"Oh, do you know who my ninth soul ring is?" Nan Xuan asked with a sly grin.
Bibi Dong had a bad feeling about this. She had been busy lately, so she only knew that Nan Xuan's eighth soul ring was Liu Mumu, but Liu Mumu had already gone wandering around the continent.
"Who is it?" Bibi Dong asked cautiously.
"Tang Hao's ex-wife, Ah Yin—now Lan Yingying," Nan Xuan said with a smile.
Bibi Dong: "..."
"So, what exactly are you trying to say?" Bibi Dong asked, suppressing the doubt and faint anger in her heart as she put on a stern face.
"Liu Mumu can't cook, but she can," Nan Xuan said, scratching his head.
"That's all?" Bibi Dong sometimes felt that Nan Xuan's way of thinking was truly bizarre. Of all the people he could have chosen as a soul ring, he had to choose someone else's wife.
"What else do you want from me? What, are you reconsidering my proposal from earlier?" Nan Xuan wrapped his arms around Bibi Dong, and with a shift of the room, they arrived in Bibi Dong's private room.
Seeing Nan Xuan like this, Bibi Dong could only laugh helplessly and accept it.
"Mm, once in a while is fine too." This was the thought that flashed through Bibi Dong's mind after learning of Lan Yingying's existence.
After Nan Xuan and Bibi Dong spent several hours entwined together, Bibi Dong chose to log off. She still had plenty to do.
"Sigh, next time I should just go to Spirit Hall to find her. Even though the Network World has Materialization, it still isn't satisfying enough. It feels a little awkward." The first thing Nan Xuan said after leaving the Network World was this.
Lan Yingying looked at him with a puzzled expression. She still did not know that the current Pope, Bibi Dong, was his woman.
"Stop staring. I'm planning to develop a game in the Network World later. If you're interested, you can try it out too. But remember to come back and cook," Nan Xuan said, waving a hand in front of Lan Yingying's eyes.
"What kind of game?" Lan Yingying ignored the latter half of his words and asked about the game instead.
"You'll understand once you try it later." Nan Xuan did not explain much. Once someone got their hands on it, they would naturally understand—and become addicted to it. There was no need for much explanation.
Seeing this, Lan Yingying did not ask any further questions. Instead, she brought out the dishes she had just finished cooking, and the two began eating together.
At Tang Hao's home.
"Dad, get up and eat," three-year-old Tang San called into the room.
Hearing his voice, Tang Hao slowly walked out. He looked at the rice porridge on the table, then sat down.
Tang San habitually poured Tang Hao a drink.
"Little San, do you want to understand this world?" Tang Hao had long been suspicious of Tang San's cultivation and mature mindset. But since Tang San had not left him, Tang Hao intended to continue raising him as his son.
Tang San's heart tightened at those words. Could Dad already know that my soul isn't from this world? No, that shouldn't be it. He probably just thinks that a child like me should be curious about the outside world, which is why he asked.
"Dad, I do. I heard people say that this world has something called Martial Souls. It sounds so amazing," Tang San answered innocently.
After hearing Tang San's answer, Tang Hao returned to his room. Before long, he took out a small box, returned to the table, and handed it to Tang San.
"Open it and take a look," Tang Hao said in a low voice.
Tang San opened the box curiously and discovered a blue-brown card inside.
Tang San held it in his hand and thought, This thing looks a little like the cards from my old world. Maybe the material could be used as a dart.
"Press it against your brow, focus your attention on the card, don't resist, and follow that pulling force into the Network World," Tang Hao said after taking a sip of wine.
Tang San did not hesitate and immediately did as his father instructed.
When Tang San placed the card against his brow and focused his mind on it, a dark-blue energy drifted out and drew in his spiritual power.
"User registration successful. Username: Tang San. Welcome to the Network World."
The gates of a brand-new world opened before Tang San.
He then arrived in an unfamiliar room, where a Smart Guide appeared and explained everything to him.
More than ten minutes later, Tang San exited the Network World and said to Tang Hao with delight, "Thank you, Dad. I really like this gift."
With the Smart Guide's explanations, Tang San had gained a preliminary understanding of the Network World. More importantly, he could use it to learn about the real continent.
"Mm, your mother and I prepared this for you long ago. If you have any questions, ask the Smart Guide. He can answer anything he knows," Tang Hao said. After downing a bowl of wine, he returned to his room and lay down again.
"Mom..." Tang San murmured instinctively.
He knew that not long after he was born, a figure had told his father to take good care of him. Then that figure had disappeared.
Tang San looked at his father's back as he lay down, sighed, silently cleared away the dishes, and entered the Network World again.
Nan Xuan had also finished eating. After stretching lazily, he entered the Network World and issued an announcement.
"I am the God of the Network. Today, I bring everyone good news. From now on, every netizen here will be able to use Martial Souls in the Network World. This is a game—a game that lets people without Soul Power use Martial Souls, a game that lets you experience other people's Martial Souls. It will launch in ten seconds. Let us welcome the arrival of Martial Soul Glory."
Tens of millions of netizens online in the Network World counted down in their hearts. Tang San also waited curiously for this Martial Soul Canyon. He wanted to see what kind of game it was. Could it be more interesting than mahjong?
Seconds later, Martial Soul Glory launched. Hundreds of Martial Souls across the continent awaited your selection, and the unique Martial Soul Canyon battlefield awaited your challenge.
Tang San curiously looked through the Tool Martial Soul rankings. As an expert from the Tang Sect who used Hidden Weaponry, the first Martial Soul he chose was unexpectedly the Silver Needle Martial Soul of Yang Fei and his brother.
Following the beginner tutorial, Tang San selected the solo match mode. A dark-blue light wrapped around him, and suddenly, he appeared in a canyon filled with flowers, grass, streams, and fallen rocks.
The canyon was not large, and it was one-way, with no exit.
Following the tutorial's instructions, Tang San summoned the Silver Needle Martial Soul he had selected. A silver-white embroidery needle appeared in his hand, encircled by three rings of light—two yellow and one purple.
"This should be the Martial Soul and soul rings. I never expected Martial Souls could really be used here. This is great. From now on, I can practice Hidden Weaponry here and learn about this world's Martial Souls. Martial Souls can only be awakened at six years old. During the next three years, aside from cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill and the other Tang Sect arts, I can't waste the rest of my time." Tang San quietly made plans for himself.
Just as Tang San was still grinning foolishly, the sound of something cutting through the air came from nearby.
"I was wondering who I'd be matched against. Turns out it's a three-year-old kid. How boring. I think the God of the Network should add an age restriction." A fourteen-year-old boy jumped out of the bushes. He had intended to ambush Tang San, but after seeing that his opponent was a three-year-old child, he gave up on the idea.
Tang San looked at the boy three meters away and silently calculated the throwing range of his Hidden Weaponry. He would not get angry just because the other side underestimated him.
"Oh? You're still taking this so seriously. This little brat is really obsessed. In that case, I can only send you out of the match," the boy said helplessly as he watched Tang San's serious expression.
"First Soul Skill, Hell Stab!" The boy had chosen the Hell Spirit Cat Martial Soul. Tang San's attitude displeased him, so he used his First Soul Skill to send Tang San out of the canyon.
As Tang San watched the other side attack, he smiled faintly and used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to evade the strike.
"What Martial Soul did you choose? How did you dodge that attack?" the boy asked resentfully.
Tang San ignored him. Instead, he pressed his advantage and used his Hidden Weaponry techniques to unleash his Second Soul Skill, firing straight at the boy's brow.
Seeing the needle flying toward him, the boy hurriedly used his Second Soul Skill, Hell Hundred Claws. However, because he was unfamiliar with his Martial Soul and nervous, the attack went completely off target.
The Silver Needle's Second Soul Skill increased its piercing power. Combined with Tang San's Hidden Weaponry techniques, its strength rose to another level, instantly taking down his opponent.
After the boy was pierced through the brow, he turned into a streak of dark-blue light and left Martial Soul Canyon. Tang San then left in the same manner.
Tang San returned to his private room and looked at the match results. His personal score had increased by ten points, and he was still at the Black Iron rank.
"This game really suits me, and this Silver Needle Martial Soul is incredibly useful too. It would be great if I could awaken it as my Martial Soul in the future." Sitting on the small sofa in his room, Tang San evaluated his first game.
After finishing that solo match, Tang San did not immediately start another. Instead, he became curious about his future Martial Soul.
"According to the people of this continent, Martial Souls are inherited from one's parents. I wonder what Dad's Martial Soul is. He's a blacksmith, so it's probably a hammer." Thinking of that, Tang San felt somewhat disappointed. As a genius of the Tang Sect, a Hidden Weaponry-type Martial Soul would suit me best.
"Eh, maybe my mother's Martial Soul is related to Hidden Weaponry? Should I ask Dad?" The idea that had just sprouted in Tang San's heart was immediately crushed. He did not dare mention his mother in front of his father.
"I should first learn more about the Martial Souls of this world. That way, I won't be so passive the next time I choose a Martial Soul." Tang San sighed and decided to study at the Network Library.
Tang San had his Smart Guide locate books introducing the types of Martial Souls. But when he opened the first page, his face instantly fell.
"Tang Sect, do I have to pay to read all these books?" Tang San had named his Smart Guide Tang Sect, perhaps to preserve some emotional connection to his past life.
Tang Sect, who looked like a middle-aged man, replied, "Yes, Third Young Master. Most books in the Network Library require payment. Only some early childhood education and introductory knowledge are free."
Hearing this, Tang San's mouth twitched fiercely.
After hearing that they could use Martial Souls in the Network World, the commoners of the continent hurried online to try a match. Although most of them lost, they still got to experience what it felt like to be a two-ring Soul Grandmaster.
After experiencing Martial Soul Glory, some people compared it to the Soul Fighting Arena.
The biggest difference was that winning in Martial Soul Glory did not earn prize money.
Nan Xuan could not be bothered with that. Some people wanted a free experience and wanted to make money from it too. How could that possibly happen?
Lan Yingying also exited the Network World. Sitting beside Nan Xuan, she asked with a smile, "How did you do it? You even came up with something like this. It's truly amazing."
Nan Xuan smiled faintly and said, "It was all brought by my Martial Soul."
There was indeed nothing wrong with Nan Xuan's answer. After all, these things had originally been brought by his Martial Soul.
Lan Yingying thought about it and found no problem with it, so she did not ask any further questions.
"By the way, Nan Xuan, when will Liu Mumu come back?" Lan Yingying asked curiously.
"I don't know. What, do you miss your sister?" Nan Xuan asked in surprise.
"No, I just want to spar with her," Lan Yingying said with a smile.
Nan Xuan felt that was not the real answer. There had to be something else, but he did not intend to keep asking. It was a small matter anyway.
Lan Yingying was simply tired of cooking every day and wanted to find someone to help her.
After getting no answer, she could only leave dejectedly.
Feeling bored, Nan Xuan decided to challenge a solo match himself.
Before you continue