Dawn in Sacred Soul Village, Different Mindsets

The enormous Sky Curtain slowly tore apart under the watchful eyes of countless people.

As if an invisible blade had split it down the middle, the image divided into two.

The left side represented the original trajectory and was called the "Black World."

The right side represented an unknown variable and was called the "White World."

Time rewound, and the scene froze on a small village called Sacred Soul Village.

That year, Tang San was six years old.

[Black World]

Dawn had barely broken.

A thin little figure had already climbed to the mountaintop.

Tang San sat cross-legged on a large rock, a lingering trace of sorrow always knotted between his brows.

"The first bottleneck of the Mysterious Heaven Skill still can't be broken through."

The boy sighed, his eyes full of confusion.

In this world, there was no internal energy, only Soul Power.

He did not know whether his persistence was right.

But he did not dare stop.

Because those were the rules of the Tang Sect, doctrines engraved into his bones.

Even in another world, he still had to be a Tang Sect disciple who followed the rules.

After finishing his cultivation, he hurried down the mountain and returned to that dilapidated Blacksmith Shop.

The pungent stench of alcohol hit him head-on.

The man known as the Clear Sky Douluo was sprawled on the bed like a lump of mud.

His snores were thunderous.

The floor was a complete mess, littered with empty bottles of Inferior Ale.

Tang San silently cleaned everything up, skillfully lit the fire, and cooked porridge.

Hands that should have held Hidden Weapons and stirred the winds of the world were now covered in charcoal ash.

As he looked at the dispirited man on the bed, Tang San's eyes held nothing but helplessness and a heart-wrenching trace of obedience.

"Dad, it's time to eat."

Heaven Dou Imperial City, Great Soul Arena stands.

Countless sentimental Female Soul Masters had reddened eyes upon seeing this scene.

"This child is far too sensible."

"That Drunkard Father simply doesn't deserve such a good son!"

"If he were my child, I'd treasure him in the palm of my hand. How could I bear to let him suffer like this?"

Even some rough-looking men could not help nodding to themselves.

Filial piety came first among all virtues. No matter what kind of father he had, this child's devotion and endurance were truly moving.

Yet behind that touching sentiment, something seemed to be missing.

He lacked the sharpness a young man should possess, the fierce resolve to defy fate and change his destiny.

[White World]

The scene shifted to the right.

The same morning, the same mountaintop.

The boy in plain clothes also sat cross-legged.

Yet the impression he gave was completely different.

Bai Tang San was also cultivating the Purple Demon Eye.

But he was not merely mechanically absorbing the purple qi. He was thinking as well.

When the first ray of sunlight fell, the Blue Silver Grass that had previously drooped its leaves seemed to hear a command.

They all raised their heads in unison.

Dew rolled across their leaf tips, refracting the radiance of life.

Tang San keenly caught that faint yet resilient rhythm.

"The Mysterious Heaven Skill emphasizes endless renewal and flawless harmony."

"Blue Silver Grass cannot be burned away by wildfire; when the spring breeze blows, it grows again."

A playful curve appeared at the corner of the boy's lips.

He spread open his palm, and an ordinary stalk of Blue Silver Grass swayed within it.

"In my previous life in Bashu, poisonous herbs were hard to find, and spiritual medicine was even scarcer."

"So the Tang Sect had no choice but to focus on Metal Mechanism Arts."

"But this world is different."

"Plants flourish here, and spiritual energy is abundant."

"If I still stubbornly cling to those outdated rules from my previous life, wouldn't that be wasting nature's gifts?"

"If the Mysterious Heaven Skill can imitate the life traits of Blue Silver Grass... then what I cultivate will no longer be mere internal energy."

"It will be the Longevity Art!"

With just a few brief words, the difference in vision was immediately clear.

While Tang San of the Black World was still troubled by his bottleneck and rigidly clinging to the rules,

Tang San of the White World had already begun stepping outside the framework, contemplating the essential fusion of Martial Soul and cultivation method.

He was not merely a cultivator, but a pioneer.

Back at the Blacksmith Shop.

The same overwhelming smell of alcohol, the same mess strewn across the floor.

But Bai Tang San's reaction made everyone gasp.

He did not immediately start cleaning the house. Instead, he walked to the bedside.

Looking down at the man drowning himself in drink and dreams, his eyes held none of the meekness one might expect. Instead, there was a trace of scrutiny.

His fingers lightly rested on Tang Hao's exposed wrist.

With only that touch, he obtained the information he wanted.

"His pulse is chaotic. Though his internal breath is vast as the sea, it is blocked everywhere."

"These are old injuries accumulated over many years."

Tang San withdrew his hand and analyzed the situation coldly in his heart.

"He possesses terrifying strength, yet he is willing to hole up in this little mountain village as a blacksmith."

"He even relies on alcohol to numb his nerves."

"It seems my father has provoked some truly formidable trouble."

Tang San turned and began making a fire to cook.

His movements remained deft, but his inner monologue sent chills down the spines of countless experts before the screen.

"Since he is a severely injured tiger, he has lost the ability to protect his cub."

"Perhaps he himself is an enormous hidden danger."

"If his enemies come looking for him, I will undoubtedly die in my current state."

"I cannot rely on him, much less place control of my fate in someone else's hands."

"I must become stronger as soon as possible, strong enough to control my own destiny."

"Strong enough that... even if the sky falls, I can hold it up with one hand!"

At that moment, that six-year-old boy unexpectedly exuded a Hegemon's aura that made people's hearts tremble.

Filial devotion?

That was founded on the strong protecting the weak.

When life and death were at stake,

the first thing he had to do was survive.

And survive with dignity and control over his own life!

[Real World]

Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

Thunder Douluo Yu Yuanzhen, who had been in secluded cultivation, suddenly opened his eyes.

An unprecedented brilliance erupted from his clouded old eyes.

He stared fixedly at the boy's back on the right side of the Sky Curtain and smashed the stone table before him with one palm.

"Good! What a fine declaration—never place control of your fate in someone else's hands!"

"That is the gaze of a true powerhouse!"

Yu Yuanzhen was so excited that even his beard trembled.

"The Soul Master World has always been a place where the weak are prey to the strong."

"That kid from the Black World may be obedient, but he is too dull and too rigid!"

"Perhaps that kind of personality would make him a good child in peaceful times."

"But in the Soul Master World? He would be a lamb waiting for slaughter!"

"Look at the one in the White World instead. At such a young age, he already understands how to assess the situation. He not only has ambition, but also the wisdom and insight to match it."

"If this child does not die young, he will surely achieve great things in the future!"

At the same time, Shrek Academy.

Yu Xiaogang watched the reactions of everyone on the Sky Curtain, especially the many people casting admiring gazes toward Bai Tang San.

It made him feel as sick as if he had swallowed a fly.

That Tang San from the White World.

He was too independent, too opinionated.

Such a person would never submit to his control, much less regard his theories as sacred truths.

It stirred an instinctive rejection within him.

"Hmph."

Yu Xiaogang sneered, breaking the silence among the surrounding students.

"At such a young age, his thoughts are already so deep. He has even calculated things with his own father so clearly."

"Such a person is cold and faithless!"

"No matter how strong he becomes in the future, he is destined to be alone."

He turned to Hei Tang San beside him, his tone carrying a trace of lecturing.

"Xiao San, don't learn from him."

"That gaze is the gaze of a wolf."

"You can't tame it."

"You are fine as you are—respecting your teacher and the proper path, valuing loyalty and righteousness."

"That is the right path."

Hei Tang San hurriedly nodded at those words.

"Teacher is right. I also think... The other me is too cold-blooded."

Though he said so aloud, he inexplicably felt somewhat uneasy inside.

Because in that fleeting instant,

when he saw the ambition-filled gaze of Bai Tang San,

something that had long lain dormant within him seemed to twitch as well.

It was the most primal desire for power, the wildness that had been suppressed for far too long by countless rules and restraints.

But he quickly forced that wildness back down.

He was a good child, Master's disciple. He could not stray from the proper path.

At that moment, the image on the Sky Curtain changed again.

The story began advancing toward that fateful moment.

Inside a small wooden house in Sacred Soul Village, a young man walked in.

He had swordlike brows, bright eyes, and a handsome face.

It was none other than the man countless transmigrators mocked as the "Blind Douluo"—Su Yuntao.

The Martial Soul awakening ceremony was about to begin!