Over the following days, Tang San took Guangling along with him and Su Yuntao to visit neighboring villages, helping to awaken martial souls.
During the journey, as Tang San took the initiative to talk with her, Guangling gradually opened up. Her voice became a little louder, and while she was still shy and introverted, she no longer kept her head down like before.
Tang San also took the opportunity to study her martial soul—the Iron Bow. It was nearly as tall as Guangling herself, large and imposing. She knew how to handle it, too.
The reason was simple: Guangling's father had been a hunter. Although he died when she was just three, children from poor households matured early.According to Guangling, after his death, she practiced archery daily using the hard bow and arrows he had left behind.
However, she admitted that before awakening her martial soul, she'd been unable to fully draw the bow—only managing to pull it partway.
Tang San thought this was perfectly normal.After all, what six-year-old girl could draw a real hunting bow?
But her martial soul bow, she could draw effortlessly.
Tang San found this intriguing.
Guangling's martial soul had clearly mutated—from a wooden bow to an Iron Bow.Normally, children with slightly mutated martial souls only awakened with half a level or one level of innate soul power. According to Su Yuntao, even rare weapon martial souls like iron swords or blades rarely exceeded level two—most didn't even have any soul power.
But Guangling had level three.
That was enough to guarantee she could reach at least the Soul Elder level.
In the world of soul masters, level thirty—Soul Elder—was a watershed moment.It marked the boundary between ordinary cultivators and those with a real future.
But why did an Iron Bow—a seemingly ordinary martial soul—awaken with level three innate soul power?
Tang San's theory resurfaced: the amount of innate soul power reflected the awakened person's compatibility with their martial soul.
Guangling had practiced with a bow nearly every day since age three. Even if she couldn't explain the deeper philosophy of archery, her mind and body had already developed an instinctive understanding of bows and arrows.That familiarity, Tang San believed, had strengthened her affinity with the Iron Bow martial soul—resulting in higher innate soul power.
The more Tang San observed, the more confident he became.In time, by studying more civilian soul masters, he could gather real-world evidence to support this theory.
High-grade martial souls—like the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, and the Haotian Hammer—always awakened with soul power, barring extreme mutations.The specific value—whether level three, six, or ten—depended on a combination of:
Physical fitness
Mental clarity
Personality
And most importantly… compatibility with the martial soul
Even low-grade martial souls—like pots, pans, hoes—could awaken soul power if the person truly resonated with them.
Martial souls might reside within the human body, but they had spirituality.
Tang San recalled Yu Xiaogang's Luo Sanpao—a mutated Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Despite his talent, Yu Xiaogang had only half a level of soul power. Why?Perhaps it was because he had no love for his martial soul.And in return, his martial soul had no love for him.
"You despise me, so I won't pay attention to you either."Maybe that sentiment wasn't just poetic—it was real.
"Martial souls are strange things," Tang San mused."One day, there might even be a cigar martial soul. That proves martial souls can respond to human thought and mutate accordingly."
He remembered the cigar martial soul from Unrivaled Tang Sect and felt even more convinced.
Of course, to validate his theory, he would need to exclude external factors like immortal herbs, divine intervention, extreme environmental changes, and aberrant mutations.
And this wasn't something he could publish—not yet.
Over the next two weeks, Tang San, Guangling, and Su Yuntao visited eight more villages.
They found two more children with innate soul power:
One had a sickle as a martial soul, with half a level of soul power.
The other had a hoe that had mutated—its wooden handle was now iron. It was similar to Guangling's situation but only had half a level of soul power.
Tang San paid close attention to the latter case.
According to villagers, that boy had helped his father in the fields since he was three, using a small hoe to weed and till soil.This strengthened Tang San's theory: the deeper one's understanding and use of their martial soul prior to awakening, the greater the innate soul power—if a natural resonance existed.
If, in the future, another child awakened an Iron Bow but had zero or only half a level of soul power, Tang San would be 90% sure:
Innate soul power is positively correlated to personal affinity and experience.
It wasn't easy to quantify that correlation yet. But the framework was forming.
"Anyway, I still have five years," Tang San thought."There are plenty of villages around Nuoding. I'll keep gathering data—especially those with bow-type martial souls. Eventually, I'll have enough to support my theory."
He could see the road ahead more clearly than ever.
Upon returning to Nuoding City, Tang San brought Guangling to Nuoding Academy to register.
The dean approved her enrollment without hesitation. After all, Tang San was the school's pride—his recommendations carried weight.
After that, Tang San arranged for Guangling to stay in Dormitory Seven with the other work-study students.It was important for her to socialize with peers her age.
But he also prepared a second place for her: a bed in the Spirit Hall's backyard, in the room next to Xiao Wu's.Since they were both girls, they could share the room comfortably.
Once living arrangements were settled, Tang San began to test the attributes of Guangling's martial soul:
Strength: 1Even without arrows, the Iron Bow could be used as a blunt weapon.
Defense: 1It was made of iron, but its defense was minimal.
Speed: 2Guangling could nock and draw arrows quickly. Her attack speed was above average.
Endurance: 2She could hold the Iron Bow for over thirty minutes without draining her soul power, as long as she didn't summon energy arrows.
Energy: 2With soul power, she could condense and fire an energy arrow—but only once.(Before reaching the Soul Elder stage, she could supplement this by using real arrows or combining physical and soul power shots.)
Special: 0The soul power arrows had no elemental attribute or unique effect.(This might change once she acquired a soul ring.)
Total score: 8
While not exceptional, the Iron Bow was balanced, with decent speed, endurance, and potential for growth.When paired with Tang San's first soul skill, Guangling's soul power limitations could be offset.
"These are the basic traits of your martial soul," Tang San told her."Before you reach level ten, follow me. Think carefully about what kind of soul beast you want for your first soul ring. This will be a test."
"If you can't give me a satisfactory answer, I won't abandon you. But I hope you can walk your own path—not just follow mine."
"A teacher always hopes their student will one day surpass them. Do you understand?"
Guangling nodded vigorously."I won't disappoint you, Teacher. I'll study hard."
Just then, the door to the Spirit Hall's backyard burst open.
A familiar voice called out, carefree and clear:
"Tang San! I'm back!"