Night Talk

Once the vacation ended, Tang Yin led Tang Sanmei and Xiao Wu back to Nuoding Academy.

Over the next two years, everything remained calm and peaceful, save for Xiao Wu's shameless insistence on staying out with Tang Yin and Tang Sanmei.

Xiao Wu continued to live her carefree life as the big sister of Nuoding Academy, wandering around the campus all day with a group of lackeys trailing behind her.

Tang Sanmei, meanwhile, kept running between the blacksmith shop and the academy, only returning to their rented courtyard in the evenings.

As for Tang Yin, he rarely left the courtyard anymore except to exchange books with Yu Xiaogang. He had to ensure he reached Soul Power Level 20 within two years while simultaneously digesting the entire collection of books Yu Xiaogang had gathered.

And so, two years passed in the blink of an eye.

At night, the bright moonlight spilled over the courtyard like white frost.

A boy, appearing as a youth draped in loose, plain robes, sat cross-legged with his chin resting on one hand.

This person was none other than Tang Yin.

It must be said that children with the aptitude for soul mastery on the Douluo Continent are not only precocious, but as their levels increase, they also develop physically at an accelerated rate.

In these two years, at only nine years old, he had not only reached a height of 1.5 meters, but his face had also begun to shed the childishness of two years prior.

He had completely inherited the beauty of the Blue Silver Emperor, Ah Yin, with sword-like brows and star-bright eyes. Because of this, he was often teased by students at the academy—including Xiao Wu—who secretly questioned whether the two were truly siblings.

"Projection."

Accompanied by a soft murmur, a short blade appeared in Tang Yin's hand: it was Mo Ye.

Compared to two years ago, the Mo Ye in Tang Yin's hand now possessed more texture, its patterns were clearer, and the surface of the blade was suffused with a faint, dreamlike shimmer.

"Not bad. After two years of exploration, I have gained a deeper understanding of this innate martial soul, Divine Machine Refinement." Tang Yin muttered to himself while examining Mo Ye.

"It's a pity the limitations are just too great!" Thinking of the Copying Sausage from the original work belonging to Oscar, Tang Yin's expression flickered.

The innate martial soul Divine Machine Refinement was theoretically extremely powerful, but after years of experimentation, Tang Yin had discovered that its current limitations were simply too restrictive.

After all, he could only project ordinary weapons, while the Douluo Continent followed the path of martial souls; his Divine Machine Refinement could not currently project them.

Of course, it wasn't impossible to say it couldn't be projected. Theoretically, martial souls were also composed of soul power; as long as he could observe and analyze them, there was a high probability he could project them.

The problem was that his eyes were fundamentally unable to observe the structure of a martial soul, and naturally, the soul power circuits within could not be parsed.

Could it be that a second awakening was required?

Unlike other martial souls, the reason innate martial souls were not well-known on the current Douluo Continent was that no one had yet discovered the correct path for them.

It wasn't until ten thousand years later, when the Body Sect burst onto the scene, that the true power of innate martial souls became known to the world.

Although innate martial souls, like other martial souls, were strengthened through soul power cultivation, obtaining soul rings, and increasing one's soul power level, their uniqueness lay in their direct connection to the soul master's body. Therefore, cultivating an innate martial soul required a focus on physical tempering and soul power nourishment.

Of course, the core breakthrough for an innate martial soul remained the second awakening; this was the key that distinguished it from ordinary martial souls.

Fortunately, Tang Yin had gritted his teeth and read Peerless Tang Sect in his past life, so he had a general understanding of the conditions and methods for the second awakening of an innate martial soul.

First, to awaken an innate martial soul, one's soul power level had to reach at least level 40, the Soul Ancestor realm, and the corresponding physical strength had to reach the body's limit.

Tang Yin currently knew of three methods for awakening.

The first was the extreme stimulation method: under a near-death state, one's potential is triggered through extreme pain or pressure.

The second was hereditary guidance: soul masters with the Body Sect's heritage could guide the awakening through secret techniques.

The third was the special illusion method: utilizing blessed lands like the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well or the Lake of Life to stimulate awakening through extreme energy.

Of these three methods, the first was too idealistic and uncontrollable, and the second was not even worth considering.

Therefore, the only option Tang Yin could choose—and one with a high probability of success—was the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

"Brother, Sister, I'm back!"

While Tang Yin was deep in thought, Xiao Wu pushed the door open and entered, followed by a disgruntled-looking Tang Sanmei.

Tang Sanmei still held a grudge against Xiao Wu for interrupting her time alone with her brother.

Although, after years of living without worry and being nourished by soul power, Tang Sanmei's skin had gradually transitioned from a wheatish tone to that of a normal woman, her appearance was at best delicate and clean, not particularly striking.

Especially when looking at the increasingly beautiful and moving Xiao Wu and her ever-more handsome brother, a nameless sense of crisis and panic always lingered in her heart.

"Xiao Wu, go play somewhere else."

The issue of their separate identities was a hurdle he couldn't quite clear, so Tang Yin shook his head and looked at the dispirited Sanmei.

"What's wrong? Did Xiao Wu make you angry?"

"I did not! Who in the entire Nuoding Academy doesn't know that Sanmei and I are the best of sisters?" Xiao Wu's fur stood on end at the accusation, and she brandished her small pink fists at Tang Yin in a show of force.

"Sanmei, say something!" Her Big Sister Xiao Wu was the most loyal person around; how could she possibly bully Sanmei?

Seeing this, Tang Sanmei secretly curled her lip, but she defended Xiao Wu anyway: "Big Sister Xiao Wu didn't bully me. It's just that I feel like lately, Brother and I have both been busy cultivating, and we haven't had a good talk in a long time. I feel..."

At this point, Tang Sanmei lowered her head slightly, her voice as faint as a mosquito's: "I feel empty inside."

"Oya? Sanmei is shameless, she's so big now and still clinging to her brother." Xiao Wu suddenly hopped in front of Sanmei, leaned in slightly, and looked up at Sanmei's slightly reddened cheeks with a mischievous grin.

"Xiao~ Wu~" Tang Sanmei's cheeks, which had only been slightly flushed, instantly turned the color of a ripe apple, and she gritted her teeth.

If it weren't for the fact that they had lived and eaten together for years and were on excellent terms, she would have already marked her with the "Path to Death" and unleashed a barrage of hidden weapons.

"Oh~ someone is getting embarrassed and angry," Xiao Wu suddenly pulled away, then hopped and skipped back to her room, leaving only the silent siblings behind.

After a long while, Tang Yin suddenly chuckled, "It's just a few words, isn't it?"

"Brother~ you're laughing at me just like Sister Xiao Wu," Tang Sanmei stepped forward, hugged Tang Yin's arm, and shook it gently.

"Fine, then let's have a good talk tonight~"

Under the moonlight, the two siblings sat in the courtyard talking, with bursts of laughter drifting out from time to time. Xiao Wu, who had returned to her room early, hid behind the door listening to their conversation, her heart sinking as she thought of her deceased mother, as well as Daming and Erming.

Deep into the night, all was silent.

"Brother, why did you name the two weapons you projected Gan Jiang and Mo Ye? Is there any special meaning behind it?" Sanmei, who had been resting her head on Tang Yin's shoulder, suddenly turned her head to ask.

"That, huh~" Tang Yin was slightly stunned. He certainly couldn't say it was just because he thought they were cool, so he had to adapt the story of Gan Jiang and Mo Ye from his past life to tell Sanmei.

Simply put, the head of a sword-forging family obtained a piece of meteorite from the heavens and intended to forge a divine weapon to attend a sword-testing tournament hosted by the emperor at the imperial palace.

After enduring countless hardships, the family head finally forged a sword and engraved it with the name of his son, Gan Jiang, then used the remaining material to forge a short blade engraved with the name of his daughter, Mo Ye. Afterward, he used the siblings' hair and blood to refine them, causing the two weapons to unexpectedly develop the magical ability to sense each other.

Later, the family head took his son and Gan Jiang to the imperial palace for the tournament, but unexpectedly, foreign tribes invaded and captured the palace. In the chaos of war, the family head died, and the son vanished without a trace.

Decades later, the two siblings, now completely changed in appearance, finally recognized each other's identities through the mutual sensing of Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, followed by a happy ending.

"This story is so touching. Did Brother read this in a book too?" Tang Sanmei's eyes were red, moved by the ups and downs of the siblings' ordeal.

"Of course I made it up!"

"Hmph~ hateful brother, and here I was so moved."

After a brief scuffle between the siblings, Tang Yin clenched his right hand, and the short blade named Mo Ye appeared in his palm.

"This is for you!" Tang Yin said, handing the short blade to Sanmei. "I have specially refined this short blade. Even if it leaves my side, it won't dissipate. Of course, the condition is that it cannot suffer a soul power attack, otherwise, the soul power circuits used to maintain its structural stability will be destroyed."

"Then does this Mo Ye also have the effects from the story?"

"How could it be that magical? At least I can't do that right now. But as long as I am alive, this Mo Ye won't dissipate. That's not too bad, right?"