Heita—born in the slums, orphaned at a young age—had lived alone ever since. One day, after unintentionally witnessing a forging session, she became deeply fascinated by the craft. From then on, she often collected leftover forging scraps to practice on her own.
Despite possessing extraordinary talent, she never displayed it in front of others—until she met Mu Chen. The Saint Artisan brought her back home…
This was the information Yuan Bao'er gathered directly from Heita. Hearing her story, Yuan Bao'er—a mother herself—was immediately overwhelmed with maternal affection.
"I've decided! From now on, little Heita is my daughter! Anyone for or against this?"
"Mom Bao'er is right!"
Watching the two figures before him—one big and one small, standing tall with hands on their hips—Mu Chen and Mu Xi fell into simultaneous silence, each filled with indescribable confusion.
How long had it even been? How did their relationship become so close so fast?
Still, no one objected. After all, Yuan Bao'er held the highest status in the household.
Mu Chen? Just afraid of his wife. He was already lucky he wasn't forced to kneel on a washboard.
As for Mu Xi? How could a little girl possibly out-argue her own mother?
Aside from fear, they really had no reason to object. Mu Xi was interested in forging, and since Heita had caught her father's eye, she clearly had talent—they'd have plenty to talk about.
Mu Chen had already planned to take in a disciple, and with Yuan Bao'er turning that disciple into a daughter, this was an even better outcome. How could he refuse?
And so, Heita seamlessly became part of the Mu family—a member of the Saint Artisan household, and a younger sister to Mu Xi by just a few days.
---
A few days later…
"So Heita, you're already a blacksmith?" After hearing about Heita's forging experience, Mu Xi was full of admiration. She too had been learning forging, but had only just begun, achieving barely any small accomplishments.
But those achievements weren't enough to qualify her as a true blacksmith. Without her father's help, Mu Xi couldn't even complete a Hundred Refinements.
"Mhm, but my soul power is still too low. I don't think I can break through again until it increases."
Over the past few days, the bond between Mu Xi and Heita had grown rapidly. Both shared the same passion, and a few chats about forging had quickly made them good friends.
But compared to Mu Xi, someone else was clearly not doing as well.
"Mu Xi, Heita, tell me your Martial Souls and your soul power levels. You're both old enough to start school."
Mu Xi was already nine years old, and so was Heita. Mu Chen had contacted Donghai Academy to arrange enrollment for both of them—it wouldn't be an issue.
"Okay, Dad!"
"Hmph, got it, old man!"
Compared to Mu Xi, Heita's attitude toward Mu Chen was clearly not that great. Even though, because of Yuan Bao'er, she refrained from calling him a bad guy, her tone didn't sound much different.
"Heita, don't be like that. Dad's just doing this for us."
Mu Xi had already discussed this with her mother. Heita probably still had some emotional scars regarding Mu Chen, so she had to take extra care of her. Mu Xi genuinely looked out for her little sister.
"Sigh…"
Watching the two little girls chat happily, Mu Chen could only sigh in frustration. He really didn't understand kids these days!
Why did his own home suddenly feel so unfamiliar? Wasn't he supposed to be the head of the family? Why did it feel like he didn't even belong anymore?
Left with no choice, Mu Chen stood up from his chair, heading to his study to handle some matters. Meanwhile, Heita looked at his retreating figure and said to Mu Xi, "Big Sis Mu Xi, I'm gonna go report my soul power to the old man. Let's talk more about forging later!"
With that, she jumped off the sofa and ran after Mu Chen.
---
"Hm? Something wrong, Heita?"
Just as he walked into the study and hadn't even closed the door, Mu Chen turned to find the small figure in purple standing behind him.
"Nothing, just here to tell you my soul power." Her attitude was still poor, but Heita knew this was business. "My Martial Soul is called Scholar Sovereign. My soul power is level 25. Got that, old man?"
"Oh, Scholar Sovereign, level 25, huh…"
That was close to what he'd sensed before. With that level of soul power, being able to complete Spirit Forging meant Heita's talent was indeed outstanding.
"My daughter's Martial Soul is the same as mine. Just tested a few days ago—she only has level 13… Wait a minute!"
Mu Chen hadn't found anything odd at first. But the moment he compared Mu Xi and Heita side by side, something instantly felt off.
Mu Xi: 9 years old, level 13 soul power.
Heita: 9 years old, level 25 soul power?
Why was her soul power so high?
Without hesitation, Mu Chen grabbed Heita's small hand and pulled her into the study.
"Heita, tell Uncle—what was your innate soul power when you first awakened?"
To have soul power that high at this age, she must've had innate full soul power, right?
"Innate full soul power: level 20."
"Ha! I knew it—innate full soul…"
"Wait—what?! Level 20?! What kind of Martial Soul is that?!"
The first few words confirmed Mu Chen's guess, bringing a smile to his face. But when "level 20" hit his ears, his entire mind went blank.
Wasn't innate full soul power supposed to be level 10? How could anyone have level 20 soul power?
Wait a second—
A thought suddenly struck him, and his expression changed instantly.
He remembered reading in an ancient record that 20,000 years ago, on the Douluo Continent, a soul master with innate level 20 soul power had once existed!
That person was Qian Renxue, the Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall and the nemesis of Shrek Academy's ancestor Tang San. She possessed the god-level Martial Soul Six-Winged Angel.
Ordinary Martial Souls capped at innate level 10. But Qian Renxue's god-class Six-Winged Angel broke that limit—starting at innate level 20, meaning she was born already standing at the peak, with a limitless future.
In the final war between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Spirit Empire, Qian Renxue successfully surpassed level 99 and became the Angel God.
Thinking of this, Mu Chen lowered his head, staring at the calm little girl before him. She had just claimed her soul power started at level 20. Could that mean…
She possessed a god-level Martial Soul, on par with the Six-Winged Angel?
"Quick! Release your Martial Soul—let me see it!"
Mu Chen's voice trembled slightly. He had already determined that Heita was a genius with an exceptional Martial Soul, but he never imagined it might be a god-level Martial Soul!
Heita just waved her hand casually, her nonchalant attitude making Mu Chen almost faint.
Did she even understand what a god-level Martial Soul meant?
It meant unlimited potential and an extremely high chance of becoming a god!