Kai, in his soul form, floated above Lian Yue, a blue soul gem—extracted from a bear—in his grasp. His physical body remained seated in serene meditation on a dais, a part of the intricate soulforging formation he had crafted. Nearby, on the central dais, lay Lian Yue, the anticipated successor of the Iceheart clan.

The formation, a convoluted design brimming with raw, primordial energy, served as a spectacle for the eyes and acted as a safeguard, keeping onlookers at a safe distance. Lia and Xian observed from a designated platform on the formation's edge, ensuring no interference.

Lia, her soul light engaged, maintained her calm demeanor. Any previous distress seemed well-contained now.

Gracefully, Kai guided his hand into Lian Yue's heart core. Yue's eyes widened, his mouth agape to utter something, but before any sound could escape, Kai released the soul gem. It twitched for a moment before settling securely in place. Kai retracted his hand and receded into his physical self.

“The initial phase is over,” Kai announced from his dais. “Lian Yue, rise and start channeling your energy from your heart core across your entire being. It's typical for this to trigger some alterations, though they are usually insignificant.”

The heir of the Iceheart clan pushed himself upright, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead under the glow of the spirit lanterns. He adopted a cultivating pose and set the circulation of his energy in motion. Kai observed meticulously, noting the energy’s unchanged nature—it harmonized perfectly with the heart core of the white bear. Yet, the soul gem Kai had added seemed to impart a nuanced control over the energy.

As Kai scrutinized the delicate sway of this energy on Lian Yue's genetic composition, Xian's soft murmurings reached his ears. Xian asked his wife for a narrative of the ongoing process while he captured each detail with unerring accuracy and swift strokes of his pen.

Kai couldn't help but smile. "Note down all you want, sketch every inch of the formation, it won't aid you," he thought."

Kai observed as Lian Yue navigated a complete body cycle, ushering the glacial-blue energy through the vast network of meridians encompassing his body. The initiation of a full cycle instigated subtle genetic alterations. Attempting to quantify the tangible effects these shifts might have was challenging – expertise more aligned with Relay's prowess.

Relay's absence hung in the room like a phantom, his habitual place vacant. He'd sequestered himself away in a secluded sanctuary for personal cultivation. Their plan to secure his soul space was solid, and all Kai could do was silently cheer from the sidelines, hoping for his friend’s success.

"Excellent, maintain that rhythm for another four cycles," Kai instructed, his voice steady. "After this, expect a change in your appetites - an adjustment period as your new soul begins to settle. Accommodate them as best you can until your body and soul balance harmoniously."

Lian Yue's response was non-verbal. His lips tightened, his jaw visibly clenched as though he were biting back an unseen struggle. He nodded, the glint of determination in his eyes belying the strain of the energy cycle.

Turning his attention to the observing couple, Kai's voice adopted a tone of satisfaction, "I've successfully bound his heart core to the soul-gem of the white bear. This fusion will grant him an instinctual mastery of the Iceheart energy, providing a shortcut around potential obstacles on his path. However, we've only reached the midpoint of the process."

With a flourish of his hand, Kai summoned golden motes that fluttered around him in a whimsical dance before coalescing into a wooden box. The box, elegantly lined with crimson fabric, cradled seven spheres of ice-blue hue. Picking up one of the spheres, he held it aloft. In his other hand, a matching blue soul cube appeared. Slowly, he pushed the cube into the sphere. It slid into the ice like a key into a lock, poised in its new home.

“He needs to grasp the secret techniques of the spirit beast - seven in total,” he continued, encapsulating each soul cube in a sphere of frost. They were set aside one by one, chilling echoes of his meticulous procedure. Facing Yue, he added, “I’ve sealed the techniques within these frost orbs. Infuse them with your Iceheart energy, then retract it back into your heart core. You may stumble initially, but soon you'll comprehend the method, not academically, but instinctually as if it were your own nature.”

With the final sphere prepared, Kai placed the entire set before the Iceheart successor.

“I'll remain until you've wholly internalized each technique, ensuring the perfection of your soul forging.” Settling back onto his dais, Kai prepared for a lengthy vigil.

Kai discovered an intriguing principle through a series of experiments: one could assimilate spiritual techniques by cycling compatible energy through them. As Lian Yue took an orb and began to flood it with azure energy, Kai allowed his focus to wander into his soul space.

While devising this absorption method, he scrutinized each of his discarded soul cores, seeking techniques that resonated with their unique energies. He had unearthed two such techniques, both of an obsidian hue. When he cycled his dark core energy through these cubes, they dissolved, allowing him to assimilate the knowledge within.

Two technique descriptions flickered up on the amber screen in his control center.

'Void Barrier - craft a localized zone that denies all forms of existence. Upon the barrier’s creation, everything with existence within will relocate to an adjacent area.'

'Existential Anchor.'

The latter technique was an enigma, a power he knew he could not yet wield — a locked ability. Yet the name alone was an intriguing clue. Paired with the description of the Void Barrier technique, Kai deduced that the underlying concept of his dark core, and the mysterious sphere held within it, centered around existence.

Pondering over it, Kai realized the intrinsic nature of existence. It was a primal concept like reality itself, something instinctively grasped without the foundation of simpler ideas.

Deep in thought, Kai's fingers danced on the translucent screen, notes materializing as he penned down his thoughts.

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"Primordial Physique... a marvel, really," he began, his tone reflecting awe and curiosity. "It can embrace diverse energy forms into its secondary nuclei. This energy then mysteriously morphs into a new physique that's complementary to it."

Pausing, he ran a hand through his hair, considering the implication of his words. He remembered the feeling, the way his energy could metamorphose into anything it wished, only to revert back to its original form, like a cosmic chameleon. It was an apt analogy for the transformative property of his energy.

"The body's transformation," he continued, "isn't a permanent state. It demands a substantial input of energy which gets depleted over time, forcing a reversion."

His hand stilled on the screen, the memory of the searing pain from his transformation playing at the back of his mind. He grimaced, making a note, "Transformations are agonizingly painful." He underlined that point thrice for emphasis.

Recalling his Soul-Sovereign transformation, he remembered how his cells had immediately accepted his white and black energy. "Only those two seemed to be compatible. What did that signify?"

A moment of contemplation stretched out before him as he ran a finger thoughtfully on the screen, tracing over the virtual words.

He thought aloud, "If black energy embodies existence, could the combination of black and flame energy result in some kind of a 'purifying existence'? It doesn't sound quite right, but it's an intriguing thought." The concept of existence was universally compatible, after all.

A sudden thought sparked in his mind. He quickly added, "The fusion of energy types could result in harmonious new forms, further enhancing synergy between cores. Wasn’t that my biggest problem with my Soul-Sovereign form? It couldn’t use my primordial energy."

Excitement surged through him as he sketched out his seven cores, envisioning the diagram of his white form, pulling energy from both his white and black cores. The image took shape before him, a symbolic representation of his power, his transformation, and his existence. He spent a long moment gazing at it before tearing his gaze away to shift his awareness back to his physical body.

A pulse of curiosity resonated in Kai's heart as he watched Lian Yue, who was deeply immersed in his third sphere. Two empty shells lay discarded, proof of Yue's successful progression.

Pursing his lips, Kai directed his attention inwards, exploring the abyss of his being. Twin nuclei nestled within his cells, resuming their identical forms, their previous dance with white and black energy leaving no trace of its existence. A smirk played on Kai's lips as he murmured, "Time to experiment, then."

Scanning his cores, Kai’s gaze lingered on the blood core, his most straightforward core, whose first four spiritual techniques he knew as well as his heartbeat. The final three still held their secrets close, shrouded in dark mystery. He pondered, what would align with a core whose essence was vitality? A form that would harness the potential of his multiple cores was his ultimate goal, his primordial form seemed intent on change, so it was unlikely to assist in creating a single stable form.

With a mental shrug, he plunged headlong into the experiment. As he coursed his blood energy throughout his body, his second nucleus latched onto the ruby-red life-force, eagerly igniting a transformation. Without missing a beat, Kai flooded his body with his primordial energy, scrutinizing his cells for their reaction. His second nucleus snubbed the vibrant golden energy, it rolled over the nucleus, making no lasting impression.

A flicker of disappointment dashed across Kai's face, though he wasn't surprised. Undeterred, he started cycling energy from his other cores from the top down. The majestic purple energy of his soul core found a home in his nucleus. Kai couldn't help but grin, "Two down." Green and blue energies, however, were simply guests passing through.

Ignoring his heart core, he moved on. White came and went, leaving no impact. Lastly, he unleashed his black energy. To his delight, the nucleus devoured it. His smirk widened. Of course, the concept of existence was universally accepted.

A trifecta of cores - a life-giving blood core, a mysterious purple soul core, and the pervasive black existence core. Authority and existence were evident, while the nature of his purple core remained veiled. Perhaps it was tied to power, the crown a telling symbol. Could it be dominion, royalty, or sovereignty?

Patiently, Kai monitored the meticulous work of his nucleus, the essence of three cores brewing into something new. Now, the waiting game began. If his hypothesis held water, another transformative form would be birthed.

The proud Iceheart clan heir, Lian Yue, a tall, sinewy figure wrapped in a robe of shimmering blue, clutched the final frosted sphere, a glow of determination in his icy blue eyes. His skin sparkled subtly, reflecting the faint azure radiance emanating from the sphere. After absorbing the last remaining energy from it, he broke the silence in the room, his voice rough as if scraping against stone.

“I’m done. I have them all,” he declared.

“Then that concludes the soulforging ritual, my obligations to the Iceheart clan are complete.” Kai, a master of control, compelled his motes to return. The sacred formation unwound itself like a reverse time-lapse of a blossoming flower. The wooden box, the daises, even the glimmering spheres seemed to evaporate, their essence streaming back into Kai like returning children.

Kai rose, his charcoal robes billowing around him, an unreadable smile on his stern face. He congratulated Lian Yue, who nodded in recognition. No sooner had Kai withdrawn, than Lia and Xian, two animated figures, their faces flushed with excitement, rushed over. With bright eyes and hurried gestures, they began their examination and barraged him with a rapid succession of questions. Lian Yue bore it all patiently, but Kai, reading the minute twitches in his eye and the tension in his rigid posture, could sense frustration simmering beneath his calm exterior.

Kai could see Lia watching him out of the corner of her eye, the nervous tension still tugging at her expression. She hasn’t entirely dealt with whatever her reaction was.

Quietly, Kai excused himself, his velvet voice gently reverberating off the imposing stone walls of the cavernous hall. As he exited, the smooth chill of the floor seeped through the soles of his feet, sending an invigorating shiver up his spine.

As he stepped into the center of the grand chamber, his gaze was naturally drawn toward the clan patriarch and elders, each sitting higher on carved stone daises. Kai's voice echoed in the cavernous room, bouncing off the icy stalactites overhead.

“The soulforging was a success. He selected the white bear spirit. They are examining him now but will be out momentarily. He will be famished for a few weeks as his body builds itself stronger than before,” he explained.

A buzz of murmurs and nodding heads rippled through the chamber like a gust of wind across a wheat field.

“That completes my service for the Iceheart clan.”

"Your efforts have not gone unnoticed, and we hope this venture marks the inception of many more mutually beneficial engagements," Patriarch Xiangyu intoned, his voice echoing in the high-vaulted room. "It's my pleasure to reveal that Meilin, despite facing formidable challenges, has successfully completed the task you set for her, though not without significant cost. She now waits for your return."

Kai felt a jolt of surprise ricochet through him, his eyes snapping open in disbelief. He had designed the task for Meilin to be insurmountable, a measure meant to guarantee her inability to succeed. This strategy was a means to circumvent adding another individual to his already overwhelming roster of those he was responsible for. The harsh request had seemed like the perfect solution to avert additional responsibility for her. His lips pursed into a taut line, the corners deepening as his mind spun in thought.

"Take me to her immediately," he commanded, his voice reverberating throughout the room.