The forest slowly retreated into the distance.
The towering shadows of ancient trees were swallowed by the winding dirt road, and the damp, oppressive air of the wilderness was replaced by the dry breeze of the open plains. The carriage swayed gently as it rolled forward, its wooden wheels creaking with each uneven stone along the path.
Lin Huang leaned back against the inner wall of the carriage, exhaling softly.
"Cultivating in this thing is annoying," he muttered, rubbing his temples. "Sleeping is even worse. The road keeps shaking like it's doing it on purpose."
His father chuckled faintly."You're the only one who complains about not being able to cultivate properly while traveling."
"I'm serious," Lin Huang said with a half-grin. "One day, I'll build something better than this. Something that doesn't feel like it's trying to throw me off every few steps. Maybe something that runs faster too."
His grandfather glanced at him, eyes sharp but amused."You say strange things as if they're simple."
"They'll make sense one day," Lin Huang replied casually.
The group was traveling in disguise. Their clothes were plain, their auras restrained. After what had happened in the forest, drawing attention on the road back would only invite unnecessary trouble.
As the carriage moved, Lin Huang closed his eyes and entered a shallow state of meditation.
There was only a faint discomfort between his brows. No sharp pain. No violent backlash. Just a subtle, unfamiliar sensation, as if something new had settled into place and was still adjusting to his presence.
His soul power circulated quietly.
Within his spiritual sea, the seventh tail of his martial spirit slowly condensed, its outline becoming clearer and more stable with each breath. The process was smooth, almost unnervingly so. There was no resistance, no chaos—only a steady flow of energy responding to his will.
His grandfather's gaze sharpened slightly.
The fluctuations in Lin Huang's spiritual power were different from before.
More refined.More compact.And purer.
The faint hue of his spiritual energy had deepened, shifting toward a richer, denser shade—no longer the unstable glow of early stages, but something closer to a low-grade crimson-orange, carrying a weight that ordinary cultivators of his age could not replicate.
"You condensed another tail," the old man said quietly.
Lin Huang opened his eyes, surprised. "You could tell?"
"You are no longer at the intermediate stage of spiritual origin," his grandfather replied calmly. "You've stepped into the final stage."
Lin Huang let out a slow breath. He could feel it too. The foundation of his spiritual sea was steadier, the resonance between his martial spirit and soul power far more harmonious than before.
His father studied him for a moment before speaking."Your aura… it's stronger than it was yesterday. You've already stepped into Rank 26, haven't you?"
Lin Huang nodded."I did. But I'm compressing it down to Rank 24 for now."
His grandfather's eyes flickered with approval."Good. A stable foundation will matter more than speed once you reach the Sun and Moon Academy."
The carriage eventually slowed near a quiet clearing where they could rest briefly without attracting attention.
When Lin Huang stepped down, the air around him shifted subtly.
For just a moment, a faint projection of light appeared above his head.
It was incomplete, hazy at the edges, as though it had not fully taken shape. The outline resembled a crown, formed of condensed spiritual energy that pulsed weakly before fading back into nothingness.
His mother froze."Huang'er… don't force it. Whatever that is, don't provoke it yet."
His father stared, momentarily at a loss for words.
His grandfather's expression finally changed, the calm in his eyes replaced by a trace of solemn certainty.
"That is not a temporary phenomenon," he said slowly."It is the manifestation of an external spirit bone."
The words seemed unreal.
Lin Huang instinctively raised a hand to his forehead, feeling only faint warmth beneath his skin."So it's really…?"
"Yes," his grandfather confirmed. "And it's far too rare to speak of outside this family."
They exchanged looks. No one needed to say it aloud. This was not something the outside world should know.
By the time they returned to the Lin Clan, dusk had already settled over the courtyards.
The younger disciples were the first to feel it.
As Lin Huang walked past the training grounds, several youths paused mid-practice. Their breathing unconsciously faltered, their movements slowing as the dense, restrained pressure of his aura brushed against them.
Some stared in shock.Some clenched their fists, eyes burning with unwillingness.And others simply watched in silent admiration.
Among the older members of the clan, the reaction was different.
There was pride.
Quiet, restrained, but unmistakable.
"That is our Young Master," one of the guards murmured under his breath.
Later that night, Lin Huang updated his personal training schedule.
Alongside cultivation, combat training, and spiritual refinement, he added a new section:
Soul Tool Engineering — Foundations.
He began sketching rough concepts for improved transportation tools, scribbling ideas about stability, suspension, and energy flow. The carriage ride had left a deeper impression on him than he cared to admit.
At the same time, far from the Lin Clan—
In the Sun and Moon Empire, Meng Hongchen was drenched in sweat, her breathing uneven as she completed another brutal training cycle. Her soul power had risen steadily in recent weeks, and the pressure from her grandfather's expectations had only sharpened her resolve.
"I won't fall behind again," she whispered to herself, gripping her weapon tighter.
Not far away, Xu Tianzhen stood in silent concentration within her training chamber. Her cultivation had stabilized, her soul power flowing more smoothly than before. There was no anger in her eyes—only determination.
When the time came, she intended to stand before Lin Huang as an equal, not someone chasing his shadow.
At the Sun and Moon Academy itself, Zhang Lexuan walked alone through one of the quieter corridors.
The academy was vast. Too vast.
Geniuses were everywhere, yet few felt familiar.
For the first time in a long while, she felt a faint sense of distance from the world around her. As she passed beneath the silver-lit arches, her thoughts drifted back to the boy from the Lin Clan.
Not as a savior.Not as someone special.
Just… a friend.
Later that day, she overheard passing students speaking in low voices.
"There's a rumor that another talented student from the eastern clans might arrive soon.""Really? From which clan?""Not sure. I only heard it in passing."
Zhang Lexuan slowed her steps slightly, curiosity stirring in her eyes.
Back at the Lin Clan, preparations quietly continued.
The time until departure for the Sun and Moon Academy was growing short.
This time, Lin Huang would leave first, heading toward the Sun and Moon Academy.
Su Mei would stay behind to seek her second soul ring.Their paths had separated for now,but the direction they were heading remained the same.