His Parents' Keepsakes?

Su Yuntao said to Tang San, "Once you obtain a Soul Ring, you'll be called a Soul Master. Right now, you're still just Soul Scholars."

After Su Yuntao had finished explaining, he quickly packed up his things. Jiang Huai, Tang San, and Su Yuntao left the Spirit Hall, and Su Yuntao closed its wooden door.

Village Chief Jack walked over to Jiang Huai, rubbed his and Tang San's heads, and asked, "Lord Soul Master, did anyone in our village have Soul Power this time?"

After closing the door with a spell, Su Yuntao turned around and said, "There were two, but they both have Trash Martial Souls."

Jack's eyes lit up. "You mean...?"

"This time, your village had two children with Innate Full Soul Power," Su Yuntao said. "Of course, you know that someone with Innate Full Soul Power has limitless potential. But one of them has an unknown Martial Soul, and the other has Blue Silver Grass. Do you think they'll amount to much, even if they get Soul Rings?"

Jack's excitement vanished at once, but he wasn't willing to give up. "Lord Soul Master, is there really no way? What if they can absorb Soul Rings and—"

Su Yuntao cut him off. "Enough. I don't have much time, and I still have another village to visit. I understand what you're saying, but if you let your unwillingness to give up jeopardize the children's futures, what will you do if something goes wrong while they're absorbing their Soul Rings?"

With that, Su Yuntao activated his Martial Soul and left Holy Soul Village. Village Chief Jack had no choice but to take the two children home.

The next morning.

After wrestling with the decision all night, Jack decided to send Jiang Huai and Tang San to study at Nuoding Soul Master Academy. No matter what their futures held, he wanted to give them a chance. If they succeeded, their prospects would be limitless. If they failed, he was willing to stake his own life, old as he was.

Once he'd made up his mind, he got to work. But the village only had one work-study student spot, so Village Chief Jack spent the next week visiting the nearby villages, large and small, trying to get the two children a chance to study.

A village near Holy Soul Village was called Xiling Village. No children there had been born with Soul Power in recent years, and this year was no different. So Huake, the village chief of Xiling Village, gave this year's work-study student spot to Village Chief Jack.

As soon as Jack returned to the village, he hurried home and began rummaging around. He didn't even close the door. The villagers passing by saw him and wondered what Old Jack was looking for.

Before long, Jack found a Sword Box. He carried it toward the smallest thatched hut in the village.

Village Chief Jack carried the Sword Box without his cane. Only when he reached the hut did he realize he'd left it behind, so he went back to fetch it.

He knocked on the hut's door. The sound of someone cooking inside stopped, and Jiang Huai opened the door. "Hello, Grandpa Jack."

Jack nodded, gently patted Jiang Huai's head, and pointed at the Sword Box. "Do you want to know what's inside?"

Jiang Huai looked at the Sword Box Jack was pointing to. The character "Jiang" was engraved on it, and its surface was a jade-like color.

Jiang Huai reached out and touched it. The character "Jiang" was inlaid with gemstones of many colors.

Village Chief Jack smiled. "Xiao Huai, this is what was beside you when I found you all those years ago. I don't know what's inside, so I brought it to you."

"Thank you," Jiang Huai replied.

Jiang Huai carried the Sword Box to a corner of the hut, crouched down, set it flat on the ground, and opened it.

Inside was a dark-colored sword. Its scabbard was inlaid with exquisite, multicolored gemstones, including red gems arranged in the character "Jiang." At the end of the hilt was another "Jiang," inlaid with pale blue gemstones.

Jiang Huai gripped the scabbard with his left hand and lifted the sword out. He placed his right hand on the hilt and drew it.

The blade was sharp, and the clean sword could serve as a mirror. It was sharp enough to cut hair with a breath and slice through iron. The Sword Box also contained a belt and a necklace, and even a crown.

The belt and necklace were both Soul Tools. The belt was a Storage Soul Tool, while the necklace was an especially precious Defensive Soul Tool.

There was also a letter inside the Sword Box. Jiang Huai picked it up and read, "The letter has signs of being torn. There's only one character, 'Jiang,' written in it, and it came with a jade pendant engraved with the character 'Lin.'"

Village Chief Jack rubbed Jiang Huai's head. "Child, when I brought you back all those years ago, two people in black, a man and a woman, were lying beside you, both gravely wounded. I don't know whether they were your parents or someone else. I buried them. Do you want to go see them?"

Jiang Huai shook his head. "No, Grandpa Jack. I'd rather focus on cultivating my swordsmanship."

Village Chief Jack nodded. "Child, would you be willing to study Soul Master knowledge at Nuoding Soul Master Academy in Nuoding City?"

Jiang Huai froze, then looked up. "I would."

Delighted, Village Chief Jack patted Jiang Huai's head. Then he went to Tang San's house to tell him about going to study at Nuoding Soul Master Academy in Nuoding City.

After Jack left, Jiang Huai finished lunch and began practicing his swordsmanship. This time, he didn't take the wooden sword. He wielded the dark iron sword instead.

Jiang Huai ran his hand along the blade. "Since there's a 'Jiang' on your blade, I'll give you a name: Jiang Ling."

Jiang Huai practiced with his sword outside his home all afternoon. A few days passed, and during that time, he grasped a trace of the sword path.

He named the sword aura he'd comprehended Xuanyuan. He chose the name because he'd comprehended it with Jiang Ling, whose entire body was dark in color. "Abyss" represented the vastness of the sea, and also the boundless depth of Jiang Huai's swordsmanship.

Today, Jiang Huai skipped breakfast and practiced his swordsmanship before sunrise. Just as the sun rose, he thrust his sword forward.

On a boulder behind the village, Tang San sat with his eyes open, absorbing the morning sunlight. It was as if their efforts had made all of Holy Soul Village shine.

Over these past few days, Jiang Huai and Tang San had both grown more mature. Jiang Huai in particular had refined his swordsmanship to a high degree. If Xuanyuan's proficiency were measured out of 100, then in just a few short days, Jiang Huai had already raised his swordsmanship to 10%.

Jiang Huai had also comprehended several skills through his swordsmanship. What those skills were would be revealed during the section at Nuoding Soul Master Academy where he fought the disciples.

Jiang Huai practiced until noon. After absorbing the early morning sunlight, Tang San had gone home to cook for that messy drunk of his.

By the time Jiang Huai stopped practicing, his clothes were soaked with sweat. He put the sword and Sword Box into the Storage Soul Tool at his waist.

Then he headed for the river where the village women did their laundry. When he reached the bank, Jiang Huai jumped into the water and began to wash up.