Ming Yue worked diligently and with effort to learn from Zhi Qing and Grand Researcher Ou.
The early morning was spent practicing the sword and meditating on what "Sharpness of One's Soul" meant. Understanding the essence will allow her to advance to the next level.
Still, despite the steps taken and the explanations for this stage, she did not understand it.
What did those four words refer too? She knew that it focused on the soul to transform it into a sharp blade. That was what the manual said but she did not know how to do it. After all saying it was much easier than doing it.
How could she manipulate her soul? The energy of the soul was light and ethereal, hard to grasp. How could she make it sharp? Did it refer to her willpower or mentality? She had to use the sword as the mold but how could that be done?
There were many things to ponder and many paths to take but she was unsure of what to do. As helpful as the manual was, she found parts of it vague and confusing.
With this dilemma, she thought that Grand Researcher Ou would have an answer. After all, this was about the soul but when she asked, the Grand Researcher only smiled and spoke one line.
"What I say does not matter, it is what you think is correct."
This left her pondering and feeling stuck. What frustrated her even more was that she could not form Mental Force despite an innumerable number of attempts. Trying to merge two completely different energies was incredibly difficult. As careful as she could, she tried to balance them but only managed to get them to touch before the control was lost and all of her hard work disappeared.
Just a wisp of Heart Energy could overpower all of the Soul Energy she could muster. Soul Energy was too weak, it had no substance and easily dissipated with just small hiccup.
Grand Researcher Ou had nothing else to instruct her and only watched Ming Yue try and try again. Each failure led to a simple sigh and a tired look as she attempted once more. She was irritated by her lack of progress and it showed. It was not even the end of the day and her control over her energy had degraded.
She was at the cusp of forming Mental Force but missed one thing and that soured her mood.
After a week of trying, Grand Researcher Ou told her to stop practising and to instead meditate on her own. Ming Yue's frustrations had gotten the best of her and she could not help but scowl. Her mental fortitude was quite good but after failing so much, anyone would act like she did. Perhaps this week-long rest would prove to be helpful.
Her control over energy had certainly improved but she did not know what to do.
She needed to calm down and think carefully, deciding to take her mind off by going to the three seniors at the Craftmen's District. She had been sent a letter by Cheng Wei to come to the Wildwood Pavilion and see if his new creation fit her fingers.
Walking through the gates of the pavilion, she found there to be a sizable and dense garden full of odd plants and herbs. It wrapped around the building, a wooden structure made from black wooden planks. Vines and moss wrapped around the walls, there were even flowers and buds that sprouted all through out the exterior.
Coming with Hei Yue and Xiao Yin, she found that the pair stuck close to her. They seemed slightly wary at a few of the strange shrubs they passed by. At the sight of a rather strange plant, their guard was fully on though it was not unwarranted. This strange plant had a large bulb that seemed to split in half, like the jaws of a beast.*
Inside the pavilion was wholly different from the exterior, there was emerald marble flooring and glass counters filled with numerous accessories and a few sets of armor.
There was an attendant waiting for her wearing earthen colored robes. It was similar to Cheng Wei's robes with the shades of dark green and red but his had vines and moss on it.
The attendant led the trio down a few flights of stairs, walking past numerous workshops before stopping at the largest one.
"Senior Cheng is in here", said the attendant and opened the doors for Ming Yue.
Entering this workshop, she saw several workbenches as well as a number of tools that she was not familiar with.
Cheng Wei was sitting down by one of the workbenches, his hands moved were slowly and carefully. There was a bright light in front of him, illuminating every spot of his current work. Hearing the gates closed, he turned around and saw Ming Yue standing there.
"Ah, you are here", he said, "Come here, I need to check something with what I'm making for you."
Ming Yue saw him wearing a strange headpiece that had several pieces of glass layered in front of his right eye.
She followed him and saw him return to the workbench, removing what he was working on and handing it to her.
With it in her hands, she saw that it was a ring, a wooden one made out of the branch of the Evergreen Heart.
"These last few days have been incredibly rewarding. The journals and the piece of the Evergreen Heart have taught me a lot and helped me in creating this ring. The notes on selective and cross-breeding has been incredibly helpful in further cultivating my garden."
He looked at her, removing the head piece and watching excitedly.
"Please, try it on."
She looked at the ring, a smooth piece that gently glittered with flecks of green. She tried it on, putting it on the index finger of her right hand as her spatial ring took her middle finger. It was a bit tight but not extremely hard to put on and take off.
However the effect it had on her body was extraordinary. It coursed into her body and invigorated her, it even cleared her mind as well. If it had an effect in her cultivation, this ring would be in a league of its own. Alas, it was not strong enough for that.
However, this was perfect for recovery.
Ming Yue took out her dagger and made a small cut on her arm. She watched it mend and fix itself in seconds. Without the ring, a small injury like that would have taken a minute or so.
"Senior, this is amazing", she spoke with shock as the ring had surpassed her expectations.
She handed it back to Cheng Wei, who started working on it immediately upon noticing that it was a little small for her finger.
"I'm going to name it the "Eternal Heart Ring", a nod to the Evergreen Heart."
With a few tools in his hands, he started shaving off the inner part of the ring.
"At first, I was not sure how to tackle making a ring out of this but a few tests made it much easier. Come back in a few hours and it should be done. Oh, and the other two seem quite excited with your blade, you should go to them as well."
"Really? Then I will return in a bit."
She left the Wildwood Pavilion and headed to the other two stores. On her way there, she saw Mei Zhen burst out of the Forge of 81 Fires with her blade wrapped in cloth and run to the Treasured Gem Hall.
"Senior!"
She called out but Mei Zhen was too hurried to hear her and disappeared into the bejeweled doors. Following the hammer-wielding senior, Ming Yue entered the Treasured Gem hall to find her and could not help but to pause and look at the inside of the Treasured Gem Hall.
There were rows of glass counters complete with hundreds if not thousands of gems. Multiple attendants stood by their own counter and walked along, asking any customers if they needed help.
Ming Yue looked around and saw Mei Zhen's silhouette ascending the floors.
She followed up the stairs not knowing what was in store for her.