The awakening ceremony came to an end, and the gathered villagers gradually dispersed.
Old Jack was still so excited that his face was flushed red. Holding Tang San's hand in one hand, he patted Lin Yue's shoulder with the other and said with a smile, "Little Yue, go home and prepare properly first. Spend these next few months stabilizing your Soul Power. When school starts, Grandpa will take the two of you to Nuoding City together. I'll take Xiao San home first and talk to that unreliable father of his about school. Otherwise, that drunkard might cause some kind of trouble."
Lin Yue weighed the Evil Repeller Battle Spear in her hand and nodded with a smile. "Got it, Grandpa Jack. Go ahead without worry."
Watching Old Jack lead Tang San toward the western end of the village, Lin Yue could not help curling her lip. Tang San's father is way too awful. The kid's already six, and he hasn't taken care of him for a single day. All he does is drink. If Grandpa Jack hadn't protected him, who knows how much Tang San would have suffered. If he dares stop Tang San from going to school this time, he really deserves a thorough scolding.
Otherwise, she would not be able to vent this anger. It would affect her Dao heart.
She hated irresponsible parents who made their children suffer the most.
Old Jack led Tang San toward the blacksmith shop, and his mouth never stopped moving along the way. One moment, he was talking about preparing Tang San's luggage for school; the next, he was repeatedly reminding him that once he arrived at Nuoding Academy, he had to listen to his teachers and never squander his once-in-a-century talent of Innate Full Soul Power.
Tang San quietly followed beside the old man, clutching his Martial Soul certificate, but his thoughts were a complete mess.
The truth of his origins weighed on his heart like a massive boulder. He could not summon even a trace of joy at becoming a Soul Master; all that grew within him was boundless confusion and fear.
Before long, the two arrived at the entrance of the blacksmith shop.
The shop door stood wide open. A strong stench of alcohol mixed with rust rushed toward them. Tang Hao was slumped in a chair beside the forge, hugging an empty wine jar as he dozed with bleary eyes. His wooden prosthetic arm hung at his side, swaying faintly with his breathing. He looked as dispirited as a pile of mud.
The moment Old Jack saw him like this, the anger he had just suppressed flared up again. He fiercely struck the ground with his cane and shouted, "Tang Hao! Look at the state you're in! All you do every day is drink, drink, drink! Even a good child like him has been held back by you!"
Tang Hao woke with a start, lifted his cloudy eyelids, and glanced at Old Jack and Tang San. He gave a muffled grunt, picked up the half-finished jar of wine by his feet, and took a huge swig, paying no attention whatsoever to Old Jack's words.
"You!"
Old Jack was so furious that even his beard seemed to stand on end. Taking a deep breath, he suppressed his anger and pulled Tang San forward, loudly declaring, "Tang Hao, I have something to tell you! Today, an envoy from Spirit Hall came to awaken the children's Martial Souls. Our Xiao San awakened a powerful Mutated Martial Soul—the Blue Silver Grass—and he has Innate Full Soul Power! Level ten! He's a genius seen only once in a hundred years!"
"Innate Full Soul Power?"
Tang Hao paused mid-swig. His cloudy gaze fell upon Tang San, and a faint flash of surprise passed through his eyes, so quickly that it was impossible to catch. Then he returned to his muddled state and sneered. "Blue Silver Grass? No matter how much it mutates, it's still Blue Silver Grass. A useless Martial Soul. Even with Innate Full Soul Power, what use could it be?"
"What the hell do you know?!"
Old Jack exploded on the spot, pointing at Tang Hao's nose as he cursed, "This isn't ordinary Blue Silver Grass! The envoy said it's a beneficial Mutated Martial Soul, one with golden veins. Have you forgotten? Six years ago, that Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, the Blue Silver Emperor, caused an uproar across the entire continent. Wasn't it the emperor of the Blue Silver Grass? Xiao San's Martial Soul must be that emperor of the Blue Silver Grass, or he couldn't possibly have Innate Full Soul Power! His future achievements will be limitless!"
The instant those words came out, Tang Hao's body stiffened. His hand clenched around the wine jar, veins bulging on the back of it. Overwhelming violence and pain surged through his cloudy eyes, and he looked like a wild beast whose reverse scale had been touched, nearly erupting on the spot.
But when he saw Old Jack's furious face, he forcibly suppressed that violent aura.
He could not expose his identity. Absolutely not!
Gritting his teeth, he squeezed out in a low voice, "So what if he is? If he goes to school, what happens to this family? Who will cook and wash clothes for me? Who will help out at the shop? Who will take care of me?"
Those words nearly made Old Jack faint from rage.
"You damned Tang Hao, listen to yourself! Are those even human words?!"
Old Jack pounded the ground with his cane, his voice trembling. "Tang San is only six years old! You're a grown man with hands and feet, yet you expect a six-year-old child to take care of you? I'm telling you, Tang Hao, Xiao San is a genius with Innate Full Soul Power. He absolutely cannot stay in this lousy blacksmith shop and waste away beside a drunkard like you for the rest of his life!"
He stepped forward and stared at Tang Hao, speaking one word at a time. "The Junior Soul Master Academy in Nuoding City accepts work-study students, but someone like Xiao San, with Innate Full Soul Power, is exempt from tuition. You don't need to pay a single coin. In a few months, when the academy opens, I must take Xiao San there to register. Whether you agree or not, I'm taking him away from your side. Think it over carefully. Don't ruin this child's entire life!"
After saying that, Old Jack lowered his head and patted Tang San's shoulder, saying gently, "Xiao San, don't worry. Grandpa Jack will make all the arrangements for you. I absolutely won't let you stay here and suffer."
Seeing the pain and expectation in the old man's eyes, Tang San felt warmth rise in his heart. He nodded heavily. "Thank you, Grandpa Jack."
Old Jack shot Tang Hao one more fierce glare before turning away in a huff, leaning on his cane as he left.
The blacksmith shop fell silent in an instant. Only Tang Hao's heavy breathing remained, along with the rustling of leaves in the wind outside the window.
Tang Hao drank mouthful after mouthful of wine. His gaze occasionally swept over Tang San, and the complexity in his eyes was frightening—resentment, expectation, pain, and even a trace of confusion that he himself had not noticed.
He had nearly lost control just now. Old Jack's words, "Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor," had been like a knife stabbing viciously into the most painful place in his heart.
Tang San stood where he was, watching him. The guess in his heart became clearer and clearer, while the chill within him grew heavier and heavier.
After a long silence, he finally raised his head and looked at Tang Hao. "Dad, the envoy said my Blue Silver Grass really is different from ordinary ones."
"And... I have a second Martial Soul too..."
Tang Hao's drinking motion abruptly stopped. He looked up at him, his tone carrying a trace of impatience. "What second Martial Soul? Blue Silver Grass is already useless enough. What else could there possibly be..."
Before he could finish, his words came to an abrupt halt.
Tang San slowly extended his left hand. Black light lit up in his palm, and the phantom of a small yet incomparably heavy hammer gradually emerged. Ancient patterns covered its body. The instant it appeared, it brought with it an incomparably domineering pressure, making even the nearby forge emit a faint hum.
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