Tang San nodded. Even though his father had warned him not to reveal his second martial soul, it had already been discovered by his teacher. He trusted his teacher wouldn't disclose it to anyone.
Tang San stretched out his left hand, revealing a small blue hammer—it was the Clear Sky Hammer!
"What is this?"
Yu Xiaogang stared at the hammer in utter shock.
So, Tang San's second martial soul was the Clear Sky Hammer. Coupled with the fact that he wasn't in the Clear Sky Clan and enrolled as a work-study student, this...
Tang San looked confused. Why was his teacher so surprised? Was there something wrong with his martial soul?
"Teacher, is something wrong with my martial soul?"
Yu Xiaogang snapped back to reality, gripping Tang San's shoulder. "Little San, listen to me carefully. From now on, unless I give you explicit permission, you must never use your second martial soul in front of others!"
"As for the reasons, I can't explain everything right now. You'll understand in due time."
"Understood, Teacher," Tang San replied, still puzzled by how his father and Yu Xiaogang gave him the same warning.
After Tang San put away the Clear Sky Hammer, Yu Xiaogang outlined the path for Tang San's soul master development, suggesting he take the control system route. Tang San nodded in agreement.
Once the discussion about his future was finished, Yu Xiaogang suddenly remembered that he hadn't yet asked Tang San about his injury.
"Little San, how did you hurt your face? You only just started at the academy today."
Tang San awkwardly explained the events leading to his injury.
Yu Xiaogang was thoughtful. "I didn't expect Su Ming to be so skilled at such a young age."
But he reassured Tang San confidently, "Don't worry. With your talent and if you follow my instructions, surpassing him is only a matter of time."
Yu Xiaogang then pulled out a belt-shaped soul tool. Originally, he planned to give it to Tang San tomorrow but decided to hand it over now.
"Little San, this is a soul tool for you. It has twenty-four jade stones, each containing a cubic meter of space."
Tang San accepted the gift without hesitation. "Thank you, Teacher."
As the saying goes, one should not refuse a gift from their elders. Plus, this seemed like a token of their relationship.
Yu Xiaogang explained, "I got this soul tool thirty years ago, and it has been sitting unused all these years. Why don't you give it a name?"
Tang San thought for a moment. "Let's call it 'Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges'."
Yu Xiaogang nodded approvingly. "A fine name. Go back and prepare yourself. Tomorrow, I'll take you to hunt your first soul beast."
After the conversation ended, Tang San returned to Dorm Seven.
As soon as he entered, he saw Su Ming and Xiao Wu both meditating.
Tang San noticed that Xiao Wu already had a brand-new blanket, meaning Su Ming had helped her buy it. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment for some reason.
Su Ming heard movement at the door and saw that Tang San had returned. He ended his meditation and greeted him.
"Tang San, you're back. I bought some ointment for you. Use it, and your face should be healed in a few days."
Tang San took the ointment, noticing Su Ming's concerned expression. Although he knew Su Ming meant well, something about it made him feel uncomfortable.
Then, Tang San hesitated for a moment before quietly asking, "Su Ming, can you keep the secret about my twin martial souls?"
Su Ming replied, "Don't worry, I'm tight-lipped. After all, we're from the same village, and we'll be living and studying together for a long time. Unless you reveal your talent yourself, I won't say anything."
The female protagonists: "Oh, sure, you're tight-lipped, but your thoughts aren't! We all know!"
Tang San felt a bit more at ease after Su Ming's reassurance.
But Su Ming had his own thoughts: Tang San, I can keep your secret, but it'll cost you. Nothing much—just forget about Xiao Wu, the Eight Spider Lances, and the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. They're trivial, after all. What really matters is your twin martial souls, right? Heh heh!
Tang San then turned to Xiao Wu. "Xiao Wu, were you just meditating?"
Xiao Wu responded, "Yes, why?"
Tang San asked, puzzled, "But you have innate full spirit power. What's the point of cultivating before you obtain a soul ring?"
At that moment, Su Ming chimed in, "I suggested she keep cultivating. According to your teacher's theory, even without a soul ring, continued cultivation will manifest its benefits once a soul ring is added. It's one of Master's theories, and I've looked into it. It should be true, since he 'organized' it from the Spirit Hall's archives."
Tang San's mouth twitched. Su Ming won't let this go, huh? Still, he realized, That makes sense. Whether Master's theory is original or not doesn't matter, as long as it works.
However, Su Ming found Xiao Wu's sudden dedication to cultivation a bit strange. Given that she was a 100,000-year-old soul beast in human form, she should already have a significant innate advantage. Until she reached the Title Douluo level, her cultivation should progress naturally without much effort.
Yet, earlier that day, Xiao Wu had specifically asked Su Ming whether cultivation without a soul ring was beneficial. Su Ming had been surprised but had still answered her.
What Su Ming didn't know was that Xiao Wu already knew this cultivation theory. She had asked to set up a reason for her increased cultivation, as she was actually already at Spirit Level 11, and her first soul ring had already formed.
Her question was a preemptive move, so Su Ming wouldn't ask why she was still cultivating even though she had reached full spirit power.
Still, Xiao Wu's plan had one flaw: Su Ming knew her character too well. It was out of character for her to be so diligent in her early cultivation. Su Ming suspected something was up.
What he didn't realize was that Xiao Wu had been motivated by the diary. Knowing that Su Ming's strength would grow rapidly, she didn't want to fall behind and even hoped to fulfill her dream of beating him at least once. That's why she had started to train seriously.
Ignoring Tang San, Su Ming and Xiao Wu resumed their meditation.
Seeing that he could continue cultivating even before acquiring a soul ring, Tang San also started training. Inspired by the three of them, the rest of Dorm Seven joined in, sparking a wave of competitive spirit.
Before long, everyone in Dorm Seven was caught up in cultivation!