"Such a cruel twist of fate!"
Tang Yin gazed at the Blacksmith Shop not far ahead, his heart a tangled mess.
He had been transported to Douluo Continent and become Tang San's twin brother. He had witnessed Ah Yin sacrifice herself to Tang Hao, and Tang Hao fight against Qian Xunji and the other powerful enemies.
In the end, Tang Hao had managed to escape with him and the Seed of Life that contained Ah Yin. But the protagonist of the original story, Tang San, had been taken away by Qian Xunji and the others.
From that moment on, the life that should have belonged to Tang San had fallen to him.
The hard days had gone on for six whole years!
Tang Yin looked at the one jin of rice in his hands. It was supposed to feed him and Tang Hao for three days.
The moment he stepped into the Blacksmith Shop, the stench of rust and the smoky heat of the place hit him right in the face.
From a room off to one side came snoring as loud as thunder.
Tang Yin listened to Tang Hao's snores, then glanced at the scorching sun outside and sighed inwardly.
He started a fire and cooked. He simply boiled two big bowls of rice porridge—the kind so watery you couldn't stand chopsticks in it. That would be his and Tang Hao's lunch.
"Little Tang! Little Tang!"
A voice called from outside. Tang Yin recognized it at once and headed out.
It was Jack, the village chief of Holy Soul Village.
"Grandpa Jack, did you need me?"
Tang Yin asked softly.
Only he and Tang Hao in all of Holy Soul Village had the surname Tang. If Jack had been calling for Tang Hao, he would have started with a string of "colorful language"—loud enough for everyone within a hundred meters to hear.
He would never have sounded so friendly.
"Little Tang, we're slaughtering a chicken at my place today. Come over and eat with me."
As he spoke, Jack took Tang Yin by the hand, smiling warmly. He had a way of putting people at ease.
"Thank you, but I've just finished cooking the porridge, and my dad..." Tang Yin pointed behind him.
"Forget about him. Let him sleep! If he loves sleeping so much, he'd be better off never waking up!"
Jack's expression soured as soon as Tang Hao came up. He looked thoroughly disgusted.
The snoring inside stopped abruptly. Rubbing his bleary eyes, Tang Hao wandered out and headed straight for the pot of porridge.
He grabbed the bowl beside it and began to eat. In the blink of an eye, he had polished off the entire batch Tang Yin had made for two.
"Burp."
"Put in more rice next time. Call me when the meal's ready."
Tang Hao gave a satisfied burp and glanced up at Tang Yin. Then he went back to his room without another word, and soon his snores started up again.
Tang Yin stared after him, dumbfounded and speechless.
It wasn't the first time this had happened, but he still couldn't help sighing.
"Grit, grit, grit!"
Jack's face and neck reddened with fury, and his teeth ground together.
"Tang Hao! Are you even human?!"
"What kind of father does something like that?!"
"Little Tang's cursed to have a father like you!"
"..."
Jack ranted for ages, but the only response was Tang Hao's snoring.
Tang Yin didn't try to stop him.
He was furious too.
Tang Hao might be his father in this life, but he was a terrible one.
Decency kept Tang Yin from saying those things himself, but he still felt downright satisfied listening to Jack curse him out.
"Grrr!"
Tang Yin's stomach suddenly growled, and his hunger grew stronger by the moment.
"Come on, Little Tang. Let's go to my place!"
Jack led Tang Yin toward his home.
This time, Tang Yin didn't say anything.
Tang Hao had drunk all the porridge. Tang Yin couldn't exactly go hungry.
Tang Hao wasn't the diligent sort. Most of what the Blacksmith Shop earned went toward buying him liquor.
The little money left over was barely enough to keep Tang Yin from starving.
Master Su, when are you coming?
As soon as Martial Soul Awakening came around, he could escape this misery. He wouldn't have to stay by Tang Hao's side or keep living such a hard life.
While they were eating lunch,
a villager suddenly rushed over. "Chief, a Soul Master from Spirit Hall has come to awaken the children's Martial Souls!"
At that, Jack and Tang Yin set down their bowls at the same time, both of them thrilled.
"Little Tang, let's go!"
"You're just the right age for your Martial Soul Awakening!"
Tang Yin nodded eagerly, an excited smile spreading across his face.
Before long,
eight children of the right age, Tang Yin among them, stood in a row outside the Spirit Hall Branch in Holy Soul Village.
Looking down on the poor wasn't just something adults did. Children were just as capable of it, and it wasn't limited to nobles—commoners looked down on one another too.
As the poorest child in Holy Soul Village, Tang Yin naturally drew plenty of scorn.
Su Yuntao, a white-robed deacon from the Martial Soul Sub-Hall, stood before the eight children, his gaze passing over them one by one. "It's about time. Let's get started."
When Su Yuntao finished speaking, he turned and entered the Spirit Hall Branch. Tang Yin and the other seven children hurried after him.
Chief Jack and the other seven children's parents waited outside.
"My name is Su Yuntao. I'm a white-robed deacon of Spirit Hall in Nuoding City. My Martial Soul is Lone Wolf, and I'm a Level 26 Soul Grandmaster. I'll be guiding you today. No matter what happens, don't be afraid."
After introducing himself, Su Yuntao took six Awakening Stones from his travel pack and arranged them in a hexagon on the ground. Then he gave a low shout. "Lone Wolf, possess me!"
In the next instant, one white and one yellow ring appeared around Su Yuntao. His body changed dramatically, turning him into something like a werewolf.
Even though Tang Yin had been prepared, he was still deeply shocked, his eyes wide as saucers.
The other seven were even worse. One of them was so frightened by Su Yuntao that he burst into tears, while another tried to run away.
Su Yuntao sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead. His huge wolf claw seized the child who was trying to escape.
"I told you not to be afraid!"
"This is my Martial Soul, Lone Wolf!"
"If any of you awakens a Martial Soul like mine, you'll change like this too!"
With that, Su Yuntao picked up the boy who had just tried to run and set him inside the hexagonal Awakening Formation. Then he channeled Soul Power into it.
In the next instant, the boy opened his right hand, and an ordinary sickle appeared.
"A tool-type Martial Soul, a sickle."
"It's got a little offensive power. Let's test whether you have any Soul Power."
Su Yuntao furrowed his brow slightly and took a crystal ball from his travel pack.
"S-Soul Master, how do I put my Martial Soul away?" the boy asked nervously.
"Try using your mind to recall it," Su Yuntao said.
Tang Yin watched quietly from the side as the boy tried several times before finally drawing the sickle back into his body. Then he tested his Soul Power, but the crystal ball didn't react at all.
"You have no Soul Power. You can't become a Soul Master," Su Yuntao said with a sigh.
The boy's face immediately fell.
The others felt all sorts of things: some were delighted, some afraid, some worried, and some excited.
Tang Yin's own feelings were especially complicated.
He wasn't Tang San.
He didn't have the Mysterious Heaven Skill or any cultivation technique.
In the original story, Tang San had practiced the Mysterious Heaven Skill since childhood. Its internal energy had transformed into Soul Power, giving him Innate Full Soul Power with Blue Silver Grass.
Otherwise, no one could say what might have happened.