Holy Soul Village.
On a small hill barely a hundred meters high beside Holy Soul Village.
Tang San sat cross-legged atop a rock at the summit, cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
Suddenly, Tang San's spine jolted, and his body shuddered. His limbs went weak, his head spun, and he felt as though he had lost something in the unseen.
Caught off guard, Tang San rolled off the rock and landed face-first in the dirt.
It took Tang San quite a while to recover.
"Pfft, pfft!"
He spat out the dirt and grass clippings in his mouth.
For some reason, a cheap, irritating grin surfaced in Tang San's mind. It was not unfamiliar—it belonged to that brat from the neighboring village who had pestered him for a while and even made him call him "ancestor."
He dusted off his hands.
The more Tang San thought about it, the angrier he became!
"Damn brat! His harassment these past few days must have distracted me while I was cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill and caused something to go wrong.
"Hmph, don't let me run into you again."
Tang San made up his mind. The next time he saw that brat, he would definitely give him a good beating.
[Ding, Tang San's Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline has been taken. His Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul has become ordinary Blue Silver Grass. Hate Value has reached: 5%. Tang San loathes the host immensely. The host has obtained 500 Hatred Points.]
Seeing that taking Tang San's Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline had only raised the Hate Value by 5%, Zu Zong was quite puzzled. He had even been prepared to get beaten senseless by Tang San.
"System, I stole Tang San's Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline. Without the Blue Silver Emperor, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass has completely become a useless Martial Soul. Even with that scumbag Yu Xiaogang's theories, its power will be greatly reduced. That's practically destroying nearly half his talent—so why did it only raise the Hate Value by 5%?"
[Ding, because Tang San does not yet know that he will be unable to awaken the Blue Silver Emperor in the future, the Hate Value is relatively low. Once Tang San discovers this, the Hate Value will instantly rise above 70%, and he will develop killing intent.]
"What is the Hate Value for, then?"
[The host can consume Hate Value to actively teleport to worlds the system has previously stolen from.]
"I see. Doesn't that mean I can travel through the myriad worlds and do whatever I want from now on? If I run into danger on Douluo Continent, I can also use Hatred Points to teleport somewhere else and escape!"
[Host, that is theoretically possible. However, teleportation destinations from the main world, Douluo Continent, are random. Please use with caution.]
"Got it! OJBK!"
Another system notification rang out in Zu Zong's mind.
[Ding, it has been detected that the host has stolen the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline. Would you like to fuse with it?]
"Of course I want to fuse with it, but before that, show me my personal status panel."
[Ding, opening personal status panel.] [Host: Zu Zong Gender: Male Age: Five years and eleven months old (25 years old) Martial Soul: Blue Silver Grass (unawakened) Innate Soul Power: 0 Soul Power Level: 0 Base Strength: 3 (average adult male: 10) System Inventory: Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline. Overall Evaluation: Trash that is even worse than trash. Remaining Theft Attempts: 0 Hatred Points: 500 Theft World: Douluo Continent ]
Seeing the attributes on his personal status panel, Zu Zong rolled his eyes.
So sorry for being trash, okay!
"System, fuse the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline for me."
[Ding, Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline fusion in progress.]
Hmm! This was probably going to hurt like hell! But your Little Ancestor could endure it. Let the storm rage even harder!
A quarter of an hour later, the bone-deep pain Zu Zong had imagined never came.
[Ding, fusion complete.]
"System, why hasn't my body changed at all? Didn't they say that after awakening the Blue Silver Emperor, your hair would turn blue, your body would improve, and your face would become more handsome?"
[Ding, the host's Martial Soul needs to be awakened. Would you like to view your personal status panel?]
"Sure, show me!"
[Host: Zu Zong Gender: Male Age: Five years and eleven months old (25 years old) Martial Soul: Blue Silver Emperor (unawakened) Innate Soul Power: Level 10 Soul Power Level: 0 (unawakened) Base Strength: 5 (average adult male: 10) System Inventory: None. Overall Evaluation: Barely trash. Remaining Theft Attempts: 0 Hatred Points: 500 Theft World: Douluo Continent ]
"Haha, the Blue Silver Emperor truly deserves to be a Martial Soul capable of rivaling the Clear Sky Hammer. It actually has Innate Full Soul Power.
"But it looks like I'll have to lie low for another month. I'll train my body during that time!"
He walked out of the outhouse.
Pah!
It was a thatched hut.
Zu Zong felt much more relaxed, no longer forcing a smile as before.
He cast aside his usual slacker mentality.
Humming a tune.
"A girl's feet are tiny and dainty, with a white jade bird embroidered on them. Someone tries to catch her, but away she flies."
He leisurely made his way to Village Chief Old Tom's home.
Free meal?
No, you were mistaken.
As the only hope of Emperor Soul Village, a flower of the motherland.
How could this be called mooching a meal?
You knew what he meant! He was the future successor of socialism.
There was little entertainment in the countryside, so everyone went to bed early. Before the sun had even set, Old Tom had already prepared dinner.
Old Tom was long accustomed to Zu Zong showing up uninvited. He smiled and shook his head.
Ever since Zu Zong's parents had died in a disaster over five years ago, leaving only Zu Zong, who had been less than two months old, to survive, Old Tom had found and adopted him. It was not until last year, after Zu Zong's persistent demands, that he had allowed him to live alone.
That disaster had destroyed more than half of Emperor Soul Village, which had originally contained over four hundred households.
Some had died, some had fled, and those who remained were mostly old, weak, sick, and disabled.
Old Tom filled a large bowl with rice for Zu Zong and scolded him with a smile, "You brat, go to bed early after eating. Remember to get up and train tomorrow!"
Zu Zong did not stand on ceremony. He picked up the bowl and wolfed down the food. "Thanks, Grandpa Tom!"
Watching Zu Zong eat like a starving wolf, Old Tom could not help recalling the past.
He turned and entered the kitchen, tears unconsciously welling in his eyes.
"If my grandson Little Jerry were still alive, he should be about the same age as him by now, right?"
Naturally, Zu Zong did not hear those words.
Time flew like an arrow, and the years passed like a shuttle.
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
Having just finished his morning run, Zu Zong leisurely enjoyed the breakfast Old Tom had prepared in the village: sweet potato porridge.
Slurp, slurp.
Zu Zong drank with great relish!
Old Tom glared at Zu Zong. "You brat, hurry up and finish. I'll take you to Spirit Hall in Holy Soul Village to awaken your Martial Soul!"
"Got it, Grandpa Tom!"
Zu Zong hurriedly picked up a piece of pickled vegetable, stuffed it into his mouth, and drained the remaining sweet potato porridge in one go.
Not long after breakfast, Old Tom simply cleaned up the dishes and headed toward Holy Soul Village with Zu Zong.
The sweet potato porridge that morning had been delicious, and he was about to awaken his Martial Soul. After lying low for a month, Zu Zong was in an excellent mood. Smiling, he asked Old Tom, "Grandpa Tom! Why do we have to go to Holy Soul Village to awaken our Martial Souls? Didn't I hear that the Lord Soul Masters from Spirit Hall would come over themselves?"
Old Tom said sadly, "Times have changed. Emperor Soul Village declined because of that disaster over five years ago. The dead died, and the others fled. This year, you're the only six-year-old child in the village. We were too embarrassed to trouble the Lord Soul Masters from Spirit Hall to make a special trip. Holy Soul Village isn't far away anyway, so we arranged to awaken Martial Souls together."
Zu Zong nodded and called out inwardly, That disaster over five years ago must have been Tang Hao's battle against Spirit Hall! My parents died in that disaster. One of the culprits, Qian Xunji, is dead, so that leaves Tang Hao.
At that thought, Zu Zong clenched his fists, a cold gleam flashing through his eyes.
Then he loosened his hands. Before he possessed strength equal to his enemies, he should keep himself hidden.
Seeing Zu Zong lower his head in silence, Old Tom assumed he was nervous about failing to awaken Soul Power. He comforted him, "You brat, it doesn't matter if you can't awaken Soul Power. Once I die, you can take over as village chief of Emperor Soul Village."
Zu Zong rolled his eyes. This? A grand position?
Before you continue