Seven Rings
On the morning of the third day after returning to the stone house, the seventh ring of the fetus fully developed.
Long Tian stood on the back slope, his six Soul Ring lighting up in succession, the Origin Return Pearl rotating steadily in the middle of his chest. The new core and the Light Core maintained a stable phase difference inside and outside the pearl, while the lingering aura of the Imperial Seal spread evenly along the entire Return to Origin path. He simultaneously pushed all his output into the predetermined position of the seventh ring, where there was originally only a blurry outline of fetal movement, like an unsolidified embryo. Under the combined force of the six rings, the outline of fetal movement gradually solidified from a blurry mist state, its edges becoming clear, like a casting being taken out of molten metal and cooling to take shape.
After about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the seventh Soul Ring steadily took shape below the sixth. Its color was deeper than the previous six, with a layer of dark gray undertone amidst the gold and black, gleaming with a dense metallic luster in the sunlight. The inner wall of the Soul Ring lacked the texture commonly seen in newly formed rings; the entire inner wall was as smooth as a mirror, as if it were a solid component cast in one piece, as smooth as a layer of newly solidified metal. Long Tian looked down as the seventh ring rose to the same level as the other six, forming a complete seven-ring array in his dantian.
The Dragon Shadow behind him changed in sync. After the Light Core formed the seventh ring, it completely connected with the Dragon Shadow's spine path. From the vertical line on its forehead to its tail, a continuous and uniform layer of light lit up the entire spine, spreading along the direction of the scales and covering the edge of each scale. The Dragon Shadow's wingspan was almost twice as wide as before, and the edges of the wing membranes had an additional layer of dark gray-gold edge in the same color as the seventh ring. Long Tian raised his right hand, and the Dragon Shadow simultaneously raised its right claw. The delay between the movements disappeared, as if the connection between the two had changed from wired to direct, synchronized.
After finishing his practice, he squatted at the top of the slope for a while, allowing the pulse of the new ring to circulate in his dantian on its own for a period of time. Only after confirming that its synchronization rate with the other six rings was stable did he stand up and walk down the slope. Yu Jin was packing his bundle by the well. When he saw him come down, he straightened up. The light from the dark gray bead shone through his collar in the sunlight, maintaining a stable brightness as it continued to circulate. He glanced at Long Tian, did not ask about the result, tied the bundle straps, squatted down to re-tie his boot laces, stood up, and walked to the threshold to wait for him.
When Long Tian entered the room, Shen Mo was already sitting at the table. A hand-drawn map of the city's defenses lay before him, a charcoal pencil between his fingers, marking several points along the edge of the map. Hearing Long Tian's footsteps, he looked up, placed the pencil on the table, and said, "The group of people dispatched by the Spirit Hall Elder Hall didn't withdraw after failing to find anything at the coastal observation post. They moved inland to patrol, ostensibly to inspect the Soul Master qualifications of local academies. Their actual route passed through Bluestone Town and Soul Hunting Town, and they're currently moving towards the Shrek Academy. Their objective is to investigate all records related to 'abnormal Soul Power '."
Long Tian sat down across the table, turned the simplified city defense map to look at the points Shen Mo had marked. Connecting those points formed an arc extending inland from the coast, and the arc indeed pointed to the area where Shrek Academy was located. After looking at it, he put the map back in its place and asked, "What did they find out?"
"We haven't found any record of you yet. Your name isn't in the student files at Shrek Academy, and the town's academy only registered an alias. But their patrol routes are continuously narrowing inwards, and sooner or later they'll reach the mountainous area around Stone House. Shen Qiu has already set up observation points on several main passes at the mountain pass, so we'll know in advance if the patrol team enters the mountains."
Long Tian sat at the table for a moment, then stood up and walked to the door. As he crossed the threshold, the Dragon Shadow rose from his back to above his shoulders, gleaming evenly in the sunlight. Its wingspan was wider than before, and its two heads and four eyes looked down from the rooftop. He stood at the doorway, gazing at the fork in the road, watching the direction of the official road in the distance for a while, then turned to Shen Mo inside and said, "No need to wait for them to enter the mountains. Before they reach the pass, I'll go to Shrek Academy and have Tang San completely erase the 'aliases' from the student files. Also, before the patrol team arrives, I'll update the town's registration with a complete external identity. If they can't find anything, they'll naturally move on to the next area."
Shen Mo stood up from the table, put away the sketch, tucked the charcoal pencil into his sleeve, walked to the door and stood next to him. "Do you know the manpower configuration of the patrol team?"
"Two people per group, three groups rotating. There's no captain-level or higher leader; the most capable is a fourth-ring vice-captain. I'll just take Yu Jin; there's no need for anyone else."