The Choice of the First Soul Ring

Over the next two days, Ning Buhui settled down to cultivate, barely stepping outside except for his three meals. By day, he reviewed what he had memorized in the library; at night, he entered the pagoda to cultivate. The vigor in his body, repeatedly tempered by Whale Rubber, had yet to settle completely. It was as though his muscles and bones had been steeped in warm water, supple yet resilient. He felt light on his feet when he walked, yet steadier than before.

Early on the third morning, a deacon came with a message, telling him to go to the side hall.

When Ning Buhui arrived, Bibi Dong was standing by the window. She had set aside her usual clothes today and changed back into her dark purple robe. Her long hair was neatly gathered, with only a few strands hanging beside her neck. Hearing his footsteps, she turned and looked him up and down.

"You look well."

"I've slept well and eaten plenty these past two days," Ning Buhui said.

"How's your physique?"

"I feel strong all over, and I've grown a little taller too."

Bibi Dong nodded, returned to her desk, and sat down, gesturing for him to take a seat as well. Ning Buhui didn't stand on ceremony. He sat upright in a chair before the desk. He knew that today's meeting was the final hurdle before his First Soul Ring was decided.

"How much do you know about your own Martial Soul?" Bibi Dong asked.

Ning Buhui thought for a moment. "On the day it awakened, a name appeared in my mind, almost like an instinct. I had a vague sense that it was called the Nine Hell Soul-Suppressing Pagoda. I don't know anything else yet."

"What else?"

"That's all," Ning Buhui said. "I just have a vague feeling that it's very similar to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. Since it mutated from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, it should follow the support path too."

As he spoke, his expression was normal and his gaze clear. He looked just like a child who had acquired a new treasure but had yet to figure out how it worked. He said nothing about the yin-yang twin fish, nothing about one ring granting two skills, and even less about the yin fish's control ability. His Martial Soul was far too unusual. He had never heard of a Martial Soul having inherited memories, much less containing a world of its own that could accelerate cultivation. He didn't even have his first Soul Ring yet. If he rushed to spill all his Martial Soul's secrets, he would be courting death.

Bibi Dong watched him for a few breaths but asked no further questions. She drew several sheets of paper from her desk, densely covered in writing, and pushed them toward him.

"This is the standard Soul Ring Configuration used by Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Soul Masters throughout the generations," she said. "Since your Martial Soul shares the same origin as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, you shouldn't stray too far from this range when hunting for your First Soul Ring. I've also screened the Soul Beasts for you. They're all suited to amplification-type tool Martial Souls. Take them back and read them. Ask me if there's anything you're unsure about."

Ning Buhui took the papers and read through them one page at a time. Everything was written in great detail, from the types of Soul Beasts and their age ranges to the possible effects of the Soul Skills they might produce. He read for the time it took half an incense stick to burn before slowly putting them down.

"Teacher." He looked up.

"Go on."

"The Soul Beasts listed here are suitable, but they aren't quite the direction I want most."

Bibi Dong said nothing, merely signaling with her eyes for him to continue.

Ning Buhui sat a little straighter. "I've read quite a few books in the library these past few days, along with some annotations left by our predecessors. One sentence made a deep impression on me: the marvel of a Soul Ring skill lies not in its great age, but in its compatibility. As Soul Beasts live longer, even those of the same species have different natures at different ages. So when choosing a ring, compatibility comes first, and age comes second."

Bibi Dong's expression shifted slightly, but she didn't interrupt.

"Although I don't know much about my Martial Soul," Ning Buhui said very slowly, as though weighing his words, "the pagoda itself is black and white, and it's surrounded by yin-yang twin fish. Could my Martial Soul have dual attributes? Yin and yang attributes. If that's the case, matching it with a Soul Beast that has only one attribute might not suit my Martial Soul very well."

He paused, then put forward the most crucial point. "So I want to hunt a dual-attribute Soul Beast."

The hall fell silent.

Bibi Dong didn't speak at once. She leaned back in her chair, tapping the edge of the desk ever so lightly with her fingers. Ning Buhui knew she was weighing his words. She could tell how much of what he had said was childish nonsense and how much was genuine insight. Ning Buhui didn't hurry her. He simply sat quietly, waiting for her to speak.

After quite a while, Bibi Dong said, "Have you already made a choice?"

"Yes," Ning Buhui said. "The Netherlight Butterfly."

He opened the small booklet he carried with him and turned to a page, handing it over. It contained information he had copied from the library, accompanied by a rough sketch he had drawn himself. The Netherlight Butterfly had both light and dark attributes, hid during the day and emerged at night, lived in groups, and scattered luminous powder when it flew. A line of small writing beside it noted: the light wing mainly amplifies; the dark wing mainly weakens.

"This Soul Beast can be found in Hundred Mist Valley to the southeast," Ning Buhui said. "I checked their ages. There aren't many Netherlight Butterflies over a thousand years old, but those between six hundred and a thousand years old can be found. I can withstand around two thousand years now, so I can choose one with a higher age."

Bibi Dong looked down at the drawing, then raised her eyes to him. "You really have done your homework."

"The foundation has already been laid. I can't go muddling through the choice of a Soul Ring," Ning Buhui said. "If you think it won't work, Teacher, I'll follow the list instead."

Bibi Dong was silent for a moment, then pressed the paper down on the desk. "You have a point. Hundred Mist Valley isn't too far away, a six-day journey. There are plenty of Soul Beasts there, and what you want is among them, but we might not necessarily encounter one. We'll go take a look first. If there's nothing suitable, we'll go with an alternative. There's no point wasting time."

"I'll leave everything to you, Teacher," Ning Buhui replied.

Bibi Dong gave him another look, her gaze unfathomably deep, as though she were reassessing the child. After a while, she waved a hand. "Go and prepare. We leave first thing tomorrow morning. You'll be the only one coming along; I'll arrange the rest of the party."

Ning Buhui rose, bowed, and withdrew.

The sunlight outside was pleasant. He stood beneath the covered walkway, turning his face up to the sun for a while as the tension in his heart slowly eased. At last, the matter of his First Soul Ring had truly been set in motion. The Netherlight Butterfly, with its light and dark attributes-he hoped it wouldn't disappoint him.

But he didn't celebrate too early. Hunting Soul Beasts was entirely a matter of luck. If their luck was bad and they couldn't find a suitable one, he could only settle for the next best thing. He would have to rely on Bibi Dong.

He didn't go out that afternoon, instead packing what he needed to bring. He took only one change of clothes, leaving the rest of the space for dry rations and water. When night came, Ning Buhui entered the Soul Suppressing Pagoda to cultivate as usual. The first floor was still shrouded in gray haze. He sat on the stone floor and silently went over the first level of Nine Orifices Heart Control once more, then closed his eyes and entered meditation.

At the first hint of dawn the next day, Ning Buhui left the quiet room with a small bundle on his back.

A carriage covered in blue cloth stood in the open space outside Pope Hall. Beside it stood two young men in gray-white fitted outfits. Both were unfamiliar faces, but their presence was steady; at a glance, they were clearly experts picked one in a hundred. Bibi Dong was already seated in the carriage. Ning Buhui stepped forward and bowed, then climbed quietly aboard and settled in a corner.

As the carriage curtain fell, he glanced through the gap at Pope Hall. Its white walls and golden roof appeared and disappeared in the morning mist, like a city floating in midair.

The carriage slowly began to move. He said nothing, simply holding his bundle against his chest as he organized the information he had recently studied in his mind.

He closed his eyes briefly and heard the wheels rumbling dully over the stone pavement.

What his First Soul Ring would turn out to be depended on this Soul Hunting Operation.