Lord of the Truth

"Soul Masters? Well, I suppose this falls within my domain…"

Emily rose gracefully from the ground, brushing the folds of her robe before clasping both hands behind her back in the manner of utmost respect. Her voice carried steady confidence, tinged with pride. "In answer to Your Majesty, the numbers of Soul Masters are on the rise without pause. The arrays for detecting those born with soul force beyond the ordinary have spread across every S-class planet under our rule. Day after day, thousands of hopefuls line up to be tested. For each of them, the chance to be recognized as a Soul Master has become the greatest dream of their lives."

"…" Robin inclined his head slightly, his expression calm, though the glint in his golden eyes revealed that he was listening carefully. Such growth was only natural for an empire like his.

Emily continued, her tone firm. "Those who pass the examinations are immediately escorted to the central continent of Planet Jura. There, at the expense of the Empire, they are provided education, training, and cultivation resources. Within a short span of years, they earn the title of Soul Master, and with it, opportunities that ordinary men and women could never touch."

Robin knew the process well. A Soul Master was not only a cultivator; he was also an artisan of war. Anyone who earned that title gained the right to inscribe arrays, forge battle tools, and contribute to the might of the Empire's ever-expanding industries—be it in the war factories, the starship shipyards, or the great array forges.

The Empire was expanding on a colossal scale, swallowing territories and developing new planets at a pace that defied imagination. Its industries never stopped—indeed, they multiplied by the day. For the common folk, the path of Soul Master was no longer just a lofty dream; it was a golden ladder. To be someone capable of producing inscriptions in bulk meant securing lifelong employment, prosperity for one's family, and a place of honor. Some, the most skilled, could rise even higher—to oversee entire planetary industries, to command the fate of millions, and to amass fortunes that rivaled the treasuries of kings.

But… Robin's eyes narrowed. That was not the heart of what he wished to know.

"Leave the numbers aside," he said, his brows furrowing. His tone sharpened as his voice cut through the chamber. "What about their strength? Has anyone emerged who can truly fight using soul force?"

At his words, the air stirred. Hooom! A silver portal spiraled into existence beside Emily, shimmering with ethereal light. From its depths stepped forth a colossal tiger, its fur gleaming silver-white, its body rippling with soul might. Four massive fangs jutted from its maw like polished blades, and its eyes burned with a quiet, predatory intelligence.

Robin's gaze brightened, a rare flicker of delight breaking across his stern features. "Astounding. So you have reached the level of wielding soul creatures in combat?" His brow arched, and a thin smile curved across his lips. "Hmm… Your soul force has reached somewhere between seventy-five and seventy-eight thousand units. Even relying on the minor soul-filling technique I passed down to you, this is an excellent achievement."

Before his departure three centuries ago, Robin had gifted Emily with a vast stock of initial souls, and more importantly, he had given her the method to harvest additional souls once her supply ran out. For her to have reached such a formidable level in the span of only three hundred years… it was an accomplishment worthy of pride.

Robin recognized the beast before him immediately. That silver tiger was one of the primordial beast souls he himself had claimed after the bloody battle between Durger's legions and Caesar's armies. Instead of keeping it, he had handed it to Emily as he departed the mid-belt. That creature possessed a carrying capacity of six hundred units—a rare, valuable soul indeed.

But Robin also understood her limits. Without specialized techniques to train her soul creatures, and without high-level soul arts, Emily remained restrained. She could not unleash the full depth of her seventy-eight thousand units of soul force freely. The tiger before him, powerful as it was, could at most display six hundred units of strength. Strong, yes—but against any random soul creture Robin have now, or even against a single seasoned minor general, she would still be cut down without much effort.

"Your Majesty… you can discern the depth of my soul force just by a glance?" Emily's eyes widened until they were round with disbelief.

Soul force was not like energy levels—it was invisible, intangible, one of the most guarded secrets of a Spirit Master. It was their greatest shield and their last lifeline. To expose it was to walk toward death. Yet His Majesty had pierced through hers in an instant, stripping away all pretense. She had always respected Robin deeply, but in this moment, she realized that her respect had been shallow. Today, he proved himself once again to be a man whose very perception defied all limits.

Robin's smile lingered faintly. The truth was simple for him—he could tell from the subtle shade of silver in the creature's aura. The variation was minute, undetectable to all but the most practiced eye. Yet to an experienced Soul Master, it was enough. This was precisely why the Soul Society had devised the Soul Robe to veil one's power… and precisely why Robin wore one himself.

"How many others have broken through to silver, and can now wield soul creatures in combat?" Robin asked, his spirits clearly lifted by what he had seen from Emily.

"We have approximately seventy silver-ranked Soul Masters who can fight at present, Your Majesty," Emily answered swiftly, her tone bright with pride. "They have been carefully assigned—some to oversee advanced military industrial projects, others dispatched under High General Aro and High General Caesar to assist in the construction of their arrays and fortifications."

"Three hundred years…" Robin's voice was heavy, laced with quiet frustration as he rubbed his short beard, his golden eyes narrowing. "Three hundred years of promoting the Path of the Soul. Three centuries of me pouring resources into it, supplying you with techniques—including one miraculous method that allows soul creatures themselves to hunt initial souls and return them safely to the domain. And what is the result?" His voice rose, sharp and cutting. "Seventy people. Seventy. That is all."

His face darkened further, every line etched with disappointment. "And not a single one of them dares to set foot on the battlefield! Not one who wields their soul force directly in combat!"

The throne hall fell into a tense silence.

"….." Emily lowered her head, unable to meet his gaze. The weight of his judgment pressed heavily on her shoulders. Even Zara and Kristan, who only moments ago had been quarreling over the distribution of planetary weapons, suddenly busied themselves with meticulous concentration. They arranged the artifacts with unnatural care, pretending to be consumed by the task, desperate to avoid drawing Robin's ire upon themselves.

Robin waved his hand, an impatient gesture that cut through the silence. "Whatever, whatever…" His voice was edged with irritation, but also with resignation. "Emily, I know your burdens. You are the pillar of the headquarters. You carry responsibilities that would crush most men, and you scarcely have time to breathe, let alone to seek out promising Soul Masters and train them personally. The fact that you have attained such strength on your own is already a miracle. But…"

He leaned forward on his throne, his tone suddenly sharp again, "…the question remains. Is there anyone, anyone at all in this Empire worthy of true responsibility? Among those seventy Soul Masters, is there not one who has the talent, the resolve, and the discipline to shoulder the task of founding a complete soul force division that answers to me directly?"

Emily's silence stretched for several heartbeats. Then, reluctantly, she shook her head. "I apologize, Your Majesty. I cannot bear the responsibility of naming any individual. At best, I could summon them before you and allow you to judge with your own eyes."

Robin leaned back, disappointment flashing in his gaze. "So no one is worthy then." He nodded slowly, almost mockingly, his voice dripping with scorn. "If there truly were someone, you would have spoken their name without hesitation. That you could not… that in itself is the answer. Hmph. Very well. Perhaps the Path of the Soul is not destined to bloom under my name just yet."

He glanced down toward his left thigh, where two large metallic tablets lay stacked, their surfaces faintly glimmering with the glow of inscriptions.

Beside them rested his palm, upon which gleamed his personal spatial ring—the ring that contained millions of soul emeralds, a fortune vast enough to buy and sell empires.

"…" Robin fell silent for several moments, lost in thought. Then, at last, he reached down, lifted the two heavy tablets, and extended them toward Emily. His voice was measured, but the weight behind it was undeniable. "In the first tablet lies a book that explains the fundamentals of the soul, from the moment of birth all the way to the silver transformation. The second tablet contains everything beyond that point, carrying the path step by step until the purple transformation. Every stage, every principle, every method—laid bare. No more guesswork. No more begging scraps of wisdom from those who hoard knowledge. From this moment on, it is all recorded here."

"This…?" Emily's hands trembled as she received the tablets. She cradled them against her chest as if they were fragile newborns, terrified that even the air might harm them. Her breath quickened.

Robin's gaze hardened as he continued, his tone carrying both command and promise. "Understand this: in terms of value, these two works stand equal in my eyes to a fifth-grade merged law technique. Do you grasp what that means? But these are not meant for the elite, nor for the greedy. They are not for sale. They are for our people. You will publish them in the academies of our Empire. But mark me—any Soul Master who wishes to read them must first swear an oath of unshakable loyalty to the Empire. They must vow never to leak a single word. And if they break that vow…" His voice fell cold, like steel striking stone. "…the punishment is death. Without hesitation."

He paused briefly, then a faint smile tugged at his lips as another thought struck him. "In fact… let us go further. Publish the simplified version of the soul-filling technique as well, under the same conditions. Let the same oath bind them. Let the same punishment deter them."

"Ah!!" Emily gasped, her entire body shivering. Her eyes widened as she looked down at the tablets again, her voice barely a whisper. "The same value as a fifth-grade merged law…?!"

The enormity of what she held in her arms crashed over her like a tidal wave. To her, these were not just tablets—they were the seeds of an era, the foundation of a future in which the Path of the Soul could rise to stand alongside the greatest laws of creation.