[Analyzing Fire Ginseng and Glacial Lotus]
[Analysis Complete]
[Herb Analysis: Fire Ginseng]
[Actual Cultivation Age: 1000-years]
[Potency Grade: {10,000-year} Quality]
[Primary Attribute: Extreme Fire / Pure Yang]
[Best Use Case: Physical/Attribute Enhancement]
[Pros: Imparts unparalleled Yang energy to fortify bones, muscles, and meridians. Drastically improves the host's innate Fire affinity and resistance.]
[Cons: Requires a host with a compatible Martial Soul (e.g., Flame Sword) or high resistance to Fire. Severe risk of internal combustion if consumed by a host with weak constitution or non-Fire attribute.]
[Herb Analysis: Glacial Lotus]
[Actual Cultivation Age: 1000-years]
[Potency Grade: {10,000-year} Quality]
[Primary Attribute: Extreme Ice / Pure Yin]
[Best Use Case: Spiritual/Yin Balance]
[Pros: Cleanses impurities from the Soul Sea, amplifying Spiritual Power and mental clarity. Excellent for balancing extreme elemental forces (Yin/Yang) and enhancing Ice affinity.]
[Cons: The extreme cold can freeze meridians in a host with weak Yin affinity or insufficient Soul Power. Non-Ice attribute hosts may experience temporary loss of motor function.]
'1000 years cultivation — not bad for herbs grown only for 2 years, but that potency is quite astonishing.' Hanrui mused with quiet satisfaction.
'But I should replant them for a higher age next time. If they ever reach 100,000 years, Mother and Father won't need to hunt soul beasts for soul rings; I could induce soul beast sacrifices for them using these herbs.'
[Searching database for suitable pill recipe.]
[Recipe Found: Dual Element Harmony Pill]
[Processing pill recipe.]
[Synthesizing...]
[Synthesis Complete: Dual Element Harmony Pill x3]
Hanrui swiftly accessed the inventory to check the description:
[Item: Dual Element Harmony Pill]
[Grade: Earth Rank][Effect (General): Purifies Spirit Core and Meridians; significantly strengthens physical constitution and endurance; boosts current cultivation by {1-3} ranks; guarantees stable breakthrough past 70th rank bottleneck.]
[Effect (Elemental Balance): For Fire-based Soul Masters, dramatically improves Fire Attribute Affinity while enhancing Ice Resistance. For Ice-based Soul Masters, dramatically improves Ice Attribute Affinity while enhancing Fire Resistance.]
[Appearance: Perfectly balanced sphere, one side faintly red (Yang) and the other pale blue (Yin).]
"Now for Grandmother," Hanrui whispered, recalling her White Swan Martial Soul—high-grade but inherently weak in combat and notoriously slow in cultivation.
Her cultivation had reached level {89} Soul Douluo, meaning the Dual Element Harmony Pill wouldn't provide the specialized boost needed for her final bottleneck.
The core issue was Foundation and Spiritual Energy.
"System, search internal knowledge database for suitable synthesis recipe to temporarily increase Spiritual Power to the next stage for one day. This pill must aid in the control needed to initiate the process of forming a Soul Core—a task requiring title-douluo level spiritual stability."
[Searching database...]
[Recipe Found: Ethereal Clarity Pill]
[Ingredients Required: Radiant Soul Dew, {10} units of {100-year} Blue Silver Grass.]
"System, analyze cost to materialize the necessary Radiant Soul Dew," Hanrui ordered.
[Calculating Materialization Cost for required Radiant Soul Dew quantity...]
[Estimated Cost: 10% of Void Reserve Capacity.]
[Current Void Reserve: 0.3%.]
'10%? I'm sitting at barely a third of a percent. That will take at least 20 hours of cultivation time to make, not to mention the cost of synthesis.'
'The Ethereal Clarity Pill is not an urgent item anyway; Nainai can wait. For now, let's give her a cultivation technique.'
'We can make the pill in a week. Since Mother is already level 71, she should create her soul core as well,so we are going to need 2 of them.' Hanrui reasoned thoughtfully.
He closed his eyes briefly, focusing inwardly as the system interface flickered.
Meanwhile–In the spacious private courtyard, Marquis Wu Tian was immersed in sword training. The steady rhythm of wooden strikes resonated through the morning air, each blow solid and deliberate.
His gaze shifted intermittently to the soft glow of the gravity seal resting on his wrist—the unique gift Hanrui had placed there.
'That gravity seal is incredible, Rui'er,' Wu Tian thought as he wiped the sweat from his brow. 'Not merely a burden of weight, it strengthens and sharpens me. Truly, you have out done yourself.'
Taking a breath, his eyes softened, reflecting both pride and contemplation.
'I don't fully understand your rebirth and the memories you carry. It must be a heavy load, confusing and lonely. But no matter what, you remain my son. And I will stand by you, through all of it.'
Meanwhile, inside her study, Han Mei moved with practiced grace, preparing materials for her forthcoming teaching session at Tianshui Academy.
The gravity seal on her arm pulsed faintly, putting pressure on her unstable soul energy after recent soul ring absorption.
She paused, feeling the steady beat of her soul power returning to balance.
'My Rui'er is the best,' she whispered softly while smiling a little foolishly. 'The seal you gave me is restoring control over my soul power. Now, I can dedicate myself fully to my work and my cultivation.'
In the tranquil sitting room, Xue Li sipped her tea quietly, a well-read tome resting open on the table before her.
Her eyes repeatedly lifted from the aged pages to the garden beyond, serene yet vigilant.
She appeared composed, her presence a steady pillar of wisdom and pride within the family.
'I wonder who you're going to meet first among your "companions" Rui'er' she mused as she drank her tea.
Back to Hanrui
'Well, those cultivation techniques will do for now. Although I want to give them a modified version of "Mysterious Heaven Technique," this suits them better,' Hanrui thought as he reviewed the chosen techniques one last time to ensure perfection.
As Hanrui reviewed the cultivation techniques one last time, a soft but steady knock sounded at his door.
"Master Hanrui, may we come in?" came the polite voices of his two subordinates.
"Enter," Hanrui replied without looking away from the glowing system interface.
The door slid open, and Su Lian and Li Nan stepped inside, bowing respectfully while holding crystal vials, now empty.
Hanrui opened his eyes fully and beckoned them closer. "Raise your hands."
They obeyed, extending their wrists hesitantly. Hanrui took Su Lian's hand first, placing his fingers lightly on her wrist. A subtle thread of soul power seeped from him into her body, tracing the paths of her meridians.
'Clearer... sturdier,' he noted silently. Her meridian channels, once narrow and fragile, now possessed greater resilience. Her physical vitality shimmered faintly.
He repeated the process with Li Nan, noting similar improvements despite her weaker foundation.
"Have you felt any change?" Hanrui asked calmly.
Su Lian lowered her head modestly. "Young Master, after cultivating post-bath, the energy flows more smoothly. Like something inside has opened."
Li Nan spoke quickly. "i feel the same and I think my soul power increased... and my body feels stronger."
Hanrui's eyes gleamed with satisfaction; the system confirmed his thoughts.
[System Analysis]
— Su Lian: Rank 14 → 14.5 | Soul Ring: 100 yrs | Endurance: 300 yrs → 450 yrs
— Li Nan: Rank 13 → 13.5 | Soul Ring: 120 yrs | Endurance: 300 yrs → 450 yrs
'The numbers match my judgment,' he thought, dismissing the readout.
"You're both correct. Your foundation has strengthened, your soul power has risen by half a level, and your meridians are cleansed. Your bodies can now endure soul rings around 450 years."
Hanrui's tone hardened slightly with caution. "But remember — whale glue has limits. Even liquid form only allows three uses safely. Exceed that, and your bodies could suffer harm."
Thinking of the modified Mysteries heaven technique, he decided to mess with Tang San so he used a knowledge transfer technique to transfer the first 3 layers of the technique directly to their head.
"From now on cultivate that technique, once you reach the end of the technique and your prove yourself worthy I'll teach you the next layer of that technique"he told them with a smile.
"Yes, Young Master!" both replied in unison, relief and gratitude evident in their voices.
Hanrui gave a faint smile. "Good. Cultivate steadily from now. I'll arrange substitutes when you train. Notify me once you both reach level 20."
The girls' faces brightened with determination before they bowed once more and left with lighter but more determined steps than before.
Hanrui leaned back on his bed, as he commanded. 'System mark the Log Entry #2 Stage one complete,'.
[System Log Entry #2 Update]
— Entry 2: Stage One Complete
— Conclusion: Whale Glue (Liquid) effective for human refinement
— Effect: +0.5 rank, ~150 yrs soul ring endurance
— Limitation: Max 3 safe uses per subject
— Next Step: Proceed with higher-tier application or alternative refinement paths ]
'Whale glue doesn't increase soul power directly. So it must be that the whale glue liquid in its current form is a replica slightly enhanced by the materialization module, or perhaps the effect comes indirectly from clearing the meridians.' Hanrui mused quietly as he studied the log entry.
'Next time, I should give them a whale glue liquid derived from higher-age ingredients. While the current results are satisfactory, their first soul ring is low-grade. To truly compensate, their second soul ring should be at least the universally acknowledged age of 764 years.'
'As it stands, after two more whale glue baths, they might only be able to absorb soul rings around 700 years old—barely acceptable.'
'But these are my students. How could I let them settle for low-level soul rings? Unlike a certain Grandmaster, I'm not a fool. Even if they can't reach a thousand year soul ring on their second ring, they must at least come close to 900 years.'
'There's still roughly two to three years left, according to their current cultivation progress. With additional gravity training and modified Mysteries Heaven Technique they might make it in time. Though... I realize I forgot to give them the gravity seal. Oh well, that can wait until later.'
Satisfied with his thoughts, Hanrui slowly drifted off into cultivation.
As Hanrui settled deeply into his cultivation, the hours slipped quietly by—four full hours of focused energy refinement and soul power circulation.
The world outside faded as he molded the subtle currents within his body, tracing the intricate pathways of his meridians and condensing spirit energy layer by layer.
When he finally opened his eyes, the soft glow of the system interface caught his attention.
[Cultivation session complete.]
[Void Reserve has been filled to 2.3%.]
'A decent gain,' Hanrui thought with quiet satisfaction.Rising from his seat, he stretched and left the room, making his way to the dining hall.
The hall was calm and almost empty except for his grandmother, Xue Li, who sat serenely by the window sipping tea. The morning light illuminated the gentle strength in her profile.
Deciding to forgo the formal entrance and indulge his playful side, Hanrui activated the Transformation Technique using a whisper of his chakra.
In a faint, barely perceptible flicker of shadow, he transformed into a sleek, midnight-black cat with striking, intelligent blue eyes.
He padded silently across the polished wooden floor and approached her chair. Instead of jumping up, he rubbed his head affectionately against the soft silk of her ankle.
Xue Li did not startle or look down with surprise. A small, knowing smile played on her lips, betraying her awareness of the true nature of the animal at her feet. She lowered her teacup slowly, the movement unhurried and graceful.
"Well hello, little mischief," she murmured, her voice a low, warm alto.
She reached down, scooping the black cat into her arms with practiced ease. The cat made a soft, rumbling purr. Xue Li brought him up close, tilting her head and kissing his tiny black nose playfully.
"Trying to sneak an early cuddle, are we?" she teased, her eyes shining with amusement. She settled back into her plush cushion, placing the purring cat on her lap, and began to stroke his back in slow, hypnotic sweeps.
The feeling of absolute familial security washed over Hanrui. Being the unassuming house cat, receiving simple affection from the sharpest mind in the house, was a unique kind of peace.
An hour passed in this quiet yet serene scene. The silence was broken only by the soft, rhythmic sound of the cat's purring.
Suddenly, sharp footsteps sounded in the corridor outside, jolting the cat upright. Its blue eyes, bright with intelligence, snapped toward Xue Li's face. There was a distinct sparkle in the feline gaze, a sign of an imminent, shared prank.
Xue Li merely offered a subtle, knowing smirk. An unspoken agreement had been made between the two.
Before the hall doors could slide open, the cat shimmered. A faint, near-invisible ripple of Chakra covered the form, and in the next instant, the black cat was gone, replaced by an identical copy of Xue Li.
The two women now sat side-by-side, both dressed in Xue Li's elegant afternoon robes, both sipping tea with the exact same serene posture, perfectly replicating every subtle movement and fold of the original.
The doors opened, and Wu Tian stepped into the hall, supported and half-carried by Han Mei. It was well past noon, and they were late for the midday meal.
Wu Tian, still struggling from the after effects of the relentless training against the gravity seal's relentless pressure, leaned heavily on his wife.
"Mother," Han Mei greeted softly, her voice strained from supporting her husband. "We apologize for the delay. Tian just needed a little extra time with his—"
Her voice cut off instantly. Both she and Wu Tian froze at the sight of the sitting area.
Two Xue Li's.
They were visually identical: the same silver hair, the same composed expression, and the same elegant, slightly tilted teacup. The only difference they could not discern was a subtle disparity in their spiritual aura—something Wu Tian's taxed concentration couldn't immediately grasp.
Wu Tian blinked slowly, his brow furrowed in utter confusion, the pain from the gravity seal forgotten for a moment.