In the early morning, the yellow soil on the training field was trampled with a fresh layer of marks.
A Shan was practicing on a wooden stake, and his punches were much more stable than they had been half a month ago. The scale-like markings that had spread from the back of his hands to his forearms were now clean and decisive, and the pale blue mark had not expanded.
Yi Chen stood with his eyes closed in front of another wooden stake, his brow slightly glowing. He pushed his Spiritual Power out inch by inch, and the stake trembled slightly the moment it touched it.
Xiao Man was practicing the retraction and extension of vines. The fifth vine sprouted, turning bluish-purple. He took a deep breath, and the vine paused in the air for two breaths before retracting.
Lin Du walked at the other end of the field, completing fifty repetitions with a burst of energy. When he landed, his feet landed squarely, and his knees did not deviate.
Jiang Lin stood on the sidelines, holding a booklet in his hand.
Xiao Qi sat on the threshold of the hall, looking at the training ground.
No one has counted how many mornings this has been. But life on the fiefdom has developed a fixed rhythm; everyone knows who practices what, when to practice, and to what extent.
Jiang Lin's notebook grew thicker and thicker. He recorded every change in the four Martial Soul — A Shan's Scale Transformation became more precise, and the faint blue mark on the back of his hand stopped expanding;
Yi Chen's Spiritual Power could now touch the wooden stake, and its direction was fixed; Xiao Man's vines could basically hold themselves down by the fifth one; Lin Du's leg techniques had improved a lot in terms of landing deviation.
Xiao Qi's backlash was kept under control and did not worsen. The dark red light shone every night, dimmer and more stable than when she first arrived.
But Jiang Lin knew that these were all "phenomena," not "laws." They were still one step away from forming a system.
That noon, training had just ended. The five children tidied up, A Shan picked up the water bottle next to the wooden stake. Xiao Man followed behind him, Yi Chen walked in the middle, Lin Du lagged behind, and Xiao Qi got up from the threshold and followed at a leisurely pace. The five of them walked together to the canteen next to the kitchen, where the cook had already set out the food.
Jiang Lin didn't leave; he was still collecting booklets by the training field, preparing to finish organizing today's data.
Bai Lingyu glanced at him, guessing he'd be there for a while, then turned and headed towards the kitchen. He went to the kitchen to check on the dishes the cook had prepared for the five children, and to ask someone to set aside a portion for Jiang Lin to bring to the main hall after he finished his work.
Just then, a carriage stopped outside the fiefdom.
The carriage curtain was lifted, and a young man stepped out. He was rather thin, a little taller, and a bit darker-skinned than when we last met.
Her hair was much longer than when she left the academy, hanging loosely over her shoulders with a few strands clinging to her face, as if she hadn't had time to style it while traveling.
His eyebrows Feng Xiaotian's, but were more delicate and serene. He wore a dark, fitted outfit, the fabric crisp and the cut clean, with very faint dark patterns on the cuffs and collar. A dark silver token hung at his waist, its grass pattern subtly emitting a bluish light.
The boy stood outside the gap in the stone wall, glanced at the training ground, his gaze swept over the direction of the canteen, and finally landed on Jiang Lin.
" Jiang Lin."
Jiang Lin raised his head.
It's Feng Lingtian.
Jiang Lin was a little surprised, and it took him a moment to react. " Lingtian? What brings you here?"
"Um... on the way," Feng Lingtian said.
Jiang Lin glanced at him but didn't expose him. He looked at the sky; the sun was high in the sky.
Let's eat first.
The two entered the hall. Bai Lingyu had already returned from the kitchen and had two meals brought up and placed on the table. The three sat down, and Feng Lingtian picked up his bowl and ate a few bites, his gaze drifting through the window to the training ground outside.
"This place is bigger than I expected."
"Mm," Jiang Lin responded.
"What about your kids? I heard my dad mention them briefly; Body Martial Soul, four of them." Feng Lingtian picked up another piece of food with his chopsticks. "How's their training going?"
Jiang Lin briefly described the four individuals' situations: A Shan's Scale Transformation, Yi Chen's Spiritual Power, Xiao Man's vines, and Lin Du's leg techniques.
Feng Lingtian put down his chopsticks, took out a roll of paper from his sleeve, and placed it on the table.
"I've been researching the relationship between Soul Core and Martial Soul Evolution lately." He pushed the scroll towards him. "My dad mentioned it briefly, saying you're planning to build a family with Body Martial Soul. See if this might be useful."
Jiang Lin picked up the scroll, unfolded it, and glanced at it. It was Feng Lingtian's handwriting, with several simple diagrams drawn on it, and the paths of Soul Power flow marked next to them.
"What's this?"
"The cultivation path of the Soul Core," Feng Lingtian said. "I've been thinking about a question lately. The essence of the Soul Core is to compress Soul Power into a core, allowing the Soul Power to circulate in a direction. Could the awakening of the Body Martial Soul also draw on this idea?"
Jiang Lin paused for a moment.
Feng Lingtian continued, "The awakening of your children's Martial Soul is all due to the overuse of a certain part of their bodies. Soul Power flows to that part, and when too much flows in, it becomes fixed."
But what happens after it's finalized? The Soul Power is still running rampant because there's no core to restrain it. Think about it, if you gave the Body Martial Soul a 'core' and let it grow in a direction on its own, wouldn't that be more effective than forcibly suppressing it?
Jiang Lin stared at the path diagram on the paper for a long time.
"How do we give them this core?"
" Soul Core," Feng Lingtian said, "It's not about letting them cultivate Soul Core, but rather borrowing the concept of Soul Core. Using the principle of Soul Power compression, it gives the Martial Soul a stable 'anchor point,' so that the Martial Soul has a place to go when it awakens, instead of wandering around aimlessly."
Jiang Lin put down the paper roll and looked up at Feng Lingtian.
How long did you study it?
"Well... not much, I just thought of it on the way," Feng Lingtian said. "Whether it works or not, you'll have to try it to find out."
Jiang Lin didn't answer immediately. He turned to look at the training ground. Si Zi and Xiao Qi had already finished eating and gone back to their rooms for a nap. The entrance to the hall was empty; the small, thin figure was gone.
"Stay for the night," Jiang Lin said.
Feng Lingtian smiled and said, "Okay."
After the meal, Feng Lingtian stood by the training field for a long time.
He watched A Shan practice his punches during the afternoon's extra training, watched Yi Chen close his eyes and push his Spiritual Power in front of the wooden stake, watched Xiao Man release and retract the vines, and watched Lin Du walk. Then his gaze fell on the threshold of the hall.
Xiao Qi sat there, leaning against the door frame, watching the training field. His posture was different from Si Zi's—Si Zi was practicing, while he was watching. Si Zi was immersed in the training field, while he was immersed in the threshold.
Feng Lingtian looked at Xiao Qi for a while, then turned to Jiang Lin and asked, "That child?"
Jiang Lin followed his gaze.
"I found him on the road," Jiang Lin said. "When I was training in the south, I passed through a mountain valley and found him alone at the edge of the forest. His Martial Soul had gone out of control and I couldn't suppress it, so I brought him back."
Feng Lingtian didn't press further, but simply glanced at Xiao Qi again.
Jiang Lin paused, then continued, "His name is Xiao Qi, but he doesn't reveal it himself; Si Zi gave it to him. His Martial Soul can absorb the Soul Power fluctuations of others. When Xiao Man lost control while practicing her vines, he intervened and suppressed her once. After that, he suffered a backlash himself, and it wasn't light."
Feng Lingtian nodded.
Jiang Lin suddenly remembered something and added, "Right, it was that night. The night Xiao Qi made her first move, the Yu Feng Token trembled."
There was no content, only static. I couldn't contact the dean, and the dean hadn't sent a message. I didn't understand why, but then I thought it wasn't important and not urgent, so I put it aside for now.
Feng Lingtian turned his gaze away from the threshold and glanced at Jiang Lin.
Which night?
"The day Xiao Qi made her first move."
Feng Lingtian didn't reply immediately. He lowered his head and thought for a while, then glanced at Xiao Qi on the threshold.
I'll go back and ask."
Jiang Lin nodded without saying anything more.
The next morning, Jiang Lin called the four boys to the training ground.
He didn't start training immediately. Instead, he had the four children stand in place first, then took out Feng Lingtian's route map from his sleeve and spread it on the ground.
"No boxing practice today," Jiang Lin said. "Today we'll practice one thing—finding the 'anchor points' of your Martial Soul."
The four looked bewildered. A Shan asked, "Master, what is an anchor point?"
"When your Martial Soul Awakening, in which direction does your Soul Power flow?"
A Shan looked down at the back of his hand. "Towards the scales."
Where are the scales most densely patterned?
A Shan pointed with his other finger to a small, faint blue mark near the base of his finger on the back of his hand.
"That's your anchor point," Jiang Lin said. "From today onwards, when you practice your punches, first gather your Soul Power there before throwing a punch."
A Shan paused for a moment, then tried to clench his fist. Following Jiang Lin's instructions, he first gathered his Soul Power into the faint blue mark on the back of his hand, and then threw a punch.
The scales emerged faster and more steadily than usual, and retracted more nimbly than usual. After they were retracted, the pale blue mark had even faded a little.
A Shan stared at the back of his hand for a long time, then looked up at Jiang Lin, his eyes lighting up.
Jiang Lin tried hard not to laugh, but he made a note in the notebook, his pen moving very quickly.
Then he turned to Yi Chen.
Your anchor point is between your eyebrows.
Yi Chen closed his eyes and focused his Spiritual Power on his brow. After a few breaths, he opened his eyes, walked to the wooden stake, and extended his Spiritual Power. This time, the moment his Spiritual Power touched the stake, the stake trembled slightly, the vibration being much more pronounced than before.
Jiang Lin made another note in the booklet.
Xiao Man's anchor point is on the inside of her right elbow, where the vines sprout. Lin Du's anchor point is on the outside of her knee, the point that tightens first when she exerts force. Jiang Lin taught them one by one, and the four boys tried them one by one.
By the end of the afternoon training, each of the four had found their own anchor point. Although they hadn't fully mastered it yet, their Soul Power had direction, and the number of times they lost control was halved compared to usual.
Jiang Lin closed the booklet and turned to look at the entrance to the hall.
Xiao Qi was still sitting on the threshold, watching the training ground. His gaze followed the four's movements, from A Shan's fist to Yi Chen's brow, from Xiao Man's elbow to Lin Du's knee.
Jiang Lin walked over and squatted down in front of him.
Where do you see your anchor point?
Xiao Qi didn't speak. He lifted the bandaged arm from his knee, palm down, and placed it between them. A dark red light flashed through the gaps in the bandage, slightly brighter than usual.
Jiang Lin stared at the arm for a few moments.
"Tomorrow, you'll practice with Si Zi."
Xiao Qi neither nodded nor shook his head. But when he pulled his arm back, the dark red light from the gaps in the bandages brightened slightly, then slowly dimmed, returning to its normal state.
That night, Jiang Lin wrote a line in the booklet.
" The Anchor Point Method is effective. Four children have grasped it initially. Xiao Qi will need further testing."
He finished writing and put down his pen. The last page of the booklet still had the piece of paper recording the abnormality of the Yu Feng Token tucked inside. He glanced at it, didn't touch it, and closed the booklet.
Outside the window, the direction of the woodshed was quiet. The dim red light under the door was on tonight, a little brighter than yesterday.