Chapter 105: Little Brother and Sister
Ling Yi, who rose early, brought together the children of the original Shanhai Village, now the Shanghe City residents, his childhood friends, and the current attendants of Shanhai Garden, into a massive warehouse sprawling over four or five acres, comparable to a basketball arena from his past life.
Three carts, filled by seven or eight robust youths in their teens and twenties, efficiently loaded each wooden box.
Pushing these boxes, each holding a large "Blue Silver Grass" with light purple patterns, they arrived at the courtyard where Ling Yi resided.
"Erwa, transplant the 'Blue Silver Grass' from these boxes to the corner over there. Make sure to dig a big hole first, then dismantle the boxes, placing the 'Blue Silver Grass' along with the soil into the hole, and fill the surrounding areas with soil..."
"Xiaoniu, move these two boxes of larger 'Blue Silver Grass' into the house, and place them on the south-facing shelves..."
"Huahua, you and the others water each newly planted 'Blue Silver Grass' with one and a half buckets of water. I'll handle the ones inside shortly..."
After a few brief instructions, two young men carrying large meal boxes walked into Ling Yi's courtyard.
"Baron, your breakfast..."
Swiftly and elegantly finishing a breakfast sufficient for a family of five, Ling Yi glanced at the still-busy courtyard, said no more, and turned to head back to the warehouse once more.
As Ling Yi departed, everyone bustling in the courtyard let out a subconscious sigh of relief.
Even though Ling Yi always wore a friendly smile and spoke softly with them...
On the way, he met the siblings Zhang Lei and Zhang Miao, and upon reaching the warehouse's entrance, he saw Zhang Mufeng, Qingqiu Xin, and Long Yin guarding there.
All five of them had come after breakfast, not wanting to waste any time and eager to start training with Ling Yi.
Opposite the storeroom, on a clearing of about two to three hundred square feet, Ling Yi's gaze swept over each of them before finally resting on Zhang Miao.
"Miao Miao, show me the 'Basic Body Conditioning Exercise' once," he instructed.
"Okay!" Zhang Miao nodded vigorously, responding eagerly, "Sure, Brother Yi!"
Without any stage fright, she stepped forward, demonstrating the twelve forms of birds and beasts from the 'Basic Body Conditioning Exercise.'
Sometimes she mimicked a dog raising its head, sometimes a cat arching its back; other times she leapt like a rabbit, shook her arms like a bear, or spread her wings like a bird...
Observing silently, Ling Yi maintained a gentle smile, akin to a warm spring breeze, which put Zhang Miao at ease, helping her move more fluidly.
Though she appeared unafraid, it didn’t mean the young Zhang Miao wasn’t at least a little nervous inside.
Fortunately, Ling Yi’s smile seemed to naturally carry a soothing power, calming her quickly and allowing her to showcase her training progress effectively.
Watching Zhang Miao's transformation, Zhang Lei, Zhang Mufeng, and the other two couldn't help but understand clearly in their hearts.
Having trained under Ling Yi before, they were well acquainted with this miraculous influence and had greatly benefited from it.
Whether it was cultivating soul power, training the body, or honing combat skills, as long as Ling Yi was nearby, even if he said not a word, their cultivation efficiency would increase significantly.
That clarity of mind during training, as if divinely assisted, was utterly amazing!
Especially because all four had experienced the difference perceived when Ling Yi wasn’t around to cultivate independently.
Zhang Lei first felt this after Ling Yi left for 'Woodland City' to attend school. As for Zhang Mufeng and the other two, they noticed it unexpectedly during the past two years, either when returning home halfway to hunt for spirit rings or when Ling Yi traveled outside the duchy.
Even though their cultivation speed wasn’t much slower than before, the mental difference was like running to music versus running alone in monotonous silence.
As Zhang Miao continued practicing the 'Basic Body Conditioning Exercise', two silhouettes, one large and one small, came jogging from a distance.
It was Ling Shan and Ling Si.
Ling Shan was twelve years old this year, an age typically marking graduation or completion from a primary soul master academy.
Having awakened their martial souls at the age of six, they would spend six years in the primary academy, becoming first-ring soul masters by the age of twelve, then undergo six years of intermediate education to become second-ring grand soul masters by eighteen. This reflects the current elite soul master apprenticeship on Douluo Continent.
Achieving status as a grand soul master at eighteen indicated a significant probability of reaching level thirty soul power by thirty, thus becoming a Soul Exalted!
A Soul Exalted might be bestowed the title of baron.
This held much more weight than someone like Ling Yi, who received his baron status due to reaching master blacksmith levels through his skills, a much greater honor indeed.
Across the Douluo Continent, this was considered the start of entering a relatively noble echelon.
"Soul master, huh——"
However, if at graduation age, one still hasn't reached the level of a one-ring soul master or two-ring grand soul master, they can only leave the comfortable confines of the academy to find their own way and advance.
Such students account for seventy to eighty percent of the current soul master academy students across Douluo Continent!
Before the age of twelve, soul servants must become one-ring soul masters, eliminating over seventy percent. By eighteen, one-ring soul masters must become two-ring grand soul masters, further eliminating over seventy percent.
Even some soul masters who grind their way to the next level by age reach one-ring soul master at fifteen or sixteen, and two-ring grand soul master at twenty-five or twenty-six.
To say that a soul grandmaster is one in a hundred among soul masters is not an exaggeration.
Moving on.
After Ling Shan's martial soul awakened at six, he did not follow in Ling Yi's footsteps to be a working student at the [Green Leaf Junior Soul Master Academy] in Wood Plant City but stayed at home for over a year, until Ling Yi returned to Shanhai Village with ten levels of soul power and became a one-ring soul master.
Even then, he still didn't go to Wood Plant City to be a working student at [Green Leaf Junior Soul Master Academy].
Because, during an encounter with the Yi family and their three siblings in Beikou River Town, he found that the materials left by his older brother at home, with explanations from their cousin Zhang Lei, were no worse than what the three siblings learned at [Green Leaf Junior Soul Master Academy]!
So why should he leave home for a strange city over a hundred miles away to be a working student?
Home is so good, surrounded by "Blue Silver Grass," no worries about food and drink, always fish and meat for meals, with the company of parents, siblings, uncles, and aunts...
After receiving Zhang Lei's letter, Ling Yi understood Ling Shan's decision but said little in response. He simply wrote back, expressing his support for Ling Shan's choice, advising him to study well at home without neglecting his cultivation.
As for having Ling Shan inherit Ling Yi's network at the Green Leaf Junior Soul Master Academy and in Wood City?
Ling Shan had no ambitions in this regard. Ling Yi didn't have high hopes for him, given his age, talent, and strength.
Not everyone, especially at a young age, could master the arts of maneuvering and eloquence like Ling Yi.
It was crafted through the teachings and experiences of multiple teachers he encountered in his prior life, each with different professions, personalities, and conditions.
Ling Shan chose not to go to Wood City. Following a similar path, Ling Si, despite having an innate soul power of 0.5 like Ling Yi, was still far from sufficient in a metropolis like Wood City.
So she chose to stay home, just like Ling Shan, studying the martial soul system using the materials left by Ling Yi, with her cousin Zhang Lei and second brother Ling Shan.
As Ling Yi was reflecting on these tidbits about his siblings, both of them approached.
"Big brother~" "Big brother,"
Ling Shan and Ling Si greeted Ling Yi softly. He nodded and said, "You're here~"
At that moment, Zhang Miao had just finished practicing the twelve forms of the Basic Body Conditioning Exercise, each movement in the sequence representing a bird or beast. He stood there, mouth open, panting softly, with beads of sweat streaming down his forehead and cheeks.
Seeing this, Ling Yi clapped his hands and, with a smile in his eyes, said to Zhang Miao, "Not bad. I can tell, Miao Miao, that you’ve been working hard. Each form and posture in these twelve bird and beast styles is quite standard..."
When a joyful expression appeared on Zhang Miao's face, Ling Yi paused for a moment and then continued, "But..."
(End of Chapter)