Chapter 18: The Third Remnant Seal
As more students poured into the schoolyard, Cael stood quietly behind the crowd, his role as Class Inspector granting him a prime vantage point. His gaze flicked to the right, sweeping quickly over dozens of students.
Grade 3, Class 5. The ones who'd visited the botanical garden yesterday.
Cael's mind sharpened to a razor's edge. A faint glimmer pulsed in his eyes.
In that brief moment, his spirit value dipped by 0.1.
He exhaled and let his eyelids lower.
One by one, the backs of the 49 students from Class 5 rose within his mind. He could recall nearly every detail of their frames—etched in memory like carvings on stone.
His lips curled slightly. "Not bad. Imprinting is much more efficient."
"Imprinting"—an advanced mental discipline.
In a meditation class, Rhea Quin once said it required forming the Source Sense Seal to master it. But the night before, Cael had tested it on a whim—and succeeded instantly.
He attributed that to the two Remnant Seals already dwelling within his spiritual sea. These higher-tier constructs had elevated him beyond ordinary thresholds. Imprinting came naturally.
In just over ten seconds, Cael had imprinted all seven classes—hundreds of students—into his mental registry.
"Now," he thought, "time to filter the ones matching the profile. Then, using the Eye of All-Knowing, I'll pinpoint the real culprit."
Eventually, the Grand Review began in full.
Dong! Dong!
Two massive drums sounded, shaking the ground beneath them.
Every student instinctively focused, their minds drawn taut.
Cael immediately felt it—both Remnant Seals within him stirred faintly.
He blinked in surprise.
These drums were not ordinary.
He'd assumed the drumming was symbolic—a ceremonial start to focus the students.
But clearly, the drums emitted an extraordinary resonance that actively stimulated one's mental state.
Boom! Boom!
Another round.
Cael, sensing a resonance, mentally commanded: "Analyze the drum sound."
The scalp-tingling coolness returned, and his spirit value began to plummet.
Boom!
Inside his mind, a phantom drumbeat echoed.
Cool energy rippled across his scalp, sinking deeper—through skin, bone, and into the depths of his brain.
Half a breath later, it felt as if his head had been dunked in ice water. His mind turned crystal clear. Not a single stray thought remained.
Then he saw it:
A thread of deep violet light.
It grew quickly, warping into a strange shape. It pulsed—soft purple halos emanating from it like a glowing orb.
A prompt appeared: "Analysis complete: Spiritual Remnant Seal. Proficiency +9. Current Proficiency: 87/1000. Spirit Value: 5.8/14.5."
Cael's heart surged.
The third Remnant Seal!
His spirit value cap had jumped by 0.7 points—his biggest gain yet.
He also felt... full.
Not physically.
His soul felt full.
He understood instinctively: with his current strength, three Remnant Seals was his limit. More would overwhelm his spiritual sea.
Only a major leap in strength would allow him to host another.
Cael touched the glowing violet orb with his spirit. More data flowed into his thoughts:
"Spiritual Remnant Seal – Integrity: 2.38%"
Its growth potential was lower than the True Flame Seal but significantly higher than the Spirit Taming Seal.
Its benefits?
First, it slowly nourished the soul, raising the upper limit of his spirit value. That alone explained the 0.7-point increase.
Second, it boosted spirit recovery speed by roughly 20%.
Third, it improved concentration—enhancing training efficiency.
It also had other minor, interesting features.
In short: extremely valuable.
Just then, a booming voice echoed from the podium.
"Students, I will now demonstrate the 'Nine-Element Strengthening Form.' Watch carefully."
The speaker was a towering, broad-shouldered man—Vice Principal Yan Dongting, a veteran of the Blacksteel Legion.
The Nine-Element Form was a renowned set of body-strengthening techniques.
Under thousands of eyes, Yan Dongting struck a powerful stance. "Hei!"
To most, it was just a shout.
But Cael, attuned to the supernatural, immediately sensed it: that cry had a soul-shaking resonance.
"Impressive," he thought. "Even a shout from him carries power."
Yan bent into a horse stance, arms wide, back arched, waist twisting—forming a strange stretch.
"First stance—Hidden Horse."
There were thirteen stances in total.
For ordinary students, each one pushed the body. From the seventh onward, most would start faltering.
No student in the school could perform the complete set perfectly.
Rhea Quin had once remarked: most start deviating after Form Seven—similar on the outside, but far off in substance.
Cael activated Imprinting, searing the Hidden Horse stance into memory.
He used to see this as mere P.E.
Now, he saw much more.
Three minutes later, the demonstration ended.
Yan Dongting said sternly, "Practice seriously during this Review. No slacking."
Then he turned and left the stage.
Cael's eyes gleamed.
"The Nine-Element Form seems to draw in Source Energy and temper the body. A powerful technique. Probably even more effective when paired with a Bodyforge Seal—exclusive to warriors."
He nodded to himself. "From now on, I'll keep refining my skills, developing the three Remnant Seals—and I'll dedicate time to mastering this form."
Another teacher gave the signal: "Begin practice."
Students moved in unison.
Cael raised his arms and legs into the Hidden Horse stance—textbook form.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted sloppy movements from other students—clearly phoning it in.
He sighed.
"What a bunch of amateurs."