Douluo Continent III Haotian Wulin

When Tang Wulin came out of the Spirit Pagoda, he was still feeling a little dizzy.

It wasn't dizziness, but rather an indescribable sense of unreality.

He looked down at his hands and tried to gently activate his soul power. The next instant, dark light appeared, and the Sinking Star Hammer quietly fell into his palm. A pure white soul ring also slowly rose from beneath his feet, quietly encircling the hammer's shadow.

White spirit ring.

A true first-ring Soul Master.

It wasn't until he saw this scene with his own eyes that Tang Wulin finally believed that it was all real.

"Dad..." He looked up at Tang Ziran, his eyes shining brightly, "I really succeeded."

Tang Ziran looked at her son, a surge of heat rising in her chest, but she only managed a calm response.

"Yes, it worked."

But his slightly hoarse voice still betrayed his excitement.

On the way home, Tang Wulin was unusually quiet.

It wasn't because he was unhappy; quite the opposite, it was precisely because he was so happy that he didn't know what to say. He just walked along, occasionally glancing down at his palm, then at the white spirit ring that appeared and disappeared with his thoughts, like a child who had suddenly found an entire starry sky.

It wasn't until they were almost home that he finally couldn't help but ask in a low voice:

"Dad, do you think... Little Jun Ant will become very powerful in the future?"

Tang Ziran glanced at him.

"Don't you already know the answer?"

Tang Wulin was stunned.

"It chose you," Tang Ziran said slowly. "And you chose it too. Since you chose each other, how far you can go together depends on how far you can go."

After hearing this, Tang Wulin suddenly laughed.

"Um!"

He nodded vigorously.

When the father and son pushed open the courtyard gate, Na'er was already sitting at the table waiting.

Upon hearing the door open, she almost immediately stood up, her large purple eyes staring straight at Tang Wulin, as if she already knew the answer but still needed to confirm it with her own eyes to feel at ease.

Upon seeing her, Tang Wulin could no longer contain his excitement.

"Na'er, I did it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Sinking Star Hammer reappeared in his palm, and the white spirit ring also emerged.

At that moment, even the light in the room seemed to brighten slightly.

Na'er was stunned for a moment, and then her purple eyes lit up.

"Brother, you've really become a Soul Master!"

"That's right!" Tang Wulin said, almost unconsciously puffing out his chest. "And my soul spirit is that little Jun ant. It's just as good. The Spirit Master said it's a perfect match for my hammer."

Na'er looked at the Starfall Hammer in his hand, then at the white soul ring, and finally her gaze fell on the faint dark gold pattern deep inside the hammer. She blinked gently.

"Yes." She nodded seriously. "It suits you very well."

Tang Wulin was even happier.

Compared to the praise from others, Na'er's gentle "It suits you very well" made him feel more at ease.

At dinner time, Lang Yue finally came home from work.

Upon entering the room and seeing the pure white spirit ring in her son's palm, she stood frozen for a moment, and then her eyes welled up with tears.

Of course she knew this day would come.

But when I actually saw it, a mix of bittersweet emotions welled up inside me.

Three years.

Three years have passed since Awakening Day. While other children are still growing up carefree, her son has already learned how to grit his teeth and move forward, and how to use his own hands to pave his own future.

And now, he has finally found that path on his own.

"Mom." Tang Wulin was a little embarrassed by her gaze, and scratched his head. "I really am a Soul Master now."

Lang Yue walked over and hugged him.

"Mom knows." Her voice was hoarse, but her eyes were smiling. "Mom saw everything."

That night, the lights in the Tang family's house stayed on very late.

Tang Wulin was already overjoyed, and having just fused with his soul spirit, he felt an inexplicable sense of novelty between his soul power and the soul spirit, to the point that he frequently drifted off into thought while eating. It wasn't that he was daydreaming, but rather that he couldn't help but want to feel the Sinking Star Hammer in his hand and the quiet little Jun Ant within his body.

It is very quiet.

There were no superfluous emotions, nor too many chaotic thoughts.

Tang Wulin could sense that it had already made its home inside him. It was a very strange feeling, as if a small but very stable companion had suddenly appeared in the depths of the Hammer Shadow, where he had been all alone.

When night fell, Tang Wulin and Na'er returned to their room.

Tang Wulin was initially full of excitement, but when he actually sat down on the edge of the bed, he gradually calmed down.

"Brother, why aren't you saying anything?" Na'er asked softly.

Tang Wulin looked down at his hands, and after a moment, whispered:

"I'm a little scared."

Na'er was taken aback.

"Afraid?"

Tang Wulin nodded and smiled somewhat embarrassedly.

"I didn't realize it when I was at the Spirit Pagoda during the day. But now that I'm back, I suddenly feel... I've really become a Soul Master." He paused here, "I've always thought about this day, but now that I've actually come this far, I'm a little afraid that I haven't done a good enough job."

Na'er looked at him quietly.

Tang Wulin thought for a moment and then added:

"I'm not afraid that Little Jun Ant isn't good enough. I'm afraid... it chose me, and if I don't go far enough in the future, will I let it down?"

This sentence was said very softly.

But he looks a lot like Tang Wulin.

He was never the kind of person who only knew how to take. Even when faced with a tiny soul that had just merged into his body, he didn't think about "what can it give me," but rather "can I live up to its expectations?"

Na'er listened, her eyes flickering slightly.

She didn't say anything immediately, but stepped forward and gently placed her hand on Tang Wulin's clenched fist.

"Brother," she said earnestly, looking at him, "the fact that it chose you already shows how good you are."

Tang Wulin was taken aback.

"And," Na'er paused, her voice softening slightly, "I think it likes you a lot."

Upon hearing this, Tang Wulin suddenly laughed.

That laugh wasn't the kind of excited, bright laugh you see during the day; it had a gentle quality unique to young people, the kind that comes from being comforted.

"Yeah?"

"Yes," Na'er nodded, "You two are very similar."

This time, Tang Wulin did not continue to ask "where it resembles".

Because he actually knew the answer in his heart.

Neither of them is dazzling.

They don't flaunt it.

They are not noticed at first glance.

But ironically, they are all very resilient.

Thinking of this, he finally let out a soft breath and stood up from the bedside.

"Then I'll try meditation," he said. "My teacher and the Spirit Master both said that after the first fusion, it's best to solidify it again on the same day. Maybe... I can find out what my first soul skill is sooner."

Na'er immediately took two steps back to make room for him.

"Then I won't bother you."

Tang Wulin sat cross-legged on the bed and slowly closed his eyes.

The moment I closed my eyes, the feeling was immediately different from before.

In the past, when he sank into his consciousness, what he first felt was the deep, oppressive weight of the Star Hammer. Only later did he feel the soul power, the golden patterns, the heat flow, and those deeper, indescribable things.

But this time, in that familiar darkness, he immediately "saw" something different.

The sinking star hammer still hung there.

It remains as dark, serene, and heavy as ever.

But now, a very faint dark gold pattern has appeared on the surface of the hammer, as if some kind of fine and tough force is spreading little by little along the inside of the hammer.

On the hammerhead, a tiny, dark golden ant lay quietly.

It was indeed a small ant.

It lay there quietly, its six legs gripping the hammerhead, as if it had long considered that place its home. Only as Tang Wulin's consciousness drew closer did it slowly raise its antennae and twitch gently.

There is no language.

There were no complicated emotions.

But at that moment, Tang Wulin clearly sensed a very faint sense of closeness and dependence.

This feeling is so light, as light as a speck of dust.

But he still caught it in an instant.

"You're here too," Tang Wulin thought to himself instinctively.

The little ant did not respond, but the next moment, it gently crawled forward two steps, moving along the hammerhead towards the center of the hammer body.

As it crawled, the Sinking Star Hammer suddenly trembled slightly.

Immediately afterwards, a surge of heat unexpectedly rose from deep within Tang Wulin's coccyx.

This feeling was all too familiar to him.

From the day I awakened, this heat would often surge in the deepest part of my body. But as I grew older, my meditation deepened, and the daily forging and polishing pushed me back, it no longer brought the tearing pain that it did at the slightest movement. Instead, it felt more like something that was being suppressed layer by layer, ready to awaken at any moment.

But that night, it was noticeably more active than usual.

The heat surged from the tailbone, traveled up the spine, and quickly spread across the back, shoulders, and neck, finally merging with the subtle burning sensation deep in the forehead.

Tang Wulin's body trembled violently.

Inside the room, a thin layer of sweat instantly appeared on the forehead of the boy sitting cross-legged. His previously quiet soul power also paused for a moment, and then surged at a faster speed than usual.

Na'er, who had been sitting quietly by the small bed, suddenly sat up straight, her purple eyes fixed on Tang Wulin.

She could sense it.

Tang Wulin's aura changed in that instant.

Deep within Tang Wulin's consciousness, the change was even clearer.

A series of extremely faint golden grids suddenly emerged from the deepest part of the darkness, like a huge net that had existed for a long time but was only truly seen at this moment, and quickly spread towards the Sinking Star Hammer.

The little ant, which had been quietly resting on the hammer, suddenly froze.

It's not fear.

It was as if it were startled by some force that was far older, more terrifying, and heavier than its own bloodline.

Its small body curled up slightly, and its antennae rose, as if testing the waters, or as if instinctively surrendering.

Immediately afterwards, the golden patterns fell onto its body.

It's not about devouring.

It wasn't expulsion.

It's more like a scrutiny, a confirmation, a "measure" completed in a very short time.

Almost instantly, the oppressive feeling that had initially made the little ant stiffen subsided and instead slowly seeped into its body.

On the dark gold carapace of the small Jun ant, an additional layer of finer, brighter, yet more subdued golden patterns suddenly appeared.

At the same time, the dark gold patterns on the surface of the sinking star hammer became noticeably clearer.

They echoed each other, as if they had finally been truly connected by the same force.

At this moment, Tang Wulin clearly felt a brand new power forming within his body.

That's not simply about "getting stronger".

Rather, it is an extremely clear tendency.

weight.

Pressure.

fall.

Like a hammer falling, you concentrate all your power into one point and then smash it out completely in the shortest instant.

The feeling came so suddenly, yet so naturally, as if it was meant to happen at this moment.

First Soul Skill.

These four words jumped into Tang Wulin's mind almost instantly.

Before he could think it through, the newly formed power suddenly trembled outwards!

"Buzz".

Inside the room, Tang Wulin's Sinking Star Hammer suddenly appeared silently.

The next moment, a pure white spirit ring rose from beneath his feet, and at the same time, the Sinking Star Hammer sank sharply downwards!

It didn't hit the ground.

But the wooden plank in front of the bed still made a soft "crack" sound, as if it had been pressed into a fine crack by an invisible weight.

Tang Wulin suddenly opened his eyes, gasped for breath, his face filled with shock and disbelief.

"this……"

His voice trembled slightly.

In that instant, he hardly did anything on his own; he simply followed his instincts and his soul power surged forth.

Moreover, he could sense that it wasn't just a random loss of control.

Quite the opposite.

It is clear, pure, and obedient.

It's like if you're willing, you can use it more reliably next time.

"Brother!" Na'er ran over to the crib, her eyes filled with anxiety. "What's wrong?"

Tang Wulin looked down at the Sinking Star Hammer in his palm.

The faint dark gold patterns on the surface of the hammer have not completely disappeared, and the aura of the entire hammer is even more profound than before.

In that quiet depth, he could clearly sense the little ant lying there quietly, as if nothing had just happened.

But he knew things were different now.

Things are really different now.

He slowly raised his head and looked at Na'er. The initial shock in his eyes caused by the sudden change was gradually replaced by something brighter.

"I see."

"Know what?" Na'er asked instinctively.

Tang Wulin gripped the Sinking Star Hammer tightly, his voice slightly strained with excitement.

"My first soul skill," he said.

"I think... I know what it is."