Yan Zu’s gaze sharpened.
He knew that doubts had already arisen in his father’s heart.
A five-year-old child who could produce a hundred Gold Soul Coins, an Origin-Altering Elixir, and a Peerless Cultivation Method… how could any of this be explained away by a “White-Bearded Grandpa”?
But Yan Hu did not press further.
He simply placed his rough, calloused hands gently on his son’s shoulders.
“A’zu, your father doesn’t care what secrets you have. I just want you to know that no matter what secrets you hold, your mother and I will always support you.”
Yan Zu’s eyes grew warm.
“Father…” He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Yan Hu smiled and ruffled his son’s hair.
“Go practice.”
He stood up and turned back toward the house.
Under the moonlight, Yan Hu’s silhouette seemed especially tall and imposing.
Yan Zu stood in the courtyard, unmoving for a long time.
He knew he had underestimated his parents.
Though simple and honest, they were not foolish.
They were well aware of the unusual aspects of their child.
Yet they chose to believe, to support, and to guard their son’s secrets with silence.
“Father, Mother,” Yan Zu silently vowed in his heart, “I will not disappoint you.”
He returned to his small room and thought inwardly, “System, check consecutive sign-in days.”
[Consecutive Sign-in: 729 days.]
[Reminder: Tomorrow is the 730th day. The annual critical reward is ready.]
Yan Zu’s eyes narrowed.
Two years.
Tomorrow would mark two full years of consecutive sign-ins.
At midnight, the system notification sounded precisely on time.
[Ding! Consecutive sign-in for two years has triggered the annual critical reward!]
[Congratulations, host, for unlocking the second Martial Soul: Xuanyuan Sword (unawakened, already adapted to Innate Full Soul Power)!]
[Martial Soul Traits: Sword of Civilization’s Orthodoxy, Evil-Shattering, Aura of Might, Fortune.]
[Additional Reward: “Martial Soul Synchronization Heart Method”]
[Heart Method Description: Perfectly resolves Dual Martial Soul Power Circulation Conflict. Can automatically activate after Martial Soul Awakening, or be comprehended in advance.]
Boom—!
Yan Zu felt a deafening roar erupt from the depths of his soul, as if something had been violently split apart and instantly reassembled.
In his spiritual world, alongside the Jade-Colored Qilin Phantom, there now appeared an ancient, unadorned longsword.
The sword was about five feet long, entirely pitch-black, with no patterns on its blade, yet it exuded an awe-inspiring Aura of Might.
It carried a profound weight, as if originating from the very source of civilization—a sword that had witnessed the shifting of seas into mulberry fields and borne the weight of countless ages.
Around the blade, faint golden patterns flickered intermittently.
With each shimmer, Yan Zu’s soul trembled.
“So powerful…” Yan Zu murmured, suppressing the trembling at the soul level.
He could sense that although this sword was currently only a phantom, its essence was unimaginably noble.
Even the so-called divine-level Martial Souls from the original work would pale in comparison before this sword.
[First Martial Soul: Auspicious Beast Qilin (unawakened)]
[Second Martial Soul: Xuanyuan Sword (unawakened)]
Understanding dawned in Yan Zu’s heart, and he began to contemplate the “Martial Soul Synchronization Heart Method.”
This cultivation method was far more profound than he had imagined.
Its core lay in transforming the dual Martial Souls’ Soul Power Circulation into a “Yin-Yang Mutual Reinforcement” pattern—one primary and one auxiliary, one for offense and one for defense, complementing each other.
The more Yan Zu read, the more astonished he became.
He realized that this method was not only suitable for dual Martial Souls but also held immense reference value for Soul Masters with a single Martial Soul.
If it could be widely promoted, the entire cultivation system of the Douluo Continent would undergo a revolutionary change!
But he quickly suppressed this thought.
For now, he was not qualified to consider such matters.
“Focus on myself first.”
He silently recited the method’s incantation, attempting to simulate the dual Martial Souls’ Soul Power Circulation within his body.
With the foundation laid by the Nine Yin Manual, the simulation was not particularly difficult.
Soon, he constructed two virtual “Soul Power Cores” in his dantian—one focused on Yin softness, the other on Yang strength, intertwined and mutually reinforcing.
“Success!”
Yan Zu opened his eyes, and deep within his pupils, the faint shadows of a small sword and a Qilin flashed by.
He could feel the two Martial Soul phantoms slowly rotating around the “Energy Vortex” formed by the Nine Yin Soul Power in his spiritual world, their resonance growing increasingly intense.
This resonance further accelerated his cultivation speed!
If it was once a trickling stream, it had now become two converging rivers, flowing ceaselessly.
At the edge of the Spirit Hunting Forest in June, the summer heat was stifling.
Only one year remained until Yan Zu’s Martial Soul Awakening, but a practical problem now lay before him: how to awaken.
According to the conventions of the Douluo Continent, the Martial Soul Awakening for six-year-old children was uniformly handled by the Spirit Hall, which dispatched officials to provide free awakenings for commoner children.
This served both to screen potential Soul Masters and as a means for the Spirit Hall to consolidate its rule.
But Yan Zu knew well that his body harbored two Transcendent God-Grade Martial Souls—the Qilin and the Xuanyuan Sword.
Once exposed, they would inevitably attract endless trouble.
Only by awakening at home could he keep the secret.
“Father, Mother.” Yan Zu stood up and walked over to Su Qing, who was drying medicinal herbs.
Su Qing turned around with a gentle smile.
“What is it, A’zu? Are you thirsty? Mother has prepared sour plum soup for you.”
“No.” Yan Zu shook his head, his gaze sweeping over his parents as he spoke earnestly.
“In one year, I’ll be six years old, and it will be time for my Martial Soul Awakening.”
Yan Hu stopped his work, straightened up, and said, “Yes, in one year, our A’zu will become a Soul Master. The Spirit Hall officials will come to the village for the awakening. I’ve already inquired about it.”
But Yan Zu shook his head.
“I don’t want the Spirit Hall to perform the awakening.”
Both Yan Hu and Su Qing were taken aback.
“Why?” Su Qing quickly pressed, her voice tinged with confusion.
“The Spirit Hall’s awakening ceremony is the most formal, with specialized Awakening Stones and methods. How could we manage it at home? And… it’s free.”
The word “free” was like a fine needle, pricking Yan Hu lightly.
This iron-tower of a man instantly furrowed his brows into a knot, the muscles on his face twitching imperceptibly.
Su Qing seemed to realize something as well, her face paling slightly as she instinctively tightened her grip on her husband’s arm. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Yan Zu took in his parents’ momentary abnormality.
It wasn’t just surprise; it resembled more the stiffness of an old wound being touched, mixed with anger and lingering fear.
His heart tightened, and the question about “subsidies” resurfaced in his mind.
“Dad? Mom?” Yan Zu called out tentatively.
Yan Hu snapped back to reality, forcing a smile.
“It’s nothing, Dad was just thinking about what to have for dinner…”
“Not true,” Yan Zu interrupted him, his dark eyes fixed intently on his parents.
“Dad, Mom, you’re hiding something from me.”
His tone was too steady, too steady for a five-year-old child.
Yan Hu and Su Qing both froze simultaneously.
Su Qing’s eyes suddenly reddened.
She turned her head away without speaking.
Yan Hu remained silent for a long time.
The air in the room seemed to solidify.
Finally, Yan Hu sighed—a deep sigh, as if exhaling years of pent-up emotions.
He crouched down in front of Yan Zu, his rough, large hands resting on his son’s thin shoulders.
“A’zu,” his voice was somewhat hoarse, “Dad wants to ask you, why are you so determined to awaken your spirit at home?”
Yan Zu’s mind raced.
He gave the prepared reason: “White-Bearded Grandpa reminded me that my spirit might be special. If I awaken it at the Spirit Hall and too many people see it, there could be unknown risks. He said that as long as we have an Awakening Stone, I can complete the awakening at home.”
The words were vague, but Yan Hu and Su Qing both trembled slightly at the same time.
Yan Hu fell silent for a moment, then suddenly let out a bitter laugh.
“You, this child…” He shook his head, his voice tinged with an indescribable emotion.
He stood up and walked to the doorway, gazing out at the deep night beyond the courtyard.
The moonlight outlined his broad, sturdy back.
The man who was usually carefree and laughed without a worry now stood there, his shoulders and back tense.
“A’zu, you need to know, the Spirit Hall is good, but the people in the Spirit Hall… aren’t all good people,” Yan Hu’s voice came from the doorway, muffled.
“Your dad and mom… we never went to the Spirit Hall to collect the subsidy.”
Yan Zu’s heart stirred, but he showed just the right amount of confusion on his face.
“Why? Isn’t there a subsidy every month? A Great Soul Master gets ten Gold Soul Coins a month. With you and Mom combined, that would be twenty coins a month.”
“You know quite a lot,” Yan Hu glanced back at him, his gaze filled with both surprise and relief.
He walked back and crouched down in front of his son again.
The moonlight slanted in from the doorway, casting alternating light and shadow on his face.
“A’zu,” Yan Hu’s voice was very low, as if he didn’t want the wind to hear, “Dad will tell you something.”
“A few years ago, your mom had just broken through to level twenty, and I had been stuck at level twenty-four for a long time. We thought about going to the Nuoding City Martial Spirit Hall Branch to update your mom’s level and… collect that subsidy. At that time, you had just been born, and the family really needed money.” Yan Zu listened quietly, his heartbeat beginning to quicken.
“That day, your mom went alone. I had to go into the mountains to hunt spirits and couldn’t get away.” Yan Hu slowly clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.
“When your mom came back… her face was as pale as paper. She sat alone in the room all afternoon without saying a word.”
Su Qing lowered her head beside them, her shoulders trembling slightly.
Yan Hu took a deep breath, one filled with suppressed anger and humiliation:
“Later, I found out that the officer at the Nuoding City Martial Spirit Hall Branch was named Ma Xiunuo. That old bastard… that day, seeing your mom was young, he… he got wicked ideas.”