The carriage rolled steadily along the dirt road leading back to Xian City. The forest behind them gradually faded into the distance, but the oppressive aura Zhao Chen had unleashed earlier seemed to linger in Captain Yan's mind.
Captain Yan stole several glances at the teenager seated across from him. Zhao Chen sat upright, his breathing calm and even, as if he had not just accomplished something that shattered the common sense of the Azure World.
"Young Master…" Captain Yan finally spoke, his voice lower than usual. "From today onward, you must be extremely careful."
Zhao Chen opened his eyes and looked at him. "Careful because of the soul ring?"
"Careful because of people," Yan corrected grimly. "Cultivators fear monsters, but they fear geniuses even more. A purple ring as a first soul ring is enough to invite disaster if the wrong people find out."
Zhao Chen nodded. He had already come to the same conclusion.
"That is why," Zhao Chen said calmly, "what happened in the Dark Forest stays between us."
Captain Yan stared at him for a long moment, then clenched his fist and placed it over his chest. "On my martial soul, I swear silence."
Zhao Chen exhaled quietly. Having a veteran Soul Grandmaster on his side was invaluable—not only for strength, but also for discretion.
As the outline of Xian City's walls came into view, Zhao Chen turned his attention inward.
"System, display my current status."
A translucent blue screen unfolded within his mind.
[Host: Zhao Chen]
[Cultivation: Soul Apprentice Stage – Level 2]
[Martial Spirits:
Thorny Crawling Vine (Low-Tier, Evolvable)
Nine-Headed Hydra (God-Tier, Primordial)]
[Soul Rings:
Nine-Headed Hydra – 800-Year Abyssal Pit Viper (Purple)]
[Active Skill: Miasma of the Abyss]
Zhao Chen's eyes flickered slightly. He had advanced two levels immediately after absorbing the soul ring—a terrifying rate by normal standards. Most cultivators needed months, sometimes years, to stabilize after obtaining their first ring.
Yet his foundation felt incomparably solid.
"System," Zhao Chen thought, "why did my Thorny Crawling Vine not respond at all to the Hydra's soul ring?"
[Answer: The host currently possesses insufficient soul rings to activate resonance between twin martial spirits. Once the second soul ring is obtained, cross-spirit synergy may occur.]
"So the real growth starts after the second ring…" Zhao Chen murmured inwardly.
The carriage passed through the city gates without incident. News had not yet spread—at least not officially.
Zhao Feng was already waiting at the Zhao Family Manor's entrance.
The moment the carriage stopped, Zhao Chen stepped down. Zhao Feng immediately scanned his son from head to toe, his sharp merchant's eyes missing nothing. He felt it—the change. The subtle pressure in the air around Zhao Chen, restrained but unmistakable.
"You succeeded," Zhao Feng said quietly.
"Yes, Father."
Captain Yan stepped forward and cupped his fists. "The mission was successful. Young Master personally delivered the final strike."
Zhao Feng nodded in satisfaction. "You have my thanks, Captain Yan. The agreed compensation will be delivered tonight."
Captain Yan bowed deeply. "This one takes his leave."
Once the Soul Grandmaster departed, Zhao Feng turned back to his son and lowered his voice. "Inside. Now."
They entered the study room and shut the doors tightly.
Zhao Feng took a deep breath. "What level?"
"Soul Apprentice Stage," Zhao Chen replied. "Second level."
Zhao Feng froze.
"…Second?"
Zhao Chen did not elaborate further.
Silence filled the room.
After a long while, Zhao Feng laughed—softly, almost bitterly. "It seems… I truly underestimated my own son."
He looked at Zhao Chen with a mixture of pride and concern. "From this moment on, you are no longer just my heir. You are the Zhao Family's greatest asset—and its greatest liability."
"I understand," Zhao Chen replied without hesitation.
Zhao Feng walked to the window. "The Zhao Family is strong in Xian City, but weak beyond it. If outsiders discover your abnormal talent, we will not be able to protect you."
Zhao Chen's eyes hardened slightly. "Then I will become strong enough that protection is unnecessary."
Zhao Feng turned around and studied his son. For the first time, he felt that the boy standing before him was no longer someone he could guide with simple words.
"Very well," Zhao Feng said. "From today onward, you will no longer appear in public cultivation events. I will announce that you are focusing on business studies instead."
"That suits me," Zhao Chen agreed. "I need time."
Time—to grow, to stack soul rings, to understand the Nine-Headed Hydra, and to prepare for what lay beyond Xian City.
That night, Zhao Chen returned to his room and entered deep meditation.
Within his spiritual sea, the Nine-Headed Hydra coiled majestically, a single head crowned by a glowing purple ring. Its other eight heads remained dormant, but Zhao Chen could feel them—ancient, patient, waiting.
"System," Zhao Chen whispered internally, "what is the requirement to awaken the second head?"
[Requirement: Soul Master Stage. Attribute alignment required.]
A slow smile formed on Zhao Chen's lips.
"Soul Master… then that will be my next goal."
Outside his window, the lights of Xian City flickered peacefully.
Unaware.
That beneath its calm surface, a monster had already begun to grow.
***
Night enveloped the Zhao Family Manor in silence.
Inside his room, Zhao Chen sat cross-legged on the bed, his breathing slow and rhythmic. The faint outline of the Nine-Headed Hydra hovered within his spiritual sea, its single active head crowned by a deep purple soul ring that pulsed like a living heart.
Unlike earlier, Zhao Chen was not cultivating blindly.
He was studying his foundation.
"System," Zhao Chen thought calmly, "explain my current cultivation state in detail."
A familiar blue interface unfolded.
[Analyzing host cultivation…]
[Explanation commencing.]
[In the Azure World, cultivation advancement is determined by three core metrics:]
Soul Capacity – the amount of spiritual energy the soul can safely store
Soul Stability – resistance to backlash, soul shock, and mental erosion
Martial Spirit Compatibility – how efficiently soul energy converts into power
[Each breakthrough requires all three metrics to meet minimum thresholds.]
Zhao Chen's eyes narrowed slightly. This was more detailed than anything he had learned from the Zhao Family's manuals.
[Host status update:]
[Soul Capacity: Extremely High]
[Soul Stability: Abnormally High]
[Martial Spirit Compatibility:
Thorny Crawling Vine – Low
Nine-Headed Hydra – Perfect]
"So that's why…" Zhao Chen murmured.
The Nine-Headed Hydra was not just powerful—it was stabilizing him.
"Continue," Zhao Chen ordered.
[Soul Ring Rules Explanation…]
[Rule 1: A martial spirit must personally absorb its own soul ring.]
[Rule 2: Each martial spirit requires its own independent soul ring sequence.][Rule 3: A martial spirit without a soul ring cannot actively resonate.]
This confirmed Zhao Chen's earlier realization: The Thorny Crawling Vine was still incomplete.
[Rule 4: Twin Martial Spirits do not share soul rings.]
Zhao Chen nodded. If soul rings could be shared, twin spirits would have dominated history already.
[Rule 5: Resonance between twin martial spirits requires one of the following:
Both spirits possess at least one soul ring.
One spirit reaches Soul Master Stage or higher.
External system-grade interference.]
Zhao Chen's lips curved slightly.
"So resonance isn't impossible—just gated."
[Rule 6: Soul ring color reflects energy density, not absolute dominance.]
This was critical.
[Color classification:
White (10–99 years)
Yellow (100–999 years)
Purple (1,000–9,999 years)
Black (10,000+ years)]
[However, high-tier martial spirits may compress energy, producing higher-color rings at lower years.]
"So my 800-year ring appears purple because of the Hydra," Zhao Chen concluded.
[Correct.]
This explained why Captain Yan had nearly lost his mind upon seeing it.
Zhao Chen exhaled slowly.
The system wasn't just helping him grow—it was preventing fatal misunderstandings.
Most cultivators died not because they were weak, but because they didn't understand the limits of their own souls.
"Now," Zhao Chen said inwardly, "explain my recent advancement. I absorbed a soul ring—why did I advance two levels?"
[Answer: Normally, a first soul ring advances a cultivator by one level.]
[However, in the host's case:
Soul ring energy exceeded Mortal Soul limits
Excess energy was stabilized by God-Tier Martial Spirit
Energy overflow reinforced soul foundation instead of dispersing]
[Result: Forced advancement to Soul Apprentice Level 2.]
Zhao Chen clenched his fist slightly.
"So the Hydra didn't just give power… it prevented waste."
[Correct.]
This meant every future soul ring would push him further than normal cultivators, even at equal years.
Dangerous.
But also terrifyingly efficient.
Zhao Chen opened his eyes.
Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating the room.
"For now," Zhao Chen muttered, "the Thorny Crawling Vine remains ringless."
But that didn't mean it was useless.
He summoned it.
Thin, green-black vines emerged from his palm, sharper and tougher than before.
Though it had no soul ring, it had been bathed in overflow energy from the Hydra's breakthrough.
"System," Zhao Chen asked, "is passive strengthening possible without a soul ring?"
[Answer: Yes.]
[Explanation: Excess stabilized soul energy may reinforce dormant martial spirits.]
[Current Thorny Crawling Vine status:]
[Quality: Low-Tier → Approaching Mid-Tier threshold]
Zhao Chen's pupils shrank.
"So even without a ring… it's evolving."
[Hidden Trait Progress: Life-Seizing – 12% awakened.]
A slow, dangerous smile appeared on Zhao Chen's face.
"In that case," he said softly, "my second soul ring will not be ordinary."
The Thorny Crawling Vine would not take a weak, convenient ring.
It would take a ring that forces evolution.
Outside, Xian City slept peacefully.
Unaware that within a merchant family's manor, a cultivator was laying a foundation so solid that even fate would struggle to shake it.
***
Power, once stirred, never vanished without a trace.
High above Xian City, beyond the reach of mortal perception, faint ripples spread through the vast sea of spiritual energy that blanketed the land. They were weak—so subtle that even seasoned cultivators would dismiss them as nothing more than environmental disturbances.
But to certain existences, those ripples were unmistakable.
In a quiet hall far from Xian City, a crystal disc suspended in midair trembled faintly. An old man seated beneath it slowly opened his eyes, and the air around him seemed to grow colder the moment his gaze sharpened. He raised a hand, drawing intricate seals through the air, and the disc responded by projecting a blurred image of fluctuating light.
Purple.
Brief. Violent. And then forcibly suppressed.
The old man's brows knitted together. A fluctuation of that level should not have appeared within the boundaries of Xian City. More importantly, no sect or royal record had reported such an event.
"Interesting," he murmured. "Either someone made a mistake… or someone does not wish to be found."
He let the image dissipate and closed his eyes once more, committing the location to memory.
Elsewhere, within the vast halls of an academy that governed talent registration across multiple cities, rows of jade tablets stood silently against the walls. Each tablet represented a cultivator whose potential had been officially acknowledged, their faint glow pulsing steadily under normal circumstances.
One tablet flickered.
A young woman walking past slowed her steps, her expression shifting as the tablet pulsed again—irregularly this time.
She approached it, placing her palm lightly against the cool jade. The reaction was subtle, but unmistakable.
"This isn't a breakthrough…" she whispered. "It's suppression."
Someone within Xian City had advanced in a way that triggered the registry, yet had immediately sealed the aftereffects. That level of control was not something a common cultivator could achieve.
Her gaze hardened slightly. Without calling attention to herself, she turned and quietly issued instructions to send scouts toward the city—discreet ones. No pressure. No announcements.
If it was a mistake, it would reveal itself soon enough.
If not…
Then haste would only drive the target deeper into hiding.
Back in Xian City, Zhao Chen's eyes snapped open.
He had felt it—not danger, nor killing intent, but a faint pressure brushing against the edges of his spiritual perception, like unseen eyes passing over him from a great distance.
"System," he thought calmly.
[External detection arrays have registered residual fluctuations.]
[Threat level: low.]
[Attention level: increasing.]
"How many?" Zhao Chen asked.
[Multiple observation vectors detected. Long-range and passive in nature.]
Zhao Chen did not panic. He had expected this.
He slowly adjusted his breathing, guiding his soul energy inward. Within his spiritual sea, the Nine-Headed Hydra responded instantly, its massive form coiling tighter as its oppressive aura folded in on itself. The purple soul ring dimmed, its presence suppressed to the bare minimum.
To anyone observing from afar, Zhao Chen became unremarkable once more—no different from an ordinary Soul Apprentice.
That was precisely what he wanted.
As he maintained the suppression, Zhao Chen's thoughts remained clear. Sects, academies, and royal observers all followed the same rule: they only acted when something stood out. If he remained invisible, they would hesitate.
And hesitation bought time.
Elsewhere in the Zhao Family Manor, Zhao Feng paused mid-movement while reviewing documents in his study. For reasons he could not explain, an inexplicable sense of unease settled in his chest. His gaze drifted toward the direction of Zhao Chen's courtyard, and his fingers tightened around the brush.
"Chen'er…" he muttered softly.
He did not know what had happened beyond the city, nor who had taken notice. But years of navigating the cutthroat world of merchants had taught him one truth—calm often broke without warning.
That night, far from Xian City, the old man beneath the crystal disc opened his eyes once more. The fluctuations had vanished entirely, leaving behind nothing concrete to pursue.
He exhaled slowly.
"Withdraw for now," he said. "If it is a false alarm, it will not surface again. If it is not…"
A faint smile touched his lips.
"…then it will resurface on its own terms."
Back in his room, Zhao Chen opened his eyes.
"They're watching," he murmured softly, more amused than afraid.
Within his spiritual sea, the Nine-Headed Hydra stirred, its dormant heads silent but aware. Zhao Chen's gaze hardened, his resolve crystallizing.
"If they want to look," he said quietly, "then I'll give them nothing to see."
For now.
His next steps were already set. He would not enter academies. He would not seek sects. He would not stand beneath anyone's gaze.
First would come the Thorny Crawling Vine's first soul ring.
And when he finally chose to step into the open world, he would not do so as a talent waiting to be evaluated—
He would emerge as something they could no longer ignore.