Blue Silver Grass's First Cry

On the afternoon of the fifteenth day of the experiment.

Lu Yuan sat in the shade at the corner of the backyard wall. He had just finished a set of Stance training, and his breathing had yet to settle, but he had already summoned Blue Silver Grass in his palm.

Perhaps the exercise had stirred his Qi and blood, making his Soul Power flow more smoothly than usual. Perhaps, after more than ten consecutive days of stimulation, a buildup of quantity had reached a critical point. Or perhaps it was just a coincidence.

He controlled a thread of Soul Power and gently swept it across a leaf at a frequency he had discovered over the past few days, one that seemed slightly more likely to produce "resonance." At the same time, with his other hand, he precisely placed a tiny drop of purified Starlight Dew Vine liquid, which he had prepared beforehand, where the leaf veins met.

In that instant, the Soul Power fluctuations and the liquid's energy seemed to fall into a strange synchronization.

Lu Yuan focused his full attention.

Then he "saw" it.

Not with his eyes. It was a "scene" perceived through his Soul Power.

Inside one leaf of the ever-limp Blue Silver Grass phantom, near its tip, an extremely fine energy channel that had been dim and blocked seemed to receive a gentle tap.

Immediately afterward, a pale blue fluorescence, so faint it was almost imperceptible, flashed for an instant at the tip of the leaf.

It truly flashed only once.

Its brightness was like the most distant firefly on a summer night, and it lasted so briefly that one might have suspected it was an illusion. In less than a second, the glow went out, and the tip returned to pale green, without any visible change.

But Lu Yuan knew it was no illusion.

His Soul Power probe had clearly captured the energy released in that instant. It was weak and fleeting, but its nature... was different from both the Soul Power he had injected and the Starlight Dew Vine liquid. It was a more "restrained," more "concentrated" light.

It was an extremely faint expression of the Blue Silver Grass's own Soul Power, brought out by the stimulation.

He froze in place, holding his breath. The Blue Silver Grass phantom lay quietly in his palm, as though that fleeting glimpse of light had never appeared.

The courtyard was quiet. A rooster crowed in the distance, and wild grass rustled in the wind.

Lu Yuan slowly released the breath he had held for so long. He lowered his head and looked at the still-unremarkable little grass in his palm. For the first time, a nearly scorching light shone in his unusually calm eyes.

Although it was as faint as a dying candle in the wind.

The light had shone, after all.

He did not immediately make another attempt. Instead, he withdrew his Martial Soul, stood up, and patted the dirt from his trouser legs.

I can't be greedy.

In that instant, he had used far more Soul Power than usual. A faint sense of weakness came from deep within his body. The feedback from the Blue Silver Grass itself also indicated that this "activation" was extremely fragile. Forcing repeated stimulation in quick succession would very likely damage the energy channel that had only just loosened a fraction.

He walked back into the room and closed the door. Sitting down at the small table, he pulled out a charcoal pencil and some rough paper.

Date: fifteenth day of the experiment.

Phenomenon: spontaneous pale blue fluorescence observed at the leaf tip, lasting approximately 0.7 seconds. Brightness level: extremely faint. Soul Power consumption: approximately three times that of a usual single stimulation. Accompanied by mild mental fatigue.

Possible causes: 1. increased Soul Power activity after physical exercise; 2. cumulative effect of continuous low-frequency stimulation; 3. brief resonance achieved between the Soul Power fluctuation frequency and the injection of energy from the liquid.

He stopped writing and tapped his fingertips gently on the table.

Resonance.

The word sprang out of his memory bank. Energy waves of different frequencies, superimposed under specific conditions, produced stronger or more distinctive effects. In that instant, his Soul Power fluctuations, the energy properties of the Starlight Dew Vine liquid, and some dormant "rhythm" within the Blue Silver Grass might have happened to coincide.

It was largely a coincidence. Whether it could be reproduced needed to be verified.

He needed more data. More precise control.

But for now, his resources were only enough to maintain the status quo. He had little Starlight Dew Vine liquid left, his Soul Power was growing slowly, and his physical foundation was still too weak.

Consolidate first. He made his decision.

Over the next few days, Lu Yuan adjusted the pace of his experiments. He performed "deep stimulation" only twice a day, choosing early morning and evening, when his body was in its best condition. At other times, he continued basic Soul Power nourishment and frequency exploration, but reduced the intensity, focusing mainly on observation and recording.

No second point of fluorescence appeared on the Blue Silver Grass.

Lu Yuan was not disappointed. He had never expected to succeed in one leap. That flash was like feeling the first wall in a dark maze: although he still did not know the way out, it at least proved that the "wall" existed.

His records grew increasingly detailed. The stone slab was covered in symbols and curves that only he could understand.

Lu Qinghe noticed the change in his son. It was not that his behavior was much different: he was still quiet and spent most of his time in his room or the backyard. But occasionally, Lu Qinghe saw his son hold out his palm and stare into empty space, his gaze frighteningly focused.

Once, he could not help asking, "Little Yuan, why do you keep looking at your hand?"

Lu Yuan lowered his hand, his tone calm. "I'm practicing Soul Power control. Father, how are you feeling today?"

The subject was easily changed. Lu Qinghe scratched his head. "Not bad. That 'vortex' is turning more steadily now. It's just... I still get hungry fast."

"Mm." Lu Yuan nodded. "Your Soul Power's active now, so it consumes more. Hang on a while longer. I'll find a way."

He did not say exactly what way. Lu Qinghe did not press him, either. Father and son had an understanding: some things did not need to be spelled out.

The days passed one by one. Lu Yuan carefully buried the Soul Condensing Grass seeds in a corner of the backyard and surrounded them with a small ring of broken roof tiles. He watered them a little every day, but did nothing else to them. He was waiting, waiting for the right time and for a few more resources to come into his hands.

His dealings with Shopkeeper Liu remained steady. Three bowls of soup brought them grain and salt. Lin Xiu had a healthier complexion, and she held herself a little straighter when she worked.

Everything was slowly climbing uphill.

Until the evening of the twenty-second day after the experiment began.

Lu Yuan finished his last session of nourishment and was about to withdraw his Martial Soul when the Blue Silver Grass in his palm suddenly trembled.

It was not a flash at the leaf tip. The entire phantom rippled slightly, like a candle flame stirred by the wind.

Immediately afterward, an extremely weak but clearly perceptible pull came from the core of the Blue Silver Grass.

It was actively absorbing the Soul Power drifting freely in its surroundings.

It was slow, so slow it could almost be ignored. But it was completely different from its previous stagnant, passive state.

Lu Yuan's heart gave a sudden thump.

He maintained his Soul Power output and sensed it carefully. The pull lasted for about ten breaths, then gradually weakened and subsided. The Blue Silver Grass phantom looked no different, but Lu Yuan could feel that the energy node at its core, which had always been dim, seemed... a tiny bit brighter.

Truly only a tiny bit. Like a dusty pearl with a trace of dust wiped away.

He slowly withdrew his Soul Power, opened his palm, and looked at the little grass.

Dusk closed in on all sides, and the room was dim. The pale green phantom of the Blue Silver Grass glowed faintly in his palm, seeming just a fraction more substantial than before.

Lu Yuan watched it for a long time.

Then he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly let it out.

The road is still long. But I've planted this first step firmly.

His mother called him to dinner from outside the window. Lu Yuan answered, put away his Martial Soul, and pushed the door open.

At the dinner table, the porridge was thicker than usual, and there were a few extra drops of oil in the pickled vegetables. Lin Xiu placed a chopstickful of vegetables in her son's bowl and said softly, "Eat a little more."

Lu Yuan nodded and ate quietly.

Lu Qinghe shovelled down a few mouthfuls, then suddenly looked up. "Oh, right. Shopkeeper Liu mentioned today that Old Chen's son, over at the east end of town, seems to have failed his Martial Soul Awakening. He's kicking up quite a fuss."

Lin Xiu sighed. "What a tragedy. That child's always had such high aspirations."

Lu Yuan's chopsticks paused, but he said nothing.

Failing Martial Soul Awakening. In this world, it was the same as being given another kind of death sentence.

He thought of the Blue Silver Grass in his palm, of that faint point of light.

Knowledge is a key. But a key can open more than just my own lock.

The thought flashed through his mind, and he pushed it back down into his heart. It was still too early. He had not even fully picked his own lock yet.

But the seed had already been planted.

Deep into the night, Lu Yuan lay on his wooden plank bed without going to sleep immediately. He opened his right hand and gave a slight thought.

Blue Silver Grass appeared, giving off a faint, gentle green light in the darkness.

He gazed at that light until his eyelids grew heavy and slowly closed.

There were no complex formulas or models in his dream. Only a blade of grass, stubbornly shining with a faint glimmer in the endless darkness.

The light was weak, but it never went out.