The forest floor crunched beneath their boots as they put distance between themselves and the vulture carcasses. The metallic scent of blood hung in the air for a few hundred meters, a grim reminder of the violence that had just occurred, before fading into the damp, earthy smell of the Star Dou Forest.
The adrenaline was fading, leaving Ye Lingling with a clear, analytical mind. However, her body felt different. Every step felt lighter, springier. The extra weight of the External Spirit Bone fused to her spine wasn't a burden, it felt like a coiled spring waiting to released. She walked beside Arthev, her hands occasionally brushing the fabric of her dress where the wings were retracted beneath her skin. The sensation was phantom-like, a hum of energy that traced the outline of feathers that weren't currently there.
"So," Arthev broke the silence, his gaze fixed forward, scanning the tree line for any other opportunists. "Summarize it. Precise details. Feeling powerful is useless if you don't understand the mechanics."
Ye Lingling took a breath, organizing the flood of information the spirit bone had transmitted to her brain. It was a strange sensation, like remembering a memory that wasn't hers.
"The Third Soul Skill is Reflective Petal Rain," she began, her voice steady. "It's a crowd-control and sustain ability. The petals attach to enemies, bypassing standard physical defenses to drain their soul power and stamina directly. It then transfers that energy to me or my allies within range. It weakens them while keeping us fighting longer."
"A war of attrition," Arthev noted. "Dangerous for prolonged battles."
She paused, touching her shoulder blade, wincing slightly as the muscles adjusted to the new bone structure. "And the External Spirit Bone… Celestial Feather Wings. The passive gives me flight, which consumes very little soul power, and the ability to harden the feathers into a shield, Plume of Argent Defense. The active offense is Heavenly Feather Storm, the area-of-effect attack I used to shred the vultures."
"And the buff?" Arthev asked. "I felt a surge in speed when you activated it."
"Merciful Featherfall," she answered, a note of pride in her voice. "It synchronizes with my Nine Heart Begonia. It heals, but simultaneously boosts speed and strength by 30% for anyone under the feather rain. It's… it's a terrifyingly comprehensive support skill."
Arthev nodded, satisfied. "A perfect kit. You can fight, fly, defend, and buff. You've transcended the limitations of the Nine Heart Begonia. Your family has always been targeted because they are stationary fountains of life. You are now a mobile fortress."
Ye Lingling smiled, looking at her hands. "Mobile fortress… I like that."
But then her expression turned pensive. She watched Arthev from the side, his calm profile, the mysterious power he wielded so casually. During the fight with the Phoenix Crane, and just now with the vultures, she had seen things that didn't add up with the standard teachings of the Academy.
"Arthev," she hesitated, then pressed on. "I realized… I've told you everything about my martial soul. My secrets, my weaknesses, my new bone. But I don't even know what yours is."
Arthev glanced at her but didn't stop walking. "Oh? I thought it was obvious."
"It isn't," she countered, stepping over a large root. "Back there," she gestured vaguely behind them. "When you protected me, a giant wall of sand appeared out of nowhere. Solid, dry earth. But earlier, when you were suppressing the Crane, I felt a heavy, fluid energy....like deep water. And then that final attack… that white light."
She stopped walking, forcing him to pause and turn. She looked him in the eye, searching for the truth.
"Sand is Earth. Water is… Water. Those are conflicting elements," Ye Lingling said, her brow furrowed. "Earth blocks water, and water erodes earth. In the history of Soul Masters, having dual elements usually requires Twin Martial Souls. But you only ever use one conduit. I never saw you switch souls. What is your Martial Soul?"
Arthev stared at her for a moment. He had expected the question. She was not yet a student of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, but she was not stupid.He couldn't exactly tell her about the Ten Tails, nor that his eyes were a Dojutsu capable of many things.
He held out his right hand. A faint blue glow surrounded it, and moisture from the humid forest air instantly condensed, forming a spinning globule of water. Then, his left hand glowed with a yellow light, and the dust from the ground rose up to form a miniature cyclone of sand.
"My Martial Soul is the Elemental Tree," he lied smoothly.
Ye Lingling's eyes widened, her skepticism wavering. "The Elemental Tree? I've… I've never heard of it."
"It's an extremely rare mutation of plant-type martial souls," Arthev explained, spinning the lie with the confidence of a scholar. "Think about it, Lingling. What does a tree need to survive?"
She blinked. "Soil... and water."
"Exactly," Arthev nodded. "A normal plant draws water and earth to grow, using them passively. My martial soul is a mutation that doesn't just draw them, it commands them. It allows me to manifest the elements. Currently, I have mastered Earth,in the form of Sand,and Water.
Ye Lingling looked at the swirling elements in his hands as if he were a monster. "One martial soul… capable of wielding multiple elements? That disrupts the very theory of Spirit cultivation. If the Spirit Hall knew about this, they would classify you as a supreme genius instantly. Maybe even a threat."
"Which is why they don't know," Arthev said dryly, closing his hands and letting the sand and water dissipate. "And why you won't tell them."
"I won't," she promised immediately, shocking herself with how quickly she agreed to keep his secret. It felt natural to protect him, just as he had protected her.
"But," she continued, her curiosity not yet sated, as she fell back into step beside him.
"That explains the sand and water. They are natural resources for a tree. What about the last attack? The one you used to defeat the Crane. You called it… White Star Fist?"
She recalled the moment vividly,a small, condensed sphere of white light in his hand. It hadn't looked like a soul skill, it looked like a piece of the sun. When it hit the Crane, it didn't just burn, it vaporized the flesh, leaving glassy scars on the earth.
"That didn't feel like nature," she whispered. "It felt like destruction."
'It was Plasma Release,' Arthev thought. 'Superheated ionized gas. But if I explain the ionization of atoms to a girl who thinks thunder is caused by a dragon sneezing, we'll be here all night.'
"That was Fire," Arthev stated simply.
Ye Lingling frowned, tilting her head. "Fire? but… fire is red. Or orange. Maybe blue if it's a special beast fire. I've never seen fire that was pure white. White is the color of light, or ice."
Arthev sighed, resuming his walk toward the city. He held up a finger, and a tiny flame flickered into existence at the tip. It burned a standard orange-red.
"That is a common misconception. People think fire has a fixed color. It doesn't."
"Explain," she demanded, catching up to him, fascinated by the small flame dancing on his fingertip.
"Think of a blacksmith's forge," Arthev said, using an analogy she would understand. "When you light a piece of wood, the flame is red, correct? It's hot, but you can stand near it."
"Yes."
"Now, imagine a blacksmith pumping the bellows, feeding air into the coals to melt heavy iron. The fire changes. It goes from red to orange, then to a bright yellow. It gets hotter."
Ye Lingling nodded slowly. "I've seen that. The blacksmiths in the city say the yellow fire is the 'working fire'."
"Correct. Now imagine you compress that heat even further," Arthev said. His eyes narrowed, and the soul power in his finger surged.
The small orange flame suddenly shrank. It fizzle, turning a vibrant blue. Ye Lingling felt the temperature spike even from a meter away.
"You force more power into a smaller space, increasing the temperature beyond what a normal furnace can handle," Arthev lectured. "When heat becomes extreme, the color shifts."
Then, with a final pulse of energy, the blue flame turned blindingly white. The heat was instantaneous and searing, forcing Ye Lingling to shield her face with her hand.
"Red is the coldest fire," Arthev said calmly, extinguishing the flame before it burned the oxygen around them. "Yellow is hotter. But when fire reaches a level of purity and intensity where it can melt metals instantly... it turns white."
Ye Lingling stared at his now-empty hand, blinking away the spots in her vision. "So… the White Star Fist… it wasn't a special element? It was just fire so hot it lost its color?"
"Essentially," Arthev nodded. "Fire is honest, Lingling. It wears its temperature as its color. My skill simply compresses the flame until it reaches that white stage. It is merely the ultimate form of a basic element."
"That's… terrifying," she murmured. "And brilliant. You apply logic to soul power in a way no one else does."
She looked at him with a renewed sense of awe. Not only was he powerful, but his understanding of the world, the fundamental nature of elements, seemed to dwarf the teachings of the academies.
"You really are full of secrets, aren't you?" she asked softly.
"Survival requires secrets," Arthev replied, his tone final. "And power requires knowledge."
They fell into a comfortable silence. The dense, suffocating trees of the Star Dou Forest eventually gave way to the rolling plains. The sun had begun to dip below the horizon, painting the sky in hues of violet and gold.
In the distance, the high, sturdy walls of City rose against the twilight sky, lanterns beginning to flicker to life along the battlements like distant stars.
Ye Lingling looked at the city, then at the man beside her. She had left that city this morning as a fragile support healer, anxious and desperately needing a team to give her value. She was returning as a Soul Elder with a flight-type External Spirit Bone and the blood of a Variant beast on her hands.
"We're back," Arthev said, adjusting his cloak to cover his face slightly. "Remember, retract the wings fully. Check your energy flow. We don't need to cause a scene at the gate with rogue spiritual pressure."
Ye Lingling closed her eyes for a second, feeling the dormant wings merge seamlessly with her back muscles. She opened her eyes, clear and sharp.
"Understood," Ye Lingling said, standing a little straighter. She walked through the gates of the City not behind him, but matching his stride, ready for whatever came next.
To be continued.....