Unknown Past

Early the next morning, Ning Qiu rose before dawn and came with Xiao Wu to the small square in Holy Soul Village.

The sky was only beginning to brighten, and the sun had yet to rise. An old man stood before the village square, his gaze fixed on the stone pillar beside the pool. A handprint marked the pillar—the handprint left behind by the village's Soul Saint.

"Good morning, Grandpa Jack." Ning Qiu greeted Old Jack.

"Good morning, Village Chief." Old Jack turned around and greeted Ning Qiu.

"Good morning, Grandpa Jack." Xiao Wu greeted Old Jack as well.

"Mm, good morning, Xiao Wu." Old Jack smiled kindly.

"Grandpa Jack, even though I'm the village chief now, you should still call me Ning Qiu. It sounds more natural to me," Ning Qiu replied.

"No. You are the village chief now, so I must address you as Village Chief. How could I call you by name directly?" Old Jack said stubbornly.

"Fine." Ning Qiu yielded helplessly. Stubbornness was a trait unique to the elderly, and there was nothing he could do to change that.

"Ning Qiu, now that you've become the village chief, there's something I need to tell you." Old Jack's expression suddenly became extremely solemn.

"Please, go ahead," Ning Qiu said.

"Ning Qiu, this handprint in the village was actually left behind by my grandfather," Old Jack said.

"Your grandfather?" Ning Qiu was startled.

"Yes. My grandfather was a level seventy-one Soul Saint. His martial soul was the same as mine—a sickle. Unfortunately, my great-grandfather did not pass down a good martial soul to him. When his martial soul awakened, he had Soul Power, but he lacked the talent to cultivate well. My grandfather worked incredibly hard. He slept only six hours a day, and aside from eating, drinking, relieving himself, and sleeping, he spent all his time cultivating. You could say he worked several times harder than ordinary people. But what did it amount to in the end?" A trace of sorrow appeared in Old Jack's eyes.

Ning Qiu did not interrupt and quietly listened to Old Jack.

"No matter how hard my grandfather worked, he ultimately stopped at the Soul Saint realm. A good martial soul is truly far too important for a soul master."

"Once, while he was away from home, my grandfather encountered an Evil Soul Master. Although that Evil Soul Master was eventually killed, my grandmother died because of him. With his heart utterly broken, my grandfather returned to the village. He hated himself—hated that he was not strong enough, that he could not even protect the person he loved. In his anguish, he broke the stone pillar, leaving this handprint on it!"

"In other words, this handprint is not the glory of our village at all. It is the helplessness of our village. Now, your miraculous land has given every villager the hope of becoming a soul master. In my opinion, that may not necessarily be a good thing!"

Old Jack stared at Mu Chen as he revealed the story behind the village's handprint.

"Grandpa Jack, what are you worried about?" Ning Qiu asked.

"Where there is hope, there will be despair. Nothing is sadder than a dead heart. There is no greater pain than helplessness. Now that the villagers can all become soul masters, they will walk a path different from that of farmers in the future. If they cannot become top-tier powerhouses like Soul Douluo or Titled Douluo, then this old man does not think it will be a good thing for Holy Soul Village. The world of soul masters has been quite unsettled lately!" Old Jack said earnestly.

Simply put, Old Jack was worried about the villagers of Holy Soul Village and their safety in the future. Once they became soul masters, they would be drawn into the whirlpool of conflict. Bloodshed and sacrifice could happen at any time.

The soul master world was filled with countless factions, and in the future, some villagers from Holy Soul Village would join different forces. When that time came, they would inevitably live with blades at their throats. In particular, people from the same village might one day be forced to turn their weapons against each other. Being a farmer was bitter, but becoming a soul master did not necessarily mean happiness either.

"Grandpa Jack, what's wrong with you? Wasn't it always your dream for people from the village to become soul masters?" Ning Qiu asked in confusion.

"I..." Old Jack paused. For a moment, even he could not understand what was wrong with him. The village had suddenly gained the chance for everyone to become a soul master, so why was he afraid instead?

"Grandpa Jack, I understand what you mean. Don't worry. Either I, Ning Qiu, don't do something at all, or, if I do, I will do it to the very best," Ning Qiu said solemnly.

As a transmigrator, Ning Qiu understood the situation on the continent very well. The soul master world was filled with factions. To prevent certain tragedies and prepare for the turmoil that would soon arise across the continent, Ning Qiu needed to do something for Holy Soul Village.

"Mm." Old Jack patted Ning Qiu on the shoulder.

"Grandpa Jack, are you busy?" Ning Qiu immediately asked again.

"Not at all. Back when I was the village chief, there was never much to do in a day. Now that even the land under my name has been contracted to the village, I have even less to keep me busy," Old Jack said with a smile.

"Grandpa Jack, could you accompany me to Star Dou Great Forest?" Ning Qiu asked next.

"Star Dou Great Forest?" Old Jack was startled. Clearly, he had heard of Star Dou Great Forest.

"Mm." Ning Qiu nodded heavily.

"Child, what are you going to Star Dou Great Forest for?" Old Jack asked.

"It's a secret." Ning Qiu thought that before he had grown strong enough, it would be better not to let others know too many secrets about the village. Even the trial mission for upgrading the village should remain unknown for now.

"Child, perhaps you don't know this. Star Dou Great Forest is a paradise for soul beasts. Not only are there thousand-year soul beasts inside, there are even ten-thousand-year soul beasts, and perhaps even soul beasts with a cultivation of one hundred thousand years. Even Titled Douluo-level powerhouses would not dare challenge a hundred-thousand-year soul beast alone," Old Jack advised earnestly.

"I know, but I have no other choice," Ning Qiu said helplessly.

The village upgrade trial mission required Ning Qiu to make a trip to Star Dou Great Forest and register at least three soul beasts as villagers of the host village.

"Do you have to go?" Old Jack asked.

"Mm. Grandpa Jack, don't worry. You only need to take us to the forest. Leave everything after that to me," Ning Qiu replied.

Considering their age, even though Ning Qiu and Xiao Wu were now soul masters, it was still very unsafe for the two of them to go to Star Dou Great Forest alone. It was not that Ning Qiu feared encountering low-level soul beasts on the way, but that someone might bully them for being children. To be safe, he thought that having Old Jack accompany them would save them a great deal of trouble.

"This..." Old Jack still hesitated.

"Jack, don't worry. I am completely confident about this trip. Having an adult travel with us is always a good thing. As long as we safely reach Star Dou Great Forest, I am completely confident that we can come out of the forest alive," Ning Qiu said solemnly.

"Are you sure?" Old Jack asked.

"I'm sure. If you won't take me, then I can only ask Ning Sixth Uncle to accompany me. If Ning Sixth Uncle refuses, then Xiao Wu and I will go by ourselves." Ning Qiu's tone was exceptionally firm.

"Fine." Seeing how determined Ning Qiu was, Old Jack could only nod.

At such a young age, Ning Qiu was already a soul master. Old Jack could not bear to see Ning Qiu throw his life away. Ning Qiu's first soul ring was even a standard hundred-year soul ring. Old Jack still remembered that his grandfather's first soul ring had been a white ten-year soul ring. To Old Jack, Ning Qiu was the village's hope.