The carriage ride back from Heaven Dou City had been a long, contemplative journey through a landscape that seemed to be changing as quickly as Bill's own fortunes. The capital had been a cold splash of reality—a reminder of the staggering wealth and ancient power that sat atop the world like a crown of thorns. But as the familiar silhouette of Silvershade City appeared on the horizon, bathed in the soft, bruised purple of a winter twilight, Bill felt a sense of homecoming that was both grounding and revitalizing.
Heaven Dou City was the world of the past—of Soul Bones, Titled Douluos, and rigid hierarchies. Silvershade, however, was becoming the cradle of the future.
The first stop was not his manor, but the small administrative building where Jenny worked. He knew her; he knew that while Sarah would be waiting with a feast, Jenny would be waiting with questions. She was his sentinel, the one who watched the shadows while he stared at the sun.
As he entered the office, the smell of old parchment and the sharp tang of fresh ink greeted him. Jenny was at her desk, the glow of a single soul-tool lamp illuminating the fatigue around her eyes. When she looked up and saw him, she didn't smile immediately. She scanned him for injuries, for the subtle signs of a man who had been broken by the weight of the capital.
"You're late," she said, her voice a low rasp. She stood up, smoothing her skirt. "The reports from the capital mentioned a stir at the Auction House. A certain 'One-Eyed Scholar' making a name for himself in the VIP lounges."
Bill closed the door and locked it. "The reports travel faster than the carriages these days. A side effect of my own invention, I suppose."
Jenny walked toward him, her footsteps silent on the rug. She stopped just inches away, her gaze piercing. "Tell me everything. Did Ning Fengzhi see through you? Did the Bone Douluo try to crush your spirit? We are a small pond, Bill. You went swimming with monsters."
Bill reached into his satchel and pulled out a small, intricately carved box made of sandalwood. "I went to learn the depth of the pond, Jenny. And I found that while the monsters are large, they are slow to move. The Seven Treasure Clan is curious, not hostile. Not yet."
He handed her the box. She opened it to find a set of needles forged from 'Deep Sea Cold Iron,' a rare material that naturally conducted soul power with zero resistance. They were a king's ransom in metal, designed specifically to complement her vibrating second soul skill.
"A bribe?" she asked, though her fingers trembled as she touched the cold, blue-tinted metal.
"A reinforcement," Bill corrected. He stepped closer, his hand finding the small of her back. "I saw the gap, Jenny. The gap between us and the Titans. It's a mountain of gold and bones. But mountains can be tunneled through."
Jenny looked up at him, her eyes softening as the anxiety of his absence began to melt into the heat of his presence. She had spent a week imagining his assassination, his disappearance into the dungeons of a Great Clan. Seeing him here, rank up and radiating an even deeper, more refined aura, triggered a release of tension that was almost physical.
"You're a reckless man, Bill," she whispered. She set the box on the desk and reached for the buttons of his travel cloak. "Since you're so fond of 'reinforcements,' perhaps you should see to mine."
She took on her role with a familiar, practiced intensity—the submissive lieutenant seeking the favor of her commander. It was their dance, a way to re-establish the hierarchy and the bond after the chaos of the outside world. In the quiet of the office, surrounded by the ledgers of their growing empire, Bill allowed himself to be the anchor she needed, his hands firm and possessive, reclaiming the territory he had left behind.
—————
Two hours later, Bill arrived at his manor. The torches in the courtyard were lit, reflecting off the fresh snow.
Sarah was waiting in the dining hall. She didn't interrogate him with words; she interrogated him with her presence. She sat at the head of the table, her hand resting on the swell of her stomach. At nearly five months, the pregnancy was beginning to show, giving her a regal, monumental quality. She looked like a goddess of fertility and wealth, draped in silks that cost more than most people earned in a lifetime.
"The children are asleep," she said as he entered. "They wanted to stay up, but I told them their father wouldn't want to see tired warriors."
Bill walked over and knelt beside her chair, placing his hand over hers on her stomach. Beneath the silk, he activated his Sonar. He felt the tiny, rhythmic pulse of the life within—a steady, strong cadence. The boy was healthy, his tiny meridians already beginning to form with a clarity that suggested high innate soul power.
"He's a fighter," Bill murmured.
"He's a Bill," Sarah countered, her hand covering his. "Now, tell me. Is the capital as golden as they say? Or did you find it lacking?"
Bill performed the same ritual he had with Jenny, though the flavor was different. He presented her with a necklace of 'Siren Tears'—pearls that had been treated by a high-level Water Master to constantly emit a soothing, cooling aura, perfect for a woman enduring the heat of a winter pregnancy.
He spoke of the auction, the prices of soul bones, and the meeting with Ning Fengzhi. He didn't hide the danger, but he framed it as a series of obstacles to be engineered away. Sarah listened with the pride of a lioness hearing of her mate's successful hunt. She didn't fear the world; she expected Bill to conquer it for her.
That night, as the fire died down in their bedroom, Sarah's passion was wild and unrestrained. Her pregnancy had not dampened her beast-spirit instincts; if anything, it had sharpened them. She claimed him with a fierce elegance, a noble lady demanding her tribute, reminding him that while Jenny was his sword, she was his throne.
—————
The month that followed was a masterclass in the philosophy of "Play."
The school term resumed, and Bill's routine became a clockwork of advancement. But "Play" was the central theme. In his memories of the other world, he recalled that the most effective learning happened during low-stress, high-engagement states.
He began to introduce "Combat Games" to Class A.
Instead of dry sparring, he created a game called 'Capture the Core.' He would place a vibrating soul-tool in the center of the field. The students were divided into teams. They couldn't use direct offensive skills; they could only use 'Environmental Manipulation.'
Elian had to use his wind to trip opponents. Clara had to use her flute to create "blind spots" of sound. Finn, Jory, and Elara had to coordinate their hounds like a pack, using their mutated abilities to herd the older students toward traps.
"Play is the simulation of survival without the cost of death," Bill told them, standing on the sidelines with his clipboard. "If you can laugh while you fight, you can think while you fight. And the one who thinks, wins."
The feedback was incredible. His students were becoming fluid, creative, and dangerously unpredictable. And every time Elian figured out how to use a wind-current to boost Clara's soundwave, Bill's Celestial Scroll recorded the resonance.
By the end of the month, Bill felt the familiar hum of a breakthrough.
[Current Rank: 56.]
The speed was accelerating. It wasn't just the teaching anymore; it was the symbiosis with Spirit Hall. The more his books sold, the more his name was spoken in the hallowed halls of Spirit City, the more the "Concept of the Teacher" fed his Martial Soul. He was becoming a living embodiment of the knowledge he disseminated.
However, he was under no illusions. Spirit Hall's support was a gilded cage. They provided the ink and the distribution, but they were also mapping his influence. He was a partner now, but eventually, the symbiosis would reach a breaking point. One entity would have to consume the other. Bibi Dong was not a woman who shared power; she only permitted its existence until she found a way to absorb it.
—————
In the second week of the new month, a courier arrived from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. It wasn't an invitation this time; it was a technical inquiry.
During his visit to the capital, Bill had left Ning Fengzhi with a 'teaser'—a small, frictionless box. Inside were the first functional ball bearings ever seen on the continent, forged with precise mathematical tolerances.
The response from the Clan's master artisans was one of frantic curiosity.
"How does the metal not scream? How is the heat dispersed?"
Bill spent his nights in his study, writing his reply. He wasn't just giving them bearings; he was giving them 'Material Science.' He wrote about 'Carbon Tempering' and 'Oil-Bath Lubrication.' He sent blueprints for a new type of carriage axle and a high-security lock system that utilized the 'pin-and-tumbler' design from Earth—something nearly impossible to pick without his specific 'Key-Analysis' knowledge.
The deal he struck with Ning Fengzhi was astronomical. For the exclusive rights to use these designs in the Heaven Dou Imperial logistics fleet, the Seven Treasure Clan agreed to pay Bill five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, distributed over five years.
It was a staggering sum—enough to buy a mid-tier Soul Bone if one ever hit the market.
"You're selling them the wheels of the world," Jenny remarked one evening as she reviewed the contract. "Won't this make the Empire's armies move faster?"
"It will," Bill said, leaning back in his chair. "But I'm also the one who knows how to make those wheels seize up. I'm not selling them weapons, Jenny. I'm selling them efficiency. And efficiency is a drug. Once you have it, you can't go back to the old ways. It makes you dependent on the supplier."
—————
As winter deepened, Bill released his second book: The Scholar's Path: Common Meditation and Cultivation Pitfalls.
If the first book was about the 'What' of soul power, this one was about the 'How.' It was a surgical deconstruction of the mistakes most Spirit Masters made during their formative years.
He wrote about 'Mana Fatigue' (spiritual exhaustion), the danger of 'Over-compression' in the meridians, and the importance of 'Mental Mapping' before attempting a breakthrough.
He used the data he had gathered from his Sonar and Analysis of hundreds of students. He exposed the flaws in the standard Imperial teachings—flaws that he knew were there to keep commoners from becoming too strong, too fast.
The book was an overnight sensation.
In every Spirit Hall branch, masters were reading it and realizing why they had been stuck at Rank 29 for a decade. They followed his "Deep Breath Stabilization" technique and suddenly, the bottleneck broke.
The feedback loop hitting the Celestial Scroll was like a tidal wave.
Bill would be sitting in his library, and suddenly his skin would glow with a faint golden light. His soul power would surge, refining itself, becoming denser and more crystalline.
He was no longer just a Spirit King. He was becoming a fountainhead.
One evening, while Sarah was busy in the nursery—which was now a masterpiece of reinforced stone and soft furs—and the triplets were playing 'Statue' in the hallway, Bill sat in his study, looking at his five rings.
The black ring, the 12,000-year Chiroptera ring, was vibrating. It was evolving. The sonar skill it provided was becoming more than just a scan; it was becoming a 'Domain.'
He closed his eye. He didn't just see the house. He saw the city. He felt the rhythm of the printing presses a mile away. He felt the heartbeats of the guards at the city gates. He felt the friction of the world, and he knew exactly where to apply the grease.
"Ten years," he whispered to the shadows. "The boy in the village is only two. By the time he wakes up, the world will be speaking my language."
He picked up his pen and began to work on the third volume. He wasn't just a teacher anymore. He was the architect of an era, and he was building a wall of gold, ink, and steel that not even the gods could easily climb.
[Current Status: Bill][Rank: 56][Assets: 500k Gold (Contractual), Printing Empire (Expanding), Material Science Patents (Monopolized)][Strategic Insight: The "Efficiency Trap" has been set for the Great Clans.]