"Kid, who let you come here?" Although Ling Yu was neatly dressed and had exceptional looks and bearing, the Royal Heraldry Academy did not receive outsiders. Normally, only royalty and nobles came and went here.
Ling Yu had already made inquiries. Today was a working day for Xue Cheng, the director of the Royal Heraldry Academy and a member of a collateral branch of Xue Ye's family. He usually arrived at this hour.
Sure enough, the sound of a carriage came from behind him. "Move away! Don't disturb His Lordship!" The guard grew nervous too and hurried over, intending to restrain Ling Yu.
"I have something important to report to His Majesty! This is a matter of great importance!" Ling Yu shouted toward the carriage.
"Shut up!" The guard grew even more nervous and looked toward the carriage.
The carriage did indeed stop. The curtain on its side was drawn aside, and a middle-aged man with a handsome, square face and a warm complexion leaned out, looking at Ling Yu without a word.
"This is my Spirit Hall certificate. I mean no harm!" Ling Yu hurriedly bowed as he spoke. In truth, he was a little worried that accosting a high-ranking noble like this might get him seized before he could even speak. However, the information he had gathered said Xue Cheng had a gentle disposition and was one of the rare friendly members of the imperial family.
Xue Cheng nodded. A figure instantly appeared before Ling Yu and took his Spirit Hall certificate.
There really is a Soul Master protecting him. Ling Yu's thoughts stirred.
Xue Cheng's pupils shifted as he took the certificate and read through it. It recorded Ling Yu's origins, the dates on which he had collected gold coins, and his level.
He was from the Heaven Dou Empire. He had last collected gold coins more than half a year ago, when he was level nineteen and nine years old.
"Take him into the reception room." With that, Xue Cheng lowered the curtain, and the carriage continued forward.
Ling Yu breathed a sigh of relief. The guard gave him a somewhat surprised look, then obeyed the order, bringing him into the reception room and serving fragrant tea.
After a while, Xue Cheng came in with others.
"Speak. What do you have to report to His Majesty?"
"I need to demonstrate my Martial Soul Possession." As Ling Yu finished speaking, he willed it, activating Martial Soul Possession. In an instant, a figure appeared in front of Xue Cheng to protect him.
Then everyone in the reception room looked shocked. Two Soul Rings were nothing unusual, but what was remarkable was that the second one was purple.
"This...?"
"How did you do it?" Xue Cheng shot to his feet.
"This is what I wish to report to His Majesty." Ling Yu bowed.
Xue Cheng looked conflicted, his brows slightly furrowed as his fingertips unconsciously rubbed the hem of his clothes. He instinctively worried that the boy was an assassin, but what major power would be willing to sacrifice a genius so young whose second ring was already a thousand-year one?
"I'll take you to see His Majesty!" After a long while, Xue Cheng spoke slowly.
Ling Yu breathed a sigh of relief and followed him out.
He was then brought to a luxurious room in the imperial palace to wait.
After a long while, several attendants entered and bowed to him. "Are you Lord Ling Yu?"
Looks like there are no problems now, Ling Yu silently thought.
"Yes."
The attendants raised their heads and said, "His Majesty wishes to see you, but palace rules require that you bathe and change before proceeding to the inner hall, Lord Ling Yu."
Ling Yu felt embarrassed. He knew this was a pretext for a security inspection, but he was still not used to having others attend to him while he bathed.
"Could you go outside while I bathe?"
"Well... palace rules don't allow that, but we can have palace maids attend to your bath instead."
"No, no, no. Never mind, then."
"Lead the way." Ling Yu scratched his head, looking embarrassed.
After going through the process, Ling Yu looked at himself in the mirror. His moon-white robe was adorned with subtle pale-gold patterns, with broad sleeves and a fitted waist. His bearing was gentle without losing its backbone, and the fine clothes made him look elegant and distinguished. He felt a little as though he were floating. I look pretty handsome, he thought.
"When you meet His Majesty shortly, do not raise your head. Wait until His Majesty gives you permission before doing so."
While helping Ling Yu change, the attendants also explained some etiquette.
"All right. Thank you all for telling me."
"We wouldn't dare accept your thanks. Please, there is no need to be so courteous, Lord Ling Yu."
They then led Ling Yu toward the inner hall. He followed the leading attendant the whole way with his gaze lowered.
The deep inner hall was vast and empty. Even footsteps struck echoes from it, and its chilly silence made one afraid to speak.
"We're here." The attendant spoke in an extremely low voice, then paused briefly before leaving.
"Raise your head." A voice carrying a slight weight of age came from above.
Ling Yu slowly raised his head. An elderly man with white hair and beard sat on the imperial throne, looking vigorous and alert. A young man and a middle-aged man attended him at his side, both resembling him, while Xue Cheng stood nearby.
These must be Xue Ye, Xue Qinghe, and Xue Xing, Ling Yu silently thought.
"Release your Soul Rings for me to see," Xue Ye said evenly. Ever since Xue Cheng had told him about the Thousand-Year Soul Ring, he had yet to calm down, but he could still keep it from showing.
With a thought, Ling Yu instantly activated Martial Soul Possession. Two Soul Rings rippled into view. The purple that should have occupied the third ring instead appeared on the second, moving everyone present.
"How... did you do it?" When the thousand-year second ring truly appeared before him, even Xue Ye was shaken.
Xue Qinghe and Xue Xing also found it somewhat hard to believe. Had the Soul Ring's fluctuations not remained unchanged, they would have suspected they were in an illusion.
Ling Yu bowed, then began to tell the story he had made up-
"When I went to the Frozen Forest intending to hunt for my second ring, my admiration for the splendor of the sea led me to visit Vast Sea City along the way."
"During the carriage ride, I heard a fellow traveler tell a story. There had once been an orphan in a nearby fishing village who, driven by hunger, searched a rotting whale carcass for something to eat. Afterward, he suddenly gained boundless strength and even defeated a sea soul beast."
"This immediately made me think of something found in whale soul beasts that can endure without rotting-whale rubber."
At the mention of whale rubber, all four people present instantly wore strange expressions, but they still did not interrupt Ling Yu's account.
"At that moment, a flash of inspiration crossed my mind-if the story was true, could it be that we had been eating it the wrong way?"
These words immediately set Xue Ye and the others thinking. Judging by Ling Yu's condition, it seemed he had found the correct way to eat it.
"So you found the correct way to consume whale rubber?" Xue Qinghe could barely contain himself.
Ling Yu gave him a somewhat surprised look. "I am Xue Qinghe, the current crown prince." Thinking Ling Yu did not know who he was, Xue Qinghe hurriedly introduced himself.
"Yes, Your Highness." Ling Yu bowed and continued.
"Since eating it normally doesn't strengthen the body like that, then suppose I were that orphan and took something that looked edible from a rotting whale carcass. What would I do?"
"Wash it clean, then roast it to eat."
"So after arriving in Vast Sea City, I found a piece of ordinary whale rubber and roasted it over a hot fire."
"Sure enough, the whale rubber gave off a peculiar fragrance. After eating it, I quickly noticed that my physical constitution had grown stronger."
"That is the secret of the thousand-year second ring."
When Ling Yu finished speaking, the hall fell silent for a time.