Tang San, Eager to Learn and Prone to Overthinking

"Heavens! Innate Full Soul Power?" Su Yuntao was greatly shocked. Then his gaze dimmed, and he shook his head repeatedly, his voice full of regret. "What a pity, such a pity. To think it had to be a useless Martial Soul like Blue Silver Grass. Even a Firewood Chopper like A'man's would have been better."

My Martial Soul is actually worse than A'man's rusty Firewood Chopper, awakened by someone with congenital dementia? Tang San immediately felt displeased. But when he thought of his other Martial Soul, he calmed down somewhat. Two were better than one, after all. I know far too little about Spirit Masters and Martial Souls. Now that there's finally a Soul Grandmaster here... He hurriedly asked, "Uncle, what is Innate Full Soul Power?"

Uncle Su Yuntao sized up Tang San, who was dark, skinny, and spoke rather stiffly, then glanced at Lin Manshan standing behind him in the line. The latter was fair-skinned, polite, and pleasant to listen to. Su Yuntao's slightly stiff expression immediately softened.

I'll just explain it for A'man's sake... The green light around his body faded as Su Yuntao withdrew his Martial Soul and gave a light cough.

"When everyone undergoes Martial Soul Awakening..."

Before long, seemingly having grown tired of Tang San's questions, Su Yuntao picked up his bundle and walked to the front of the line without waiting for him to ask another. He called for A'man, had him run to his side, then told Tang San to stand on his other side before leading the children out of the room.

The moment the door opened, Old Jack hurried over with a nervous expression.

"Lord Deacon, how did it go? Did any children in our village awaken the potential to become Spirit Masters this year?"

Su Yuntao immediately smiled. "Old Jack, congratulations. Of the eight children in your village this year, two possess Soul Power. Unfortunately..." He shook his head regretfully and turned to Tang San. "This child clearly has Innate Full Soul Power, yet his Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass."

"Blue Silver Grass! Innate Full Soul Power? Heavens."

Old Jack turned to Tang San as well, and the regret on his face was even heavier than Su Yuntao's. Blue Silver Grass was a universally recognized useless Martial Soul on the continent.

Before Old Jack could say anything further, Su Yuntao placed his hand on Lin Manshan's head. He glanced back, a flash of pity crossing his face. Inside, he had already learned of Lin Manshan's background from the other children. "Old Jack, according to A'man, you are the grandfather who adopted him. Congratulations. He is the other child with Soul Power. His Martial Soul is a Firewood Chopper, and he has Innate Spirit Power Level 3."

"I would like him to join Spirit Hall, so I came to ask for your opinion."

At that, Old Jack's face filled with joy, but he soon looked conflicted. He looked at Su Yuntao hesitantly. "Lord Deacon, I'm sure you already know that A'man is the only descendant left in his family."

"The Lin Family will depend on him to carry on the family line. Although I adopted A'man, I am not his biological grandfather, so I truly cannot make such a decision for him. The child is still young, and we cannot tell what he will want to do in the future."

"Lord Deacon, could we wait until A'man is a little older and let him decide for himself?"

"This..."

Su Yuntao turned back to look at Lin Manshan, his expression conflicted as well. In the end, he nodded. "All right."

"Also, Lord Deacon, our village only has one Work-Study Student slot this year, yet two children have awakened Soul Power." Old Jack said awkwardly. "Could you possibly make an exception?"

"Yes. The previous six villages I visited did not produce a single child with Soul Power, so I can spare one slot for your village." As he spoke, Su Yuntao took out two slips of paper from his bosom, wrote on them, and handed them to Old Jack. "These are A'man and Tang San's Identity Certificates. When the time comes, just bring them to register at Nuoding Junior Spirit Master Academy in western Nuoding City."

"Thank you, thank you, Lord Deacon." Old Jack quickly accepted them and bowed.

"No need to be so polite. I went through the same path back then." Su Yuntao smiled and took out a small booklet from his bosom. "This is the Universal Meditation Method compiled by Spirit Hall. It records how Spirit Masters should cultivate Soul Power, as well as some matters requiring attention. There are still three months until the academy opens. Although that is not much time, Spirit Masters generally cultivate quickly in the early stages, so starting sooner will be beneficial."

"Old Jack, take it. There isn't much written inside. Just have the two children take turns reading it."

"Master Su Yuntao, I truly don't know how to thank you. How about coming to my home for a simple meal?" Old Jack accepted it with a grateful bow, his expression earnest.

"No."

Su Yuntao shook his head with a smile. "I still need to hurry to the next village. I cannot delay for too long."

With that, he strode away under everyone's gaze.

Watching Su Yuntao's retreating figure, Tang San caught the occasional looks of disgust and resentment cast his way by the children around him. Are these children jealous of me? His expression remained calm as he looked away, only to see Lin Manshan smiling foolishly. Yet whether it was the children, their parents, or Old Jack, everyone around Lin Manshan looked friendly and offered congratulations.

A bunch of opportunists. Tang San curled his lip, then looked at Old Jack, who had already handed the booklet to Lin Manshan, and sighed inwardly. Human nature is selfish. It has always been so.

Still, he did not care much. It is merely a common cultivation method. How could it compare to my Mysterious Heaven Skill?

As he thought this, he quickly ran up to Old Jack. Su Yuntao had already left, so he could only ask Old Jack the questions he had not had time to ask inside, questions he was eager to understand.

"Grandpa Jack, what are Soul Rings? How do Spirit Masters obtain Soul Rings?"

"I don't know what Soul Rings are either. To obtain one, it seems you need to Hunt Spirit Beasts. Xiao San, once you enter the academy and become a true Spirit Master, the Mentors there should teach you." Old Jack turned to Tang San with a kindly expression. "Come on. Grandpa will take you home, and we can discuss your attending the academy with your Dad. Once A'man finishes reading that booklet this afternoon, I'll personally bring it over to you."

"Oh." Tang San nodded and asked no more.

As Village Chief, Old Jack had to bring the village children of suitable age to the "Spirit Hall" in the center of the village every year for Martial Soul Awakening. For convenience, his residence was nearby, while Tang San's home was on the westernmost side near the entrance of Sacred Soul Village. After arranging for the other children to return home with their parents and telling Lin Manshan to go home first, Old Jack led Tang San westward alone.

Watching the two leave, Lin Manshan tucked the booklet into his bosom. Without lingering, he turned and headed home.

After only a few steps, he suddenly stopped. He bent down and scratched his heel, raised himself slightly on tiptoe, and with a flick of his hand, naturally straightened up. His expression unchanged, he calmly continued onward.

The entire movement flowed smoothly, as though his foot had suddenly itched and he had merely bent down to scratch it.

As he walked, he opened his palm and glanced at it. Sure enough, it was a Copper Soul Coin.

He put the coin into his pocket. Lin Manshan fell silent for a moment, shook his head, and continued walking.

"Since it has come to this, I might as well make the best of it."

Before long, he approached his home. Through the bamboo fence, Lin Manshan could clearly see a south-facing, concave row of connected wooden houses. The outer area near the fence had been cultivated into several vegetable plots, filled with all kinds of fresh vegetables.

Before him, in the southern fence, stood a gate pieced together from several wooden boards. It was less than two meters high, and a stone-paved path ran beneath its threshold straight to the recessed courtyard before the wooden houses.

At that moment, several hens were leisurely wandering through the open space with more than a dozen chicks, chirping noisily.

In the shade on the left was a moss-covered stone well. A woman in her forties sat beside it with her sleeves rolled up, washing clothes.

Beside her, a large yellow dog lay lazily on the ground.

"Mom, I'm back," Lin Manshan called brightly from beyond the fence.

"Xiao Wu is back." The woman immediately stopped what she was doing, casually rinsed her hands, and Stood Up, wiping them on her apron as she looked toward Lin Manshan. The large yellow dog beside her promptly sprang up, raised its head, wagged its tail eagerly, and trotted over.

When Lin Manshan approached, the woman smiled and asked with a trace of anticipation on her face, "Xiao Wu, how did your Martial Soul Awakening go?"

"Lord Deacon said I have Innate Spirit Power Level 3 and can become a Spirit Master." Lin Manshan scratched his head and replied with a laugh.

Old Jack was sixty-three this year. His wife, Chun Yan, was only one year younger than him. The two had been childhood sweethearts and naturally became husband and wife after growing up. However, Chun Yan had been weak since childhood, and when she gave birth to her first child, she suffered a difficult labor and nearly died from excessive blood loss. Seeing that the child was a son and that his family line had been secured, Old Jack gave up the idea of having more children for his wife's safety.

However, Old Jack's son Jason and daughter-in-law Miao Ni were rather productive, giving him one Granddaughter and three grandsons in succession.

His eldest Granddaughter, Jie Ni, was twenty-five this year and had long since married. His second grandson, Jerry, was twenty-three and already married as well. His Granddaughter-in-law Qing Cao had only been pregnant for a few months, and their new home was next door. His third grandson, Jie Qi, was eighteen. He already had a sweetheart and was currently discussing the wedding date. His fourth grandson, Jiemeng, was nine and currently lived in the same house as him. From observation, he was secretly in love with a little girl named Cherry at the village entrance.

In this commoner village, where productivity remained relatively low and digging the earth to farm depended entirely on manpower, Old Jack's three-generation household truly let Lin Manshan witness a slogan from the older generation that he had only heard of in his previous life.

Have more children and raise more children; there is strength in numbers.

Yet even with so many people already in the household, Old Jack had still taken him in back then, and the entire family had treated him as one of their own. The woman before him, Old Jack's daughter-in-law Miao Ni and his adoptive mother, treated him as her own son. People were not grass or trees; how could they be without feelings? After living together for so many years, he naturally could not remain unmoved. He had long since regarded her as his true mother.

He was called Xiao Wu because he ranked fifth among the grandchildren.

"Heavens!" Miao Ni's eyes widened. The next moment, she swiftly clasped her hands and looked up at the sky, her expression devout as she murmured, "Thank you, thank heavens for your mercy."

No Spirit Master had ever emerged from Lin Manshan's ancestors. By this generation, their luck had been even worse, until only Lin Manshan, a single descendant, remained. Now that this sole descendant had awakened a Martial Soul with Soul Power, Miao Ni saw it as a blessing bestowed by heaven.