A Shan took a deep breath and finally stood in the center of the Awakening Array Plate.
He lowered his head, his hands hanging at his sides. The skin on his left palm looked no different from his right in the sunlight, but he knew it was different.
He has recently noticed that his left hand is warmer than his right hand, and when he wakes up in the morning, there is a slightly hardened feeling in his palm, as if something has grown on it, but it is not visible during the day.
He didn't know what it was, and he didn't dare tell anyone. Now he stood in the array, his left hand clenching and unclenching, as if waiting for some answer.
Jiang Lin didn't urge him. He squatted down and poured Soul Power into the array plate. The patterns on the surface of the array plate lit up one by one, and a pale golden light rose from the ground, enveloping A Shan's body.
The light lasted longer than that of the previous two children, as if something was taking shape, not immediately appearing, but slowly condensing within the light.
With his eyes closed, A Shan felt a warm sensation gathering in his left palm, as if something was surging up from under his skin.
The sensation wasn't painful, but it was more pronounced than usual. He couldn't help but open his eyes and look down at his left hand—a layer of fine lines had appeared on his palm, like some kind of hardened scale, with a bluish-gray sheen at the edges.
He was stunned.
Jiang Lin didn't rush to speak. He first had A Shan place his hand on the crystal ball. A Shan pressed his palm on it, the bluish-gray halo inside the crystal ball slowly condensed into a form, representing about level three Innate Soul Power, which was already a fairly high starting point for a child from a remote mountain village.
Jiang Lin retrieved the crystal ball and looked at A Shan: "Your Martial Soul is your left hand itself, not what it holds. It is your Martial Soul."
This is a rare occurrence in the Soul Master World; I call it Body Martial Soul, and your left hand shows signs of mutation.
A Shan looked down at his hand, his fingers curling slightly before opening again, as if confirming that it was still his own. After a long while, he looked up. "So, is this... a monster?"
"It's not a monster," Jiang Lin said, "Just rare. It can cultivate and become stronger, but it needs time and guidance."
A Shan stared at his hand for a long time, slowly clenching his fist, then releasing it, as if to confirm that the hand was still his own. He didn't say he was afraid or strange anymore.
Jiang Lin stood up and turned to A Shan's mother. "His Innate Soul Power is around level three, which isn't high, but he has the potential for cultivation."
I am also a user of Body Martial Soul, and there are very few known Body Martial Soul Master on the continent. If you are willing to trust me, I would like to take A Shan as my disciple and guide him in his cultivation."
A Shan's mother stood there, seemingly not fully understanding, but she glanced at A Shan's left hand and then at Jiang Lin.
She lowered her head and thought for a moment, then looked up and said, "It's his luck that you're willing to take him in." She nudged A Shan's back. "Quick, call him Master."
A Shan was stunned for a moment, then knelt down. "Master."
Jiang Lin didn't help him up, but simply nodded. "Okay."
That night, Jiang Lin and Bai Lingyu stayed in the village. The whole village brought them food and supplies; some brought a clean quilt, and others brought a bowl of hot soup.
Bai Lingyu sat on Shitou in the courtyard, opened the blank notebook she had brought, and wrote a line by the moonlight, " South Mountain Valley Village, seven years old, left hand Scale Transformation Martial Soul, Body Martial Soul, mutated, Innate Soul Power around level three, Jiang Lin has already taken her as a disciple."
The next morning, the whole village came to see him off. A Shan's mother stood at the front of the crowd, not crying, but just looking at A Shan and saying, "Follow your master and learn well." A Shan nodded, carrying a small bundle on his back, and stood behind Jiang Lin without turning around.
Jiang Lin walked in front, Bai Lingyu followed beside him, and A Shan brought up the rear. The three of them walked along the mountain path, the village behind them receding into the morning mist until it finally disappeared around the corner.
The three walked along the mountain path for most of the day. When the sun was high in the sky, Bai Lingyu stopped by a stream.
"Let's take a break," he said, taking the water bottle off his waist and squatting by the stream to fill it up. "There's still a stretch of mountain path ahead, no rush."
Jiang Lin found a flat Shitou by the stream and sat down. A Shan stood beside him, seemingly unsure where to sit. After hesitating for a moment, he sat down on the Shitou opposite Jiang Lin.
After filling her water bottle, Bai Lingyu didn't sit back down. Instead, she stood up and glanced upstream. "I'll go check out the terrain ahead."
He waved the map in his hand. "This section isn't clearly marked either. I'll walk along the stream; you guys rest first."
He finished speaking and left, his steps unhurried, as if he really wanted to go see it. Jiang Lin didn't stop him, A Shan didn't say anything either. The sound of the stream rang out beside them, and occasionally a gust of wind blew through the treetops, shattering the shadows on the water's surface.
After a while, A Shan couldn't help but look up at Jiang Lin, then lowered his head again. A moment later, he looked up again, his voice lower than usual. "Master..."
"Um?"
A Shan looked down at his hand, his fingers curling slightly before opening again, as if to confirm that the hand was still his own.
After a long while, he raised his head. "Master, my left hand started to change when I was six years old..."
The other kids in the village say there's something wrong with my hand, and they're all afraid to play with me. Is there really nothing wrong with my hand?
Jiang Lin didn't answer immediately. He watched the stream flow between the Shitou, and after a while, he said, "It's true, no problem."
A Shan didn't speak, but his shoulders relaxed slightly.
Jiang Lin continued, "I used to be treated like a monster too."
When I awakened my Martial Soul, my Martial Soul was my eyes. They were a size larger than ordinary people's eyes, and the color of my pupils was also different. The villagers didn't know what they were and thought that I didn't look like a normal person.
No one told me what it was, and no one told me what to do. I just lived like that for a month. When I went out, the villagers walked away from me, and no one spoke to me. I didn't know how to talk to them.
He paused for a moment. "During that month, I was scared myself—I didn't know if there was really something wrong with my eyes, or if I was really different from others."
Later, Dean Feng passed by my place and saw my Martial Soul. He told me that it wasn't a monster, but a very rare type of Martial Soul called Body Martial Soul.
He asked me if I wanted to go with him, and I said yes. It was only after that I realized that my Martial Soul wasn't the problem.
Jiang Lin turned to look at A Shan: "You're in a similar situation to me back then. You also have Body Martial Soul, and you're afraid too."
But you don't need to spend a month figuring it out on your own like I did. I've already told you—your left hand isn't a monster, it's a Martial Soul. If you follow me, you won't have to endure that month by yourself."
A Shan didn't speak immediately, but after a long while, he nodded slightly. "... Okay, thank you, Master."
He didn't say anything else, but his back was straighter than before, and he seemed more confident.
After a while, Bai Lingyu came back from upstream, holding a blade of grass in her hand, as if she had really taken a walk.
He noticed that A Shan's expression was more relaxed than before, so he didn't ask any more questions. He simply walked over and sat down next to Jiang Lin: "There's still a long way to go, but we should be able to get out of these mountains before dark."
"Let's go then." Jiang Lin stood up and dusted off his clothes.
A Shan stood up, slung his bundle back over his shoulder, and walked behind Jiang Lin, his steps more steady than before.
The three continued walking along the stream, sunlight filtering through the gaps in the tree canopy and scattering into patches of light on the water's surface.
After walking for a while, Bai Lingyu turned her head to look at A Shan and casually said, "You're walking very steadily, you have a good attitude."
A Shan paused for a moment, then hummed in response, saying nothing more, but his steps were indeed more steady than before.