The Price and the Answer
Deacon Han didn't arrive until the morning of the fourth day.
They waited a day longer than the agreed three days. He didn't explain, and Lu Yuan didn't ask. The two met again under the crooked tree at the edge of the Old Crow Ridge forest. This time, Deacon Han was followed by a follower in a gray cloth outfit, who stood at a distance.
"There's a reply from above." Deacon Han cut to the chase, pulling a flat copper box from his robes. He opened it, revealing a thin sheet of paper stamped with a dark red seal. He didn't hand it over, but instead unfolded it for Lu Yuan to see. "The conditions you proposed, regarding the Cloud Mist Sect... in principle, are acceptable."
Lu Yuan's gaze swept over the paper. The wording was very official, roughly meaning, "If it is verified that members of the Cloud Mist Sect have unjustly and seriously injured civilian Soul Master within the Empire's territory, the Inspection Office will investigate according to law, impartially and without bias." The seal read, "Approved by the Seventh Archives Room of the Star Luo Empire Inspection Office."
A stamp from an archive.
Deacon Han closed the copper box, his voice low. "I can't give you this. But just keep it in mind." He glanced left and right. "As long as things don't escalate too much, the chain of evidence is solid, pointing to the Cloud Mist Sect striking first, and the other party's identity is indeed a 'commoner Soul Master '... the Inspection Office can slow down the investigation, and the evidence collection can be a little 'oversighted.' Even, if the other party resists fiercely, and the officers are 'forced' to take some unconventional measures to stop them, as long as there's no large-scale riot or loss of important figures, it's all manageable."
He put it very bluntly.
Lu Yuan understood. This was tacit approval, but also a boundary.
"And the price?" Lu Yuan asked.
"The price?" Deacon Han smiled, a complex expression on his face. "This 'understanding' has a time limit. Moreover, it's based on 'potential future cooperation.'" He took a half-step forward, his voice even softer, "Young Lu, the person behind me is very interested in your training method. But he doesn't want a one-off deal; he wants a long-term, controllable 'improvement plan' that can be integrated into the Imperial system. Do you understand?"
Lu Yuan nodded.
"Three days from now, here again." Deacon Han stepped back, adjusting his cuffs. "Give me your final answer. To cooperate or not to cooperate. If we cooperate, how will we cooperate? Where are the boundaries? Write it all down in black and white. If we don't cooperate..." He didn't finish his sentence, giving Lu Yuan a deep look.
Lu Yuan understood the meaning in those eyes.
Deacon Han left with his entourage.
Lu Yuan stood there for a while, his fingers unconsciously tracing the rough bark of the tree. He thought of the scar on his father's back, and the silent faces of everyone in the mine.
He turned and walked back.
The largest cavern deep within the mine tunnels had been cleared. Two more Soul Guidance Lamp were lit, providing just enough light. Lu Qinghe sat leaning against a stone platform covered with dry grass, his face sallow, but his eyes were open. Shen Moxin sat on a low stool beside him, holding a notebook. Mo Chen squatted in a corner, fiddling with metal parts, making a clicking sound. Lin Xiao stood with his back against the stone wall, arms crossed. Su Yan and Li Wangye sat side by side near the cave entrance, their backs straight.
Mr. Wen went to find out what was going on.
Lu Yuan walked in, and all eyes fell on him.
He didn't beat around the bush and repeated Deacon Han's reply verbatim, every word clear.
After he finished speaking, the cave became so quiet that the faint sound of the parts rubbing together in Mo Chen's hands could be heard.
Shen Moxin spoke first. She adjusted her glasses. "So, they can turn a blind eye to revenge against the Cloud Mist Sect. But the prerequisite is that we agree to cooperate, and the cooperation method must meet the requirement of 'long-term controllability.'" She paused, "This means that our core theoretical framework, the final interpretation of our training methods, and even the future whereabouts of our personnel could be gradually infiltrated, influenced, or even taken over."
Mo Chen pressed the gear in his hand heavily into the groove, making a crisp "click" sound. "To put it bluntly, they just want to recruit us. Give us some sweet treats, and they'll make us their lackeys, exclusively breeding their offspring." He scoffed, "The people they train will have refined Soul Power control and improved physical fitness, but then what? Go to be spies for the Empire? As assassins? Or be used as expendable resources in the border armies?"
"At least we can survive," Lin Xiao suddenly said. His voice wasn't loud, but everyone could hear him clearly. "In this situation, we're constantly on the run, resources are scarce, and we have to be wary of the Cloud Mist Sect and the Shadow Guards. Cooperation can buy us breathing room, resources, and a temporarily safe territory." He licked his canine teeth, his eyes sharply fixed on Lu Yuan. "But as Mr. Shen said, the price is that our 'path' might be led astray. In the end, it's hard to say whether those who succeed will truly be driven by 'breaking the Shackles ' or 'imperial glory'."
Su Yan and Li Wangye remained silent. Su Yan lowered her head, drawing circles on her knee with her fingers. Li Wangye stared at the ground, his lips pressed together until they were pale.
Lu Qinghe, who had been silent all along, coughed twice.
The sound wasn't loud, but it completely silenced the cave.
He slowly raised his hand and waved it, indicating that he wanted to sit up straight. Shen Moxin helped him up. Lu Qinghe steadied himself and his gaze slowly swept over each young face, finally landing on Lu Yuan.
His face was deeply wrinkled, but his eyes held a depth of understanding born from having experienced life and death.
"Little Yuan," he began, his voice hoarse, but each word was enunciated clearly, "You saved my life. I didn't have much education, I don't understand those grand principles, what empires, sects, ideologies... I don't understand them."
He took a breath.
"Your father only acknowledges one thing. The reason we're all gathered here, the reason we've climbed out of seemingly insurmountable obstacles time and time again, isn't because of anyone's charity, or because of any powerful backer." He raised his calloused and scarred hand, clenched his fist, then released it. "It's because we forged this path ourselves, one punch at a time, bit by bit, through trial and error, hard work. We've stumbled and bled along this path, but it has truly allowed your father to break through the bottleneck that had held him for fifteen years, and allowed children like Su Yan and Wangye to see possibilities they never dared to imagine before."
He looked at Lu Yuan, his gaze steady.
"Only when you hold this path in your own hands can you walk with peace of mind. If you hand it over to someone else, no matter how good the conditions are, you'll still feel uneasy." After Lu Qinghe finished speaking, he coughed a few times, leaned against the stone platform, and closed his eyes.
But his words struck everyone's heart like a stone.
Mo Chen stopped fiddling with the parts. Lin Xiao lowered his arms. Shen Moxin looked down at the notebook, her fingertips tracing the edges of the pages. Su Yan and Li Wangye looked up.
Lu Yuan stood in the center of the cave, feeling the weight of those gazes.
He recalled the manuscripts that had been shelved in his previous life. He recalled the theoretical framework he had painstakingly built up in the backyard of Maple Leaf Town in this life. He recalled the faint light in his father's eyes when he broke through, the tightly pursed lips of Su Yan after completing the precise operation, and the rebellious yet yearning look in Lin Xiao's eyes when he broke free from his family.
These fragments, pieced together, do not form a single weapon.
Rather, it is a Core Flame. Fragile, yet determined to burn.
He walked to the pile of coal in the center of the cave, which was now just dark red embers, squatted down, and picked up a half-burnt piece of charcoal.
He turned around and drew a circle on the relatively flat stone slab behind him. Then, he drew an even larger concentric circle around the outer edge of the first circle.
"Cooperation with the Empire," Lu Yuan began, his voice low but clear, "Is negotiable."
The expressions on everyone's faces shifted slightly.
"But it must be an equal, limited, and clearly defined collaboration." He drew a clear line between the concentric circles with charcoal. "We can provide 'customized' training services—limited to the most basic Soul Power manipulation, physical enhancement, and specific mission adaptability training—in exchange for the supplies and intelligence we desperately need, as well as temporary, limited shelter."
"The charcoal is lit on the small circle inside." "But the core theoretical framework, the research direction of Martial Soul Evolution, and the final interpretation and iteration rights of the training methods must remain here, in our own hands. The people we train can be selected and hired by the Empire, but they must first and foremost be believers and practitioners of the ' Spark ' ideology; they cannot become mindless cogs, much less private soldiers."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over Shen Moxin, Mo Chen, and Lin Xiao.
"More importantly, we cannot stop here."
The charcoal moved towards the outer large circle, slowly tracing an arc.
"Hiding and hiding is not a long-term solution. Relying on others, even with limited cooperation, is like drinking poison to quench thirst. We need our own 'roots,' a place where we can conduct research, teach, and pass on our knowledge in peace, and a place where we can protect ourselves and our 'path.'"
He used charcoal to write two words on the blank space of the slate: Academy.
The strokes were crooked, and charcoal powder fell in a flurry.
"This place, this underground mine tunnel, is the starting point." Lu Yuan's voice rose slightly, carrying a calm yet firm tone. "We will renovate, expand, and reinforce it. We will build the original ' Spark Academy' —no, it may not even deserve the title of 'Academy' yet; perhaps it can only be called the ' Spark Lecture Hall '."
He looked at Su Yan and Li Wangye. "Attract and cultivate those Soul Master who truly identify with our ideals and refuse to be bound by their birth and innate destiny, regardless of whether they awaken an Iron Hammer or Blue Silver Grass, or whether their Innate Soul Power is level one or half a level. Start by teaching them the most basic understanding of the essence of Soul Power, analysis of Martial Soul characteristics, and principles of physical training. Don't cramming; let them learn to think about 'why'."
He looked at Mo Chen. "Mo Chen's workshop needs to be integrated. It's not just about repair and manufacturing, but also about researching how to transform theory into practical objects."
He looked at Shen Moxin. "Mr. Shen's database and teaching methods are the framework. We need a systematic curriculum, mentors who can teach according to students' aptitudes, and we need to reorganize and verify the basic knowledge that the sects have hidden away, turning it into a ladder that everyone can access."
He finally looked towards the cave entrance. "We need intelligence support, we need medical logistics, we need everything that can keep this 'lecture hall' alive and growing. What we need is not just temporary safety, but..."
Lu Yuan stopped and gently placed the charcoal in his hand on the stone slab.
"Sowing."
Only the faint hissing sound of the Soul Guidance Lamp burning remained in the cave.
The firelight flickered, reflecting on the two charcoal-black characters on the stone slab and on everyone's faces.
Behind Shen Moxin's glasses, a focused and fervent light gradually shone in her eyes. Mo Chen stared at those two words, his fingers trembling unconsciously. Lin Xiao's lips twitched, a sharp glint of belonging appearing in his usual arrogance. Su Yan and Li Wangye exchanged a glance, straightening their backs even more.
Even Lu Qinghe, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them at some point. Gazing at the words "Academy," the deep wrinkles on his face slowly smoothed out.
Lu Yuan looked at the faces illuminated by the firelight, their eyes gradually igniting with a similar light.
He knew that this path was destined to be more difficult than accepting the empire's olive branch.
But he also knew that some Core Flame, once they decide the direction in which they burn, are difficult to incorporate into any predetermined lamp.
He bent down and picked up the still-warm piece of charcoal from the ground.
Under the word "School Palace", a horizontal and firm horizontal line was slowly drawn.
It's like laying the foundation.
It's also like setting sail.