Chapter 11 – Astonishing Recovery
Chapter 11 – Astonishing Recovery
“Out of the question! No matter what you say, I won’t let Lin Lin work under Mang Tian again!” Restraining her emotions in order to prevent the two children outside from hearing, Lang Yue choked back a sob.
After hearing Lang Yue’s thoughts, Tang Ziran was unable to reply. He could only stand there silently, his heart filled with pain.
“Without going through thick and thin, how can one see the rainbow? No one can succeed simply by doing as one wishes. Ah Yue, it also pains my heart to know that Lin Lin has to bear these hardships! But if he doesn’t bear them now, then he will face even more hardships when he grows up.”
“When I visited Mang Tian that day, I could tell that he was unwilling. He has the pride of a master blacksmith, yet Lin Lin was able to get his
approval. Do you understand how outstanding our son is? This son of ours truly is a very pleasant surprise.”
“On my way home after work, Mang Tian told me something. He told me that our son is unusually gifted, that he has godly talent. He has enough
strength to match an ordinary man and what’s even more praiseworthy is Lin Lin’s determination. With Bluesilver Grass as his martial soul, his
chances of becoming a powerful Soul Master are next to nothing, but if he’s able to become an outstanding blacksmith, at the very least he won’t have to worry about clothing or food for the rest of his life. Our child isn’t weak, so how can we, as his parents, show weakness? We ought to support and
encourage him. Moreover, I’m convinced that as a 6 star blacksmith, Mang Tian will definitely be able to instruct his disciple appropriately. He definitely wouldn’t harm a child!”
“Let’s just let Lin Lin try it out, alright? If it turns out that he really is being harmed, then I’ll prevent him from continuing by all means possible.”
Lang Yue compromised in the end. It was clear to her that both her and her husband loved their son, and Tang Ziran’s reasoning had persuaded her.
When the two of them returned to the living room, they saw Tang Wulin
sitting there, vigorously chewing his food with a grin as he looked at Na’er beside him. She was feeding him one spoonful at a time.
Tang Ziran and Lang Yue couldn’t help but be dumbfounded and shocked at this scene. Two beautiful children were sitting there beaming with an intense radiance. It was as if they had suddenly stumbled into an extremely harmonious scene.
Tang Ziran muttered to himself, “We’ll adopt this child then. Growing up together with another child will be helpful for Lin Lin.”
“Mnn,” Lang Yue agreed, revealing a slight smile at last.
In this way, the intimate family dinner ended with such an atmosphere. But once again, Tang Wulin and Na’er’s eating capabilities shocked the married couple.
In order to raise these two children, they first had to confront the issue of whether they would be able to feed the two of them.
After dinner, Lang Yue and Tang Ziran discussed the topic and decided that she would go and find a job too. If they only relied on Tang Ziran’s income, it would be very difficult for them to live.
“Look, Na’er! This is my martial soul.” Tang Wulin raised his hand with much difficulty, revealing a small blue colored strand of grass that was
slowly turning in the palm of his hands. Along with a faint blue light, it also emitted a gentle undulating energy.
Full of wonder, Na’er fiddled with the Bluesilver Grass in his palms. “Big brother, will I have a martial soul in the future too?”
Tang Wulin answered, “Of course you will! Everyone has their own martial soul. Just wait until you’re six years old, then you can awaken your martial soul on next year’s Awakening Day. I’m tired, I can’t raise my hand up
anymore. I’m going to go sleep. You should sleep early too.”
Even as he was speaking, Tang Wulin was already laying down onto his bed. In but a few short moments, his breathing had steadied and he was fast asleep.
Na’er foolishly looked at him. She really wanted to recall some of her memories, but her mind continued to stay hazy and she was unable to remember anything.
After she laid down on her bed, it wasn’t too long before she also fell asleep.
In the dead of the night, the door to Tang Wulin and Na’er’s room opened and Tang Ziran entered. He went over and knelt down beside his son’s bed,
taking out the bottle of medicine Mang Tian had given Lang Yue. Preparing to smear the medicine all over his son’s arms, he pulled Tang Wulin’s
sleeve up.
He pressed a button on his own shoulders, turning on a small light on his shoulder, which started shining directly on Tang Wulin’s arm.
“Huh?” Tang Ziran was surprised when he saw Tang Wulin’s arm. He was astonished to discover that his son’s arm wasn’t bruised. Rather, compared to what Lang Yue had described, it looked completely normal.
He carefully opened Tang Wulin’s palms. His palms were as bright and clean as jade, without the slightest bruise.
Shocked, Tang Ziran hastily pulled up the sleeves on his son’s other arm. The condition was exactly the same as the other one. No matter how he looked at it, both his son’s arms looked completely unharmed.
Tang Ziran knew that his wife wouldn’t lie to himself.
However, why had the supposed bruising and cuts disappeared? What was the cause of this?
Could it be? Was it the effect of his son’s martial soul? There were some
special martial souls that were able to automatically heal one’s self, but he had never heard of Bluesilver Grass having this kind of ability!
What he didn’t notice was that underneath Tang Wulin’s black hair, his forehead had a dim golden veined pattern which was quietly fading.
Tang Ziran sat there and pondered for a moment. Looking at the bottle of medicine in his hands and then at his son’s arms, his eyes shone in
contemplation.
After a moment, he put away the medicine bottle and left the room. It would be best to investigate his son’s circumstances in the morning.
Early morning.
Tang Wulin woke up early in the morning. After washing up, he ran to the kitchen to help his mother with her work. Although he didn’t know how to cook yet, he was still able to carry the bowls and plates.
“Lin Lin, do your arms still hurt?” Lang Yue’s heart began to hurt again as soon as she saw her son being so thoughtful.
“Huh. They don’t seem to hurt at all. It’s nothing too serious,” Tang Wulin responded as he swung his arms around. The pain from yesterday had
already completely disappeared, as if it had never existed in the first place. What’s more, he felt that his arms were even more powerful now.
Lang Yue’s tone relaxed. “It seems that the medicine Uncle Mang Tian gave us yesterday is pretty good. If it’s like this, then mom can be at ease. After you fell asleep yesterday, dad went and smeared some medicine on your
arms.
Right as he was leaving their room, Tang Ziran heard this conversation. He hadn’t smeared any medicine at all!
Could it be? His son’s martial soul had been excited, triggering a self- restoring ability as well as growing more powerful? There was no way that Bluesilver Grass could have these kinds of effects!
Throughout their sumptuous breakfast, this small home of theirs was brimming with cheers and laughter.
“Dad, hurry up and take me to school! We’re learning about martial souls today. Aiya! I was too tired yesterday and I forgot to meditate. Remind me when I get home later to meditate! I, Tang Wulin, must definitely become a powerful Soul Master!”
Chapter 12 – Three Years Later
Chapter 12 – Three Years Later
Three years later. Red Mountain Academy.
Wan Yunchao twisted his chubby body, moving closer to Tang Wulin’s side and whispered, “Wulin, I heard that Zhou Shao Long broke through rank 10, and he’s going to buy a spirit soul tonight. How about you? Didn’t you tell me last time that you’re already at rank 9? We’re about to graduate. If you’re not rank 10 by the time we graduate, you’ll have to go home and
cultivate without the academy’s recommendation letter. It’ll be very troublesome to enter an intermediate academy later.”
Three years had gone by, and with it came big changes for Tang Wulin.
Originally only 1.2 meters in height, he had now grown to a height of 1.4 meters. He was already somewhat taller than his peers. With a moderate build, he was neither fat nor thin. From an outsider’s perspective, he didn’t seem particularly strong. Along with his growth, his face had become increasingly handsome, especially his crystal clear black eyes that reflected light like mirrors. Although his martial soul was Bluesilver Grass, he was
still very popular within Red Mountain Academy.
Wan Yunchao was the fatty that he had encountered in his first year. He had originally looked down upon Tang Wulin, but he had the tables turned on him one day when he tried bullying Tang Wulin, and was instead pushed onto the floor by Tang Wulin and beaten senseless. He had been well- behaved ever since that beating.
Neither of them had a soul skill yet, nor were there any significant differences in their soul power ranks. Tang Wulin’s physical strength
undoubtedly played an important role in their relationship. Although he didn’t look particularly strong or sturdy, that time he had lifted up Wan Yunchao with a single arm had frightened Wan Yunchao into crying loudly, wah wah. Since then, Wan Yunchao had been Tang Wulin’s shadow.
The martial soul class only had a dozen or so students, and six of them had already reached rank 10 soul power. They could already advance from the lowest Soul Master rank of Soul Scholar to the rank of Soul Master.
Naturally, they first had to obtain a spirit soul to advance.
In these three years, they had nearly finished their studies at this elementary academy. Once they entered an intermediate academy, they would be divided into their specializations and would attend an academy for their
specialization. Glorybound City was a small city. Thus, it didn’t have an intermediate Soul Master academy. In order to enroll in an intermediate academy in a medium sized city, one was required to have a spirit soul.
Wan Yunchao was one of the six students who had achieved rank 10 soul power. Any students who reached rank 10 soul power before graduation
were eligible to receive a recommendation letter from the academy, making it significantly easier to enter an intermediate academy. This was due to the fact that it acted as proof that the student had the necessary skill. If they didn’t cultivate to rank 10 before they were 10 years old, they would have to take several tests before being allowed to enroll in an intermediate
academy.
“I should be nearly there. I think I’ve hit the bottleneck,” Tang Wulin said with a smile.
His cultivation speed had shocked their teacher, Teacher Lin Ximeng.
Cultivating to rank 10 soul power from rank 3 innate soul power in three years couldn’t be considered fast among Soul Masters. At most, it was only considered an average speed.
However, his martial soul was Bluesilver Grass! Cultivating to rank 10 in three years with this kind of trash martial soul certainly couldn’t be
considered slow. Although it couldn’t be compared with those geniuses, it was still within the upper levels within the class.
As Lin Ximeng guided Tang Wulin, she discovered that this child had a gift for meditation. It was very easy for him to sense the energy in the
atmosphere. Moreover, his meditative state was exceedingly focused. Later, she discovered the cause of Tang Wulin’s fast cultivation speed. This child’s spiritual power was far higher than his peers, enabling him to cultivate with more focus and thus, speed.
If even one more student was able to reach rank 10 before graduation, the teacher would win glory as well as a bonus. Thus, in their last year of
studies, Lin Ximeng had treated Tang Wulin with much more importance. She would frequently give him pointers and one on one instruction. Tang Wulin didn’t disappoint her either. With half a month to spare before graduation, Tang Wulin had reached rank 9 and was just a step away from rank 10. After this last step, he would be able to fuse with a spirit soul and become a true Soul Master.
A Soul Scholar without a spirit soul wasn’t much stronger than an ordinary person. However, once they became a Soul Master and possessed a spirit
soul’s soul skill, they would enter a completely different realm.
“Good luck, good luck. Who can say for certain if we’ll enter the same intermediate academy after graduating.” Wan Yunchao laughed. “Don’t say that big brother bullied you. Once you have your own spirit soul, we’ll have another spar. When the time comes, we’ll see who beats up who.”
Tang Wulin shot him a glance as he put on his schoolbag. “You can slowly dream on.” He naturally wouldn’t tell Wan Yunchao how strong he was now.
Tang Wulin wasn’t eager to leave as they approached the academy’s gates. Rather, he stood outside the gates and waited.
Not too long after, a smear of radiant silver hair wandered over from the composite academy building.
“Na’er, slow down. You’re going to trip.” Tang Wulin’s voice was brimming with love as he doted on her.
Na’er had a head of short silver hair, and even after three years, she hadn’t changed too much. She was just a bit taller than before while remaining just as adorably pretty. It was just that, no matter how you looked at it, Tang Wulin and Na’er didn’t look like they only had a one year age difference between the two of them. She was just a loli who hadn’t grown too much.
“Big brother, I want to eat a lollipop,” Na’er giggled as she held onto Tang Wulin’s arm.
“Alright. Let’s go buy one and then I’ll bring you home before I head off to the workshop.” Tang Wulin said as he patted her head.
As the dismissed students left, none of them were surprised by the sight of these two siblings. They had long since gotten used to it.
In the second year that Na’er stayed with the Tang family, she had attended the Awakening Ceremony and brought about a marvel. This marvel wasn’t that her martial soul was exceedingly powerful. Instead, she didn’t possess any martial soul at all. This was something that was rarely seen throughout the history of the continent.
Naturally she could only enter the ordinary section of the academy to study without a martial soul.
Na’er grew to become very pretty, making all of the other girls jealous while arousing the curiosity of all of the boys. Due to this, Tang Wulin
never had a shortage of fights. One time, a group of male students stopped him, and since he was unable to beat them all by himself, he just used his body to protect Na’er. In the end, he was covered in cuts and bruises, but not a single hair on Na’er was damaged.
The next day, Tang Wulin found the leader and would have a fierce fight
every day until finally, he had beaten his opponent until they were afraid of him and were too scared to bully Na’er anymore. Because he was in the Soul Master class, he didn’t receive any serious punishments. He was famous after that fight, and no one in the Red Mountain Academy dared to bully Na’er again.
Since he was eight years old, Tang Wulin had acted like a young man. He shouldered the responsibility of picking up and dropping off his younger sister.
After buying some snacks, Tang Wulin dropped off Na’er at their home along with his schoolbag. In exchange, he put on some oil soaked work clothes and left the house once again.
Mang Tian’s workshop had already become a part of his everyday life.
Chapter 13 – Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammer
Chapter 13 – Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammer
“Wulin’s here!” A youngster in his twenties, with a tall and sturdy build, called out to Tang Wulin in greeting.
“Brother Long.” Tang Wulin asked with a smile, “What task has teacher assigned to me today?”
Brother Long grinned, “There’s quite a lot for you to do. Just go into the room and take a look for yourself. Speaking of which, I’m really envious of you. You’re so young, yet your workload is already more than mine!”
Blacksmithing was an industrious profession. Naturally, the more work one did, the more one’s income would be.
With a chuckle, Tang Wulin asked, “If I’m comparable to you, then how come Teacher still hasn’t let me forge large components?”
Brother Gong answered, “That’s so you can have a stronger foundation. Fine then, hurry up and go! Otherwise you won’t be able to finish today’s work in the two hours you have.”
Mang Tian’s workshop had just three members, Mang Tian, Brother Long, and Tang Wulin. Originally, Brother Long was Mang Tian’s sole disciple, but with Tang Wulin’s arrival, he had gained a second disciple. Starting from his second visit to the workshop three years before, Tang Wulin had begun calling Mang Tian ‘Teacher’.
Mang Tian was an extremely strict teacher. He had high demands of his disciples, but he also taught them earnestly. Tang Wulin would often find himself thinking that he learned more things here at the workshop than at the academy.
Everyone had a workshop to work in. Mang Tian brought some forged machine components from outside before distributing them. He gave the
simple ones to Brother Long and Tang Wulin, while he personally oversaw the forging of the complex ones.
Every week they would each have one day of specialized training when Mang Tian would instruct them personally. For the rest of the week, they only had to finish the tasks that Mang Tian gave them. The more they
worked, the better their craftsmanship and the more money they earned.
Tang Wulin entered his own forging room. It was very different from the dirty and disordered reception room outside. In contrast, he had kept his room extremely neat and tidy.
There were already some raw materials lying on the forging bench, as well as a blueprint by its side.
When he had first come here, Mang Tian had made him pound iron for three months in order to teach him the proper force transmission and mitigation techniques. Each day he had to strike the iron for two hours. Those two hours were always an abyss of suffering for him.
Due to his constant practice, Tang Wulin had grown even stronger than before. Originally, he had used a small iron hammer, but the necessary hammer was gradually replaced by larger and larger ones. After three months of practice, he was allowed to do some simple metal extraction work. One year later, he began making the simplest of components.
It wasn’t until half a year before that he had been promoted from forging small components to medium sized components. Mang Tian even began comparing him and Brother Long more and more strictly. However, Tang
Wulin’s temperament had a special sort of perseverance. In the three years
he had been working there, not once had he complained about his hardships.
After seriously looking over the blueprint, he understood what today’s task was. He had to make ten machine armored ankle-joints. They were
spherical in shape so if the work was done with a mold, it would only have to be pressed twice in order to be finished. However, when it came to forging it, the demands were much higher.
Blacksmithing was divided into many ranks. Generally speaking, there was the Hundred Refined. Hundred Refined was when a component was refined a hundred times throughout. Even higher than that was Thousand Refined.
The more times it was refined, the less impurities a metal would have. Naturally, a metal of quality was required to withstand the pressure of a thousand refinements. For now, Tang Wulin was still unable to create a
Thousand Refined component, so he was rarely required to do this sort of work.
With practiced movements, he pressed the button on the workbench,
causing it to split open in the middle which exposed a forging furnace. He fastened some metal to the channel on the side, then pressed another button which delivered the metal into the furnace.
He picked up a pair of metal hammers with a shiny black finish. These two hammers were about the same size as the ones he had first used when he had first come here. For this kind of small component, hammers of this size were the most suitable.
However, these hammers were also a present that Mang Tian had given him after having worked in his workshop for one year. Mang Tian had personally manufactured these Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers. Each one weighed about 40 kilograms, which made it exceedingly difficult for an ordinary person to swing them. Nevertheless, they seemed nearly
weightless in Tang Wulin’s hands.
Under the high temperature of the furnace the metal quickly blushed a deep red. Tang Wulin swung the hammer in his right hand onto the crown of the
metal. The hammer in his left hand soon connected from the bottom. Pressing down from either side, Tang Wulin was able to remove the chunk of heated metal.
He rapidly swung the tungsten hammers in each hand and a succession of ‘dings’ could be heard. With those resounding ‘dings’, he began that day’s forging.
Blacksmithing was a craftsman’s job. It wasn’t just a simple skilled trade. Mang Tian had told him when he first started that in order to become a blacksmith, he had to use his brain. During the process of pounding the metal, he had to feel the vibrations and the changes in the metal’s vein lines. Only after grasping these two things would he be able to forge quality goods.
In the aspect of perception, Tang Wulin was excellent. Tang Wulin wasn’t
aware of the fact that when Mang Tian had gifted him this pair of Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers, it had signified that he had formally become a blacksmith.
His monthly income couldn’t be considered much but he still earnestly saved a set amount each month. With the remainder, he set apart a small
portion to spend for his little sister, while the rest was given to his mother as aid in their family expenses.
He was only a nine year old child right now, but with his three years of forging as well as his resolute nature, he was much more steadfast in
comparison to his peers.
Two hours later he gave the final component the finishing strike. Letting out a sigh, he grabbed a nearby towel and wiped away his sweat. Looking upon the ten shining joint components in front of him, he revealed a satisfied
expression.
After becoming accustomed to forging, he had grown to like this type of work. Everyday he would brandish his hammer and pound metal. It was a
way for him to vent his feelings in a carefree manner. Moreover, there were times when he was pounding the metal that he would enter a peculiarly
fantastic state. It was as if he resonated with his hammer as well as with the metal he was forging. Whenever this state occurred, the components that he forged would be especially outstanding. Those components would even draw praise from the cold natured Mang Tian.
“Teacher.” Tang Wulin was just preparing to hand in his work when he discovered that Mang Tian was already in his forging room.
Mang Tian walked over to the workbench to inspect the product first. He nodded, then handed Tang Wulin some paper bills. “Here’s this month’s wages. Your work is pretty good.”
“Thank you, teacher.” Tang Wulin was elated as he hurriedly received the paper bills and stuffed them into this pocket. Due to his excitement, Tang Wulin’s little face was somewhat red yet he couldn’t help but wave his fists in joy.
Mang Tian gave him a doubtful look. “I’ve never seen you so happy to receive your monthly wages before.”
Slightly short of breath, Tang Wulin took a deep breath of air before saying, “Teacher, I’ve saved up enough money to buy a spirit soul!”
Mang Tian blankly looked at him, then said with a hint of emotion, “You’re saying that your martial soul has already reached rank 10?”
Tang Wulin nodded his head. “I should nearly be there.” Mang Tian gave a rare trace of a smile. “Good luck.”
“Teacher, I’ll head back first then.” Tang Wulin placed his finished components in a box, then departed full of joy.
As he watched Tang Wulin’s departing back, Mang Tian couldn’t help but show a bigger smile. “At last, that kid is acting like a normal kid. It’s a pity that his martial soul is Bluesilver Grass. No matter what his spirit soul is, I fear that it’s all… However, this is also fortunate for me. This child’s talent in forging far surpasses my own.”
Chapter 14 – Enough Money at Last
Chapter 14 – Enough Money at Last
Tang Wulin was happily bouncing up and down the whole trip home. He was truly happy at the moment.
Three years. It had been three whole years. He had painstakingly forged metal everyday. All those swings of his hammer, they had all been for the sake of earning enough money for a spirit soul.
Although he had already calculated the month before that he would finally have enough money for a spirit soul this month. Now that he actually had the money in his hands, he just wanted to shout out in excitement.
Thirty thousand Federation Coins. For those upper class wealthy families, this was nothing. however, to a child who was barely nine years old, it was the fruit of over one thousand days of hard work and sweat! He couldn’t
even count the number of times he had raised his hammer in order to earn this amount of money, let alone how much he had sweat for it.
He had finally succeeded! The more he thought about his achievement, the more elated he became. His emotions were simply impossible to convey right now!
The moment he succeeds in breaking through the bottleneck, he would finally be able to obtain a spirit soul. And now he was so close that he was just counting down the number of days before it happened. His soul power was about to make a breakthrough and what’s more, it would be likely be
before graduation! Breaking into rank 10 would signify the moment he became a Soul Master.
Although Tang Wulin had taken a liking to forging, it didn’t mean that he wished to take it on as his profession. His dream was still to become a Soul Master, and in the future, he even dreamed of becoming a Machine Armor Master.
All boys had this kind of dream, but how many people were able to put in the necessary effort to achieve their dreams?
Diligence compensates for dullness. Over the last three years, Tang Wulin had always kept these four words in his heart and strived to follow its teachings.
He could finally see this come to fruition now.
“Mom, dad, I’ve earned enough money now! I have enough now!” As soon as Tang Wulin rushed through the doorway, he already began shouting out in excitement.
Na’er was sitting in the living room, sucking on the lollipop Tang Wulin had bought her.
“Big brother, you have enough money to buy a spirit soul now?” She understood Tang Wulin’s excitement too well.
“Mn. I have enough now. I have all thirty thousand.” Tang Wulin swiftly took out the money and put it on top of the table. Afterwards, he quickly returned to his room and retrieved an iron case from underneath his bed. He ran back to the living room and poured out all of the money that was inside of the case.”
“One hundred, two hundred, two hundred twenty…”
“Twenty-nine thousand six hundred, twenty-nine thousand seven hundred… Thirty thousand, thirty thousand and two hundred. There’s actually an extra two hundred! Na’er, I’ll give you a hundred to buy some good food to eat.”
Looking at the large pile of Federation Coins in front of him, Tang Wulin’s little face turned red with excitement.
Lang Yue had already finished working and returned home before them. Even from the kitchen, she could hear her son’s shouts. Tang Ziran had finished work and he was just stepping through the doorway when he also heard his son’s cheers. When they saw all the money on top of the table, the two of them couldn’t help but tear up a bit.
This child, truly had it too hard. While other children were playing, he was already earning money.
Lang Yue walked to her husband’s side and thumped on his shoulder. She didn’t turn around, in fear that the children would see her tears.
“I know what you’re capable of. You’re a very capable son,” said Tang Ziran while patting his wife’s back in comfort. With a smile, Tang Ziran walked over to Tang Wulin and hugged his shoulders from the side and gave him a big thumbs up.
“Once I’ve broken through into the 10th rank, I’ll be able to go buy my spirit soul, right dad?” Tang Wulin excitedly asked.
“That’s correct. When that time comes, I’ll accompany you. No, our whole family will go. You’re about to become a Soul Master, son! I’m very proud of you.”
He was truly ecstatic.Once the night came, no matter how hard he tried, Tang Wulin wasn’t able to enter a meditative state.
Na’er had already fallen asleep. The moon and stars were especially bright that night. The next day would definitely be a sunny day!
Tang Wulin quietly got off his bed. His excitement was simply too much for him to fall asleep. He pulled on Na’er’s blanket and adjusted it so that it
covered her delicate body. As usual, she couldn’t stay still while she slept.
‘Mom said that once I turn 10 next year, I won’t be able to sleep in the same room as Na’er anymore. When that time comes, I’ll have to give the room to Na’er and I’ll go sleep in the living room. But why is that?’
At the thought of this, Tang Wulin began to feel uneasy. He liked to being greeted with the sight of Na’er the moment he woke up everyday.
He carefully opened the door, then softly and quietly went out. He wanted to go out for a walk and let his heart calm down. Then he would be able to meditate after he came back.
Opening and closing the door, he didn’t make the slightest sound as he quietly went out.
Bright moonlight shone into the bedroom, falling upon Na’er’s body. This night’s moon was especially bright. Na’er’s silver hair glistened and shone under the blanket of moonlight.
Blanketed by moonlight, suddenly, a ring of light quietly appeared from Na’ers body. Yellow, green, red, blue, purple, gold and silver. These seven colors twinkled one by one.
Had Tang Wulin still been in the room, he would have been able to see this extraordinary scene.
Na’er’s body trembled slightly. After twinkling for a while, the seven-
colored ring of light began fusing into the space between her eyes. After a long time, she returned to her previous peaceful state.
The moonlight was still as bright as before, but the ring of light on Na’er’s body had already disappeared. It seemed as if her delicate body had grown a bit. Although she hadn’t grown too much in the last three years, tonight she had a breakthrough.
Her trembling faded away, and once again, Na’er’s breathing returned to normal. However, her eyebrows were knit. It seemed as if the dream she was having wasn’t wonderful or beautiful at all.
This night’s air was especially cool. There was a small garden in the
commoners’ area that Tang Wulin lived in. He would often bring Na’er here to play, whenever there was a school holiday.
As soon as he entered the garden, he felt a powerful attraction force from a strand of Bluesilver Grass. He breathed in the sweet scent of the plant as well as the fresh air and a satisfied smile gradually overcame him.
Subconsciously, he sat down cross-legged.
Birds were chirping quietly, the air was cold and pure and he was basking in the the dim radiance of the moon and stars. Under these conditions, he was gradually able to calm down and enter a meditative state.
Chapter 15 – 10th Rank
Chapter 15 – 10th Rank
A countless number of blue specks of light congregated from all around him, quietly boring into his body and permeating throughout.
Tang Wulin felt as if he was soaking in a blue ocean as countless tiny voices blanketed and called out to him.
The distinctive fragrance of Bluesilver Grass permeated into every cell in his body. The soul power within his dantian took on a warm feeling as it began to unfold.
In Tang Wulin’s perception, everything began to turn a bizarre blue color. The scent of Bluesilver Grass was present everywhere in his body.
Faint golden lines lit up on his forehead with the same pattern as before, extending outwards. After extending all over his skin, the golden lines gradually withdrew.
His body shone as he sat there in meditation. One moment it was a faint blue color and in the next the light shining from his body had traces of gold.
Early morning.
“Lin Lin, Lin Lin… “ Lang Yue’s anxious voice resounded in the streets.
Inside the small garden, Tang Wulin stirred from his cross-legged sitting position and slowly awoke from his meditative state. The morning dew moistened his lapels, but at this very moment he felt an indescribable feeling penetrating throughout his whole body.
“Lin Lin, Lin Lin…” Lang Yue’s distinct voice was heard.
“Mom, I’m over here.” Tang Wulin hurriedly responded as he got off the lawn and ran over.
As he hurried to answered his mother’s call, he could feel that his body was much more relaxed than before.
“You child, why are you out here? You nearly worried me to death.” Lang Yue said sternly as she examined her son.
“I’m sorry mom. I was meditating in the garden. I think I’ve broken through to the 10th rank.” Although Tang Wulin wasn’t sure, the changes in his body indicated that he had most likely had a breakthrough.
Lang Yue gaped at him for a moment before she lowered her head to examine her son. Tang Wulin’s height already reached her shoulders.
Although his body was a bit moist, his skin still glistened with the luster of a gem and he was looking to her with a pair of large spirited eyes.
“Listen to mom’s words. Your safety is the most important thing. Let’s go home then. I’ll cook you some breakfast.” Lang Yue kissed his head a few times before she held onto his hand and walked him home.
“You’ve made a breakthrough?” When Tang Ziran found out that his son had made a breakthrough, he was very happy. “Since you think you’ve made a breakthrough, we’ll go to the academy today and test you. If you really have made a breakthrough, then I’ll take you to buy a spirit soul tomorrow.”
“Long live dad!” Tang Wulin cheered.
“Na’er, what’s the matter? Aren’t you happy for big brother?” Tang Wulin was in high spirits, but he discovered that unexpectedly, Na’er was a bit different today. Usually she would gorge herself on breakfast first thing in the morning, but she just sat there with a blank stare today. None of his
excitement had rubbed off on her.
“Ah? Nothing’s the matter! Congratulations big brother!” Na’er gave him a sweet smile before digging into her breakfast.
Tang Wulin thought she was down because she didn’t have a martial soul, so he didn’t pursue the topic.
In fact, Tang Wulin’s guess about his breakthrough was correct. After
arriving at the academy, he told Teacher Lin Ximeng about his feeling and was then taken to undergo the soul power test. The apparatus displayed that his soul power had indeed reached rank 10.
Every ten soul power ranks, Soul Masters would require a soul ring in order to break through to the next rank. They could kill a soul beast to obtain a
soul ring, but soul beasts were too rare nowadays. It was much more
common for people to choose the second method, of obtaining a spirit soul manufactured by the Spirit Pagoda.
Tang Wulin was the seventh student in his class to break through. After
stepping through the threshold of the 10th rank, he had become a true Soul Master and had taken his first step on this road.
“Tang Wulin, have your family quickly take you to the Spirit Pagoda to buy a spirit soul. Once you’ve fused with a spirit soul, you’ll be a Soul Master.
Official Soul Masters are able to receive a stipend of 1000 Federal Coins
every month. That should be enough for your tuition fees at an intermediate academy.” Lin Ximeng urged him.
Tang Wulin nodded in excitement. “I already have enough money to buy a spirit soul, Teacher Lin. I’ll go buy one tomorrow.”
Lin Ximeng nodded with a smile. “Good. I’ll request a leave of absence for you tomorrow. I wish you the best of luck in obtaining a satisfactory spirit soul.”
“Thank you, teacher.”
After becoming a Soul Master, he would receive a monthly stipend.
Although intermediate academy was compulsory, his monthly stipend of a
thousand coins would just barely be enough to pay for his everyday expenses. He would have to leave Glorybound City to attend an
intermediate academy. With his monthly stipend, he would no longer need to use his parent’s money. If he was able to cultivate to become a Soul
Grandmaster, his monthly stipend would increase even more!
Tang Wulin was elated, step by step he was moving closer to his dream.
If it was any other child, they might not have been able to control their
emotions, but Tang Wulin’s heart had grown exceedingly steady after three years of forging. That night, he went to Mang Tian’s workshop and
completed his forging assignments. Only after finishing did he go home.
As soon as Tang Ziran received the notification from the academy, he went and requested the next day off, so that he could take Tang Wulin to buy a
spirit soul. Lang Yue had requested a day off too, but because there was too much work, her request wasn’t approved.
“Na’er, why are you so lost in thought today?” Tang Wulin gave a puzzled look from the side. “Don’t worry. Even though you don’t have a martial
soul, big brother will protect you instead. I’ll protect you for your whole life. All right?” Tang Wulin said as he rubbed her head.
Na’er raised her head and looked at him, revealing clear purple eyes which now displayed a fantastic splendor. “Big brother, can you take me to play on the beach after we eat?”
Tang Wulin turned to look at Tang Ziran.
“Go ahead. Just don’t come back too late.” Tang Ziran smiled.
Although Glorybound City was called a city, it was actually just a very large village. There weren’t any city walls. The commoner’s district where Tang Wulin’s family lived in was exceptionally close to the beach.
It only took a ten minute walk from their home to the beach.
This beach couldn’t be considered pretty as it lacked fine sand. Rather, it was filled with rough, gravel-like sand and shells. Legends said that due to humanity’s excessive hunting of the ocean’s soul beasts, they had attracted the wrath of nature.
The moonlight this night was just as beautiful as the night before as it glittered pure white, like snow. Stars as brilliant as gems were embedded into the canopy of the sky, which complemented the splendor of the moon.
The ocean reflected the radiance of the moon and stars in the sky, as waves constantly surged forth. The sounds of crashing waves and seabirds filled the air, addingextraordinary vitality to this image of the starry sky above the ocean.
Na’er looked out towards the ocean, then looked up towards the stars. “There sure are a lot of stars tonight, big brother!”
Tang Wulin laughed. “Yes! Maybe they’ve all come out tonight to
congratulate me on becoming a Soul Master. Na’er, are you sad that you’re unable to become a Soul Master?”
Na’er shook her head. “That’s not it.” After a moment of silence, she turned around and looked into Tang Wulin’s eyes. “Would you miss me if I left one day, big brother?”
Chapter 16 – The Starry Sky and the Vast Sea
Chapter 16 – The Starry Sky and the Vast Sea
“If I left one day, would you miss me?” Na’er asked as she raised her head to look at Tang Wulin. Her petite face was even more fairy-like under the splendor of the moon and stars.
Tang Wulin dumbly asked, “Why? Are you going to leave?” Na’er pouted, “I’m just asking if I leave.”
Tang Wulin replied, “You’re my little sister. Of course I would miss you. I would really, really miss you. Eh, have you grown a bit taller, Na’er?
You’re nearly up to my nose now.”
“I’ll miss you too. I’ll really, really miss you.” Na’er gave an answer beside the point. Her large purple eyes seemed to contain a hazy layer of water.
Tang Wulin happily embraced her by her shoulders. “We’re together
everyday, so we don’t have to miss each other. I’ve already talked it over with mom and dad. Once I’ve entered an intermediate academy, you’ll be coming with me to attend an academy in the same city. Big brother will
always protect you.”
Silently, the radiance in Na’er’s eyes dimmed and she rested her head on Tang Wulin’s shoulder.
Early morning.
Tang Wulin got up especially early and ate a smaller breakfast than usual today. Seeing the eager shine in his son’s eyes, Tang Ziran couldn’t help but smile. “Aren’t you awfully impatient? There’s no need to be so eager. Even if we went early, the Spirit Pagoda wouldn’t be open.”
For Tang Wulin, today was a very special day. Today was the day he was going to buy a spirit soul.
“Dad, what kind of spirit soul do you think I’ll be able to buy?” Tang Wulin was only a nine year old child. He had been working his hardest all for this day, and now that the day had finally come, how could he possibly be calm?
Tang Ziran revealed a slight smile. “How would dad know? But no matter what kind of spirit soul you get, you’ll still be promoted from a Soul Scholar to a Soul Master. Then you’ll truly be a Soul Master. The gap between you and ordinary people will grow even larger.”
“Mn.” Tang Wulin excitedly nodded his head. However, he had overlooked something in his father’s tone.
As Na’er watched Tang Wulin impatiently pulling his father out of the home, her pretty eyes displayed a perplexed look. She knitted her eyebrows, as if deep in thought.
“Dad, walk a bit faster. Let’s hurry up.” Tang Wulin urged as he practically skipped ahead.
Tang Ziran couldn’t help but shake his head while the deepest depths of his eyes revealed his worries. Obtaining a suitable spirit soul couldn’t possibly be that easy! Just because he could buy one didn’t mean he was able to buy a suitable one.
The Spirit Pagoda’s reach spread throughout the continent. Not only was it present in the Douluo Continent, it was even able to spread to the other two continents several thousand years ago.
Ten thousand years ago, the remnants of the Heaven Dou Empire after its defeat at the hands of the Sun-Moon Empire had embarked on a voyage and
had experienced many hardships and perils. In the end, they discovered a huge continent which also had some indigenous humans. However, their development couldn’t even compare with the Douluo Continent’s. They
were conquered by the Heaven Dou remnants and the continent was named the Heaven Dou Continent.
On the Douluo Continent, the conflict between the Sun-Moon Empire and the Star Luo Empire was never ending. While the Sun-Moon Empire rapidly developed, the Star Luo Empire gradually declined. Instead, they chose to take a different route. The Star Luo Empire decided to invest in
seafaring technology. Thanks to their research, they were able to discover another large continent which was followed by a quiet occupation shortly afterwards. With the whole continent taken, the Star Luo Empire migrated the whole empire over along with their many resources and named it the Star Luo Continent. Afterwards, the Star Luo Empire also changed to a federal system and became the Star Luo Federation.
The Sun-Moon Empire was able to unify the Douluo Continent and became the Sun-Moon Federation.
The Spirit Pagoda had a ten thousand year history. Due to their importance to Soul Masters and their groundbreaking research into artificial spirit souls, their status had risen dramatically to its current state. Throughout the three
continents, they were the strongest power.
Glorybound City also had a Spirit Pagoda branch located in the heart of the city. It was a three layer pagoda. This was the lowest rank possible for a Spirit Pagoda branch. A mid-sized city would have a seven layer Spirit Pagoda branch. Major cities would have a thirteen layer Spirit Pagoda branch. However, the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters was situated in Shrek
City. The headquarters had gone through many renovations over the years and it now had eighty layers. It was said to be the most magnificent building on the Douluo Continent.
In regards to Tang Wulin, the three layered pagoda in front of him was
already a holy land. This Spirit Pagoda branch was the largest building in Glorybound City. Everybody knew where it was, but few had ever entered it.
When they arrived the Spirit Pagoda’s doors were already wide open, yet there weren’t too many people there. After all, this was a place for Soul
Masters. With Glorybound City being as small as it was, there were simply too few Soul Masters.
After Tang Ziran brought his son into the Spirit Pagoda, Tang Wulin’s eyes constantly fluttered all about his surroundings. He was very curious about this fabled place.
The Spirit Pagoda was shaped like an octagon with three floors. The interior was very spacious and the marble floor carried the symbol of the Spirit Pagoda. Inside the huge hall, there was a circular door which led to an unknown location. There was a reception counter in the front with an ashen robed Soul Master seated behind it.
The Soul Master had already stood up by the time the two of them arrived in front of the counter and was inspecting Tang Ziran. “Hello, may I ask what you’re here for?”
Tang Ziran respectfully greeted, “Hello Lord Soul Master. I’ve brought my son to buy a spirit soul. His martial soul has reached the 10th rank.”
Once he heard this, the Soul Master’s enthusiastic expression clearly dampened a bit as Tang Ziran wasn’t a Soul Master.
“Do you have enough money?” He unenthusiastically asked. Tang Wulin scrambled over. “Enough. I have enough.”
The Soul Master said, “What rank of spirit soul do you want to buy?”
Somewhat embarrassed, Tang Ziran answered, “Lord Soul Master, we’re not quite knowledgeable about these things. Could we possibly inconvenience you to explain this to us?”
The Soul Master impatiently said, “You don’t know about this yet you’ve still come? For such a small city like Glorybound City, the Spirit Pagoda
only offers three types of spirit souls. Ten year white spirit souls, hundred year yellow spirit souls, and random spirit soul selection.
“There are 73 ten year white spirit souls and 11 hundred year yellow spirit souls to choose from. The price of a white spirit soul is seventy thousand coins, while yellow spirit souls are one million coins. Which one do you want to buy?”
Tang Wulin was stunned at his words and nearly lost his voice as he asked, “Lord Soul Master, aren’t spirit souls thirty thousand coins? How, how
could it be…?”
Chapter 17 – Spiritual Power Test
Chapter 17 – Spiritual Power Test
The Spirit Master shot him a glance. “Thirty thousand is for a random spirit soul. You can get a ten year spirit soul, or a hundred year spirit soul, but
what you get is random. There’s a very high chance that the spirit soul you get won’t be suitable for your martial soul. Some people who want to save money and bet on luck would choose this type. However, I suggest that you get a suitable ten year spirit soul instead, it’ll be much more helpful.
From their tone of voice, it was clear to the Spirit Master that this father and son pair weren’t people who were able to purchase a hundred year spirit
soul.
Tang Wulin looked over at his father. His original excitement had already been obliterated completely.
Tang Ziran crouched down to face Tang Wulin. At that moment, he had all sorts of feelings swell up in his heart, but he didn’t know what he should
say in this situation.
“Son, let’s choose a random spirit soul then. Your martial soul’s adaptability should be very high and it should be able to fuse with most spirit souls.”
If Tang Wulin didn’t have the trash martial soul of Bluesilver Grass, Tang Ziran might not have opted to take this risk…
However, Bluesilver Grass truly didn’t have too much room for improvement. So being able to cultivate it to the 10th rank was already a surprise.
“I must warn you.” The Spirit Master’s voice caught the attention of the father and son pair.
He indifferently continued, “It’s possible to obtain a hundred year spirit soul from the random spirit soul selection, but it’s also possible to obtain a defective spirit soul.”
Tang Ziran asked in bewilderment, “Defective spirit soul? How could they be defective?”
The Spirit Master said, “When a spirit soul is being manufactured, it won’t necessarily succeed every single time. Sometimes, defective ones may
appear. The defectives ones are also very expensive to manufacture and they can also be fused with too. So we include it in the random selection. If we didn’t and just left it as all white and yellow spirit souls, wouldn’t the losses outweigh the profits? It would seem that thirty thousand federal coins is quite a bit for you two, so you must think about this thoroughly.”
Tang Ziran looked at Tang Wulin and saw the lifeless look in his eyes. He had never thought that after all the effort he had put in these last three years, he would still be faced with this kind of situation.
“Son, how about we first go home. Dad will help you think of an idea. If there’s no other way, we can borrow some to try to gather up seventy thousand…” Tang Ziran saw his son’s appearance and couldn’t help feeling his heart ache.
Tang Wulin shook his head. “Dad, you and mom already tire yourselves out for me everyday. And anyways, my martial soul is only Bluesilver Grass.
I’ll just try my luck and see if the Heavens care about me then. Maybe I’ll get a decent spirit soul.”
His eating capacity had increased by a lot ever since his martial soul had awakened. What’s more, Na’er also had a large appetite despite her petite frame. For a household living on a salary, it was already quite difficult for Tang Ziran and Lang Yue. All the good things were already given to the
children to eat; the husband and wife weren’t even willing to eat meat.
The children of the poor had to take on household responsibilities at a young age. To Tang Wulin’s eyes, his household was already struggling hard enough as it is. How could he possibly let them strain themselves further to borrow money for him? His mom and dad worked very hard, so he wanted a strong spirit soul to become a renowned and powerful Soul
Master. Although becoming a powerful Soul Master was important to him, his mother, father, and Na’er were much more important.
“He really is a thoughtful child.” When the somewhat impatient Spirit
Master heard what Tang Wulin said, his expression couldn’t help but soften a bit.
“Sigh…” Tang Ziran’s sigh was full of bitterness. “It’s all because dad is useless.”
Tang Wulin held his father’s hand, then looked towards the Spirit Master and asked, “Lord Spirit Master, could I trouble you to take me to select a random spirit soul?” Saying this, he took out the thirty thousand federal coins he had saved up.
The Spirit Master nodded and said, “You really are a sensible child. Much better than my family’s stinky kid. Originally, you would have had to pay a fee for the spiritual power examination, but I’ll help you out and exempt you from the fee.”
Tang Wulin stared blankly at him before hastening to say, “Thank you. I really am thankful to you.”
The Spirit Master laughed as he rubbed his head. “Follow me. Your father will wait here. Ordinary people can’t look into the world of Soul Masters.”
The room he brought Tang Wulin into was different on the inside compared to its simple and unadorned outer appearance. It was brimming with modern technological apparatuses that were arranged about the room.
The Spirit Master gestured for Tang Wulin to sit down on a metal chair before he began speaking. “Do you know why we why test spiritual power?”
Tang Wulin blankly shook his head.
The Spirit Master explained, “This is your first time coming to choose a
spirit soul. After fusing with a spirit soul, you’ll become a true Soul Master and the Spirit Pagoda will make a record of your spiritual power’s strength, the level and type of spirit soul you fused with, and other things. You’ll most likely attend an intermediate Soul Master academy later on.”
Tang Wulin responded in amazement. “Lord Spirit Master, spiritual power also has ranks? Like soul power? Is spiritual power very important?”
The Spirit Master answered, “For normal Soul Masters, spiritual power isn’t too important. It’s also divided into ranks, but it isn’t divided the same way soul power is. However, when it comes to high level Soul Masters, the
strength of their spiritual powers becomes much more significant. A strong spirit soul requires spiritual power equally as strong to fuse with.”
“Before the existence of spirit souls, there weren’t any ranks for spiritual power at all. But when spirit souls first appeared, the previous generations gradually realized that fusing with a spirit soul required much more spiritual power than fusing with a spirit ring. After extensive research, they created the rankings for spiritual power. It was only in the last two thousand years or so that the rankings were completed.”
Tang Wulin inquisitively asked, “Then how many levels is spiritual power divided into?”
The Spirit Master responded, “From low to high, spiritual power is divided into: Spirit Origin, Spirit Opening, Spirit Sea, Spirit Abyss, Spirit Domain, and the fabled Divine Origin. These six realms are quite simple. Everyone is in the Spirit Origin realm when they are born. As for the meaning behind Spirit Origin, it means that it’s the single origin everyone starts from.
Afterwards, nature takes on a new look. This is the most basic of soul levels. You should be at this level. As for the rest, you’ll learn it in school so I won’t speak of it. Alright then. I’ll start testing what degree of Spirit Origin you’ve reached.”
A metal helmet fell onto his head. Then, metal arms linked together and strapped his head in.
“Don’t be so tense. Relax your body. You might feel a bit of vertigo in a bit; that’s normal. You just need to stay relaxed.” The Spirit Master repeatedly warned.
“Yes.” Tang Wulin hastily promised.
A slight humming noise arose as the helmet began to emit a soft white glow. The Spirit Master watched the soul transmitter screen on the side as the screen began to display data.
When the numbers first appeared, they jumped up extremely quickly. After a moment, the numbers gradually stabilized. When the Spirit Master saw the number, his expression changed to one of astonishment.
Chapter 18 – Random Draw
Chapter 18 – Random Draw
The numbers stopped increasing after a moment and settled within a range. The Spirit Master turned off the apparatus and took off the helmet.
“It’s done.”
Tang Wulin really did feel dizzy, even though he had previously only felt a slight irritation in his head. He had once seen the indistinct sight of the golden world of fused spirit souls, and now, during the test, he had once
again managed to see it. He had to put in a lot of effort in order to see it clearly, and when he almost succeeded to clearly glimpse it, the test had already ended.
“It’s a pretty good number.” The Spirit Master nodded and smiled at Tang Wulin. “You have the best spiritual power out of all the Soul Scholars I’ve had these past few years. Your spiritual power is 38. Remember this number. I’m going to have the machine make a record for you, so you can hand it over once you attend an intermediate Soul Master academy.
As he was unclear about the boundaries of the spiritual power system, Tang Wulin also wasn’t clear about the significance of having a spiritual power level of 38.
Seeing Tang Wulin’s perplexed expression, the Spirit Master kindly explained, “Spirit Origin realm can be ranged between level 1 to 100
spiritual power. Levels 30 and below are elementary ranked. Levels 30 to 60 are intermediate ranked. Levels 60 to 90 are advanced rank. Levels 90 to 100 is the peak of Spirit Origin. You’ve already entered Spirit Origin realm intermediate rank at such a young age; that isn’t easy at all. I’m a 28th rank
Soul Grandmaster, yet my spiritual power is only at level 87. With spiritual power in the intermediate rank of Spirit Origin realm, you’ll be able to fuse with a hundred year yellow spirit soul.”
This good news caused Tang Wulin to immediately brighten up a bit.
What’s more, the Spirit Master’s explanation of spiritual power had enabled him to see another magnificent side to the world of Soul Masters.
“If you accept, then we’ll see just how good your luck is.” The Spirit Master brought Tang Wulin directly into an adjacent room afterwards.
Inside of this much larger room, there was a three meter tall, six meter wide gigantic machine. Numerous glowing spheres with a diameter of about one third of a meter could be seen within it. Each and every one of these balls of light were exactly the same.
The Spirit Master pointed at two buttons on the machine and said, “The green button is to start, the red button is to stop. After stopping, the spirit soul at that location will roll out. You may begin whenever you’re ready.”
Tang Wulin’s heartbeat couldn’t help but quicken in front of this odd machine. Teacher Lin Ximeng had said before that the quality of a spirit soul played a significant role in a Soul Master’s strength. Fusing with a
strong spirit soul would help a Soul Master upgrade their own power. On the other hand, if they fused with a weak spirit soul, the spirit skill bestowed upon them would be equally weak. A Soul Master could have a maximum of nine spirit skills. Although it was exceedingly rare for
someone to reach nine spirit rings, this just made the lower level spirit skills that much more important.
What is to be, will be.
Tang Wulin clenched his teeth, then bravely pressed the green button.
A succession of lights within the machine immediately began to shine, until every single ball was illuminated.
The hundred or so spirit souls within the machine slowly began to circulate. Not too long after, it reached a shockingly fast speed, giving off the feeling of being too much for one’s eyes to take in.
The spirit souls were all concealed from the outside world by the spirit soul ball. Nothing of the inner contents could be discerned by the eye. The result could only be left up to the will of the Heavens.
Tang Wulin’s hand rested upon the red button. Although he could normally hold a forty kilogram thousand refined tungsten hammer with steady hands, at this moment his hand had a slight tremble to it. He knew that as soon as he pressed the button, his fate as a Soul Master would be sealed!
After breathing in forcefully, he shut his eyes and finally pressed the button.
“Bang!” The machine stopped circulating and a pure white spirit soul ball fell out of the machine, tumbling into the metal case beside Tang Wulin.
Tang Wulin subconsciously opened his eyes and turned to look. At that moment, his heartbeat was beating like a drum.
The Spirit Master walked over, took out the spirit soul ball, and handed it to Tang Wulin.
“Come on. Take a look.”
Tang Wulin gasped for breath as he held the ball close to his chest. He looked at it as if it was the most precious treasure in the world.
‘I finally have it! This is my first spirit soul!’
After Tang Wulin tensely returned to his father, the Spirit Master handed him an oval shaped device.
“When you press this button and shine the device’s light upon the spirit soul ball, your spirit soul will break out of its shell. After releasing the spirit
soul, its power will belong to you.Not even speaking of Tang Wulin’s nervousness, Tang Ziran couldn’t possibly clench his fists any tighter from the anticipation of that moment. What would the result be?
Tang Wulin looked at his father. In return, Tang Ziran gave him a nod brimming with encouragement.
At the push of the button, a gentle yellow light was released from the device and fell upon the spirit soul ball. The spirit soul ball reacted by emitting a faint radiance, then slowly turned transparent. The contents within could
already be vaguely seen.
Tang Wulin could clearly sense the breath of the being within the spirit soul ball when it made a slight movement.
‘What is it?’
The radiance emitted by the spirit soul ball turned white at that moment, and in its center, the brilliance of a shining ring was seen. The spirit soul ball slowly unfurled from the center outwards.
When he saw the white light, the Spirit Master explained from the side. “It’s a ten year spirit soul.”
Tang Ziran’s expression darkened. In the end, the Heavens didn’t care for his son. A hundred year spirit soul worth over a million coins simply wasn’t that easy to obtain.
Tang Wulin’s gaze was fixed on the spirit soul ball that slowly opened up. His first spirit soul would be a ten year spirit soul, but what kind would it be?
The white light began to dissipate as the spirit soul ball opened up completely. The spirit soul inside had appeared at last.
As soon as he saw it, the Spirit Master’s expression changed a bit. Tang Ziran and Tang Wulin were both dumbfounded.
The spirit soul was actually…
Chapter 19 – Spirit Soul
Chapter 19 – Spirit Soul
Author’s note: Don’t cry Wulin. Stand up… cough cough. I request
collections, I request recommendation tickets, then I will treat him a bit nicer. (Guide on how to stop Wulin Cruelty here, courtesy of CKTalon and Etvolare)
−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−
−−−−−−−
Within the white spirit soul ball, a little fellow was quietly crawling.
It really was too tiny, measuring only about ten centimeters in length and was about as thin as a child’s finger. Its body was an earthen yellow color, and if you looked at it closely, a tiny rhombus shaped scale could be seen.
“This is a spirit soul?” Tang Ziran raised his head and looked towards the Spirit Master as he asked with a dubious voice.
Nearly everyone would recognize what this tiny thing was. This was because it was the commonly seen Grass Snake, a type of harmless, small animal. Although it was a type of snake, it was definitely the weakest of its species.
A fully grown Grass Snake would be about twenty to thirty centimeters in length and about as thick as a finger. It would only be able to feed on some puny insects.
If it was to be described in the simplest of words, only four were needed. Harmless human raised livestock!
Ever since his martial soul awakened and he found that he possessed spirit power, Tang Wulin had countless fantasies as to what his first spirit soul would be. He fantasized that after combining his martial soul with a spirit
soul, his martial soul would improve and become powerful. It would bestow upon him a dazzlingly powerful spirit skill, and he would officially become a Soul Master.
Fantasies were fine, but reality was cruel.
Grass Snake? This wasn’t even a question of its strength, but whether or not it was actually a spirit soul.
The Spirit Master was also staring blankly at this Grass Snake. He let out a gentle sigh and said somewhat bitterly, “When it rains, it pours. Child, your luck really is…”
He knew that artificial spirit souls were still reliant on the genes of the soul beast they were created from. As a result of the gradual extinction of soul beasts, soul beast genes had also unceasingly depleted. The researchers of the Spirit Pagoda had tried many times to use non-soul beast genes to create a spirit soul and see if the result was acceptable.
The experiment was a success, but the fact was, the spirit souls made from those genes were pitifully weak. Basically, no one would be willing to buy them.
Without a doubt, this Grass Snake was one of the defective goods he had spoken of earlier. What’s more, it wasn’t just any defective goods, it was a spirit soul that lacked the slightest bit of soul beast genes. This spirit soul occupied the hundredth position in the spirit soul extraction machine, and
there was a constant number of a hundred spirit soul balls in the machine at all times…
The Spirit Master sighed then nodded his head. “I’m certain that it’s a spirit soul, but it’s a weak spirit soul. The spirit soul has already been activated
after its extraction, so you must fuse with it within twenty four hours. If not, it will die. You can decide for yourself if you want to fuse with it. If you don’t wish to, then you can return in the future to select another spirit soul.”
Tang Ziran looked at his lifeless son and was barely able to suppress the pain in his heart. He held his son’s shoulders and said, “Lin Lin, let’s go home.”
Tang Wulin remained silent as he began walking away.
“Wait a moment.” The Spirit Master couldn’t bear it anymore, and called out to them.
“You should renounce this spirit soul. Although it was a successful product of the experiments, but it’s still…” Out of compassion, he still continued to explain the origin of this Grass Snake.
Tang Wulin didn’t know how he had gotten home, but he had been holding the spirit soul ball close to his heart the whole time. That Grass Snake spirit soul had a very lovable appearance and wasn’t afraid of slithering out of the spirit soul ball at all. In fact, this kind of low level spirit soul didn’t have
any sort of intelligence. Before fusing with a martial soul, it wouldn’t even be able to react to its environment.
“Don’t be sad, son. Dad will think of a way to make enough money. You can be relieved. I’ll definitely be able to make enough money in a short period of time and help you buy a suitable spirit soul.” Tang Ziran’s eyes flickered with a resolute light. For the sake of his son, he had steeled his resolve to face this matter head on.
Tang Wulin gently shook his head. “Dad, I’m going to my room first.”
Sitting quietly to the side, Na’er got up and followed Tang Wulin to their room.
He sat on his bed and gazed at the spirit soul in his hands, then looked to his own callused hands. In the end, tears began to stream uncontrollably down his face.
Even after his martial soul had awakened, only to discover it was a trash spirit like Bluesilver Grass, he didn’t cry. After all, he possessed spirit power. As long as he had spirit power, he still had a chance.
His father had told him that his family’s conditions weren’t too good. Even when he was told that they had no money to buy a spirit soul for him, he
still hadn’t cried. His father had said before that one must take responsibility for one’s own matters. He could earn the money himself, while also helping his parents.
When he first arrived at Mang Tian’s workshop and had to swing the the hammer for a thousand times, resulting in aching arms that desired to break and prevented him to even lift his arms to feed himself, he still hadn’t cried. He had invested all of his efforts into it and had passed the test, giving him some more hope. As long as he had hope, then there was a chance that he
could succeed.
Countless liters of sweat had been shed as he continually forged everyday for the last three years. When his classmates were at home playing, he
would be pounding metal again and again. He would meditate for longer periods than the others, bearing through the pain and suffering, not
shedding a single tear. He had smiled in the face of everything each and every day, and would always tell his parents to relax.
But now, he cried.
He had finally saved enough money after three years, and his spirit power had also reached the 10th rank. He was just about to succeed. Thirty thousand coins. All of his sweat had condensed into those thirty thousand coins. In the blink of an eye, those thirty thousand coins had transformed into this spirit soul with next to nothing in soul beast genes. All of his
efforts were like bubbles that easily popped.
All of his toughness, his strength, and his determination, had been crushed in a moment and turned into tears. Drop by drop, they flowed.
Teardrops dripped onto the spirit soul ball one after another, gradually
soaking that tiny Grass Snake. The Grass Snake writhed a bit, as if enjoying the taste of the salty tears.
A delicate hand extended towards him, intending to wipe away his tears. Na’er stood in front of him with puffy red eyes.
In this moment, it was as if their hearts were linked together. She could feel the pain and suffering in his heart in its entirety.
Despair, sorrow, and all sorts of dark emotions lingered within Tang Wulin’s heart.
Tang Wulin wanted to cry out, but it was as if he was drained of all the strength necessary to scream at this moment.
“Big brother, big brother, don’t cry.” Without wiping away the tears, Na’er went forward and brought his head into her embrace.
Tang Wulin was choking on sobs as he cried, “Why? Why do the Heavens treat me so unjustly? Even after all my efforts, there isn’t a single opportunity for me to grasp. I want to become a Soul Master. I want to become a powerful Soul Master!”
Chapter 20 – Fusion
Chapter 20 – Fusion
Crying really was the best way to vent one’s feelings. After wetting Na’er’s shoulder with his tears, the sound of weeping gradually stopped.
“Na’er, am I weak?” Tang Wulin asked after he raised his head and wiped away his tears.
Na’er shook her head vigorously.
Tang Wulin looked at the spirit soul in his hand. The tiny Grass Snake was moving about within the spirit soul ball in a carefree manner.
“You can go first, Na’er. I want to fuse with this spirit soul.” Tang Wulin said bitterly.
Na’er hesitated and said, “But, this one isn’t any good?”
Tang Wulin forced out a smile. “It’s already difficult for mom and dad to provide for us, so I can’t increase their burden. Dad said he would help me earn the money to buy another one just now, but our family doesn’t have much money to begin with. I can’t let mom and dad carry another burden for my sake. Even if it’s not too good, it’s still a spirit soul. It’ll still let me become an official Soul Master. Also, dad won’t have to face any more difficulties after I fuse with it.”
Na’er blankly stared at him. “Big brother…”
Tang Wulin gave her a big smile. “I’m fine. It was only a dream of mine anyways. Maybe becoming a master forger is most suitable for me after all.”
At this moment, Tang Wulin’s profound smile was engraved within her heart. It was the kind of optimistic smile of relief and helplessness which masked the depth of his sorrows.
His eyes followed Na’er as she left the room. Then he bit his lip and turned his gaze towards the Grass Snake once again. In that moment as he gazed at it, all sorts of feelings began to well up within his heart.
He knew that after fusing with this spirit soul, he would lose any chance of achieving his dream of becoming a powerful Soul Master. But what could he do?
He gently touched the spirit soul ball within his hand. A spirit soul didn’t possess much of a material existence, much less a low grade spirit soul such as this one.
His finger gently passed through the Grass Snake’s body. It seemed to have felt it, as it uncoiled itself. Even though it had an illusory form, it was still able to twist around his finger and intimately stick out its little forked tongue as if to lick him.
He brought his hand up to his face, allowing him to clearly look into the Grass Snake spirit soul’s small brown eyes. Its eyes were cloudy and unfocused, with a hint of terror to its confusion.
It was also a living being and would permanently dissipate if he didn’t fuse with it within twenty-four hours.
‘A trash martial soul and a defective spirit soul. That’s very fitting.’ Tang Wulin mocked himself as he flipped his palm, releasing soul power to
summon a faint blue halo from which the Bluesilver Grass appeared from.
The Grass Snake could instinctively sense the existence of the Bluesilver Grass as it climbed up Tang Wulin’s finger, quickly reaching the Bluesilver Grass.
The soft blue light glowing from the Bluesilver Grass suddenly released a powerful radiance. When the light fell upon the Grass Snake, a faint earthen
yellow ring of light emerged from its body.
This was the first time Tang Wulin fused with a spirit soul, but Lin Ximeng had taught their class about spirit souls as well as what fusion felt like long ago.
A feeble mind penetrated into Tang Wulin’s head. It felt amiable and frightened, but it was also brimming with a feeling of dependence.
Tang Wulin opened up his soul and accepted it inside. Changes immediately began to arise upon the Bluesilver Grass while its soul power surged forth.
He closed his eyes and silently entered a state of meditation as his fusion began.
The little Grass Snake twisted and turned within his palms. Apart from that first connection between the two of them, nothing else had been transmitted. This was the intelligence of spirit soul of the lowest grade. The more powerful a spirit soul was, the more intelligent it would be. A spirit
soul above the purple rank was even capable of communicating with its host. Legends say that a spirit soul that surpassed that rank could even help the host in battle.
However, legends were only legends to Tang Wulin.
The little Grass Snake’s earthen yellow body gradually took on a blue tint while the blade of Bluesilver Grass rapidly grew.
The originally weak and frail grass harmoniously curled up and gradually grew until it was about as thick as a finger with an appearance similar to that of a vine’s. Upon a careful inspection, vestiges of scales could be found on the blade of grass. It now possessed a dark luster similar to the Grass Snake’s. Although it was rougher, it still seemed as frail as before.
The Grass Snake’s body had grown a bit and was now approximately eight centimeters long. A blue smear had also appeared upon its scales. The fusion smoothly finished.
The Grass Snake’s spiritual power was too weak; it was basically impossible for it to resist at all. Although the Bluesilver Grass was a trash martial soul, Tang Wulin’s spiritual power had already reached the intermediate rank of the Spirit Origin realm, thus allowing him to dominate in this fusion.
The blade of Bluesilver Grass had grown longer and had become a vine which coiled around his body.
Tang Wulin’s soul power began to violently fluctuate as it met with the bottleneck and surged through, breaking through and evolving his martial soul at the same time.
Tang Wulin’s whole body felt light as the condensed soul power within his dantian had countless threads penetrating into every single cell of his body. The cells in his body were aroused and brimming with energy. They were filled with a light-hearted and worry-free feeling which finally relieved the depression within his heart.
Right at that moment, Tang Wulin suddenly felt a wave of heat coming from his tailbone. This heat soon turned into a scorching hot sensation which traveled up his spine before continuing to spread throughout his
body. The aura around his body had experienced a slight change after this.
The blade of Bluesilver Grass which had just finished evolving and the little Grass Snake suddenly stiffened and froze in place.
The faint golden veined pattern appeared once again, rapidly descending from Tang Wulin’s forehead while the golden thread from his tailbone quickly rose. The two golden lights met at the apex of his vertebra and merged into one.
This golden color was much clearer than before. It hadn’t only spread all over his body, but also onto the little Grass Snake in his palm and the
Bluesilver Grass which had just finished evolving.
The originally dark and gloomy Bluesilver Grass now had a slender golden line along it, reaching all the way to its tip. Another change arose in it under
the influence of the golden veined pattern.
It was as if the dull vine-like grass had suddenly gained a skeleton and its tenacity had drastically increased. Moreover, the grass’s dull surface gradually gained a glossy luster with a faintly discernable blue halo and a slender gold stripe. It appeared more striking than before.