Martial Soul Awakening, Magpie Occupies the Nest

The day Spirit Hall's people entered the village, Tang San's left hand ached all night.

Ji Yuan hid in the grass on the back mountain. His roots had grown several times thicker than before, and the dark red ring along the edges of his leaves remained hidden beneath the green, leaving no outward sign of anything unusual.

But he could hear Tang San's breathing.

He could sense the power deep within that left hand awakening.

Village Chief Old Jack leaned on his cane as he went door to door, urging the children along.

"Little San, hurry up. Lord Su Yuntao has arrived. You can't delay your martial soul awakening."

Tang San came out of the blacksmith shop. His face was a shade paler than usual, yet he still straightened his clothes neatly.

"Grandpa Jack, I'm here."

Old Jack looked at him and sighed. "Where's your father?"

Tang Hao's impatient voice came from inside the house.

"What's there to see in awakening some useless martial soul?"

Old Jack's expression darkened, and he struck the ground with his cane.

"Tang Hao, no matter how much of a bastard you are, you can't ruin the child's whole life!"

Tang San said quietly, "Grandpa Jack, let's go."

Ji Yuan sensed everything through his spores, without the slightest shred of sympathy in his heart.

"The more pitiful you pretend to be, the more you'll get later."

"Tang San, your life already had a good enough start."

"Now it's time to give me a share."

The awakening room was crowded with children. Su Yuntao stood in the center, dressed sharply in clean white fitted clothes. The token at his waist made the villagers afraid even to breathe too loudly.

He swept his gaze around the room, his tone carrying its usual impatience.

"One at a time. Step into the formation and don't move around."

The first child stepped in, and a hoe appeared in his hand. No soul power.

The second child ran out crying. His martial soul was a wooden spoon, and he had no soul power either.

The anticipation in the room gradually crumbled away.

Old Jack gripped his cane, muttering under his breath.

"Holy Soul Village has to produce another soul master someday. It has to produce one..."

Tang San stood at the very end of the line, his left hand hidden in his sleeve as the pain in his palm grew deeper with every wave.

Ji Yuan's spores clung to the outside of that sleeping power, waiting patiently.

He was in no rush.

For the best prey, one had to wait for the door to open on its own.

Su Yuntao looked at Tang San and waved a hand. "Next."

Tang San stepped into the six-pointed star formation. Golden motes rose from the stones and settled over his body.

Ji Yuan felt Tang San's meridians being swept by an external set of rules. His right hand heated up first, and a slender stalk of Blue Silver Grass sprouted from his palm.

Someone murmured inside the room.

"Blue Silver Grass?"

"Isn't that just grass by the roadside?"

Old Jack's face fell at once.

Su Yuntao lost interest as well. Shaking his head, he said, "A useless martial soul. As expected, it's Blue Silver Grass again."

Tang San looked at the Blue Silver Grass in his hand without much disappointment. He cared more about his left hand.

The sleeping power within it had already been pushed to its limit.

Ji Yuan was waiting for this moment as well.

Su Yuntao took out a crystal ball and said casually, "Come, test your soul power."

Tang San placed his right hand on it.

The crystal ball lit up, its radiance making everyone in the room shut their eyes briefly.

Su Yuntao's expression changed. He grabbed Tang San's wrist.

"Innate full soul power?"

Old Jack cried out, "My lord, what did you say?"

Su Yuntao stared at Tang San, his tone turning eager for the first time.

"Innate full soul power... It really is innate full soul power. What a pity—why did it have to be Blue Silver Grass?"

Tang San looked at the crystal ball, suppressing his delight.

Ji Yuan, however, did not look at the crystal ball.

All of his awareness was focused on Tang San's left hand.

There, the shadow of a tiny black hammer was taking shape.

"The door's open."

The spore pierced into the base of the hammer's shadow, forcibly anchoring itself to that newly born martial soul essence.

Tang San's face went pale. He clenched his left hand inside his sleeve, his knuckles cracking softly.

Su Yuntao noticed something was wrong and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Tang San lowered his head. "Sir, I'm a little tired."

Su Yuntao glanced at the Blue Silver Grass in his right hand, then at the crystal ball, and said regretfully, "Innate full soul power paired with Blue Silver Grass—what a waste. Still, it's not completely hopeless. Would you be willing to join Spirit Hall?"

Old Jack immediately grew nervous.

"Little San, Spirit Hall is a major place."

Tang San did not agree right away.

He remembered his father's words, and he also remembered what was happening to his left hand.

"I want to go back and ask Dad first."

Su Yuntao frowned. "What could your father possibly understand? Not every child gets an opportunity like this."

Tang San said quietly, "I only have my dad."

Seeing that he could not get through to him, Su Yuntao put away the crystal ball, his tone turning colder.

"Do as you please. Holy Soul Village only has one child with soul power this year. I'll issue the certificate for you."

Old Jack hurriedly said, "Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir."

Inside Tang San's body, Ji Yuan listened to them talk while concentrating entirely on devouring the hammer's first mouthful of essence.

A tyrannical force surged back at him, nearly crushing the spore to pieces.

Ji Yuan did not retreat.

He poured in all the Mysterious Heaven Skill inner strength he had absorbed over the past few months. Fine roots split from the spore and wrapped around the phantom hammer's handle.

Tang San's left hand hurt until it went numb, sweat beading at his temples.

He gritted his teeth and made no sound.

Ji Yuan sneered.

"Endure it."

"The more you can endure, the more at ease I'll be."

The awakening ended, and the children dispersed. Old Jack pulled Tang San outside, still muttering about the work-study student slot.

"Little San, you have innate full soul power. Even if your martial soul is Blue Silver Grass, you still have to attend Notting Academy. Our village's slot will go to you."

Tang San hesitated. "Grandpa Jack, I need to ask Dad."

Old Jack was so angry that even his beard trembled.

"Ask him? What can he do besides drink and forge iron? Little San, you can't throw away your whole life in a blacksmith shop."

Tang San did not argue. He merely hid his left hand even more tightly.

Ji Yuan withdrew part of his awareness from the spore. The leaves of his true body on the back mountain curled without wind.

He had succeeded.

Tang San's left-hand martial soul no longer completely belonged to Tang San.

A root had appeared on that Clear Sky Hammer.

A root Tang San could not see, and one Tang Hao might not immediately notice either.

Just as Ji Yuan was about to continue absorbing, another notification sounded in the depths of his consciousness.

[Successfully parasitized a newborn martial soul.]

[Short-term consciousness deprivation ability unlocked.]

Ji Yuan buried those lines deep within his consciousness, not allowing the slightest fluctuation to reach Tang San's body.

He knew Tang Hao was nearby.

Sure enough, as soon as Tang San returned to the blacksmith shop, Tang Hao looked up, his murky gaze falling on Tang San's left hand.

"Little San, what happened to your hand?"

Tang San's heart tightened. He said softly, "It hurt a little during the awakening."

Tang Hao held out his hand. "Let me see."

Tang San hesitated for a moment before extending his left hand.

Ji Yuan immediately tightened the spore, hiding in the deepest part of the martial soul essence and pressing all the cold aura he had devoured into the edge of Tang San's original killing intent.

Tang Hao grabbed Tang San's wrist, his expression darkening in an instant.

"What did you awaken?"

Tang San raised his right hand, and Blue Silver Grass sprouted from his palm.

Tang Hao stared at that blade of grass for a long time, complex emotions suppressed in his eyes.

Old Jack anxiously said from the doorway, "Tang Hao, Little San has innate full soul power. I've given him the village's work-study student slot, so you can't stop him."

Tang Hao ignored Old Jack and looked only at Tang San.

"What else?"

Tang San's heart skipped a beat.

Ji Yuan also halted all movement.

The room was so quiet that only the crackling of the fire remained.

Tang San slowly raised his left hand, and a black little hammer appeared in his palm.

Old Jack did not see it clearly. He only sensed that something was off in the room and was about to speak when a single look from Tang Hao forced him to shut up.

Tang Hao stared at the hammer, his hand tightening against the edge of the table.

"Put it away."

Tang San immediately withdrew his martial soul.

Tang Hao closed his eyes. When he opened them again, only exhaustion remained on his face.

"Remember, don't let anyone see it in the future."

Tang San asked, "Dad, what is this?"

Tang Hao said coldly, "You don't need to know yet."

Tang San asked unwillingly, "Then can I go to Notting Academy?"

Tang Hao was silent for a long time before picking up the wine jug and taking a swig.

"Go."

Old Jack immediately breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "That's more like it. Little San, I'll take you to handle the paperwork tomorrow."

Tang San nodded. "Thank you, Grandpa Jack."

Ji Yuan, however, did not relax in the slightest.

Tang San was leaving.

Notting Academy was too far from Holy Soul Village. If his main body remained on the back mountain, the parasitic connection would sooner or later run into problems.

He had to go with him.

But he was a blade of grass.

He had no legs, no soul ring, and no ability to take human form.

At dusk, Tang San sat outside packing his bundle: a few clothes, a pair of old shoes, and Tang Hao's instructions.

Tang Hao leaned against the doorframe and said hoarsely, "Once you're at the academy, don't cause trouble, and don't expose the hammer in your left hand."

Tang San answered seriously, "Dad, I'll remember."

Tang Hao added, "Blue Silver Grass can be cultivated too. Don't look down on it just because it's weak."

Tang San nodded. "I won't."

Hearing this, Ji Yuan's leaves gently pressed against the ground on the back mountain.

"Blue Silver Grass is weak?"

"No. You just only know how to treat it like trash."

Night fell, and Holy Soul Village grew quiet.

Ji Yuan forced all the energy he had accumulated over the past few months into his roots, violently snapping several of his deepest roots.

Pain tore through his consciousness, and he nearly passed out on the spot.

But he did not stop.

Fine roots pulled free from the soil one after another. The entire Blue Silver Grass plant shrank into a ball, dark red patterns flowing through its leaves.

He could not wait for Tang San to get too far away.

He was going to follow his blood bag into the academy.

After Tang San fell asleep, the window was not fully closed, and his bundle lay beside the bed.

A faint glow slid along the floor and slipped into the room, bypassing the wine jug Tang Hao had placed by the door before silently burrowing into a hidden layer of the bundle.

Tang Hao opened his eyes in the darkness and looked toward the window.

Ji Yuan immediately stopped all fluctuations, disguising himself as a blade of dried grass.

Tang Hao watched for a moment before slowly closing his eyes again.

"Was that an illusion?"

Inside the bundle, Ji Yuan's leaves curled up, his roots gripping the coarse cloth fibers as his consciousness clung tightly to the spore within Tang San's body.

He heard Tang San murmuring softly in his dreams.

"Notting Academy..."

Ji Yuan smiled silently.

"Let's go."

"From now on, your path is mine as well."