Apprenticing Under Guan Yue

"Is this... the Prayer Angel Martial Soul?!"

Yun Ming's voice carried a hint of excitement. In his eyes, seeing his own and his beloved's Martial Souls appear simultaneously in their child was nothing short of perfection.

The only problem was, why on earth did his own Martial Soul come accompanied by the Martial Soul of his junior brother?

Yun Ming cast a somewhat "venomous" look toward Guan Yue.

Seeing that the situation was turning sour, Guan Yue immediately wiped the smile from his face, took a few slow steps back, and said, "Senior brother, what are you trying to do? That look in your eyes is not right."

Yun Ming wore a sinister expression as he replied, "What am I trying to do? You tell me! Ya Li and I finally have a child, and he ends up tainted by your Martial Soul? Don't you think you should show some sincerity?"

Guan Yue took another step back and said, "Senior brother, please be reasonable. I only brought my own life with me today."

Yun Ming let out a soft huff and said, "It's exactly that set of skills you have that I want!"

Guan Yue: "???"

Yun Ming continued, "Have you forgotten what our master instructed back in the day? That no matter whose child it was, they shouldn't learn under their own parents, but should instead apprentice under the other?"

Only then did it dawn on Guan Yue. It was inevitable that a father teaching his son would lack the necessary ruthlessness, making it difficult to pass on the true essence of their craft.

That was why their master, seeing the exceptional abilities of both men, had left behind that piece of advice.

Guan Yue rolled his eyes and retorted, "Senior brother, you didn't even follow the master's more serious instructions back then, yet now you're suddenly acting all pious about respecting the teacher?"

"No gift, no apprenticeship—you think you're just going to walk away? I'm closing the gates."

Guan Yue's expression stiffened as he said, "Senior brother only knows how to bully an honest man like me. Fine, fine. Besides, I've taken quite a liking to my nephew. But I must say, the Prayer Angel was targeted by people back in the day."

"Even though my nephew has the protection of you two, he is still far from having his wings fully grown. It would be best if the Prayer Angel Martial Soul remained hidden."

Yun Ming nodded in deep agreement. Looking at the Prayer Angel tattoo revealed on Yun Ze's back, he raised his hand and covered the boy's back with a layer of soul power.

After gradually fading the Prayer Angel tattoo from sight, Yun Ming said solemnly to Yun Ze, "Before you reach the Soul Saint realm, do not reveal your Prayer Angel Martial Soul in public. Even if there comes a time when you must use it, ensure that everyone around you is someone you can trust."

Yun Ze nodded. He certainly knew how Ya Li had been won over by Yun Ming back then, and he could imagine whether he might attract unwanted attention if he used the Prayer Angel Martial Soul in public.

It is not the thief who is feared, but the one who keeps watch; one can be a thief for a thousand days, but one cannot guard against a thief for a thousand days.

Even under Yun Ming's protection, there was always the fear of a slip-up.

Yun Ze adjusted his focus to the Heaven-Propping Spear Martial Soul. The Heaven-Propping Spear and the Heaven-Surpassing Spear existed in a symbiotic state.

He could still release either one of the Martial Souls individually, though Yun Ze could feel a faint, lingering connection between them.

A symbiotic Martial Soul was a special mutation of Twin Martial Souls. Although they were two distinct Martial Souls, one had to attach soul rings to both simultaneously to increase their cultivation.

The benefit gained was the ability to use both Martial Souls at the same time without any extra techniques.

Yun Ze weighed the Heaven-Propping Spear in his hand before releasing the Heaven-Surpassing Spear as well.

With both spears in hand, the aura around Yun Ze surged instantly. If he were to learn the techniques for controlling two Martial Souls simultaneously in the future, he would be able to wield the power of all three Martial Souls at once.

High damage in the left hand, high damage in the right, and a little healing from behind.

Yun Ze felt the changes within himself. His Twin Martial Souls were already at Innate Full Soul Power, to say nothing of his Triple Martial Souls.

The soul power test was merely a formality; Yun Ming watched the results, which indicated Innate Full Soul Power, without any surprise.

He then placed a helmet designed for testing mental power onto Yun Ze's head.

At this moment, a glimmer appeared in Guan Yue's eyes. "Innate Full Soul Power is not strange, but to have eighty-eight points of mental power at six years old—that is truly remarkable."

Indeed, although Yun Ze was only six, his mental power had already reached eighty-eight points.

Looking at his test results, Yun Ze felt a surge of confidence.

One had to realize that in the era of Soul Spirits, the importance of mental power was even greater than that of one's physical constitution.

Physical constitution could be supplemented with medicine and heavenly treasures, but if one's starting point for mental power was low, not even the gods could save you.

The moment the mental power test concluded, a halo of purple and green light flickered around Yun Ze's body.

This sudden, divine-looking halo left even Yun Ming feeling puzzled.

Yun Ming reached out and touched the purple halo, feeling as if the shackles on his own cultivation had loosened for an instant.

Determined that these halos were divine in nature and not some demonic or crooked path, Yun Ming did not pursue the matter further.

After the purple and green halos flickered, they submerged into the Heaven-Propping Spear and the soul mark of the Holy Angel martial soul belonging to Yun Ze.

At this moment, Yun Ze felt a brief moment of trance, as if two figures had appeared before his eyes, heaving a solemn sigh toward him.

Guan Yue now harbored the intention of taking Yun Ze as his disciple, rather than merely acting on the threat from his senior brother.

"My dear nephew, would you be willing to come with me to the War God Temple to study?"

Yun Ming looked at Yun Ze as he spoke.

"What your Uncle Guan Yue says is correct. Although you are my son, the Grandmaster had already set a precedent for this long ago: the descendants of both myself and your Uncle Guan Yue must study under the other's tutelage for a period of time."

Yun Ze nodded. This was beyond his expectations, but upon careful consideration, it only offered benefits without any drawbacks. By studying under Guan Yue for a while, he could also get his hands on Guan Yue's Self-Created Soul Skill.

When the time came, wouldn't it be easy for Yun Ze to learn Yun Ming's Self-Created Soul Skills whenever he wanted?

Guan Yue stroked his beard and laughed.

"Although I am the one taking this child as a disciple, the location for instruction will still be at your Shrek, so as to save my dear nephew from missing home and having no heart to focus on his studies."

"It's just that, in doing so, I will inevitably be troubling you, Senior Brother."

Yun Ming slapped Guan Yue and said, "Cut the act. You've never been polite with me before."

Guan Yue laughed and replied, "Polite or not, it depends on the matter at hand. Since my dear nephew is calling me teacher, I have to provide a gift, don't I?"

As he spoke, this Moon Sky Douluo flicked his wrist, and from his Soul Tool, he produced a jet-black garment resembling a waistcoat.

Guan Yue said with a hint of pride, "This was a birthday gift given to me by one of my disciples. It is called the Nine-Curve Soft Armor, a level 9 Soul Tool that even an ordinary person can use freely, capable of blocking the vast majority of attacks..."