Shattering Soul Rings Until Numb, a Sudden Change-Has the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear Finally Found a Soul Beast It Likes?

As Yang Jian's words fell, Yang Wudi stood where he was in silence for a long while.

Just as Yang Jian thought Yang Wudi had yet to recover from his earlier shock, he suddenly laughed.

The smile spread from the corners of his mouth, gradually covering his entire face before turning into a burst of uproarious laughter aimed at the sky.

His laughter echoed through the woods, startling a flock of birds into flight.

"Good! Good! Good!"

It was the same response he had given when Yang Jian awakened his Twin Martial Souls, but not with the same emotion.

If Yang Wudi had been gratified yesterday, then today, he was proud.

"Worthy indeed of a Martial Soul that makes ten thousand spears bow in submission!"

Yang Wudi raised a hand and slapped his grandson on the shoulder.

The blow sent the six-year-old stumbling.

"It should have such spirit! A mere four-hundred-year Soul Ring truly isn't worthy of you!"

Yang Jian rubbed his shoulder, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

He knew his grandfather was praising him, but why did those words sound so strange?

"Then, Grandfather... shall we keep looking?"

Yang Wudi withdrew his smile and looked deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest.

The forest was dark and shadowy, ancient trees towering overhead, concealing who knew how many powerful soul beasts.

"Of course we'll keep looking..."

His voice was low, and a sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.

"As long as it takes an interest in one, no matter how many years the Soul Ring has, even if I must risk my life, I'll help you obtain it!"

He lowered his head and looked into Yang Jian's ink-black eyes, speaking each word distinctly.

"My grandson deserves the very best."

Yang Jian looked up and met Yang Wudi's gaze.

There was pride in those eyes, expectation, and a faint trace of madness.

It was the look of someone crushed beneath hatred for years, finally catching sight of hope.

"Let's go."

Yang Wudi turned and headed deeper into the forest.

Yang Jian tightened his grip on the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade in his hand and followed.

He could feel that the disdainful emotion deep within his Martial Soul had vanished.

In its place was a faint sense of satisfaction.

Another seven days passed.

Over those seven days, Yang Jian and Yang Wudi encountered no fewer than a hundred different kinds of soul beasts. Yet whether they were hundred-year, thousand-year, or even ten-thousand-year soul beasts, none stirred the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear in Yang Jian's hand.

The first time a Soul Ring shattered, Yang Wudi had still felt proud.

The second time, his brow furrowed slightly.

By the third time, he had already fallen silent.

Later on, as he watched yet another Soul Ring turn into motes of light beneath his grandson's spear, the iron-blooded old man had gone completely numb.

That night, Yang Jian and Yang Wudi finally stopped their search.

After scattering a circle of specially made medicinal powder to conceal their presence, Yang Wudi lit a fire.

The dry branches crackled beneath the licking flames, driving away the chill while illuminating the faces of grandfather and grandson.

Yang Wudi sat by the fire, turning a freshly hunted wild rabbit over the flames, but his gaze rested on Yang Jian across from him.

The six-year-old sat cross-legged atop a blue stone beside the fire, his eyes lowered and his breathing steady.

The Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade lay across his knees. Its long shaft glimmered with a faint golden light in the firelight.

He simply sat there quietly, without the slightest hint of impatience in his aura, as if the lack of progress over the past seven days was nothing out of the ordinary.

As Yang Wudi watched him, a smile unconsciously curved his lips.

Such composure did not belong to a six-year-old child.

"Jian'er."

He spoke.

Yang Jian raised his eyes.

"Grandfather."

"It's been nearly half a month, and you still haven't obtained your first Soul Ring. Aren't you anxious?"

Yang Jian thought for a moment, then gently shook his head.

"Being anxious won't help. Hunting soul beasts depends on fate. If the opportunity hasn't come, there's no use being anxious."

Yang Wudi paused, then laughed.

"You really do take things in stride. Back when I hunted for my first Soul Ring, I went three straight days without finding a suitable one. I was so anxious that I nearly begged your great-grandfather to kill every soul beast we saw and test them all."

Yang Jian's lips curved slightly.

"That was because Grandfather knew what you wanted. Your grandson doesn't even know what this Martial Soul wants yet, so being anxious is useless."

"That's true enough."

Yang Wudi turned the rabbit meat, his tone carrying a trace of emotion.

"Your Martial Soul has spirituality and pride. That's both a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing is that its potential is high. The bad thing is... it'll be difficult to satisfy."

Yang Jian nodded.

"I understand, Grandfather."

"However..."

Yang Wudi changed the subject, a teasing glint appearing in his eyes.

"Aren't you afraid it'll never find something satisfactory for the rest of its life? When that happens, you'll become the first Soul Master on the entire continent without a Soul Ring."

Without even thinking, Yang Jian shook his head.

"No, Grandfather. It is the hope of our Breaking Clan, and the sharp edge that will pierce through Spirit Hall and the Clear Sky Sect. It will definitely be adorned with Soul Rings, and its configuration will be one of a kind!"

Yang Wudi burst into laughter.

"Worthy of being my, Yang Wudi's, grandson. Then I'll see just what kind of..."

Before he could finish, a sudden change erupted!

The Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade lying across Yang Jian's knees suddenly quaked!

The tremor came without warning, yet it was incredibly violent.

Then, the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade shot into the air, breaking free from Yang Jian's knees and hanging in midair!

Golden light bloomed from its shaft, flickering like a heartbeat!

"This is..."

Yang Wudi abruptly rose to his feet, and the roasted rabbit in his hand fell into the fire.

Yang Jian stood as well.

He looked up at the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade floating in the air and sensed the emotion surging from deep within his Martial Soul—delight at encountering worthy prey.

That emotion was scorching and urgent, even carrying a hint of eager excitement.

"Grandfather."

Yang Jian turned to Yang Wudi, and light lit up in his eyes as well.

"The Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear has found a suitable Soul Ring."

Yang Wudi's pupils contracted slightly.

The next moment, he smiled.

That smile was even more unrestrained and fervent than when he had watched the Soul Rings shatter seven days ago.

He strode forward and firmly pressed a hand onto Yang Jian's shoulder.

"Good! No time to lose, let's hurry over! I truly want to see what sort of soul beast could possibly interest your Martial Soul!"

Before he finished speaking, the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade moved.

Its shaft turned into a streak of golden light and shot toward the southeast, swift as a meteor!

Without another word, Yang Wudi reached out with his right hand and grabbed Yang Jian.

With a light tap of his foot against the ground, he soared upward, scaled a giant tree beside them, and leaped through the branches like a nimble ape, closely pursuing that streak of golden light!

The night wind howled, and the shadows of trees rushed backward.

Held in Yang Wudi's grasp, Yang Jian could only watch the scenery on both sides blur past too quickly to make out.

Yet his eyes remained fixed on that golden streak ahead, brimming with anticipation.

At the same time, in a valley twenty kilometers away.

It was a basin-shaped valley enclosed by mountains on all sides. The terrain was open, yet the surrounding cliffs made it seem isolated from the rest of the world.

Ancient trees towered within the valley, and a stream wound through it. It should have been a secluded paradise filled with birdsong and flowers.

But now, ancient trees lay broken, the stream had been cut off, and boulders had tumbled down. It had become a veritable Asura battlefield.