Back in Holy Spirit Village, Tang San saw a farmer returning home from weeding in the field at a glance. He went up to greet him and said, "Uncle Wang, it's been a while since we last met. How have you been?"
"You are... Xiao San?" Uncle Wang looked at Tang San for a long time before recognizing him. His expression turned excited. "Why do you look different? I almost didn't recognize you."
"Haha, it's mainly because I've already obtained a soul ring and become a Spirit Master. My martial soul has mutated, which affected my appearance," Tang San explained. "Is Grandpa Jack in the village?"
"He is. He's at home. He even said he was going to pick you up in two days," Uncle Wang replied. After learning that Tang San had become a Spirit Master, his attitude grew more respectful.
"Then I'll go and find Grandpa first."
After chatting with Uncle Wang for a while and easing his tension, Tang San took Xiao Wu to the village chief's house.
"Grandpa, I'm back!"
"Xiao San is back."
Old Jack immediately opened the door and came out. When he saw Tang San, although he noticed the changes, he still recognized him. Overjoyed, he said, "You child, didn't I say I'd go pick you up? Why did you come back by yourself? Did you take a carriage?"
"No, I walked. It's to exercise my body." As Tang San spoke, he released his martial soul. A yellow soul ring appeared, causing Old Jack's eyes to well up with tears.
"The village has finally produced another Spirit Master!"
After a while, Old Jack wiped his tears and looked at Xiao Wu beside Tang San. He asked, "Xiao San, who is this?"
Could it be that Xiao San had abducted a little girl to be his wife?
"Grandpa, let me introduce her. This is Xiao Wu. She's the same age as me and is also a Spirit Master. Since she's an orphan, she plans to stay at my house," Tang San explained.
"Hello, Grandpa Jack." Xiao Wu greeted him obediently, which made Old Jack very happy.
"Good, you're both good children. Come in quickly."
After entering the house, Tang San put down the package on his back and took out many small pieces of furniture he had bought. He arranged them around the house and handed Old Jack a bag of gold soul coins.
Old Jack counted them—twenty coins—and was immediately shocked. He pulled Tang San aside, whispering worriedly, "Xiao San, we can't do anything sneaky."
Tang San laughed. "Grandpa, don't worry. It's not stolen or robbed. It's my savings."
He then told Old Jack how he, Su Yuntao, and Matthew Nuo had hunted soul beasts together, then sold the Thousand-Year Banyan Tree, and divided the gold soul coins.
"That's good." Old Jack was relieved and tried to hand the bag back.
"You're still growing. Keep it for yourself—buy some good food, and get some for Xiao Wu too. This old man doesn't need so much."
"No need. Grandpa, keep it. I have enough for myself." Tang San pushed the bag into Old Jack's arms. "You're getting old. In the future, you can hire the younger men in the village to work the fields. It'll be easier. After I become a Spirit Master, I'll earn even more money. I'm not short on this. It's just that I spent a bit on researching my martial soul, or I could've brought even more."
"More? I'm already this old. What would I need so much money for?"
Seeing Tang San insist, Old Jack stopped refusing, though he still advised Tang San not to bring so much next time. After all, he might not even spend one gold soul coin in a year.
That night.
Old Jack killed a chicken and slaughtered a sheep, letting Tang San and Xiao Wu eat to their hearts' content.
Old Jack's cooking skills were indeed not bad. Xiao Wu ate with oil all over her mouth. Although she was a rabbit, she didn't hesitate to eat meat.
This also confirmed one of Tang San's conjectures:
After a 100,000-year soul beast transformed into human form, its body was already that of a human. It could eat things it couldn't eat before, and its taste buds were no different from a true human's.
The reason it still sought soul rings and soul bones was most likely because the 100,000-year cultivation origin remained in its body and hadn't yet fully adapted to its human form.
In other words, after a 100,000-year soul beast transformed, it became a human. Whether it was fully mature depended only on whether the origin energy had been completely absorbed into the new body.
If that were the case, then as long as there was a method to extract the 100,000-year cultivation origin without harming the transformed soul beast's life, wouldn't it truly become an ordinary human?
That was a question worth pondering.
If so, then in terms of race, transformed soul beasts could no longer be considered soul beasts.
At the dinner table, Xiao Wu ate happily and quickly became close with Old Jack. She began calling him Grandpa, and Old Jack accepted her as his granddaughter.
The corners of Tang San's mouth twitched when Old Jack gave him a knowing look—he immediately understood that Old Jack was clearly hoping to match him with Xiao Wu as his future granddaughter-in-law.
"Xiao San, you're Xiao Wu's brother from now on. You have to take good care of her," Old Jack said earnestly.
"Grandpa, don't worry. I'll definitely help Xiao Wu become a powerful Spirit Master," Tang San replied, glancing at Xiao Wu.
The implication was clear: Xiao Wu had to grow up on her own. He wouldn't spoil her.
Even if she were really his sister, the best way to protect her was to help her develop independence and cultivate a strong heart—not to shield her from everything.
That would be no different from carrying a burden.
Old Jack didn't catch the subtle meaning in Tang San's words. He merely thought Tang San was still too young to understand the relationship between men and women, so he said no more.
However, Xiao Wu understood. She didn't say anything, but she looked at Tang San with a smile and said, "I'm your sister. You have to be nicer to me in the future."
"Don't worry. I'll 'take care' of you even more as a sister."
Tang San smiled back, causing Xiao Wu to shiver slightly. Still, she puffed up her chest and said, "Hmph, I'll definitely be able to persevere."
The next day, Tang San informed Old Jack and went to the blacksmith shop to repair farm tools for the villagers. He also recruited several children around his age or slightly older to collect firewood from the mountains, paying them three copper soul coins per day.
The children were thrilled and also became curious about Tang San's identity as a Spirit Master.
Tang San wasn't stingy. He shared Spirit Master adventure stories he had read in books, and even released his martial soul personally to demonstrate his soul skills—restoring their stamina and healing their minor injuries.
In an instant, Tang San earned the villagers' deep respect.
Xiao Wu, meanwhile, was much wilder. She led another group of younger children to play in the fields, catching grasshoppers and frogs, digging wild vegetables, and fishing for crayfish. She did whatever seemed fun, looking just like a normal human child.
During this vacation, Tang San didn't focus on martial soul research. His routine remained consistent. He cultivated the techniques and skills from the Mysterious Heaven Skill, used the Chaos Cloak Hammer Method to temper his body, and studied the flow of blood and qi along with frequency vibrations. He integrated those findings with the hammer method to enhance the effects of his physical training.
Before the New Year, a fifteen-year-old boy from the village came to Tang San, hoping to learn blacksmithing.
Tang San agreed.
After all, he had become a Spirit Master and would spend most of the next six years in Nuoding City. If farm tools broke during that time, the village would still need a blacksmith for repairs.
However, Tang San did not teach him the Chaos Cloak Hammer Method—after all, that was a Haotian Sect secret. If someone else learned it and Tang Hao found out, it could bring unnecessary trouble to others.
The female lead has been officially confirmed.Scenes in Holy Spirit Village will be reduced or even ended.