Chapter 37: The Fallen Light Angel
However, venturing into business would have to wait at least until Ye Wen reached the Soul Saint level. As a mere Soul King, rushing into a market as profitable as soul tool crafting could be dangerously reckless. For now, his priority was to stockpile metals. While Douluo Continent wasn't as rich in rare ores as the Sun Moon Continent, high quality materials were still fairly inexpensive here because the demand for advanced weaponry or armor was almost nonexistent. Metals were mainly used for common soldiers' armor, making them cheap in the absence of a soul tool market.
After understanding the construction principles of a level one spatial soul tool, Ye Wen quickly produced his own spatial ring. Once complete, he opened a blank book and carefully documented the production process and principles, recognizing the wisdom of "better safe than sorry." This wasn't his first book of notes he'd filled several volumes with information, mostly about medicinal plants, while others contained his theories on martial souls and various concepts.
In the days that followed, life at Tianxing Academy continued peacefully. Eventually, Ye Wen remembered that Qian Qian's martial soul hadn't been awakened, so he set about helping her with the process.
Due to years of harsh living conditions, however, her martial soul had suffered a malignant mutation. A lone, golden wing appeared on her right shoulder, detached and incomplete. Qian Qian's soul mark appeared on her chest, but only as a fragment. The mark had a noble, golden outline, but within it, there was only a small, delicate wing.
Her innate soul power was also limited to level one. Ye Wen could only guess that if her martial soul hadn't mutated, her innate soul power might have been at least level five. The soul mark's aura hinted at something beyond an ordinary martial soul. Qian Qian's natural beauty further suggested her wasted potential.
Regretful as he was over Qian Qian's stunted potential, Ye Wen hadn't taken her in for her talent; he simply wanted the girl to live a peaceful, happy life. Even with her latent disappointment over her ability, Qian Qian was endearingly diligent, practicing tirelessly every day and listening closely to Ah Yin's lessons on soul master basics.
Qian Qian decided to name her martial soul "Wings of Light." Life at the academy continued with their routine of training and experimentation. Ah Yin eventually broke through to Soul King, obtaining her first black soul ring.
"Fifth Soul Skill: Blue Silver Imperial Spear!" Ah Yin summoned her new ability, producing a golden threaded blue silver spear that radiated nobility and elegance. In that moment, she seemed like an armored knight, her spear exuding a deadly force Ye Wen was sure would pierce him if she struck.
Now possessing a strengthened mental awareness, Ye Wen felt the surge of Ah Yin's spiritual power as well. Around them, the surrounding blue silver grass seemed to cheer, forming rippling waves in reverent tribute to her.
Caught up in this feeling, Ah Yin was momentarily dazed. She activated her Blue Silver Domain, causing the blue silver grass to grow even more vibrantly, releasing a nourishing energy into the air. Ye Wen was thrilled to find that even without intense training, his physical strength was now subtly increasing.
"Ah Yin, it looks like your Blue Silver Domain has developed some new abilities," Ye Wen noted with excitement.
"Yes, brother. This is its true form," Ah Yin replied happily. "Originally, it could only strengthen the blue silver grass, but now, it can gather the life energy in the air. Within this domain, any living being can benefit elders might live longer, soul masters can cultivate more efficiently, and physical recovery speeds up greatly."
Ye Wen was equally thrilled. This new ability turned the Blue Silver Domain into something closer to a Life Domain. Although it wasn't on par with the Golden Ancient Tree of Sea God Lake in Douluo Dalu 2, it was still an incredible gain.
The mention of longevity reminded Ye Wen of Ye Buyi. Although Ye Buyi had been in good spirits recently, at nearly sixty years old, he was an elderly one ring soul master by Douluo standards. As Ye Wen's only true family member, he wanted Ye Buyi to live longer and more comfortably.
"How long can you maintain this domain, Ah Yin?" he asked thoughtfully.
"With my current soul power, about two hours," she replied. "But if I gather enough blue silver plants with advanced age, I can create a pseudo Blue Silver Domain. Its effects would be halved, but it could run continuously."
Overjoyed, Ye Wen considered her response a blessing in disguise. "Ah Yin, can you sense the location of older blue silver plants? Let's transplant them to our mountainside and turn it into a Blue Silver Forest. It'll be a massive help for our training," he said eagerly.
Ah Yin considered his suggestion and agreed. In the next two months, she and Ye Wen frequently ventured into the outskirts of Star Dou Forest, gathering often overlooked blue silver trees.
When blue silver grass reaches a thousand years of age, it evolves into a blue silver tree, resembling a willow with drooping branches adorned with vibrant blue silver leaves. But because blue silver trees typically lacked powerful soul skills, most soul masters ignored them. Only a few, mostly low ranking civilian soul masters, considered hunting them to obtain soul rings.
The duo's hard work paid off. By the end of the two months, Ye Wen and Ah Yin had transplanted thousands of blue silver vines and over a hundred blue silver trees onto Tianxing Academy's mountain. Where the mountain once seemed barren and ordinary, it now exuded a hint of a mystical, ethereal atmosphere.
The new additions included sixty two blue silver trees just past the millennium mark, twenty five trees over three thousand years old, and twelve trees over five thousand years old. The oldest was a towering, nine thousand year old blue silver tree that, with time, might soon reach ten thousand years and become a Blue Silver King.
All these were collected solely from the forest outskirts. Ye Wen had no plans to disturb the trees within the mixed region, both because of limited strength and because they had already transformed their mountainside into a remarkable cultivation site.
Meanwhile, his disciples training at the academy soon felt the benefits. With the blue silver forest taking root, they sensed an accelerated progression in their cultivation, as well as a constant, gentle nourishment strengthening their bodies. They were well aware this was yet another of their master's painstakingly created advantages.
(End of Chapter)
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