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Chapter 7: It's One Thing to Deceive Others…
The concept of free Martial Soul awakenings had, in fact, been attempted before—right after the destruction of the Spirit Hall ten thousand years ago. The two great empires of that era tried to follow in its footsteps for a few years… but eventually, they gave up.
The reason was simple: it wasn't worth the effort.
Though Spirit Masters indeed played decisive roles in a war, the chance of an ordinary commoner awakening a Martial Soul with innate spirit power was abysmally low.
In Tang San's previous lifetime, during the very year he awakened his Martial Soul, among all the villages surrounding Nuoding City, only he and Xiao Wu were accepted into Nuoding Academy as working students. Xiao Wu, of course, was a hundred-thousand-year-old spirit beast in disguise, and his father, Tang Hao, was a Titled Douluo, while his mother was also a hundred-thousand-year-old spirit beast. Combined with the aid of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, Tang San was never truly part of the "commoner" class to begin with.
Among true commoners, even finding one child with innate spirit power out of twenty was enough to make the whole village burn incense in gratitude to the heavens.
That was the first problem—the rate of innate spirit power awakening was simply too low. Without innate spirit power, awakening a Martial Soul was utterly meaningless; such individuals possessed no more combat strength than ordinary people.
The second issue: even those lucky enough to be born with spirit power rarely achieved much in the future.
Spirit talent, like Martial Souls themselves, was hereditary. The child of two ordinary people without spirit power could not possibly awaken a high level of innate spirit power unless an incredibly rare mutation occurred.
Such first- or second-level innate spirit power talents were all but fated to stop at one or two spirit rings in their lifetime—a future that could be foreseen the moment they awakened.
One must remember—ten thousand years ago, the so-called "Grandmaster," Yu Xiaogang, was the son of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's master. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was one of the Three Upper Sects, a powerful lineage standing at the pinnacle of the Spirit Master world. Yet even they could not elevate their own direct descendant—born with only half a rank of innate spirit power—beyond the Spirit Elder realm, no matter how many resources they poured into him.
If even a mighty clan couldn't accomplish that, how could ordinary folk without any backing hope for more?
After all, even a Spirit Grandmaster at rank twenty-nine would struggle against a mere hundred-year spirit beast. In actual war, their value was scarcely higher than that of a well-trained soldier. Spirit Masters' Martial Souls varied too widely—coordination between them was difficult, unlike disciplined armies that fought as one.
A hundred Spirit Kings might match an army of several thousand…But a hundred Spirit Grandmasters? They were nothing.
The third problem—Spirit Masters were not always obedient.
The two empires initiated free awakenings to strengthen their militaries, but Spirit Masters were not guaranteed to enlist. Persuading them to risk their lives demanded far higher compensation than paying ordinary soldiers, shrinking the supposed benefits of "free awakenings" even further.
Considering all these factors, the empires soon abandoned the Spirit Hall's policy of offering free awakenings to every village.
Of course, completely cutting off the path to becoming a Spirit Master would provoke a backlash from the people. Thus, the system of paid awakenings naturally came into existence.
The empires simply needed to set the awakening fee at a price so steep that most families would have to scrimp and save for years to afford it. This strategy effectively eased public resentment while dividing the commoners against one another.
Whenever someone voiced opposition—complaining that the awakening cost was too high—another group of people who had already paid would immediately jump out to defend it. After all, they had spent their hard-earned money; if the fee were reduced now, wouldn't they be the ones suffering a loss?
The moment they made that compromise, their stance had already shifted.
To further consolidate control over the Spirit Master population, the nobility and royal families introduced two additional free awakening paths—one could awaken by joining the aristocracy as a servant or by enlisting in the army.
Even so, a considerable number of commoners never awakened their Martial Souls. Many of them were like Tang San himself—some fortunate enough to be born into special circumstances, others orphans burdened with sickly grandparents and endless household duties. In remote villages, such situations were hardly rare. Even if the awakening was free, these children simply couldn't afford to leave home for several days to travel to the city.
Naturally, Tang San had no interest in these matters.
At this moment, his mood was far from pleasant.
If it had been his past self, he would never have imagined a future where he was reborn—only to struggle even for a Martial Soul awakening.
Joining the nobility as a servant or enlisting in the army was out of the question. That left only the paid awakening option. And as for money—well, relying on his drunkard father was useless. He would have to find a way to earn it himself.
Just the thought made irritation well up inside him.
This body's physical constitution was far inferior to his former one. Though his Martial Soul hadn't yet awakened, he could faintly sense that his innate spirit power was barely one or two ranks. To make matters worse, starting cultivation of the Mysterious Heaven Skill at six years old was already late, and now he had to divide his focus between training and earning money.
Fortunately, his deep understanding of the Mysterious Heaven Skill from his past life gave him some advantage. Now, in a large city, he could at least purchase medicinal herbs to assist his cultivation and accelerate his progress somewhat.
There are no useless Martial Souls—only useless Spirit Masters!
At that instant, his teacher's words from ten thousand years ago echoed in his mind like a surge of divine will, rekindling his fighting spirit.
Even if fate had forced him into rebirth—so what?
He, Tang San, would once again ascend to the peak of the world!
Although it was Huo Yuhao who caused all of this, compared to vengeance, reclaiming godhood was far more important. Even if he avenged himself, without a divine position, his lifespan would be limited to a few centuries at most—and that was something Tang San could never accept.
Yet for now, he had no idea how to become a god again.
After all, the pathways from the Douluo Plane to the Divine Realm were already under the control of… his former self. To ascend by conventional means was now impossible.
What then? Should he reveal his identity—let the Divine Realm's Tang San discover him—and hope to receive a divine inheritance from himself?
The moment that thought surfaced, Tang San immediately dismissed it with a bitter laugh.
Ridiculous.
Outwardly, the Divine Realm's Tang San might appear righteous and selfless, always proclaiming that managing the Divine Realm was exhausting and that he longed to pass on his position…
But deceiving others was one thing—he couldn't possibly deceive himself.
Forget the Asura God's position—even the Sea God's mantle, he would never relinquish!
If the Tang San of the Divine Realm ever learned that another "Tang San" existed in the mortal world, his first instinct would be to eliminate him—utterly and completely. He would never allow another version of himself to exist.
Whether or not Tang San could return to his original timeline was uncertain—but the chances were slim. He had to prepare for the possibility of being trapped in this era forever.
And if he did become a god again…Would he stand idly by and watch another man—another himself—embrace Xiao Wu?
Impossible.
Tang San would never share Xiao Wu with anyone—not even his own past self. From the very beginning, he and the Divine Realm's Tang San were destined to be enemies.
To reclaim his divinity… to take Xiao Wu back… he would have to kill the Tang San of this Divine Realm and take his place.
With that resolve burning in his heart, Tang San's consciousness sank inward. In the depths of his spiritual sea, a golden trident floated silently in midair, its divine light rippling faintly.
The sight made his irritation surge anew.
In his battle with Huo Yuhao before his death, his Asura divine power had been completely exhausted, forcing him to temporarily exchange godhood with Xiao Wu. As a result, he had entered the turbulent flow of time and space as the Sea God—and the Golden Trident had followed his soul into rebirth.
If only he had brought the Asura God's position with him instead…Perhaps then, he would now wield the far more formidable Asura Divine Sword.
But regrets were meaningless. What was done was done.
Even though he possessed this divine weapon, he dared not use it lightly. Once the Tang San of the Divine Realm discovered that another trident existed—one identical to his own—the worst possible outcome would occur: his identity would be exposed.
Bound by the Divine Realm's rules, his other self might not be able to act openly—but there were countless ways to destroy him indirectly.
Until he regained sufficient power to protect himself, Tang San would never, ever risk using that divine artifact.
(End of Chapter 7)