Time flowed quietly through cultivation and study as Marco and Ye Lingling gradually settled into their lives at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. The Sky Minor Grade Class One maintained an intense learning atmosphere with a substantial and systematic curriculum covering Spirit Theory, Soul Power cultivation, Spirit Ability application, Soul Beast knowledge, and more.
Every morning, Marco would conduct his dawn training in the small grove at the northeast corner of the academy. He discovered that while cultivating Soul Power, that faint trace of Armament Haki would also slowly grow. "Brother, you're up early again." Ye Lingling arrived in the grove carrying breakfast, having grown accustomed to delivering meals to her training-obsessed brother.
Marco concluded his exercises, the cyan flames circulating around his body gradually retracting into him: "Cultivation is like sailing against the current - you either advance or retreat. Moreover..." His gaze sharpened, "I always feel these peaceful days won't last much longer."
Most classmates in their class came from Soul Master families with decent talent: Yu Tianheng (Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, Level 15), Osler (Ghost Panther, Level 9), Dugu Yan (Jade Phosphor Serpent, Level 12), Shi Xiaohu (Rock Bear, Level 12), Lin Xiaoyu (Swift, Level 11), and others. Everyone attended classes, cultivated, and occasionally engaged in practical sparring together, leading peaceful and fulfilling days.
However, Marco's keen intuition allowed him to detect undercurrents beneath the calm surface. He noticed Teacher Sun occasionally zoning out during lessons; senior students often lowering their voices during conversations; and even Chief Meng Shenji appearing worried several times when passing by their classroom.
"I heard something major happened outside..." Osler whispered to Marco after class one day. Yu Tianheng also frowned: "My family sent word advising disciples abroad to act cautiously recently." Dugu Yan played with poison qi at her fingertips: "My grandfather has been refusing visitors these past few days."
On the last day of the semester, Li Zhaoyan personally came to pick up the siblings. Marco noticed his father's expression was much graver than usual. During the carriage ride home, after briefly inquiring about their studies, Li Zhaoyan fell silent.
Returning to the Li residence, the atmosphere was unusually tense. At the dinner table, Li Zhaoyan finally spoke: "A major upheaval has occurred in the Soul Master World. The Spirit Hall dispatched three Titled Douluo to hunt down Tang Hao."
Ye Lingling exclaimed in surprise: "That Tang Hao from the Clear Sky Sect?"
Li Zhaoyan's expression turned solemn: "At the critical moment, Tang Hao broke through to the ninetieth level, becoming a Titled Douluo. After severely injuring the three Spirit Hall Titled Douluo, he fought his way out. However, Pope Qian Xunji was seriously wounded and passed away after returning to the Spirit Hall."
"After the Pope's death, the Spirit Hall was furious and pressured the Clear Sky Sect to hand over Tang Hao. The Clear Sky Sect initially took a firm stance, but the Spirit Hall continuously suppressed their industries and connections, creating turbulent undercurrents in the Soul Master World. Eventually... Clear Sky Sect Leader Tang Ao, enraged, suffered a relapse of old injuries and unfortunately passed away."
Marco's heart shook. Tang Ao? Wasn't that Tang Xiao and Tang Hao's father's name?
"With the Clear Sky Sect leaderless, they ultimately chose to seal their mountain gates and expelled Tang Hao from the sect for self-preservation." Li Zhaoyan's voice grew heavier, "What's more chilling is that to demonstrate their severance from Tang Hao, the Clear Sky Sect abandoned the long-dependent Four Single Attribute Clans - the Strength, Breaking, Agility, and Defense Clans."
The four subsidiary clans were forced to flee their original territories, constantly on the run while the Spirit Hall pursued them covertly. After hearing their father's account, Marco and Ye Lingling fell into silence.
After dinner, Li Zhaoyan and Ye Wantang went to the study. On the evening of the third day, Ye Wantang called the siblings to the living room: "There are some things you should know now."
Ye Wantang looked at the children, her gaze gentle yet sorrowful: "Do you know what the Breaking Clan of the Four Single Attribute Clans is famous for?"
Marco replied: "The Breaking Clan excels in medicine-making and poison refinement. Their clan leader Yang Wudi's Martial Soul is the Soul Breaking Lance, known for its extreme offensive power."
Ye Wantang nodded: "Your father's mother, your grandmother, is the biological aunt of the current Breaking Clan leader Yang Wudi."
Ye Lingling exclaimed in surprise: "So father and Yang Wudi are... cousins?"
"Yes," Ye Wantang said softly. "By family hierarchy, you should address Yang Wudi as uncle."
She slowly recounted the long-buried past: "Your grandmother, named Yang Qingwan, was the sister of the previous Breaking Clan leader Yang Yong, making her Yang Wudi's aunt. She was highly talented, recognized as a prodigy in the Soul Master World during her youth, possessing the Breaking Clan's hereditary Martial Soul—the Soul Breaking Lance."
"At that time, the Breaking Clan served as a subsidiary family to the Clear Sky Sect, maintaining close ties. Your grandmother Yang Qingwan was similar in age to Tang Ao (father of Tang Xiao and Tang Hao), the young master of the Clear Sky Sect then, and their engagement was tacitly approved by the elders."
"However, fate played its tricks," Ye Wantang sighed. "During a training expedition, your grandmother met your grandfather Li Qingchen. Your grandfather was a Support System Soul Master with the relatively rare Perching Cloud Tree as his Martial Soul. Unexpectedly, they were drawn to each other and fell in love."
"When Yang Yong learned of this, he flew into a rage and sent people to bring your grandmother back. By the time they found her, she had already pledged herself to your grandfather. In his fury, Yang Yong declared your grandmother exiled from the Breaking Clan and offered apologies to the Clear Sky Sect."
"Fortunately, Tang Ao, while admiring your grandmother, didn't harbor deep feelings for her and had instead developed affection for Bai Rou, daughter of the Min Clan leader. Combined with the Clear Sky Sect acknowledging their fault in the matter, the incident was eventually dropped. But your grandmother's ties with the Breaking Clan were severed forever."
Tears welled in Ye Lingling's eyes as Ye Wantang continued: "After leaving, your grandparents relied on each other, living in poverty yet happiness. Later, they had your father, and the family of three enjoyed joyful times together. Until... when your father was six years old."
She paused, her voice choked: "Your grandparents met with misfortune while traveling to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain your grandfather's sixth Spirit Ring..."
"They encountered a recently ten-thousand-year-old Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger. This type of Soul Beast is extremely rare and terrifying, with ten-thousand-year cultivation rivaling ordinary hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts. At the critical moment, to cover your grandmother's escape... your grandfather chose Soul Ring Detonation and expended all his Soul Power, using his life as the price to temporarily halt the dreadful beast..."
By this point, Ye Wantang's eyes were filled with tears. Ye Lingling's tears fell silently, and Li Feng also felt a pang of sorrow.
"After your grandmother escaped severely wounded, she once returned to the Breaking Clan, begging her elder brother Yang Yong to avenge your grandfather. But... Yang Yong refused. Not only did he refuse, he shut her out once again."
"At that time, your father had just recently awakened his Martial Soul. The reason your grandmother didn't go fight that Soul Beast to the death was precisely because she couldn't bear to leave your father behind. She raised your father alone, but not long after your father obtained his sixth Spirit Ring, she finally... passed away from years of accumulated grief and sorrow."
The living room fell completely silent. Marco asked softly, "Did father ever go looking for that Soul Beast later?"
Ye Wantang shook her head: "How could he not have searched? But the Star Dou Great Forest is so vast - trying to find a specific Soul Beast is like looking for a needle in a haystack. After you children were born, he gradually let go of this idea, but I know it has always remained a knot in his heart."
She looked at the children, her tone serious: "The reason your father went out this time is precisely because he learned that the Breaking Clan encountered Spirit Hall pursuit during their escape, suffering heavy casualties. Although he hasn't had much contact with the Breaking Clan, blood ties are difficult to completely sever."
In the quiet of the deep night, Marco stood alone in the courtyard, gazing up at the starry sky. The family history he learned tonight stirred his emotions profoundly. He originally thought he was just a passerby in this world, needing only to focus on his cultivation. But now, he realized he had already formed deep connections with the people and events of this world.
His father's safety, his mother's worries, his sister's tears, the family's past... all these had become responsibilities on his shoulders.
"Power... I still need more powerful strength..." Marco murmured to himself, his right hand slowly clenching. Cyan flames quietly covered his palm, the faint black tinge representing Armament Haki flickering faintly under the moonlight.
He thought of the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger that took his grandfather's life, of the Breaking Clan that abandoned his grandmother, of the four great clans currently fleeing, of the Spirit Hall and Tang Hao who stirred up this storm...
This world's complexity and cruelty far exceeded his initial imagination. But at the same time, he also felt unprecedented determination and motivation.
"Not only must I live for myself, I must also become stronger to protect those around me." A determined light flashed in Marco's eyes. "One day, I will possess power sufficient to control destiny, so my family no longer lives in fear, and tragedies never repeat themselves."
The cyan flames danced in his palm, the black tinge growing more solid.
On this restless night, Marco's growth quietly entered a new stage. The road ahead might be filled with thorns, but he was already prepared to meet all challenges.