Somewhere in the southern region of the Neptune Realm, there is a small place called Jilo.
A 21-year-old boy is standing in a hall, in front of the Kinta House leader, Yuruma Kinta.
The boy looked like a handsome young man, with deep black eyes and long black hair that draped down to his neck. He wore a loose blue-and-white robe, its wide sleeves swaying gently with every movement.
The boy bowed deeply, lowering his head in respect. "House Leader… did you summon me?" he asked.
The House Leader gave a slow nod. "Yes, Kitora. I'm the one who summoned you."
The House Leader was fifty-eight, yet his face carried the youthfulness of a man in his thirties. He had black eyes and long flowing black hair that fell all the way to his waist. His eyebrows were slightly thicker than most, giving him a calm but imposing presence. Draped over his body was a loose robe of dark blood-red.
Yuruma Kinta examined Kitora Singa carefully, his expression softening into a faint smile. "Thank you for protecting my daughter," he said. "As your reward, you may select any item from my personal treasure vault."
Kitora Singa bowed once more. "House Leader, you're far too generous," he said. "I didn't do anything worthy of a reward. The journey was peaceful, and we faced no danger at all. I don't deserve such kindness."
The faint smile on Yuruma Kinta's face vanished, replaced by a hint of anger. His voice turned sharp and commanding. "Are you refusing my reward?" he thundered. The sound of his words echoed through the hall like rolling thunder.
Kitora Singa quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, House Leader. I didn't mean to anger you. I just…"
"Enough!" the House Leader roared, his voice shaking the hall.
The House Leader sighed, and a faint smile returned to his face. He said, "It's not about whether there was danger or not. It's about the fact that you took the risk. You were just lucky that you didn't encounter any danger."
After speaking, the House Leader rose from his seat and motioned for Kitora to follow. Together, they walked toward a door on the right and stepped through it.
Soon, the two of them arrived before a large gate. On the gate, a circle was drawn with a strange eye symbol at its center. Suddenly, a drop of blood began to drip from the eye, and with that, the gate slowly opened.
Both of them entered the room through the strange eye-symbol gate, and Kitora Singa's eyes widened in surprise. From the outside, the room had seemed small, but inside it expanded into an enormous space—nearly ten square kilometers. A thick fog covered the ground up to their knees. Ancient pillars rose from the mist, each carved with strange architecture and mysterious symbols. Stone altars were scattered throughout the area, and upon them lay many unusual items, each radiating an unsettling aura.
House Leader Yuruma Kinta guided Kitora to a particular spot. There, Kitora saw a small pond, and at its center floated a stone slab suspended in the air, with a narrow bridge leading directly to it.
Resting on the floating stone slab was a dagger, its hilt carved from a gleaming red gemstone. A chilling aura was continuously radiating from the weapon—so intense that Kitora involuntarily shuddered, a wave of fear crawling up his spine.
House Leader Yuruma Kinta noticed Kitora's reaction and laughed loudly. Then he said, "Did you feel it? This is a vessel containing a rank-four Corroding Soul Spirit. Anything stabbed by it will corrode."
Yuruma Kinta shifted his gaze back to the dagger and continued, "As you know, rank six Soul Spirits are the weakest in power, and rank one is the strongest. A person can usually have only one Soul Spirit—at most two. If someone tries to merge a third Soul Spirit with his body, the pressure of the three Soul Spirits will destroy his body."
Kitora Singa listened carefully, yet confusion flickered across his face. Noticing this, Yuruma Kinta tilted his head slightly and asked, "What is it?"
Kitora shook his head slowly. "It's nothing… it's just that my father told me there exist Soul Spirits even stronger than rank one."
The House Leader heard this and laughed loudly. Then he lifted his gaze toward the sky and sighed. "You mean the Divine Rank Soul Spirits."
Kitora nodded with excitement.
Yuruma Kinta continued, "Those are only legends. No one has one, nor has anyone even seen one."
Kitora Singa thought for a moment and said, "But no one has ever seen a rank-one Soul Spirit either. And besides… 'Zultrav'—the son of the Goddess and the Demon—has one."
Yuruma Kinta shifted his gaze back to Kitora and smiled. "Oh, you mean the 'Exception' Soul Spirit. And besides, Zultrav himself is a legend—no one has ever seen him. He's only mentioned in 'The Supreme Soul Spirit' Book."
Yuruma paused for a moment before continuing, "And just because you haven't seen a rank-one Soul Spirit doesn't mean none exist. In Heaven and Hell, there are many who possess rank-one Soul Spirits."
Kitora hesitated before asking, "I'm sorry… I don't mean to be rude, but how do you know that many people in Heaven and Hell possess rank-one Soul Spirits?"
House Leader Yuruma Kinta first gave Kitora a bone-chilling glance, then let out a sigh. "Do you know what the people of Heaven and Hell are called?"
Kitora Singa nodded. "People in Heaven are called 'Blessed,' and the people of Hell are called 'Cursed.'"
Yuruma Kinta nodded in return, then asked, "Do you know about the 'Gods' and the 'Demons'?"
Kitora nodded, but then a sudden realization struck him. Noticing his reaction, Yuruma Kinta laughed. "That's right. Gods and Demons are the beings who possess rank-one Soul Spirits."
Yuruma Kinta looked back at the dagger, a faint smile touching his lips. "This," he said, "is your reward for your work."
Kitora Singa hesitated and was about to speak, but House Head Yuruma Kinta interrupted him. "I know what you're thinking—why would I give you something so precious? But it's useless to me. I don't know the ritual to extract the rank-four Soul Spirit from this vessel. And besides, I've already connected my body to two Soul Spirit vessels."
He sighed, then continued, "And my daughter can only connect one Soul Spirit vessel to her body, and she already has one."
Kitora Singa's hesitation lingered as he quietly said, "But… there are plenty of families, plenty of people… even the Sentinels—those who merge with Soul Spirits and wield their power. All of them are more worthy of this than me."
Yuruma Kinta let out a sigh and shook his head, then shifted his gaze back to Kitora Singa. "I didn't want to tell you this, but I have to. The truth is… my daughter likes you, and she wants to marry you. But don't tell anyone—especially my daughter—otherwise she'll be on my head."
Kitora slightly blushed after hearing this and didn't say anything.
The silence was broken by Yuruma: "Also, I'm not asking you—don't tell anyone about this gift. Not even your parents. If word gets out, everyone will know, and people will start scheming against you."
After saying this, Yuruma gestured for Kitora to step closer to the dagger.
Kitora approached the dagger and bit his finger. Blood flowed from the wound and dripped onto the dagger. The dagger's gemstone hilt shone brightly, and after a few breaths, it dimmed back to its original glow. Suddenly, Kitora felt a connection to the dagger.
Seeing this, a wicked smile spread across the face of Kinta House's head, Yuruma Kinta.
Exiting the treasure room, Kitora reached the gate of Yuruma Kinta's house. The afternoon sun hung low in a clear blue sky, its light slowly fading. With a final glance back, Kitora stepped away from Yuruma's residence.
As Kitora walked through the bustling market streets, his eyes fell on Yuruma Kinta's daughter, Isina Kinta, who was surrounded by her friends. Three of them were nearby, and they caught Kitora staring. Embarrassed, he quickly looked away, a deep blush rising across his cheeks.
Gathering his courage, Kitora met their eyes again and offered a small smile. The girls, caught off guard, responded with awkward smiles of their own, clearly confused by the situation.
As Kitora left, one of the girls furrowed her brows and asked, her voice tinged with curiosity, "What's wrong with him?"
Isina Kinta gave a small shrug. "I have no idea."
one of the girls, with a mischievous smile, said, "Ooo… Princess, did something happen on your journey?"
Isina Kinta pushed her lightly. "Nothing happened. We just traveled without even saying a word. Besides, there were many people—he wasn't the only one. There were plenty of others who were far better than him."
One of the girls lightly bumped her shoulder against Isina's and teased, "You sound a little disappointed."
Isina Kinta shot back, her tone flat and unamused, "Shut up."
...
Kitora arrived home and slept until the evening. After making himself some food, he sat quietly, lost in thought. 'When will my parents return?' he wondered.
After eating and washing the dishes, Kitora was about to go to bed when he heard footsteps outside. He ran to the gate and opened it. A beautiful woman was approaching. She had black hair tied neatly and black eyes. She wore a loose white robe and shoes.
When she saw the young man open the door, her lips curled into a wide smile, and she opened her arms, clearly intending to embarrass him.
Kitora ran forward and hugged his mother, and together they went inside the house.
Kitora looked up at his mother and asked softly, "Where's Father?"
His mother gently patted Kitora and said, "He is at the headquarters, reporting."
When his mother mentioned the headquarters, a sudden question struck Kitora, and he immediately asked, "Mother, did Zultrav really exist in the past? He's mentioned in 'The Supreme Soul Spirit', but some people still don't believe it."
His mother smiled and spoke calmly and warmly, "Everything written in 'The Supreme Soul Spirit' is real and true. That is why people read it. Every Soul Spirit mentioned in the book exists, and people have used the rituals described in it to identify which Soul Spirit they possess."
Kitora wore a confused expression, and after deep pondering, he asked, "Then, Mother, is Zultrav still alive? The book mentions that he was only trapped, not killed. And if he is alive, how could he have survived for eight ages? This is the ninth age, and one age equals one million years."
His mother smiled warmly at her son and said, "Because he possesses the Exception Soul Spirit, which makes him an exception in everything he desires."
Kitora was about to ask something, but his mother looked at him and asked gently, "And where is your sister?"
Kitora replied, looking at his mother's hands, where she held a box, "She is at our aunt's home."
Kitora's mother shifted her gaze back to her son and gently said, "Go and bring your sister."
Kitora stood up and took one last glance at the box in his mother's hands before leaving the house. Soon, he arrived at his aunt's house and brought his sister back.
Kitora's sister was seventeen, a petite and beautiful girl whose lean frame reached just to his chest. She had black hair, and her slightly large eyes gave her an innocent yet striking look.
Her eyes lit up when she saw her mother, and a radiant smile spread across her face. She looked absolutely breathtaking as she ran forward and embraced her mother.
Her mother held her close, a gentle smile on her lips. "Nimira, has your brother been teasing you again?" she asked softly.
Nimira puffed out her cheeks in annoyance and nodded. "Yes, Mom… he's calling me 'Turada' again," she said with a pout.
The Turada is a tiny animal with a flat body and four legs so slender they look like needles. Its entire body measures only about 10 centieter in length.
Before long, their father arrived. Kitora and Nimira ran to him, embracing him tightly as they excitedly asked what he had brought for them.
Their father took out two small boxes and handed them to the children. Just as they were about to open them, he stopped them and said, "Open them tomorrow."
After a warm evening together, the family went to bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep. In the dead of night, a deafening bang shattered the silence, waking all four of them. Kitora's father leapt from his bed, weapon in hand, and ran outside. The protective fence had been obliterated, and some people had gathered. Standing at the forefront was none other than the Lord of the Kinta House, Yuruma Kinta.