Eve of Awakening

Xiao Wu froze, blinking several times before she finally reacted after a long while. "Martial soul awakening? Isn't that something only human children take part in? Why is Big Brother taking me to see that?"

"Because my Little San will be taking part too."

Xiao Wu tilted her head and thought for a moment. Then her expression slowly changed, from confusion to shock, and from shock to anger.

"That ungrateful wretch?!" Her voice suddenly rose. "Big Brother, are you talking about your adopted son, that ungrateful wretch Tang San?!"

Tang Ling nodded.

Xiao Wu immediately clenched her little fists, her cheeks puffed up like a little green frog's. "Fine! I can finally see that ungrateful wretch with my own eyes! Big Brother, can I—"

"You can't hit him." Tang Ling cut off her fantasy. "At least not yet."

Xiao Wu pursed her lips, but did not insist any further.

Though she was young, she understood propriety. Big Brother said she could not hit him now, which meant she could hit him later. With that thought, she perked up again, her eyes sparkling.

"Then how are you planning to deal with him, Big Brother? Do you need my help?"

Tang Ling looked down at her little face, practically screaming, "I want to cause trouble," and suddenly felt that bringing Xiao Wu along had truly been the right choice.

"I do." He crouched down until his eyes were level with Xiao Wu's, an unreadable smile curling at his lips. "Tomorrow, you only need to do one thing."

"What is it?"

"You'll find out when the time comes."

Xiao Wu blinked, not fully understanding what he meant. But as she looked at the playful smile in Tang Ling's eyes, she vaguely felt that something very fun was bound to happen tomorrow.

At the same time, in Holy Soul Village.

Tang San sat on the threshold of his family's blacksmith shop, propping his cheeks in his hands as he stared blankly at the last streak of sunset on the horizon.

Tomorrow was the day of martial soul awakening. He had waited a full six years for it.

From the moment he had awakened in swaddling clothes, he had been waiting for this day. Waiting to awaken his martial soul, to gain soul power, for the system to provide him with the optimal cultivation plan, to grow stronger step by step, and ultimately become one of the strongest beings in this world.

Six years of waiting would finally come to an end tomorrow.

By all rights, he should have been excited, full of anticipation, tossing and turning all night in sleeplessness. Yet for some reason, he felt a faint unease in his heart, as if something hung in midair, ready to come crashing down at any moment.

The place he would be going tomorrow was Notting City.

Ever since Tang Ling had taken action five years ago, Spirit Hall had never sent anyone to Holy Soul Village again. So if the village children wanted to awaken their martial souls, Old Jack had no choice but to lead them over mountains and through valleys, traveling for most of the day to reach the branch hall in Notting City.

Though it caused quite a bit of trouble, no one in the village complained. Compared to having one fewer awakening ceremony, having a powerhouse like Tang Ling guarding the village was far more important.

"Little San." Tang Hao's voice came from inside the house. "Go to bed early. We have to travel to Notting City tomorrow. Old Jack said we're leaving at dawn, so don't keep him waiting."

"Got it, Dad." Tang San answered, but he did not move from his spot.

In his mind, he recalled the first time he had met Tang Ling.

That man had stood at the entrance of the blacksmith shop and, with nothing more than a raised finger, utterly crushed six Spirit Hall powerhouses. The scene from that day remained deeply etched in Tang San's mind, impossible to erase.

For the past five years, Tang Ling had been nothing short of immensely kind to him. The villagers all envied him for having such a good godfather, while Tang Hao praised Tang Ling to everyone he met, saying that being able to acknowledge Tang Ling as his godfather was a blessing Little San had cultivated over several lifetimes.

But Tang San always felt that something was off.

He always felt that something was hidden in the way Tang Ling looked at him.

That gaze was hard to describe. It was neither disgust nor hostility, but rather... scrutiny? Or perhaps he was looking at an interesting toy?

What made him even more uneasy were the stories Tang Ling told him.

Once, Tang Ling had told a story about an ungrateful wretch who stole a sect's supreme arts. Though he had never explicitly named that person, the more Tang San listened, the more he felt that the story was about him.

Did Tang Ling know something? Who exactly was he? Did he have some connection to the Ba Shu Tang Sect?

These doubts had lingered in Tang San's heart for five whole years, yet he had never found an answer. He did not dare ask, because he feared that the answer would be something he could not bear.

"Forget it." Tang San took a deep breath, rose to his feet, and dusted off his backside. "No matter who he is, as long as I become strong enough, nothing will be a problem."

He turned and walked into the house.

Tang Hao was wiping the massive Clear Sky Hammer beneath the lamplight, the flickering flame reflected across its surface. When he saw Tang San enter, he stopped what he was doing.

"Are you nervous?" Tang Hao asked.

Tang San shook his head. "No."

Tang Hao looked at his son's mature eyes, so unlike those of a child his age. After a moment of silence, he slowly said, "No matter what martial soul you awaken tomorrow, no matter what level of innate soul power you have, you are still my son, Tang Hao's son."

Tang San froze. He had not expected his taciturn father to suddenly say something like that.

"Dad..."

"But if you awaken a useless martial soul, then live as an ordinary person." Tang Hao's voice sank. "Ordinary people can live well too. Your father has gone through too much in this life. I don't want you to walk that road too."

Tang San said nothing and merely lowered his head.

He understood his father's thoughts. Tang Hao had suffered too much in his life. His wife had nearly died, he had been hunted by Spirit Hall, and even his strength as a Title Douluo had fallen to rock bottom.

Now, he only wanted his son to live a safe and peaceful life.

But Tang San could not accept such a future.

He had been reborn, carrying the system, the memories and experience of his past life. He had not come here to be an ordinary person. He would become one of the strongest beings in this world. He would stand above everyone else.

And—he had to find out Tang Ling's true background.

If Tang Ling really was from the Tang Sect, then he had to become strong enough—strong enough to face any possible threat.

Because as far as he knew, people of the Tang Sect had never believed in "letting bygones be bygones with a smile." Stealing secret arts and betraying the sect were crimes enough to earn a pursuit to the ends of the earth.

"Dad." Tang San raised his head, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes that did not belong to a six-year-old child. "I'll definitely awaken a powerful martial soul. I'll definitely become a powerful soul master. Then, I'll protect you all."

Looking at the light in his eyes, Tang Hao suddenly felt that this son of his was far more mature than he had imagined. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, he said nothing. He merely nodded heavily.

Night fell, and Holy Soul Village was shrouded in deep darkness.

The lights in the blacksmith shop went out, and Tang Hao's snoring soon began. Tang San lay in bed, but sleep would not come.

He turned over, closed his eyes, and repeatedly played out tomorrow's events in his mind.

The system had said that martial soul awakening was one of the most crucial turning points in his life. Once he awakened his martial soul, the system would formulate the optimal cultivation plan for him. With the talent of his twin martial souls, along with the system's assistance, he was confident that he could rise to prominence in the shortest possible time.

When that day came, he would no longer need to hide so carefully. He would no longer need to pretend to be a six-year-old who understood nothing, nor would he need to force himself to call Tang Ling "godfather."

The day he possessed enough strength, he would reclaim everything that had been taken from him.