At Old Jack's house, Xiao Lin was continuously testing the strength of his Qiu Long Staff.
To say the least, with his current abilities, he couldn't even damage the staff in the slightest.
The strongest weapon in the house—a hatchet used for chopping firewood—couldn't leave a single mark on the Qiu Long Staff.
Not stopping there, Xiao Lin also tested the hatchet against his silver-colored iron fist.
Despite using all his strength, the hatchet was still unable to harm his right hand in the slightest.
This realization made Xiao Lin incredibly excited.
Even without anything else, just the defensive enhancement granted by the Qiu Long Staff gave him the confidence to fight against top-tier Beast Martial Souls.
Even Martial Souls specialized in defense might not be able to directly enhance a Soul Master's defenses to such a terrifying degree.
One must know that before reaching the Soul Sage level, Soul Masters with Beast Martial Souls were far superior to those with Tool Martial Souls.
Now that Xiao Lin had this capability, he could remain powerful from the start and continuously suppress Beast Martial Soul users throughout his growth.
Regarding the Soul Power consumption of the Qiu Long Staff, Xiao Lin discovered that as long as he wasn't actively using it to enhance his own defense, he could summon it for an entire day and night without any negative effects.
This made Xiao Lin even more satisfied.
What weapon could give a person a greater sense of security than his Qiu Long Staff?
If he encountered danger, he could skip the summoning process altogether and directly activate his supreme defense.
The only downside was that when he transferred the Qiu Long Staff's defensive power to himself, the duration he could summon the staff was reduced to just one minute.
This left Xiao Lin quite dissatisfied, making him believe that the issue lay in his insufficient Soul Power.
After finishing his experiments with the Qiu Long Staff, Xiao Lin excitedly began meditating.
Although he was born with innate full soul power and wouldn't gain any immediate increase in soul power from meditation, the soul power he accumulated wouldn't disappear. Once he obtained his first Soul Ring, all the stored power would return to his body.
During his meditation, Xiao Lin multitasked, splitting his focus into three tasks:
One part of his mind was wielding the Qiu Long Staff to practice staff techniques, while another was considering the future direction of his Soul Rings.
When it came to staff techniques, Xiao Lin wasn't particularly knowledgeable. Although he had seen plenty of monkey performances as a child, he certainly didn't know the staff techniques of the Great Sage.
All he knew was that his Qiu Long Staff would greatly benefit from thrusting and sweeping attacks.
For now, he simply practiced these two moves, but when it came to Soul Ring selection, he had many options.
The records in the Spirit Hall of Nuoding City mentioned many Soul Masters who had awakened a wooden staff Martial Soul.
Without exception, their first Soul Rings all increased attack power.
For some unknown reason, Soul Masters with staff-type Martial Souls gained an extremely high attack boost from their first Soul Ring.
Even an ordinary wooden staff could receive a 100% attack power increase.
If it were an iron staff or an even more formidable staff, a 150% or even 200% increase wouldn't be impossible.
Xiao Lin recalled that in his previous life, some had said that a person named Li Yusong was the strongest Tool Martial Soul user.
His Dragon Patterned Staff had gained a 200% attack boost from just a ten-year Soul Ring.
This realization left Xiao Lin utterly shocked.
If that were the case for his Qiu Long Staff…
What if he obtained a Soul Ring close to the 400-year limit?
Would the attack power of his Qiu Long Staff increase by 300% or even 400%?
Just this speculation alone was enough for Xiao Lin to decide that his first Soul Ring would definitely be one that enhanced attack power.
Once he reached the Soul Sage level and activated his Martial Soul Avatar, the power of his first Soul Ring would be doubled.
Xiao Lin didn't even dare to imagine the potential power.
As for his later Soul Rings, he wasn't ready to make a decision just yet.
He still hadn't read enough books.
By the time he reached the Grand Soul Master level, he might have developed new ideas.
However, when it came to the fundamental attributes of the Qiu Long Staff, Xiao Lin had already made his decision.
Similar to the Clear Sky Hammer of the Clear Sky Sect, Xiao Lin's approach was also one of absolute power—"One force to break all techniques."
However, unlike those who pursued pure strength to the extreme, Xiao Lin didn't want to rely solely on brute force.
After all, the amount of strength added in the early stages might not even compare to the boost from a single Soul Ring later on.
From what he had learned, the best approach would be to prioritize speed first, followed by strength.
Ek = ½ mv².
The destructive power of the Qiu Long Staff was related to both speed and mass.
Thus, while increasing mass was important, speed was even more crucial. But above all else, the most important factor was the hardness of the Qiu Long Staff.
Only by ensuring that the Qiu Long Staff was indestructible could it unleash its full destructive potential.
Meanwhile, at Tang Hao's home.
Tang San had just returned.
When Tang San opened the door and saw his father still lying in bed, reeking of alcohol, he furrowed his brows slightly but still informed his father about what had happened.
"Father, I awakened my Martial Soul—it's Blue Silver Grass."
Hearing Tang San's words, Tang Hao's body trembled slightly, and his eyes suddenly became a little clearer.
"Blue Silver Grass? Blue Silver Grass… just like hers."
Tang Hao muttered twice, his eyes showing a rare glimmer of determination.
"A useless Martial Soul… Forget it, San'er, don't even think about becoming a Soul Master."
Tang Hao looked at Tang San with some pity in his eyes. In the end, he still didn't want his son to enter the world of Soul Masters.
"A useless Martial Soul? But Xiao Lin said mine isn't useless. He said that if I have innate full soul power, then it can't be a waste Martial Soul. And I have another Martial Soul as well."
Tang San hesitated slightly as he observed Tang Hao.
To his surprise, his father didn't seem like a drunkard at this moment—rather, he had the demeanor of a true Title Douluo.
"Oh? That little brat can tell anything? San'er, show me your other Martial Soul."
Tang Hao scoffed at Xiao Lin's words, dismissing the idea that a tiny village like Holy Spirit Village could produce someone truly talented. However, when Tang San mentioned having another Martial Soul, a dead hope within him was suddenly rekindled.
Tang Hao stared at Tang San in shock, his eyes fixed firmly on his son's left hand.
"Alright."
Tang San said little. He simply raised his left hand, and a faint, dull glow emerged from his palm.
In a moment, a small, pitch-black, half-foot-long iron hammer materialized in his hand.
"The Clear Sky Hammer… it's really the Clear Sky Hammer! Hahahaha!"
Tang Hao ignored the paleness on Tang San's face and grabbed his son's left hand, lifting the Clear Sky Hammer up.
Staring at the familiar patterns on the hammer, Tang Hao was so excited that he hugged Tang San tightly, nearly suffocating him with his powerful arms.
"A Twin Martial Soul… It's actually a Twin Martial Soul! As expected of my son!"
"Father… I can't breathe…"
Tang San cherished his father's affection, but at this moment, he was truly struggling.
"Listen, San'er. In your future, you must always use the hammer in your left hand to protect the grass in your right. Always."
Tang San had never seen such a complex expression on Tang Hao's face before—emotions continuously shifting in his eyes.
"Also, don't let others know about your Twin Martial Soul. It's best to never show your Clear Sky Hammer to outsiders."
Tang Hao thought for a moment before finally giving this instruction.
"Yes, Father. But… Xiao Lin already knows. And he said my Blue Silver Grass might be a Blue Silver King or even a Blue Silver Emperor."
Tang San shrank his neck slightly. He actually wanted to ask about his mother, but he hesitated under Tang Hao's imposing presence.
"What?! That kid Xiao Lin said what?"
Tang Hao's face was filled with shock, his expression shifting just as dramatically as before.
He had never expected that in this small Holy Spirit Village, there really would be a hidden talent.
"What… exactly did he say?"
Hearing that all-too-familiar name, Tang Hao didn't show a trace of doubt. At this moment, he desperately wanted to know everything Xiao Lin had said.