Old Title: "The Master and the Child"
Yu Xiaogang led Chu Tianxiu through the underbrush, carefully checking their surroundings every few steps. The forest didn't welcome humans, and the tension in the air made that very clear.
Even so, Tianxiu walked lightly behind him, hands clasped behind his back, as if strolling through a quiet park rather than the territory of venomous beasts.
After a long silence, Yu finally spoke.
"Child, earlier… that was not a normal ability. Your martial soul must be extremely special."
Tianxiu tilted his head."Martial soul? What exactly is that?"
Yu Xiaogang almost tripped."You—haven't awakened it?"
"Nope."
Yu stared at him in disbelief."You subdued a five-hundred-year serpent without even awakening your martial soul?!"
Tianxiu blinked innocently.
"Was that difficult?"
Yu Xiaogang had no response.
'Difficult? That should have been impossible… If this child awakened a normal martial soul, I'd eat the forest moss right now.'
He cleared his throat."Then what you used just now—how do you describe it?"
Tianxiu tapped his chest thoughtfully."It's like… drawing the wildness out of a soul beast and holding it still. Something I just knew how to do."
Yu Xiaogang stared at him as if trying to decipher a puzzle written by the heavens.
He lowered his voice."There is only one explanation. Your martial soul is too powerful—so powerful that fragments of its ability leaked out on their own. It's something that happens only to the rarest prodigies."
Tianxiu rubbed his chin.
'Leaking…? That makes me sound like a broken jug.'
But he nodded politely.
Yu Xiaogang continued, his tone softening into something almost gentle."Talent like yours… shouldn't be wasted in a forest. Come with me to awaken your martial soul. Once we understand it, you can learn to cultivate safely."
Tianxiu looked up at him.
The man wasn't strong. Not physically, not spiritually. But there was sincerity there. A scholar's stubbornness. A quiet desire to guide—even someone like him.
It wasn't a bad thing.
But—
"I don't need a master," Tianxiu replied.
Yu Xiaogang froze.
Tianxiu continued, voice calm but firm."I can walk and train on my own. But if you're willing to guide me out of the forest and show me the awakening ceremony… I'll follow you for now."
For a moment, Yu Xiaogang's serious face softened into something complicated—pride, disappointment, relief all mixed together.
"…Very well," he said finally. "Then I will guide you. And should you ever need advice, I'll be there."
Tianxiu smiled faintly."Thank you."
As they walked, the forest gradually opened, sunlight breaking through the dense canopy. The air felt lighter. Safer. For the first time in a year, Tianxiu saw a man-made path—a sign of the outside world.
'Finally. The forest test… one year complete.'
But as he stepped onto the dirt road, something stirred behind them. A distant ripple of soul power, faint yet unmistakably focused on him.
Tianxiu didn't turn around.
'…So the forest isn't done with me yet.'