At breakfast the next morning, Dad brought a little boy home. The boy looked rather sad, and his complexion was poor. He was probably still shrouded in the shadow of his mother's death.
"Son, this is Yang Ping'an. He's a few months younger than you, and he'll be living with us from now on."
"Ping'an, this is my son, Yang Podi. From now on, treat this place as your own home. If you need anything, just ask. You'll be studying with my son from now on."
"Podi, Ping'an, you're brothers now. Get along well."
Just like that, their household gained another child, Yang Ping'an.
After breakfast, the two went to the training grounds together.
Yang Podi spoke first. "Hello. Let me introduce myself again. My name is Yang Podi, my Martial Soul is the Soul Breaking Spear, and my Soul Power is rank 12."
The little boy spoke as well. "Hello. My name is Yang Ping'an, my Martial Soul is the Soul Breaking Spear, and my Soul Power is rank 8."
Yang Podi nodded. "We're both members of the Breaking Clan, and now we're family too. If you have any questions, you can ask me anytime. Starting today, you'll cultivate with me."
"Every morning, I practice spear techniques here. Later in the morning, we'll go to class together. In the afternoon, I have to spend some time studying pharmacology first. You're not a Soul Master yet, so you can't study that now. Go back to your room and cultivate your Soul Power. Once I finish studying, we'll go climb the mountain with weights."
"Young clan leader, sorry for the trouble from now on."
"Ping'an, don't call me young clan leader anymore. Just call me Big Brother or Brother Yang. That'll feel a little closer. After all, we're both disciples of the Breaking Clan."
"All right, Big Brother. Sorry for the trouble from now on."
"Ping'an, I already told you, we're family now. There's no need to talk about trouble. Whether it's a question about cultivation or everyday life, you can come ask me."
"All right, Big Brother."
Just like that, Yang Podi gained a little follower, Yang Ping'an.
At first, Yang Ping'an might have seemed rather sad because of his family's deaths, but after some time, he began to grow lively too.
However, that also seemed to mark the beginning of Yang Podi's hard days. Every day, he had to face all sorts of questions from a six-year-old child, leaving him endlessly vexed. Yet he could neither refuse nor brush him off. After all, the boy called him Big Brother.
In the mornings, when Yang Podi practiced his spear thrusts, Yang Ping'an would also begin practicing the Soul Breaking Spear Technique.
"Big Brother, why do the spear techniques you practice seem different from my Soul Breaking Spear Technique?"
"Ping'an, what I'm practicing isn't the Soul Breaking Spear Technique. These are some spear techniques I came up with myself. I've only just started practicing them too."
"Big Brother, why do I feel like there's something a little off about your body?"
"Ping'an, I usually wear weights. Except when I take medicinal baths, I never take them off, no matter what I'm doing."
"Big Brother, can I wear weights too?"
"Ping'an, you're still rather young. If you want to wear weights like me, you'd best wait until you become a Soul Master. Your body might not be able to take it now."
"Big Brother, today's weighted training feels much more tiring than usual. Do you feel that too?"
"Ping'an, today's weights shouldn't be any different from usual. Are you sick? Why don't we have my dad take a look?"
And so the two cultivated and studied together in joy and pain, while Dad also gave them pointers from time to time.
Time flew, and two years passed in the blink of an eye. Yang Podi was already eight and a half years old and had grown to around a meter and a half tall. Apart from the lingering childishness in his face, he had become sturdier all over. His muscles, in particular, looked even better than those of bodybuilders.
His looks were average, plain and unremarkable, not especially handsome-the sort of face that would disappear into a crowd. But his gaze was sharp and his expression resolute. Perhaps because of his long years of spear practice, he even carried a considerable air of indomitable advance. His black hair, though not long, also had a slightly flowing look to it.
Sometimes, when he looked in the mirror, although he was not as pleasing to the eye as those handsome men, he was still a spirited young fellow.
Many things had happened in the Breaking Clan over those two years. First, his grandfather Yang Wudi and his second grandfather Yang Wushuang had both broken through to Soul Douluo in succession during that time, with only half a year between their breakthroughs.
Grandfather Yang Wudi's eighth Soul Ring was sixty thousand years old and came from a spotted tiger with tremendously powerful attacks. His eighth Soul Skill had formidable offensive power, and even his strength had increased considerably. He had actually also obtained a sixty-thousand-year-old Right Arm Soul Bone, a peerless treasure. Even in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan or the Clear Sky Sect, it could have served as an inheritance Soul Bone.
Fortunately, only the patriarchs of the Four Single-Attribute Clans and Yang Wushuang had gone to hunt the Soul Beast, so no word had leaked out.
According to Yang Wudi, only the patriarch of the Breaking Clan would be allowed to use this Soul Bone in the future. As for whether he himself had used it, no one knew for the time being, not even Yang Podi.
Second Grandfather Yang Wushuang's eighth Soul Ring was fifty-five thousand years old and came from a Great Strength Gorilla with both decent attacks and strength. His eighth Soul Skill was also very good. In terms of its strength amplification alone, it was even stronger than Grandfather Yang Wudi's. Unfortunately, he had not obtained a Soul Bone.
Whether it was due to Yang Podi's influence was unclear, but both had favored strength-type Soul Beasts when selecting their eighth Soul Rings, considerably improving both their attacks and their strength.
The Breaking Clan now had two Soul Douluos and counted as a fairly major power within the Heaven Dou Empire. Though it was still far inferior to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, it was not too far behind the Elephant Armor Sect, one of the Lower Four Sects. Especially in terms of top-end strength, Grandfather Yang Wudi and Second Grandfather Yang Wushuang could probably each take on the Elephant Armor Sect's master, Huyan Zhen, alone.
Moreover, the members of the Breaking Clan were all born battle maniacs, fearless in the face of death, with Soul Rings devoted entirely to offense. They were essentially invincible within the same realm, and even Soul Douluo experts dared not provoke the Breaking Clan lightly. Thus, the Breaking Clan could be considered a minor regional lord that no one dared offend.
As for the major powers, they would not provoke the Breaking Clan without a serious issue either. After all, the Breaking Clan's poisons were renowned throughout the world. If they were pushed too far and released poison in someone's own home, that would be a damned disaster. They could be called another version of Poison Douluo.
After two and a half years of cultivation, his father, Yang Zhentian, had now reached rank 76 Soul Power. His mother, Niu Jinfeng, had also reached rank 68 and would become a Soul Saint within two years at most.
His little brother Yang Ping'an, who followed him around, had a rather chuunibyou personality, but he truly cultivated very diligently. Whether training his body or cultivating Soul Power, he never fell too far behind Yang Podi. He had now obtained his first Soul Ring and had just broken through to rank 16, making him a rare little genius.
The youngest in the family, Yang Tianyue, was already two years old and exceptionally cute, but her personality was nothing like a girl's. At only two, she already loved running everywhere, chasing cats and teasing dogs, leaving the entire Breaking Clan in a flurry of flying chickens and leaping dogs. Moreover, she looked somewhat like their mother and would probably grow into a tomboy.
The major elders of the Breaking Tribe had only advanced by two to three ranks on average. Although none had broken through yet, their strength had improved considerably. At this rate, several Soul Douluos might emerge in five years. Of course, they might also become stuck at the rank 79 bottleneck, unable to advance. That would require a fortuitous opportunity.
The entire Breaking Clan was flourishing.