The afternoon sun slanted through the high windows of the Year 4 classroom, illuminating dust motes that danced in the air like suspended spirits.
Bill stood at the podium, looking out at his new charges. There were only eleven of them—a stark contrast to the thirty crowded into the younger year. These students were between the ages of ten and twelve, all of them having already obtained their first Soul Ring. They were the "elites" of the commoner school, the ones who had a future beyond being simple laborers.
"Theory," Bill said, his voice projecting clearly without shouting, "is often taught as history. You learn what masters did a hundred years ago. I am not interested in history. I am interested in mechanics."
He picked up a piece of chalk.
"You all have one ring. One skill. You think this limits you. You are wrong. A single tool, used with perfect understanding, is deadlier than a thousand clumsy strikes."
In the front row, a boy named Elian raised his hand. He possessed a Wind Wolf spirit and was Rank 13. "Teacher Bill, my first skill is Wind Blade. It just shoots a blade of wind. How can I make that more than what it is? It goes in a straight line."
Bill smiled. This was what he wanted. Engagement. The younger kids absorbed; these kids questioned.
"A straight line?" Bill countered. "Only if you release it that way. Wind is a fluid, Elian. It responds to pressure changes."
Bill activated Analysis. He looked at the boy's spirit structure.
"When you form the blade," Bill explained, drawing a curved airfoil on the board, "you are condensing air. If you condense the air more on one side than the other—creating a pressure differential—what happens?"
Elian frowned, thinking. "It… it would curve?"
"It would curve," Bill confirmed. "Like a thrown ball. If you master the spin, you don't just shoot straight. You can shoot around corners. You can bypass shields."
The class erupted in whispers. The idea of curving a skill was considered a technique for Rank 30 or 40 masters, requiring immense control. But Bill broke it down into simple physics: Spin. Drag. Lift.
As the lesson progressed, Bill felt a different kind of sensation from the Celestial Scroll. With the younger kids, the energy feedback was like a steady drizzle—constant, nourishing. With these older students, who had actual soul rings, the feedback was like targeted strikes of lightning.
Every time a student grasped a complex concept—like using thermal expansion to boost a Fire Ball, or structural density to reinforce a Stone Wall—Bill felt a sharp spike in his own understanding. His Analysis skill was evolving, cataloging the data from eleven different spirit types, creating a library of "Spirit Physics" in his mind.
"Teacher," a girl with a Vine spirit asked, her eyes shining. "If I braid my vines instead of letting them grow wild, does the tensile strength triple?"
"It doesn't triple," Bill corrected, his mind flashing with engineering data. "It squares. Because the friction between the strands distributes the load. Try it."
By the time the bell rang, the eleven students weren't just packing up; they were arguing about physics. They were looking at their hands as if seeing them for the first time.
"Class dismissed," Bill said. "Tomorrow, we test the curve."
As they filed out, their voices excited and full of new theories, Bill felt the Scroll hum.
[Advanced Concept Integration: Successful.][Teaching Efficiency: High.][Data Collection: +4% to Martial Soul Evolution.]
It was working. The path was structured now. He wasn't just throwing ideas at the wall; he was building a curriculum of power.
—————
Bill didn't rest. He went straight to the Director's office.
Hanes was stamping paperwork, looking weary. When he saw Bill, he smiled. "Bill. I heard the Year 4s stayed ten minutes after the bell. That's a miracle in itself."
"They're good kids, Director. They just needed a new perspective." Bill sat down. "I'm here about the favor I mentioned."
"Ah, yes. The clerk position." Hanes nodded. "For Kael's widow."
"Jenny is sharp," Bill said, leaning forward. "She has a head for numbers, and she needs the stability. It would reflect well on the Academy to support the family of a fallen teacher."
"You don't need to sell it to me, Bill. We owe Kael. And honestly, we need the help with the filing. The salary is eight silver coins a month. It's not a fortune, but…"
"It's enough," Bill said. "And I'd like to request that her children, Lucas and Mia, be transferred here. I can keep an eye on them."
"Done," Hanes stamped a form. "She starts tomorrow."
Bill took the paper, feeling a weight lift off his chest. "Thank you, Director."
He left the school and walked briskly to the eastern district. When he arrived at Jenny's house, the sun was beginning its descent, casting long golden rays down the street.
Jenny was in the yard, hanging laundry. When she saw him, she stopped, a shirt clutched to her chest. She looked anxious.
Bill held up the paper.
"You start soon," he called out. "Clerk at the Academy. Lucas and Mia are enrolled tuition-free."
Jenny dropped the laundry basket. She stared at him, her mouth opening and closing. Eight silver coins plus free tuition? That was salvation. That was a future.
"Bill…"
She ran to the gate, fumbling with the latch, and practically threw herself at him.
"You did it," she laughed, a sound of pure relief that bordered on hysteria. "You actually did it!"
In her delight, she grabbed his face and planted a firm, loud kiss on his lips.
It wasn't the desperate, grief-stricken kiss of the other morning. This was a kiss of sunshine and victory. It was brief, but the warmth of it lingered on his lips even after she pulled back, blushing furiously.
"Oh! I… I'm sorry, I was just…"
"It's okay," Bill smiled, touching his eyepatch. "I'm glad you're happy, Jenny. You deserve a win."
"Thank you," she whispered, her eyes shining. "For everything."
"Get the kids ready," Bill said, stepping back to maintain propriety in the street. "Tomorrow is a big day."
—————
The atmosphere in Bill's own home that evening was equally celebratory, though for different reasons.
After a raucous session of "Hunter and Monkey" in the backyard—where Bill noted that Jory's grip strength had improved significantly—he sat Sarah down at the kitchen table.
He placed a heavy pouch on the wood. The clink of gold was unmistakable.
"Bill?" Sarah looked at the pouch, then at him. "What is this?"
"An advance," Bill said, pouring himself a cup of tea. "I made a deal with the local Spirit Hall branch. A consulting contract regarding some… text duplication theories I developed from my Scroll spirit."
He kept it vague. He didn't mention the printing press or the massive scale of the deal.
"There are thirty Gold Soul Coins there," he said calmly.
Sarah gasped. She opened the pouch, staring at the golden shimmer. Thirty coins. That was three years of his teaching salary.
"Thirty… Bill, are we…?"
"We are secure," Bill reached across the table and took her hand. "We can buy the high-grade spirit beast meat for the kids. We can buy cultivation elixirs for you. You don't have to worry about the price of flour ever again."
Sarah looked at him, her eyes wide with wonder. She didn't just see her husband; she saw a man who had transformed. The tragedy had broken him open, and something golden was pouring out.
"You're incredible," she whispered.
"I'm just doing my job," he said. "Now, go put that away. And Sarah? Tonight, try the pulsing method again. Really push it."
She nodded, her gaze determined. She went upstairs, the pouch clutched to her chest like a holy relic, her mind already spinning with dreams of a new life.
That night, silence reigned in the house until midnight.
Bill was asleep when a hand shook him awake.
"Bill! Bill, wake up!"
He jolted up, his hand instinctively going for a weapon that wasn't there. "What? What is it?"
Sarah was sitting on the bed in the dark, her body glowing with a faint, rhythmic yellow light. Her Faithful Hound spirit was manifested on her, looking larger, sleeker.
"I broke through," she breathed, her voice trembling with shock. "I felt the wall, and I used the pulse like you said. I hit it four times, in rhythm with my heart, and it just… shattered. I'm Rank 33."
Bill rubbed his remaining eye, a slow smile spreading across his face.
"I knew you could," he said softly.
She threw her arms around him, knocking him back onto the pillows. "You're a genius, Bill! A genius!"
He held her, feeling the vibrant hum of her upgraded soul power. It worked. His theories worked on children, on tools, and on beasts. He was cracking the code of this world, one level at a time.
—————
The week flew by in a blur of productivity.
On Tuesday, Jenny started her job. She wore a crisp white blouse and a dark skirt, her hair neat. She looked professional, beautiful in a way that drew eyes in the office, but she only had eyes for her work. She was efficient, organized, and grateful.
Lucas and Mia joined the lower classes. Bill checked on them during breaks. They were integrating well, no longer the "poor orphans" but the children of a staff member.
By Wednesday, Bill noticed the change in Jenny's aura. She had taken his advice to heart. She was practicing the "Unpicking the Knot" meditation method religiously.
On Thursday afternoon, while filing records in the archives, Jenny felt a pop in her chest. Her soul power surged. Rank 16.
She found Bill in the hallway later, her face glowing. She didn't say a word, just held up sixteen fingers (ten, then six). Bill nodded, a silent acknowledgment of their shared secret.
Even Lucas, practicing the breathing techniques Bill taught him, seemed to be growing taller by the day.
The rails were laid. The train was moving.
Then came the weekend.
It was late Saturday. Bill had spent the day "consulting" at Spirit Hall (mostly fine-tuning the prototype press) and then had dinner at Jenny's to celebrate her first week.
He walked her home from the market where they had grabbed late-night supplies. The streets were empty, the moon high and full.
They reached her door. The silence of the night was heavy, charged with the unspoken tension that had been building all week—the glances in the hallway, the shared smiles over the kids, the secret of the cultivation technique.
"You changed our lives, Bill," Jenny said, standing on the threshold. She didn't open the door. She leaned back against it, looking up at him.
"I kept a promise," Bill said, his voice low.
"It's more than that," she stepped closer. "You gave me back my dignity. You gave my children a future."
She reached out, her hand resting on his chest, over his heart. "I'm not just a widow anymore. I'm… me. And I see you, Bill. I see the man behind the eyepatch."
The strap of her dress, a simple cotton thing she wore around the house, slipped off her shoulder. It seemed accidental, a trick of gravity, but neither of them moved to fix it.
"Jenny…" Bill started, a warning and an invitation in one breath.
"Come inside," she whispered.
Bill looked at her. He saw the gratitude, yes. But he also saw the woman. She was vibrant, alive, and looking at him as if he were the only man in the world who mattered.
His protective instincts, usually a shield, twisted into something more possessive. He had saved her. He had fed her. In the primal logic of the "memories" and this harsh world, she belonged to his sphere of influence.
He stepped forward, pushing the door open with his hand while his other arm wrapped around her waist.
The reunion was different this time.
The first time had been a drowning embrace of grief. This was a celebration of life.
Her robes fell away easily, revealing skin that was healthier, warmer than before. There was no crying tonight. There was laughter, soft and breathless. There was the friction of gratitude meeting power.
Jenny moved with a newfound confidence, her body responding to his with an eagerness that told him she had been waiting for this all week. She worshipped him with her hands, tracing his scars, kissing his neck, making him feel like a king.
And Bill… Bill let go of the "Teacher." He became the "Master." He held her with a firmness that bordered on rough, his hands memorizing the curves of the woman he had resurrected from despair.
"Thank you," she gasped against his shoulder later, as the moonlight bathed the tangled sheets. "Thank you for seeing me."
Bill stroked her hair, his single eye staring at the ceiling. "I will always see you, Jenny."
He left an hour later, dressing in the dark.
Walking home through the silent streets, the cool air hitting his face, the guilt pricked him. He thought of Sarah, sleeping in his bed, trusting him.
But then he thought of Jenny's smile. He thought of Lucas laughing in the schoolyard. He thought of Sarah's new Rank 33 power and the gold in her pantry.
Everyone is better off, he told himself. I am carrying the weight of two families. I am the pillar.
It was a dangerous rationalization, but it was the only one that allowed him to keep moving forward.
As he turned the corner to his street, he felt a massive vibration in his soul realm.
It wasn't just the teaching. It was the totality of his influence. The patent deal. The improved students. Sarah's breakthrough. Jenny's breakthrough. The emotional and physical conquest of the night.
The Celestial Scroll unfurled in his mind, glowing with an intensity he had never seen before.
[Weekly Summary Complete.][Influence Sphere: Expanded.][Emotional Bonds: Reinforced (Dual Anchors).][Teaching Feedback: Maximum.]
The energy surged. It didn't just trickle; it roared. It rushed through his widened meridians, filling the reservoir of his dantian until it overflowed.
Crack.
The barrier shattered.
Bill stopped in the middle of the street, gasping as the power flooded his veins. His aura flared, invisible to the sleeping city but blinding to his own senses.
[Congratulations, Host.][Current Rank: 43 (Spirit Ancestor).]
He clenched his fist. The air audibly popped in his grip.
Rank 43.
He was rising. Fast. Too fast for a normal man. But Bill wasn't normal anymore. He was a man with a plan, a scroll, and a hunger that was growing with every victory.
He walked up the path to his home, the master of his domain, ready to sleep next to his wife with the secret scent of another woman on his skin and the power of a king in his veins.
[Current Status: Bill][Rank: 43][Condition: Powerful. Complicated. Resolute.]