The cultivation realms of a Soul Martial Artist are broadly divided into five ranks.
1. Soul Soldier, 2. Soul Warrior, 3. Soul Captain, 4. Soul School, 5. Soul General.
Each rank is further divided into four stages: early, middle, late, and peak.
It's worth noting that the fourth rank, the Soul School tier, has even more detailed subdivisions. The promotion requirements are horrendously strict and terrifyingly difficult.
One can only imagine what kind of terrifying existence a "Soul General" is.
In short, Xu Fenghua, known as the "Number One Soul General of the Outer Region," is practically the ceiling for human Soul Martial Artists.
She truly lived up to her name.
Fenghua, as in "Unparalleled Charm."
Having such a mother, it was hard to say whether it was Rong Taotao's fortune or misfortune.
"Xu Fenghua's son."
These words had accompanied Rong Taotao throughout his entire upbringing.
His mother's towering reputation had always been like a great mountain pressing down on him, never allowing him a moment's rest. He couldn't tarnish her name; he had to constantly live up to the standard of "Xu Fenghua's son."
No matter how well Rong Taotao performed, it was always taken for granted.
But when Rong Taotao fell short, that was the real nightmare.
The gossip, the cold stares and ridicule—only Rong Taotao himself knew what that felt like.
However, his mother had left him less than a year after he was born.
For as long as he could remember, Rong Taotao had never seen his mother "in the flesh," only in family photo albums and textbooks.
For a full fifteen years, if it weren't for multiple sources confirming that Xu Fenghua was still alive and guarding the Dragon River border, Rong Taotao would have thought his mother was dead...
"Not bad. You seem a little confident," Rong Yuanshan said softly, a loving look on his face as he gazed at his son.
Rong Taotao replied helplessly, "What else can I do? I have to at least try! Uh, I don't really know what to say, so I'll just thank my sponsor-daddy for the support~ Are you planning to hold a competition or something?"
Rong Yuanshan smiled and ruffled Rong Taotao's head of naturally curly hair. "You'll find out when the time comes."
Rong Taotao turned away with a look of disgust and walked toward the sofa. "Fine," he said as he went. "By the way, where's my master? Didn't she come with you?"
Rong Yuanshan: "She's on a mission. Busy."
Rong Taotao almost laughed in exasperation. 'First one is busy, then the next one is busy?'
'So I'm the only one with nothing to do?'
Seeing his son sprawled lazily on the sofa, Rong Yuanshan suddenly remembered something. His expression turned a little strange as he said, "I heard from her that a year ago, on the day you two parted, she beat you so hard you called her 'Dad'?"
Rong Taotao: "Uh..."
Rong Yuanshan: "She teased me about it for a long time after she returned to the team."
Rong Taotao's face soured as he recalled the time he "acknowledged his master as his father." He couldn't help but mumble, "I didn't want to call her that..."
Rong Yuanshan raised an eyebrow slightly. "Hm?"
Rong Taotao pouted and muttered under his breath, "But... but she hits really, really hard..."
Rong Yuanshan: ???
As if recalling his Devil Master's demonic face, Rong Taotao couldn't help but shiver and subconsciously rub his butt.
It was clear Rong Yuanshan wasn't actually angry. Instead, he teased, "Son, you're a big boy now. You're fifteen, you need to have some self-respect."
Rong Taotao was immediately unhappy. "You're talk—... bull...—You're talking nonsense! Nonsense!
"One smack of the rod after another, right on my butt! Who could take that?"
Hearing this, a half-smile appeared on Rong Yuanshan's face.
Although the topic of conversation was a bit strange, the atmosphere between father and son was much better than the awkwardness from before.
After all, he had been separated from his son for three years.
Seeing his son's mischievous yet stubborn look, Rong Yuanshan felt as if he had returned to the familiar, intimate times with his son from three years ago.
Clearly, Rong Yuanshan didn't care what they talked about; he was simply enjoying the harmonious atmosphere. He smiled and said, "It seems you respect your master more than you respect me. Then again, I haven't seen you in three years. Maybe I just haven't hit you enough?"
"Hey! You're gravely mistaken!" Rong Taotao said righteously, waving a small hand. "Think about it. She beat me, so I called her 'Dad.' That's a forced confession!
"You don't hit me, and I still call you Dad. That's a willing admission! How can you even compare the two?
"She might have gotten a great deal, but you definitely didn't lose out!"
Rong Yuanshan: ???
Seeing his father's rather speechless expression, Rong Taotao said, "Ah, well, 'he who teaches me for a day is my father for a lifetime.' Besides, she taught me for two whole years, so what's the big deal about calling her that once..."
As he spoke, memories of his painful training days surfaced in Rong Taotao's mind.
'My Devil Master did show me some mercy,' he thought. 'When she trained me, she never hit my face. The rod was always aimed at my butt...'
'After all, a strict master produces a skilled student!'
'So what if she hit me? I could take it!'
'No other reason. I'm thick-skinned!'
It was precisely this strictness and severity that made Rong Taotao's combat movements terrifyingly precise and laid a solid foundation for his fighting career.
Of course they were! He had no choice! The slightest mistake in his movements, even a minor error in applying force, would earn him a whack from her rod...
This continued until one night a year ago, when Rong Taotao bid farewell to his Devil Master and began to train his combat skills alone.
Of course, it wasn't that Rong Taotao had betrayed his teacher; rather, his master had been summoned back by her team and no longer had time to teach him.
First and second year of middle school. Two full years of training and study had forged a deep bond between Rong Taotao and his master, but... she left without a second thought, not even looking back.
That night, Rong Taotao ordered takeout and ate a meal of lamb skewers through his tears.
'Mmm, they were damn delicious.'
What a heart-wrenching scene of "a kind master and a filial student"...
Lost in thought, Rong Taotao rubbed his butt again. Just thinking about her made it ache phantomly.
While Rong Taotao was lost in his wild thoughts, Rong Yuanshan on the other hand...
Seeing his son sitting silently on the sofa, Rong Yuanshan glanced at his watch. He didn't press the matter further and said, "I should be going. You should get to bed early too. Rest up and do your best tomorrow."
Hearing this, Rong Taotao snapped out of his daze and watched his father walk toward the door. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
'He's leaving already?'
'This farewell is so clean and swift. Exactly like my master's style~'
'We haven't seen each other in three years, and he only stays for ten minutes?'
'What's that supposed to mean?'
'Just making a symbolic appearance at an important moment in my life?'
'No, that's not right. At least he helped confirm my future path as a Soul Martial Artist and promised me a chance to fuse with a Cloud Peak Soul Beast.'
'Fine, whatever.'
Rong Taotao clicked his tongue with a pained expression. Watching his father walk out the door and wave goodbye, he felt a tightness in his chest.
'Sigh. I feel so bad for myself.'
Rong Taotao wasn't entirely sure what his father did. He seemed to be in some military unit, but his job was that of a bodyguard.
Moreover, Rong Taotao didn't know who his father's unit was specifically protecting. According to his master, it was supposedly a very powerful Soul Martial Artist.
But that raised a question: would a powerful Soul Martial Artist even need protection?
'Could it be someone with high status and great power?'
His old man comes back and the first thing he does is offer to provide his son with a Cloud Peak Soul Beast. Those are extremely rare Soul Beasts!
They are only produced by the sky Vortexes within the Arctic Circle!
Putting aside the difficulty of capturing one, the Cloud Peak planet is terrifyingly dangerous. Human Soul Martial Artists can easily get lost within Cloud Peak, and it's questionable whether they can even make it out alive.
What's more, the Arctic Circle is swarming with forces from various countries, as well as all sorts of outlaws. That region is practically synonymous with chaos.
"CLICK."
The door clicked shut. Rong Yuanshan had left decisively, and Rong Taotao was once again alone in the house.
Rong Taotao scratched his hair in frustration, quickly pulled out his phone, and opened the "NotFullYet?" food delivery app.
'Can't let the tradition die!'
Following "a kind master and a filial student," it was time for a performance of "a kind father and a filial son."
Barbecue!
Lamb skewers! Order! Order a ton! Max it out!
To celebrate this parting, today's goal: eat thirty skewers through my tears!
Stir-fried clams, grilled cod, honey-glazed chicken wings, pork cartilage... Wow! I could just die from bliss!
Parting?
Heh!
If every parting tasted like lamb, who would ever hate goodbyes?
Well, maybe... the sheep would?