"Teacher! You're here."
At the School Gate.
Sensing Lu Xuan's approach, Tang San opened his eyes and greeted him respectfully.
Lu Xuan gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.
"Mm, let's go."
"As promised, I'm taking you Soul Hunting today."
With that, Lu Xuan supported Tang San with Soul Power and flew straight into the sky.
Experiencing flight for the first time, Tang San was visibly flustered. But having lived two lives, he quickly composed himself and even found the energy to talk to Lu Xuan along the way.
"Teacher, I wanted to apologize for what happened yesterday."
"I shouldn't have hidden it from you."
Tang San's expression held sincere remorse. He was alone in the world and had nothing; admitting his mistake was the only way he could think of to make up for yesterday's incident.
As for handing over the Mysterious Heaven Skill, the Purple Demon Eye, or anything like that... the thought never entered Tang San's consideration. Those were assets of the Tang Sect.
Of course, Lu Xuan did not care about those things either.
Facing the cold wind blowing toward him, Lu Xuan narrowed his eyes and looked straight ahead.
"It's fine. That's your freedom."
"When I took you as my disciple, it was only because your Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul caught my eye."
Lu Xuan remained neither warm nor cold. Tang San could discern no emotion whatsoever from his expression.
Silence fell for a moment, broken only by the wind howling past them.
Before long, Tang San summoned his courage and spoke again.
"My Second Martial Soul is called the Clear Sky Hammer."
"Look, it's this little hammer."
He raised his left hand, showing Lu Xuan an iron hammer that was pitch-black all over.
Since no Soul Rings had been added to the Clear Sky Hammer, it was still in its initial form and looked little different from an ordinary iron hammer.
Lu Xuan glanced at it, then nodded and looked away.
"Mm, very nice."
"Twin Martial Souls are rare. It seems you have excellent talent for cultivation."
Once again, his answer betrayed no emotion. The impression Lu Xuan gave Tang San was that he cared about nothing at all.
But we clearly had a disagreement yesterday!
Tang San could not accept this. The colder Lu Xuan was toward him, the more he wanted to prove himself and win his attention.
After a long silence, he took the initiative to speak again.
"Teacher, what kind of First Soul Ring should my Blue Silver Grass absorb?"
This time, Lu Xuan finally stopped ignoring him.
He gave Tang San an appraising look and spoke slowly.
"That's up to you!"
"The only thing I can do during this Soul Hunting Operation is keep you safe."
"As for what kind of Soul Beast's Soul Ring you want to add to your Blue Silver Grass, or what cultivation path you intend to follow afterward, I won't interfere."
Tang San was dumbfounded. "But..."
Lu Xuan said, "You don't understand, do you?"
"I could clearly knock a Soul Beast unconscious and deliver it right to you, so why insist that you take the risk and do it yourself?"
Tang San nodded. Since Lu Xuan had laid it out so plainly, he stopped concealing his feelings. "Teacher, is it because I angered you yesterday?"
Lu Xuan did not answer directly. Instead, he asked a very interesting question.
"Little San, let me ask you just one thing. Would you willingly become my shadow? Or, to put it another way, live in my shadow for the rest of your life?"
His shadow?
Tang San frowned. How could anyone willingly live in someone else's shadow? Who did not want to become their true self and do what they loved?
Why would Teacher suddenly ask that?
"It seems your eyes have already given me your answer."
"In that case, today I'll teach you your first lesson!"
Lu Xuan looked straight ahead, his gaze suddenly resolute.
"Listen carefully. The strong are strong not because they grew up in privileged circumstances, nor because they endured countless hardships."
"It's because they have a heart that longs to grow stronger."
"With that heart, they can overcome every difficulty."
"The same principle applies to you. If you want to grow stronger, you cannot rely on me. You must find a path that suits you and think of solutions when you face problems. Only then can you grow."
"Otherwise, all I'll have taught is a useless fool who can only turn to his teacher for help whenever something happens."
He stopped there and looked at Tang San.
His clear blue eyes held encouragement Tang San had never seen before. "Little San, whatever kind of Soul Master you want to become, whatever kind of person you want to be in the future, go boldly after it!"
"Don't be afraid of failure!"
"I'll witness your growth and be there to catch you if you fall."
"That is why I'm here as your teacher."
Looking into Lu Xuan's earnest eyes, Tang San was stunned.
In neither his past life nor this one had he ever heard words like these.
In his past life, Tang San had been an outer disciple of the Tang Sect. He believed himself talented and ambitious, yet had endured nothing but cold looks and mockery from those ignorant, incompetent inner disciples.
In this life, as someone who had crossed into another world, he clearly had a head start over ordinary people. Yet his father had begun drinking heavily when he was little and had never cared for him. Instead, Tang San had been the one forced to care for his father.
He had finally held on until his Martial Soul Awakening. Despite his exceptional talent, Tang Hao had insisted he show the world only a Trash Martial Soul like Blue Silver Grass, leaving him surrounded by ridicule.
No one believed in him! Everyone was telling him: he did not deserve everything that should rightfully have been his!
Only Lu Xuan, here and now...
No one knew how much the words "Don't be afraid of failure; your teacher will catch you if you fall" meant to Tang San.
Before, Tang San had thought of himself as "a talent left unrecognized, born in the wrong age." Despite his gifts, he had been unable to learn the Tang Sect's inner-disciple techniques and ultimately had to resort to theft to prove his ability.
Now, looking at Lu Xuan, Tang San felt like "a thousand-mile steed that had met the master who recognized its worth." In those eyes filled with encouragement and recognition, he found a confidence he had never possessed before.
This was the treatment I, Tang San, deserved!
Twin Martial Souls, innate full Soul Power, and a Titled Douluo personally taking me as his disciple-I should be invincible in this world.
Exactly! What was the point of sitting back and waiting for Teacher to catch a Soul Beast for me?
As a favored son of heaven, I had my own pride. I should fight for a future with my own two hands.
"Thank you for your guidance, Teacher. I, your disciple Tang San, will keep it firmly in mind!"
Tang San's voice rang with conviction, his eyes blazing as though he had been pumped full of stimulants!
He now felt he could kill an ox with a single punch and could hardly wait to fight a Soul Beast!
Fight! What a rush!
Seeing this, Lu Xuan felt thoroughly satisfied.
He put on an appreciative expression and patted Tang San's shoulder in encouragement.
"Of course, whatever you choose, your First Soul Ring must be over four hundred years old."
"Otherwise, you'll simply be squandering the talent of your Twin Martial Souls."
"A disciple of mine, Lu Xuan, must never be mediocre."
"There aren't many varieties of Soul Beasts in the Soul Hunting Forest. I'll teach you a few simple ways to determine their ages now."
With that, Lu Xuan took a small booklet from inside his clothes.
The Empire had prepared it specifically for Soul Masters entering the Soul Hunting Forest, and it contained information on all the Soul Beasts raised there.
Tang San's eyes burned with eagerness. Brimming with excitement, he listened to the explanation while marveling inwardly.
I never imagined Teacher was not only powerful, but also possessed such vast, profound knowledge and understanding of life.
Exactly! If I kept relying on others, when would I ever grow?
Especially if I developed such a bad habit upon first entering the world of Soul Masters-wouldn't it be even harder to change later?
The truly strong should forge ahead alone, honing themselves through hardship!
Teacher, despite how I treated you yesterday, you still taught me such profound lessons about life. I will never let down your expectations.
Before you continue