The Zhao family forge smelled of iron and honest work.
Wang Ben stood in the courtyard behind the main workshop, watching Zhao Daniu arrange the last components of a simple breakthrough formation. The blacksmith's hands moved with the same precision he brought to shaping metal, each spirit stone placed exactly where the diagram specified, each line of powdered jade drawn with careful attention.
"That should do it." Zhao Daniu stepped back, examining his work with a critical eye. "Not as fancy as what the major clans use, but it'll serve the purpose."
"It looks good." Wang Ben meant it. The formation was modest, a single circle of stabilization designed to help channel qi during the delicate transition from body refinement to qi condensation. Nothing compared to the ancestral arrays the Wang Clan maintained, but solid work nonetheless.
Zhao Yu sat at the formation's center, his posture straight, his breathing measured. He looked nervous in a way Wang Ben hadn't seen from his friend in months. During the war, facing cultivators who wanted to kill them, Zhao Yu had been steady. Now, facing his own advancement, uncertainty showed in the set of his shoulders.
"You'll be fine," Wang Ben said.
"Easy for you to say. You're already qi condensation." Zhao Yu's voice held a trace of humor, but his eyes remained serious. "What if it doesn't work? What if I'm not ready?"
"The physicians said you were ready. Your father thinks you're ready. And you told me yourself that your body refinement feels complete." Wang Ben moved to crouch at the formation's edge, meeting his friend's gaze. "You've earned this. Stop doubting yourself."
Zhao Daniu approached from the other side, settling onto his knees with the careful movements of a man who spent his days standing at a forge. The blacksmith's face was weathered, his hands scarred from decades of working metal, but his expression held nothing but pride. His wife stood at the courtyard's edge, hands clasped tight, watching their son with the same intensity.
"Your mother and I always believed you'd go further than either of us," he said quietly.
Something shifted in Zhao Yu's expression. The nervousness didn't disappear, but it settled into something more like determination. He closed his eyes.
"I'm ready."
Zhao Daniu activated the formation with a touch of qi. The spirit stones began to glow, pale light spreading through the jade powder channels, creating a web of gentle energy that surrounded his son.
Wang Ben watched in silence as his friend began the attempt that would change his life.
The transition from body refinement to qi condensation was subtle compared to higher realm breakthroughs.
No dramatic pressure wave. No spiritual phenomena visible to outside observers. Just the quiet work of meridians that had been strengthened and prepared over years finally opening to allow the free flow of spiritual energy.
Wang Ben felt it happen through his own qi senses. One moment, Zhao Yu was a void, his refined body showing no cultivation signature. The next, something stirred within him. A flicker of energy that hadn't been there before. Small, newly born, but unmistakably present.
Zhao Yu's eyes opened.
"I can feel it," he breathed. "Everything. It's like... I've been seeing the world through fog my entire life, and someone just cleared it away."
The wonder in his voice was genuine. Wang Ben remembered his own breakthrough, the sudden expansion of awareness that came with qi condensation. For body refinement cultivators, the world was physical, limited to what flesh and bone could perceive. Qi condensation opened doors that couldn't be described, only experienced.
"Congratulations." Wang Ben found himself smiling. "Qi condensation stage one. You made it."
Zhao Daniu was already rising, crossing to his son with the careful haste of a father who wanted to embrace his child but wasn't sure physical contact was safe. "The formation? Should I..."
"It's done." Zhao Yu stood, the breakthrough formation's glow fading as its purpose was fulfilled. He wobbled slightly, his body still adjusting to the new reality of being a true cultivator. "I'm done."
The blacksmith caught his son in a hug that had nothing careful about it. Zhao Yu, taller now than his father, returned the embrace with equal force. His mother crossed the courtyard to join them, wrapping her arms around both of them. Wang Ben looked away, giving them the moment.
When they separated, Zhao Daniu's eyes were wet. His wife was openly crying, though she smiled through it.
"The boy fights like he was born for it," the blacksmith said, his voice rough. "That's what the old masters used to say when they watched you spar. Whatever that comes from, it isn't me or your mother. But maybe now..." He shook his head, unable to finish.
"Maybe now I can find out." Zhao Yu's gaze found Wang Ben's. Something passed between them, an acknowledgment of paths that were diverging and converging at once. They'd started together, in that first patrol through the refugee quarters. Now they stood at different points on the same journey.
"We should celebrate," Zhao Daniu said, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "I'll send for food. Good food. We can afford it now, with the contracts coming in."
Wang Ben stayed for the modest celebration, sharing rice wine and roasted meat with the Zhao family. But part of his attention remained on his friend, watching for the signs he knew to look for.
The System's earlier assessment had been clear.
[OBSERVATION: Subject Zhao Yu displaying unusual cultivation indicators]
[Analysis: Breakthrough proximity confirmed. Development rate exceeds normal parameters.]
[Note: Continue monitoring. Possible relevance to "Battle Soul" hypothesis.]
The breakthrough was complete. Now the real observations could begin.
Two days later, they sparred in the Wang Clan training courtyard.
The morning air was crisp with late spring warmth, the kind of weather that made physical exertion pleasant rather than punishing. Wang Ben had suggested the session as a way to help Zhao Yu adjust to his new cultivation, to learn how qi condensation changed the fundamentals of combat.
What he'd actually wanted was to see what happened when Zhao Yu fought.
"Your qi circulation is still rough." Wang Ben circled his friend, practice sword balanced lightly in his hand. "That's normal. It takes time to learn how to channel energy efficiently."
"It feels strange." Zhao Yu matched his movement, their feet tracing careful patterns on the courtyard stones. "Like having an extra limb I don't know how to use."
"You'll learn. For now, just focus on the basics. Speed. Timing. Don't try to force the qi."
They began.
The first exchanges were standard, the kind of testing strikes any sparring session would produce. Wang Ben held back significantly, keeping his attacks within the range Zhao Yu could handle. His friend's fundamentals remained solid, the same clean technique that had always characterized his fighting.
Then something happened.
Wang Ben shifted his weight, preparing for a thrust he hadn't yet committed to. The motion was subtle, barely a telegraph, the kind of micro-adjustment that experienced warriors learned to hide.
Zhao Yu's sword moved left before Wang Ben's attack began.
Not a parry. The strike hadn't happened yet. Just an adjustment of position, a slight change in guard that happened to perfectly cover the angle Wang Ben had been about to exploit.
Wang Ben completed the thrust anyway, testing the response. Zhao Yu's blade was exactly where it needed to be, deflecting with a precision that seemed almost casual.
"Good," Wang Ben said, keeping his voice neutral. "Again."
They continued. Wang Ben varied his attacks, using combinations he'd never shown Zhao Yu before, approaching from angles that should have been unexpected. Again and again, his friend anticipated. Not always perfectly, sometimes by inches rather than exact positioning. But the pattern was unmistakable.
Zhao Yu was reading attacks before they happened.
On the fifth exchange, Wang Ben deliberately feinted high and cut low, a standard deception that should have worked against someone two days into qi condensation. Zhao Yu's guard didn't follow the feint. His sword dropped to meet the real attack as if he'd known all along where it would come.
"How did you do that?" Wang Ben asked, lowering his weapon.
Zhao Yu blinked. "Do what?"
"The last sequence. You didn't follow my feint."
"I..." Zhao Yu's brow furrowed. "I don't know. It just... felt wrong? Like my body knew you weren't really going high." He looked down at his hands as if seeing them for the first time. "That doesn't make sense, does it?"
[OBSERVATION: Subject displaying combat precognition consistent with Battle Soul phenotype]
[Analysis: Subconscious threat assessment active. Subject responding to attack intentions rather than attack execution.]
[Note: Manifestation strength moderate to strong. Insufficient baseline data for precise quantification. Recommend continued observation.]
Wang Ben filed the information away. The System's analysis confirmed what he'd suspected since first reading about Battle Soul in the ancient archives. Zhao Yu possessed something rare. Something that couldn't be taught or trained, only born with.
But telling him would change things. Would make Zhao Yu self-conscious about abilities that worked best when they operated below conscious thought. Would raise questions about how Wang Ben knew what to look for.
"Sometimes instinct knows things our minds don't," Wang Ben said instead. "Your body has been training longer than your cultivation. Maybe it's learned patterns you can't consciously recognize."
"Maybe." Zhao Yu didn't look convinced, but he accepted the explanation. "Want to go again?"
They sparred for another hour. Wang Ben noted each moment where Zhao Yu's reactions exceeded what training could explain, building a mental catalogue of Battle Soul manifestations. His friend remained cheerfully confused about his own performance, attributing lucky blocks and impossible anticipations to beginner's fortune.
By the time they finished, Wang Ben was certain.
Zhao Yu had been born for fighting in a way that transcended normal cultivation. And someday, that gift would need to be acknowledged. But not today. Today was for celebration and friendship and the simple joy of shared advancement.
The deeper conversations could wait.
Evening found Wang Ben in his father's workshop, reviewing progress on the array components.
Wang Tian had made excellent headway on the binding solutions for the soul-affinity jade. Several sealed containers sat on the workbench, their contents precisely measured and prepared. The foundation establishment breakthrough had sharpened his father's alchemical instincts, allowing him to work with materials that would have challenged him months ago.
"The preservation compounds for the shadow-drinking crystal are more complex," Wang Tian said, gesturing to a diagram spread across the table. "I'll need at least another week to refine the base solution. And that's assuming we actually acquire the crystal itself."
"Still working on that." Wang Ben examined the diagram, recognizing several elements from his System-enhanced knowledge. His father's approach was sound, perhaps not optimal by ancient standards but well within acceptable parameters. "Crimson Sky Trading won't sell their contracted supply. I'm looking for alternatives."
"The Blackwood expeditions?"
"Not running. War disruption." Wang Ben set the diagram down. "But there might be private collectors. People who stockpiled before the shortages. I'm making inquiries."
Wang Tian nodded slowly, his expression thoughtful. "You're handling this well, Ben'er. A project this complex, resources this scarce, pressure from..." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "From sources we don't speak of openly. Most cultivators would be struggling."
"I'm struggling. I'm just doing it quietly."
"That's what I mean." His father's hand settled on his shoulder, the same gesture he'd used since Wang Ben was small. "You've grown. This past year, you've become someone I barely recognize sometimes. But in a good way. A way that makes me proud."
The words settled into Wang Ben with unexpected weight. He thought about the secrets he carried. The knowledge he couldn't share. The ancient intelligence that lived in his soul, providing answers to questions he shouldn't know to ask.
"I learned from you," he said. "Both of you."
Wang Tian's smile was warm. "Speaking of your mother, she mentioned you've been restless lately. Having trouble sleeping?"
The watching sensation. Wang Ben hadn't mentioned it to his father directly, but apparently Li Mei had. The feeling had returned intermittently over the past few days, that prickling awareness of hostile attention that never resolved into anything concrete.
"Something feels wrong," he admitted. "I can't explain what. Just... a feeling."
"Cultivator's intuition often sees what our eyes miss." Wang Tian's expression grew serious. "I'll speak with the patrol captain about increasing compound security. After everything that happened, there are those who might hold grudges."
Wang Ben thought about the Xue Clan. About the young master who had escaped, whose grandfather had fallen, whose entire family had been destroyed in the war that Wang Ben had helped orchestrate. Xue Feng had every reason to want revenge.
But thinking about it wouldn't find him. And until there was concrete evidence of a threat, speculation was just that.
"Thank you, Father."
He left the workshop as darkness settled over the compound, making his way through courtyards that had been his home for fifteen years. Servants moved on evening errands. Guards maintained their posts. Everything seemed normal, peaceful, exactly as a clan compound should be on a quiet spring evening.
Wang Ben stopped at the gate leading to the family quarters. The feeling was there again. Faint but present. The weight of unseen eyes.
He turned, scanning the compound grounds, the rooftops beyond the walls, the shadows where an observer might hide. Nothing. No one visible. No cultivation signatures beyond the familiar presences of clan members.
Just the feeling. Patient. Watchful. Hungry.
Wang Ben entered the family quarters and closed the door behind him. Whatever was watching could wait. He had an array to build, friends to support, and a family to protect.
But the feeling didn't fade.
And somewhere in the darkness beyond the walls, shadows that shouldn't be watching continued to watch.
END OF CHAPTER 63