Yang Wushuang sat on a wooden chair in the Medicine Room and first asked Yang Chang'an about his health lately, from eating and sleeping to whether he had felt any discomfort during cultivation. Yang Chang'an answered honestly.
Once they finished discussing his health, they talked about how the Yang Family and the Niu Family had been doing lately. Both families had been peaceful and steady during this time. The clan disciples cultivated or managed family affairs as their duties required, without a single disturbance.
Demon Bear Douluo had also been quiet lately and had not come looking for trouble, allowing the entire Yang Family to breathe a great sigh of relief.
Yang Wushuang looked at Yang Chang'an before him, a few complicated emotions in his eyes, and sighed softly.
"With Demon Bear Douluo leaving us alone lately, I thought you would, at most, make a little progress in Soul Power and combat experience. I never imagined you would change this much..."
At this point, Yang Wushuang's gaze settled on Yang Chang'an, studying him from head to toe. His eyes held surprise, gratification, and a trace of something impossible to put into words.
Yang Chang'an felt a little uncomfortable under his grandfather's scrutiny. He was just about to speak when Yang Wushuang raised his eyebrows slightly and asked outright.
"Qianjun Douluo? Or Demon Subduing Douluo?"
With his years of experience, Yang Wushuang recognized Yang Chang'an's restrained aura at a glance. Unlike the mild aura of an ordinary Soul Master, it carried a domineering spirit that would battle heaven and earth, along with a sharpness capable of piercing anything. It resembled the very essence of the Soul Breaking Spear Martial Soul, yet was far, far stronger than an ordinary Soul Breaking Spear's aura.
The truth was as clear as a mirror in Yang Wushuang's heart: Yang Chang'an had definitely received guidance from an expert over the past few months. Although his path differed somewhat from the orthodox cultivation methods of the Soul Breaking Spear, he was walking it with firm, unerring steps, and his prospects were boundless.
In all of Spirit Hall, only two people possessed the ability and strength to guide Yang Chang'an like this-Qianjun Douluo and Demon Subduing Douluo.
Hearing his grandfather name them outright, Yang Chang'an's heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively lowered his head a little.
"It was Qianjun Douluo."
The blood feud between the Yang Family and Spirit Hall all those years ago had been real. Although the Yang Family had now joined Spirit Hall, he had gone so far as to become the disciple of one of its Enshrined. No matter how he put it, that was difficult to justify.
Yet, to Yang Chang'an's utter surprise, Yang Wushuang merely nodded lightly upon hearing this and said, "As expected!"
His tone was utterly calm, as though he had known about it all along, without the slightest hint of surprise.
Yang Chang'an froze, staring at his grandfather in bewilderment. He could not help asking, "Grandfather, had you already guessed?"
Yang Wushuang slowly nodded, his expression as still as undisturbed water, as though they were discussing the most ordinary little matter.
"I began to suspect as much back when Demon Subduing Douluo gave you that Soul Tool," Yang Wushuang said unhurriedly, his tone still calm:
"Actually, if you hadn't underestimated Spirit Hall's arrogance, you might have guessed it yourself long ago."
His grandfather's breezy words only left Yang Chang'an's heart tossing up and down. After hesitating for a long while, he finally asked, "Grandfather, aren't you... aren't you angry?"
At this question, Yang Wushuang first gave Yang Chang'an a surprised look, then could not help laughing despite himself. He reached out and gently tapped Yang Chang'an's forehead, saying helplessly:
"You child, do you think that because you became Qianjun Douluo's disciple, I ought to be angry and fly into a rage at you?"
Before Yang Chang'an could nod in answer, Yang Wushuang continued, "You, honestly. Sometimes you carry too much in your heart and think about too many things. You don't act like a six-year-old child at all. You're like a little grown-up."
With that, Yang Wushuang's eyes softened at once, and a gentle smile appeared on his face, as warm as spring sunshine. He looked at Yang Chang'an and spoke with utter sincerity:
"Quite the opposite. For you to have such an opportunity is a wonderful thing, with a hundred benefits and not a single drawback, both for you and for our entire Yang Family. I couldn't be happier. Why would I be angry?"
After saying this, Yang Wushuang stood and walked to the other side of the Medicine Room. He first took off his coat and hung it on a nearby rack, then went to the washbasin and carefully washed his hands. Only after drying them did he turn back to Yang Chang'an.
"Do you know? Whether or not those events had happened back then, the moment you revealed your level-nine talent, I would have done everything possible to find you a teacher from Spirit Hall."
Hearing this, Yang Chang'an was completely dumbfounded. He looked at his grandfather as though lost in a fog, his face full of confusion.
If those events had never happened, the Yang Family should still have been one of the Four Single-Attribute Clans under the Clear Sky Sect. They could simply have continued following the Clear Sky Sect. Why would his grandfather insist on finding him a teacher from Spirit Hall?
Seeing Yang Chang'an's bewilderment, Yang Wushuang merely said mildly, "One hundred and twenty years ago, the Soul Breaking Spear's mighty reputation was not the least bit inferior to the Clear Sky Hammer's!"
Yang Chang'an shuddered at those words, his eyes instantly sharpening. A flash of inspiration struck him, and he immediately guessed the broad outline of the reason.
"Then you and my great-uncle back then..."
Both of the Breaking Clan's Soul-Breaking Twin Spears had possessed Innate Level Eight Soul Power talent. Such talent was exceedingly rare even across the entire continent, and they too had a chance of reaching the Titled Douluo realm. Their potential was certainly not to be underestimated.
At these words, a faint, mocking smile appeared on Yang Wushuang's face, and a measure of helplessness entered his voice:
"What difference did Innate Level Eight make? The Clear Sky Douluo back then was Tang Chen, a peerless hero whose strength held the entire continent beneath him. Besides, among the Clear Sky Sect members our age, there was another man named Tang Xiao."
Once Yang Chang'an heard this, everything became clear.
The Soul-Breaking Twin Spears had been born in the Clear Sky Sect's brightest, most glorious era. Ahead of them stood Clear Sky Douluo Tang Chen, blazing like the sun at its zenith, his strength overwhelming the entire continent; behind them were rising stars like the Clear Sky Twin Stars, radiating dazzling brilliance. The eyes of the entire Clear Sky Sect were on them.
Under such circumstances, the Clear Sky Sect had no need to be wary of the Soul Breaking Spear. On the contrary, the stronger the Soul Breaking Spear became, the more it highlighted the Clear Sky Sect's power.
Having understood all this, Yang Chang'an shook his head and temporarily buried those old matters deep in his heart, unwilling to dwell any further on past grudges. Then he suddenly remembered what Yang Xue had told him earlier.
"Grandfather, your state of mind? Has your state of mind recovered?"
Before his words had even faded, Yang Wushuang's gaze abruptly changed, and an incomparably fierce aura erupted from within him!
The aura surged outward, enveloping the entire Medicine Room and filling every corner with its powerful presence.
The instant that aura erupted, Yang Chang'an felt his body turn as stiff as stone, unable to move at all. Even the blood inside him seemed to freeze, and breathing became difficult.
Strangely, however, the Soul Breaking Spear Martial Soul within him gave an excited hum at that moment, as though it had met its most compatible companion and could barely contain its delight.
What puzzled Yang Chang'an even more was that, although his grandfather's aura carried the all-piercing sharpness unique to the Soul Breaking Spear lineage, it also possessed an added resilience and stability. It was like a lofty mountain standing between heaven and earth that could never be scaled-steady, weighty, and indestructible.
The aura vanished as quickly as it had appeared. In just a brief instant, Yang Wushuang withdrew it completely, and the oppressive sensation in the Medicine Room disappeared without a trace.
Then Yang Wushuang sighed softly and turned around, looking at Yang Chang'an with gentle eyes. There was a hint of release in his voice:
"Not completely. And the road ahead will no longer be the one I walked before."