Grandpa Niu's Wish, Evolving into a Mighty Barbarian Bull

"Qingya, you're back!"

Grandpa Niu, who had been chopping firewood in the courtyard, immediately put down his axe when he saw Duan Qingya return. He hurried over and took Duan Qingya's bundle.

"Look at you, you've lost weight. Haven't you been eating properly at school?"

"If you don't have enough money, tell me. Even if I have to swallow my pride and beg, I won't let you go hungry."

With a pang of concern, Grandpa Niu took Duan Qingya's hand.

Although Duan Qingya now had a paying job and could also collect an allowance from Spirit Hall, that money was being set aside for his future studies at the Intermediate Soul Master Academy.

"Grandpa Niu, I brought you a present this time."

Rather than answer Grandpa Niu's questions, Duan Qingya took the Evolution Potion out of his bundle.

This bottle of Evolution Potion was different from the one Su Yuntao had drunk. Duan Qingya had used only Mighty Barbarian Bull marrow, without adding any rare medicinal herbs.

That way, even if Grandpa Niu drank it now and his martial soul evolved from an azure ox into a Mighty Barbarian Bull, he would gain only one or two levels of innate soul power.

"What's this? I'm not sick. Why did you bring me a bottle of medicine? What a waste of money!"

When he learned that Duan Qingya had brought him a gift, Grandpa Niu said he didn't want it, but the delight on his face betrayed his true feelings.

"Didn't you say your back hurt? This can treat your back injury. Once you've drunk it, no one will object even if you plow another two mu of land!"

Duan Qingya knew Grandpa Niu would refuse it unless it treated what actually ailed him, so he had already added herbs for treating back injuries.

Hearing that Duan Qingya had agreed to let him work the fields, Grandpa Niu stopped refusing at once. He took the Evolution Potion from Duan Qingya and cradled it against his chest like a treasure.

"Then I won't give that wasteland north of the village to Xu San's family. It isn't as fertile as the wasteland south of the village."

Delighted that he could work the fields again, Grandpa Niu hummed a little tune and carried Duan Qingya's bundle into the house.

"Grandpa Niu, do you remember what you told me when I was little?"

"You said that when you were young, you dreamed of having innate soul power so you could ease your family's burden."

Watching Grandpa Niu keep adding meat to his bowl, Duan Qingya suddenly brought up Grandpa Niu's childhood dream.

At those words, Grandpa Niu's chopsticks froze, a piece of meat still held between them.

Grandpa Niu sat stunned for quite a while before coming back to himself and telling Duan Qingya about his past.

"Back then, Spirit Hall in Nuoding City had only just been established. Anyone with soul power could find a decent job."

"My mother was gravely ill, and we desperately needed money. If I'd had innate soul power, perhaps I could have had her cured."

This was the first time Grandpa Niu had explained to Duan Qingya why he had harbored such a wish.

"But none of that matters now. Our family has you, a genius with level-six innate soul power!"

Looking at Duan Qingya before him, Grandpa Niu lost every trace of the gloom that had settled over his brow.

He now placed his hopes in Duan Qingya.

"Grandpa Niu, I read in an ancient book that there's a way for someone without innate soul power to gain soul power."

"The book said that when a person's martial soul evolves, even if he has no soul power, the boost from Martial Soul Evolution can give him innate soul power."

Duan Qingya wanted to keep the surprise after drinking the Evolution Potion from being too much for Grandpa Niu's heart.

So he casually invented an ancient book to help Grandpa Niu accept what was about to happen.

"Hahaha, thank you for telling me, Qingya. I appreciate the thought."

Naturally, Grandpa Niu took Duan Qingya's words as nothing more than an attempt to comfort him.

Even if such a thing really existed, it was unlikely to happen to a decrepit old man like him.

"I'll wash the dishes, then. Grandpa Niu, remember to drink the medicine for your back."

Before Grandpa Niu could forget what he had just said, Duan Qingya volunteered to take the bowls away and wash them, using that to urge Grandpa Niu to drink the Evolution Potion.

"It's just a bottle of medicine. What difference does it make when I drink it?"

Despite his grumbling, Grandpa Niu obediently took out the Evolution Potion and drank it in front of Duan Qingya.

"Hah, this medicine is strange. It actually tastes like fresh grass! Still, that suits an old man with an ox martial soul like me."

After finishing the Evolution Potion, Grandpa Niu smacked his lips, still wanting more, and joked.

"If you like it, Grandpa Niu, I'll ask the boss to teach me how to make it when I get back to the pharmacy. Then you can drink it every day."

Hearing Grandpa Niu's teasing from where he was washing dishes in the kitchen, Duan Qingya quickly chimed in.

"Then forget it. An old ox can't stomach those precious herbs. Weeds from the edges of the fields suit him better."

Before long, the Evolution Potion began to take effect.

Grandpa Niu yawned, got up, stretched, and headed toward his room.

"This medicine is strong. It's already warmed me right through and made me sleepy!"

By the time Duan Qingya finished cleaning and checked on Grandpa Niu again, he was already lying in bed, snoring away.

"Sweet dreams, Grandpa Niu. There's another surprise waiting for you tomorrow morning!"

After another glance at Grandpa Niu, Duan Qingya left the room and closed the door.

Once he gathered suitable medicinal herbs, he planned to give Grandpa Niu some more supplements to restore his bodily functions.

He might not be able to make Grandpa Niu a Titled Douluo, but becoming a three-ring Soul Master was still possible.

Early the next morning.

"Qingya, wake up! Wake up! Something huge has happened!"

Shaken awake by Grandpa Niu, Duan Qingya listened blearily as Grandpa Niu called to him with an anxious look on his face.

"Qingya, what you told me last night came true!"

"My martial soul really evolved! And not only that, I have soul power now!"

Catching those key words, Duan Qingya's brain instantly finished booting up, and he excitedly grasped Grandpa Niu's hand.

"Doesn't that mean you can go to school too, Grandpa Niu?"

"Ahem, there's no need for that. At my age, going to school wouldn't be appropriate."

Stunned by Duan Qingya's remark, Grandpa Niu immediately stopped getting carried away and regained some composure.

"All right, then. Grandpa Niu, what did your azure ox martial soul evolve into?"

Seeing Grandpa Niu gradually calm down, Duan Qingya steered the conversation back to Martial Soul Evolution.

"A Mighty Barbarian Bull, just like Niu Er's boy, Niu Erdan!"

Grandpa Niu had seen Niu Erdan's Mighty Barbarian Bull martial soul. Now that he had awakened something that looked much the same, he naturally knew its name right away.

"Then how does your body feel now, Grandpa Niu? Does your back in particular still hurt?"

Learning that it was a Mighty Barbarian Bull, Duan Qingya felt completely reassured. Nothing had gone wrong this time.

"Of course it doesn't hurt! I feel like I'm young again, bursting with energy. I can't wait—I'm going to work the fields right now!"

Before Duan Qingya could react, Grandpa Niu grabbed his hoe and rushed out the door, vanishing entirely from sight.

"Well, looks like there's no need to ask anything else. At that speed, Grandpa Niu is miles faster than those fragile college students from my previous life!"

"Boy, why did you let Uncle Niu go work the fields? Don't you know how serious his back injury is?"

Duan Qingya had just started eating when Niu Er suddenly barged in, grabbed his shoulders, and shook him so hard that he nearly spilled the porridge in his bowl.

"Uncle Niu Er, calm down, will you? I brought Grandpa Niu medicine for his back yesterday. His injury is much better now!"

"They have medicine like that in the city? How come I've never heard of it?"

Although Niu Er didn't live in Nuoding City, he had at least visited several times. He had never heard of any pharmacy there selling such medicine.

"Uncle Niu Er, just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean it doesn't exist!"

"I got this medicine from a Soul Master. You don't usually pay attention to Soul Masters, Uncle Niu Er, so it's perfectly normal that you wouldn't know about it!"

"Oh, I see. I wrongly blamed you, then. Sorry about that!"

Looking at the embarrassed Niu Er, Duan Qingya knew that invoking Soul Masters was the most effective way to sell a lie.

At the end of the day, Niu Er was an ordinary person. Knowing even a little about Soul Masters would already count as being well-informed.