Morning light spilled across Xian City, washing its stone streets in warmth and giving the illusion of normalcy. Merchants opened their stalls, cultivators moved openly through the streets, and nothing about the city suggested it had recently brushed against something abnormal.
That illusion shattered quietly.
Three figures entered through the eastern gate, their academy robes muted in color and unadorned by rank insignia. To the guards, they appeared no different from wandering scholars or low-ranking cultivators passing through. None of them radiated overt pressure, yet every step they took seemed unnaturally precise.
At their center walked Senior Sister Liu.
Her martial spirit was sealed deep within her soul, but if released, it would manifest as a Moonveil Crane—a high-grade agility-type spirit known for spiritual sensitivity and aerial dominance. Her soul rings, hidden beneath suppression seals, followed a strict configuration: a yellow first ring granting Spirit Perception Amplification, and a yellow second ring granting Silent Descent, allowing her to move without disturbing spiritual currents.
On her left was a lean young man with sharp eyes and a relaxed posture. His martial spirit was the Stoneback Pangolin, a defensive beast-type spirit with overlapping earthen scales. His first soul ring granted Earthskin, reinforcing his body against spiritual and physical damage. His second ring, Tremor Sense, allowed him to detect disturbances through ground vibrations—ideal for tracking concealed cultivators.
The third was a quiet woman with her hood drawn low. Few knew her spirit unless they had fought her. The Threadshadow Mantis—a rare assassin-type martial spirit that produced nearly invisible spiritual threads. Her first soul ring skill, Soul Thread Binding, could restrain enemies without alerting them. Her second, Veiled Presence, erased her spiritual signature entirely while stationary.
Together, they formed a standard academy scouting unit.
Efficient. Subtle. Dangerous.
"We split," Senior Sister Liu said calmly as they stepped into the city. "No probing. No pressure. We observe only."
The other two nodded and disappeared into the flow of people.
Liu moved slowly, allowing her senses to spread outward in gentle waves. She did not search for power. She searched for absence—for places where spiritual flow bent unnaturally, as if avoiding something.
Meanwhile, Zhao Chen walked through the city streets with Xixi following a step behind him, carrying a small bundle of supplies. His expression was calm, his posture relaxed, his aura firmly suppressed at the level of a newly advanced Soul Apprentice.
To ordinary cultivators, he was unremarkable.
To the Apex Assistance System, however, the world was alive with data.
[Alert: Academy-grade scouts detected within a 300-meter radius.]
Zhao Chen's steps did not falter.
"How many?" he asked internally.
[Three confirmed. All utilizing suppression techniques.]
"Martial spirits?"
[Scanning…]
A faint chill brushed across Zhao Chen's spine—not fear, but interest.
[Moonveil Crane – High-tier. Detection-oriented.][Stoneback Pangolin – Mid-tier. Defensive and sensory.][Threadshadow Mantis – Rare. Assassin-type.]
"So they sent professionals," Zhao Chen thought.
He adjusted his pace slightly, leading Xixi toward a busier street where spiritual fluctuations overlapped chaotically—vendors demonstrating low-grade techniques, apprentices practicing movement skills, spirit beasts in containment cages.
Noise.
Confusion.
Cover.
Senior Sister Liu slowed to a stop near a herbal stall. Her eyes flicked briefly toward Zhao Chen as he passed.
Nothing.
His soul ring glow was faint. His martial spirit signature was dull. His cultivation level matched his appearance perfectly.
Yet something bothered her.
It wasn't what she sensed.
It was what she didn't.
She gently released a thread of spiritual perception, activating her first soul ring skill. The world sharpened—sounds separated, auras gained texture. Most cultivators appeared as flickering flames of varying brightness.
Zhao Chen appeared as a candle.
Steady. Even. Unwavering.
Too unwavering.
Her gaze lingered for half a breath longer than necessary.
Zhao Chen felt it immediately.
[Detection pressure increased by 12%.]
He reacted without thought.
Deep within his spiritual sea, the Nine-Headed Hydra stirred. The purple soul ring rotated once, not outward, but inward, compressing its aura until even the Hydra itself seemed asleep.
Zhao Chen's soul ring skill—Miasma of the Abyss—remained sealed, its poisonous domain folded into nothingness. Even its residual corrosion vanished.
To an external observer, Zhao Chen became boringly normal.
Senior Sister Liu frowned faintly, then withdrew her perception.
"False positive," she murmured to herself.
Across the street, the scout with the Stoneback Pangolin paused and pressed his foot lightly against the ground. His second soul ring skill activated silently. Vibrations rippled outward.
Dozens of signatures returned.
Children running. Carriages passing. A few cultivators sparring.
Nothing anomalous.
The hooded woman remained motionless atop a building, her Threadshadow Mantis completely hidden. Her second soul ring skill erased her presence so thoroughly that even birds avoided landing near her.
She watched Zhao Chen pass beneath her.
Her instincts—sharpened by countless assassinations—twitched.
Not alarm.
Curiosity.
But instinct alone was not proof.
The scouts regrouped at noon in a quiet teahouse.
"No solid leads," the Pangolin cultivator said.
"The fluctuations were real," Liu replied calmly. "But whatever caused them has already stabilized—or learned how to hide."
"Could it be an artifact?" the hooded woman asked.
"Possibly," Liu said. "Or someone taught very, very well."
She looked out the window toward the Zhao Family Manor's direction, though Zhao Chen was no longer there.
"We withdraw," Liu concluded. "But leave a marker. If the anomaly resurfaces, we return."
The scouts departed Xian City before sunset, leaving behind nothing but ordinary footprints and unanswered questions.
That night, Zhao Chen sat alone in his room.
"They didn't find me," he said quietly.
[Correct. Suppression efficiency rated at 98.6%.]
"But they will come back."
[Affirmative.]
Zhao Chen's gaze shifted inward, settling on the Thorny Crawling Vine resting silently in his spiritual sea. Though still ringless, its vines were thicker now, darker, pulsing faintly with stolen vitality.
"Then I don't have much time," Zhao Chen murmured.
His next soul ring would change everything.
And next time the academy scouts came…
They would no longer be able to pretend they hadn't seen him.
***
The academy scouts left Xian City quietly, just as they had arrived. No proclamations were made, no names recorded, and no pressure exerted. To the city's residents, it was another uneventful day.
But absence itself was a message.
Zhao Chen understood this better than most.
For three days after their departure, he did nothing unusual. He did not cultivate openly. He did not test new skills. He accompanied Zhao Feng on inspections of warehouses and shops, listening more than he spoke, playing the role of a merchant's obedient son to perfection.
Yet beneath that calm surface, preparation was already underway.
Each night, Zhao Chen meditated, guiding excess soul energy into his foundation rather than outward growth. The Nine-Headed Hydra remained tightly coiled, its purple soul ring dimmed to the point that even Zhao Chen could barely feel its presence unless he focused.
The Thorny Crawling Vine, however, could not be fully silenced.
Its vines slowly thickened within his spiritual sea, dark green veins spreading across their surface like living capillaries. The faint Life-Seizing trait pulsed in rhythm with Zhao Chen's heartbeat, drawing strength from residual soul energy.
"System," Zhao Chen thought one night, "simulate suitable first soul rings for the Thorny Crawling Vine. Focus on forced evolution."
A list appeared.
[Recommended Soul Ring Candidates:
Blood-Marrow Leech (300–500 years)
Skill Probability: Vital Drain / Blood Storage
Risk: Moderate
Black-Thorn Ironwood Serpent (600–800 years)
Skill Probability: Piercing Bind / Armor Erosion
Risk: High
Corpse-Feeding Vine Beast (700–900 years)
Skill Probability: Life-Seizing Bloom
Risk: Very High]
Zhao Chen's gaze lingered on the last entry.
"Corpse-Feeding Vine Beast…"
[Warning: Host's Thorny Crawling Vine compatibility exceeds standard limits. However, soul backlash probability remains present.]
"How much?"
[Estimated success rate: 72%.]
Zhao Chen exhaled slowly.
For any other Soul Apprentice, this would be suicide.
For him, it was a calculated gamble.
"I'll take it," Zhao Chen said calmly.
The opportunity came sooner than expected.
On the fourth morning, Zhao Feng returned home with a troubled expression. He dismissed the servants and sat across from Zhao Chen in the study.
"Chen'er," Zhao Feng said quietly, "a trade route near the western outskirts has gone silent. Three caravans failed to return."
Zhao Chen's eyes sharpened. "Spirit beasts?"
"Possibly," Zhao Feng replied. "But the guards reported something unusual—vegetation moving against the wind. Livestock drained dry. No visible wounds."
Zhao Chen already knew the answer.
"Father," he said, "allow me to investigate."
Zhao Feng hesitated. "You're still young."
"And I'm no longer helpless," Zhao Chen replied evenly. "Besides, if this problem grows, it will draw attention. The kind we don't want."
Zhao Feng studied his son for a long moment, then nodded. "One escort. Captain Yan."
Zhao Chen bowed. "That will be enough."
The western outskirts lay beyond cultivated land, where abandoned fields gave way to dense, decaying woodland. The air was heavy with the scent of rot.
Captain Yan frowned as they advanced. "Something's wrong. No birds. No insects."
Zhao Chen summoned his Thorny Crawling Vine. The vines writhed, trembling faintly, as if responding to a distant call.
"It's close," Zhao Chen said softly.
They found the first caravan wagon half-swallowed by creeping black vines. Wooden planks were pierced through, iron fittings corroded. Skeletons lay scattered nearby, their bones darkened as if leeched from within.
Captain Yan's face darkened. "A Corpse-Feeding Vine Beast…"
The ground trembled.
From beneath the earth, a massive plant-creature emerged. Its core resembled a twisted trunk, while dozens of thorned vines lashed outward, dripping with dark red sap. A pulsating, flesh-like bulb throbbed at its center—its heart.
"Seven hundred years, at least," Yan growled. "Kid, this thing is dangerous."
"I know," Zhao Chen replied.
Captain Yan unleashed his Iron-Claw Bear martial spirit, his body swelling with power as he charged forward. His soul rings ignited—Earth-Shattering Slam drove the beast's outer vines back, cracking the ground beneath them.
Zhao Chen watched carefully.
Not the strength.
The rhythm.
When the Vine Beast recoiled, exposing its core, Zhao Chen moved.
The Thorny Crawling Vine surged from his arm, not clumsily, but with precision. It pierced straight into the exposed bulb.
The Corpse-Feeding Vine Beast shrieked, its vines flailing wildly. Captain Yan struck again, tearing away its defenses.
"Now!" Yan roared.
Zhao Chen poured his will into his martial spirit.
The Thorny Crawling Vine drank.
Dark energy flooded back through the vines, burning and freezing Zhao Chen's soul simultaneously. He held firm, eyes blazing with focus.
The Vine Beast collapsed.
A deep yellow soul ring—darkened at the edges, almost purple—rose slowly from its remains.
Captain Yan staggered back. "Chen… don't tell me you're absorbing that."
Zhao Chen sat down without hesitation.
"Yes."
The soul ring descended.
The moment it touched the Thorny Crawling Vine, Zhao Chen felt his soul scream.
But this time—
The Nine-Headed Hydra moved.
Its purple soul ring rotated once, releasing a stabilizing pulse. The agony dulled. The chaos aligned.
The Thorny Crawling Vine twisted, thickened, and split—its surface hardening, barbs lengthening, veins glowing crimson.
[Absorption successful.]
[Skill acquired: Life-Seizing Bloom]
[Effect: When vines bind a target, continuous vitality drain occurs. Excess life force is stored and may be released to heal the host or reinforce attacks.]
Zhao Chen opened his eyes.
Two soul rings now hovered within his spiritual sea.
One purple.
One deep yellow.
Twin Martial Spirits.
Twin foundations.
Captain Yan stared at him in silence.
Far away, within a jade tablet hall, a single tablet flickered violently.
And this time—
It did not stop.
***
The moment the jade tablet's violent flickering refused to settle, alarms rang softly within distant halls, seals activating one after another as unseen eyes turned back toward Xian City. Zhao Chen, however, felt none of that yet. He rose slowly to his feet amid the withered remains of the Vine Beast, his breathing steady as the newly formed soul ring stabilized around the Thorny Crawling Vine. For the first time, a faint, almost imperceptible resonance pulsed between his two martial spirits—weak, incomplete, but undeniably real. Zhao Chen's gaze sharpened as he sensed it, understanding that the line he had been careful not to cross had finally been touched. Whatever calm he had maintained until now was beginning to crack, and beyond the city walls, forces far greater than a single academy were already turning their attention toward him.