Past Events, Family Grudge

"This is the basic meditation technique of the Martial Soul Hall. Although it is foundational, it is strictly forbidden for non-members to possess."

"I am making an exception just this once and giving it to you."

Su Yuntao thought to himself, Once you get a taste of this, kid, you'll realize what it means to enjoy the shade of a great tree!

"Once you have practiced the basic meditation technique, you will inevitably become interested in intermediate and advanced ones!"

Ling Yun looked at Su Yuntao with surprise. So this is the kind of Brother Tao you are—daring to break the rules of the Martial Soul Hall!

"Brother Tao, take it back! The academy teachers will teach us after we enroll! It is not worth violating the rules of the Martial Soul Hall for this."

"I gave it to you, so keep it!"

Su Yuntao shoved the booklet into Ling Yun's arms, a flash of triumph flickering deep within his eyes.

The bait had been cast. He did not believe that a mere six-year-old child could resist the temptation of intermediate and advanced meditation techniques.

"Thank you, Brother Tao!"

Ling Yun did not overthink it; Su Yuntao's sudden gesture left him quite moved.

Seeing this, Su Yuntao was even more satisfied and led Ling Yun out of the room used for the martial soul awakening.

Village Chief Shi Niu walked up enthusiastically, having already learned the results of the awakening from the children who had come out earlier.

Stone Mirror Village finally had a child with the talent for cultivation; how could he, as the village chief, not be overjoyed!

"Thank you for your hard work, Deacon! We have prepared a meal in the village. It is simple fare, but I hope you will not mind."

"It is no matter; this is my job."

"I will skip the meal. There are many more villages waiting for me to help them awaken their martial souls."

"By the way, is Ling Yun's family here?" Su Yuntao had been thrown off by Ling Yun's maturity, but he suddenly remembered that he could use the boy's elders to facilitate Ling Yun joining the Martial Soul Hall.

"Reporting to the Deacon, Little Yun is an orphan! If you are talking about family, the whole village is his family!"

"I see!" Su Yuntao imagined Ling Yun's life and sighed inwardly! No wonder Ling Yun was so mature; so that was why!

"Deacon, is there something you need from Little Yun's family? This old man can act on his behalf!"

"Oh! Children have immature ideas; you should tell him more about the Martial Soul Hall!" After saying this, Su Yuntao hurried away, rushing toward the next village.

Shi Niu watched Su Yuntao leave, then looked at Ling Yun and asked, "Little Yun, what did the Deacon mean by that last sentence?"

"What did the Deacon say to you when he kept you behind?"

Ling Yun explained carefully, not holding much back. Shi Niu had taken good care of him and was a competent village chief.

After his father passed away, it was Shi Niu who had handled the funeral arrangements single-handedly.

"If you don't want to join, then don't! You have a stubborn temper, so I won't try to persuade you. Come on, let's go eat."

"Mm!"

Shi Niu held Ling Yun's small hand and walked to the center of the village, calling everyone to eat.

During the meal, everyone's attitude toward Ling Yun became much warmer; even those who usually looked down on him put on a different face.

Although the village was small, human nature was still complex!

Overall, the customs were simple, but people's hearts were prone to change.

He kept those who were truly kind to him in his heart. As for those with ulterior motives, he responded to them all with a smile.

After the meal, on a small hill north of the village, two small mounds of earth lay quietly.

His parents from this life rested within those mounds.

He first looked at the tombstone on the right, which bore only seven characters: "Tomb of my beloved wife, Ye Shuang'er."

Every stroke of those seven characters carried his father's love; he had seen his father staring blankly while stroking these characters more than once.

The tombstone on the left was one he had carved himself. The original marker had been made of wood; the villagers had already done their best by helping with the burial, so naturally, no one would be willing to go through the trouble of carving a stone tablet.

This was a new stone tablet, bearing only six characters: "Tomb of my late father, Ling Feng."

He had never seen his mother's face, and his father had fallen ill from grief, passing away when he was three years old.

After carefully cleaning the two small mounds, he knelt between the two tombstones. Looking at the inscriptions, his thoughts were pulled back three years.

"Little Yun, come with Daddy to visit Mommy!"

"Little Yun, wake up! Today Daddy is taking you to Nuoding City to look around! I'll buy you new clothes!"

"Little Yun..."

"..."

"Little Yun, Daddy's body is failing. There are some things I didn't want to tell you so soon, but I'm afraid I won't have another chance!"

By the head of the bed, Ling Feng leaned against the frame, his face deathly pale. He coughed occasionally, visibly frail.

He gripped Ling Yun's hand and said, "I'm sorry, Daddy won't be able to watch you grow up!"

Ling Yun's heart was filled with sorrow, and the tears in his eyes threatened to spill over, but he suppressed them with all his might.

"Daddy, you'll be fine!"

"..."

"Ling Yun, let me tell you about your mother one more time!"

Ling Yun had heard it many times, but this time, Ling Feng's account was exceptionally detailed, including several things he had never mentioned before.

"In my heart, your mother was the kindest, most beautiful, and bravest person in the entire world. She was a level 33 Soul Elder. Our meeting was a coincidence; at that time, she was covered in wounds, and I spent most of my savings to hire someone to treat her."

"After her external wounds were bandaged, I carefully cleaned her up. My feelings at the time were complicated, and after I finished, I looked at her, my heart beating exceptionally fast."

"Three days later, she woke up, full of shame and annoyance, wishing she could eat me alive. I explained what had happened, and she shyly whispered a thank you!"

"Over the next few days, I meticulously took care of her daily life, and I found joy in it. Once she could move freely, she left ten Gold Soul Coins and walked away from me. I stared blankly at her retreating back, feeling a bit lost! Less than five days later, she returned. Her injuries had fully healed; she had found a healing soul master to treat her."

"She said to me: 'I really owe you! My friends in the Left-Right Soul Hunting Group are all dead, and I don't know what to do for the time being. I'd like to stay here with you, you don't mind, do you?'"

"I was overjoyed at the time!"

"Just like that, we gradually became a family. Three years ago, one night, a burly man holding an infant passed by."

"He was like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow! He possessed an overwhelming aura, and I was frozen with fear. I was standing directly in his path, even if only for a split second."

"Your mother was not far away. At the time, she was heavily pregnant, her soul power surging as she stepped in front of me."

"The burly man sensed the soul power on her, perhaps thinking your mother was about to attack. He glared at us, and with that single look, I felt my skin sting and the blood in my body turn to ice. Your mother hurriedly lowered her head to apologize. He glanced at your mother's swollen belly and warned us."

"He said, 'You never saw me! Do you understand?'"

"I didn't dare to breathe, and your mother nodded repeatedly to promise him. He took one last look at us before vanishing into the night."

"Your mother was less than a month away from her due date!"

"She used her soul power to suppress the fetal agitation that had been triggered and told me that the burly man was unfathomable. When he glared, it was a terrifying killing intent—a killing intent that had formed into a physical entity capable of harming others."

"Your mother suffered internal injuries."

"If the burly man hadn't retracted his killing intent at the end, we might have died that very night."

"Half a month later, your mother gave birth to you, and then she passed away!"

"..."

Before the tombstone, Ling Yun looked back on these past events and kowtowed heavily several times. "Dad, Mom, I will definitely avenge you."

"Wait until I become a god, and I will resurrect you both!"