When Zhou Qing and Tang San returned to Holy Soul Village, they found Old Jack standing at the village entrance. His usually cloudy eyes now held a trace of clarity and anticipation.
"Grandpa Jack."
Zhou Qing stepped forward and asked curiously, "Are you waiting for someone?"
"Hello, Grandpa Jack," Tang San greeted him as well.
"Oh, it's Xiao Qing and Xiao San."
Old Jack smiled at first, but when he noticed the dampness on their clothes, his smile quickly faded into a frown. Clearly, he realized they had been playing near the stream.
"You two shouldn't be messing around in the river. There's a giant man-eating turtle in there that especially targets children!"
"Uh..."
Zhou Qing didn't know how to explain. He couldn't exactly say the turtle had gotten used to their presence, right? Even if he did, Old Jack wouldn't believe him.
Fortunately, Tang San responded quickly, "Grandpa Jack, we just went to check the water by the stream. We need water for the forge at home. My father's a bit lazy, and I'm still young and not very strong, so I was thinking maybe we could dig a small canal past the forge to make water collection easier."
It wasn't entirely an excuse.
Now that he had Zhou Qing as a peer, Tang San had started forming some small opinions about his father, Tang Hao. He had even begun thinking about becoming more independent.
Hidden weapons…
Soul inscription arrays…
These things required a private space for research.
Currently, Tang San was approaching the bottleneck of the first level of Xuan Tian Record. In terms of soul power, he was nearly at level 10.
This was largely thanks to the white carp that had turned into a soul beast and the "spirit-gathering" effect of the Spirit-Tuned Turtle.
Since he couldn't obtain a soul ring before awakening his martial soul, if he wanted to improve his strength, he had to make preparations in other areas—such as refining hidden weapons and studying soul inscriptions.
To enter the world of soul masters in the future, Tang San knew he had to be thoroughly prepared—and he wanted to help Zhou Qing prepare as well.
Now that he could wield the forging hammer, he intended to spend the next two years building a forge with Zhou Qing, researching hidden weapons and soul inscriptions to pave the way into the world of soul masters.
"Sigh…"
Old Jack's expression relaxed again, and he smiled. "You're a good and filial child. It's just… your father… sigh, forget it. I'll try talking to him again later. Maybe I can convince him to go find work in Nuoding City. When your martial soul awakens—if you have soul power and the potential to become a soul master—you won't have to worry about food or money. Becoming a soul master is expensive…"
Once the topic of soul masters came up, Old Jack started rambling—and even mentioned the legend of the Soul Sage from Holy Soul Village.
This was the first time Tang San had heard the full story.
He'd only heard rumors from villagers that a Soul Sage had once come from their village. Now, Old Jack shared more details.
Zhou Qing, however, was already familiar with the tale.
According to legend, the Soul Sage from Holy Soul Village had lived over two hundred years ago. His martial soul was a peculiar little tree—black trunk and gemstone-like leaves. He was born with innate level six soul power.
He didn't reach the Soul Sage rank until his eighties. When he did, he returned briefly to the village, renamed it "Holy Soul Village," and then left again.
It was said that he went into seclusion, trying to break through to Soul Douluo.
Since then, over two centuries had passed with no news of him. Even Spirit Hall couldn't trace where he'd gone.
This wasn't unusual. Many soul masters, seeking breakthroughs, ventured deep into the wilderness to find treasures—only to disappear without a trace.
The Soul Sage likely met the same fate.
As Zhou Qing listened again, his mind turned to the strange sapling growing on the Spirit-Tuned Turtle's shell. One description stood out: the Soul Sage's martial soul was a strange little tree, with a black trunk and gem-like leaves.
That matched the plant growing on the turtle's back!
A black trunk.
That plant's trunk was indeed black!
Gem-like leaves.
Its leaves were much more beautiful than ordinary ones—smooth to the touch and able to refract light faintly under the sun.
[Perhaps… the presence of the Spirit-Tuned Turtle near Holy Soul Village wasn't a coincidence…]
Zhou Qing immediately asked, "Grandpa Jack, do you know the name of that Soul Sage's martial soul?"
"I don't know," Old Jack replied. "When I was little, my grandfather said even the Soul Sage didn't know what kind of tree it was. Maybe he was looking for another sapling like it during his adventures, haha." He paused, then added, "Come to think of it, that Soul Sage was kind of like you, Xiao San. He didn't grow up here, but he was still considered one of us."
"Sigh…"
Old Jack sighed again.
He knew the reality for children in Holy Soul Village. If their ancestors didn't have powerful martial souls, their descendants likely wouldn't either.
In his mind, the only child who might awaken with innate soul power was Tang San.
The reason was simple Tang San was an outsider.
As for the other children, they could only hope for some kind of martial soul mutation during awakening.
"I see."
The origins of the Soul Sage from two hundred years ago were no longer traceable, but Zhou Qing suspected that the man might have died near Holy Soul Village.
After all, he had returned to the village before attempting his breakthrough clearly aware of the risk and mentally prepared for the worst.
"By the way, Grandpa Jack, why are you standing at the village entrance?" Tang San changed the topic.
"I'm waiting for the Spirit Hall soul master."
A smile reappeared on Old Jack's face. "Today is the big day when the village's six-year-olds awaken their martial souls. I came to welcome them."
Even though the chances were slim, Old Jack remained hopeful.
What if?
If even one child awakened with innate soul power, they'd have a chance to become a soul master a person of great status.
That would draw attention from Spirit Hall and the city lord's estate. The village would benefit and gradually grow stronger.
Zhou Qing understood this clearly. This was the development path for small villages on the Douluo Continent.
In fact, if a village consistently produced children with innate soul power, the local Spirit Hall branch and city lord's estate would send aid in various forms.
The city lord might waive agricultural taxes or send grain every year to prevent famine due to disasters like droughts or floods.
Spirit Hall, on the other hand, might assign retired or solitary elders those without families or who no longer wished to live in bustling cities to live in the village and help out.
This both strengthened the village and built goodwill toward Spirit Hall among the people.
As for whether there were deeper political motives…
Zhou Qing wasn't sure.
But at least on the surface, neither the Heaven Dou Empire nor the Star Luo Empire could say anything bad about Spirit Hall's efforts. In fact, they owed them a debt.
After all, these villages still belonged to the empires.
And Spirit Hall was helping freely and without asking for anything in return.