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Seeing the flicker of confusion in Ah Ba's eyes, Ye Wen immediately understood.
"You two probably don't even know what a fallen soul master is, right?"
The siblings nodded in perfect unison.
Ye Wen smacked his forehead. Thinking about it, it made sense—this was an era where the Spirit Hall held immense power. How could these evil soul masters ever rise to prominence? If they slaughtered a few villages, the Spirit Hall would likely discover their traces, report them, and send a group of powerful Spirit Hall enforcers to hunt them down.
On another note, although Douluo mentioned the Angel Family, only three characters appeared: Qian Daoliu, Qian Xunji, and Qian Renxue. Claiming to be a family with only three members clearly didn't add up. This likely meant that other members of the Angel Family were busy arresting or killing evil soul masters.
In Douluo II, the Angel martial soul hadn't gone extinct—it still had members active on the continent, even participating in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament.
However, there was no clear explanation for why the Angel martial soul reappeared. The story merely stated that it "reappeared on the continent," without clarifying whether it was due to family inheritance or some random ancestral regression.
This kind of vague handling felt confusing and frankly idiotic. Knowing full well that this was an era plagued by evil soul masters, directly confronting them head-on was like throwing eggs at a rock. It seemed the Angel martial soul carried a genetic flaw that made its bearers prone to poor decision-making.
Upon closer reflection, angels in Western mythology were essentially obedient lackeys carrying out orders—this explained a lot.
Subsequently, Ye Wen gave the siblings a brief introduction to the concept of evil soul masters.
"Oh, so the child-eating soul masters that the orphanage director used to scare us kids into behaving are what you call evil soul masters!" Chen Youyu exclaimed in realization.
Heh, it seemed that no matter the world, adults always used half-truths and scary stories to frighten children.
"That's right. Your brother is currently in a similar situation, but fortunately, he still has some self-restraint. Otherwise, if he were to recklessly kill innocents, he'd easily fall into madness and become a fallen soul master."
After saying this, Ye Wen gave Chen Youyu—a seemingly ordinary, delicate girl—a serious look.
Chen Youyu was a sensitive and intelligent child. Through Ye Wen's gaze, she understood that the "self-restraint" he referred to included her as well.
"So, Master, what should I do next in my cultivation?" Ah Ba asked impatiently.
Whenever it came to matters involving Chen Youyu, A Ba became visibly agitated.
"Your cultivation can wait for now. What you need to address first is your mindset. Your current cultivation level has already reached the limit for someone your age.
For the next month, you'll focus on healing your injuries while adjusting your mentality. If you don't, I won't teach you. If you lose control in your current state, you'll easily descend into becoming an evil soul master and be hunted by the Spirit Hall.
You wouldn't want Little Youyu to worry about you, would you?"
That last sentence struck a nerve with Ah Ba.
Ah Ba could only grumble reluctantly as he cooperated with Ye Wen's guidance. Over the next month, Ye Wen's training for him focused on cultivating mental clarity and suppressing the relentless surge of battle lust and killing intent within him.
"A strong person wields their blade against stronger opponents; a weak person wields their blade against weaker ones. Do you want to be strong or weak?"
"Strong."
"Why do you wield your blade? Why do you cultivate?"
"To protect… my family."
"If you can't protect your family, what are you?"
"Trash!"
"What is a blade?"
"I am the blade—"
After a month of intense mental conditioning—not exactly PUA, but more like a spiritual baptism—the once violent and unruly Ah Ba was completely transformed. His eyes now radiated depth and calmness.
"Do you understand now?"
Looking at the results of over a month of training, Ye Wen felt deeply satisfied. Though Ah Ba's cultivation level hadn't increased by a single rank, his entire demeanor had undergone a profound transformation.
Compared to the impulsive Ah Ba from a month ago, the current Ah Ba, though not exactly refined, had become much gentler in demeanor. He respectfully bowed and said:
"I understand, Master."
"Good. Maintain this mindset, and your future as a Title Douluo is within reach," Ye Wen remarked with a smile.
"Yes."
A flicker of hesitation passed through Ah Ba's eyes, but he ultimately steeled his resolve and said:
"Master, may I ask you to give me a new surname and name? I want to bid farewell to my past."
It seemed that Ah Ba had fully broken free from the state of being consumed by his martial soul and neglecting himself. He now desired a new alias to mark his existence in the world.
But Ye Wen was at a loss—he wasn't good at naming things. Still, he couldn't let his reputation suffer. After pondering for a moment, he said:
"I heard that your nickname in the spirit battle arena is 'Scar.' Since you're obsessed with the way of the blade, how about taking 'Dao' (Blade) as your surname?
If you're simply bidding farewell to your past, there's no need to abandon the name 'Ba.' From now on, you shall be called Dao Ba (Blade Eight)."
"Thank you, Master, for granting me this name. From this day forward, I, Ah Ba, will officially be known as Dao Ba."
Though the name was simple, Dao Ba felt an inexplicable fondness for it.
Devoted to the blade, loyal to the blade—nothing but the blade.
Even though he had overcome the frenzied state of endless battle, the bond he had formed with his martial soul over the years remained unchanged.
Over the course of this month, Ye Wen had fully acknowledged Dao Ba's presence. He was an exceptionally pure-hearted youth who placed great importance on bonds.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken Chen Youyu—a girl who wasn't related to him by blood, merely a childhood friend—along with him to wander the soul master world at such a young age.
Thus, Dao Ba officially became Ye Wen's ninth direct disciple.
Whether it was dumb luck or something else, Dao Ba's casually hunted three soul rings, though none were of maximum age, shared a unified attribute, laying an excellent foundation for his future cultivation.
After a month of recovery, Dao Ba's physical condition returned to the standard of a normal soul master.
Through simple tests, it was determined that Dao Ba's strength easily exceeded 10,000 jin, meeting the physical standards of a Soul King.
Furthermore, as an official direct disciple, Ye Wen unhesitatingly granted Dao Ba access to the artificial purple qi he produced.
Perhaps due to the long-term toll his body had endured, Dao Ba rapidly advanced to the 40th-level Soul Ancestor realm in just one week.
However, Ye Wen didn't rush Dao Ba to obtain a soul ring, as his body's potential hadn't been fully unlocked yet. This further proved that Dao Ba's mutated damaged blade martial soul was a failed super martial soul mutation—otherwise, his body wouldn't possess such extraordinary potential.
To some extent, the more extraordinary a martial soul was, the greater its potential.
Take Yu Xiaogang's Luo Sanpao, for example—even with only half a level of innate soul power, it still possessed remarkable vitality.
As for Chen Youyu, though she was also a good child, Ye Wen decided to test her further for a while.
Looking at his growing group of disciples, each with promising futures, Ye Wen was deeply satisfied. After a week, he summoned the Huo siblings and Dao Ba to his secret chamber.
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