"Sigh, it's a pity I only have one martial soul. I won't be able to show off as much in the future," Ning Tian lamented to himself, a twinge of envy surfacing as he thought of Tang San's twin martial souls.
[Ding! Detected that the host does not have twin martial souls. Please select a target to bear this side effect.]
[Ding! Detected that the host's martial soul side effect is already bound to Tang Hao. No twin martial souls detected in Tang Hao.]
[Ding! Detected that the host's first martial soul is the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword! Matching a second martial soul…]
[Ding! Matching complete. Congratulations to the host for obtaining a second martial soul.]
Suddenly, Ning Tian felt a distinct warmth, different from the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword, surging toward his left palm. Suppressing his excitement, he smirked and thought, 'Sigh, if only I had triple martial souls…'
[Ding! No side effects detected.]
'Fine, I guess I got greedy,' he admitted. Still, twin martial souls were already a huge win. He couldn't wait to find out what the system had matched as his second martial soul!
Meanwhile, Tang San had returned home.
His father, Tang Hao, was once the young master of the Clear Sky Sect and a renowned figure in the soul master world—the Clear Sky Douluo. While wandering the world with his pregnant soul beast wife, Ah Yin, he drew the attention of the Martial Soul Hall. They ambushed him, and in the end, Ah Yin sacrificed herself, granting Tang Hao a 100,000-year soul ring. Empowered, he unleashed his full strength, killing one of the Pope's personal guard Douluos and crippling another, while the Pope himself 'succumbed to severe injuries.' This nearly brought annihilation upon the Clear Sky Sect.
Devastated by his wife's death, a 'disheartened' Tang Hao never returned to the sect. Instead, he settled in this village as a blacksmith, drowning his days in alcohol or sleep, living a life of utter despair.
But now, his once-dull, bleary eyes sparkled with shock and joy as he stared at Tang San or rather, at the small black hammer radiating a dark glow in Tang San's left hand. It was a pitch black hammer, about half a foot long, with a cylindrical head engraved with intricate, elegant patterns.
"T-this… twin martial souls! It's actually twin martial souls! My son, my wonderful son!" Tang Hao lunged forward, wrapping Tang San in a fierce embrace.
"Dad!" Tang San froze. In his memory, this was the first time his father had ever hugged him like this. His eyes reddened instantly, and he leaned quietly into Tang Hao's chest, savoring the rare warmth of paternal love.
After a long moment, Tang San's grip faltered, the hammer was too heavy to hold any longer. Tang Hao released him and said, "Put it away."
The dark glow faded as Tang San recalled the Clear Sky Hammer into his body. Tang Hao's gaze softened with guilt as he looked at his son. Unknowingly, the child he shared with Ah Yin had grown so much and gotten so dark without him even noticing.
Indeed, Tang San's skin had darkened dramatically. Once protected by the Mysterious Heaven Skill, his complexion had been a healthy wheat tone despite years of exposure. Now, it was twice as dark and rough, a stark contrast.
Yet, the realization that his son possessed twin martial souls brought a relieved smile to Tang Hao's face. He placed both hands on Tang San's shoulders and said earnestly, "Little San, remember this, in your future, you must use the hammer in your left hand to protect the grass in your right."
"I will, Father," Tang San replied with a nod, puzzled but obedient.
Tang Hao stood and walked toward the inner room without looking back. He had made up his mind to pull himself together and resume his cultivation. His son, Tang San, had reignited his hope of avenging himself against the Martial Soul Hall.
As Tang San prepared lunch, he mulled over his first brush with the soul master world. Twin martial souls seemed rare here, otherwise, his father wouldn't have reacted so strongly.
"You like forging and want to become a soul master, don't you? After lunch, I'll officially teach you forging," Tang Hao's voice called from the inner room.
Tang San's heart leapt with joy, and he stopped overthinking. He'd figure things out in time.
"And stay off the back mountain from now on. The sun's too strong up there, look how dark you've gotten," Tang Hao added.
The first sentence sent Tang San's heart racing. 'Did Dad find out my secret?' But the second sentence eased his tension, though it left him wryly smiling as he glanced at his reflection in the water barrel—a dark, rugged version of himself.
He had indeed gotten much darker.
......
By noon, Ning Tian returned to Emperor Soul Village with Old Tom.
"Alright, go play by yourself for now. I'll call you when lunch is ready," Old Tom said, beaming at Ning Tian. The boy's skin had suddenly turned fairer, boosting his looks by a notch, and it filled the old man with pride.
As Ning Tian had explained earlier, his whitening skin was due to his martial soul's influence and his bamboo sword wasn't some useless waste soul after all.
"Got it, Grandpa Tom," Ning Tian replied, barely containing his eagerness to test the benefits he'd gained from dumping his side effects on the Tang father and son.
He dashed to a secluded spot by the creek. First, he confirmed his skin had noticeably whitened. Then, he turned to his martial soul.
Raising his right hand slowly, a faint cyan light pulsed from his palm. The glow solidified instantly, and the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword materialized in his grasp. It was still the familiar, emerald-green sword, but its weight now far exceeded his expectations, pressing heavily on the surrounding air.
His arm drooped under the strain, and his face paled. Unlike before, when it barely consumed soul power, this time the sword drained his meager reserves in an instant. Unable to bear the sudden heft, he stumbled backward onto the grass. The Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword, losing its soul power support, vanished as he fell.
Thankfully, it did or with his scrawny arms and small frame, holding such a heavy sword might've dislocated something.
"It's gotten a lot heavier," Ning Tian muttered. "Guess I'll need to train my body more. Can't even lift my own sword otherwise."
He clicked his tongue in amusement. While it didn't reach the Clear Sky Hammer's exaggerated 300 jin weight, it was easily 40 or 50 jin. That wasn't a bad thing, though a sword wasn't a hammer. Too much bulk would defeat its purpose.
{T/S : 1JIN = 0.6kg or 1.3lbs}
Just then, the system chimed in his mind:
[Ding! Detected excessive soul power consumption by the host. Would you like to bind a target to bear this side effect?]
'Bind it to Tang Hao," Ning Tian chose without hesitation. With Tang Hao as his personal battery, he'd rarely run out of soul power in battles from now on.