Without a cheat, I could only rely on my imagination and figure things out myself

"Oh, right, Dad, where are you taking Big Brother to hunt for his soul ring?"

Something suddenly occurred to Tang Shan, making his heart skip a beat, and he hurriedly asked.

He had just remembered that when Su Yuntao first appeared in the original story, his soul rings were one white and one yellow. Before joining this family, he had never noticed anything wrong with that. Now that he thought it over, though, Su Yuntao having a white soul ring at the start of the story clearly made little sense given his family circumstances.

After all, Su Haichao was currently a high-level Soul Elder nearing the Soul Ancestor rank, with the standard configuration of two yellow rings and one purple. With that kind of strength, he would clearly never give his own son a white soul ring. Something unexpected must have happened along the way.

Hearing the question, Su Haichao thought for a moment.

"I was planning to take your big brother to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt soul beasts. There are plenty of soul beasts there, after all, so it'll be easier to find a suitable soul ring for him."

"Dad, why not take Big Brother to look around one of the forests where soul beasts are raised instead? There are quite a few suitable soul beasts there, and their ages should be sufficient until he needs a thousand-year soul ring. Rather than taking risks in the Star Dou Great Forest, we might as well play it safe. Even its outer reaches often have thousand-year soul beasts roaming around."

Hearing that there might be such dangers, Su Yuntao could not help frowning. Although the training plan his little brother had devised for him was downright devilish, often leaving him so miserable that he wanted to give the boy a good beating, he fully acknowledged Tang Shan's knowledge. The breadth of his understanding probably rivaled that of scholars immersed in martial soul research.

If his little brother said the outer reaches were dangerous, it was very likely true.

"Father, a forest where soul beasts are raised would work too. If necessary, we can visit a few more of them. The Star Dou Great Forest is just too dangerous."

Seeing that both his sons, including Su Yuntao, who would be acquiring the soul ring, were so opposed to going to the Star Dou Great Forest, Su Haichao helplessly spread his hands.

"All right, all right. We'll do it your way."

For some reason, after making that decision, Su Haichao felt a sense of relief, as though a shadow hanging over his heart had quietly dispersed.

After the meal, Tang Shan helped Su Haichao and Su Yuntao pack for their trip to the soul beast forest. Suddenly remembering something, Su Haichao looked at Tang Shan.

"Shanzi, while we're away at the soul beast forest, do you want to stay home alone or stay with someone else for a few days? Or should I find someone to look after you?"

Had he been an ordinary three-year-old, Su Haichao would never have asked such a question. He would have made all the arrangements himself. But Tang Shan was different. He had been exceptionally clever since he was little, and his extraordinary physique was enough for him to manage on his own.

"Dad, I'll stay home by myself. I'm as physically capable as a six-year-old now. I can look after myself."

Tang Shan shook his head as he answered Su Haichao's question.

"Little Brother, make sure you take good care of yourself while you're home alone. I'll bring you back something tasty."

Su Yuntao seized the opportunity to vigorously ruffle Tang Shan's hair several times, his face brimming with excitement.

It had to be said that Su Haichao's strategy back then had worked very well. Tang Shan's arrival had quickly dispelled the loneliness and grief Su Yuntao had felt after his mother's accidental death.

Tang Shan shook his head helplessly, then finally gave up resisting and let his big brother do as he pleased. There was nothing he could do; the gap in their physical strength was too great.

Watching the brothers get along so well, Su Haichao's face softened into a warm smile.

"Shanzi, you can stay home alone. I'll leave you ten gold soul coins. That'll be more than enough for your daily expenses. I really wonder what your martial soul is, kid. Anything that gives your physique such an extraordinary boost can't be ordinary."

Hearing Su Haichao's words, a trace of anticipation appeared on Tang Shan's face. Although this era of Douluo came with countless inconveniences, it had one thing his previous life could never match: supernatural power and eternal gods.

At the age of six, everyone could visit the Spirit Hall to have their martial soul awakened for free. If they possessed innate soul power, they could become an esteemed soul master.

Leaving aside their other benefits, soul masters could collect one gold soul coin from the Spirit Hall every month. That was a considerable sum, enough to support a small family for several months.

Comparing local prices with those of his previous life, Tang Shan found that a single gold soul coin probably had purchasing power equivalent to nearly ten thousand yuan back then.

Upon advancing to Soul Grandmaster, that allowance increased tenfold. Upon advancing to Soul Elder, it increased another tenfold. The benefits stopped at Soul Elder.

This was a real world. At first, Tang Shan had wondered why soul masters received such generous benefits, but he soon understood.

To put it plainly, soul masters could essentially be seen as a group of potentially disruptive individuals wielding extraordinary power. Even food-type and support-type soul masters could make poisonous food or enhance themselves, respectively, let alone those of other types.

Rather than leaving these potential troublemakers unchecked, it was better to spend some money to reduce the likelihood of them causing trouble.

As for why soul masters above Soul Elder no longer received benefits—come on, if you had at least four rings, could you really not find a way to make a living?

Besides, even an ordinary genius would no longer be particularly young by the time they reached Soul Ancestor. Their worldview, values, and outlook on life would largely be established, making them much less likely to cause trouble.

Back in his room, Tang Shan sat at his desk and began reviewing his recent gains and decisions.

Having his big brother train his body before absorbing a soul ring was definitely the right decision. Even setting aside the improvements to his martial soul from absorbing a ring beyond the usual age limit, the boost in soul power alone would more than make up for the year spent waiting.

Just look at how the future Lord Sea God had jumped straight from level eleven to level thirteen when he added a poisonous Mandala Snake soul ring to his life-oriented blue silver grass, absorbing it close to the limit his body could withstand.

Never mind any claims about diligent cultivation. In the short period between his martial soul awakening and hunting a soul beast to absorb its ring, even with Tang San's extraordinary talent and the Mysterious Heaven Skill, gaining half a level of soul power would have been the absolute limit.

So having his big brother train his body before absorbing a soul ring was certainly sound. Given his big brother's innate soul power, no amount of hard cultivation could match the boost from absorbing a ring.

After reviewing his plans for Su Yuntao's future, Tang Shan turned his attention to himself.

He took out paper and a pen, organizing his thoughts as he wrote.

My martial soul definitely won't be weak, and it might be a beast martial soul. After all, tool martial souls generally don't enhance the body before attaining a Martial Soul Avatar.

Speaking of which, there's one thing I still don't understand. Tool martial souls should be implements. I don't know their exact origins, but there are only so many possibilities. Plants and animals, however, should be more closely related. In theory, they're both living things and should fall under beast martial souls. Yet plant-type martial souls are all classified as tool martial souls. What's the logic in that?

Although my martial soul most likely won't be weak, I still need a few backup plans, just in case. After all, after thoroughly checking everything so far, I've confirmed that I probably don't have any cheat.

Then I can only rely on my imagination and the way of thinking I developed through compulsory education in my previous life. Oh, right, the trilogy contained plenty of important information too.

Once he had filled a sheet, Tang Shan unhesitatingly lit a fire starter and burned the paper to prevent the information from leaking. After all, he was merely organizing what he had learned recently, not keeping a diary. What respectable person kept a diary?

From reading the Spirit Hall's books lately, I've found three main factors that influence martial souls.

First is the bloodline inherited from one's parents. You can see this in how children inherit the martial soul of one or both parents. As for so-called martial soul mutation, that mostly results from the parents' martial souls influencing and merging with each other.

Second is soul power. That hardly needs explaining; cultivating a martial soul primarily means cultivating soul power. One point worth mentioning is that, despite its name, soul power doesn't seem to have much connection to the soul or spiritual power.

Third is conscious thought. This one is rather unusual, and it's also one of the variables that cause martial soul mutation. Such examples remain exceedingly rare. As far as I know, there was probably only that sword fanatic from the Douluo II era. He was also the only person who actually substantiated a certain Grandmaster's theory: "There are no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters."

Fortunately, that Grandmaster hasn't published his theories yet. Otherwise, I really wouldn't understand—is that theory supposed to prove he's useless?

Pulling his wandering thoughts back on track, Tang Shan recalled Su Yuntao's earlier words, which had confirmed his suspicions.

I had Big Brother channel soul power into his fingers while doing eye exercises, and the results were indeed obvious. Clearly, the acupuncture points in this world share some similarities with those in my previous life. Unfortunately, I only know the rough paths of the Twelve Regular Meridians and the names of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians. I know nothing about the rest. Damn it, you only realize how little you've learned when you need it.

Settling his thoughts, Tang Shan did his best to sit cross-legged on the bed, placing one short leg behind the knee of the other. With his eyes half closed, he tried to sense the soul power that permeated his surroundings.

Seven and a half minutes, fifteen minutes, an hour, two hours...

At some point, Tang Shan slipped into a mysterious state. His mind was empty of thoughts, and his breathing grew deep...

He had fallen asleep.

The next day, Tang Shan opened his eyes, having somehow ended up lying on the bed. He let out a world-weary sigh that, paired with his childish face, looked oddly comical.

Another failed attempt to cultivate early. I couldn't sense any of the soul power that Big Brother and Dad said was everywhere between heaven and earth. Clearly, cultivating ahead of time probably isn't possible. It makes sense. If it really could be done, the major families and soul master organizations would have started doing it long ago. Another day spent envying Tang San. Heaven, give me a copy of the Mysterious Heaven Skill!

He pushed open his bedroom door and found breakfast already prepared. He finished it in no time, then saw Su Yuntao and Su Haichao off as they prepared to leave.

"Dad, remember to try to find a wolf-type soul beast for Big Brother. That'll help him get the most out of this breakthrough."

"Got it."

"Little Brother, what if I find a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear? Should I absorb its ring?"

Before leaving, Su Yuntao could not resist cracking a joke. Before Tang Shan could react, Su Haichao's big palm came swinging over.

"A Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear? Absorb its ring? Can't you wish for something good? If we actually ran into one, even ten lives each wouldn't be enough!"