Sacred Soul Village

Sacred Soul Village.

If one were to only hear its name, it would undoubtedly be a rather surprising one. In reality, however, it's merely a small village of just over three hundred households, located south of Nuoding City in Fasnuo Province. The reason for its name, "Sacred Soul," is because legend has it that a hundred years ago, a Soul Sage-level Soul Master emerged from here, thus giving it its name.

This is also Sacred Soul Village's eternal pride!

In the early morning, the warm sunlight once again cast its glow upon this quiet and peaceful village. Misty vapor drifted through the woods, and crystalline dewdrops slid off tender Blue Silver Grass, startling sleeping fawns.

In a corner of Sacred Soul Village, white cooking smoke slowly rose from a small cottage.

In the small courtyard outside the cottage, two figures faced each other.

"What are you looking at?" the burly middle-aged man said to the child in front of him.

A child, about five or six years old, stared intently at him. Seeing this, the man's lips curved into a smile. "Then what are you looking at me for?"

The middle-aged man's mouth twitched, his eyes narrowed slightly, and his right hand suddenly shot towards the child's face. The punch tore through the air with formidable power, showing no mercy whatsoever.

The child showed no surprise. Just as the middle-aged man's fist was less than three fists away from him, he said with a smile, "Dad, you're getting slower."

At the same time, the child raised his young right hand, striking first and firmly catching the middle-aged man's punch. The large and small arms looked so asymmetrical, yet the large hand couldn't budge the small hand at all, stopping a fist's distance from his face.

The small hand seemed to want to grasp the large hand, but due to the vast difference in size, it could only give up helplessly.

Seeing his attack miss, the middle-aged man decisively swept his leg towards the child. The child leaped lightly and then stomped down heavily, landing squarely on the middle-aged man's calf.

"Ouch, damn it! Hurry up and let go, you brat, it's going to break." The middle-aged man cried out in pain, begging for mercy repeatedly.

The child, standing on the middle-aged man's calf, said leisurely, "Dad, you're really getting weaker. You used to be able to teach me a few fighting techniques, but now you can't even take two moves from me."

"Sigh, this is so boring." One hand behind his back, the child's young face tilted upwards at a forty-five-degree angle, filled with melancholy.

The middle-aged man's face twitched violently, feeling a pang of bitterness and immense loss of face.

But this kid was a total freak. He shouldn't have this much preternatural strength just because he was born with it.

"Are you even my son?" the middle-aged man grumbled.

"Not your son?! If not your son, then whose son is it!" Just then, a plainly dressed woman walked out of the house, having overheard the middle-aged man's words. She immediately became furious, and a wok spatula suddenly appeared in her hand. She swung it fiercely at the middle-aged man.

Seeing this, the child hopped off the middle-aged man's calf with a giggle and watched from the side, laughing.

Freed from restraint, the middle-aged man immediately began to dodge. The woman relentlessly pursued him, hitting him as he scrambled around the yard, begging for mercy.

Zhao Xuan watched from the side, his thoughts gradually drifting.

Yes, you read that right. This child, who was only five or six years old, was Zhao Xuan. Even Zhao Xuan himself didn't understand why he had been reborn with his memories and come to this world, so different from his previous life.

Perhaps it had something to do with the strange things after his death, but that wasn't what he was concerned about now.

Here, he was a brand new Zhao Xuan! A Zhao Xuan with a complete family!

His father, Zhao Shi, was once a Martial Master with decent combat skills. However, in this world that revered Martial Souls above all else, individual strength was useless. Zhao Shi's Martial Soul, unfortunately, was a waste Martial Soul – a Hoe. Thus, after half a year of wandering, Shi Quan returned to Sacred Soul Village disheartened, content to be a farmer. Due to Sacred Soul Village's location, being a farmer was a decent profession, and life was passable.

His mother, Mu Qin, was a farm girl from a neighboring village of Sacred Soul Village. Her Martial Soul was also a waste Martial Soul – a Wok Spatula. Somehow, by chance, she ended up marrying Zhao Shi.

Zhao Xuan often teased Zhao Shi, saying that although his mother wasn't a beauty that could make the moon and flowers hide their faces, she was at least a rare, refined young lady. How could she have fallen for a brute like him?

Whenever this happened, Zhao Shi would proudly declare that while everyone in the surrounding ten villages had waste Martial Souls, none of them could match his fists.

Although Zhao Xuan often mocked them, he also felt a curiosity about these magical Martial Souls.

"However, it's almost time," Zhao Xuan thought silently. In a few days, Soul Masters from Nuoding City would send people to awaken Martial Souls.

Meanwhile, Mu Qin, having finished tidying up Zhao Shi, called out to Zhao Xuan, "Son, time to eat."

Zhao Xuan responded, and after finishing breakfast, he greeted them and hurried out.

Zhao Xuan didn't wander around after leaving. He headed straight for a small hill outside the village.

Reaching the top of the hill, a familiar figure was sitting there in meditation.

Zhao Xuan's lips curved into a smile. He tiptoed behind the figure, preparing to startle him, but a voice filled with helplessness reached him first.

"Xiao Xuan, can you stop being so boring?"

Zhao Xuan pouted, lay down beside the figure, and casually pulled a blade of Blue Silver Grass into his mouth, chewing on it.

The figure he saw was also a child, no older than five or six. Perhaps from constantly basking in the sun, his skin had a healthy, wheat-like complexion. His black hair looked neat, and though his clothes were simple, they were clean.

He gently closed his eyes, and in the next instant, opened them again, a barely perceptible purple glint flashing in his eyes.

"I say, Xiao San, what are you looking at the sun for all day? You might as well sleep at home." The child's name was Tang San. He was also a child from Sacred Soul Village and Zhao Xuan's only playmate.

It was strange, really. There were a few other children of the same age in Sacred Soul Village, but it was precisely these two seemingly solitary children, Zhao Xuan and Tang San, who became playmates.

To others, it might seem like they were both "solitary" children, perhaps that's why they communicated better.

But only the two of them knew that they connected the moment their eyes met because the other possessed a peculiar attraction. Perhaps they were kindred spirits, but certainly not merely "solitary."

After all, Zhao Xuan didn't play with other children simply because his mental age was far greater than theirs. As for Tang San, perhaps it was due to this "mature" way of thinking.

"I've told you, this is a peculiar method, and I can teach you," Tang San said softly. His voice was gentle, with a touch of warmth like fine jade.

Zhao Xuan shook his head. "I won't learn. You've been watching the sun for so long and haven't achieved great success yet. I don't know how much longer it will take to learn."

Tang San looked at Zhao Xuan earnestly. "Nothing can be achieved overnight. As the saying goes, dripping water wears through stone. If you calm your mind and cultivate, with your talent, you should be able to get the hang of it quickly."

Zhao Xuan suddenly propped himself up and looked directly at Tang San. "I say, Xiao San..."

"What?" Tang San looked at Zhao Xuan curiously.

"You might as well change your name to Tang Sanzang," Zhao Xuan said seriously at first, but then couldn't help but laugh.

"Tang Sanzang? Who... is that?" Tang San looked bewildered, his mind racing to recall if he knew anyone named Tang Sanzang.

Seeing the honest look on Tang San's face, Zhao Xuan suddenly felt a bit bored. His eyes darted around as he said, "Xiao San, how about we spar?"

Tang San's body stiffened, and then he forced a strained smile at Zhao Xuan. "I still need to cook for Dad. Maybe next time."

Without waiting for Zhao Xuan to react, he quickly used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to escape. Zhao Xuan couldn't help but feel dejected. "Is he that scary?"

Tang San, who hadn't run far, suddenly stopped, a bitter smile on his face. Scary? It was practically life-threatening!

He shuddered, recalling the last time Zhao Xuan had accidentally punched through a tree as thick as a bowl. Could a human really do something like that?

Zhao Xuan looked dejected, staring blankly at the rising sun.

"I really didn't eat anything strange, so why has my physique become so strong?"

(ps: Explanation for their similar temperaments. Tang San was a shut-in for many years to make the Buddha Rage Tang Lotus, and Zhao Xuan, as a hacker, was also a shut-in for many years.)

(ps: Explanation for Zhao Xuan's physique. His soul underwent a baptism of chaos, gaining some characteristics of a Chaos Demon God. The soul influenced the physical body.)

(The early parts followed the original work too closely, deviating little from established tropes. The author is improving later on. The protagonist's original world can also be seen as a parallel world. He doesn't have the book Douluo Continent, so he doesn't know the so-called plot.)