Xiao Man nestled in her grandfather's arms, her body still trembling slightly, the bluish-black lines on her right arm rising and falling slowly beneath her skin.
Old Zhou glanced at Jiang Lin, then looked down at his grandson in his arms. After hesitating for a moment, he finally slowly let go of Jiang Lin's hand.
Xiao Man felt her grandfather loosen his grip, and she shrank back, but didn't retreat to the corner of the bed.
He raised his eyes, glanced at Jiang Lin again, and his lips moved. "... It moved again."
Jiang Lin didn't rush to answer, but simply squatted down and said in a very soft voice, "I know. It sensed that you were nervous."
Xiao Man stared at him, as if trying to determine if he was lying. After a long while, he asked softly, "Then... could you make it stop moving?"
Jiang Lin looked at him and shook his head. "I can't control it for you."
That's your own Martial Soul, your own arm; only you know best what it feels like. All I can do is tell you the method, and then you can try it yourself."
Xiao Man was silent for a while, then looked down at his right arm, where the bluish-black lines were still slowly flowing. Then he gently moved out of his grandfather's arms, sat down against the corner of the bed, and stretched his right arm out in front of him.
He looked up at Jiang Lin, his voice soft and hesitant, "... Then will you teach me, okay?"
Jiang Lin nodded. "Okay. But before I teach you how to control it, we need to wake it up completely first."
"Completely... woke up?" Xiao Man was stunned for a moment.
"Yes, your Martial Soul is only half-awakened right now. It's emerging on its own, but it hasn't truly awakened yet."
Jiang Lin said, "I need to wake it up completely first, so it can come out and see you in its entirety. Once you see what it looks like, we'll talk about how to take care of it."
Xiao Man pursed her lips, glanced at her right arm, and asked in a weak voice, "Does it... hurt?"
"No," Jiang Lin said. "You'll just feel a little bloated and warm, that's normal. Just sit still, you don't need to move."
Xiao Man took a deep breath, as if to encourage herself, and then nodded vigorously. "... Okay."
Jiang Lin raised his hand and gently touched his left wrist—there he wore an inconspicuous black bracelet, Mustard Seed Storage Soul Tool developed by Feng Lingtian, whose shape could be selected by himself. With a flash of light, a palm-sized disc appeared in his palm.
He crouched down and placed the array plate on the ground in front of the bed. Bai Lingyu also crouched down, reaching out to press down on the other edge of the array plate to stabilize its position.
The surface of the plate is engraved with fine soul guidance patterns, and several low-level soul guidance cores are embedded in the edge. It is a simple awakening array plate provided by the academy.
" Xiao Man, put your feet down, just step on the edge of the array plate."
Xiao Man shifted her body, dangling her legs over the edge of the bed, her bare feet resting on the edge of the array plate.
"Don't be nervous, just step firmly," Jiang Lin said. "This array will help you bring out your entire Martial Soul, so don't be afraid."
Xiao Man clenched her fist, took a deep breath, and nodded.
Jiang Lin knelt on one knee at the edge of the array plate, pressed his right hand against the side of the array plate, and his Spirit Eyes appeared in his eyes, channeling his Soul Power along the array patterns.
A faint light emanated from the circular array, slowly spreading along the ground to Xiao Man's feet. A warm current rose from the soles of his feet, flowing down his legs and into his right arm—
The bluish-black lines began to surge from the wrist, spreading along the forearm to the elbow and shoulder, before suddenly surging outwards.
A dozen dark blue vines simultaneously extended from various parts of his right arm, swaying slowly in mid-air.
Xiao Man froze, her eyes wide open, and she even stopped breathing for a moment.
But he didn't cry, nor did he shrink back.
He stared intently at the vines growing from his right arm, his lips trembling. After a long while, he finally managed to squeeze out, "... These are all mine?"
"Yes, it's all yours." Jiang Lin's voice was steady. "Your right arm is entirely your Martial Soul; those vines are just how it extends. Now you see, this is what it looks like—are you afraid of it?"
Xiao Man stared at the dark blue vines on his right arm. The vines hung quietly, their tips slightly curved, as if waiting for him to speak.
Xiao Man looked at it for a long time, then slowly shook her head. "... I'm not afraid anymore. It seems... it's not trying to harm me."
"It wasn't there to harm you," Jiang Lin said. "Before, when you were asleep, it would wander off on its own because you didn't tell it where to stay. Now that you're awake, it listens to you."
Xiao Man looked up at Jiang Lin, the fear in her eyes fading considerably, replaced by a cautious excitement. "Then... can I try it now?"
"Okay. Look at it first, and tell it in your mind—go back."
Xiao Man lowered her head, carefully looking at the vines, took a breath, and thought to herself, "Let's go back."
A dozen or so vines trembled slightly at the same time, then slowly retracted. The bluish-black veins retreated along the vines back into the arm, the veins changing from bright to dark, from dark to faint, and finally sinking back into the skin, leaving only faint traces.
The entire right arm has returned to normal.
Xiao Man was stunned. After a long while, he clenched his right fist tightly—his fingers were so clenched that nothing else came out from between them.
Bai Lingyu leaned closer, took out a fist-sized transparent sphere from her Mustard Seed Storage, squatted down, and handed it to Xiao Man: "Here, put your hand on it, no need to press hard, just gently press it against your skin."
Xiao Man glanced at him, then at Jiang Lin. Jiang Lin nodded. Only then did Xiao Man extend her left hand, placing her palm on the surface of the sphere.
A faint bluish light shone from inside the sphere. The light was not strong, but it was stable and uniform, without flickering.
Bai Lingyu glanced at it. " Innate Soul Power... Level Three?"
Jiang Lin nodded. "They're stable; their foundation is solid."
Xiao Man examined his right arm repeatedly, as if he were seeing it for the first time. He lowered his arm, looked up at Jiang Lin, pursed his lips, and seemed to think for a long time before speaking, "Sir... how should I address you?"
My name is Jiang Lin.
Xiao Man nodded, as if she had carefully memorized the two words, and then whispered, "Teacher Jiang."
Jiang Lin looked down at him and gently pressed the top of his head. "Hmm."
Xiao Man jumped off the bed, stood barefoot on the floor, and looked down at her right arm, as if to make sure it really wouldn't move anymore.
A Shan and Yi Chen stood at the door for a while, and only slowly walked in when they saw that things inside were almost done.
A Shan walked up to Xiao Man, grinned, and said, "My A Shan, and this is Yi Chen..."
Xiao Man glanced at him, then at Yi Chen standing quietly beside her, without saying a word, but also without avoiding him.
A Shan added, "You know, when I first met my master, the test showed I only had level three Innate Soul Power."
Xiao Man was taken aback. "Also level three?"
"Yes, level three." A Shan stretched out his left hand, turned it over to look at the scale patterns, "At first, my body was too weak, and my Soul Power was suppressed, so I could only measure level three. Later, my master helped me recuperate for a period of time, and when I measured it again, I found it was level five."
Xiao Man looked down at her right arm, as if she was thinking about something.
Yi Chen sat down on the threshold beside him and quietly said, " Innate Soul Power is only a reference for cultivation speed, not the end point."
"Having Innate Soul Power makes us far stronger than those Innate Soul Power —at least we have the chance to become true Soul Master."
Xiao Man pursed her lips and didn't speak, but the fingers that were gripping the hem of her clothes slowly loosened.
A Shan squatted down, looking Xiao Man in the eye. "Would you like to cultivate with us?"
Xiao Man glanced at him, then at Yi Chen, and finally looked up at Jiang Lin. He hesitated for a moment, then asked softly, "... Can I also become a level five?"
Jiang Lin looked at him, neither saying "yes" nor "no," but simply said, "Practice hard, and you'll know how far you can go in the future."
After listening, Xiao Man remained silent for a while, then turned her gaze to Old Zhou.
Old Zhou had been standing in the corner of the room without saying a word. He watched as Xiao Man's right arm returned to normal, watched Jiang Lin test her Soul Power, and watched A Shan and Yi Chen come in to talk to Xiao Man. His expression kept changing. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't.
Jiang Lin stood up, turned to Old Zhou, and said formally, " Old Zhou, Xiao Man has Innate Soul Power. If he stays here, no one can teach him. I'll take him away and let him learn from me. He'll come back to see you when he's learned."
Old Zhou was silent for a long while, then his voice tightened a little. "... How long will it take?"
"It's hard to say," Jiang Lin said honestly, "But I come back every year."
Old Zhou clenched his fist, his rough hands repeatedly gripping and releasing. He looked at Xiao Man, his eyes reddening, his voice hoarse. " Xiao Man... do you want to go?"
Xiao Man looked up at her grandfather, then at A Shan and Yi Chen standing beside her, and nodded vigorously. "Grandpa, I want to go."
Old Zhou's lips trembled slightly. He turned his face away, wiped it hard with his sleeve, and turned back, his voice muffled. "... Alright. Go then. Learn well from the teacher, and don't cause him any trouble."
Xiao Man didn't cry. He stood between A Shan and Yi Chen, nodded to his grandfather, and said, "I promise I'll be good."
A Shan stood to Xiao Man's left, Yi Chen stood to Xiao Man's right. The three children stood side by side, looking at Old Zhou. Looking at this scene, Old Zhou suddenly felt a lump in his throat.
"Alright, alright, let's go, let's go. Don't stand here staring at me." He turned around, his back to them, his voice muffled, " Xiao Man, study hard, do you hear me?"
"I heard you."
That afternoon, with Bai Lingyu's help, Jiang Lin performed a simple Soul Power guidance for Xiao Man.
As evening fell, the four became five and they set off on their journey out of town.
Xiao Man stood at the village entrance and glanced back. The blacksmith's shop was still lit by firelight, and the faint clanging of hammering could be heard. He clenched his right fist, then turned around and jogged to catch up with the group ahead.
Bai Lingyu walked ahead, glanced at the map, and said without turning her head, "Continue south, there's still a stretch of mountain road ahead. The next inhabited place, according to the map, should be a ferry crossing called Pine Creek Ferry."
Jiang Lin nodded. "Then let's go to Pine Creek Ferry."
The five figures gradually disappeared southward along the mountain road.
Maple Forest Town was left behind.