Douluo Continent III Haotian Wulin

Tang Ziran and Lang Yue were both somewhat dazed during the meal.

Almost all the food on the table ended up in Tang Wulin's stomach. He had already missed lunch, but logically, a six-year-old child shouldn't have eaten this much. Yet Tang Wulin ate several large bowls and still seemed unsatisfied, until Lang Yue stopped him with a stern face, and he reluctantly put down his bowl.

"Son," Tang Ziran said with a smile, looking at the almost completely empty table of food, "is this the legendary way of turning stress into appetite?"

Tang Wulin was holding a soup bowl, sipping the last bit of soup when he heard this. He looked up, his eyes full of confusion.

"Why should I feel pressured, Dad?"

Tang Ziran and Lang Yue exchanged a glance, and the couple couldn't help but smile.

Yes, the child was clearly very happy.

Having soul power at level five and being admitted to the Soul Master class is enough for a six-year-old child who grew up listening to stories about Soul Masters to forget about half the world.

Tang Ziran stopped smiling and her expression became more serious.

"Son, what I want to tell you is that the Soul Master class is different from the regular class. Now that you've been assigned there, you'll officially start learning tomorrow, cultivating soul power and acquiring Soul Master knowledge. This path won't be easy. Are you really sure you want to walk this path?"

Tang Wulin nodded immediately without even thinking.

"Of course I want to!" His little face tightened with seriousness. "I want to become a Soul Master."

He paused, then added:

"Moreover, I already possess soul power. The Spirit Masters all say I can cultivate."

Looking into her son's bright eyes, Tang Ziran felt a warmth in her heart, but still slowly said:

"Being able to cultivate doesn't necessarily mean it's easy. Your martial soul is a hammer-type weapon martial soul, which is not bad in itself, but it looks different from other people's martial souls. In the future, you may encounter situations where others don't understand you, look down on you, or even think that your martial soul is not good enough. When that happens, can you still persevere?"

Tang Wulin blinked.

He was still young and didn't have a real concept of "contempt" and "pressure." But he understood what his father meant, so he thought about it seriously before nodding vigorously.

"able!"

Why?

Tang Wulin puffed out his little chest.

"Because I want to become a Soul Master." He said slowly but firmly, "When I become a Soul Master, I'll become very powerful. Then I can protect my parents, earn lots of money, and buy lots of delicious food for my family."

Upon hearing this, Lang Yue, who was sitting to the side, immediately felt her eyes redden slightly.

This child has been exceptionally sensible since childhood, so sensible that it breaks your heart. Other children dream of becoming Soul Masters mostly because of the prestige, the power, or the envy they receive; but for him, the first thing he thinks of is protecting his family and buying them food.

Tang Ziran paused for a moment before raising her hand and gently rubbing her son's hair.

"Okay," he said softly. "Since you've made up your mind, then your parents will support you."

He paused, then added:

"But remember, no matter what happens in the future, your mom and dad will never blame you. As long as you are happy and safe, that's more important than anything else."

Tang Wulin grinned.

"I'm very happy right now!"

After the meal, Tang Wulin was noticeably more prone to drowsiness than usual.

Mingming had only been awake for a short while, and after eating, he started yawning repeatedly, his eyelids drooping. Langyue urged him to wash up, and soon after, he collapsed into his crib and fell asleep.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Tang Wulin was woken up by Tang Ziran.

Today is the official start of school.

Starting today, he is a student in the Soul Master Class of Red Mountain Academy and will officially embark on at least nine years of academy study.

According to the regulations of the Sun and Moon Federation, both elementary and secondary schools are part of compulsory education. Elementary school lasts three years, and secondary school lasts six years. As for higher-level schools, admission depends either on academic performance or family background and financial resources. For the vast majority of ordinary families, whether they can successfully complete secondary school is already a very real problem.

Tang Wulin didn't really understand these things.

All he knew was that he had to attend the Soul Master class today.

Soul Master Class!

Just thinking about those three words made him perk up.

Hongshan College wasn't far from his home. Tang Ziran dropped him off at the college gate, gave him a few more instructions, and then hurried off to work.

At the academy gate, students in the regular classes enter the school on their own, but in front of the Soul Master class, a teacher stands specifically to welcome the new students. This alone shows the difference in treatment between the Soul Master class and the regular class.

After all, regular classes focus more on academic courses, while Soul Master classes, in addition to academic education, also teach the basics of Soul Masters, cultivation methods, and future career paths. Even if only a few of these children eventually become official Soul Masters, they have already gone a step further than ordinary students.

This year's Soul Master class has only fifteen students.

In a small place like Aolai City, being able to gather fifteen children in the same grade who have awakened their innate soul power is already considered a pretty good number.

Since everyone was the same age, the atmosphere quickly became lively as soon as they got together.

"Hey, what's your martial soul?"

A chubby little boy approached Tang Wulin and asked curiously.

Tang Wulin was never shy, and upon hearing this, he immediately replied:

"hammer."

As he spoke, he flipped his right hand, and a flash of dark light appeared, revealing the small black hammer in his palm.

The chubby boy was taken aback at first, and then his expression immediately became somewhat strange.

"Is this your martial soul?" He gestured with his hand. "Why is it so small? And it's all black, like a lump of iron."

Tang Wulin was immediately a little unconvinced.

"It's very heavy!"

"What's the use of being heavy?" the fat boy snorted, and with a flick of his right hand, a short knife appeared in his palm. The blade was narrow and straight, and although it wasn't large, it looked much sharper than Tang Wulin's thick, blunt little black hammer.

"See that? My martial soul is a blade. My innate soul power is level five." The chubby boy raised his chin and said, "That hammer of yours, if we really fought, could you even swing it?"

Tang Wulin opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know how to refute it.

Because... his hammer is indeed very heavy.

And it's not just heavy, it's an unnatural heaviness that doesn't match its appearance at all. If he were to actually use this hammer in a fight now, he wouldn't be very confident that he could swing it smoothly.

Just then, the other children around also revealed their martial spirits.

Some are beast spirits, and some are weapon spirits. There are fire foxes, wind sparrows, wooden staffs, long sticks... Although they may not all be particularly powerful, at least each spirit looks "probably decent," unlike his hammer, which is neither imposing nor sharp, and doesn't even have a special luster.

For a moment, Tang Wulin felt a mix of emotions he couldn't quite describe.

His martial soul was clearly not a useless one, but compared to his classmates, it still seemed too ordinary.

The children quickly settled into their own conversations. No one deliberately excluded him, but no one bothered to ask him any more questions. After all, for these children who had just awakened their martial souls, Tang Wulin's little black hammer didn't offer much to discuss or get excited about.

Tang Wulin pursed his lips, said nothing, and quietly withdrew his martial spirit.

Just then, a gentle female voice rang out.

"Class, please be quiet for a moment."

Everyone looked up and saw a young female teacher in a college faculty uniform standing in front of them.

"Hello everyone, I'm Lin Ximeng, your homeroom teacher for the next three years," she said with a smile. "Starting today, I will be responsible for your Soul Master class's basic courses and cultivation enlightenment. Now, please introduce yourselves. State your names, martial souls, and innate soul power levels."

The fifteen trainees stepped forward one by one to introduce themselves.

Some people spoke loudly, while others were somewhat timid. When it was Tang Wulin's turn, he took a deep breath, stepped forward, and said earnestly:

"My name is Tang Wulin, my martial soul is a hammer, and my innate soul power is level five."

As he spoke, he flipped his right hand, and the small black hammer reappeared in his palm.

A few barely suppressed laughs suddenly rippled through the classroom.

It wasn't malicious mockery, but rather the instinctive disappointment and disdain that children feel when they see a martial spirit that doesn't meet their expectations.

Lin Ximeng, however, did not smile.

Her gaze lingered on the small black hammer for a moment, a thoughtful look flashing in her eyes.

This hammer is indeed too ordinary in appearance.

But that's precisely the problem—if it were just an ordinary hammer-type martial soul, it wouldn't be surprising to have innate level five soul power, but it would never give off such an inexplicable sense of heaviness. Although she only glanced at it briefly, she clearly felt that the way this child held the hammer was different from how others held their martial souls, as if he was bearing a weight far exceeding his physical appearance.

However, she did not ask many questions in public, but simply nodded slightly.

"Let's go back."

After all the students had finished introducing themselves, Lin Ximeng spoke again:

"Today is your first day of class. I'll start by explaining the basic classifications of martial spirits and the most fundamental cultivation methods for soul masters. This afternoon, I'll guide you through preliminary meditation. To become a true soul master, cultivating soul power is the essential first step."

The next lesson was Tang Wulin's favorite part.

Lin Ximeng began by explaining the classification of martial souls, mentioning weapon martial souls and beast martial souls; then she talked about battle soul masters and weapon soul masters, and discussed soul spirits, soul rings, realms, and cultivation paths. Those worlds that originally only existed in her father's stories were now gradually unfolding before him.

Tang Wulin listened intently.

The initial gloom caused by that comparison in the morning was gradually forgotten.

In the afternoon, Lin Ximeng began to teach them the most basic meditation techniques.

"Feel the soul power within your bodies. Don't rush to grasp it; instead, familiarize yourself with it first," she said softly. "Everyone's martial soul is different, and the feeling will be different as well. Cultivation is never a matter of a day or two. The more anxious you are, the more likely you are to make mistakes."

Fifteen children sat cross-legged in the classroom, each trying to close their eyes.

Tang Wulin followed everyone else's example and sat down, slowly closing his eyes.

But not long after, he frowned.

Because as soon as he calmed down, he would feel that strange heat rising up in his body again. In addition, there was a heavy, almost oppressive feeling, as if an invisible hammer was quietly hanging deep inside him, pressing down heavily, making it impossible for him to "feel the soul power" as easily as his teacher had said.

When others meditate, they are still.

But for him, it was like struggling to find a balance between heat and pressure.

When Lin Ximeng walked to his side, Tang Wulin's forehead was already covered with a thin layer of sweat.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a low voice.

Tang Wulin opened his eyes and whispered, "Teacher, as soon as I close my eyes, I feel very hot and heavy inside. I can't calm down."

Lin Ximeng was slightly taken aback.

This isn't very common, but it's not entirely unheard of either. After all, everyone's adaptation process after awakening their martial soul is different, especially for children whose weapon martial souls are more power-oriented; they naturally find it harder to find the right feeling during the initial meditation phase.

She thought for a moment and said softly, "Then don't rush to think about it too deeply. Just focus on your breathing. Slow down and relax your body first."

Tang Wulin nodded obediently and closed his eyes again.

This time, he didn't rush to grasp the soul power within his body. Instead, he clumsily followed his teacher's instructions, gradually relaxing his breathing. Although it was still difficult, the heaviness seemed to have eased slightly compared to before.

By the time the day's classes ended, the sun was already setting in the west.

When Tang Wulin walked out of Hongshan Academy, he didn't have much of a smile on his face.

This wasn't because he had suffered a major setback, but because today had made him truly understand something for the first time—

The path of a Soul Master is far more complex than one might imagine.

His martial spirit didn't look impressive enough, and he failed to win the approval of his classmates at their first meeting; during afternoon meditation, he had more difficulty calming down than others. Even though he was a level five innate soul power and had already entered the soul master class, he only realized after classes actually started that many things didn't automatically become easier just because he was "talented".

"but……"

Walking home, Tang Wulin pursed his lips, but his eyes gradually hardened again.

"It's okay if it's a little difficult."

"I never came here to be a Soul Master with an easy life."

He muttered to himself, as if trying to encourage himself.

"If others have better martial spirits than me, I'll work even harder. My hammer may not look good now, but it will become more powerful in the future."

Thinking about this, his previously gloomy mood gradually eased.

But then, another feeling emerged.

hungry.

I'm extremely hungry.

The lunch provided in the Soul Master class was already quite good, and there was no limit to the amount. Tang Wulin ate almost as much as several of his classmates today, and as a result, it was only afternoon, but he was already feeling hungry again.

"Why am I hungry again..." He rubbed his stomach, feeling both worried and expectant. "Let's see if there's anything to eat when I get home."

The thought of food immediately lit up Tang Wulin's eyes again.

Just then, a small figure by the roadside caught his attention.