The Old Man's Relics

Night fell, and the moon drove away the sun.

Holy Soul Village, inside the village chief's home.

"Grandpa, what is this?"

Zhu Rong looked at Old Jack, who was sitting beside him, and asked in confusion.

The door was tightly shut, and all the windows were closed. Not even a mosquito could fly into or out of the room!

On the table before them sat two boxes, one large and one small.

The large box was about three feet long, with a width and height of roughly half a foot each.

The small box was about one foot long, seven inches wide, and a little over an inch high.

"These are gifts Grandpa prepared for you. They are your Great-Grandfather's relics."

"Grandpa had no use for them, but you are different. They suit you very well."

Old Jack tremblingly stroked the two boxes, speaking with a hint of sorrow.

"This... can that be?"

Zhu Rong swallowed. Judging by the size of the two boxes, the item inside the larger one was probably the Treasure of the Blood River—a Soul Bone!

Of course, he might have guessed wrong. It was just that this box truly looked far too suitable for holding a Soul Bone!

As for the smaller box, it probably contained a book.

But there were no cultivation techniques on Douluo Continent. Aside from Tang San, everyone cultivated using the basic meditation method...

What could be inside the small box?

"Grandson, open them and take a look. When your Great-Grandfather handed them to me, he said these things must never be shown to others lightly."

"Your Great-Grandfather was a powerful Soul Saint, yet because of these things, he hid in Holy Soul Village for thirty years and died in depression."

At this point, Old Jack let out a sigh.

That was right. The Soul Saint of Holy Soul Village had not actually come from Holy Soul Village.

He had obtained these two items by chance, then hid from place to place before ultimately living in seclusion in Holy Soul Village for thirty years!

"Grandson, after receiving these two items, Grandpa has no other request. I only hope you will treat them with caution. Before becoming strong, you must never reveal them to others!"

Old Jack placed one hand on Zhu Rong's shoulder and spoke in an unprecedentedly solemn tone.

"Grandpa, th-this is Great-Grandfather's relic. Th-this wouldn't be right..."

It would have been a lie to say he did not want them. But Zhu Rong did not want to sever Old Jack's attachment over a Soul Bone—or perhaps there was no Soul Bone in the box at all.

They were his grandfather's relics. Whenever he saw them, he could more or less recall some happy times.

Between the Soul Bone and his grandfather's attachment, Zhu Rong hesitated.

In the end, reason overcame greed. Zhu Rong gritted his teeth and continued.

"Grandpa, you should put them away. Your grandfather left these for you..."

"You silly child, do you know what is inside these boxes? You..."

"Do you know?"

"..."

At Zhu Rong's words, Old Jack's mouth twitched. His gaze turned evasive as he looked at Zhu Rong, and he became somewhat embarrassed. He truly did not know what was inside the boxes.

Old Jack was, after all, only an ordinary person. Before his grandfather died, he had handed him the two boxes and said those words. Frightened by them, Old Jack had never actually opened the boxes.

Even if he had opened them, Old Jack, who had never learned anything about Soul Masters, would not have understood what he saw!

"Uh..."

Zhu Rong had never expected that Old Jack truly did not know what was inside the two boxes!

The two remained silent for a long time before Old Jack finally broke free from the awkward atmosphere and said, "How about we open them and take a look?"

When the old man had passed away, he said the items inside were useful only to Soul Masters.

Old Jack's father had been an ordinary person, and so was Old Jack. Neither possessed Innate Soul Power and neither could become a Soul Master.

Since they were useless, and since the old man had frightened him with his warnings, Old Jack simply hid the two items away, out of sight and out of mind.

But things were different now. Though Zhu Rong was his adopted grandson, Old Jack had long regarded him as his own.

It was only after Zhu Rong awakened his Soul Power today that Old Jack remembered the old man's "relics."

Zhu Rong was rather curious as well. He had not expected the Soul Saint from Holy Soul Village a hundred years ago to be Old Jack's grandfather.

What sort of treasure could make a Soul Saint-level powerhouse hide for thirty years?

No matter how he thought about it, it should have been a Soul Bone!

But that did not seem right either!

If it were a Soul Bone, he could have found an empty place and absorbed it without anyone knowing.

As long as he did not show off or tell everyone that he had obtained a Soul Bone, would there have been any need to hide from place to place?

Seeing Zhu Rong's little face nearly twist into a knot, Old Jack shook his head. It seemed he could only open the boxes himself.

The two boxes differed in size, but their style and coloring were almost identical.

Old Jack first removed the smaller box from atop the larger one and set it aside.

The item in the large box should be more valuable, so he would open the larger one first.

With a "snap," Old Jack lifted the lid of the large box.

An excited heart, trembling hands.

An object with a metallic sheen appeared before their eyes beneath the candlelight.

"?" x2

After seeing the item clearly, Zhu Rong froze slightly. About two seconds later, his entire body jolted, as though an icy current had surged from the soles of his feet straight to his scalp...

Zhu Rong's scalp went numb. He truly had not expected Great-Grandfather's relic to be this!

After Old Jack saw the item inside the box clearly, he scratched his head and said in utter confusion, "An Iron Clump? Grandpa only left behind an Iron Clump?"

Old Jack's utterly ignorant appearance left Zhu Rong both amused and exasperated.

This thing could indeed be considered an Iron Clump. It was not the Soul Bone he had imagined.

But its power and usefulness might not even be inferior to a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone!

A cylinder, hollow at both ends, with one end larger than the other...

This was an offensive Soul Tool, and a rather powerful Hand Cannon at that!

He just did not know what grade of Soul Tool it was yet.

If the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect learned of its effects, the entire Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would go mad. Other auxiliary-system Soul Masters would likely be no different!

It was not only auxiliary-system Soul Masters who would go mad. Other Soul Masters would fight to seize it as well. A Soul Tool did not care what type of Soul Master its user was. As long as it was charged with Soul Power, it could serve its purpose.

Offensive Soul Tools had existed on Douluo Continent ten thousand years ago. That could be learned from certain historical records.

But later, for some unknown reason, all of them had been destroyed. Even their methods of manufacture had not been preserved, leaving behind only some Storage Soul Tools.

Old Jack's grandfather had obtained this thing by chance. How could he not have been afraid? How could he not have panicked?

A Soul Bone would have been fine. Once absorbed and left unused, no one would know.

But this Hand Cannon could not be absorbed!

Its power was not weak either. Even a Soul Saint-level powerhouse, after charging it with all his strength and unleashing its strongest attack, would be unable to use it a second consecutive time!

With one shot, its power rivaled the full-force strike of a Title Douluo!

Under such circumstances, the old man had not even dared to use it. Once outsiders learned of it, what awaited him would be endless pursuit.

But the old man did not know that the limit he believed in was merely his own assumption!

This Hand Cannon was one of the finest creations from the peak era, before the Soul Tool Civilization vanished!

Holy Radiance Salvation, a Quasi-Divine Artifact!