"Level five Innate Soul Power!"
Inside Spirit Hall's wooden building in the middle of Holy Soul Village, Su Yuntao, a handsome man with sword-like brows and star-bright eyes, was rather surprised.
The boy with his hand pressed against the Soul Power crystal ball breathed a sigh of relief. The other children in the room all cast him envious looks. After all, anyone with Innate Soul Power could become a Soul Master.
The boy's name was Ling Yu. After dying of illness in his previous life, he had discovered that he had reincarnated with his memories intact.
When he confirmed that this was the Douluo Continent, excitement surged through him-Martial Souls, Soul Beasts, gods, eternal life...
But worry soon followed. After all, here, awakening determined one's entire life, and cultivation was difficult without Innate Soul Power.
An abandoned orphan like him was most likely not descended from Soul Masters. His chances of awakening Innate Soul Power were slim, to say nothing of the quality of his Martial Soul.
Knowing full well where this world's treasures lay, yet having no power to obtain them, was too painful.
During that time, he had also set his sights on Tang San. After all, in this world, the Mysterious Heaven Skill ranked among the very best. So he had deliberately waited near the little hill, hoping to strike up a relationship with him.
Gazing up at the hilltop, Ling Yu had an odd thought:
This cultivation technique is pretty peculiar. Not only can someone from another world cultivate it, even a Soul Master-Soul Beast hybrid can. Are their eight extraordinary meridians all in the same places?
He's pretty bold, too, just facing another world's sun and furiously sucking in Purple Qi. What if the one hanging up there is the Eternal Blazing Sun-Aucuses?
Praise the sun all day long, huh?
While he was lost in thought, a figure leaped swiftly down from above.
Before he could speak, the figure flashed past him and hurried toward the village.
Ling Yu felt a moment of disappointment, but he was not annoyed. He had known his chances of success were low and had only wanted to give it a try.
Fortunately, Old Jack had adopted him, so food was not in short supply. Every day, after helping with the farmwork, Ling Yu tried some rehabilitation exercises he had learned in the hospital in his previous life to improve his physique a little, hoping for even a trace of Innate Soul Power.
Soon, awakening day arrived, and the children's hearts began to race, thump after thump.
"Your turn." Su Yuntao looked at Ling Yu, who stood last in line.
Even a trace of Soul Power will do. God who governs reincarnation, please bless me! At the moment of awakening their Martial Souls, perhaps every child was the most devout of believers.
"Hold out your right hand!" Once Su Yuntao saw that the motes of light had stopped pouring into the boy's body, he knew the Martial Soul had taken shape.
Ling Yu obediently held out his right hand, only to reveal nothing at all. "Where's your Martial Soul?" Su Yuntao quickly scanned his entire body but saw no changes from possession, either. He had never encountered anything so strange in all his years on the job.
"Sir, it's inside my body."
"It's my soul." Ling Yu slowly opened his eyes and let out a breath.
He knew this was a very rare body Martial Soul, and the rarest among body Martial Souls at that-a soul. Presumably, because he had reincarnated with his memories, the soul from his previous life had become his Martial Soul.
"There's a Martial Soul like that?" Su Yuntao frowned slightly, not expecting an answer. Even he did not know, much less this group of country children before him.
After measuring his Soul Power, he handed the certificate to Ling Yu.
"Master Su!" Ling Yu, whose joy after awakening had left his state of mind somewhat unsteady, called out, hoping to obtain a basic meditation method from him. After all, school would not begin for another three months. Not cultivating would be too much of a waste.
"Could you teach us how to cultivate? School won't start for another three months. I want to become a Soul Master sooner so Grandpa can have an easier time."
Su Yuntao looked at the country boy before him. His fluffy black hair and somewhat handsome face were already pleasing to the eye, and his Innate Soul Power was not bad, either. Perhaps they might become colleagues someday. With such a filial reason as well, he nodded.
"Children without Soul Power, go outside first. You two stay."
Su Yuntao pointed to a spot. "Sit cross-legged there. I'll guide your Soul Power through your body once."
Ling Yu immediately sat down. When Su Yuntao placed both hands against his back, he felt a warm current begin circulating through his body along a particular route.
After one complete cycle, he withdrew his hands. "Meditation means calming your mind and focusing your spirit, drawing in the world's Primordial Qi, circulating it through your body once, then refining it into your own Soul Power."
"How long you can meditate depends on the quality of your Martial Soul. Don't meditate excessively. It will affect your meridians."
"Have you memorized it?"
"Yes. Thank you, Master Su." Ling Yu stood and bowed.
Su Yuntao waved a hand to indicate it was nothing, then turned to Tang San, only to see him shake his head. "No, I'm not in a hurry yet. Thank you, Master Su."
Through observation, Tang San had found that the meditation technique Su Yuntao taught was far too basic. It even had the problem of damaging the meridians through excessive cultivation, whereas the Mysterious Heaven Skill was endlessly self-sustaining and could nurture the meridians. Thus, he thought little of it.
Su Yuntao was not annoyed. After all, with full Soul Power, the boy really was in no hurry, and it saved him some trouble. He packed his bag and walked out.
He came face-to-face with a beaming Old Jack, who had already learned what had happened in the room from the other children. Learning that his own grandson had level five Soul Power had left him grinning from ear to ear.
"Thank you, Master Su!" Old Jack bowed. Su Yuntao nodded and left the village.
"Xiao San, do you want to attend the Soul Master Academy?" Old Jack asked as he watched the two boys come out.
In his mind, Ling Yu would certainly go to school. Only Tang San's attendance still needed to be discussed and confirmed. After all, he truly could not stand Tang Hao.
"Grandpa Jack, I have to ask my dad."
"I see. Then I'll take Xiao Yu home first, and then go with you to see him."
With that, he took Ling Yu's hand and headed home, with Tang San following behind. Ling Yu glanced at him, thoughts rising in his mind:
Tang Hao considers himself the world's greatest genius. Even he and the Clear Sky Sect couldn't defeat Spirit Hall, much less a son who's a hybrid similar to the Wolf Bandits?
If Tang San only had the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, he probably wouldn't even take him for a Second Awakening.
Only because he saw that his talent was strong enough did he feel like pulling himself together. Throwing a fifteen-year-old child into Slaughter City-he was clearly treating him as a tool for revenge.
A human-beast hybrid's Twin Martial Souls clearly have a bloodline conflict. Without the Mysterious Heaven Skill, his Innate Soul Power would probably have been very low. Add his depleted body, and it might have dropped straight to zero.
After returning home, Ling Yu began cooking lunch. A while later, he saw Old Jack return in a fury.
"What's wrong, Grandpa?" Although he knew the reason, he had to talk Old Jack around so he would not make himself ill with anger.
"It's bad enough that Tang Hao lets himself sink into depravity, but he won't even spare Xiao San! How is he fit to be a father!"
"Don't get upset, Grandpa. Maybe he hasn't sobered up yet. Tang San seems to really want to become a Soul Master. Maybe he'll agree in a couple of days."
Seeing that Old Jack's anger had subsided, Ling Yu brought out the lunch he had cooked, and the two began eating.
During the meal, Ling Yu suddenly thought of something amusing:
The general principles of the Tang Sect's Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, rule one: never let anyone you cannot fully trust know the true extent of your strength.
The grandpa who often helps you out and looks out for you isn't someone you trust, but the man who drinks all day and ignores you is trustworthy, huh?
Would someone who practices martial arts fail to recognize whether another person is a martial artist? Maybe he'd long since noticed that his father was no ordinary man.
Use your hammer to protect your grass VS you can use your Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul as you please.