4 Chapter 4: Here We Are

...

At night, Mara stood in front of a thatched cottage. From the window, he could see the candlelight inside, indicating that Zeng Yi was still awake.

"Xiao Yi..."

Mara gently tapped on the wooden door and called out to the person inside.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Village Chief Grandpa." Mara replied to the person inside.

Creak...

After a while, the wooden door opened, making a decaying sound as if it was about to collapse.

Zeng Yi appeared at the doorstep, looking at Village Chief Mara with some confusion.

"Grandpa, why are you here so late? Do you need something?" Zeng Yi asked.

"Hehe, just came to see you." Mara smiled kindly at Zeng Yi. He already knew the result of today's awakening of martial spirits. Once again, there was no one in Lala Village who could become a soul master. One had spirit power but unfortunately a Blue Silver Grass martial spirit. The other was Zeng Yi, with a good martial spirit but no spirit power, which was truly a pity!

However, that girl was luckier than Zeng Yi; at least she could cultivate and give it a try. Zeng Yi, on the other hand, didn't even have the opportunity to cultivate.

Looking at the boy in front of him, Mara felt that this world was so unfair. He lost his parents at a young age and lived alone. He had always been working hard, exercising his body in order to awaken his martial spirit, and Mara had been observing him all the time. But the heavens seemed to be playing a joke on him, giving him an excellent martial spirit but not the opportunity to cultivate it. It was truly sad!

"Grandpa, come in and have a seat. It's windy outside, don't catch a cold." Zeng Yi smiled, took Mara's hand, and led him into the house.

Seeing Zeng Yi's smile, Mara's nose tingled and his eyes became moist.

Despite everything, this child was still smiling. He must be feeling very uncomfortable, but he still put on a strong facade and smiled at me. What a resilient child! It would be wonderful if he could become a soul master.

Mara sighed inwardly.

Zeng Yi brought the Village Chief into the house, found a wooden stool for him to sit on, and said, "Hehe, Grandpa, have you eaten?"

"I have. I caught some small fish in the creek and made grilled fish and porridge for myself today. I just finished eating when you came, hahaha." Zeng Yi replied with a smile.

As a transmigrator and an adult, Zeng Yi could take care of himself very well. There were many wild game near the village, and there were no dangerous soul beasts. Before transmigrating, Zeng Yi grew up as a country kid and was taught how to cook by his parents. His cooking skills were not bad, and now the people in the village occasionally gave him some food supplies. Living alone, he never went hungry. Life was still bearable.

"That's great! If my grandson could be half as good as you, I could rest assured." Mara sighed, thinking of his own mischievous grandson.

"Hehe, Grandpa, you still have at least fifty more years to live. Why are you saying these things?" Zeng Yi joked.

"Haha, if I could live for ten more years, I would be content." Mara chuckled, then reached into his pocket and took out something wrapped in oiled paper. Zeng Yi could even smell the fragrance coming from it.

"What is this?" Zeng Yi asked.

"It's a chicken leg. I brought it for you." Mara smiled and handed the wrapped package to Zeng Yi.

"Grandpa..." Seeing the Village Chief's gesture, Zeng Yi couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat. The Village Chief was the only person in this world who made him feel the warmth of family, just like his grandmother before he transmigrated.

With that thought in mind, tears started to well up in his eyes.

"Thank...thank you, Grandpa..." Zeng Yi choked out.

"It's nothing. I am your Village Chief Grandpa! Eat up and take good care of yourself." Seeing Zeng Yi crying, Mara saw it for the first time. This child was too lonely! Life had been too heavy for him!

Mara watched as Zeng Yi finished the two chicken legs and chatted with him for a while before getting up to leave.

"Grandpa, let me walk you out."

"No need. I'm still fit. You should rest early."

"Oh, your door is about to fall apart. I happen to have a spare wooden door at home. I'll send someone tomorrow to replace it for you."

Zeng Yi stood at the door, watching Village Chief Mara's figure gradually disappear in the moonlight. In the moon's radiant glow, his hunched figure seemed particularly tall in Zeng Yi's eyes.

After bidding farewell to the Village Chief, Zeng Yi entered his home, closed the door, tidied up the room, and sat on the wooden bed.

"Ronin!"

Zeng Yi called out in his heart, and a delicate and handsome longsword, the same as himself, appeared in his hand. This was his martial spirit, the Ronin Sword.

Ding~

Zeng Yi unsheathed the hilt of the sword, making a clear drawing sound as he pulled out the sword. Looking at the shiny sword, Zeng Yi couldn't help but exclaim, "So cool!"

He held the hilt with both hands and jumped down from the bed, practicing his moves in the room. After a while, he felt a bit awkward and stopped. The sword was too long, about 1.2 meters, but Zeng Yi was only six years old, and he hadn't even reached that height. It felt uncomfortable to wield the sword.

"I wish I could grow taller soon!"

He put the sword back in its sheath and placed it by the bed. Then he lay on the bed.

Although he now had Martial Soul, the system he had waited for six years had finally appeared! So, the problem of cultivation was no longer a problem; it would be solved when the time came. Now, all he had to do was wait for the system to be fully installed.

As he lay there for a while...

["Ding~ System loading complete!"]

["The Happy Orphan System is a good system that accompanies the host in daily life and brings happiness. Welcome, host, to use it!"]

The cheerful electronic sound rang in Zeng Yi's mind, leaving him dumbfounded for a moment before realizing it. He couldn't help but jump up in joy.

["Hooray! Hooray! Hooray for cheats!"]

After a while, Zeng Yi calmed down because it wouldn't be good to disturb others in the middle of the night.

But, what kind of system was the Happy Orphan System? And why was it so cheerful with its electronic voice?

Well, forget about it. As long as there's a system, everything is fine.

"System, are you here?"

Zeng Yi silently called out in his mind.

["Not here!"]

The system's voice rang in Zeng Yi's mind.

This made Zeng Yi speechless. Why did this system have such a playful personality?

"Alright, let's not joke around. Do you have any gift packs or something? Get one for me quickly." Zeng Yi went straight to the point.

["Yes, the gift pack has been issued. Just think of 'backpack', and you can open the backpack to receive the rewards."]

Thumbs up! Unexpectedly, this system is quite user-friendly. It deserves a hundred thumbs up!

Zeng Yi opened his backpack, and sure enough, there was a beginner's gift pack. Without hesitation, he opened it.

[Ding~]

[Received a Level 4 soul power.]

[Received a 100 cubic meter space bracelet.]

[Received the Soul Power Cultivation manual.]

[Received the skill 'Ronin'.]

[Received the skill 'Sword Mastery'.]

[Received the martial skill 'Wind Sword Art'.]

[Received a fine Iron Sword.]

That's it? Nothing else? Looking at the things that the system gave him, Zeng Yi pondered for a moment.

Fourth-level soul power means that I now have fourth-level soul power, and I can start cultivating, right? But system, you only gave me fourth-level soul power, not innate full soul power. That's a bit stingy!

The 100 cubic meter space bracelet is self-explanatory; it's an equipment for storing things, just like Tang San's Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges. This is cool d=(´▽｀)=b

The soul power cultivation manual is easy to understand!

The skill 'Ronin'? This reminds Zeng Yi of the game from his previous life, the Yasuo synergy in Teamfight Tactics. Does this mean I have to be an orphan?

The skill 'Sword Mastery'? Isn't this a skill from the League of Legends game, the Sword Master class?

The Wind sword Sword Art? Is this... Happywindboy?

[TL Note: Apparently Yasuo's nickname in China is "happy wind boy".]

A fine Iron Sword? I already have a martial spirit as a weapon. Why do I need a sword?

"System, can I take it out and use it with just one click?"

["Yes."]

Alright, then I'll use the fourth-level soul power.

Then, the fourth-level soul power in the backpack disappeared and turned into a beam of light, merging into Zeng Yi's body. He could feel his body changing, with each cell cheering.

He clenched his fists and could clearly feel that his strength was stronger than before.

"So this is soul power?" Watching the faint light emanating from his hand, Zeng Yi murmured to himself.

I'm getting stronger, and I still have hair.

...