[A/N: Sorry for the late update, here is your 2280-word chapter!]
Ch.25: Reactions
Far from Qinglong City, beyond forests and borders and the reach of ordinary rumor, a palace rose like a stone beast above the plains.
White stone. Tiger motifs are carved into every pillar.
Flags stitched with black stripes rippling in the cold wind.
The air carried a weight of steel and discipline.
The place felt less like a royal court and more like a fortress dressed in ceremonial robes.
Inside, at the end of a long hall lined with armored guards, a broad-shouldered man sat on a throne carved in the shape of a roaring Tiger.
His voice was a low rumble.
"Twin martial spirits… two of them? And both in that city?"
The messenger knelt deeply, not daring to raise his head.
"Yes, Your Majesty. One child awakened twin spirits with an innate level nine. The second, innate level ten."
Silence settled for a moment.
The Emperor leaned back, fingers tapping the armrest.
His eyes were sharp, but the sigh that left him carried something between resignation and irritation.
"Even among our royal line, innate full soul power is already considered heaven's blessing. Twin spirits? That is… rare even across generations."
He paused.
Then, with a bitter snort, added:
"And yet my youngest son… that brat… chooses this time to run off."
The king's voice lowered, deeper.
"The boy awakens with the White Tiger martial spirit, innate full soul power, gifted with every advantage our bloodline can offer—and his first words?" His jaw tightened.
His aura rising.
"'The ancestors were wrong.'"
He roared, his soul douluo pressure exploding through the hallways.
Making the row of guards tremble in their place.
"He says he will choose a 'better' spirit ring than the one chosen for all who came before him. That he will awaken his martial spirit into a divine grade if he follows his instincts."
The king's knuckles tightened against the throne.
"Utterly foolish!"
He raised a hand, signaling the end of the conversation.
"Keep watching Qinglong. And find my son... before he gets himself killed trying to 'correct history.'"
The hall doors closed behind the messenger.
The image of the White Tiger throne faded from view.
...
…Elsewhere.
Marble pillars soared toward a painted dome of glowing murals.
Frescoes of angels, divine beasts, and radiant spirits adorned every inch of the ceiling and wall. Gold-trimmed carpets flowed across the floor like rivers of light.
Incense drifted gently, fragrant and faintly sweet.
Every tile, every statue, every shard of stained glass radiated sacred authority.
Priests lined the sides like statues, their expressions serene, their posture rigid.
Every step echoed with the authority of a place that did not recognize equals.
At the center of the great hall, seated beneath a crown shaped like a blooming lotus, was a woman.
She had fair skin and a perfect complexion with an aura of noble radiance.
Dressed in black gilt-lined luxurious robes, wearing a nine-tipped purple gold crown with a more than two-meter-long scepter in her hand, inlaid with countless precious stones.
Hair a cascade of deep violet, flowing past her shoulders like soft silk.
Her features sharp yet soft in all the right ways, beauty so overwhelming that even the light seemed to bend around her.
"Two more awakening with twin spirits?"
Her brows drew together, elegant and troubled.
"Again?"
The hall fell silent.
It was a well-known fact that coming across even one person with prospects like twin spirits or innate full soul power was like seeing a miracle occurring in real life.
But just this year alone, the Spirit Hall had recorded more than nine cases, either twin spirits or innate full soul power.
Such numbers were unheard of.
"One, two… perhaps three such cases even across a decade could be seen as fortune. But nine? innate full soul power? And that too in the same year?"
At this point, calling it suspicious was an understatement.
"It feels," she murmured, "as if some hidden hand is turning fate like pages in a book. A large pattern… one mortal should not be touching."
She tapped her scepter lightly, *clink*, the sound echoing through the grand hall.
"Don't tell me these two are from that small village of Nuoding City again?"
A cloaked elder bowed.
"No, Your Holiness. The reports indicate… Qinglong City."
Her lips parted slightly.
"Qinglong City?" she echoed.
A small smile tugged at her immaculate features.
"That border city of craftsmen and healers? Even that place wants a part of the pie?"
She said, but she still felt somewhat relieved.
After all, if even more such cases keep arising from the same place, it will be very hard to suppress the spread of information.
She leaned back, scepter resting lightly against her throne.
Amusement flickered in her eyes, although disbelief softened the edges.
Spirit Hall itself had secured many of those "heaven-chosen" talents this year, four or five prodigies either born within their ranks or recruited early.
Even they had been left bewildered.
A grand scheme?
A divine omen?
Or merely the world changing under their feet?
She closed her eyes.
"Keep eyes on Qinglong City," she ordered quietly.
"It seems another fire is beginning to burn there. We must not let it grow unchecked."
Her voice softened, almost like a laugh.
"The world is going to become lively very soon."
The hall dimmed as the scene faded.
...
Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
Deep within the elegant compound of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, a soft fragrance of ink and sandalwood filled the chief pavilion.
Ning Fengzhi sat with a scroll open in his hands, though his eyes were fixed past the parchment.
Across from him, Sword Douluo stood with his arms crossed, posture straight like a soldier in a parade.
Bone Douluo lounged on the opposite seat, expression hard to guess under his skull-like face.
Ning Fengzhi finally set the report down.
"Twin martial spirits appearing twice in one month… in the same city no less."
Bone Douluo clicked his tongue. "Looks like they have also secured a bit of luck as well."
Sword Douluo gave a soft scoff, the edge of his aura sharpening. "Luck? Call it what you want. The continent is moving. These aren't coincidences."
Fengzhi smiled mildly, refusing to be baited into worry.
"True. But Qinglong City is not an ordinary place anymore. With their supply of medicines, soul tools, treatments, even… monopoly over things like newspaper production due to favorable conditions… their influence is spreading."
He paused.
"And now the only thing they are lacking is being compensated."
He said his voice calm, but his eyes told much more than what he spoke.
Bone Douluo opened his eyes.
"Should I deal with this?"
His words full of malice.
Fengzhi shook his head.
"No. Their rise doesn't endanger us; rather, it could be another opportunity to spread our influence."
"And even if things don't go as planned-",
Ning Fengzhi finally turned his gaze away from the window.
"We have our own monster," he said bluntly.
A brief silence followed, as if acknowledging the weight of that truth.
Sword Douluo's expression softened, something between pride and disbelief.
"Yes. A child with innate full soul power… and three martial spirits."
Bone Douluo chuckled, voice low.
"Compared to that freak, even twin spirits feel ordinary."
Neither Sword Douluo nor Fengzhi corrected him.
The existence of their prodigy was their clan's deepest secret, known only to three people.
The others might hear of Qinglong's rising stars and react with urgency.
They reacted with calm.
...
Far from cities and kingdoms, beyond cliffs where clouds drifted like slow rivers, stood a hall carved directly into the heart of a colossal mountain.
The building rose like a sword driven point-first into the heavens.
Ancient pillars shaped like dragon-wrapped blades supported a circular chamber paved in luminous stone.
Every surface carried faint traces of intent—marks left behind by generations of swordsmen whose strikes had accidentally carved through even reinforced materials.
There stood a circular hall carved from luminous stone that shimmered faintly under the touch of the wind.
Twelve seats.
Twelve figures.
Twelve presences so sharp the air itself grew still around them.
All different levels of soul power, yet none of that mattered here.
Because in this place, rank was not determined by spirit rings.
Only one thing held weight:
The sword.
Every person seated at this round table had refined their blade to a level where worldly authority and spirit ranks became irrelevant.
Meetings were rare.
Most of them preferred training, meditation, sparring, or creating or comprehending new techniques.
Yet today, all twelve were present.
A man seated on the seventh chair tapped the pommel of the sword resting by his knee.
"So," he said lazily, "what's the occasion? Who called a full gathering?"
A subordinate standing at his side bowed and stepped forward.
"Reports have arrived from Qinglong City. Two children have awakened twin martial spirits. Both of near top grade. One with innate level nine… the other innate level ten."
The room, previously calm, gained a subtle undercurrent of interest.
But not for the reason one might expect.
But it was the woman in the fifth seat who reacted first.
Her eyes lit up like fireworks.
"Qinglong?" she repeated, leaning forward in excitement.
"The same place as Zhou Yueling's hometown?"
The slight tension across several seats suggested the answer was obvious.
She slapped her palm lightly against the table.
"Excellent. Tell me where they are. I haven't sparred with that girl in ten years. She snapped my wrist the last time we crossed blades. I've been waiting for a rematch."
Before the subordinate could even inhale—
"Absolutely not."
The man in the second seat, Xiao Zhang, cut in sharply.
"Our trades depend on that city. Medicine, tools, treatment for injuries, even basic tonics, half of the mountain's lifeline flows from Qinglong. We will not disturb that balance just because you are itching for a fight."
The woman puffed her cheeks in a pout.
"Why are you acting like I always cause trouble? It's just a spar. A week or two at most."
"That," Xiao Zhang said, rubbing his forehead, "is exactly why we don't want you going."
But he saw her eyes slide toward the trembling informant beside her.
Her stare promised impending violence.
Xiao Zhang panicked on instinct.
"Knights! Take Xiao Yu away. Now!"
"What—HEY—!"
Before she could resist, four female knights swooped in with synchronized movements, locking her joints with the ease of long practice.
She was dragged away while shouting:
"I just want to spar! Let go! I'm not going to destroy anything—THIS TIME!"
Only when her voice faded did Xiao Zhang sit back down, adjusting his robes with an exhausted sigh.
The man in the third seat chuckled.
"Why worry, Brother Zhang? Worst-case scenario, we could simply replace Qinglong's leadership and take over. It wouldn't be difficult."
His tone suggested humor.
His eyes suggested he meant every word.
"Not funny." Xiao Zhang glared at him.
The old man in the first seat, the Sword Grandmaster himself, finally spoke.
His presence wasn't loud or overwhelming.
If anything, it was too calm.
"Enough," he said, voice steady. "Let us return to the purpose of this gathering."
All eyes turned toward him.
He continued, "This meeting is not for war, nor interference. It is for deciding what gifts and congratulations to send to our closest external ally."
Seat twelve nodded.
"Yes. While we do not measure genius by martial spirits or soul power, the outside world does. Two such prodigies will raise Qinglong's status sharply."
A brief debate followed.
Suggestions.
Material gifts.
Sword manuals.
Rare ores.
Offerings of service.
Yet nothing seemed appropriate.
"Why not send some of the younger generation as exchange students?"
The fourth seat finally spoke, her voice soft but firm enough to make the others straighten slightly.
She continued,
"The prodigies in Qinglong are only six years old. Our own clan has a few children born this generation with non-tool martial spirits and decent soul power… yet no affinity for intent. We've all seen it; they cannot grasp even the most basic sword meaning, no matter how they train."
Her gaze swept the circle.
"Keeping them here wastes their lives. But outside? In a place like Qinglong, where soul tools and medicine flourish, they may find paths better suited to them."
A faint smile touched her lips.
"Sending them would be both a gesture of sincerity and a chance for those children to build real futures. And… the two such children happen to be direct relatives of mine. This could even be framed as establishing closer familial ties."
She leaned back slightly, expression serene.
"It serves all purposes. A gift, a goodwill exchange, and a new start for the children."
Xiao Zhang blinked.
"That much is fine… but what about the gift we were supposed to choose?"
The old woman smiled at that.
Xiao Zhang, "???"
One man from the tenth seat leaned over and muttered to Xiao Zhang,
"Brother… the suggestion is the gift."
And indeed, everyone had a thoughtful look on their face hearing the old lady's proposal.
Giving rise to even more confusion on top of Xiao Zhang.
Ignoring him, all of them looked at each then collectively at the elder sitting in the first seat ripple of amusement passed around the table.
They turned collectively toward the Sword Grandmaster.
He nodded once.
"Ask the children if they are willing. If they are, they will be sent to study in Qinglong."
Then he added, "Along with a shipment of rare metals… and issue two Tokens for the mountain's Monument Trial."
And the conference concluded.