Chapter Seventy-Six: A New Image

There are four main aspects to soul cultivation: developing the Sea of Consciousness, strengthening willpower, mastering laws, and refining the energy core. Among these, the development of the Sea of Consciousness is closely related to the strengthening of the brain region in physical arts. However, while physical arts expand the brain’s capacity for memory and thought, the Sea of Consciousness is the soul's abode within the mind, the source of awareness, and an ocean of laws.

The collective methods to enhance these four aspects are called the Arts of Soul Laws—simply, Soul Arts. At first, Soul Arts existed purely for the sublimation of the soul, but at some point, offensive Soul Arts proliferated uncontrollably, and now the term is synonymous with attack spells.

Like the physical arts test, the Soul Arts test comprises a basic section worth ten points and a supplementary section worth three. The basic section covers nine items: the size and strength of the Sea of Consciousness, the degree of willpower enhancement, affinity for laws, level, and application of laws, soul (energy core) level, energy reserves, and purity. The supplementary section has no upper limit; for every law mastered beyond entry-level, one point is added, two points for the second stage, three for the third, and so on. Even if one condenses the law's essence at the fourth or fifth stage, it is still three points.

Sangsang estimated that the number of law stars in her Sea of Consciousness alone would guarantee her a high score, even if her base score was zero.

Yaslan warned, “Don’t get arrogant. Supplementary points may improve your ranking, but the judges care more about your base score. If your base score is too low, it doesn’t matter how many supplementary points you have—you won’t pass the second round.”

Out of a possible ninety points for basics, seventy is the standard to qualify. Sangsang’s weakest area was soul level; at the peak of the Heavenly Rank, she was just at the threshold and could only get six points.

“The assessment uses the peak of the Heavenly Rank as the qualification line. My base should be around eighty points, but why isn’t technique included in the supplementary section?”

Yaslan explained, “The Temple discourages offensive Soul Arts. As clergy, we must lead by example. So combat techniques don’t earn points—they value pure mastery of the laws. As long as you have condensed the essence of a law, you gain a hundred points for each, regardless of your base score—you automatically pass.”

Sangsang’s goal was the top ten. Those who made it through the second round and into the top ten had an eighty percent chance of ultimately becoming the Saintess.

After returning from Yaslan, Tom brought her a jar of herbal stew, specially prepared to boost memory and sharpen thinking for the next day’s assessment. Sangsang, wary, sought help from Little Gold, knowing Tom had learned the recipe from watching videos. His obsession with efficacy led him to overdo things, and the taste—though as rare as a World Fruit—left much to be desired. Little Gold quickly turned his head away, pretending not to see anything, while Sangsang, lips twitching, forced down the stew as Sena urged her on.

Once Tom left, satisfied, Sangsang scolded Little Gold for abandoning her and announced she would give the vintage palace painting, originally meant for him, to Junshi instead. Little Gold immediately turned back, massaging her, fanning her, combing her hair, and preparing her formal attire for the next day. He then briefed her on her competitors, serving her with such care that Sangsang finally agreed to help him gather the four portable mansions. The vintage palace, however, was off the table.

In the nutrient pool, the Heavenly Emperor was surrounded by surging laws, his entire body like a black hole, tirelessly devouring energy.

“Good thing the dormitory’s nutrient pool allows for unlimited energy advances. Otherwise, by the time the support team finished their purification, everyone would be malnourished.”

Sangsang stepped into the pool, the black hole of devouring energy automatically avoiding her, allowing her to safely grasp the Heavenly Emperor’s hand. Closing her eyes, she entered a meditative state, synchronizing her consciousness with his. Their souls connected, and the Heavenly Emperor’s understanding of laws and the star core flowed into her mind like water.

This was the benefit of a soul contract: their Seas of Consciousness were shared, so one person's progress could drive the other forward. Of course, if one was much weaker or had poor comprehension, they would only be a burden. More importantly, under a soul contract, one was completely defenseless against the other—any betrayal would be guaranteed to succeed.

Perhaps this is why soul contracts never became widespread. Sangsang had read about similar master-pet and equality contracts in the temple’s books, but never about soul contracts. She had no idea where Little Gold had found one.

When Little Gold woke Sangsang and she stepped out of the pool, her mastery of the Devouring Law had improved to the fifth stage—she could no longer draw power from the Heavenly Emperor. Her mastery of Time and Space had already reached the fourth stage days ago.

That is the benefit of dual cultivation. Originally, both their Time and Space Laws were only at the third stage, but with the essence present and the Heavenly Emperor constantly at her side, he had never stopped comprehending the laws. Now, his mastery of Time and Space had reached the peak of the fourth stage and was still rising steadily—perhaps the next moment he’d reach the fifth stage. Sangsang benefited as well and could now attempt to create a space with double the normal flow of time.

“It’s faster than stealing through synchronization—faster even than the temple’s forced enlightenment.”

After casting a purification spell on herself, cleansing inside and out, Sangsang donned the formal robe Little Gold had fetched for her, draping herself in long silks. Her hair grew to her hips, part of it coiled on the right side and adorned with a hairpin made of tightly clustered red maple leaves, the rest hanging down and loosely tied with a ribbon at mid-length.

“This fabric…” Sangsang ran her hand over the material, channeling her energy into it. Instantly, red and yellow maple leaves appeared on the long sleeves and skirt hem, drifting down and, upon reaching the ground, transformed into real leaves. With each step, she left a trail of dazzling leaves, which after about twenty meters, rose into the air like butterflies, fluttering away in all directions.

“Junshi said that ‘blossoms with every step’ is a timeless classic for grand entrances. All current Saintesses use it, though the flowers differ by individual. In formal settings, it’s always used. You don’t like flowers, so how about this? We found a master weaver through Sena and put in a lot of effort to create this formal gown. The embroidered pattern stores and gathers energy. All you need to do is activate it, and the falling maple leaves become real, absorbing energy to become crystals that never disappear.”

Little Gold puffed out his chest with pride, plainly begging for praise. He had chosen the maple leaf motif himself. Sangsang decided her own name would be ‘Red Leaf’ and that her personal seal, ‘The Falling Leaves Know Autumn,’ suited the maple theme perfectly.

She withdrew her energy, turning off the clothing’s special effects, but the now-real leaves remained in the room. She gathered them, along with the nutrient pool containing the Heavenly Emperor, into her domain.

Little Gold clung to her finger. “Wait—you’re bringing the Heavenly Emperor to the assessment today? What if he breaks through during the test?”

Sangsang was so used to collecting the Heavenly Emperor that she almost forgot this day was special. She set the nutrient pool back in place; the dormitory was safe enough, though without her, the Heavenly Emperor couldn’t constantly attune to the essence of time and space. Sangsang, with her long skirt trailing behind, went out—Tom was already calling her to breakfast.

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