Su Zhen, Your Mom's Calling You Home for Dinner!

In the 2631st year of the Douluo Calendar,

outside Suotuo City in the Balak Kingdom, Hound Village.

"I'm six now. I'll be able to awaken my Martial Soul tomorrow. I wonder what I'll awaken?"

Beneath an old locust tree at the village entrance, a child who looked about six or seven leaned against its trunk and murmured to himself.

The child's face was still a little babyish, with a healthy wheat-colored complexion. His light blue eyes brimmed with anticipation.

"Dad's Martial Soul is a dog, and Mom's is a deer. I want both so badly. What should I do? But Dad said a person can only have one Martial Soul. This is so hard to choose."

The child ruffled his short black hair, his face scrunched up in indecision.

The child was named Su Zhen, the son of an ordinary farming family in Hound Village. Though his family wasn't well-off, they had enough to get by. His father occasionally went hunting and gathering herbs in the nearby woods, then took them to the city to sell. They could even afford meat once or twice every now and then. His older brother, who went to school in the city, brought back lots of tasty treats that could only be found there whenever he came home for vacation. The whole family doted on Su Zhen, so he grew up strong and healthy, unlike the scrawny, malnourished children common in the village.

His sturdy build left Su Zhen full of energy every day. In the morning, he raided birds' nests on the east side of the village; in the afternoon, he went fishing in the river to the west. Life was wonderfully carefree.

"Big Brother awakened Dad's Martial Soul, the dog, and he even had one and a half levels of Innate Soul Power. I'm sure I'll have Innate Soul Power too. Then I can go to school in the city like him, eat delicious things, and have fun."

Su Zhen was only a child who had just turned six. His little head was full of fantasies, but all he thought about was eating and playing. He had no idea what tomorrow's Martial Soul Awakening would mean for his life.

"Su Zhen, your mom's calling you home for dinner."

"Got it, Aunt Zhang. I'm coming right now."

Su Zhen called back at Aunt Zhang in the distance, planted his hands on the ground, and stood up. He brushed the dust and grass from his trousers. His coarse cloth clothes had been washed until they were faded, and they were covered in patches. Every stitch of every patch had been sewn by his mother herself. Whenever Su Zhen went home, he always tried to clean off the dust first—not because he was afraid of getting scolded, but because he didn't want his mother to have to work even harder washing his clothes. Once he had tidied himself up, he turned and ran toward the village.

Su Zhen's home was at the far end of the village. Hound Village had nearly a hundred households and was fairly large. It was at least a little over two li from the entrance to the far end, quite a distance for a six-year-old. Su Zhen sprinted all the way, and by the time he reached his door, he was exhausted. His little chest heaved as he braced himself on his knees and panted. After resting for a while, he stood up and pushed the door open.

"Mom, Dad, I'm home."

"Play, play, play. All you know how to do is play! Your Martial Soul Awakening is tomorrow. Do you even know that? If you awaken without any Innate Soul Power, you can go help your father farm, for all I care."

"You don't even know to come home at mealtime. I had to trouble Aunt Zhang to come call you."

Su Zhen hadn't even seen his mother yet, but her scolding had already come from the kitchen, full of exasperation at his stubbornness.

"Hehe, Mom, don't think that way. Big Brother became a Soul Master, so of course I can too. There's nothing to worry about."

"What are you grinning about? Your father and I don't have any Soul Power. Only your brother amounted to something and became a Soul Master. Whether you have Soul Power is still an unknown. Hurry and call your father and brother to dinner."

As she spoke, a slender figure emerged from the kitchen. It was Su Zhen's mother, Li Xiulian. She set the dishes on the table, then turned and went back into the kitchen.

"Huh? Big Brother's home? Great!"

Su Zhen hurried toward the bedroom. He pushed the door open and saw a middle-aged man talking with a boy.

"Big Brother, you're back! Did you bring me any treats?"

Su Zhen felt around the boy, who was none other than his older brother, Su Ming.

"Xiao Zhen, stop looking. Let's eat first. After dinner, I'll give you your treats."

Su Ming patted Su Zhen's head, his voice full of affection.

"Xiao Ming, you're still in school and growing. You have plenty of expenses. Don't spend all your money buying treats for Xiao Zhen," Su Zhen's father, Su Changkong, said, pretending to be annoyed. Of course, he was only saying it. He was glad to see how close the brothers were.

"Dad, Big Brother, dinner's ready. Let's eat."

"All right, Xiao Ming, Xiao Zhen. Come on, let's eat."

Su Changkong took one little hand in each of his and led the two children out of the bedroom.

At the dinner table,

perhaps because Su Ming had just come home, the meal was unusually lavish today: braised pork, stir-fried cabbage, cold cucumber salad, and a pot of dough-drop soup. For Su Zhen's family, these were delicacies they could only enjoy during the New Year.

"Eat up. You don't come home often, so have plenty of meat. The food outside can't compare with what we make at home."

"Okay. Thanks, Mom."

Li Xiulian piled meat into the bowls of the two brothers, Su Zhen and Su Ming, while there were only a few cabbage hearts in the bowls of Su Changkong and herself.

"Dad, I came home this time to ask the family for some money. I'm twelve now, and my Soul Power has reached level ten. I want to ask a teacher from the academy to help me hunt for a Soul Ring. Once I become a Soul Master, I'll be able to graduate from Suotuo City Junior Soul Master Academy."

Su Ming stopped eating halfway through. He lowered his head and pushed the rice around in his bowl, not daring to look up at Su Changkong.

"Time really flies. It's been six years since Xiao Ming awakened, and now he's finally about to become a Soul Master. About how much will it cost?"

Su Changkong set down his bowl and chopsticks. After pausing for a few breaths, he looked at his eldest son.

"Not much, Dad. Three good friends and I are pooling our money to ask a teacher to help us hunt for Soul Rings. We only need the cheapest kind, a Ten-Year Soul Beast. It'll be five Gold Soul Coins each, and the academy gives teachers a subsidy for helping students hunt Soul Rings..."

Su Ming's voice grew quieter and quieter. By the end, his face was nearly buried in his rice.

Su Changkong fell silent and said nothing. The whole room grew quiet. Seeing something was wrong, Su Zhen stopped gobbling up his food and began eating his rice carefully.

"Xiulian, how much savings do we have left?"

"Two Gold Soul Coins, three Silver Soul Coins, and five Copper Soul Coins."

"We're not far off. Xiao Zhen awakens his Martial Soul tomorrow. The day after, I'll go borrow some from the village chief."

"Xiao Ming, eat up. Don't worry about the money. As long as you become a Soul Master, everything in our family will get better. Soul Masters are very good at making money."

"Mm-hmm. Thank you, Dad."

"Really? Soul Masters can make money? Then I want to become one too! I'll make lots and lots of money and buy lots and lots of tasty food, and new clothes for Mom, Dad, and Big Brother!"

Seeing the mood in the room lift, and hearing about the benefits of becoming a Soul Master, Su Zhen loudly proclaimed his dream.

"Then how much money does Xiao Zhen want to earn after becoming a Soul Master?"

Li Xiulian asked half-jokingly.

"One hundred, one thousand—no, one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

After saying one hundred, Su Zhen quickly shook his head. He thought one hundred was still too little, so in the end he named an amount he considered enormous.

"Wonderful, wonderful. My Xiao Zhen is the best. You'll definitely earn one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins in no time. Then your father, your brother, and I will be counting on you to support us when we're old."

Li Xiulian said with a smile.

"I definitely can! Then all of you can stay home. I, Lord Su Zhen, will support you!"

Su Zhen sprang to his feet, hands on his hips, looking as mighty as could be.

"Hahahahahaha!"

The whole family laughed happily. The dream might not have been realistic, but they could all feel that Su Zhen meant every word.

Laughter and cheer filled the dinner table. Outside the window, the moon had already climbed into the sky. In the quiet outdoors, a butterfly landed on the firewood pile beside the door to rest and spin its cocoon.