Chapter 4: God Tree

A collective murmur went through the parents, with the children amazed by the light. Tang San pulled his hand away from the orb, asking. "Uncle, what is innate full spirit power?"

Su Yuntao dully looked at him and then subconsciously explained: "For everyone at the time of spirit awakening, apart from a spirit's form, while deciding whether it is big and powerful, the amount of spirit power is also extremely important. The vast amount of people at the time of spirit awakening do not have spirit power, like the several children before her." He pointed at the still-smiling Wong Yazhu, who waved at Tang San when he glanced back.

"They are destined to be unable to become spirit masters in their lifetime. But provided spirit power appears, even if only a little, anyone can undergo meditation cultivation. At the time of spirit awakening, the spirit power amount is crucial for setting the spirit master cultivation starting level. With a higher spirit power level, the acquired cultivation rate is greater. What is known as innate full spirit power is that at the time of spirit awakening, one is innately capable of attaining the highest spirit power."

"Highest spirit power?" Tang San looked at Su Yuntao, his eyes filled with confusion. 'Could it be said that my internal strength in this world transformed into spirit power?' He thought.

Su Yuntao, still shaken from shock, didn't mind taking the trouble to explain: "Every ten ranks of our spirit is a title. After spirit awakening, one becomes a spirit scholar, and your spirit rank decides your rank." He pointed at Wong Yazhu again. "That girl, for example, is a Spirit Scholar rank nine. An innate full spirit strength is when one awakens with their spirit strength level at the highest rank, ten." He paused. "I have never seen a person with innate full spirit strength; when I awakened, I was only second rank spirit power, nothing more."

"Innate spirit strength can only be tenth rank?" Tang San asked once more. "It cannot be higher?"

"Of course not. A spirit master's strength cannot be promoted that easily." The blue-green light around Su Yuntao's whole body disappeared, withdrawing his spirit body possession. "During each advancement of title, the spirit power must first reach the summit of the title, and they must obtain a spirit ring."

'Ah, right. Spirit ring.' Wong Yazhu thought, remembering what the spirit ring was in the novel. 'If I remember correctly, Xiao Wu is a 100,000 spirit ring.'

"Without a spirit ring, even if you further make great efforts with cultivation, it is still impossible to enter the next title." Su Yuntao explained as he started packing up his things into his bag. "For instance, because you have already attained innate full spirit power, you must first obtain a spirit ring to continue promoting your spirit power. After entering into Spirit Master at eleven, you can continue meditation cultivation."

Wong Yazhu chimed in, wanting to get close to Tang San. "Spirit ring, like the halo around your body just now?" She asked, drawing Tang San's and Su Yuntao's attention. "You are 26th rank, therefore have two spirit rings."

Su Yuntao nodded as he brought out four pieces of paper from his bag with a fountain pen. "Exactly like that." He nodded as he started writing on the paper. "What are your names? The two of you?"

"Tang San."

"Wong Yazhu."

Su Yuntao nodded and quickly wrote something in the four papers before signing it. He put two in his bag and handed one to Tang San and the other to Wong Yazhu.

"Keep this. It is a certificate to prove you have soul power." He explained. "You will need it to get into school if you want to become a spirit master."

Su Yuntao began to hastily pack all his belongings. He was still in shock at seeing an innate full spirit power, but Su Yuntao's focus had shifted towards his next obligation. "I must head to the next village over," he announced, securing his bag. "I've spent more time here than planned, explaining things. I must be going now."

As he rushed off the altar, the parents wished him a safe journey, their voices a mixture of gratitude and farewell. Su Yuntao nodded in acknowledgment before he exited the Spirit Hall, leaving a buzz of conversation in his wake.

The parents, now released from the spell of the ceremony, surged forward towards the altar, eager to reunite with their children. Wong Su was among the first, his excitement palpable as he pushed through the crowd. Reaching Wong Yazhu, he scooped her up by her waist and lifted her high into the air, raising her above him, his voice booming with pride, "She's got soul power!"

In the heat of the moment, Wong Yazhu couldn't contain her exhilaration. "Fuck yeah!" she exclaimed, echoing her father's enthusiasm. The immediate area around them fell into a surprised silence, all eyes turning towards them, including the village elder who had been accompanying Tang San.

Realizing the attention they had drawn, Wong Su chuckled awkwardly, a sheepish expression taking over his face. "Ah, pardon my... our excitement,"

With a hasty apology, Wong Su quickly made his way out of the Spirit Hall, still carrying Wong Yazhu in his arms. He quickly reached their home, and Wong Su gently placed Wong Yazhu on the couch in the living room, her feet barely touching the ground before he turned towards the door. "Wait here," he instructed with a grin still splitting his face. "I'll go call your mother."

Without waiting for a response, he hurried out of the house. Once he left, Wong Yazhu held out his right hand in front of him. With a thought and a little bit of will, a faint red light bubbled out from the center of his palm, condensing in a brilliant flash into the tree-like rose with faint blue lights around it.

He grinned, looking at the flower floating above his palm. Just then, the faint blue light around the tree disappeared, causing it to stop floating, and, reacting quickly, he caught it, holding it in his hands. 

It was pretty light, the stem's bark rough, and it gave out a cold, ethereal feeling. As Wong Yazhu inspected the tree closely, a few seconds of silence passed before his eyes widened in sudden recognition. "The God Tree!" he blurted out. 

The tree in his hands, indeed, resembled a miniature version of the God Tree from Naruto, with its twisted, bark-covered stem and a large, closed flower perched at the top.

"How can this become my Martial Spirit?" To him, it didn't make sense at all. 

From what he remembered, the Ten-Tails served as a seedling stage in the life cycle of a God Tree, driven by the instinct to devour chakra. It would eat any living creature until consuming a Ōtsutsuki, whose chakra would trigger its evolution into a God Tree. Then, its tails would burrow into the planet like roots and begin absorbing the chakra and blood of all living beings that dwell upon it, eventually producing a chakra fruit.

If this was similar to the God Tree, it would imply it had been a Ten-Tails once and had eaten a Ōtsutsuki. "But, what Ōtsutsuki?" He wondered, trying to open the flower at the top but unable to. "No, besides that, should I plant it and allow it to grow, or does it require the absorption of spirit rings to enhance its strength?" 

Shaking his head vigorously, he muttered, "No, no, no," He reminded himself. "I'm in the Douluo Dalu world now. This is a Martial Spirit, not a direct transplant from Naruto. It must operate under different rules here." This realization did little to clear his confusion because the question still stands.

Plant it or 'feed' it spirit ring? 'Well, it's a martial spirit, so I guess it's the latter.' What would it gain with each ring? Can it become the ten-tails? What--- 

He quickly sent the tree away, his demeanor changing.

Wong An rushed into the house with her husband behind her. She had on an ankle-length garment in an earthy brown, a straw hat, and was a bit sweaty from her run back home. Her gown swished around her legs as she moved swiftly towards Wong Yazhu, who sat on the couch. Kneeling in front of her daughter, Wong An wrapped her arms around Wong Yazhu in a tight embrace, her tears of joy soaking into the young girl's gown.

"I'm so happy, my child," Wong An said between sobs, pulling back to look Wong Yazhu in the face. Her eyes shimmered with genuine happiness, the tears due to her overwhelming emotions. "To have such high soul power..."

Wong Yazhu grinned and boldly declared, "I will become a Spirit Saint, like the man from the legend!" But then, correcting herself with even greater ambition, she exclaimed, "No, I will become a Titled Douluo!"

Her mother, still holding her, smiled through her tears and hugged her again. "I'm sure you will," she said, her voice filled with unwavering belief.

After a few moments, Wong An pulled back, and with a flicker of light, her Martial Soul manifested—a simple handkerchief. "Let me see yours," she said, a gentle curiosity in her tone.

Wong Yazhu, eager to share, focused for a moment before summoning her tree. "I call it the God Tree!" she announced with pride.

At this, Wong Su, who had been watching the exchange with a wide grin, burst out laughing. "The God Tree, huh?" he chuckled. "That's an ambitious name. I was thinking of calling it the 'Primordial Flower of Heaven,' but that's just me." he said, clearly amused by his own creativity.

Wong An glanced at her husband, who was still chuckling. "Seems like our daughter has the same grand ideas as you," she said, a smile playing on her lips.

"The tree looks nice," Wong An commented, reaching out tentatively to touch the Martial Spirit. However, the moment her finger brushed against the bark, she felt an inexplicable pull, as if the spirit itself was trying to draw her in. Startled, she quickly retracted her hand.

Wong Su, noticing his wife's reaction, asked with concern, "What's wrong?" He walked closer, leaning in to get a better look at the tree.

"It felt like I was being pulled in," Wong An explained, still a bit shaken by the sensation. "It's... strange..." She looked at her husband. "Come and touch it, darling."

Wong Su was a bit taken aback by what his wife called him. 'Darling?' He thought. It had been a long time since she had called him that. But he pushed it to the back of his mind and walked over to the duo, leaning forward and lightly touching the tree.

He immediately retracted his hands, his eyes wide open. "You felt that too, right?" Wong An asked her husband, who nodded. They stared at each other before glancing at their daughter holding the tree, her head tilted in confusion. 

"It might be an 'exclusive' martial spirit." Wong Su mumbled. He didn't know what an 'exclusive' martial spirit was since he just made up that word, but they just nodded in agreement.

'I guess the God Tree can absorb life.' Wong Yazhu thought, looking at her parent's reaction. 'It might have been absorbing their essence when they touched it. Is that it's Initial Skill?' 

From what he remembered, the martial spirit had a 'level 0' skill that they came with. Maybe his 'God Tree' had the Initial Skill to absorb the essence of all living things except his own.

'If that is so, then this is already overpowered.'