Spirit masters' ranking:
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Rank 1–10: Spirit Scholar (Trainee)
Rank 11–20: Spirit Master
Rank 21–30: Spirit Grandmaster
Rank 31–40: Spirit Elder (Expert)
Rank 41–50: Spirit Ancestor
Rank 51–60: Spirit King
Rank 61–70: Spirit Emperor
Rank 71–80: Spirit Saint (Sage)
Rank 81–90: Spirit Douluo
Rank 91–94: Titled Douluo (Average)
Rank 95–98: Super/Hyper Douluo
Rank 99: Limit Douluo
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"Hm?" Feeling himself lying on the ground, Tang Zen got confused, opening his eyes with pain between his eyebrows.
He found himself lying under the shadow of a big tree with a wide and dense canopy (the umbrella-like part of the tree).
"You are up, " Tang Hao said.
"Whoa!" Tang Zen got a mini heart attack when he found his father sitting leaning against the tree's trunk with some wild fruits at his side.
"What happened? When did I fall asleep?" Tang Zen asked himself and his father, sitting up on the ground.
"When else? You got greedy and fainted from overloading your mind and body, " Tang Hao had a discontented expression, "You haven't had a single breakthrough, yet you have so much spirit force... At rank 1. It is cheating."
"Huh?!" Tang Zen tilted his head, wondering what he meant by it.
"They say the innate spirit force is a scale to measure one's talent. Tang San has 10, full innate spirit force. But you on the other hand has 100. How should I grade your talent?" Tang Hao talked to himself in a voice that Tang Zen could hear.
"For real?!" Tang Zen couldn't stop himself from grinning ear to ear and summoning his spirit instantly.
As his blue silver grass bloomed on his right hand, the air around him became positive and fresh, making the blue silver grasses near him vibrate or dance with excitement.
His head felt less pain and clearer.
"Don't be so happy yet. Spirit masters with high innate spirit force have to train harder compared to others. For them, breaking through one single rank can be as hard as breaking through 10 ranks for an average spirit master, " Tang Hao air struck a bomb on Tang Zen's happiness.
The boy's face dropped, mumbling, "Can I be reborn?"
[A/N: No bro, no redo. You aren't a fan of a redo of a healer, are you?]
Tang Hao shook his head, "Don't be so impatient. It is a fact that cultivating to the level of a titled douluo is hard but cultivating to the level of a 100,000-year spirit beast is much harder than the former."
"It is no wonder that a single 100,000-year spirit beast can tackle multiple titled douluo. But think about the hardships that spirit beast must have gone through to reach that point."
"If my hypothesis is right, then you are kind of in a state where your self is struggling with humanity and bestiality. You may have to train hard like a spirit beast to reach a higher rank."
"So each rank will be like 100 ranks?" Tang Zen gritted his teeth.
This was so absurd that he really wanted to die. He didn't care about ranking. But he didn't want to live as a weakling.
"Not necessarily. It is just an expression that it will be 100 times harder, " Tang Hao finally said something pleasant, "I have once gone through such hard training with my big brother on an incredible island."
"Huh? You never told, " Tang Zen got curious, "Do you still don't want to talk about your past adventures?"
Tang Hao threw a mango at Tang Zen, "Eat, then we will resume training. You don't wanna be left behind by little san, right?"
Tang Zen caught the mango that was filled with spirit force. His sensitivity to spirit force had become more accurate and efficient, to the point that he could tell that the mango in his hands had spirit force over 30 years old.
...
"From now on, you will run mile after mile. Push-up, sit-up, squatting, weight lifting, weight throwing, punching, kicking, jumping... Everything more than 100 times. It won't happen in a single day. So take your time. Once you are comfortable doing them 100 times, do it 200 times, then 300 times. You will do them under my spirit force. You are not skipping a day until you reach rank 10. If you think it is hell, then I am Hades. Don't even think of defying me, " Tang Hao wasn't good at teaching theoretical knowledge of spirits.
To him, physical training was first.
And he wasn't wrong.
A healthy body has a healthy mind too.
Tang Zen was holding a heavy rock on top of his head, supported by his two hands. It was as big as his head and weighed around 5 kg.
His task was to hold it and count from 1 to 100, under the pressure of Tang Hao's spirit force.
You can guess that the next few months were the most painful part of his life.
So let's give him some privacy and skip some time.
...
12 April, 1690.
"Brother, isn't it too early to see your family?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't be smart with me. You know what I meant."
"Come on, you begged me to see my family. Are you chickening out now?
"Who is a chicken? It is you, only you."
The bickering of two kids in the street of Wisteria Spirit Village could be heard.
The boy was Tang San who was wearing proper clothing now. New T-shirt, short pants, shoes, and a backpack. His hair was neatly combed from the left side, going to the right side like an ocean wave, giving him a cool hairstyle.
Beside him was a girl around his age with a lean body like his and the same height. But the brown braided ponytail was long enough to touch her knees. Her pink eyes could charm men and women alike. Wearing a red top with long sleeves, a black mini skirt, and black flats. Her backpack was smaller than his.
If Tang San looked like a smart and handsome kid then she would be the cute and most popular girl in her academy.
Her name was Xiao Wu, a classmate who got close to Tang San during their stay at Newton Academy.
"Brother, your village looks like a small town. So pretty, " Xiao Wu remarked after seeing a street made of stone made bricks, houses made in rows and columns with plants, street lamps, and small shops.
Tang San had a pleasant expression on his face, "My big brother wrote in a letter that our village is being redeveloped. Many people moved to our newly made village and are doing business."
"Doesn't your father have a forge? He must be getting a lot of work now, " Xiao Wu said excitedly.
She had seen Tang San worrying about his family all the time. It made her feel good that his family was doing well too.
"I hope so, " Tang San smiled half-heartedly, 'Father is not really enthusiastic about work. So big brother learnt father's forging skills from a small age. We knew that we had to work in place of our father who couldn't get famous, only to catch the attention of Spirit Hall.'
'Just wait for a little more. Dad, big brother... I will make fabulous weapons from my previous world and make a lot of money.'
...
However, much to their expectations, the forge which was also their house, was still the same.
Xiao Wu and Tang San were standing in front of the forge that was built with stones. The door was new though.
With a bitter smile, Xiao Wu said, "It is home sweet home, brother."
Tang San had the same expression. His home was still far from the houses of other families, only a paved path connected his house to the village.
However, there was a signboard hanging on the door by a thin cord and a prick.
"Temporarily Closed."
"It seems like no one is at home. Maybe they are delivering the products or buying materials, " Tang San was really eager to meet his family, "We can't sneak in from windows because my father built them too tough. Let's go to the village chief's house to wait for them. He is like my grandpa."
"Mm." Xiao Wu nodded her head.
It was noon of summer. Waiting in this scorching summer wasn't a good idea.
However, two figures appeared in the distance, coming down from the hills on the north side.
They were Tang Zen and Tang Hao. They had the same dressing style. T-shirt, trousers, boots, and a hat.
Carrying big sacks on their shoulders, they looked like nomads who were collecting hay.
Xiao Wu, for some reason felt uncomfortable when she saw the middle-aged man, urging, "Brother, let's go."
"There's no need. They are my big brother and father, " Tang San pointed his finger at his family.
Xiao Wu couldn't tell him but she was feeling really uncomfortable as Tang Hao was getting closer with his big strides.