such as Introduction to Soul Guidance Device Principles and A Hundred Answers on Metal Materials; more advanced texts like Stability and Output Regulation of Energy Cores and Design Concepts for Close-Combat Soul Guidance Devices; even broad discussions of battle armor—though only publicly available introductory books—and mecha, which civilians could generally access only through concepts and brief histories. There were also numerous texts on soul beast ecology, energy pathways, rare minerals, and plant properties. He knew well that what could be given to soul beasts was not merely ready-made technology, but a system of knowledge that would let them understand the development of human technology and find a path of their own.

The materials mainly consisted of various basic metal ingots, common energy-conducting mediums, blank core plates for etching practice, and ingredients for balancing potions that could be purchased on the market and might be useful to soul beasts.

Once everything was ready, he would pilot the Realm Patrol, bringing Xiaoling and the supplies along a concealed route planned by the wrist-mounted unit, quietly returning to the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest. The spatial passage torn open by Di Tian would appear on schedule at their agreed location.

By the Lake of Life, these two days every month had almost become a small "time for learning" in the core region. At first, only Bi Ji, Myriad Demon King, and Bear Lord and Crimson King, who had been ordered by Di Tian to attend, were present. Later, Zi Ji and several other ten-thousand-year soul beasts with higher intelligence would quietly listen from the side as well.

Huo Yuhao's teaching was never flashy. He never spoke empty words about the Divine Realm. Instead, he began from the most practical perspectives that soul beasts could understand.

He would pick up an ordinary iron ingot and explain how humans used soul power guidance and specific formations to make it hard, light, or energy-conductive. "This is not magic. It is the application of the laws of energy and matter. Your claws and breath inherently contain immense energy and unique laws. If you can move from 'using instinct' to 'understanding and constructing laws,' perhaps you can find a path of power different from Soul Guidance Devices, yet better suited to yourselves."

He demonstrated simple energy circuits and explained how they guided soul power much like rivers guided flowing water. "The Spirit Pagoda's detection and the barrier in that wall are fundamentally built from the layering and amplification of countless circuits like these. Only by understanding them can you find ways to interfere with them, block them, or even use them in reverse."

He brought them books about battle armor and mecha, though their contents were shallow. "Humans arm their fragile bodies with metal and use Soul Guidance Devices to amplify their strength. Soul beasts are born with powerful physiques, but what if certain laws of defense and enhancement could be combined with your shells and scales? This is not about making you imitate humans. It is meant to inspire the idea of 'arming yourselves.'"

He shared information gathered from the streets and books about the Spirit Pagoda's movements, the structure of soul master society, and resource distribution. "Know yourselves and know your enemies. Their sources of power, the way their society operates, and their internal conflicts can all be analyzed and used."

Sometimes, he would also answer the soul beasts' questions about energy cultivation and injury treatment. Combining his knowledge of the Divine Realm with Electrolux's learning, he offered unique perspectives. Bi Ji was especially grateful for this. Some of the approaches Huo Yuhao brought concerning energy balancing had greatly inspired her healing abilities.

At first, Bear Lord was always full of impatience and disdain. "All this fancy nonsense! Strength means tearing everything apart!" But after several sessions, Huo Yuhao simply analyzed the energy burst pattern of his Dark Gold Terrorclaw and proposed a way it might be made more concentrated and less wasteful—though it was only a theoretical deduction. Bear Lord said nothing, but his perked ears gave away his interest.

Myriad Demon King learned most earnestly. He was already skilled at energy control and transformation, and Huo Yuhao's knowledge opened a new door for him. Crimson King found it troublesome, but he also understood that there was no harm in learning more about the enemy. Zi Ji, meanwhile, was more interested in how such knowledge could be used to protect young beasts.

Di Tian always listened in silence, his golden dragon eyes deep and unfathomable. His focus was often on the strategic level: Where might the bottlenecks in humanity's Soul Guidance technology development lie? Was the Spirit Pagoda's extraction of soul beast fortune connected to particular energy nodes or rituals? The information Huo Yuhao brought from outside was gradually piecing together a truer picture of the world beyond the high walls.

During these two days, Xiaoling would completely return to her natural spirit form, happily stretching herself out beside the Lake of Life, absorbing its pure life aura and sharing her experiences from the human world with Bi Ji and the other companions. Her existence was like a soft bond linking the forest and the bustling streets.

When the two days of teaching were over, Huo Yuhao would inspect the shielding modules he had left behind, fine-tune their parameters, and then quietly return to Eastsea City with new insights—sometimes questions raised by the soul beasts from their unique perspectives would inspire him in turn—and a batch of medicinal herbs or mineral samples unique to the forest and rare in the outside world.

The wooden sign outside Yuling Grilled Fish came down, the charcoal fire was lit again, and its fragrance once more filled the street corner. Life seemed to return to where it began, repeating in endless cycles.

But in Aolai City, a child was running and growing, while the seed within him lay silently dormant. In Eastsea City, a god lay hidden amid mortal bustle, while knowledge passed quietly from hand to hand. In the Star Dou Great Forest, an ancient race was trying to raise its head in the face of desperation, learning the enemy's language and contemplating its own path. Beneath the calm surface, three threads stretched onward in parallel, drawn by unseen karma and promises, slowly yet inevitably flowing toward a point of convergence somewhere in the future.