"Not... the same path as before?"
After hearing Yang Wushuang's words, confusion spread across Yang Chang'an's face, and his brows furrowed.
As he understood it, the Soul Breaking Spear should follow a path of charging fearlessly forward, advancing without retreat, and piercing through all things. How could there be another path to take?
Could the way of cultivating the Soul Breaking Spear actually change? He simply could not make sense of these questions, so he could only stare wide-eyed at Grandfather and wait for Yang Wushuang to explain.
Seeing his grandson's bewildered expression, Yang Wushuang shook his head gently in resignation. He understood that, at Yang Chang'an's current age and with his limited experience, it was indeed difficult to grasp the change in his state of mind.
He softened his tone and slowly began, "Do you remember when Demon Bear Douluo humiliated our Yang Family? At that moment, fury stormed my heart. I gathered every ounce of strength in my body and struck at him with my spear."
As he spoke, a trace of the resolve he had shown that day flashed through Yang Wushuang's eyes. It was the last shred of pride belonging to a Soul Breaking Spear Soul Master.
"That single strike let me reclaim the spirit I had lost over all these years. It let me recover my dignity as a Soul Breaking Spear Soul Master."
"But that same strike also made me understand completely that my path was no longer the absolute domination of the past, when all I knew was to charge headlong ahead, advancing without retreat."
Yang Wushuang sighed softly. His voice carried a measure of acceptance, along with some of the weariness left by the years.
"I'm old now. After everything I've been through, I no longer have that reckless, all-or-nothing spirit of my youth. Now, only one thought remains in my heart-to protect the Yang Family, to protect every member of our clan, and to protect the last foundation of our Breaking Clan. That is my only conviction now."
Yang Chang'an listened earnestly to every word Grandfather said. The more he heard, the more clearly he understood. Yang Wushuang had not grown weaker, nor had the Soul Breaking Spear lost its strength. His heart had changed.
The Yang Wushuang of the past had pursued a keen edge, invincibility, and the power to crush everything. The Yang Wushuang of the present pursued stability, protection, and the lasting survival of his family.
Though both were paths of the Soul Breaking Spear, they led in completely different directions. Compared with the paths followed by other ordinary Soul Breaking Spear Soul Masters on the continent, they were even further apart-as different as heaven and earth.
Once he understood this, Yang Chang'an's eyes suddenly lit up. He stared at Yang Wushuang and could not help asking:
"Grandfather, doesn't that mean you've... forged a new path of your own? Isn't that practically founding your own school?"
At those words, Yang Wushuang gave a bitter smile. He slowly walked over and sat beside Yang Chang'an. Meeting his grandson's expectant gaze, he gently patted his shoulder, his voice full of helplessness in the face of reality.
"Silly child, founding a school is nowhere near as simple as you imagine. You need strength that shakes heaven and earth, talent that dazzles the ages, and the ability to transform the entire cultivation of a martial soul before you can dare speak of founding a school."
Yang Wushuang paused, then continued explaining to Yang Chang'an, "Back before His Eminence Tang Chen came into his own, the Clear Sky Hammer martial soul wasn't much stronger than our Soul Breaking Spear. In terms of sharpness and destructive power, it was even inferior to our Soul Breaking Spear."
"But what happened afterward? His Eminence Tang Chen burst onto the scene. Through his strength alone, he cultivated the Clear Sky Hammer to an unprecedented level, forcibly raising it to the rank of the 'world's number one tool martial soul.' Thanks to him, the Tang family also became the 'world's number one sect,' whose might shook the continent."
At this point, Yang Wushuang looked at Yang Chang'an and could not help letting out a deep sigh.
"Founding a school is a hundred, a thousand times harder than you imagine!"
"Otherwise, why has the entire continent heard of only one person in nearly a hundred years-His Eminence Tang Chen-who truly founded a school and rewrote the history of martial souls?"
"Back then, he relied entirely on his own strength to carve out a completely new direction for cultivating the Clear Sky Hammer. It's no exaggeration to say that all the standing, glory, and strength the Clear Sky Sect possesses today were built by His Eminence Tang Chen alone. All the credit belongs to him."
"As for this little change of mine, at most, I've taken an unconventional edge along the original path of the Soul Breaking Spear and shifted its direction a little. It's a hundred and eight thousand miles away from founding a school. The two simply cannot be compared."
After hearing Grandfather's explanation, the excitement on Yang Chang'an's face slowly faded, and he fell into a brief silence.
At that moment, he involuntarily recalled the comments other readers had made about the Clear Sky Sect and the Clear Sky Hammer when he read novels online in his previous life.
The so-called world's number one tool martial soul had never earned that title because the Clear Sky Hammer itself was so formidable. Only the Clear Sky Hammer in Tang Chen's hands deserved it.
Tang Hao, Tang Xiao, and all the other disciples of the Clear Sky Sect who came afterward had merely enjoyed the shade Tang Chen left behind.
Without Tang Chen, the Clear Sky Sect might have been just like the Breaking Clan, never gaining such great renown.
Seeing his grandson fall silent, Yang Wushuang patted Yang Chang'an gently and stood up. A relaxed smile returned to his face as he changed the subject:
"All right, all right. Let's stop talking about these old troubles. Now that you've come back from Spirit Hall's Worship Hall, how long can you stay home?"
Yang Chang'an immediately came back to his senses. He quickly raised his head and answered honestly, "Grandfather, I can stay for half a month."
Yang Wushuang nodded in satisfaction, a trace of seriousness flashing through his eyes. He then said, "Since you have half a month, that works out perfectly. I'll personally help polish your spear techniques during that time."
Although Yang Chang'an now received personal instruction from Qianjun Douluo, a Peak Douluo, whose strength and breadth of vision certainly far surpassed his own.
Yang Wushuang had, after all, cultivated the Soul Breaking Spear since childhood and spent his entire life studying it. His understanding of its details and techniques, its most fundamental methods of exerting force, and the secrets of martial soul resonance went a layer deeper than anyone else's. Even a Titled Douluo might not understand these things better than he did.
With that thought, Yang Wushuang reached out again and gently rested his hand on Yang Chang'an's wrist, carefully sensing the soul power flowing within him. Afterward, he nodded and continued:
"Your soul power foundation is very solid, and you're following the right path. Over the coming days, you can take the pills I prepared for you and cultivate at the Training Camp. With the pills to support you, and now that you've found the right path, you can certainly speed up your cultivation a little. Raising your soul power level sooner will only benefit you, with no harm."
In the early stages, as long as a Soul Master had found the correct path for his martial soul, cultivating a little faster would not arouse anyone's suspicions.
Especially now that Yang Chang'an had entered the Worship Hall and was already valued there, even if he cultivated faster, others would merely think Qianjun Douluo had taught him well. They would not read anything more into it.
Yet as he looked at his grandson, so full of drive, his eyes shining, Yang Wushuang quietly sighed inwardly and thought, What a pity...
In his heart, he believed that if Yang Chang'an could receive Yang Wudi's guidance and combine it with the will to battle heaven and earth that Qianjun Douluo was now teaching him, his future would truly know no bounds. Perhaps he really could lead the Breaking Clan to rise and become a supreme expert who stood at the very pinnacle of the continent.
But the reality was that they were now in Spirit City, right beneath Spirit Hall's eyes. They had no way to contact Yang Wudi's branch, which was far away outside the city.
Even if they somehow managed to establish a little contact, Yang Wushuang knew his elder brother well. Yang Wudi was stubborn and unyielding, and he had hated Spirit Hall all his life. If he learned that Yang Chang'an had already entered Spirit Hall's Worship Hall, perhaps...
At that thought, Yang Wushuang's heart filled with helplessness.
But this was the path they had chosen, and it was also the best path currently available to the Yang Family and Yang Chang'an. All they could do now was walk steadily forward, one step at a time, safeguard their family, and wait for an opportunity, so that one day the mighty name of the Soul Breaking Spear could ring out across the Douluo Continent once more.
As Yang Wushuang looked at his vibrant grandson before him, the lingering regret in his heart slowly turned into resolve.
No matter how difficult the future became, no matter how winding the road ahead, he would give everything he had to walk onward with Yang Chang'an, and with the Yang Family.