As Kai moved among the villagers, the God’s Eye Art heightened his vision in all directions. This spiritual technique, the first skill he had mastered, allowed him to see far beyond what was before his eyes. No one could sneak up on him or hide their true intent, and Kai had come to know people always acted differently when they thought no one was watching.
Beside him, Meilin was causing a stir. She was radiant and unusual, unlike anyone they'd ever seen before. The Iceheart villagers knew her as a cold, fierce cultivator, her black hair as typical as their own. Now, she had snow-white hair and enormous white wings folded elegantly behind her like a majestic cloak. Her silver crown glinted in the light, making her blue-white eyes even more mesmerizing.
As they ambled through the bustling marketplace, their eyes were drawn to Meilin’s transformed appearance. Kai stopped at a smoked meat stall, grabbing the vendor's attention. “I’m looking for Tuli, the rush mat seller. You might know her?” he asked, catching sight of the man’s widened eyes upon seeing Meilin.
“Ah, sure I do,” the vendor replied, pointing them in the right direction. Kai turned to Meilin as they continued, “Have you tried to fly yet?”
She glanced around, conscious of the crowd, and shook her head. “I haven’t.”
“Flight is liberating,” Kai assured her. “And rare. You’ll enjoy it, but best wait until we’re outside.” The Iceheart village was inside a mammoth cave, the entrance a large open expanse that allowed the natural light of the day into their land.
As they reached Tuli's mat stall, a burst of energy emerged in the form of a gap-toothed boy.
“You came!” Jang exclaimed, rushing towards Kai. His infectious laughter echoed in the marketplace, attracting more gazes. “Mom said you were impordant and nod to expecd you, but I knew you’d come!”
"Hey, champ," Kai ruffled Jang's hair affectionately as he arrived at the stall. "Is your mom around? We have some things to talk about before we leave." He had hoped the meeting with the patriarch and his observers would have prepared him for this moment, but facing Tuli with the truth proved more challenging.
Jang's mother, Tuli, stepped through the woven panels advertising her stall. Her smile froze midway when she saw Kai. Then her gaze shifted, landing on Meilin. The shock painted on her face was unmistakable as she took in Meilin's celestial appearance: the silver crown of horns, the sea of white curls obscuring it, the train of perfect white wings, and those hypnotic blue-white eyes. It was a stark contrast to the Meilin she remembered.
"I was hoping we could talk... privately," Kai requested, scratching the back of his neck, a telltale sign of his unease. Although clearly startled, Tuli managed a weak smile and gestured for Kai to enter the small space within her stall.
Meilin bowed slightly, her formality evident. "Of course, master," she said, opting to guard the entrance rather than intrude on the conversation. There was an air of rigid professionalism about her that hinged on respect and distance. Kai appreciated it, although he was still getting used to being called a 'master.'
Inside the stall, Kai turned to Tuli. She was noticeably nervous, her gaze skittering around, never resting on him. He understood her discomfort – the revelation he was about to share would topple the status quo.
"I should have told you I was the soulforger," he began, his voice carrying an unusual heaviness. "But it was a breath of fresh air, being just me without the weight of expectations. You see, with power comes a set of... assumed behaviors. And sometimes, it's just suffocating." He took a deep breath, composing himself. "But that's not why I'm here."
"I've found a spirit beast soul, an arctic hare, to be precise," he continued his tone firm. "It’s a defensive beast that can provide Jang with profound knowledge of spiritual energy, ensuring he excels in cultivation when he comes of age. I want to give it to him, not just for his safety but for yours too. I would feel better knowing he can protect you."
He was unwilling to let Jang and Tuli's story follow the all-too-familiar script - the bold young son who aspired to be a cultivator, dying prematurely like his father and leaving his mother to live out her days in solitude.
Tuli offered a wry smile. “So you’re the soulforger,” she said, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Her eyes held a combination of amusement and resignation. “Jang has been boasting about his new friend to anyone who will listen. I knew you had to be someone extraordinary.”
“I apologize for the slight subterfuge,” Kai said. He glanced outside where Jang was firing question after question at Meilin, his curiosity piqued by everything from her wings to the silver crown nestled within her snowy curls.
Tuli sighed, her gaze drifting to the collection of rush mats in her shop. “Suddenly, I’m confronted with impossible choices,” she murmured. “If I agree, am I leading him down a path where his newfound strength tempts him into danger? But if I say no, am I robbing him of an opportunity that might save his life someday? Will I be left to grapple with guilt and regret?” She busied herself with flipping and dusting the mats to distract herself from the weight of the decision.
Her words hung in the air, filling the tiny shop with palpable tension. “Is this the norm for you? Making decisions that shift the course of destiny at every turn?”
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Kai found himself leaning against the stall, lost in thought. “I suppose the stronger one becomes, the more our choices ripple outwards, impacting others. It's an unavoidable aspect of power. But one can't let it consume them.”
Tuli frowned at his words, a silent contemplation flickering in her eyes. She finally nodded. “For Jang's sake, I have to agree. But know that I value our quiet life here. I never sought out the grandeur or complexity of mingling with the powerful.”
Kai appreciated her honesty. He respected her choice to live a simple, unassuming life. With a final glance toward Jang, he focused his energy and manipulated time to his advantage. In a blur of motion, he summoned golden motes of power, crafting a nondescript wooden box. Inside, he carefully transferred the techniques of the arctic hare spirit beast into cubes of elemental ice. To an outsider, it would appear that he had simply retrieved an item from hidden storage.
He presented the box to Tuli, “Keep this safe until Jang is ready. He will learn to channel his energy through each cube, gradually absorbing the beast spirit techniques.”
Tuli hesitated, her hand hovering over the box—her fears for her son's future wrestling with the hope that this gift might protect him. She finally accepted the box with a sigh, hiding it behind a stack of rush mats.
“Thank you for everything you've done for Jang,” Tuli said quietly, her eyes revealing a storm of emotions.
Kai's smile faded as he slowed time once more. Using his formidable abilities, he summoned his soul crown and reached out to the oblivious Jang, immersed in his play with Meilin. His fingers gently extracted the arctic hare’s soul from his soul space, an ethereal specter of icy beauty, and deftly pushed it into Jang's heart core socket. The process was swift and seamless, causing Jang to stumble briefly before shaking it off and resuming his play.
Despite the brevity of the interaction, Kai felt a weight lift off his shoulders. He had done his part to secure Jang's future. Now, the matter lay in the hands of time.
Returning to his body, Kai addressed Tuli, his voice softer. “If I happen to be back this way, could I perhaps stop by and see how you both are faring?”
The question hung in the air, charged with unspoken sentiments and delicate yearnings. Tuli's eyes fell onto her son and then met Kai's gaze. She seemed torn, her features a mix of hope, fear, and resignation.
“There’s little I could do to stop you.” Her words were spoken almost in a whisper, her heart churning with conflicting emotions. She yearned for the normalcy and peace of her simple life, yet the spark in Kai's eyes and the promise of his presence stirred something within her. After a minute that felt like an eternity, she nodded, accepting the inevitable intrusion of their world by the extraordinary.
In the background, Jang's voice rang out in joyous proclamation. “So cool! I’m going to tell my friends I met a real cultivator!” His excitement was palpable, filling the air with a child's unreserved glee at encountering the exceptional.
Hearing the boy's exclamation, Kai knelt down, leveling his gaze with Jang’s. “Jang,” he began, a hint of solemnity in his voice, “It was an honor meeting you. Promise me you'll mind your mom, and I assure you I'll bring you something nice when I return.”
Jang's playful demeanor shifted instantly to earnest seriousness. “Promise?”
A warm smile tugged at the corners of Kai's lips. “It’s a solemn promise between cultivators, witnessed by the heavens themselves.” He ruffled the boy’s hair affectionately before standing up and turning to Meilin. It was time to go.
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Patriarch Xu Xiangyu's gaze was locked on the powerful Soul Forger, Kai. The man's eye twitched, and Feng noticed. As the head of the Iceheart clan, he prided himself on his ability to read people. And something about that simple twitch told him the man wasn’t expecting to see them again. They had come early in the morning and said farewells, hoping to avoid this scene, but Xiangyu wouldn’t miss a chance to see his daughter off.
His gaze moved from Kai to the clan's newly ascended heir and the line of elders here to see Kai and his disciple, Meilin, off. They reminded him of a brood of hens, huddling, watching, their attention wholly riveted on the two visitors in their midst. But Xiangyu’s attention was split - between the mighty Soul Forger and his flesh and blood, Meilin.
Kai's voice broke the chilly silence. "The last time I visited the Lou family, I approached them humbly. Their response was less than gracious." The bitterness in Kai's tone was palpable, but Xiangyu was distracted by the golden prismatic glow radiating from his form. He looked at the gathering of townspeople watching. Had Kai decided to give them something to talk about in the coming months?
As Kai launched himself into the air, Xiangyu could feel the raw power radiating from the man. It was a force so potent that it cracked the stone path beneath him. The man was more than a soulforger; Xiangyu could see it now. He was a major power, hiding in the form of a child.
He watched in awe as Kai underwent an incredible transformation in mid-air. He was engulfed in a white cloud of pure energy, which momentarily hid him from sight, only to reveal him stronger, taller, and more formidable. His robe, now made from the power of a thousand golden and white birds, radiated an air of nobility and dominance.
Xiangyu felt a knot in his throat as he looked at his transformed daughter. She looked small next to the magnificent Kai, yet there was a fire in her eyes that he had never seen before. She was mesmerized, fascinated. As she accepted Kai's invitation to join him in the sky, Xiangyu felt a pang of paternal worry tinged with pride.
He watched as the two figures ascended into the sky, a sea of tiny white birds appearing and merging into a majestic war hawk beneath them. The creature's beak was a golden bronze and bore many eyes shining with the same hue. His heart pounded in his chest as he watched his daughter ride the creature, a mixture of fear and anticipation coursing through his veins.
As the warhawk began to circle the mountain, he saw Kai waving down at them. Xiangyu raised his hand in response, a small gesture in the grand scheme of things, but it was his way of saying farewell. And perhaps, in some small way, he hoped his daughter saw it as a token of his support.
As the hawk dove towards Arcadia, the city by the sea, Xiangyu felt a strange calm descend upon him. His daughter was embarking on a journey he couldn't accompany her on. But as he watched her disappear into the distance, he felt more proud of her than ever. He somehow knew that she would make her mark on the world.