He really couldn't understand it. How had this little girl, who usually quietly helped the village keep its books and taught the villagers to grow vegetables, suddenly decided she needed such an absurdly heavy spear?
Was she practicing the pole vault?
Even for that, wouldn't it be too heavy?
He'd seen her every day in the clearing behind the village, swinging a thick wooden spear. She'd train until she was drenched in sweat without taking a break. Unable to help himself, he asked, "You practice with a spear every day. Do you want to become a woman general when you grow up?"
"What's so interesting about being a woman general? Being stuck guarding one patch of land is nothing compared to traveling all over the continent."
Lin Yue pursed her lips, then planted her hands on her hips and raised her chin proudly. "Besides, I'm not stupid. I can't lift it now, but once I've gotten stronger, I'll be able to. And anyway, do you even know what it means to be born with divine strength?"
"Born with divine strength?" Tang San froze for a moment, then shook his head.
Of course he knew. Setting aside his previous life, he'd occasionally heard the village elders chatting in this life. They said the legendary Titled Douluo wielded strength enough to move mountains, but that power came from top-tier Martial Souls.
But how could a little girl like Lin Yue, who hadn't even awakened her Martial Soul, be born with divine strength?
He looked at Lin Yue's small, slender frame and couldn't believe it. "Stop bragging. You probably can't even lift a hundred pounds of iron right now, and you're talking about being born with divine strength."
"Hey, you don't believe me?"
Lin Yue's eyes widened, and she got annoyed. "Fine. I'll prove it to you and show you what being born with divine strength means!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, before Tang San could react, she stepped forward and grabbed him around the waist with both hands. With just a little effort, she lifted him clean off the ground.
Tang San was completely dumbfounded. His feet left the ground, and he instinctively grabbed Lin Yue's arm in fright.
He might have been small, but he still weighed over forty pounds. Yet Lin Yue held him as easily as an empty basket, without blushing or panting, and her arms didn't even wobble.
"Watch this: Invincible Wind Fire Wheel!"
Before he could recover, Lin Yue grabbed him and began spinning in place, faster and faster, swinging him around like a pinwheel.
The wind roared in his ears. The forge, the table, and the empty wine jars in the corner blurred before his eyes. Tang San felt the world spinning around him. His head swam, and he couldn't even shout.
Only after spinning more than a dozen times did Lin Yue come to a steady stop. She gently set Tang San down, clapped her hands, and raised an eyebrow at him. "Well? Believe me now?"
Tang San clung to the table beside him, his legs trembling so badly he could barely stand. His head was still buzzing, and everything before his eyes kept swaying. It took him a long while to finally recover.
He looked up at Lin Yue, who seemed completely at ease. His eyes went round with shock, and he couldn't get a single word out.
He really did believe her.
That wasn't just being born with divine strength. She was a monster!
A six-year-old girl had lifted him and spun him around with ease, without even breaking a sweat. She was far stronger than the biggest, brawniest man in the village!
So the legends about people born with divine strength really were true.
Once she grew up, her future would be limitless.
"Y-you... that strength of yours..."
Tang San stammered, unable to form a complete sentence.
"I told you I was born with divine strength, but you didn't believe me."
Lin Yue lifted her chin smugly, then leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "So, can Uncle Tang make this spear for me? I brought the payment, and I won't shortchange you."
Tang San finally regained his composure and nodded firmly. He carefully folded the drawing and put it away. "He can. My dad's a skilled blacksmith, so he'll definitely be able to make it just like your drawing. I think he'll be back tonight. I'll explain everything to him then and make sure he gets every detail right, so you're satisfied."
"Great!"
Lin Yue's eyes lit up at once. She pulled a cloth pouch from her pocket, counted out more than ten Copper Soul Coins, and set them on the table. "This is the deposit. I'll pay the rest when I pick up the spear. I'll come get it in three days. Is that okay?"
"No problem. It'll definitely be ready in three days."
Tang San agreed.
Seeing how readily he accepted, Lin Yue smiled even more brightly. She pulled a paper-wrapped parcel from inside her clothes and handed it to him. "Oh, I just roasted these sweet potatoes this morning. They're honey sweet potatoes from the cellar, really sweet. Take them. I'm heading back now. I'll be here right on time in three days!"
Well, the poor thing was so sincere. She'd be merciful and reward him with a little food.
Before Tang San could refuse, she waved and bounced out through the shop door. Her ponytail swung behind her as she vanished like a gust of wind.
Tang San stood holding the warm paper parcel, staring at the empty doorway. For a long while, he couldn't come back to himself.
He looked down at his hands, then remembered being lifted and spun around by Lin Yue. He felt both stunned and at a loss for laughter.
In two lifetimes, he'd never once been picked up and spun around like a pinwheel so effortlessly by a six-year-old girl.
He put the Copper Soul Coins and the drawing into the iron box his father usually used, then picked up a rag and went back to tidying the Blacksmith Shop.
But he couldn't stop thinking about Lin Yue's proud expression and her words: "born with divine strength."
He suddenly found himself looking forward to the Martial Soul Awakening in a few days.
What kind of Martial Soul would he awaken? And what kind would Lin Yue, who was born with divine strength, awaken?
If she awakened a spear Martial Soul too, would getting one made be a little redundant?
Forget it. If she wanted one, she wanted one.
What he didn't know was that Lin Yue had returned to the village and was crouching beneath the old locust tree at the entrance, counting the days on her fingers.
She didn't know much about Tang San or the plot of Douluo Continent. Her heart was set on her new spear and the Martial Soul Awakening in a few days.
She wanted to awaken the most powerful Martial Soul, master the finest spear techniques, and travel all across the Douluo Continent to see just how vast the world was.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
During those three days, Lin Yue spent almost all her time in the clearing behind the village. Except when she ate or slept, she always had that thick wooden spear in her hands, repeating the same thrust over and over against the sturdy trunk of the old locust tree.
Raise the spear, lower her stance, drive her arm forward, thrust, then draw the spear back.
Her movements went from somewhat awkward to smooth as flowing water. Every thrust struck the exact same spot, and the spearhead bored a deep hole into the hard trunk. Wood shavings covered the ground.
She wasn't practicing without purpose. Ever since she could remember, she'd had a Game Character Template System in her mind.
If she perfected the basic exercises for her chosen weapon before her Martial Soul Awakening, then when she awakened, she could unlock the corresponding character template. She'd chosen the Battle Spear without a second thought.
She just didn't know which game character template she'd awaken.
[System Notification: Battle Spear basic piercing practice, current progress: 9997/10000] [System Notification: Battle Spear basic piercing practice, current progress: 9998/10000] [System Notification: Battle Spear basic piercing practice, current progress: 9999/10000]
The moment the final thrust sank firmly into the tree trunk, the spear shaft perfectly still, the cold mechanical voice sounded in her mind again, with a rare hint of excitement:
[System Notification: Congratulations, Host! You have completed the prerequisite task—10,000 basic Battle Spear thrusts! Task completion: 100%!] [System Notification: Locking game character template... Lock successful! The King's Avatar Battle Mage—Autumn Leaf template has been bound!] [System Notification: The template will officially activate after the Host's Martial Soul Awakening. Unlocking the corresponding Martial Soul, Evil Repeller, and the character Autumn Leaf, along with the full skill system and exclusive growth path!]
Go on and become a true Battle Mage girl.
Before you continue