The Road to Heaven!

The idea was too shocking for Lin Hao to mention to anyone just yet.

Everyone becoming a Soul Master sounded wonderful, but it might not be long before Soul Masters faced extinction.

"Is this the village where you used to live, young master?"

Lin Hao and the Sea Witch stepped onto a stretch of beach. As she watched cooking smoke rise from the distant village, curiosity shone in her eyes.

"Yes. Everyone in the village treated me well. I wonder how they're doing now."

Lin Hao's voice was tinged with emotion. He had not returned in two years and had no idea what life was like for his old friends now.

The Sea Witch did not understand his complicated feelings. Her enormous tail transformed into human legs, and she followed close behind him, her beautiful eyes roving over their surroundings.

Having spent so long in the deep sea, this was her first time setting foot on land.

"Brother Kun is amazing! That carp must weigh twenty catties!"

"Hahaha! Of course. Even compared with Brother Hao back then, I'm only a little behind."

"What a shame. I wonder how Brother Hao is doing. Grandpa Village Chief said a powerful expert took him as a disciple. Do you think he's become a Soul Master?"

"Probably not. Brother Hao and I both started with half a level of innate Soul Power, and I've only reached level three. He's stronger than me, but level four is probably his limit."

A group of children carried their haul toward the village.

Hearing them talk as he approached, Lin Hao could not help smiling.

"Little Black!"

Lin Hao spotted Wang Kun and the others from afar and shouted.

"I'm not Little Black! I told you to call me Brother Kun..." Wang Kun turned to argue by reflex. When he recognized the figure before him, his eyes went wide.

But it was the Sea Witch behind Lin Hao who had caught his attention.

Remote Ju Zi Village had never seen a woman so beautiful.

"Brother Hao!"

Unlike Wang Kun, the others knew what mattered. They ran toward Lin Hao in excitement.

Wang Kun gave an awkward smile at the companions who had "stabbed him in the back." Scratching his head, he walked over under Lin Hao's gaze.

After so long apart, everyone greeted him with excitement.

"Brother Hao, how has your training gone out there? Have you become a Soul Master?"

"Brother Hao, guess what? Little Black became a work-study student at Vast Sea City Junior Academy. He's already at level three Soul Power."

"Wow, that's amazing! I knew Brother Hao was stronger than Little Black. You've actually become a Soul Master!"

"..."

Laughter accompanied them all the way home as they crowded around Lin Hao. Old Luo Rui followed them inside, carrying plenty of food.

"Grandpa Village Chief!"

"Good, good!" Old Luo Rui clasped Lin Hao's hands. Seeing that the boy had grown nearly as tall as he was, his eyes filled with pride.

"And this is..."

Once his excitement eased, Old Luo Rui noticed the Sea Witch beside him. His eyes widened as he looked at Lin Hao, plainly getting the wrong idea.

"Lin Hao, you're still young. You may have grown quickly, but it's too early to find yourself a wife."

"Hehehe... I'm not the young master's wife, sir. I'm his guard," the Sea Witch explained with a sweet laugh.

"These old eyes of mine failed me. I'm sorry to have offended you, Lord Soul Master." Old Luo Rui broke out in a cold sweat as he apologized.

Lin Hao did not dwell on it. "Grandpa Village Chief, I brought back plenty of things. Let's have everyone over to my house for dinner tonight."

"Of course, of course. You've made more of yourself than anyone else in the village. The Gold Soul Coins you left behind improved everyone's lives, and they've all wanted to thank you in person. This is the perfect chance for them to make you a feast."

Before long, villagers arrived carrying all kinds of food. Everyone who saw Lin Hao wore a grateful smile.

With so many people cooking, a lavish dinner was soon ready. Tables filled Lin Hao's courtyard, where over a hundred people from Ju Zi Town had gathered.

Everyone asked about Lin Hao's experiences, and he picked out a few stories to tell them.

The gathering delighted host and guests alike. It did not end until the moon was high overhead.

The next day.

After paying respects at his parents' graves, Lin Hao gathered with several childhood friends. Wang Kun was grumbling to him about how hard it was to cultivate Soul Power.

"Brother Hao, cultivating Soul Power is too hard. I've trained for two years and only just reached level three. It'll get slower from here. Who knows when I'll become a Soul Master?"

Disappointment crossed Wang Kun's face. The joy he had felt when his Soul Power awakened had lost out to the gap in talent.

What he failed to notice was the dejection in the eyes of the friends around him who had awakened no Soul Power at all.

"I might have a way to help you," Lin Hao said with a soft laugh. Then he turned to the others and said something that nearly drove them wild. "It might even let you gain Soul Power and cultivate."

"Brother Hao, w-what did you say?!"

They stared at Lin Hao, eyes wide with shock. Even the steadiest person would have been stunned by that news, let alone these eight-year-old boys.

"I have a cultivation technique that may help you cultivate Soul Power. But you must swear by your Martial Souls not to teach it to anyone without my permission. If anyone asks, you cannot even mention it."

Lin Hao's tone was grave.

Besides paying respects to his parents, he had returned to Ju Zi Village intending to test the Mysterious Heaven Skill on Wang Kun and the others.

Before Tang San became a god, he had taken on a nominal disciple and passed down the Tang Sect's teachings. In six years, that disciple had gone from nothing to becoming the second-strongest fighter on Purple Pearl Island.

Lin Hao wanted to reproduce that result.

If the Mysterious Heaven Skill could let someone with no Soul Power cultivate it from nothing, his idea would become entirely feasible. It might even be a road that led straight to godhood.

What kind of people were most numerous in this world? Ordinary people without Soul Power.

That would surpass even what the Angel God had done.

Unlike Tang San, Lin Hao had no Ten Thousand Year Ginseng King to lay a foundation for Wang Kun and the others. But he did have Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue, and he could call upon a faint trace of Sea God's Light.

That was enough to give them a foundation.

With Lin Hao's help, the others refined the Whale Rubber and learned the first level of the Mysterious Heaven Skill within an hour.

Experiencing rapid cultivation for the first time, they looked at Lin Hao in delight. They respected him more than their own fathers.

After teaching them the technique, Lin Hao offered no further guidance. Wang Kun and the others had their own paths to follow, just as he had his.

Once he had taken care of matters in Ju Zi Village, Lin Hao returned to Sea God Island with the Sea Witch. There, he continued working to increase his strength while keeping a close eye on Kyle's forging progress.