Elder Hongwei crossed out the last material name on the sheet.
"No," he said. "It can hold a trace of the soul, but it cannot take the soul's place."
Wang Tiexin added the sheet to a stack of rejected materials. At the center of the table, three other sheets listed what the missing materials needed to do.
Shen Wuyan's damaged pages lay open around them, together with the clan's breakthrough texts, Li Cheng's sketches of qi paths through earth and stone, and Elder Hongwei's worn records.
Wang Ben read the first sheet again. The material had to remain fixed if the projected soul lost its sense of place.
The second had to resemble a living soul closely enough to be taken instead, then be lost without harming the true soul.
The third had to hide the projected soul without blocking its return to the body.
They had spent a month studying the damaged arrangements before they could write those three requirements.
The System had helped compare the marks Wang Ben copied until the three required properties were clear. Its knowledge of Azure Sky materials came from Wang Ben, and he had never encountered anything that fit them.
Elder Hongwei read the three sheets once more. "Take these to Senior Shen. He may know the materials."
Wang Tiexin tied the sheets together and placed copies of the damaged arrangements beneath them.
Wang Ben took the bundle. The remaining diagrams stayed on the worktable with the two formation masters.
Before midday, he left the compound for the Quiet Cup.
...
When Wang Ben entered the Quiet Cup, Shen Wuyan sat at his usual table with a second place set across from him.
His eyes settled on the tied sheets beneath Wang Ben's arm. "Only three?"
"Three things the materials must do. The rest is still uncertain."
"Better." Wuyan accepted the bundle and untied the cord. "Show me."
Wuyan placed the first sheet between them. Wang Ben said, "The material must remain fixed if the projected soul loses its sense of place. We think it anchors the projection."
Wuyan followed the copied line to the separate figure. "And the anchor?"
"Our conclusion. The page shows the figure and the line joining it to the soul."
"Good. The second?"
Wuyan moved the next sheet forward. Wang Ben said, "The second is a decoy. It must resemble a living soul closely enough to be taken instead. Losing it must not harm the true soul."
"Not a boundary around the soul."
"No. It is meant to be lost."
Wuyan's finger rested beside the copied break that separated the false figure from the path back to the body. He said nothing for several breaths, then turned to the third sheet.
"The third works like a standard concealment measure, but for the projected soul. It leaves the path back to the body open," Wang Ben said.
Wuyan drew the sheets into a row. "These requirements are sound."
"We could not identify materials that fit them," Wang Ben said. "Grandfather thought you might."
Wuyan touched the first sheet. "For the anchor, void-touched obsidian would be the best choice. It is not native to this world. Known fragments have been recovered from impact sites, and the material remains stable when the space around it distorts."
Wuyan moved to the second. "The decoy requires soul-affinity jade. At sufficient quality, the jade carries the resonance of a cultivator's soul. A few pieces pass through the Jade Spring auctions, but suitable jade rarely stays on the market."
He tapped the third sheet. "For concealment, you need shadow-drinking crystal. It forms deep underground in places saturated with dark qi, usually near the territories of yin-aspected beasts. The crystal absorbs spiritual emissions rather than reflecting them."
Wuyan produced a spirit-stone pouch from his storage ring and set it beside the tea. "Five thousand mid-grade spirit stones. Your clan can look for the jade and crystal through Redstone's traders. Use what remains for the ordinary materials."
Wang Ben did not reach for the pouch yet. "And the obsidian?"
"That will not pass through Redstone's markets." Wuyan turned his cup once. "I know whom to ask outside the kingdom. I will handle it."
"Five thousand should be enough?" Wang Ben asked.
"If anyone is willing to sell."
Wang Ben tucked the pouch inside his robe.
Wuyan retied the sheets and passed them back. "Bring me the completed arrangement once your clan finishes it."
"Ruoxi intends to begin in about five weeks," he added. "You should start today."
Wang Ben slid the bundle beneath his arm and rose. He bowed, left the Quiet Cup, and turned toward the merchant district.
...
The jade dealer shook her head before Wang Ben finished describing the quality he needed.
"The Jade Spring auctions have not been held in months. Not with the western roads as they are."
"Do you know anyone holding a suitable piece?"
"If I did, it would not still be for sale."
Three streets away, a dealer in beast parts and materials gave him no better answer.
"Shadow-drinking crystal used to come from the deep Blackwood," the man said. "Every expedition company that can reach those caves has taken contracts for the western front. No one is taking new private contracts."
Wang Ben looked past him at the bins of common beast cores and uncut stone. "Are any shipments already under contract?"
The dealer pointed toward the southern end of the district. "Ask at the Material Exchange. They record what is due through the city gates."
The Redstone Material Exchange occupied a low stone building beside the guild plaza. Inside, an older clerk looked from Wang Ben's face to the Wang Clan emblem on his robe.
"What are you looking for?"
"Shadow-drinking crystal. Anything expected within the next two months."
She pulled a thick ledger from beneath the counter and turned through its marked pages. "Three contracts. Two are military allocations sealed by kingdom authority. The third is private."
"Whose?"
The clerk read the entry again. "Crimson Sky Trading. Forty pieces, due in about five weeks from a deep-Blackwood expedition."
"Who represents them in Redstone?"
"Master Qian Weishan. His office is near the western gate." She closed the ledger. "Crimson Sky chooses its customers carefully."
Wang Ben thanked her and stepped back into the afternoon traffic.
He looked toward the western gate, then turned toward the clan compound instead. Qian Weishan might refuse him without hearing the offer. He was less likely to dismiss Wang Tian so quickly.
...
Wang Tian lowered the flame beneath his cauldron as Wang Ben entered the workshop. He lifted a finished pill from inside, and a rich medicinal scent spread through the room.
"Grade seven?" Wang Ben asked.
His father nodded and placed the pill in a jade vial. His gaze moved to the bundle beneath Wang Ben's arm. "How did it go?"
Wang Ben set the spirit-stone pouch beside the vial. "Senior Shen agreed that the three requirements are sound. He named a material for each."
"Which materials?"
"Void-touched obsidian for the anchor, soul-affinity jade for the decoy, and shadow-drinking crystal for concealment."
"And the search?"
"Senior Shen will find the obsidian. He gave the clan five thousand mid-grade spirit stones for the jade and crystal. The Jade Spring auctions have stopped, but I found one private crystal shipment. Crimson Sky Trading has forty pieces due in about five weeks."
Wang Tian fitted the stopper into the vial. "A domain-capital merchant house."
"Qian Weishan represents them here. The clerk warned me that Crimson Sky chooses its customers carefully." Wang Ben paused. "Will you come with me?"
"Yes. I'll send word tonight. We'll go in the morning."
Wang Ben untied the bundle and laid the material sheets on the workbench. "The jade will need a binding solution. The crystal will need a preservation compound."
Wang Tian drew the sheets closer. "Leave these with me. I'll begin tonight."
...
The training courtyard was nearly empty when Wang Ben arrived that evening. Zhao Yu waited near the far wall.
"Are you done with the formation work?" Zhao Yu asked.
"Not yet." Wang Ben drew his sword.
They began with familiar forms, then took their places for a spar.
On the first exchange, Wang Ben feinted toward Zhao Yu's shoulder, then turned his sword toward his ribs.
Zhao Yu moved before the change was complete. His blade caught Wang Ben's at the new angle. Wang Ben stepped away and lowered his sword.
"You did that in the Blackwood."
"Did what?"
"Moved before the wolf committed."
Zhao Yu glanced at the sword in his hand. "It has been happening on patrol."
They reset. On the next exchange, Zhao Yu came within three paces, and Wang Ben's spiritual sense caught the same unfamiliar pressure he had felt during the Ironmaw fight. Zhao Yu was still at the peak of body refinement, but the pressure was stronger now. It disappeared when their swords parted.
"How long?" Wang Ben asked.
"Most of the month. Only in real fights at first. Now it happens here sometimes." Zhao Yu rolled his shoulder. "My body refinement is complete. Qi condensation feels close, but I can't reach it by meditating."
"Have you tried?"
"Every night."
"When do you think it will happen?"
Zhao Yu settled his sword at his side. "In a fight."
"You cannot plan for that."
"I know." Zhao Yu almost smiled. "But when I have time to think, nothing changes. When I don't, everything falls into place."
Wang Ben raised his sword again. Zhao Yu did the same.
Wang Ben feinted high, then cut low. Zhao Yu's blade was already there.