Inside Old Jack's house, Xiao Lin was constantly testing the durability of his Horned Dragon Staff.
If nothing else, with Xiao Lin's current strength, he was simply unable to damage the Horned Dragon Staff in the slightest. Even the sharpest weapon in the house—a wood-chopping cleaver—couldn't leave a single mark on the staff.
Not stopping there, Xiao Lin even tested the cleaver against his own silver-colored "iron fists." With Xiao Lin's physical strength combined with the relatively sharp blade, the cleaver was equally unable to cause any injury to his right hand.
This realization made Xiao Lin incredibly happy.
At the very least, the defensive boost the Horned Dragon Staff provided gave Xiao Lin the confidence to face top-tier Beast Martial Souls. Even Beast Martial Souls specialized in defense might not necessarily grant a Soul Master such a terrifyingly high defensive increase directly.
One must remember that before reaching the rank of Soul Saint, Soul Masters with Beast Martial Souls are generally far stronger than those with Tool Martial Souls.
Now that Xiao Lin possessed this ability, he could be strong from start to finish, suppressing even experts with Beast Martial Souls.
As for the consumption of Soul Power, Xiao Lin discovered that if he didn't use the Soul Power of the Horned Dragon Staff to protect his own body, he could keep the staff summoned for a whole day and night without any issues.
This made Xiao Lin even more satisfied.
Was there any weapon that could provide more security than his Horned Dragon Staff? In the face of danger, Xiao Lin could skip the step of summoning the staff and directly gain ultra-high defense.
The only drawback was that once the defense of the Horned Dragon Staff was transferred to Xiao Lin, the duration he could keep the staff summoned shriveled down to just one minute.
Xiao Lin was quite dissatisfied with this, thinking to himself that it must be because his current Soul Power was too low. After experimenting with the abilities of the Horned Dragon Staff, Xiao Lin excitedly began to meditate.
Although he was born with Innate Full Soul Power and wouldn't see an immediate increase in rank from meditation, this Soul Power wouldn't disappear; it would return to his body once he obtained his first Soul Ring.
During meditation, Xiao Lin practiced "one mind, three uses."
While holding the Horned Dragon Staff to practice staff techniques, he also began to contemplate the direction for his future Soul Rings. Regarding staff techniques, Xiao Lin wasn't actually very knowledgeable.
He had watched many monkey shows as a kid, but he didn't know the legendary techniques of the Great Sage. He only knew that his Horned Dragon Staff would heavily rely on thrusting and sweeping motions.
Currently, he was only practicing those two movements, but when it came to choosing Soul Rings, he had plenty of options. According to the records in the Nuoding City Spirit Hall, quite a few Soul Masters had awakened wooden staff Martial Souls.
Without exception, their first Soul Rings all provided an attack-power-boosting effect. For some reason, the attack boost provided by the first Soul Ring for staff-type Martial Souls was incredibly staggering.
A plain wooden staff could gain a 100% attack increase.
If it were an iron staff or an even more powerful weapon, 150% or 200% wasn't out of the question. Xiao Lin recalled hearing in his previous life that a man named Li Yusong was the Tool Soul Master.
His Dragon-Patterned Staff, with just a ten-year Soul Ring, gained a 200% attack boost.
This shocked Xiao Lin.
What if it was his Horned Dragon Staff? What if it was a limit-approaching Soul Ring of nearly 400 years? Could the attack power of the Horned Dragon Staff increase by 300% or 400%?
Based on this speculation alone, Xiao Lin decided that his first Soul Ring must be one that increased attack power. Once he reached the rank of Soul Saint and unlocked the Tool Soul Avatar, the power of that first Soul Ring would double again.
Xiao Lin hardly dared to imagine it.
As for his other Soul Rings, Xiao Lin couldn't make a direct choice yet. He had read too few books. By the time he became a Soul Grandmaster, he might have new ideas. However, he had already decided on the basic attributes of the Horned Dragon Staff.
Similar to the Clear Sky Hammer of the Clear Sky Sect, Xiao Lin's choice was "absolute strength breaks all laws." Yet, Xiao Lin didn't want to pursue extreme strength alone. The strength gained in the early stages might be less than what a single Soul Ring could provide in the later stages.
His prior knowledge told him that his best choice was speed, followed by strength.
Ek=½mv2
The destructive power of the Horned Dragon Staff was related to its own speed and mass.
Therefore, mass had to be added, but speed was even more important. More crucial than both, however, was the hardness of the Horned Dragon Staff. Only if the staff itself was indestructible could it perfectly exert its destructive power.
On the other side, in Tang Hao's house.
Tang San had just returned home.
Opening the door, he found Tang Hao still lying drunkenly on the bed, the room filled with the stench of alcohol. He frowned, but he still reported the events to his biological father.
"Father, I awakened my Martial Soul. It's Blue Silver Grass."
Upon hearing Tang San's words, Tang Hao's body suddenly trembled, and his eyes cleared instantly.
"Blue Silver Grass? Blue Silver Grass... just like hers." Tang Hao muttered a few words, his eyes revealing a resolute light that Tang San had never seen before.
"A trash Martial Soul. Forget it, Little San, don't think about becoming a Soul Master anymore."
Tang Hao looked at Tang San with a hint of pity, ultimately unwilling to let his son step into the world of Soul Masters.
"A trash Martial Soul? But Xiao Lin said mine isn't. He said since I have Innate Full Soul Power, it's impossible for it to be trash. Besides, I have another Martial Soul."
Tang San observed Tang Hao with a bit of trepidation.
He noticed that the current Tang Hao didn't look like a drunkard at all; he actually possessed the aura of a Titled Douluo.
"Oh? What could that little brat possibly see? Little San, release your other Martial Soul and let me see."
Tang Hao was dismissive of Xiao Lin.
He didn't believe a small village could produce such a hidden genius. However, after Tang San mentioned having a second Martial Soul, his dead heart began to stir. Tang Hao stared intently at Tang San's left hand with a look of shock.
"Okay."
Tang San didn't say much.
He slowly raised his left hand, and a faint light surged from his palm. In a moment, a pitch-black iron hammer, half a foot long, appeared in his hand.
"Clear Sky Hammer! It really is the Clear Sky Hammer! Hahahaha!"
Tang Hao ignored the paleness on Tang San's face.
He simply grabbed Tang San's left hand and lifted the Clear Sky Hammer high. Looking at the familiar patterns on the hammer, Tang Hao excitedly hugged Tang San, his powerful arms nearly suffocating the boy.
"Twin Martial Souls! It's actually Twin Martial Souls! As expected of my son!"
"Father... I can't breathe..."
Although Tang San loved the affection, he couldn't help but gasp.
"Listen, Little San. In your future, you must use the hammer in your left hand to protect the grass in your right. Forever." Tang San had never seen such a brilliant expression on Tang Hao's face; a myriad of complex emotions constantly flickered across it.
"Also, do not let others know that you have Twin Martial Souls. It's best if the Clear Sky Hammer never appears before the eyes of outsiders." Tang Hao thought for a moment and added.
"Yes, Father. But Xiao Lin already knows. And he said my Blue Silver Grass might be a Blue Silver King or a Blue Silver Emperor."
Tang San shrunk his neck slightly.
He actually wanted to know something about his mother, but deterred by Tang Hao's imposing aura, he hesitated.
"What! What did that brat Xiao Lin say?"
Tang Hao was utterly shocked, his expression changing even more drastically than before.
He hadn't expected that this tiny Holy Spirit Village would truly produce such a profound talent.
"What... what else did he say?"