Duan Yiwei had just managed to gather a few light orbs together.
Suddenly, waves surged and rolled. The orbs shuddered as if startled and scattered in all directions.
Duan Yiwei froze in disbelief.
What just happened?
Were the orbs not already lured in? How could they just escape like that?
He had no time to dwell on the confusion. The surging tide intensified, forcing Duan Yiwei to channel every bit of his power just to barely keep the boat from capsizing.
As for the Concept orbs—he had no capacity to collect them anymore.
Duan Yiwei's expression darkened completely. The originally calm River of Enlightenment had suddenly erupted into violent turbulence.
Was this targeted at him?
It had to be!
When time was up, he was definitely going to demand an explanation from Yun Jin.
For now, all Duan Yiwei could do was grit his teeth in frustration and focus entirely on stabilizing the boat.
On the other side, the Tian Po Sword—who had triggered all of this—wasn't exactly having a good time either.
Right now, he was filled with sheer dread.
A clash between three golden orbs was already terrifying.
But within just half an hour, another four golden light orbs had gathered.
With every additional golden orb, the River of Enlightenment became increasingly unstable.
If this continued, every boat would flip over.
The Tian Po Sword could only lament bitterly in his heart.
Just what kind of existence was this Young Master?
Even the orbs of the Supreme Concept were competing over her.
This... this was beyond ridiculous!
Ordinarily, golden orbs gathering would have been something to celebrate.
But...
Too many of them turned that blessing into disaster.
Watching as even more golden orbs approached, the Tian Po Sword had no choice left. He dove into Yun Jin's consciousness to wake her up.
"Young Master, that's enough, really—it's time to stop."
Yun Jin, who had been fully immersed in releasing her soul power, slowly opened her eyes when she heard the voice.
Oh?
Time's up?
Her Yuányīng returned to her body. Yun Jin glanced out into the distance.
The Tian Po Sword sighed in resignation. "Young Master, the top-tier orbs are clashing. The River of Enlightenment is already unstable. You can't keep going like this."
He was honestly a little frustrated.
His last master had already been a once-in-a-millennium genius—a monster among monsters.
He had believed that no one could surpass his previous master.
And yet.
In this very lifetime, he'd somehow encountered another one—Yun Jin.
Only now did the Tian Po Sword finally understand why his former master had placed the core of the Sword Tomb in such a remote part of the Canglan Kingdom.
His master's cultivation had likely allowed him to sense threads of fate. Perhaps even then, he had foreseen that, a thousand years later, someone like Yun Jin would appear.
The more he thought about it, the more invigorated the Tian Po Sword became.
The stronger the Young Master was, the more powerful the Wushuang Sect would be in the future. This was a good thing—a great thing!
"Only seven golden orbs," Yun Jin muttered with a bit of regret. "Still not quite ten."
The Tian Po Sword: "???"
He had just convinced himself to be optimistic, and now he was spiraling again.
Excuse me.
Did she just say only seven orbs?
Wasn't that word "only" a little too outrageous in this situation?
The Tian Po Sword gritted his teeth. "There'll be another opportunity next year. But if more orbs come now, it might cause irreversible damage. Besides, so many golden orbs—Young Master might not be able to absorb them all at once."
Golden orbs placed even greater strain on the soul.
Last time, his master had barely endured after absorbing just three.
Now Yun Jin had lured in this many. How to absorb them all was another problem entirely.
If she didn't absorb them, it'd be a waste.
But absorbing them... was incredibly difficult.
Too many golden orbs was its own kind of headache.
"They're fighting so much, the other orbs don't even dare approach," Yun Jin narrowed her eyes slightly.
Her orbs needed to behave.
She drew in her soul power and shouted, "I'm going to count to three!"
The Tian Po Sword looked completely bewildered. What was this nonsense?
"When I finish counting, all of you need to stop fighting and line up quietly next to me. Otherwise, I won't take you with me."
As she spoke, Yun Jin began to count.
"One..."
It was such a simple count, and yet the Tian Po Sword shuddered involuntarily.
That phrase—"I'll count to three"—carried some strange, inexplicable force that made his back go cold.
"Two..."
The Tian Po Sword glanced into the distance.
The golden orbs appeared to be hesitating, their movement gradually slowing down.
"Three..."
As the final word fell from Yun Jin's lips...
The golden orbs actually seemed to understand. They instantly quieted.
The entire River of Enlightenment settled into calm.
The golden light orbs obediently flew over and floated beside her boat, not daring to move.
"Much better. You're all Mama's good little babies," Yun Jin said in a coaxing tone like she was talking to children.
Strangely enough, the golden orbs responded well to it. They bounced lightly in place, radiating joy. The Tian Po Sword felt utterly out of his depth. He could no longer make sense of how these orbs "played" these days.
Two hours were nearly up. Yun Jin no longer released her soul power. In the last few moments, nearly all the nearby light orbs had gathered around her again, completely encircling her.
Then—
Time within the River of Enlightenment froze.
A mechanical voice echoed in everyone's minds:
"Time is up. All participants may now begin absorbing orbs. Due to soul limitations, each person can only absorb a limited number of orbs. Please choose carefully."
"Young Master, let's start with the golden ones. Absorb as many as you can," the Tian Po Sword suggested.
Yun Jin showed no sign of disagreement.
She sat down cross-legged and summoned the first golden light cluster to her.
The light entered through her crown and stopped in her spiritual sea.
This was a fire-attribute top-tier orb. The specific fire intent it contained would have to be deciphered gradually over time.
Typically, even if one obtained a orb, mastering the concept it held wouldn't happen instantly. The orb merely acted as the finest of teachers, constantly demonstrating the intent within. How quickly it could be understood still depended on the individual's comprehension.
That said, with a orb's guidance, the process was still far faster than groping around blindly.
Without hesitation, Yun Jin began absorbing the second orb, then the third...
The Tian Po Sword watched, a bit on edge.
These were golden orbs.
Yun Jin was only in the Nascent Soul stage—three should be her absolute limit.
It would be a pity, but there was nothing to be done.
Then, the next moment, Yun Jin opened her eyes again and began absorbing the fourth orb.
The Tian Po Sword tensed. "Young Master, your soul has limits. Don't push yourself too far. We'll have more chances later. At that time—"
Before he could finish, Yun Jin was already absorbing the fifth.
Judging from her relaxed expression, the first four orbs hadn't taxed her at all.
"Huh?" Yun Jin glanced at the Tian Po Sword, curiosity in her eyes. "Sorry, what were you saying just now? I wasn't paying attention."
The Tian Po Sword: "...Nothing. Carry on."
He turned away, feeling a little hollow inside.
Damn it all.
He had crossed mountains of blades and seas of fire with his former master. There was no miracle or genius he hadn't seen.
And yet...
Everything Yun Jin did defied logic.
This couldn't possibly be something a human could do.