Soulbound: Dual Cultivation-Chapter 56: I want to break through

Without saying a word, the Seer moved across the room with the same quiet grace she’d shown earlier. She stood before a basin of clear water that shimmered under the candlelight. She dipped her hands into the basin, then began to wash her face, slowly, deliberately....as if cleansing herself of more than just the sweat and dust of the long night.

Lucas stood still, observing her. He hadn’t expected to be brought here. He hadn’t expected any of this.

The gentle motion of her hands, the way the water ran down her neck and collarbone, the soft glow of the light on her smooth skin, it was distracting. She moved with such elegance, so naturally composed, that it was almost like watching a ritual. There was no performance in her actions, but everything about her presence was... entrancing.

Lucas’s gaze lingered. Her skin was flawless, a kind of radiant softness that defied age. Her form, tall, lean, and powerful....But it was her stillness that captivated him most. This was not a woman bound by the limits of typical cultivation. No, she was something else.

And then, instinctively, he extended his spiritual sense.

Through his cultivation, he tapped into the flow of energy within the room, reaching not outward, but inward. Slowly, quietly, he activated a minor soul sense technique from his dual cultivation path, one that allowed him to perceive Yin and Yang energies. It wasn’t invasive. It was like listening at a door rather than barging through it.

The moment he focused on her Yin energy, it hit him like a wave.

His breath hitched.

She was layered in a veil of pure Yin essence, dense, potent, ancient. It wasn’t just powerful. It was refined. Alive. Far richer than any energy he had ever touched. Deeper than even Lira’s untouched reserves. Even Selene’s or Nana’s paled in comparison. This woman wasn’t just a cultivator. She was a vessel of mysteries, of time, of fate, of forbidden depth.

He didn’t dare probe deeper. Even skimming the surface, he felt the energy looking back at him, as if it had its own consciousness.

Lucas pulled back immediately.

But it was too late.

The Seer, still facing the basin, froze.

Then, in a heartbeat, she turned and crossed the space between them. Her movement wasn’t just fast—it was silent, ethereal. One second she was across the room. The next, she was inches from his face.

Lucas didn’t flinch.

He met her gaze, keeping his spiritual core calm despite his pulse pounding in his ears.

She stared into his eyes, eyes that shimmered like obsidian pools laced with starlight.

"I felt you," she said softly. "You looked."

Lucas said nothing. There was nothing he could say to deny it.

"You have skill," she continued. "That technique... It’s not native to this kingdom."

Lucas was caught off guard with what she said but he maintained his composure.

She looked up at him with sharp eyes. "Why did you peer into my energy?" she asked, her voice like silk over steel, calm, yet unyielding.

Lucas hesitated for a moment, but he didn’t lie. There was no point. "Curiosity," he replied. "You’re unlike anyone I’ve ever met. I sensed something... remarkable."

She tilted her head slightly, her expression unreadable. "You sensed too much," she said. "Very few even realize the depths I conceal, and fewer still would dare to peek."

Lucas raised his hands slightly, showing no aggression. "I didn’t mean offense. But after what happened earlier... you said ’I see you’. It caught me off guard."

The Seer circled him slowly, each step silent, almost gliding. "It wasn’t a threat, if that’s what you’re wondering," she said. "It was... a recognition. I’ve seen many souls in my time, but yours burns with a different flame. Your soul is foreign and strange."

She stopped behind him. Lucas could feel the pressure in the room shift, dense like mist before a storm. "I can’t see all of you, Xavier. And that’s what troubles me."

Lucas turned to face her. "You can see through almost everyone. But not me?"

"Not clearly. You’ve woven yourself in veils I do not understand. They aren’t of this world." She walked back toward the basin, her tone shifting to something quieter. "And yet, you tried to sense me as well. Bold."

Lucas exhaled, stepping closer to the polished wooden chair behind him but not sitting yet. "You called me here. You clearly know something, or you wouldn’t bother."

The Seer gave a slight nod. "You’re right. I’ve read the fate lines of this kingdom a hundred times... but ever since your arrival, the lines are shifting. Warped. You’re not supposed to be here. Yet you are."

Her words hit him like cold water. Lucas had suspected as much. Maybe she didn’t know he was reincarnated from the future era but she knew something had bent the rules of destiny.

"I didn’t ask to be here," Lucas said quietly, his voice now laced with honesty. "But I won’t run from it."

The Seer studied him, then finally gestured toward a cushioned seat near her bookshelves. "Sit, Xavier. If we’re to survive the days ahead, we must understand each other. You have enemies, some you haven’t met yet. And after tonight, you’ve made even more."

He finally sat, tension in his shoulders softening slightly. The seer poured a dark herbal tea into two cups from a clay kettle, steam curling from the surface like a serpent.

"Drink," she offered. "And listen. I have things to show you."

Lucas took the cup, not yet sipping it. "And if I refuse?"

The Seer’s smile returned, mysterious and faint. "Then fate will take its course without your say... but I’d rather we both stay ahead of fate, don’t you think?"

Lucas leaned back slightly, still holding the cup. This woman, this Seer, was far more than the court’s spiritual guide. She was a guardian of secrets, a wielder of visions... and now, for reasons he didn’t yet understand, she had chosen to speak with him.

He took a slow sip from the small porcelain cup in his hand. The tea was warm, earthy, with a touch of bitter herb that lingered on the tongue, but he welcomed it. After the turbulence of the banquet and the looming uncertainty surrounding the Seer, the calm moment came like a soft breeze after a storm.

The Seer remained standing across from him, her presence as quiet as the shadows dancing along the carved stone walls. Lucas looked up at her with guarded eyes.

"This tea," he said finally, placing the cup down, "is strong. Infused with Nightroot and Emberstem, and something else...Stilled Thistle, maybe."

A faint smile pulled at the edge of her lips. "You’ve studied your herbs well."

Lucas leaned back in the cushioned seat, his tone steady but laced with curiosity. "I’m used to making my own potions. And tea, when needed."

She said nothing at first, then walked to a nearby shelf and began adjusting vials and jars in thoughtful silence.

He watched her with subtle scrutiny, graceful in every movement, deliberate in posture. She was powerful, no doubt. But she was also hiding something. That much, Lucas was sure of.

"I know you didn’t bring me here just for tea," he said, finally breaking the silence again. "Why did you summon me?"

The Seer turned slightly, then approached him again, slowly, her expression neutral but her gaze intense. She studied him the way one might study a puzzle with missing pieces.

"Like I said earlier, there’s something inside you," she said calmly. "Something foreign. Something... not of this world."

She continued. "When I looked into you earlier, I saw a wall. A wall I couldn’t peer through. That’s never happened before."

Lucas didn’t respond. His face was still, unreadable.

"I don’t know what it is," she admitted, tilting her head slightly, "but it doesn’t belong to this age. It’s not bloodline. It’s not artifact. It’s something deeper, woven into your Qi."

She circled slowly, as if measuring his reactions. Lucas remained calm, sipping the tea again. But inside, he was calculating.

She was sensing traces of the Dual Cultivation Technique. The one he learnt in the future. The one no one here had a name for, much less a defense against.

She couldn’t understand it. Not fully. And that was a small relief.

"I’ve been stuck," she said at last, her voice quieter now. "For years. At the threshold of the next realm of cultivation. I’ve tried everything, elixirs, seclusion, elemental communion. Nothing has worked."

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "And you believe this... thing inside me will help?"

The Seer nodded. "I do not know what it is. But I know power when I see it. I know fate when I feel it. And I know that your presence here... is not ordinary."

Lucas narrowed his gaze. "What do you want?"

She met his eyes again. "I want to break through. And I think you can help me do that."

A silence passed between them.

Lucas thought carefully. She didn’t seem hostile. Not now. But she wasn’t harmless either. She was playing a long game, and he wasn’t sure what all the rules were yet.

"I’m not in the habit of helping strangers without knowing their intent," he said finally.

To that, the Seer actually laughed softly, a single breath of amusement. "Then perhaps we should stop being strangers."

Lucas didn’t laugh. He merely nodded and reached for another sip of tea.

Inside, though, he was already preparing. If she wanted something from him, if she believed his cultivation held the key to her next breakthrough, he needed to be ten steps ahead.

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