The newly unlocked Spiritual Sense pulsed rhythmically within their minds, expanding outward in invisible waves. It mapped every molecule in the air, and every fiber of their being with absolute precision.
"I..." Vastocean stared at his hands, watching through his mind's eye as the divine energy slowly settled into his Spirit Core, integrating seamlessly with his vital channels.
His hands began to tremble uncontrollably. Not from fear, but from a surge of overwhelming emotions that crashed over him all at once.
Eighteen years. For eighteen long, grueling years, he had lived under the humiliating shadow of being a cripple. Every oppressive gate guard like Ronald, every soaring cloud soldier, sometimes even passing cultivators who had ever crossed his path had looked down on him with absolute disdain.
He had been insulted, cast aside, and beaten down simply because his Spirit Core was locked, leaving him completely unable to gather a single strand of Innate Energy or step onto the path of cultivation.
He had accepted that he was destined to remain a powerless nobody forever yet it changed when he finally met Ford and encountered the Cosmic God Mansion. Hope finally appeared in his heart that he would finally be able to cultivate.
But now... the seal was gone. Broken in an instant by a single stone.
"Sir Ford..." Vastocean's voice broke, choked with a mix of disbelieving laughter and tears as he looked up. "My... my Spirit Core... It's open! It's actually open! I have martial spirits! Not just one, but two?! I can feel it! I can cultivate!"
Ford watched his partner, a warm, triumphant grin spreading across his face. He knew the weight Vastocean had carried, and seeing the absolute euphoria radiating from him made the breakthrough all the sweeter. "This is merely the start! Our ambition has only just begun!"
"This feeling... It's as if the world has opened up to us completely!" Vastocean declared, his eyes burning with a fierce, brand-new fire as he stretched his hands toward the air. "I can feel the flow of energy around us, the structure of the Cosmic God Space... I'm not a cripple anymore, Sir Ford! I'm really not!"
Ford marveled at the lingering dual pressure still emanating from Vastocean's body. "Not only are you no longer a cripple, Vastocean... but you awakened Twin Martial Spirits! Ocean and Magma... two opposing elements coexisting within a single person. Do you realize how unbelievably rare that is?"
"Twin Martial Spirits...?" Vastocean gasped, processing the revelation as he felt the distinct presence of both water and lava within his Spirit Core. "In all the legends of this world, those born with Twin Martial Spirits are treated as absolute prodigies, once-in-a-generation geniuses... To think that I, someone branded a useless cripple all my life would come to possess such a talent!"
Ford suddenly stopped pacing, his expression shifting from excitement to deep contemplation. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his eyes narrowing as he connected the dots in his mind. He realized that there was something off, "But there is something peculiar about this entire situation..."
"What do you mean by that, Sir Ford?" Vastocean was curious.
Ford started explaining, "Both of your Martial Spirits are both top-tier Martial Spirits. The Ocean martial spirit is the exclusive trademark of the Mystic Blue State's Vastocean Clan while your Magma martial spirit is the bloodline inheritance of the Vulcania Royal Family..."
"Yet, I am someone that has both..." Vastocean now understood what Dylan thought was peculiar. These were two prominent cultivation clans with Immortal Saints as their main powerhouses. How did he come to awaken these two?
Vastocean looked down at his palms in disbelief, a sudden weight settling in his chest. "Could it really be...?"
Ford immediately raised the obvious conclusion, "The only possible conclusion is that you are a child of someone from the Vastocean Clan and someone from the Vulcania Royal Family..."
"But that should be impossible! The Rainbow Cloud and Vulcania are lifelong archnemesis. As representatives of their countries, their history has been riddled in centuries of war, plunder and hatred. How could life be born between these two clans, despite their history?" Vastocean had also read the records along with Ford when he was in the library so he was aware of the political dynamics of the two,
"I have been thinking about this ever since I have been to the library. You mentioned your surname was Vastocean which coincides with the rulers of the Mystic Blue States. I thought it must have been a coincidence but I've learned that their names are only exclusively reserved to the Vastocean Clan which removes that possibility." Ford tapped his temple lightly, recalling the detailed texts he had perused.
"What was genuinely strange is that there was no semblance of memory yet you have a behavior or tendency to not reveal your surname to others... So I thought that the only possibility here is that your memories were locked or it was altered. A memory manipulating formation is possible for a True King Clan like the Vastocean clan. But I always thought it was weird that they would do this to their own progeny?" Ford rested a hand on Vastocean's shoulder, his tone softening with genuine concern as he looked him dead in the eye.
"But now with your martial spirit awakening... it all makes sense. The two royal clans must have been against your parents union. That I'm sure of. I could think of different scenarios how things may have happened but I don't have any other evidence to support any of them you are extremely lucky. Your circumstances is intrinsically too complex and political, Mister Vastocean. "
Now, those two martial spirits were coexisting within Vastocean. If word got out regarding this possible scandal, it might overturn the entire nation.
"We need to be careful with how you proceed using your Martial Spirits in the future. If this truth gets discovered, we will probably be killed one way or the other. It would be either the Vulcania Royal Family or Vastocean Clan who will order our execution." Ford pointed out.
"..."
Vastocean stood silent for a long moment, swallowing hard as he looked down at his navel where his Spirit Core resided. The reality of his hidden, dangerous lineage pressed heavily upon him, yet the warmth of his newly awakened powers gave him a newfound confidence.
"I agree, Sir Ford. I'll be mainly using my Ocean Martial Spirit since it's not common in the country to use water-based martial spirits. The magma martial spirit is something I will only reserve when we're in danger. "
He took a deep breath, looking back up at Ford with gratitude. "Whatever my past was... whoever my parents were... none of that matters right now. What matters is that I am no longer helpless."
"That is true!" Ford smiled, clapping him on the shoulder once more before stepping back.
"We have not even mentioned that unfathomable Martial Spirit of yours!" Vastocean of course hyped up Dylan's martial spirit awakening as well.
Ford laughed, seeing the enthusiasm of his partner as well, "To be honest, I did not expect to awaken one since this spiritual body of mine was from a world without cultivation. But it seems like I did awaken one after all."
"Not only that, your aura did not lose out to the aura of my martial spirits! I think its also a top-tier martial spirit, it has to be!" Vastocean remembered how imposing the Starry Night martial spirit was.
"Is that so? Then, it's a good thing to know that I did not lose out too much. You still have two martial spirits though." Ford dismissively said as he reverted back the praise to Vastocean.
Vastocean's eyes suddenly popped in shock as he came to a realization, "Wait, does this mean we have triple martial spirits?!"
"?!" Ford also did not think of that immediately as he said, "I think you're right!"
Vastocean then laughed proudly, fully realizing the implications that this might have, "WAHAHA! If a twin martial spirit cultivator is seen as one in a million, what more is a cultivator with triple martial spirits? If we are to develop, we must be the number one talent in the world then!"
A cultivator with three martial spirits? Once he matures to be an expert, it is almost a given that they will be a supreme expert, if not the greatest expert in all generations! The potential for growth hidden within this resonance was truly limitless, far surpassing anything the legends had ever described.
"Who would have thought that we would have this immeasurable potential? If Alistair knew, he would be crying and begging in front of me right now! Now the only way to go from this is up!" Ford said as he also realized the ridiculous potential that they currently possess.
"Exactly!" Vastocean nodded.
"Hm, what's this?" Ford's attention, then shifted to the line that connected between them, closing his eyes to fully absorb the sensation. The line connecting their Spirit Cores hummed softly, establishing an unspoken resonance between them, "And this connection between our cores... it feels like a bridge."
"A bridge?" Vastocean focused on the glowing thread in his mind. "You mean our Spirit Cores are synchronized?"