"Try to sense your Martial Soul," Wei Xuan instructed gently.
"How do I communicate with it?" Xu Yanqing scratched his head, looking embarrassed and confused.
Most of his time had gone into playing and eating; he had barely studied anything about Martial Souls.
Seeing the boy's blank expression, Wei Xuan couldn't help but smile. "Close your eyes first. Don't think about anything. Just focus on what's happening inside your body."
"Oh." Xu Yanqing obediently nodded and did as told.
"Go call Hall Master Hongchen," Wei Xuan told the old man beside him.
"Yes, Your Highness," the old man replied respectfully and hurried out of the Awakening Chamber.
A few minutes later, the energy around Xu Yanqing's body stabilized, and his condition visibly improved.
Soon, Jing Hongchen arrived.
"This… this might really be the Ultimate Fire," Jing Hongchen said, his voice filled with awe and excitement as he stared at the blazing Martial Soul behind the boy.
An Ultimate Martial Soul hadn't appeared in the Sun Moon Empire for over a thousand years—yet now, two had emerged in such a short span. It was unbelievable.
"Yanqing's case should be classified as a mutation," Wei Xuan analyzed calmly. "Otherwise, the Sun Martial Soul alone wouldn't reach the level of Ultimate Fire."
"To be precise," he added, "it's because the imperial family's inherited Sun Martial Soul isn't pure enough to achieve true extremity."
The flames of the sun were among the most scorching in existence—the very symbol of fire's ultimate form.
If a Soul Master's Martial Soul were a true manifestation of the sun, then its flames would naturally be the Ultimate Fire—there was no question.
But the imperial Sun Martial Soul, passed down through generations, lacked that purity. It was not a true sun.
Jing Hongchen nodded in agreement. "Indeed. In a thousand years of inheritance, none of the royal family's Sun Souls ever produced an Ultimate Fire user. His Highness's case can only be described as mutation."
Then, recalling something, he smiled faintly. "Though I'd wager it's also thanks to the Bloodline Pill developed by His Highness Wei Xuan."
The Bloodline Pill was a special elixir capable of purifying a Soul Master's bloodline, enhancing the quality of their Martial Soul.
Wei Xuan had designed it based on the link between Martial Soul and bloodline found in the Douluo Continent's ancient records. When consumed, it dramatically improved Martial Soul potential.
However, crafting it required rare spiritual materials worth nearly ten million gold soul coins per batch, including precious heavenly treasures—and the pill had to be refined using cultivation-world alchemy techniques.
Currently, only Wei Xuan could produce it, though his limited Soul Power forced him to collaborate with other alchemists for assistance.
Each batch took one to two months to complete, and so far, he had managed to create only a single furnace—ten pills total.
Two of those pills had been consumed by Xu Yanqing: one given by Wei Xuan, and the other stolen and eaten secretly.
Just thinking about it made Wei Xuan both exasperated and amused. The little glutton really treated the pills like candy.
"Yes," Wei Xuan admitted, smiling wryly. "It must've been the Bloodline Pill that refined his blood, raising his Martial Soul to the level of Ultimate Fire."
It wasn't so much mutation as the pill's miraculous effect.
One pill could enhance a Martial Soul; two taken together, even with diminished synergy, still far surpassed a single dose.
Given the potency of the Bloodline Pill, elevating a top-tier Sun Martial Soul to a super-class level was only natural.
"If only this medicine could be mass-produced like Body-Refining or Soul-Refining Pills," Jing Hongchen sighed. "It would elevate the power of every Soul Master in the world."
Wei Xuan shook his head. "That single batch I made was already at the lowest possible cost. It can't go any cheaper."
Jing Hongchen nodded in understanding. A pill worth over ten million gold coins could never be made in bulk—it was simply too precious.
"Brother, my Martial Soul is amazing!" Xu Yanqing's excited voice interrupted, his small body trembling with joy.
Wei Xuan smiled faintly. "Then tell your brother how amazing it is."
Jing Hongchen leaned forward with keen interest, eager to see how powerful an Ultimate Fire Sun Soul could be.
"Okay!" Xu Yanqing grinned proudly, bursting with enthusiasm as he began describing it in his childish way.
But whether from excitement or ignorance, he rambled for several minutes without saying anything meaningful.
"We'll… figure it out later," Wei Xuan sighed, rubbing his temples helplessly.
"Agreed," Jing Hongchen said, smiling bitterly. Ten minutes in, and he still had no idea what the boy was talking about.
After the awakening was complete, Wei Xuan personally escorted Xu Yanqing to the imperial palace to report the news to the Sun Moon Emperor.
Upon hearing that his youngest son had awakened an Ultimate Martial Soul, the emperor was overjoyed beyond measure.
The evolution of the royal Sun Soul into Ultimate Fire was monumental—it meant the imperial bloodline would grow stronger for generations to come.
Previously, the emperor hadn't paid much attention to his playful, food-loving son, but now his attitude changed completely.
He immediately assigned a ninth-tier Soul Engineer to serve as Xu Yanqing's personal protector and prepared vast cultivation resources for his use.
Overnight, Xu Yanqing's status rose dramatically, and the emperor's affection for him grew tenfold.
The next day, accompanied by his protector, the young prince set out to acquire his first Soul Ring. Wei Xuan did not go along—he had returned to his lab to work on a new Soul Tool.
This time, his goal was to craft a fifth-rank Soul Tool. Succeeding would mean officially reaching the level of a fifth-tier Soul Engineer.
Twelve days passed swiftly.
Inside the laboratory, Jing Hongchen stood silently at the side, eyes fixed on Wei Xuan. He dared not even breathe too loudly, his palms slick with nervous sweat.
Wei Xuan worked intently, assembling the components of the Soul Tool with unwavering focus.
After days of forging, he had completed the metallic shell, engraved over a hundred auxiliary arrays, and ten core formations.
Now, only assembly and the external energy array remained.
Ordinary Soul Engineers would stop after assembly, but Wei Xuan always added an external formation—a Convergence Array—to minimize the Soul Power consumption during use.
However, inscribing arrays on the exterior of a Soul Tool was exponentially harder than engraving them inside. It required microscopic precision and mastery of spiritual control.
Moreover, the engineer had to fully understand the internal structure of the tool. A single overlap between inner and outer circuits could cause catastrophic energy backlash.
Even many ninth-tier engineers dared not attempt such a feat—but Wei Xuan's powerful spiritual strength made it possible.
The device he was crafting was his own design, and he knew every detail by heart.
In less than an hour, assembly was complete.
"Success!" Jing Hongchen cried out in excitement, nearly jumping with joy as though he had been the one to finish it.
Startled, Wei Xuan almost dropped the large device. "Hall Master Hongchen, must you shout like that?" he said, half amused, half annoyed.
"Haha, sorry, I got carried away! Don't mind me, just continue!" Jing Hongchen said sheepishly, realizing he'd interrupted the crucial step.
Shaking his head, Wei Xuan smiled faintly and picked up his dark-gold engraving knife to begin carving the final Convergence Array.
This array was a simplified, modified version of a Cultivation-World Convergence Formation—adapted to function with Soul Tools.
Three hours later, the engraving was complete. The fifth-rank Soul Tool was finally finished.
"Your Highness, let me see it," Jing Hongchen said eagerly. "I'll evaluate the grade for you."
Wei Xuan handed the Soul Tool over, then sat down to rest.
The device resembled a pair of frozen bird wings, elegantly forged with metallic feathers etched in intricate rune patterns. Energy pulsed faintly from its frame, gleaming like frost in sunlight.
After a thorough inspection, Jing Hongchen's eyes widened in astonishment. "Excellent—absolutely excellent! This is the finest fifth-rank flying Soul Tool I've ever seen!"
Turning to Wei Xuan, his expression grew emotional. "Congratulations, Your Highness. You've become the youngest fifth-tier Soul Engineer in history!"
At just eight years old, it was an achievement beyond precedent.
A smile touched Wei Xuan's lips. Though the process had been demanding, he'd succeeded.
"I'll test it out," he said, eyes gleaming with anticipation.
Together, the two left the lab.
Wei Xuan strapped on the wings — his new invention, the Icecloud Wings.
They resembled the spread wings of an eagle, each metallic feather lined with delicate patterns. The design was elegant and gleaming, exuding a cold, beautiful brilliance.
Between the wings was an adjustable harness made from special alloys that conformed perfectly to the wearer's body.
A round metal plate rested over the chest, glowing faintly with white light—the control core, housing a spiritual sensor.
Users could fly simply by channeling their spiritual power to guide the tool.
For those with weak mental strength, however, the Icecloud Wings were practically useless—they'd never be able to control it.
But for someone like Wei Xuan, whose spiritual power was exceptional, the wings would be like extensions of his own body—moving seamlessly with his will, carrying him freely across the skies.
This Soul Tool had been made for him alone—to grant him the one thing he lacked: the ability to fly.
(End of Chapter)