When Lin Yang returned home, he happened to run into Grandma Su Xi coming out of her room.
Seeing that the scar on his face had vanished, she couldn't help exclaiming, "Xiaoyang, your face…"
Lin Yang touched his cheek and smiled.
"Grandma, I don't know why, but the scar on my face disappeared. It's probably related to my martial soul awakening."
Su Xi didn't have soul power and knew almost nothing about Soul Masters, so she believed her grandson's explanation without question.
"Oh my, now that the scar is gone, my grandson is even more handsome." Su Xi stroked his face with a smile.
"At that rate, you'll have to bring Grandma back a pretty granddaughter-in-law."
Lin Yang was speechless. Truly worthy of the "Continent of Romance" nickname for the Douluo world.
He was only six, yet Grandma was already thinking about his future wife. Was that really necessary?
He didn't continue the topic. Instead, he quietly diverted Su Xi's attention.
After the two of them finished a simple dinner, Lin Yang rolled up his sleeves, washed the dishes clean, and put them away. After greeting his grandma, he went back to his room.
Summoning "Hizama", Lin Yang gently ran his hand along the blade's surface, that familiar feeling rising spontaneously.
He laid Hizama horizontally across his legs, closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and began meditating.
Meditation had been a daily part of his training back in the Demon Slayer world after sword practice.
Although it couldn't dramatically increase his strength on its own, over time it allowed him to enter a state of absolute tranquility whenever he meditated.
In that state, his senses expanded, and his mind emptied. Whether for resting or thinking, the effect was twice the result with half the effort.
His ability to be the first among the Pillars to comprehend the Transparent World owed much to meditation.
Even though he hadn't meditated for six years, after just a bit of familiarization, he easily slipped into deep meditation again.
During the process, Lin Yang "noticed" countless flickering motes of light swirling around him.
These should be the Heaven and Earth essence that drifted between heaven and earth.
Ordinary Soul Masters could use meditation techniques to guide this essence into their bodies and refine it through their martial souls into soul power.
Lin Yang tried actively drawing in Heaven and Earth essence and refining it.
He found he needed to absorb more than twenty strands of Heaven and Earth essence to refine a single strand of soul power.
He didn't know whether this was considered efficient or not.
To increase cultivation speed, aside from innate soul power—the core factor—meditation methods were also crucial.
The meditation methods circulating openly on the Douluo Continent were the most basic, common versions.
Meanwhile, the great sects, after hundreds or even thousands of years of accumulation, had developed far more efficient specialized meditation techniques, far superior to these mass-produced versions.
Not to mention their self-created soul skills and mastery of soul ring techniques.
This was the heritage that the great sects had built up over generations.
Ordinary Soul Masters didn't have such good conditions. Even to learn the most basic "common goods" meditation methods, they had to go to academies.
Lin Yang knew nothing of those meditation techniques, but having lived three lives, with three lifetimes of accumulation, his spiritual power was naturally far stronger than that of ordinary people.
Even without formal methods, he could rely on instinct to walk the right path.
…
From the day after his martial soul awakening, Lin Yang began his daily training routine.
Running, lifting stones, swinging his blade… The methods were simple, but the results were extremely effective.
Especially with his currently weak body, as long as he persisted, every day meant a metamorphosis.
Lin Yang wouldn't stop until he had pushed himself to the point of being covered in bruises.
And that was on top of his nightly meditation without fail.
Fortunately, he had demon blood. With just a switch, the injuries his body had suffered would recover instantly.
Su Xi watched all of this, pained at heart. She tried several times to persuade Lin Yang not to push himself so hard.
He coaxed and reassured her over and over, promising he wouldn't harm his own body, until she finally turned a blind eye.
Day after day, Lin Yang's physique strengthened at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Through training, he restored Sun Breathing to the "Total Concentration: Constant" state and reopened both the Transparent World and his Mark.
Only his Red Blade remained dormant. His small body didn't yet have the grip strength to draw out that power.
But for now, it was enough for self-preservation.
During this period, Lin Yang had a whimsical idea: combining Breathing Techniques and meditation into a new "breathing-meditation" method.
But the two were different at their core.
Meditation relied on spirit and martial soul to guide Heaven and Earth essence and refine it into soul power.
Breathing Techniques used special breathing rhythms to maximize oxygen intake, stimulating muscles and bones, tapping into the body's potential and raising the limits of physical ability.
Even so, it was precisely this experiment that let Lin Yang accidentally discover the possibility of merging Breathing and the soul power system.
…
In the blink of an eye, three months passed.
Three months was neither long nor short, but enough to transform a person.
The childishness remaining on Lin Yang's face had been completely stripped away by continuous self-destruction, leaving only a tranquil steadiness like a calm lake.
He was like a sharp, restrained treasured blade, quietly waiting for the day he would shatter the sky.
His hair, long enough to reach his shoulders, was tied into a wolf tail. It looked clean and simple, adding a wild, unrestrained air.
During these three months, his soul power had increased as well—from rank 5 to rank 7.
Not fast, but not slow either.
This was because he'd devoted most of his time to physical training. Otherwise, his soul power would have risen even higher.
As he explored his own abilities, he discovered another use for the Transparent World. It could conceal not only his aura, but also his soul power.
Even if someone tested him with a crystal ball, he was confident he could make it show whatever level of soul power he wanted.
This was a perfect ability for hiding his strength.
Naturally, having come to the Douluo Continent, how could he not check out the future "Divine King Tang"?
Just like in the original book, Tang San's body was thin and short.
His behavior, however, was that of a little adult, and he kept distant from the other children in the village.
Lin Yang didn't approach him recklessly. He just glanced from afar, confirmed that Tang San was a year younger, then turned and left.
Although Tang San had a pile of secret arts, Lin Yang's interest was limited to the Xuan Tian Skill and knowledge of immortal herbs.
And even with the Xuan Tian Skill, his interest was only so-so. Sun Breathing might not match it now, but that didn't mean it never would.
As for things like hidden weapons and poisons, his swordsmanship was hardly helpless in that regard.
Finally, the day of school enrollment arrived.
Under Grandma Su Xi's reluctant gaze, Lin Yang and Village Chief Talon climbed aboard the donkey cart bound for Nuoding City.
Even a donkey cart was valuable property in Red Maple Village.
Normally, it was used only to transport vegetables and fruit to Nuoding City and was not to be used lightly.
But today, the village chief made an exception, bringing the donkey cart out specifically to send Lin Yang to school himself.
The ride was anything but comfortable, jolting and bumpy, but it was better than walking on two legs.
The village chief drove in front, while Lin Yang sat in the back, next to his bedding and basic living supplies.
As they traveled, the two of them chatted idly, making the journey less dull.
After almost two hours on the road, Lin Yang spotted a city in the distance.
Though not a major city, the walls were quite solid, looking from afar like a giant beast crouched on the ground.
Seeing where Lin Yang was looking, the village chief assumed he was awestruck and said with some pride,
"Nuoding City is the largest city within a hundred li. It's dozens of times bigger than our Red Maple Village."
"I've heard that the royal capitals are hundreds of times larger than Nuoding City—not just bigger, but even more beautiful…"
Listening to the village chief's rambling, the two of them drove their donkey cart through the gates of Nuoding City.