"Whoa, you entered Deep Meditation just like that?"
When Long Yuan returned, he saw Tang Wulin still sitting in meditation and couldn't help feeling surprised.
This was only his second time meditating, yet he'd cultivated for an entire night. That was enough to show he had pretty good comprehension.
But it was nearly dawn, so there was no need to keep cultivating.
Long Yuan flicked a finger, and an invisible ripple gently roused Tang Wulin from Deep Meditation.
Tang Wulin opened his eyes. The faint light of dawn fell across his face, and he still looked a little dazed, as if he hadn't fully recovered from his state of Deep Meditation.
[All right, it's already dawn. I didn't expect you to meditate through the whole night. You're still young, so it's best not to do this too often. I'll keep a closer eye on you from now on.]
Only then did Tang Wulin come to his senses. Looking at the faint light outside, he asked, "Teacher, I meditated all night? But I'm not sleepy at all. That's amazing!"
[Meditation itself is a form of cultivation that can take the place of sleep. Still, you should get some more sleep for now. All right, go wash up. Your dad should be awake too.]
"All right, Teacher." Tang Wulin tidied himself up and went straight to the bathroom to wash.
As expected, Tang Ziran had gotten up even earlier. He was already sitting on the sofa.
By the time Tang Wulin had finished washing up, Lang Yue had gotten up too and was preparing breakfast in the kitchen.
Perhaps because she was so tired, Na'er stirred groggily, then fell asleep again. She didn't get up even after Tang Wulin had finished breakfast.
Tang Ziran and Lang Yue exchanged a glance and decided to wait until the afternoon to talk about adopting Na'er.
Tang Wulin didn't notice anything unusual about his parents. After breakfast, he happily headed off to school.
Today's classes weren't much different from yesterday's. They still spent the morning learning general subjects and the afternoon cultivating through meditation.
At the lectern, Lin Ximeng was teaching the history of the Sun Moon Federation. Tang Wulin listened attentively while Long Yuan slowly digested his own power.
With such vast power, especially while these seals were still in place, controlling it precisely was like dancing on the tip of a blade with shackles on. More often than not, the effort yielded little in return.
Still, this had its benefits. If he could fully control this power under these conditions, then no matter what he encountered later, he would be able to wield it perfectly—whether when undoing the seals or... after being reborn.
Long Yuan already had a preliminary plan for his rebirth. But to carry it out, he still needed to wait for an opportunity. Until then, he would have to lie low.
In the afternoon, the dismissal bell rang right on time. Rubbing his stomach, Tang Wulin left Red Mountain Academy.
Cultivation took too much out of him. Even after eating his fill at lunch, he could barely make it to the end of the school day.
When Tang Wulin got home, he knocked on the door. But the person who opened it wasn't Lang Yue—it was someone whose presence took him by surprise.
"Na'er! You didn't leave after all!" Tang Wulin was thrilled. Though he didn't know why Na'er hadn't left, he took her hand and led her inside.
"Wulin's back? Go get cleaned up. Your dad will be home soon, and then we can eat."
Before long, Tang Ziran returned. The four of them sat around the dining table, but no one immediately began eating.
Tang Ziran glanced at his wife. "Wulin, Na'er, your mother and I have something we'd like to ask you before we eat."
He continued, "Yesterday, we went to the Administration Office to ask around. They couldn't find any families in Aolai City or the surrounding cities who'd reported a missing child matching Na'er's description. So the only option is to send her to an orphanage."
"What? No, Dad, you can't..." Tang Wulin immediately grew anxious.
Lang Yue suddenly said, "Or we could adopt Na'er. I just don't know what you think about that. And we can't make the decision for her. In the end, where she goes should be up to Na'er."
Tang Wulin's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly turned to Na'er. "Na'er, you..."
But Na'er cut him off as soon as he started. Twisting the corner of her clothes, she answered without hesitation, "I'll stay here."
Tang Ziran said seriously, "Na'er, think it over before you decide. Don't answer in such a hurry."
"..." Na'er looked at Tang Wulin. Whatever she was thinking, she remained silent for a long while before finally saying, "I've already made up my mind."
Seeing this, Lang Yue smiled happily. "All right, then. Welcome to our family, Na'er."
Tang Wulin was so delighted that he leaped to his feet. "Yes! I have a little sister!"
In his excitement, he felt his appetite improve too. He even ate several extra bowls of rice.
But what shocked Tang Ziran and his wife was that Na'er ate just as much as Tang Wulin. Lang Yue had already made quite a bit of extra food, but they still finished it all.
Even the packed lunch Tang Ziran had prepared for work the next day didn't survive. It all ended up in the two children's stomachs.
Since Na'er had chosen to stay, they had to rearrange the rooms.
After thinking it over, Tang Ziran built a simple extra bed out of wooden boards in Tang Wulin's room. From then on, he would share a room with his son, while Na'er would sleep with Lang Yue in their larger room.
Fortunately, his job was as a Mecha repairman. His craftsmanship wasn't especially refined, but making a bed was no challenge for him.
That night, Tang Wulin didn't plan to meditate. Following Long Yuan's suggestion, he decided to enter Deep Meditation once every five days and adjust the plan afterward based on how his spiritual power grew.
However, he had only just lain down when Tang Ziran came in.
"Son, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."
"What is it, Dad? Is it about Na'er?"
Tang Ziran shook his head. "It's not about her. Wulin, your mother and I support your choice to become a Soul Master, but this path is destined to be difficult. It won't just affect you; it'll affect our family too."
"Your dad isn't much use. I can only earn so much. It's more than enough to cover our daily expenses, but there's one thing—do you know about Soul Spirits?"
Soul Spirits?
Of course Tang Wulin knew. Lin Ximeng had taught them about them. It was practically essential knowledge in the Soul Master World.
A Soul Master needed to absorb one Soul Ring for every ten levels. But Soul Beasts were now hard to find, so Soul Spirits had become the only choice.
"Ordinary people like us don't have many connections. So our only option is to buy a Soul Spirit from the Spirit Pagoda. But your dad isn't much use. Now that we have Na'er too, and both of you have big appetites, it'll be hard for me to save enough for even the cheapest Soul Spirit by the time you reach level ten."
Tang Wulin's spirits sank at his words. He hadn't thought about this before, but what could he do?
"Do you remember your Uncle Mang Tian? He's an excellent blacksmith. If you can, I hope you'll learn blacksmithing from him." Tang Ziran's eyes held a deep apology. "I've already spoken with him. He can pay you for your work, and if you save it up, it might be enough. Even if you decide not to continue on the path of a Soul Master someday, you'll still be able to support yourself."
"Blacksmithing..." Tang Wulin murmured the word.