It was just a pity there was no Clear Sky Hammer martial soul. If he had that, with Little San's comprehension, he might really be able to achieve something and restore the prestige of the Clear Sky Clan.
Tang Hao sighed deeply, a clear regret in his heart, then turned to look at Xiao Yan:"You do have some skills, I'll give you that. But grass is still just grass—cheap tricks at best. Forget about being a soul master. Go make dinner. I'm hungry."
Old Jack's face turned red with rage, puffing like a steamed bun. Tang Hao, a two-meter-tall giant, was actually asking a six-year-old child to cook—and doing it like it was the most natural thing in the world! God knows how long this nonsense had been going on.
"Grandpa Jack, please don't get mad. If I can't go, then so be it."Xiao Yan quickly tried to calm him down. Old Jack was a good man—it'd be tragic if he got so mad he keeled over right there in the blacksmith shop.
Even though Old Jack loathed Tang Hao, he was very fond of the sensible Xiao Yan. His fury gradually cooled, and he sighed heavily."Good child. Grandpa's not angry anymore. Alright, I have to get going now."
Xiao Yan hurried to walk Old Jack out the door—he didn't want the old man to drop dead from sheer frustration.
After seeing him off, Xiao Yan returned indoors, picked up the kitchen knife, and began preparing dinner.
So what if he couldn't go to the soul master academy?He was only six—time was on his side. As long as he stuck to training his martial arts, there was no reason he couldn't surpass this wretched bastard Tang Hao eventually.
"Are you feeling disappointed?" Tang Hao asked blandly.
Xiao Yan paused what he was doing and nodded."A bit. I heard being a soul master comes with a stipend. I could've made some extra money to help out at home."
"You want to become a soul master… for money?" Tang Hao's tone suddenly turned cold.
Xiao Yan certainly wasn't going to say his real goal was to study how powerful soul masters could become—then murder Tang Hao with that knowledge.
"What else would it be for? If I had a little cash, you could buy yourself better liquor, too."
Tang Hao's heart was strangely warmed. His body even trembled slightly, a faint glimmer forming at the corner of his eye.
He took a deep breath. That emotional wave came fast… and left just as quickly.
"You only have one martial soul?" Tang Hao suddenly stood from his chair and stared at Xiao Yan, questioning him sharply.
Xiao Yan's heart skipped a beat.Damn it, how did this old dog Tang Hao guess that I had two martial souls?!
Whether it was the worthless one he'd awakened in the village or the one shown to that soul master earlier, both were singular.
But he had two—and innate full soul power. That combo was absurdly rare.Could Tang Hao be raising me just to steal my body later?!
The thought made his skin crawl… but he quickly dismissed it.If Tang Hao were planning to take over his body, he'd be treating him like a prized pet, not some neglected alley cat.If he weren't a transmigrator, he probably wouldn't have lasted three months under this man's care.
Xiao Yan stayed silent, thinking.
Tang Hao grew suspicious. In a flash, he was right beside Xiao Yan, moving like a gust of wind, and clamped a heavy hand on his shoulder."How many martial souls do you have? Speak!"
Holy hell, this old dog is fast… and strong!
Xiao Yan quickly suppressed his inner power and muttered,"I… actually have another martial soul."
Tang Hao had only brought up the possibility of twin martial souls to test the waters—but to his surprise, Little San actually had them!
"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Tang Hao released his grip, his tone suddenly uncharacteristically gentle.
Xiao Yan rubbed his sore shoulder."The seven other kids in the village only had one martial soul, even that soul master only had one. I thought having two was weird, so I didn't say anything."
Tang Hao said flatly,"You've got a sharp sense of caution. Now, release your second martial soul. Let me see."
Xiao Yan had never even used the second one before. He raised his left hand, circulated his internal energy, and a faint black glow burst from his palm, quickly condensing into a strange object.
Upon closer inspection—it was a pitch-black hammer.
The handle was about half a foot long, and the hammerhead was cylindrical—like a miniature forge hammer. But unlike an ordinary tool, it shimmered with an unusual radiance, faint patterns swirling on its dark surface.
As it landed in his hand, Xiao Yan marveled at its weight."This martial soul's definitely not ordinary… it's more than twice as heavy as my usual smithing hammer."
"It is… it really is…" Tang Hao's eyes lit up with blazing excitement. He looked at Xiao Yan like a man possessed."Twin martial souls… it's true… it's true! My son! My son!"
Suddenly, Tang Hao opened his strong arms, ready to hug him.
Xiao Yan gave a goofy grin, shoved the hammer into Tang Hao's hands, and quickly slipped over to the water jar, scooping a ladleful and chugging it with dramatic gasps."That martial soul takes a lot out of me…"
Yup. This old dog Tang Hao's gone nuts again.
Son?If it weren't for your Grandpa Xiao Yan showing up, your "son" would've been dead years ago.
"Put it away." Tang Hao looked at the Clear Sky Hammer in his hands, chuckled awkwardly, then spoke again after a long silence."Remember this: in your future, you must always use the hammer in your left hand to protect the grass in your right—forever."
Xiao Yan didn't want to argue with a madman. He nodded slightly.
[New chapter updates posted first at 69shu bar!]
After lunch, Tang Hao surprisingly didn't go to sleep.
"Little San, let me ask you: do you want to become a soul master?"
Xiao Yan set down his chopsticks."If I can, then of course I'd like to."
Tang Hao sighed. His face looked even older now."So in the end, you've still chosen that path…"
With that, he rose and returned to his room.
Xiao Yan had a million questions but didn't feel like chasing after a man clearly having another breakdown. He finished cleaning up the tableware, then left the house.
Activating his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track technique, he arrived in no time at his usual training spot.
With the mountain breeze brushing against his face, Xiao Yan's mind grew particularly clear. He quietly sorted through everything he'd learned today.
"That Su Yuntao guy said once soul masters reach level 10, they hit a bottleneck and need a spirit ring to break through. But what even is a spirit ring? And how do I get one or two?"
"Also… does my internal energy count as soul power? If it does, then I should already be stronger than Su Yuntao. I could probably handle two or three spirit rings, no problem. If it doesn't count, though…"
He shook his head."I can release martial souls with it, so it has to count. It's just that I've got no leads on where to find these damn spirit rings."
Thinking about martial souls and spirit rings naturally brought Tang Hao back to mind—and the insane strength and speed he had just shown.
"That old dog Tang Hao might be a crappy person, but his strength is real. If I keep training like this, I'll need at least ten or twenty years before I even have a chance at beating him.
And he's definitely a powerful soul master. Who knows what his martial soul is? If he released it, he'd probably be even scarier than I imagined…"
(End of Chapter)