After training, the four went back to their rooms. Xiao Qi didn't go back to the woodshed; instead, he sat on the threshold of the hall, leaning against the doorframe, his bandaged arm resting on his knee. He didn't look at anyone, but his ear was always turned towards the training ground.
Jiang Lin sat on a stone bench by the training field, opened his notebook, and finished completing today's data.
A Shan's Scale Transformation covered a limit that was half an inch more than yesterday. Yi Chen's Spiritual Power could only be projected to a maximum distance of three inches. Xiao Man's vines began to go out of control when they reached the third one. Lin Du's single-step landing point stability rate was 70%.
Bai Lingyu walked over and sat down next to him.
" A Lin, you're teaching too slowly."
Jiang Lin raised his head.
"Your teaching is too conservative; it's not really meaningful for them."
Jiang Lin did not refute.
Bai Lingyu twirled the half-carved piece of wood in her hand, her voice not loud, but each word was spoken steadily. " A Shan could have covered an inch more today, but you stopped him."
Yi Chen's Spiritual Power was almost able to touch the stake, but you made him pull back. Xiao Man urged the third vine, clearly still having spare strength, but you made him stop and count his breaths.
Lin Du only needed to walk the path fifty times, but you made him walk it a hundred times.
Bai Lingyu paused for a moment, then turned to look at Jiang Lin and continued, "I know you don't want them to be burdened with too much stress or get hurt."
The fact that you consider these things shows that you truly care about them. It's an honor for them to have met you.
Bai Lingyu lowered her head, looking at the half-shaved piece of wood in her hand, her fingertips rubbing the still-unpolished edges.
Sometimes, I'm quite envious of them.
Jiang Lin felt strange and tilted his head, waiting for Bai Lingyu to continue.
"I used to really hope to meet someone as important as you," Bai Lingyu continued, her voice lower than before.
"Actually, our lineage wasn't anything special in the clan before. The clan leader's lineage had absolute power, and resources and the right to speak were all in their hands."
When my grandfather was young, no one cared for him or taught him. He had to push himself to the limit, forcing his Martial Soul to develop its offensive capabilities, which allowed him to gain a foothold in the clan and eventually become the second elder.
Bai Lingyu paused for a moment before continuing.
"But I've seen it since I was little: Grandpa was in pain every night. He didn't get injured from practicing martial arts; he overdid it. He overdid his talent and pushed himself to his limits."
Without good medicine or proper treatment, he could only tough it out. Fortunately, Grandpa pulled through and managed to find a way out.
But every time I see him sitting in the yard rubbing his knees in the middle of the night, I think, if someone had taught him or helped him back then, would he not be in so much pain?
Jiang Lin listened quietly.
Bai Lingyu raised her head and looked towards the entrance of the hall. Xiao Qi was still sitting on the threshold. A dark red light flashed through the gaps in the bandages and then dimmed again.
"You're afraid they'll lose control, afraid they'll get hurt. But you know better than I do that losing control and getting hurt aren't things you can avoid by running away. My grandfather hid his whole life, but the injuries he sustained when he was young are still there."
He put the piece of wood down and looked at Jiang Lin.
"Now that Xiao Qi is here, he can absorb the out-of-control Soul Power, so Si Zi can't hurt himself. What you dare not practice, I dare to practice. It's not because I'm more ruthless than my grandfather, but because this time is different. This time, someone is there to back me up."
Jiang Lin was silent for a few moments before speaking, " Xiao Qi is a person, not a tool."
Bai Lingyu nodded. "I know. That's why we have to make sure Xiao Qi volunteers."
Jiang Lin looked down at the booklet, his finger hovering over the line " A Shan's Scale Transformation delayed" for a long time. Bai Lingyu was right; his training plan was indeed too conservative.
He had figured out about 70-80% of the four boys' Martial Soul characteristics, but he would stop training every time he reached a critical point because he didn't know what would happen after that point. He needed data, but he couldn't gamble with the four boys' bodies for that data. The appearance of Xiao Qi resolved this contradiction.
But this can't be told to Xiao Qi alone.
The four of them also need to know—what level they've reached in their training, and what price Xiao Qi will have to pay—all of this needs to be made public.
"Call them all over." Jiang Lin closed the booklet.
Bai Lingyu glanced at him, didn't ask any further questions, and turned to call out to the four rooms.
A Shan came out first, followed closely by Yi Chen, with Xiao Man and Lin Du at the back. Xiao Qi stood up from the threshold and leaned against the door frame without moving.
Jiang Lin looked at the five children standing in front of him and said, "There's something I want to tell you."
He recounted Bai Lingyu's suggestion, without concealing the risks—extreme training would push the Martial Soul to the brink of losing control, and when it did, Xiao Qi would absorb the excess Soul Power. Then he explained the cost: Xiao Qi would bear a backlash after each soul absorption, and the more soul power absorbed, the heavier the backlash would be.
"So whether you do extra practice or not is up to you," Jiang Lin said. "If you don't want to, just maintain your current pace; you'll still get results, just slower."
The four remained quiet for a while.
A Shan was the first to speak, "Master, I'd like to add it."
Jiang Lin looked at him.
"When I was driving the stakes today, I could have covered an inch more." A Shan glanced down at the back of his hand; the scales gleamed faintly blue under the light. "When you told me to stop, I felt suffocated."
Yi Chen spoke second, her voice very soft. "I wanted to test if my Spiritual Power could reach that stake. I almost did today."
Xiao Man clutched the hem of her clothes, hesitated for a long time, and finally whispered, "I don't want to keep pressing down on the vines every time... I want to learn to stay calm."
Lin Du was the last to speak, uttering only one word. "Add."
Jiang Lin turned his head and looked at Xiao Qi by the threshold.
Xiao Qi didn't look at anyone. He stared at his arm, the dark red light flickering through the gaps in the bandages. Everyone was watching him, but no one urged him on.
After a long while, he raised his head and nodded to Jiang Lin.
It's very light, but very clear.
Jiang Lin did not respond immediately. He picked up the booklet, turned to a new page, wrote a few words, then closed the booklet and put it back on the stone bench.
"Starting tomorrow, the training method will be changed," he said. " A Shan will increase by 20%, Yi Chen by 3 inches, Xiao Man will push to the fifth root, Lin Du walk 50 times to increase the burst. When you reach the edge of losing control, Xiao Qi will make a move. After Xiao Qi makes a move, no one is allowed to stop, keep training."
The four nodded.
" Xiao Qi," Jiang Lin called out.
Xiao Qi looked up.
"If you can't hold your ground after you shoot, stop. If you stop, training stops."
Xiao Qi neither nodded nor shook his head. But he lowered his arms from his chest and let them hang at his sides.
That night, Jiang Lin was organizing the booklets in the hall. He wrote down what Bai Lingyu had said, circled the words "extreme training," and wrote a line under Xiao Qi's name: Soul absorption limit to be tested. Duration of backlash after absorption to be tested. Tolerable frequency to be tested.
He stopped writing after he finished.
On the low couch in the hall, Xiao Qi was already asleep. This time he wasn't curled up, but lying flat, his bandaged arm draped over his side, the dark red light much dimmer than a few days ago.
Jiang Lin blew out the oil lamp but didn't immediately return to the room. He sat in the darkness for a while, then tucked the booklet into his sleeve, got up, and walked towards the door. As he passed the low couch, he glanced down at it.
Xiao Qi was not asleep.
Those eyes were open in the darkness, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.
Jiang Lin said nothing, pushed open the door, and went out.
The next morning, for the first time, the sound of five people training simultaneously could be heard on the training field.
A Shan's fist slammed into the wooden stake, one dull thud after another. Scales crawled from the back of his hand to his forearm. He gritted his teeth and held on for one more breath, and the scales covered an inch more. Yi Chen stood in front of the wooden stake with his eyes closed, his brow slightly glowing, and his Spiritual Power pushed outward inch by inch.
A fourth vine sprouted from Xiao Man's right arm. He didn't press it down, but stood there taking a deep breath as the vine swayed gently in the air. Lin Du walked at the other end of the field, completing fifty repetitions. Then, he pushed off with his feet and leaped a distance 30% farther than usual.
Jiang Lin stood on the sidelines, holding a booklet in his hand.
Bai Lingyu leaned against the stone wall, whittling wood.
The hall door was open, and Xiao Qi sat on the threshold, looking at the training ground. His position was closest to the four boys; if anyone lost control, he could reach them in one step.
No one lost control today.
But Jiang Lin knew that tomorrow, the day after, there would come a time like that.
He opened the booklet and wrote a line below today's date.
"Five people training together, currently stable. Upper limit to be determined."
After finishing writing, he closed the booklet and prepared to get up.
The Yu Feng Token hidden in his sleeve suddenly trembled.
It was very light and brief, like a buzzing sound that hadn't finished. Jiang Lin paused, took out the token. The grass pattern lit up for a moment in the darkness, then went dark again. No sound came out, only a very faint murmur, as if someone was speaking from afar, through several layers of water, the words were indistinct, only something could be heard pressing down on their tone.
Then the command talisman went out.
Jiang Lin held the token and stood there for a long time.
Dean Feng didn't send a message. So where did this noise come from?
He turned his head and glanced at the hall. Xiao Qi on the low couch was still awake, staring at the ceiling. The dark red light shining through the gaps in the bandages hadn't been lit even once all night.