Hearing Old Jack's familiar, gentle voice calling from outside the door, Tang San's heart stirred. He thought to himself, "It's finally happening!"
He glanced at Tang Hao, who had just set down his bowl and chopsticks beside him.
Tang Hao maintained his usual cold expression. Without even looking up, he said, "Go on. Don't be late to cook lunch."
"Yes, Father," Tang San replied. He stood up, walked out of the blacksmith shop, and followed Old Jack, who was waiting outside, toward the center of the village.
The road beneath his feet, the houses on either side, and even the morning smell of cooking smoke lingering in the air were exactly the same as what he had perceived in the simulation.
It was not until the Spirit Hall--a building that appeared exceptionally grand in Holy Spirit Village--loomed before his eyes that this fateful sense of familiarity reached its peak.
Stepping into the hall, the scene completely overlapped with the images in his "memory."
The old village chief, eight other children from the village wearing expressions of nervousness and excitement, and the most conspicuous figure in the crowd--a young man dressed in the standard attire of Spirit Hall.
Tang San still remembered that in the simulation, this young man was named Su Yuntao.
"Hello, respected Battle Spirit Grandmaster. We will have to trouble you again this time," Old Jack said respectfully as he bowed to the young man.
An imperceptible hint of arrogance and haste showed between the young man's brows. He bowed slightly in return.
"I don't have much time. Let's begin now."
The spirit awakening ceremony proceeded in an orderly manner.
As each child stepped forward, Su Yuntao guided their spirit power, causing their spirits to manifest. After testing their spirit power, they would step back, either in disappointment or composure.
The entire process aligned perfectly with the scenes from the simulation, like a meticulously rehearsed play unfolding step-by-step exactly as planned.
Soon, it was Tang San's turn.
Though naturally calm and composed, Tang San felt a rare trace of nervousness at this moment, and a fine sweat even broke out on his palms.
His heart was filled with complex contradictions.
On one hand, he worried that the spirit awakened today would be exactly what he saw in the simulation. If so, it would mean that the mind-boggling "Life Simulator" spoke nothing but the truth, and his future life path--including his mother's secret and the hidden dangers of his twin spirits--was being watched and orchestrated by an invisible, massive hand.
On the other hand, he was also afraid that the spirit awakened today would be different from the simulation.
If even this most basic starting point differed, then everything the simulator had shown regarding the Blue Silver Emperor, Fu Shiyan, and that completely different path would dissolve like the reflection of the moon in water, nothing more than an illusory dream.
Human nature is inherently complex.
At this moment, Tang San deeply experienced this inner conflict.
He feared the "truth" of that prophecy, for it meant he had been chosen by an incomprehensible existence and that his destiny might no longer be entirely in his own hands. This brought a dread rooted in the unknown.
Yet, he feared the "falsehood" just as much. Once a person had caught a glimpse of the future and known the potential of their own extraordinary capabilities, being forced back into a reality shrouded in thick fog with a "trash spirit, Blue Silver Grass" would bring a psychological drop too massive to bear.
It was like being told you had won a multi-million-dollar lottery, only to discover the ticket had expired and was invalid; the intense sense of loss would be enough to crush one's mental defenses.
However, no matter how wildly Tang San's heart churned or how tangled his thoughts became, reality would not halt for his will.
The progression of the spirit awakening had indisputably reached him.
"Next."
Su Yuntao's flat voice rang out.
Without needing further instruction, Tang San proactively walked into the center of the six black awakening stones, just as he had done in the simulation.
He took a deep breath, trying hard to calm his racing heart.
As Su Yuntao injected spirit power into the formation on the ground, a pale golden light flared up once more, forming a barrier that enveloped Tang San within.
He carefully felt this energy. Although he had already "experienced" it once in the life simulation, experiencing it for real at this moment still felt subtly different from the perception in the simulation.
Warmth was the first thing Tang San felt.
This warm energy seemed alive, continuously permeating his body and causing all his pores to relax.
At the same time, the Mysterious Heaven Skill internal power circulating on its own within him seemed to be drawn by something, beginning to fluctuate slightly.
Right after that, as if some innate shackle within his body had shattered, the warm aura suddenly turned torrential. Like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, it rushed collectively toward his hands!
Almost instinctively, the scenes from the simulation flashed through Tang San's mind.
He abruptly hid his left hand behind his back and clenched it tightly. He was afraid--afraid that he would truly awaken a second spirit just like in the simulation!
Having undergone the information influx from the simulation, he was no longer that mountain village child who knew nothing of the Spirit Master world.
He understood very well what "twin spirits" signified. It was a talent capable of shaking the entire continent, and before he possessed sufficient strength, it absolutely could not be exposed!
The moment he hid his left hand, his right hand lifted uncontrollably. In his palm, spirit power converged, and a plant--both familiar and yet slightly strange--slowly emerged and unfurled.
The leaves were blue-purple with clear veins, carrying a faint aura of life.
Blue Silver Grass!
It really was Blue Silver Grass!
Almost simultaneously, a completely different throbbing sensation came from the palm of his left hand hidden behind his back!
A heavy power, carrying a cold and hard texture, was condensing and taking shape there.
Even without looking, through those subtle spirit power fluctuations and the familiar touch, he instantly confirmed it--it was the shape of a hammer!
Without a doubt, this was what the simulation called the number one tool spirit under heaven--the Clear Sky Hammer!
Boom!!!
Like a clap of thunder exploding in his mind, Tang San's heart violently contracted, then began to beat frantically. The immense shock left him momentarily dazed.
It matched!
Everything matched!
It was exactly the same!
Blue Silver Grass in the right hand, Clear Sky Hammer in the left hand, twin spirits--everything he had seen and heard in the simulation was now playing out in reality without a single error!
An unspeakable wave of complex emotions instantly overwhelmed Tang San.
His spirits were Blue Silver Grass and the Clear Sky Hammer!
The process was identical to the simulation!
This ironclad fact ruthlessly announced the truth of everything the "Life Simulator" had displayed!
The massive impact caused him to overlook the spirit power test Su Yuntao conducted immediately after.
When his hand pressed against the crystal ball and that dazzling blue light erupted once more, drawing out Su Yuntao's voice full of shock and regret--"Innate Full Spirit Power?"--
Tang San's state of mind had already calmed down considerably. Or rather, he had become somewhat numb from the impact of this massive amount of information.
He politely thanked Su Yuntao, took the certificate that represented his status as a Spirit Master, and silently walked back among the children. He lowered his eyes, hiding all his tumultuous emotions beneath his youthful face.
However, the massive storm of confirming his destiny that Tang San experienced internally transformed into the sweetest, most torrential source of "Faith Power" for Fu Shiyan, who was far away in a dilapidated shack!
[Faith Power +1000!]
[Faith Power +2500!]
[Faith Power +5800!]
[Faith Power +12000!] ...
The numbers on the system interface leaped and soared frantically at an unprecedented speed!
Tang San's final confirmation of the "Simulator's" truth, along with his further trust in the persona of "Fu Shiyan" displayed within it, acted like the richest fertilizer, giving rise to a massive amount of Faith Power points!
Looking at the continuously skyrocketing numbers, a cold, satisfied curve finally broke out irrepressibly on the corner of Fu Shiyan's mouth.
"Next, it's my turn to take the stage!!!"