On a forest path.
The carriage clattered along as Ning Rongrong slept soundly with her head on Ye Ruilin's lap, occasionally mumbling as if she were having a sweet dream.
Before long.
"Young Master, there's a village ahead. We can rest there for the night."
Old Wu's voice came from outside the carriage.
Ye Ruilin, who had been cultivating the Primordial Art with his eyes closed, stopped and looked at the little girl lying on his lap with a helpless smile.
"Old Wu, go ask the villagers to rent us a few rooms. We'll stay here for the night."
If it had only been the few of them, there would naturally have been no need to stop.
But Ning Rongrong, a delicate little princess raised in luxury, could not endure traveling day and night.
Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo would never allow their little princess to suffer such hardship either.
Neither of them said it aloud, but after Ye Ruilin spoke, their gazes softened somewhat.
"Wake up."
"Get up and eat."
The boy patted the little girl on the head, his movements gentle.
The little girl, who had been sleeping soundly, was abruptly awakened and still looked dazed.
"Brother Ye, have we arrived?"
Ning Rongrong asked groggily.
"Get off. We'll rest in this village for the night."
Supporting the little girl, the two of them stepped down from the carriage.
The village children seemed never to have seen such a luxurious carriage before and hid in the distance, secretly watching them.
"Honored Lord Soul Masters, this old man has already prepared the rooms. Please follow me."
An elderly man with graying hair but still a sturdy build hurried over to greet them.
His face held both respect and excitement.
Their village had never received so many Soul Masters.
"Old Jack, hurry and prepare some food. It'll be dark soon."
"If you delay the honored guests' meal, you won't be able to bear the consequences."
As he led the way, the old man shouted loudly at a rough middle-aged man inside the house.
The figure in the inner room seemed to hear the commotion outside, and his hands immediately moved much faster.
"Brother Ye, are we staying here tonight?"
Ning Rongrong frowned. She truly was not used to such an environment.
"Rongrong, when you left home, we already told you to be prepared to endure hardship."
"Look at you..."
Sword Douluo looked at the little girl, feeling somewhat helpless.
Within his means, he naturally wanted to give the little girl the very best.
But this place was ultimately not the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
"All right, Grandpa Sword. I didn't say anything, did I?"
Ning Rongrong pouted aggrievedly and walked to Ye Ruilin's side with some dissatisfaction.
"By the way, Grandpa, does your village have any Soul Masters?"
The little girl's eyes darted about before she looked at the elderly man leading them.
The old man immediately shook his head, his eyes full of disappointment.
"Our Ma Village hasn't produced a Soul Master for more than twenty years."
"The Lord Soul Masters from Spirit Hall come every year to perform awakenings, but the children only awaken Martial Souls like Grass Chickens and geese. Their Innate Soul Power is at most level one."
"What use are such useless Martial Souls?"
After saying that, the old man unconsciously sighed.
For the sake of producing a Soul Master for the village, he had every child of age participate in the awakening each year.
After persisting for so many years, he had begun to wonder whether his persistence was still necessary.
"Ma Village? Everyone has Grass Chicken or goose Martial Souls?"
Ye Ruilin turned his head, seemingly intrigued.
"Yes, my lord."
Although Ye Ruilin and Ning Rongrong were young, as long as they were Soul Masters, they deserved respect. The old man did not dare neglect any of their questions.
"Perhaps because the blood relations within our village are rather close, nearly everyone awakens one of those two Martial Souls."
The old man gave a bitter smile.
According to the Spirit Hall Soul Masters, their village was practically a Grass Chicken nest.
Ye Ruilin immediately thought of Ma Hongjun among the Shrek Seven Devils.
Before Flender adopted him, he seemed to have lived in just such a village.
According to Flender, all the villagers in Ma Hongjun's village awakened Martial Souls such as Grass Chickens and geese.
Ma Hongjun was a Phoenix that had flown out of a Grass Chicken nest.
"Village Chief, have all the children in your village undergone their Martial Soul awakenings this year?"
Judging by the timing, Ma Hongjun seemingly had not awakened his Martial Soul yet.
He frowned and began to think.
Though the village was small, it had over twenty households.
After counting them up, there were five or six boys eligible for awakening this year.
"In reply to my lord, it seems not yet. The lords from Spirit Hall are still discussing the timing."
The old man gave a bitter smile.
What discussion of timing? Their village had not produced a Soul Master for so many years and was so remote that the lords from Spirit Hall simply did not want to come to such a place.
"If you don't mind, we can help them awaken their Martial Souls."
Ye Ruilin spoke.
Ning Rongrong, beside him, gave Ye Ruilin a strange look, not understanding why he wanted to help the villagers awaken their Martial Souls.
The little girl's puzzled gaze fell on Ye Ruilin, but the boy merely chuckled softly.
"Really, my lord?"
The old man immediately stared at Ye Ruilin in shock.
He had never expected that passing Soul Masters would help the children of their village awaken their Martial Souls.
"Have the children come tomorrow morning."
The boy spoke with a calmness that did not match his young age.
When speaking with him, one seemed to unconsciously forget how young he was.
The old man nodded repeatedly, his face full of excitement.
After settling Ye Ruilin's group in, he hurriedly left the courtyard.
"Brother Ye, why are you helping them awaken their Martial Souls?"
The little girl could no longer suppress her curiosity and stared straight at Ye Ruilin with her large, questioning eyes.
"Perhaps their village might produce a genius."
Ye Ruilin raised an eyebrow and then said mysteriously.
Ning Rongrong did not understand how precious Soul Masters were in the commoners' world, so she saw nothing wrong with Ye Ruilin's words.
Bone Douluo, beside them, laughed instead.
"Kid, this village hasn't produced a Soul Master in over thirty years."
"Even if someone had Innate Soul Power at level three, that person would already be the village's only hope."
"A village like this, producing a genius?"
"That's simply absurd!"
After speaking, Bone Douluo lightly shook his head, seemingly mocking Ye Ruilin's ignorance.
Ye Ruilin did not get angry.
His sixth sense told him that his guess could not possibly be wrong!
"Senior, many powerful Martial Souls are known to mutate from ordinary Martial Souls."
"Even if the entire village has Grass Chicken Martial Souls, who can guarantee that a Phoenix won't fly out someday?"
A faint smile appeared on Ye Ruilin's face, his eyes brimming with confidence.
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