Zhao Shi's Probe

The experiments continued that afternoon.

He adjusted the waveform of his Soul Power output, trying a gentler penetration instead of resonant stimulation. The Blue Silver Grass showed no response, and the Soul Power vanished like a clay ox sinking into the sea.

He recorded it and marked it "ineffective stimulus type one."

He tried increasing the clear liquid's concentration to eight to one. The veins of the Blue Silver Grass twisted slightly, and the central point of light flickered violently before dimming. It had suffered a shock.

He stopped immediately and marked it "overload stimulus, risk of damage."

Two failures had consumed quite a bit of Soul Power. Weakness washed over him, and a dull ache throbbed at his temples. He stopped and sat cross-legged to regulate his breathing.

That was how experiments went. Success was chance; failure was the norm. But with each failure, if he recorded it clearly and ruled out the wrong option, he came one step closer to the answer.

At dusk, Lu Qinghe returned from work. He was especially tired, but there was a suppressed excitement in his eyes.

After dinner, Lin Xiu washed the bowls while Lu Qinghe pulled his son into the room and lowered his voice. "When I cultivated today, the 'vortex' spun differently."

Lu Yuan's heart stirred. "How so?"

"It was heavier." Lu Qinghe gestured. "Before, it floated there. It spun, sure, but it was insubstantial. Today, it felt like it sank a little, settling against the bottom of my dantian. There was real strength behind its spin."

He paused, lowering his voice further. "And I got hungry especially fast. I finished the flatbread I took with me for lunch before midday, and I nearly ran out of strength working in the afternoon."

Lu Yuan listened carefully, analyzing it quickly.

The Soul Power vortex was "heavier" and "more substantial." That could mean an improvement in Soul Power quality and stronger control. The increased hunger indicated that the body was actively demanding more energy to support the circulation and growth of Soul Power.

It was a good sign. The Basic Activation Method was continuing to work. His father's body and Soul Power, dormant for fifteen years, were being awakened again.

"Dad, that's a good thing," Lu Yuan said seriously. "But remember, if you feel you can't keep going, stop right away. Don't force it. Eat a little more every day, and don't skimp."

Lu Qinghe nodded. "I know." He looked at his son and hesitated. "Little Yuan, how's your grass... doing?"

Lu Yuan opened his hand, and Blue Silver Grass appeared.

In the dim room, the illusory grass leaves gave off a faint, soft green light. It was weak, but they really were glowing.

Lu Qinghe's eyes widened. He stared for a long while before murmuring, "It... it really is glowing."

"Mm." Lu Yuan put away his Martial Soul. "It'll still take time."

Late at night.

Lu Yuan lay on the plank bed, staring at the roof beams in the darkness.

Today's experiments had failed twice and succeeded once. His father had made new progress in cultivation. The family's porridge had gotten a little thicker. Shopkeeper Liu was still probing. A child at the east end of town had failed the Martial Soul Awakening, and their life had practically been handed a death sentence.

Countless pieces of information flowed through his mind, colliding and falling into categories.

He rolled over to face the wall and spoke silently in the darkness:

Phenomenon confirmed.

Inference: Martial Souls possess a "basic response threshold" and an "optimal stimulation range."

Next-stage objective: stabilize the phenomenon and attempt to give it a basic functional direction.

His voice was very soft, fading into the night.

He closed his eyes and sank into a deep sleep.

Outside the window, a few stars dotted the sky, and a waning moon hung over the distant mountains. Maple Leaf Town slept in silence.

Only inside the window of the Lu family's little house, an extremely faint glimmer belonging to Blue Silver Grass seemed to linger.

The light was weak, but it stubbornly shone on.

Like a seed beneath frozen earth, it had quietly pushed open a tiny crack in its hard shell in darkness no one knew.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Three unhurried knocks sounded at the courtyard gate.

Lu Qinghe had just returned from work and was scooping water to wash his face. His hand shook at the sound. The wooden gate was old, and through a crack he could glimpse a corner of a gray-blue robe. His heart lurched.

He opened the gate. Zhao Shi stood outside, a round-faced man who always wore a smile. His gray-blue robe was crisply starched, and the one-ring badge on his chest gleamed.

"Brother Lu." Zhao Shi smiled as he swept his gaze over the courtyard. "Routine business. I'm checking on the Soul Masters' progress in town."

Lu Qinghe stepped aside to let him in, his throat dry. "Deacon Zhao."

Zhao Shi paced about as if on an inspection. His gaze fell on the freshly turned earth in the corner. The ridges were neat and had just been watered, and a few drooping shoots poked out of them.

"Growing something?" He crouched and rubbed some soil between his fingers. "This soil... isn't very fertile. What did you plant?"

"Soul Condensing Grass," Lu Qinghe answered honestly. "The child got hold of some seeds and wanted to play around with them."

"Soul Condensing Grass?" Zhao Shi raised his eyebrows. "That stuff is delicate, hard to keep alive. Does your family have spare money for that?"

There was a hook in his words.

Lu Qinghe's throat tightened. He didn't know how to answer. At the kitchen doorway, Lin Xiu clutched her apron, her face pale.

Zhao Shi stood, dusted off his hands, and studied Lu Qinghe closely. "You're looking well, more spirited than last year." He stepped half a pace closer and lowered his voice. "Made progress in your cultivation?"

Lu Qinghe's back stiffened. He recalled his son's warning: Don't tell anyone. Not a soul.

"No, no." He shook his head. "Same as always. Still stuck."

"Oh?" Zhao Shi's smile didn't change, but his gaze deepened. "Yet it seems to me your Soul Power fluctuations are much steadier. You've been stuck at level nineteen for more than ten years, and suddenly they're steady... there must be a reason, right?"

His tone grew gentler, like a blunt knife cutting flesh. "Did you get hold of some folk remedy? Or did you encounter a fortuitous opportunity? Tell your big brother about it."

Sweat appeared at Lu Qinghe's temples. His mind went blank.

As he stood there frozen, the curtain over the west room's doorway lifted.

Lu Yuan walked out. He had been recording data in the room and had put down his pen when he heard the commotion. Now he stood beneath the eaves, his face expressionless.

"Dad, the water jar needs filling." His voice was flat.

Lu Qinghe paused, then hurriedly answered, "Right, I'll go now."

Zhao Shi turned and looked at Lu Yuan. He remembered the boy: mutated Blue Silver Grass, innate half-level Soul Power. At the time, he had sighed inwardly. The old Lu family's child was done for.

But the boy before him stood straight, his eyes clear and bright, without the slightest sign of shrinking back.

Something wasn't right.

"Little Yuan, isn't it?" Zhao Shi put on a smile again. "You've grown a little taller. What have you been doing at home lately?"

"Learning characters, helping with the work." Lu Yuan answered briefly and took a few steps forward, positioning himself directly in front of the patch of Soul Condensing Grass.

"It's good to learn characters." Zhao Shi nodded and asked as if in passing, "Your father's health seems much better. Do you know why?"

Lu Yuan looked up at him. His gaze was so still that Zhao Shi had trouble maintaining his smile.

"My dad works from dawn till dark every day, and he still skimps on food," Lu Yuan said slowly. "If I had to name something, maybe it's because he found a few old wild ginseng rootlets while gathering firewood a while back. We made soup with them and drank it twice."

Wild ginseng rootlets? Zhao Shi sneered inwardly. Their effect was negligible.

He showed none of it, instead speaking with concern. "That's good stuff! But could ginseng rootlets alone make his Soul Power fluctuations this steady?" He turned to Lu Qinghe, his tone growing more forceful. "Brother Lu, if your cultivation improves, the rules say you have to report it. If you conceal it... you'll be punished."

Lu Qinghe's face went pale.

But Lu Yuan spoke, his voice steady. "Deacon Zhao, I have a question."

"Mm?"

"If Soul Power fluctuations become steadier, but the level hasn't broken through, does that count as progress?"

The question stumped Zhao Shi. He frowned. "Stability is a foundation, but without a breakthrough, it doesn't count as substantive progress."

"Oh." Lu Yuan nodded. "Then my father's Soul Power is a little steadier, but he's still at level nineteen. According to the rules, he shouldn't need to make a special report, right?"

Zhao Shi was left speechless.

He stared at Lu Yuan. The boy spoke far too logically. Suppressing the strange feeling in his heart, he smiled and said, "That's true, but when something unusual happens, we still have to ask why. What if he takes a wrong path and harms his foundation?"

"Thank you for your concern, Deacon." Lu Yuan's tone was sincere. "My dad was just tired from work, so he rested a little better and ate a couple more bites at meals. If there really has to be a reason..."

He paused, his gaze clear. "Maybe it has something to do with the 'natural Soul Power sedimentation cycle'? I read about it on a torn page from an old book. When a Soul Master is stuck at a bottleneck for a long time, Soul Power deposits and purifies itself in the meridians. If the body and mind relax and nourishment is a little more sufficient, the activity of the deposited Soul Power is stimulated, making the fluctuations steadier. Of course, that's just nonsense from a book. I don't understand it either."

His explanation didn't let a drop of water through.

The smile froze on Zhao Shi's face. He had vaguely heard of the idea, but couldn't explain the details at all.

He gave two dry chuckles. "Heh, heh, reading is a good thing. But miscellaneous books aren't necessarily reliable."

"Yes," Lu Yuan replied, saying no more.

The courtyard fell quiet. The sun baked the ground hot.

Zhao Shi stood there for a moment, knowing he wouldn't get anything more out of them. He gave Lu Yuan a long look. The boy kept his eyes lowered, unnaturally quiet.

"All right, then." Zhao Shi patted Lu Qinghe on the shoulder. "Since you haven't broken through, we'll keep you registered at level nineteen. Cultivate well."

"Yes, thank you, Deacon."

Zhao Shi turned and walked out. At the gate, he looked back, his gaze sweeping over the Soul Condensing Grass seedlings and the courtyard before finally settling on Lu Yuan.

"Little Yuan," he said suddenly, "your Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass, right?"

"Yes."

"Blue Silver Grass may be weak, but it's still a Martial Soul. Sense it more often, and perhaps there'll be a change." Zhao Shi's tone was gentle. "If there's anything you don't understand, you can come to the Soul Master Hall and ask me."

"All right."

The gate closed. The footsteps gradually receded.

Lu Qinghe let out a long breath, his back soaked with sweat. Lin Xiu ran out, her face pale. "Is everything all right?"

"It's all right." Lu Qinghe shook his head and looked at his son.

Lu Yuan stood where he was, unmoving. Only when the footsteps outside the gate disappeared did he raise his eyes.

"Dad," he said, "if Deacon Zhao comes again, whatever he asks, pass it on to me."

Lu Qinghe's heart sank. "But he..."

"He's a deacon. He handles registration and has the authority to investigate abnormalities." Lu Yuan's tone was calm. "He's noticed the changes in our family. He came today to probe us."

"Then what do we do?"

"Keep doing what we've been doing." Lu Yuan turned and walked toward the room. "We just have to be more careful from now on."

He lifted the curtain and went inside. Sitting down, he tapped his index finger lightly on his knee.

Zhao Shi... a One-Ring Soul Master, the lowest-ranking deacon in the Soul Master Hall, yet he was a feeler of this small town's system.

They had gotten through today. But the seed of suspicion had been planted.

Lu Yuan opened his record book and wrote the date on a new page, adding a few small words beside it:

"External attention: low → medium. Observation required."

His pen hovered, then he added another line:

"Response: maintain the 'torn page from an old book' explanation; control the pace of improvement."

When he finished, he closed the book and looked out the window.

The courtyard wall was low, and he could see the town's drab rooftops in the distance.

The world was vast. Maple Leaf Town was small.

But even the smallest pond had undercurrents.