Returning Home in Glory

The carriage swayed along as it traveled east.

The sun was already setting, and Mu Zhi City behind them possessed a fantastical beauty beneath the crimson clouds on the horizon.

By the carriage window, Ling Yi's eyes reflected the gradually receding scenery. He turned back, lowered the curtain, and his mind remained as still as an ancient well.

Over the past three years, Ling Yi had traveled back and forth between Mu Zhi City and his hometown of Shan Hai Village no fewer than thirty times. He was already thoroughly familiar with the road ahead.

The driver was an old acquaintance as well, having carried Ling Yi along this route seven or eight times.

They were traveling on the Official Road, and with evening drawing near, there were fewer and fewer pedestrians the farther they went from Mu Zhi City behind them. Eventually, there was no one left on the road, allowing the horses pulling the carriage to pick up their pace and break into a light trot.

Part of the journey passed through mountain roads that rose and fell and wound back and forth. It was nearly dawn by the time the carriage carrying Ling Yi reached North River Mouth Town and delivered him to his destination—the Jiang Blacksmith Shop.

Ling Yi politely said, "Thank you. Sorry for the trouble," then promptly settled the fare. Amid the driver's heartfelt thanks, he turned and followed Ling Bai, who had come out after hearing them, into the blacksmith shop.

At daybreak the next morning, Ling Yi bid farewell to Master Jiang and his cousin Ling Bai. With a bundle on his back, he strode toward Shan Hai Village.

It was not that he had been unwilling to have the carriage take him directly to Shan Hai Village the previous night. Rather, the road between North River Mouth Town and Shan Hai Village was not an Official Road, but a rural dirt road. The narrow, pothole-ridden road was manageable for mule-drawn carts, but a spacious carriage would have difficulty passing through. Even if it forced its way along, severe jolting and slow progress would have been unavoidable.

With Level 10 soul power in his body, along with the gradual physical training he had undergone since childhood, Ling Yi moved extremely quickly and possessed exceptional endurance. He covered the forty-odd li in just over an hour.

"Little Yi? Isn't that Little Yi—"

"Little Yi is back—?"

"Hey! It really is... Little Yi's back—!"...

In the fields on either side of the road west of Shan Hai Village, villagers working in groups of two or three spotted Ling Yi. One after another, they stopped what they were doing and began talking among themselves.

Someone even shouted, "Little Yi—! You're back again—!!"

"Yeah—! I'm back—!" Ling Yi looked toward the voice and shouted back.

Just like that, amid the calls and responses, a string of barking suddenly rang out from Shan Hai Village over a hundred meters away: "Woof—! Woof woof woof—!!!"

Before Ling Yi could enter the village, a tall yellow figure darted out and raced toward him.

"A'Huang—!"

Ling Yi caught the large yellow dog that pounced before him, vigorously rubbing its head while tilting away from its lapping tongue.

He had only just calmed A'Huang and set him back down when, before he could continue into the village, another gray figure silently appeared in his path. It simply sat there quietly, a pair of crystalline vertical pupils watching him. It seemed calm, yet the joy within could not be concealed.

"Meow Meow~" Ling Yi patted A'Huang's head as the dog circled beside him, then opened his arms toward Meow Meow ahead and called out with a smile.

Whoosh—

A blur flashed past. Meow Meow vanished from where she stood, only to reappear in Ling Yi's arms.

Meow Meow rubbed her fluffy head against Ling Yi's chest, then withdrew and turned toward the village. Her head twisted back nearly one hundred and fifty degrees as she looked at Ling Yi, waiting for her owner to accompany her.

Likewise, A'Huang stopped circling and moved to slightly ahead of Ling Yi, wagging his tail as he waited.

"Hehe~" Ling Yi laughed at the sight. With a wave of his hand, he shouted, "Let's go! Home—!"

There was no need to describe the reunion after returning home, lest it embarrass certain scribes who were not good at writing emotional scenes.

At noon, the Ling and Zhang families shared a lavish meal to welcome Ling Yi home.

After the meal, Grandpa and Grandma, as well as Maternal Grandfather and Maternal Grandmother, left for their own homes. Eldest Uncle Zhang Dahe went to the Fish Pond, while Ling Xiaoshan took Ling Yi's cousin Zhang Lei to the fields. Mother Zhang Xiaoyu and Aunt Ling He stayed in the Ling Family courtyard with the younger children, watching them play while weaving Fishing Nets and bamboo cages.

There were four children, two boys and two girls.

Zhang Xin had been born in December of Douluo Calendar 2593. It was now October of Douluo Calendar 2601, so he would turn eight in exactly two months.

Ling Shan had been born in March of Douluo Calendar 2594 and was now seven years and seven months old.

Ling Si, the little girl who had still been held in Ling Yi's arms when he left home for school, had been born in February of Douluo Calendar 2598. Her Birthday happened to fall on the same day as Ling Yi's, and in a little over four months, she would turn four.

Zhang Miao had been born in January last year, Douluo Calendar 2600. Not yet two years old, she toddled after her brother and sister, still walking unsteadily and liable to fall flat on her face at any moment. Fortunately, Blue Silver Grass had been planted all over the courtyard, so there was no need to worry about her getting hurt in a fall.

There was little to say about the two little girls. They were still young and innocent, at the age when they should be happily playing.

As for the two older boys, Zhang Xin and Ling Shan, though they appeared to be playing, they were actually practicing the Basic Body Tempering Exercise that Ling Yi had taught them. One moment they imitated Meow Meow lying prone, the next they stretched like A'Huang. Naturally, in Ling Si and Zhang Miao's eyes, they were just playing at being cats and dogs.

By now, both Zhang Xin and Ling Shan had undergone the Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony and gained their own martial souls.

The two had both undergone their Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony on their respective Birthdays. Given Ling Yi's relationship with Yan Bin, the Deacon of the Spirit Hall Branch in town, and the fact that the ceremony fees had been paid, they naturally did not have to wait, like Zhang Lei and Ling Yi had back then, for the unified awakening ceremony in the North River Mouth Town region and lose valuable time.

Over the past three years, Ling Yi had studied in Mu Zhi City. As a work-study student, his tuition had naturally been fully waived, leaving only his food and daily expenses. Yet the fine weapons he forged at Fifth Brother Wang Meng's Silver Xin Blacksmith Shop and Ninth Senior Brother He Wen's Jin Geng Blacksmith Shop, which He Wen managed on his behalf, had sold for considerable sums.

Accordingly, neither Fifth Brother nor Ninth Senior Brother shortchanged Ling Yi on his crafting fees.

It could be said that after three years, the money Ling Yi had saved himself exceeded the combined family wealth of the Ling and Zhang families in Shan Hai Village.

Back to the two boys, Zhang Xin and Ling Shan.

As expected, their martial souls were respectively the Zhang family's inherited Hoe martial soul and the Ling Family's ancestral Blue Silver Grass martial soul.

As for Innate Soul Power, Zhang Xin had been unfortunate. He truly showed no soul power reaction at all. Yan Bin had specifically allowed Zhang Xin to use the Crystal Ball for testing soul power for more than ten minutes, yet not even the faintest glimmer of light appeared.

Ling Shan's situation was slightly better. Based on the portion of light that filled the Crystal Ball at the time, it had occupied roughly two percent of it. In other words, Ling Shan's Innate Soul Power was Level 0.2.

Level 0.2 Innate Soul Power was indeed extremely low, but no matter what, Ling Shan could at least cultivate the Basic Meditation Method under Ling Yi and Zhang Lei's guidance to increase his soul power.

The martial soul awakening results for the second boys of the Ling and Zhang families brought both joy and sorrow. There was nothing more to say about it.

In Ling Yi's estimation, although the two of them had undergone Hypnosis and entered Deep Sleep fewer times than Zhang Lei had back then, from the time they were still in their mothers' wombs, the nutrients they could absorb had definitely been far better than what Zhang Lei and Ling Yi himself had received, thanks to their families' improved circumstances.

So in the end, the quality of their martial souls was simply too poor. The likelihood of awakening Innate Soul Power was also extremely low.

Fortunately, because of the "Blue Silver Grass Mimetic Cultivation Ground" Ling Yi had created over the years, Ling Shan had lived in that environment year-round. Three years ago, they had spent every day together; over the past three years, Ling Yi had returned nearly once a month to hypnotize everyone in the family, putting them into Deep Sleep to condition their bodies.

Ling Shan benefited from this as well, and in the end, he luckily awakened 0.2-level Innate Soul Power.

As an aside, when Ling Yi returned home for the first time three years ago, he had invited Master Jiang's family from town to visit his home in Shan Hai Village. Over the following three years, Master Jiang's young grandson, Jiang Hai, was gradually brought to the village by Ling Yi to play. Every time, he received the same treatment as Zhang Xin and Ling Shan: ginseng chicken soup + Deep Sleep.

What Ling Yi had not expected was that Jiang Hai, whose Martial Soul Awakening came a month earlier than Ling Shan's, had actually reached Level 1 Innate Soul Power. He was already attending Green Leaf Elementary Soul Master Academy in Mu Zhi City, where he had become Ling Yi's junior schoolmate.

As for Ling Shan, following Ling Yi's advice, he chose to remain at home and cultivate under Zhang Lei for two years first. When the next school year began, he would then go to Mu Zhi City to study.

For a six-year-old child, when circumstances did not allow it, he could only seize every opportunity to learn. But whether it was the teaching materials Ling Yi had personally compiled and left at home, or his cousin Zhang Lei, both could guide Ling Shan through the basics. There was no need for him to leave home so early and head alone to a big, unfamiliar city.

After all, Ling Yi had already decided that once he successfully absorbed his First Soul Ring, he would return to the academy and apply for early graduation.

Without Ling Yi at the academy, Ling Shan, with his 0.2-level Innate Soul Power, would likely face enormous pressure.

The more outstanding Ling Yi's performance had been over the past three years, the greater the pressure on Ling Shan would be when the time came.

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