Refusal!

After the martial soul awakening, the atmosphere in Holy Soul Village changed.

In a single day, two children with Innate Full Soul Power had appeared, a first in Old Jack's seventy-plus years as village chief.

The old man was so excited that he went door-to-door that very night to share the good news, wishing he could let the whole world know that Holy Soul Village had produced two geniuses.

Huang Fei's reaction to this was simple.

He rolled over and went back to sleep.

Early the next morning, Su Yuntao came knocking.

"Little brothers, I've given this serious thought."

Su Yuntao sat on a rickety wooden stool in Huang Fei's home, his expression uncharacteristically solemn.

"You both possess Innate Full Soul Power. While the Blue Silver Grass martial soul is weak in the early stages, with your talent, as long as you cultivate step-by-step, you will at least reach the level of a Soul Ancestor or Soul King in the future. Martial Soul Hall can provide you with the best resources."

"Not interested."

Huang Fei spat out the words as if by reflex.

Su Yuntao was stunned, and even Tang San beside him was taken aback.

"You... you won't even consider it?"

The corner of Su Yuntao's mouth twitched.

"Martial Soul Hall is the largest soul master organization on the continent. By joining, you won't have to worry about cultivation resources, expert guidance, or soul ring configurations. Do you have any idea how many children dream of joining Martial Soul Hall?"

Huang Fei leaned against the doorframe and let out a yawn.

He knew Su Yuntao was telling the truth.

Martial Soul Hall was indeed resource-rich and the best path for commoner soul masters.

But that was for other people.

For him, Huang Fei?

Cultivation resources? Not needed. Expert guidance? Not needed. Soul ring configurations? Even less so.

He only needed to follow Tang San.

Wherever Tang San went, he went; whatever soul ring Tang San absorbed, he obtained a synchronized one, and he would always be ten levels higher than Tang San.

Why would he want to suffer in a place with such strict rules as Martial Soul Hall?

"Brother Su Yuntao, I know you mean well."

Huang Fei's tone was sincere, but his attitude was firm. "But I'm a lazy person by nature and can't stand being constrained. No matter how good Martial Soul Hall is, the rules are too rigid. What time to wake up, what time to cultivate, what time to eat, what time to sleep—everything is laid out for you. My greatest pursuit in this life is to sleep until I wake up naturally. Do you think Martial Soul Hall would allow that?"

Su Yuntao opened his mouth, wanting to say it could be negotiated, but after thinking about the rules of Martial Soul Hall, he swallowed his words.

He couldn't.

Martial Soul Hall certainly couldn't.

He turned to Tang San, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "Tang San, what about you? Your father must want you to have a bright future, right?"

Tang San hesitated.

To be honest, joining Martial Soul Hall was indeed a golden path.

But on the night of his awakening, he had secretly asked his father.

Tang Hao had only buried his head in his wine, finally saying, "Decide for yourself."

Deep down, Tang San felt that something about Martial Soul Hall wasn't quite right.

He couldn't put his finger on it, but it was a gut feeling.

"I won't go either," Tang San shook his head. "I want to cultivate in the village for a while longer and build a solid foundation first."

Su Yuntao looked at the two children—one lazily leaning against the doorframe yawning, the other calm but resolute—and felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

In other villages, if a child had Innate Full Soul Power, they would be begging to join Martial Soul Hall.

In Holy Soul Village, they had two, and both refused.

"Fine." Su Yuntao stood up and sighed. "To each their own; I won't force you. But take these Martial Soul Hall tokens. If you change your minds, you can come find me at any time."

He pulled two small copper tokens from his robes and handed them over.

Huang Fei took the token and tossed it into his pocket.

Tang San, however, put his away carefully and thanked him politely.

As Su Yuntao reached the door, he looked back at the two children one last time, a strange thought crossing his mind.

That boy named Huang Fei didn't look like someone who would ever cultivate properly.

Tang San, on the other hand, was steady and grounded; in time, he would surely achieve great things.

It was a pity neither of them would come.

He shook his head and strode away.

Watching Su Yuntao's figure disappear at the village entrance, Huang Fei stretched his body, feeling his bones crackle and pop.

"Huang Fei, are you really not planning to join the Martial Soul Hall?" Tang San was still a bit puzzled. "That is the Martial Soul Hall, after all."

"Xiao San, let me ask you a question." Huang Fei turned around and looked at Tang San earnestly. "What do you think the purpose of cultivation is?"

Tang San thought for a moment. "To become stronger. To protect the people I want to protect."

Huang Fei nodded, then shook his head. "You aren't wrong, but that is for you. For me, cultivation is for the sake of not having to cultivate."

Tang San: "..."

"You don't understand." Huang Fei patted his shoulder with the tone of someone who had seen it all. "You'll understand when you're older."

Tang San truly did not understand.

But he knew that Huang Fei had been different since they were children.

For instance, while other children were running wild outside, Huang Fei could lie on the roof and watch the clouds for an entire day.

For instance, while the village children were racing to see who was faster, Huang Fei was researching how to walk with the least amount of effort.

Lazy.

But a very unique kind of lazy.

That day, after Tang San returned, the events from the original story unfolded as expected.

Tang Hao was indifferent at first.

It was only after seeing Tang San summon the Clear Sky Hammer that he hugged him, calling him his son, his good son.

It felt as if he hadn't treated Tang San like a son at all before that.

In the days that followed, Huang Fei certainly did not disappoint Tang San.

His daily routine was simple to the point of being outrageous.

He slept until he woke up naturally, ate the meals Tang San brought him, went to the big tree at the village entrance to enjoy the shade, took another nap, woke up for dinner, and then went back to sleep.

Sometimes, when Tang San returned from gathering herbs on the mountain and passed by that big tree, he would always see Huang Fei sprawled out in the shade, a large lotus leaf covering his face, sleeping soundly.

"Don't you cultivate?" Tang San finally couldn't help but ask.

Huang Fei lifted the lotus leaf from his face and squinted at him. "I am cultivating."

"What are you cultivating?"

"Cultivating the heart."

Tang San was silent for a moment, deciding not to ask any further.

He was afraid that if he kept asking, he wouldn't be able to resist the urge to beat his neighbor up.

However, Tang San didn't have much time to worry about what Huang Fei was doing.

His schedule every day was packed.

In the morning, he cultivated the Mysterious Heaven Skill; during the day, he went to the forest behind the village to practice Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon; at night, he continued to meditate and cultivate.

He vaguely felt that the progress speed of his Mysterious Heaven Skill was much faster than what his father had described for Tang Sect disciples, but he didn't think too much about it, assuming it was just his own innate talent.

What he didn't know was that every time his Mysterious Heaven Skill made progress, the person sleeping under the big tree next door had the same Mysterious Heaven Skill circulating within his own body, and at twice the speed.

That evening, when Tang San returned from his cultivation and passed by Huang Fei's house, he discovered that this guy was, for once, not sleeping.

Huang Fei was sitting on the threshold, holding a foxtail grass in his hand, swaying it back and forth as if waiting for someone.

"Xiao San, come sit." Huang Fei patted the threshold beside him.

Tang San walked over and sat down next to him.