Before the Awakening

"Grandpa Jack, Xiao You, I'm here." A knock sounded at the door, followed by Tang San's voice.

"Xiao San, you came at just the right time. These eggs were just boiled—take one." A white-haired man took an egg from the bowl, tossed it between his hands a few times, and handed it to Tang San.

"Thank you, Grandpa Jack. I won't stand on ceremony." Tang San tapped the egg against the edge of the table, peeled off the shell, blew on it, and began to eat.

"That Tang Hao only knows how to drink. The house is already in such a sorry state, yet he still doesn't hurry to find more work and save some money. What will Xiao San do when he needs to marry?" Old Jack slammed the table and cursed furiously.

Just as several unsavory words were about to leave his mouth, another knock sounded—"Knock, knock, knock." Gu You jumped off his chair and ran to open the door. A young man stood outside, dressed in a white outfit designed for combat with a black cloak draped over his back. A badge engraved with three long swords was pinned to the left side of his chest.

Gu You smiled at the person outside. "Brother Tao, you're the one coming to our village again this year?"

Seeing Gu You open the door, Su Yuntao smiled as well. He reached out and ruffled Gu You's hair. "You little rascal. Ever since you finished reading all the books in our Library, you stopped coming to see us. Grandmaster Ma Xiunuo even said that he hadn't seen you at Spirit Hall lately."

"It couldn't be helped. I'd already finished all the books. If I went over again, wouldn't Si Si and Grandpa Ma Xiunuo just treat me like a toy?" Gu You stuck out his tongue as he answered.

"You little rascal." Su Yuntao laughed helplessly. He then cupped his hands toward Old Jack. "Village Chief Jack, I'll be conducting the Martial Soul awakening for the children of Holy Soul Village again this year. Have the time and place been arranged?"

Old Jack stood up and bowed slightly to Su Yuntao. "Master Su, I'll have to trouble you again this year. I've already spoken with the families in the village who have children of the proper age. It will begin at ten tomorrow morning, at the Spirit Hall in the center of the village as usual."

"That works." Su Yuntao nodded. "Sorry to trouble your family today. Who is that child?" As he spoke, Su Yuntao pointed at Tang San.

"That's my good friend, Tang San. He's eating breakfast with us today. Xiao San, let me introduce you. This is Master Su Yuntao from the Spirit Hall in Nuoding City. He's a two-Ring Soul Grandmaster, and a very nice person. He took good care of me while I was reading in Nuoding City."

Su Yuntao roared with laughter and vigorously rubbed Gu You's hair. "You little rascal, you know how to call me Master Su Yuntao now? You only call me Master when you need something, and Brother Tao when you don't, right? You're Tang San, aren't you? Xiao You often mentions you. He says you're his best friend and that you often take care of him. Just call me Brother Tao like he does. I'll call you Xiao San too."

Tang San bowed and said, "Xiao You often takes care of me too. He often tells me about the things that happened in Nuoding City and says that all of you take good care of him and answer many of his questions."

"That's enough. You two have chatted plenty. Xiao San and I still have to go fishing. Brother Tao, take your time chatting with Grandpa. Xiao San, let's go." Gu You shook his head and flung Su Yuntao's large hand aside, then pushed open the door and dashed out. As he ran, he looked back and pulled a face at Su Yuntao.

Tang San said to Old Jack and Su Yuntao, "Then, Grandpa Jack, Brother Tao, Xiao You and I will go fishing first. We'll be back at noon." After saying that, he pushed open the door and rushed out as well. "Xiao You, wait for me!"

Old Jack and Su Yuntao looked at each other and blinked. "I have some freshly boiled eggs here. Master, would you like one?"

"I would." Su Yuntao ground his teeth as he replied.

On the other side, Tang San caught up with Gu You, who was whistling. "Xiao You, you're really close with Lord Soul Master."

Gu You waved his hand. "It's nothing. I just talked with him more while I was reading, and happened to offer him some suggestions about his Martial Soul Skills."

"Speaking of which, Xiao San." Gu You turned his head toward Tang San. "Have you ever thought about which Soul Rings you'll add after your Martial Soul awakens? Assuming you have Soul Power and can attach Soul Rings, of course."

"Not yet. Although you've told me about many things you read in the books at Spirit Hall, nothing has been decided yet. Besides, there's no point thinking about it if I don't have Soul Power."

"Then, how about considering me?" Gu You pointed at himself. "As the smartest person in the history of Holy Soul Village, with a broad knowledge of books, I can definitely arrange your Soul Skills properly, from a Soul Master all the way to a Title Douluo."

"All right, all right, I can't win against you. If I really awaken Soul Power successfully, I'll follow your arrangements when adding Soul Rings, okay?" Tang San shook his head and answered perfunctorily.

"Your tone doesn't sound quite right. Is that how you speak to a grandmaster of Martial Soul research like me? I'm telling you, blah blah blah..."

At noon, Tang San left first because he had to bring food home for Tang Hao. Gu You lay beneath the shade of a tree, watching the leaves rustle in the wind, and checked over his plans once again.

"Tang San is an outer disciple of the Bashu Tang Sect, according to the books. The Tang Sect is a sect famous for Hidden Weapons and Poison. Sects like that generally have only two ways to survive. The first is to act as mercenaries, taking assassination missions and earning commissions to maintain the sect's development. The second is to serve as a ruler's unofficial agents, like the ninjas of Japan, acting as dead soldiers to assassinate political enemies and gather intelligence."

"As an outer disciple, Tang San was indoctrinated with loyalty to the sect, but it shouldn't have been too serious. After all, he went so far as to secretly learn the core techniques of the inner sect. He probably still hoped to realize his own value. Besides, the outer disciples were highly likely to be sold to the powerful as dead soldiers. If they were too loyal to the sect, they'd be returned."

"The reason he became the sort of person who lived and died as a member of the Tang Sect—if my estimate isn't wrong—was that before his Martial Soul awakening, Tang Hao failed to give him a sense of family and might even have subjected him to emotional abuse. No one in the village was close to him, and he had nowhere to vent his emotions. That caused him to romanticize the Tang Sect in his memories as a form of self-comfort, which was why he constantly talked about the Tang Sect's rules and the path to death."

"Now that I've become his friend, he has a peer and close companion to satisfy his desire for communication. I also often bring him home for good food and drink. No matter how you put it, the pain he suffered over these six years isn't as severe as it was in the original novel. On top of that, over the years, I've subtly instilled many Confucian and Daoist ideas in him, along with the core values of the Eight Honors and Eight Disgraces and all sorts of other things. His foundation can be said to be solid."

"As long as he successfully awakens his Martial Soul, and I separate him from Tang Hao afterward, I just need to make sure he doesn't come into contact with Yu Xiaogang or those scum from Shrek Academy later on. At the very least, I can ensure that he won't become as abnormal as he was in parts two and three. He should be able to preserve his basic moral and ethical principles."

P.S. This book will expand upon Douluo Continent as a real world, so some of the original work's plot holes will receive highly subjective—emphasis on subjective!—personal alterations and reinterpretations. Some parts will reference later developments in the original work, and the social background, cultural environment, and so on will also be described. Everything will be based on the descriptions in the book. Thank you.