Chapter 5 – The Echo in the Holy City
The Two Giants
In the heart of the continent, the Supreme Pontiff City stood as a monument to human potential. Within its walls, two distinct powers hummed with tension.
In the Supreme Pontiff Hall, Bibi Dong stared at a report spread across her desk. The ink was fresh, sent via a high-speed flight-type soul master from the Nuoding branch. Innate Rank 20. Mutation: Adarna.
"Ghost. Chrysanthemum," she said, her voice like cracking ice.
Two shadows bled from the corners of the room. One was a pale, ethereal figure; the other, a man draped in flamboyant silks. "Your Majesty."
"A child has appeared in the outskirts of Nuoding. He is Rank 20 at awakening. If the empires find him, they will use him. If the sects find him, they will hide him. Secure him. Bring him to me, and do not let the Elder's Hall intercept him."
"And if the High Priest interferes?" the Ghost Douluo rasped.
"Then tell him," Bibi Dong's purple eyes flashed with a cold, predatory light, "that this child is the key to the future I am building. He is mine."
Simultaneously, in the towering Elder's Hall, Qian Daoliu stood before the golden statue of the Seraphim. He had received a duplicate report. His eyes were closed, feeling the distant ripples in the world's energy.
"Innate Level 20," he whispered. "A bird of prismatic light. Aartial Soul that has nevwr seen before. Is this a blessing from the heavens, or a variable meant to disrupt Renxue's path?"
He didn't send his elders—not yet. He knew Bibi Dong would move first. He would wait and watch. If the boy was a threat to the Seraphim's legacy, he would act. If not... he would see if the boy was worthy of being the "Shield" for his granddaughter.
The Archive of Nuoding
While the two giants of the Martial Soul Hall weighed his fate against the future of the continent, Lakan Diwa sat cross-legged on a pile of ancient scrolls in the Nuoding Archives. He is six, but the way he flipped through books suggested he's scanning for data, not reading for pleasure.
"Outdated... anecdotal... based on limited sample sizes," Lakan muttered.
He picked up a well-preserved manuscript: The Ten Core Competencies of Soul Masters by Yu Xiaogang. He read it with a clinical, detached gaze. To the world, this was the pinnacle of research. To him, it was a list of cage bars meant to keep soul masters from realizing their own potential.
He picked up a brush and began to write on a fresh sheet of parchment.
"Correction of First Competency: The 'Ring Limit' is not a fixed number determined by age, but a physical threshold determined by the density of the soul master's body. By utilizing specific rhythmic breathing and external body tempering, the '423-year limit' for the first ring is revealed to be nothing more than a lack of imagination."
He didn't publish it yet. He knew the weight of these words. He handed the scroll to Bishop Matthewson, who was hovering near the entrance.
"Bishop," Lakan said, not looking up. "Have this kept in the restricted vault. Don't send it to the capital yet. I want the results of my first hunt to be the 'proof' that follows this theory."
Preparation for the Hunt
Matthewson looked at the scroll, then at the boy. "Lord Lakan, you've requested a hunt for a thousand-year beast. While your rank is high enough, your body is still that of a child. It is... unprecedented."
"The word 'unprecedented' is just a word used by those who move too slowly," Lakan replied. He stood up, the Batok tattoos on his arms seeming to pulse with a faint, iridescent light as he stretched. "Assemble the guard. I don't need them to fight. I only need them to ensure no third parties interfere with the 'rhythm' of the battle."
"You... you intend to fight a thousand-year beast alone? At Rank 20 with no rings?" Matthewson asked, sweat beading on his forehead.
Lakan tilted his head, a small, breezy smirk playing on his lips. It was a look of absolute, unshakable confidence—the look of a man who already knew the outcome of the fight before it started.
"Why would I need a ring to kill a beast that doesn't understand the 8 angles of its own movement?" Lakan asked. "I've spent six years preparing this body of mine. It's time to see if the world can handle the heat."