The Child Within the Ark

At that moment, the water beneath Hao Nhien’s feet began to ripple more strongly.

He looked up.

Across the endless gray-white space, hair-thin lines of light suddenly appeared.

They did not form a complete road.

Instead, they emerged only in the places he had already walked, connecting one after another like traces left upon the water.

Hao Nhien looked at them.

A strange feeling passed through him.

He did not know whether this was a response from the Fate-Convergence Realm or simply a phenomenon marking the end of the trial.

But he no longer felt any need to stop and understand it immediately.

He took another step.

The water beneath him spread outward in broad rings.

His reflection slowly dissolved into light.

The empty space ahead widened.

The glowing traces behind him began disappearing one after another.

Hao Nhien felt only a faint tremor within his soul, like an invisible barrier being removed.

Then everything went dark.

Sea wind moved through the courtyard.

Hao Nhien slowly opened his eyes.

He was still sitting beside the stone table beneath the eaves.

Lanterns swayed gently in the wind.

Moisture from the Sea Region carried its familiar taste of salt into the quiet courtyard.

On the table, the two metal fragments had returned to their original state.

The patterns that had once glowed were now only faded engravings again.

The eight lights had vanished.

Hao Nhien watched them for a moment.

Then looked toward the chair opposite him.

Lang Tuyet had not returned.

Outside the courtyard, Lanh Hoa stood guard.

The moment he saw Hao Nhien open his eyes, he turned.

After studying him for several breaths, he spoke.

“Clan Chief, are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

Hao Nhien stood and moved his body.

The heaviness within his meridians remained.

But when he walked, the small fluctuations of True Qi no longer created the same discomfort as before.

Lanh Hoa continued looking at him.

“Your aura seems different.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

“There have been some changes.”

“I need to examine them further.”

Seeing no obvious problem, Lanh Hoa did not continue asking.

He returned to his position outside.

Hao Nhien sat again and slowly closed his eyes.

He tried sending a thin strand of True Qi toward his fingertip.

The circulation was slower than it had been inside the Realm of Direction.

Several meridian branches still resisted the current strongly enough to force it to change direction.

But eventually, warmth reached his finger.

Hao Nhien opened his eyes.

What had happened within the Fate-Convergence Realm had not been entirely illusion.

He had truly discovered another way to circulate True Qi.

However, when he tried increasing the amount, the smaller branches immediately became tight and strained.

Hao Nhien withdrew his intention.

He did not force it.

He tested several more times, memorizing the routes that seemed relatively stable.

Then he turned his attention toward his soul.

The circulation of soul force still followed the Quan Family Soul Art.

There was no new layer of technique.

No sudden increase in power.

But controlling spiritual sense felt different.

The currents of soul force adjusted more flexibly, especially when he did not insist upon concentrating all of them into a single fixed route.

After observing for a while, Hao Nhien suddenly thought of the Cosmic Ark.

Since the battle at U Minh Mountain, he had always been able to sense the Ark deep within his soul.

But whenever he tried approaching it, his soul power had been dragged inward.

Probing not only failed to let him enter—it weakened his soul rapidly.

That was why he had been almost completely unable to check on Tieu Lan.

This time, the moment he thought of the Ark, the circulation of soul force adjusted almost on its own.

A portion of power that had been following a stable route slowly turned toward the familiar point of connection deep within his soul.

Hao Nhien did not immediately send his spiritual sense after it.

He simply observed.

The small currents continued moving.

There was none of the earlier sense of being forcibly pulled away.

After some time, the connection to the Cosmic Ark became clearer, like something that had always existed but had previously been hidden beneath other disturbances.

Hao Nhien sent only the faintest touch of intention toward it.

Nothing happened.

He stopped.

Stabilized his soul.

Then tried again.

This time, when his intention touched the connection, the Soul Art’s circulation shifted slightly.

The familiar presence of the Ark suddenly felt closer.

A light sensation passed through him.

It was not bodily teleportation.

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Nor was it spiritual sense forcibly penetrating some barrier.

Hao Nhien simply felt the connection stabilize.

Then his consciousness gradually entered a familiar space.

When his vision cleared, he was standing inside the Cosmic Ark.

For several moments, Hao Nhien did not move.

He simply confirmed that he had truly returned.

The ancient interior remained vast and quiet.

The familiar structures appeared unchanged.

Yet certain fluctuations far deeper within the Ark seemed clearer to his senses than before.

Hao Nhien did not investigate them immediately.

He went straight to Tieu Lan.

She still had not awakened.

Hao Nhien sat beside her.

He carefully examined her with spiritual sense.

Her life force remained very weak.

But it had not continued deteriorating.

Her aura was relatively stable compared with the last time he had checked before losing the ability to enter the Ark.

Only then did Hao Nhien slowly breathe out.

“I’m back,” he said quietly.

Tieu Lan did not respond.

Hao Nhien remained beside her for a while.

Then stood.

As he prepared to leave, he suddenly sensed a very faint fluctuation from a deeper region of the Cosmic Ark.

It did not resemble ordinary spiritual energy.

Nor did it fully resemble the reactions of formations he had encountered before.

But it felt familiar.

Hao Nhien immediately remembered the times his soul had been pulled deeper into the Ark after he reached Golden Core.

Back then, he had sensed weak movement in a place that had once seemed completely still.

Every time he tried probing it, soul force was absorbed.

Yet he had never been able to determine what was actually happening.

Hao Nhien turned toward the deeper region.

He slowly extended his consciousness.

He did not rush into it.

He stopped where he could most clearly feel the fluctuation.

Inside the darkness ahead, a faint pulse repeated.

It was not perfectly regular.

Sometimes it nearly vanished.

Then after a while, it appeared again.

Hao Nhien extended spiritual sense.

The moment his intention made contact, an extremely small strand of soul force separated from his circulation.

It was slowly absorbed into the darkness.

Hao Nhien immediately observed his own soul.

There was no tearing.

No forced seizure.

His Soul Art continued circulating relatively steadily.

Only a tiny amount of power had been lost.

He did not stop it immediately.

But neither did he deliberately send more.

After a while, the pulse in the darkness subtly changed.

Hao Nhien remembered the Boat Spirit’s words from long ago.

It had once told him that when he became strong enough, perhaps they would meet again.

But ever since it sank into the depths of the Cosmic Ark after that passage through shattered space, Hao Nhien had received no clear response.

He looked into the darkness.

Could this fluctuation be related to it?

He had no way to know.

Another thread of soul force was absorbed.

The pulse became slightly clearer.

When Hao Nhien felt the first signs of fatigue in his soul, he withdrew his intention.

He looked toward the darkness for a little longer.

Then left the Cosmic Ark.

When Hao Nhien opened his eyes again, Lang Tuyet was sitting opposite him.

She had poured herself a cup of tea but had not drunk it yet.

Her gaze rested on the two metal fragments on the table.

Hearing him move, she looked up.

Her expression changed briefly before returning to normal.

“You’re awake too?”

Hao Nhien was slightly surprised.

Then nodded.

“How long have you been back?”

“Not long.”

“When I opened my eyes, you were still sitting there motionless.”

Lang Tuyet took a small sip of tea.

“Do you know what exactly we just experienced?”

Hao Nhien looked at the two metal fragments and thought for a moment.

“I’m not certain.”

“It may have been an extremely sophisticated illusion.”

“Or our consciousness may have been drawn into some special space.”

“Everything inside felt too real to easily distinguish, but our bodies remained here, and nothing else has left enough traces for me to determine what happened.”

Lang Tuyet nodded faintly.

She had encountered many ruins and ancient objects through the Heavenly Spirit Merchant Association.

Yet this phenomenon was beyond anything she could explain.

“At times it felt like a dream,” she said.

A difficult-to-read smile appeared briefly.

“Only far stranger than any dream I’ve ever had.”

“But it wasn’t entirely useless.”

Lang Tuyet looked at Hao Nhien.

Then smiled.

“Looks like you gained something as well.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

He did not explain in detail.

Lang Tuyet did not press.

She slowly rotated the teacup in her hand.

After a while, she set it down.

“So did I.”

“There are things I never considered before that I now feel I should think about.”

“But right now, even I don’t know what to make of them.”

Hao Nhien looked at her.

He remembered how long she had stood before the invisible thing in her trial.

How she had finally raised her hand and pushed.

He still did not know what she had seen.

But the quietness in her eyes made it clear those things had not truly left her thoughts.

“Then give it time,” Hao Nhien said.

“Perhaps when we look back later, we’ll understand more.”

Lang Tuyet studied him.

Then nodded.

“I think so too.”

Neither of them continued discussing what they had experienced inside the Fate-Convergence Realm.

Hao Nhien did not ask what Lang Tuyet had chosen.

She did not ask what had made him stop within his own trial.

Without saying it directly, both seemed to understand that some experiences needed to be considered alone before they could be spoken aloud.

After a while, Lang Tuyet looked toward the metal fragments.

“At least buying these wasn’t a complete waste.”

Hao Nhien laughed.

“For the number of spirit stones we spent, I certainly hope not.”

“You’re still calculating spirit stones with me?”

Lang Tuyet raised an eyebrow.

The familiar mischievous look finally returned.

“I wouldn’t dare.”

She laughed.

The atmosphere lightened.

Hao Nhien looked at the ancient patterns that had gone dark.

He did not know what other secrets were hidden within the Fate-Convergence Realm.

But neither of them possessed enough information to go deeper yet.

Further speculation would accomplish little.

After a while, Hao Nhien stored the two metal fragments.

Lang Tuyet returned to her room.

Both needed time to stabilize the changes within themselves and consider what they had experienced.

During the next three days, Hao Nhien spent most of his time testing the changes in his True Qi and soul.

The new method of circulation did not immediately clear every meridian.

Some secondary branches remained too narrow to carry True Qi steadily.

Other regions contained enough resistance that the current had to alter direction repeatedly before passing.

But compared with before, the difference was obvious.

Once Hao Nhien stopped forcing True Qi through the old circulation cycle, the meridian branches that had adapted under the Body-Soul Fist Art began to become useful.

Several routes that had previously appeared only through spontaneous reactions could now be activated with relative stability through intention.

Hao Nhien still could not use powerful techniques.

He certainly could not circulate the amount of True Qi he had wielded before his injury.

But actions requiring smaller amounts of power gradually became easier.

He also noticed something else.

Each successful circulation allowed the secondary branches to adapt a little more.

The change was extremely slow.

But after comparing the results across many attempts, the trend was clear enough to confirm.

His soul remained more flexible as well.

Hao Nhien did not force the cultivation of the Soul Art.

Instead, he mostly observed its natural reactions.

He adjusted his intention.

Recorded the results.

The more he tested, the more he realized the new method was not a rejection of what he had practiced before.

The old circulation routes still mattered.

They simply were no longer the only roads available.

During those days, Hao Nhien also repeatedly tried establishing contact with the Cosmic Ark.

It did not work smoothly every time.

Sometimes the Soul Art reacted too slowly.

Sometimes the connection became faint enough that he stopped rather than forcing it.

But after several adjustments, entering the Ark gradually became more stable.

Every time he went inside, the first thing he did was check Tieu Lan.

Her condition showed no obvious change.

Only afterward did he go deeper into the Ark to observe the strange fluctuation.

On the third inspection, Hao Nhien noticed something new within the darkness.

A vague form had appeared.

At first, it looked like only a small mass of condensed soul force.

But as he watched carefully, outlines gradually emerged.

A head.

Shoulders.

A small body curled inward.

Hao Nhien studied it for a long time.

Eventually, he realized the form resembled a child of perhaps five or six years old.

More surprising was the aura surrounding it.

Extremely weak.

Yet unmistakably familiar.

It carried the same feeling as the deep fluctuations he had been sensing throughout the Cosmic Ark.

Hao Nhien did not understand why an existence that had once appeared as an old man would now condense into the shape of a child.

Nor could he yet confirm that it truly was the Boat Spirit.

He continued observing without deliberately feeding it soul force.

A tiny strand separated naturally from his Soul Art’s circulation and was slowly absorbed.

There was no significant reaction.

But afterward, the child’s outline seemed slightly clearer.

Hao Nhien memorized the change.

Then left.

Nothing obvious happened on the fourth day.

On the fifth, when he returned, the child’s form was far more complete.

It was no longer curled up within the darkness.

It sat quietly.

Its eyes were closed.

Its small legs hung downward like those of a sleeping child.

Hao Nhien stood several steps away.

He examined it with spiritual sense.

No response.

He tried speaking softly.

“Boat Spirit?”

The child remained still.

Hao Nhien did not call again.

He simply watched.

Just as he prepared to leave, the circulation of soul force within him shifted.

A thin strand separated and slowly entered the figure.

The child tilted its head slightly.

Hao Nhien stopped.

A moment later, its eyes slowly opened.

They were extraordinarily clear.

But the gaze within them did not entirely resemble that of a child.

It looked Hao Nhien up and down.

No surprise.

No fear.

Almost as though it had known he would eventually appear.

The two stared at one another.

Finally, the child blinked.

“You’re slow.”

Hao Nhien froze.

He had waited a very long time for some clear response from the depths of the Ark.

He had not expected the first words he heard to be a short complaint.

“Is it you?” Hao Nhien asked.

The child nodded.

“Mm.”

Hao Nhien looked at the small figure.

His confusion was impossible to hide.

“You didn’t look like this before.”

The child lowered its gaze toward its small hands.

Then looked up again.

“You’re still too weak.”

Hao Nhien raised an eyebrow.

“You’re saying this is my fault?”

“Yes.”

For several breaths, Hao Nhien did not know whether he should laugh or continue questioning it.

An existence that had once appeared as a mysterious ancient elder was now sitting before him as a five-year-old child, calmly blaming its current appearance on him.

Yet the familiar aura made it impossible to dismiss the figure as some unknown soul.

Hao Nhien sat opposite it.

“Do you remember what happened before?”

The child tilted its head as though thinking.

After a while, it shook its head.

“Not all of it.”

Hao Nhien was not particularly surprised.

He slowly asked about the time the Cosmic Ark had carried him through space.

Why the old man had chosen to help him.

The child remained silent for a long time.

Its small brows drew together.

“Had to find you,” it finally said.

Hao Nhien’s gaze changed slightly.

“Why did you have to find me?”

The child looked down at its hands.

It seemed to search for the answer.

Then said,

“Bring you back.”