"Brother Yang, why are you making the theories you worked so hard to develop public?" Ma Hongjun was baffled when he heard. Of course, he knew it was a good thing. Usually, only Soul Master families or sects with many years of heritage had people who studied and deliberately preserved such systematic knowledge.
But the Shrek teachers and independent cultivators like him who had risen from the bottom had no such advantages. They had relied entirely on their own trial and error and luck throughout their cultivation. That was why the "Grandmaster" was so famous.
He had broken the monopoly, making knowledge that only families and sects could possess available to the common people. Honestly, if not for Spirit Hall and his surname being Yu, there was no telling what godforsaken corner he would have died in long ago.
"Yeah, why?"
Dai Mubai and Ning Rongrong both came from top-tier backgrounds. In their eyes, this knowledge could enable a faction to rise, or even change the situation across the continent. If it were up to them, even if they had no faction behind them, they would keep it for their descendants. They would never make it public.
That would be creating enemies for themselves or their descendants. They couldn't understand it, no matter how hard they tried.
Xiang Yang remained silent on the matter. From beginning to end, no one, including Tang San, knew exactly what he was thinking. Although the "Grandmaster" had done something similar before him, their situations were different. Tang San assumed it was because Xiang Yang came from a later age. That was a factor, but only a small part of it.
Yu Xiaogang had been unable to advance his Soul Power cultivation, so he turned to studying theory to save himself. After failing to solve his Martial Soul problem, he had devoted himself entirely to theoretical research and begun pursuing a name that would live on after his death.
But what about Xiang Yang? Even though his Innate Soul Power was only level one, his cultivation speed undoubtedly made him a genius Soul Master in everyone's eyes. Yet children his age on the Douluo Continent were either trying to grow stronger, busy playing, or helping their families with work. Who buried themselves in piles of books and papers?
Xiang Yang had started before he was ten, and had done it better than Yu Xiaogang. They thought that might be why he was so formidable. Wasn't it normal for a genius to do things ordinary people couldn't understand? Neglecting no aspect and achieving what others couldn't—that was what made a genius.
In fact, Xiang Yang's thinking was simple. He was just preparing to gather Faith Power in advance. As he understood it, aside from directly inheriting godhood and becoming gods like the protagonists in the original works, the other option was self-created godhood. The original Sea God had spent around a thousand years gathering the ocean's Faith Power tens of thousands of years ago, attaining the rank of chief god.
At first glance, it looked as though he was wasting his time. After all, the ocean covered a much larger area than the land, and it had still taken a thousand years. What use would it be for Xiang Yang to do the same?
But that wasn't the case. The Angel God had appeared over two thousand years ago, and Spirit Hall had also come into being around then. Only then had humanity begun to flourish.
According to the records, she hadn't taken nearly that long. On top of that, Soul Beasts in the Douluo World generally only began to develop intelligence after ten thousand years of cultivation. Before that, they were no different from wild beasts.
When it came to faith, at the very least, one had to know "whom to believe in." The Sea God's main sources of faith were Sea Soul Masters and Sea Soul Beasts. Because of the era, Sea Soul Masters, including civilians with Sea Martial Souls, were vastly outnumbered by Soul Masters on land. Only some Sea Soul Beasts belonged to the Sea God's camp, as there was also a "king" in the depths of the ocean. Moreover, Sea Soul Beasts far outnumbered those on land, which meant there were a great many Soul Beasts over a hundred thousand years old. As a result, most had no faith, only the most basic principle of the strong preying on the weak and simple tribal settlements.
Taking everything into account, humans definitely provided far more faith than Soul Beasts. That was how the Angel God had been able to attain the same rank of chief god in such a short time.
Seen this way, Xiang Yang's approach was clear. The current field of faith could be called a desert. The Angel God already had an inheritor and only wanted to make a quick getaway.
The Sea God had no reach on land, and with the Divine Realm's rule against interfering in the lower realm, he couldn't stop Xiang Yang from gathering faith to become a god.
As for any Asura conspiracy theories, those were riddled with holes. Although the original work did have plenty of bugs, this part was passable enough. When Asura established a connection with Tang San, the Sea God's divine artifact was still gathering dust in the Heaven Dou Treasury.
That was why he had begun planning for Faith Power so early, mainly because Yu Xiaogang and the others were there to help, so he didn't have to spend his own time on it. As the saying went, his own strength was what mattered most. External power was external power in the end.
But while gaining benefits for himself, what was wrong with advancing civilization along the way? As for descendants and the like... forget it. Leaving aside whether he would even have any, even if he did, he couldn't possibly arrange everything for them. Wouldn't that make him a nanny?
While Xiang Yang was still thinking about whether his plan needed anything added, Xiao Wu, who was walking at the front of the group, suddenly turned around and shouted, "We're here! We're home!"
Xiang Yang came back to his senses and looked ahead along with everyone else. Snowflakes were swirling through the air, and a thousand thoughts welled up in his mind. Since leaving for Shrek, he hadn't been home in two years because the journey was long and travel took so much time. It counted as his first long trip away from home in this world.
He wondered if his parents and grandfather were well, whether business was going smoothly, and how his younger female cousin's cultivation was coming along.
Just then, someone took hold of his arm. He turned to see Tang San, who said with a smile, "Come on. We've finally made it back. Let's go see Auntie and Uncle."
"Exactly! Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, let me tell you, the chrysanthemum cakes Xiang Yang's parents make are delicious! Unfortunately, we'd already eaten all the ones we had by the time you arrived. Otherwise, you'd know how good they are!" Xiao Wu waved her little hands to beckon them over. "Hurry, hurry! I'll take you there." Unable to contain herself, she came over, grabbed them, and hurried forward.
"Hey, Xiao Wu, slow down!" Ning Rongrong cried out in surprise. She had heard about them before, but she hadn't expected such a strong reaction from Xiao Wu now that they were close. Were they really that good? As the future leader of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she had tasted countless delicacies in Heaven Dou. Today, she would have to see how these chrysanthemum pastries tasted.
Zhu Zhuqing said nothing and simply quickened her pace to keep up. Because she had come to Shrek two years earlier, Dai Mubai wasn't the only one who hadn't fallen into the same slump as he originally had. She, too, was very different from her original self. Though she still didn't speak much, she no longer devoted all her attention to cultivation. She often went shopping and had fun with Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong. Food in particular was one of her great loves, and her ability to eat without gaining weight made Ning Rongrong very envious.
Early that morning, Xiang Huo had begun tidying the shop, neatly arranging the prepared refreshments, flowers, and other items. There were still only a few customers at this hour. After he saw one off, a voice called from behind him, "Brother-in-law, it's time to eat. I'll watch the shop for you."
A well-proportioned woman dressed in yellow came up and spoke to him. Xiang Huo turned and answered, "All right. Sorry for the trouble, sis. Please watch it for a while."
He then lifted the door curtain and went into the inner room. Lin Yin was sitting at the table. When she saw him come in, she pointed in front of her. "Yours."
She had prepared rice porridge, meat buns, and some pickled vegetables that morning. Xiang Huo picked up a bun and took a bite with some pickles. "Mmm, delicious. Your cooking's gotten even better, honey." Chew, chew, chew~
Lin Yin laughed and said lightly, "Not at all. You say that every day." Her expression shifted, then suddenly dimmed. "Xiao Yang hasn't come home in two years. I don't know if he's eating well and keeping warm, or how he's doing. Xiao Wu and Xiao San haven't come back either. Nothing bad could have happened, could it?" By the end, she sounded a little worried.
Seeing this, Xiang Huo hurriedly interrupted her. "Pah, pah, pah! What could have happened? Xiao Yang went to a Soul Master Academy to study. How could he run into danger? Stop thinking about all that nonsense."
Lin Yin replied listlessly, "But he hasn't come back even once in two years. If you ask me, wasn't Nuoding Academy good enough? Why did he have to go so far away? Sigh."
"Uh..." Xiang Huo didn't really understand that either. After all, they had no Soul Power, so it was hard for them to experience firsthand what that kind of power could do for a person. Without seeing it in person, it was difficult to understand, and no amount of talking would help. It wasn't as convenient as the modern internet.
While the couple were absorbed in breakfast, a voice came from outside:
"Sister, brother-in-law, Xiao Yang is back!"
Hm? What was Xiao Ping shouting? What was it? Lin Yin had been lost in thought and hadn't heard what she said. "Hahaha, Xiao Yang is back! Our son is back!" Seeing the blank look on her face, Xiang Huo first hurried to the door for a look, then immediately turned back and shouted at her.
"What?" Lin Yin put down her spoon. "Screech!" She sprang to her feet, making a loud noise as she knocked against the chair, but she paid it no mind. She only wanted to see her child as quickly as possible.
She rushed to the front door and immediately saw several young people standing there. The one at the very front was Xiang Yang!
She stared intently at her son. Xiang Yang saw his mother too. He took a deep breath and said with a smile:
"Mom, I'm home!"