Refining a Core required three fundamental pillars: concept, material, and essence.

  While the trinity sounded straightforward, the practice was an agonizing process.

  Sui Zhuan Yang banked on this. Believing that knowing the Core’s recipe was enough to give him value.

  But why?

  To refine a Core, one had to understand what it was meant to produce. You didn’t merely “press” an idea into an object—you shaped the idea itself. In this case, one could not simply push essence infused with the notion of capturing memories. You had to begin with memory itself: define what memory was, understand its nature, and slowly imbue that definition into the forming Core. Only when the idea of memory had fully taken root could one progress to the act of capturing it, and only then to the final concept: giving it away.

  The order was everything. Deviate from the original approach, and the Core would either fail—or become a pale, crippled imitation

  What he didn’t know was that Feiyun Xing had already grasped the recipe. When the Leader refined the Cores, the prince was surveilling him with essence. That combined with using the Core first hand was enough for him to figure it out.

  Of course, there would be trial and error, but he only needed to create one Core, he was confident in himself.

  Hadn’t Ren Lin proposed to keep a bit of ice for themselves it would be slightly problematic. This was the second reason Sui Zhuan Yang was betting his life on it. He thought he destroyed all remaining material to create another obstacle; making the prince tend to discard Ren Lin.

  Though it was a good deed to kill him. There were also downsides to the villagers. Sure, he decreased the population every now and then, but he was a Second Order cultivator. Being a powerhouse in this village; lowering the dangers in hunting.

  Yet, Ren Lin was trying to find a new leader for them. In this village you can become a leader either through your bloodline or by being able to create the Wang Bing Core. This was the deal made with Feiyun Xing’s grandfather. For the protection of the phoenix tree, they would need to be able to grant people a way to get the approval of the Leviathan.

  Ren Lin moved through the village with the quiet focus of a master gardener selecting a plant to graft. She didn't need a warrior; she needed a symbol that was indebted to her.

  And there he was. Sui Yue Fei did not stand out at first glance. His clothes were plain, his cultivation was only rank one, and his posture carried no arrogance. What set him apart was quieter: the way villagers spoke to him without fear, and the way he never looked away when someone needed help.

  Ren Lin watched him for three days.

  She saw him divide his meager rations with an elderly hunter who had failed to return with prey. She saw him intervene when a cultivator’s son tried to seize a stall without paying. And, most importantly, she saw how the villagers unconsciously gathered around him when trouble stirred, as if expecting him to speak first.

  He had no greed for leadership.

  Which made him perfect.

  While Feiyun Xing secluded himself to refine the Core, Ren Lin began laying threads. A quiet word here, a suggestion there.

  “Why aren’t you trying to become the new leader?” She approached him.

  Cooking meat, Sui Yue Fei looked up at her. “Why would you ask me that? I’m not nearly competent enough.”

  Raising a brow she said, “and why is that? All you have to do is learn how to craft the Wang Bing Core. You are already a role model for everyone.”

  He averted his gaze. “You make it sound easy. I was never good at making Cores, so no point.”

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  Ren Lin laid her hand on his shoulder. “I didn’t come here without any idea to help you. I believe you are going to be the future of the village. If not you, who else?”

  With a chuckle he replied, “and what is this idea? Can it teach a dullard like me to create such a complex Core?”

  “I can help you create the Core successfully one time. After that you will need to practice on your own.”

  “That sounds like cheating, doesn’t it?”

  “If you could have a weapon when calamity strikes—do you wait until you can create your own, or do you step in with the weapon that you already possess?”

  Yue Fei exhaled slowly.

  “If you could stop a calamity today but chose to wait until you were strong enough to do it alone,” he said, “that… would be worse than cheating. However, the village isn’t in such a situation.”

  “Is it not?” Ren Lin leaned in. “Look around. Calaminity doesn’t announce itself openly—it waits until everything will be devoured.”

  “I will need time to consider.” He spoke, pushing her back gently.

  “Alright… just remember that unused power is no different from no power at all.”

  Leaving the young man to his thoughts, Ren Lin retreated toward the outskirts of the village. She didn't need an immediate “yes”; the seed of responsibility had been planted, and in a man like Sui Yue Fei, that was more potent than any bribe.

  In the dim light of their cabin, the air hummed with a rhythmic, low-frequency vibration. Feiyun Xing sat cross-legged, his brow glistening with sweat. Between his palms, a single shard of "memory ice" hovered, encased in a swirling vortex of essence.

  Watching in silence over the following days, she never once interrupted. When the refinement was finally complete, Feiyun Xing rose from his seat and went to find her.

  “Ren Lin?” He called out from behind.

  She turned around. “Ohhh, look who is finally back?”

  The prince let out a chuckle. “I will head to sleep soon, don’t get too happy.”

  “Fine, fine. But I need a favor from you.”

  “What is it?”

  Ren Lin explained the situation, and her plan; switching the Core the prince made, with the one Sui Yue Fei will make to make him leader. She continues by stating how kind Sui Yue Fei is, that he would be a promising leader. That the village urgently needs a leader.

  Listening to the proposal, Feiyun Xing’s gaze lingered on the newly refined Core held within his palm. And as Ren Lin spoke of the village’s precarious future, he saw the necessity.

  “Fine,” he relented, a tired but genuine smile tugging at his lips. "If he is the man you claim, then this deception serves a higher truth. I will play the shadow to his light."

  The following morning, the air in the village square was thick with anticipation. Under Ren Lin’s continued guidance, Yue Fei had finally accepted the burden. And after the prince received enough rest, they stood at the center of the ritual circle. It was a formation designed to allow refinement under public witness—visible to all, yet shielded from noises.

  So, the refinement began.

  For three days, Yue Fei poured himself into the task. He followed the recipe Feiyun Xing had provided, his brow furrowed in concentration. He started with the concept of memory, visualizing the flickering candles of a person’s past. Then, he moved to the concept of the “capture,” trying to weave his essence into a net to hold those flames.

  The villagers watched in a hushed, reverent silence. They saw the sweat soaking his tunic and the way his hands shook from essence depletion. To them, he was a hero in the making.

  On the fourth day, it happened.

  Yue Fei’s essence was fraying. The memory ice began to vibrate violently, emitting a high-pitched, discordant whine. The internal structure he had spent days building was collapsing; the “capture” was devouring the “memory” rather than holding it.

  “It’s over…” he thought, squeezing his eyes shut. “They even gave me the recipe and I still failed.”

  An explosion was heard, but when he opened his eyes, the Wang Bing Core was in his hands.

  “I—I did it!”

  Feiyun Xing and Ren Lin, who stood close to the circle, congratulated him. The villagers had looks of shock and awe spread throughout.

  What nobody saw was that during the explosion, a sudden bloom of smoke swallowed the ritual circle—thick and perfectly timed. What the prince used to swiftly place the Core in his hands.

  And still, a roar of triumph erupted from the unaware villagers.

  “He did it!”

  “The heavens have chosen!”

  “Thanks to you,” Sui Yue Fei spoke to Ren Lin and Feiyun Xing. “I have been able to do this. I’m deep in debt.”

  “Ah, don’t mention it.” The prince answered, pointing to the crowd with his eyes. “They are waiting for their new leader.”

  Stepping out of the ritual circle, Sui Yue Fei lifted his gaze, no longer avoiding the eyes of the villagers.

  “Before I give any speech of how grateful I am,” he said, voice firm, “I will need to sever a name.”

  Murmurs spread, yet he continued without hesitation.

  “The Sui name once stood for protection. Now it stands for fear, blood, and rot. A name that stains this land has no place upon it.”

  “From this day onward,” he declared. “This is no longer the Sui Village.”

  Then, he drew in a slow breath.

  “It is the Yue Village.”

  He handed Ren Lin the Wang Bing Core, its icy-coldness spread on her already cold hand.

  Yue Fei straightened, then pressed his fist to his chest and bowed deeply to the villagers.

  “Our family name ends here,” he said. “Not out of shame—but resolve.”

  He met their eyes, one by one.

  “To serve with utmost loyalty, and to repay this land with my life if needed.”

  The words were simple, yet they struck like a vow carved into stone.

  “That is what my new name Yue Fei shall stand for!”