10 Spirit Awakening

"EEEEEH?!!!!!" A loud exclamation woke Ryan up, who was soundly sleeping, all exhausted from yesterday's incidents. He instantly recognized the voice as Xiao Shan's. "What happened papa?!", he heard this question the next second and also heard soft footsteps moving towards his parents' room quickly. He wanted to shout "No little Jin!!!!!!!" as he knew what attire she would see Shan in. Sure enough, what came from that next room was one scream, with both a man's and a little girl's voices mixed in it. "Why is papa naked?!", Jin shouted as she ran straight out of the room, into the hands of Ryan, who had anticipated this and run straight to the hall. "Maybe he just felt it was hot today", Ryan lied conveniently as he glared at his father in bed through the open door, who was mouthing "sorry" with a concerned expression. "Put some clothes on!", he said loudly, with a serious face. He didn't ask why Shan had shouted as soon as he woke up. Cause he knew it was because of the rise in his cultivation. After all, he was the reason for it. But, the question in his mind was; Why didn't his mother do the same. She was the one who made the most of it yesterday. He felt his body shaking as he remembered the speed at which she absorbed the mental energy. As if on cue, a delicate, but cold voice came from the back, "What's going on here?". It was his mom, wearing an apron, with a ladle in her hand (It was 7 in the morning y'all. And mama was busy makin' breakfast).

Shan immediately closed the door, put on some clothes and came to the hall. Jin was still hugging Ryan tightly. Can't blame her. She was mentally scarred (lol, amateur). Although she looked like a 3 year-old, she was still only barely older than a year. Shan quickly explained, "Honey, the weirdest thing happened to me. I dreamt of cultivating in a forest and when I woke up, my cultivation had risen! Isn't that great and abnormal?!". Luo Hua looked a bit shocked and said, "It is indeed weird. I had the same dream last night. And I even broke through in my sleep. I'm Rank 96 now". "What?! Why didn't you tell me this earlier?", Shan asked with bulged eyes in a high pitched voice. The scene made him look like a complete idiot and Ryan had to struggle a lot to resist laughing, to the point where his eyes started twitching. "Wow! You guys were dream buddies! Yeay! But we have more pressing (quite literally) issues here! Though, congratulations on your breakthrough mo... Ah!", Ryan winced as Jin's hug got tighter. He had said this to divert their attention from the improvements, and it worked. But the pain was real though. Luo Hua gave her son a puzzled look, thinking, 'Why is this kid acting like an adult?', and replied to Shan with a calm face, "You were in deep sleep. I didn't wanna bother you". Then she turned towards the kids and comforted Jin using her motherly charm. 'Damn, that thing is extremely OP too', Ryan thought, smiling inwardly. Then everything calmed down and the day continued as usual with food, training, and family. Though Jin was awkward around Shan for a couple days after that, she got over it and went back to being her usual self.

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With all the usual training and stuff, 4 years passed by quite fast. As the result of his unwavering dedication, Ryan, after dying multiple times, finally completed the second part of 'True God Physique' manual, as well as the beginner level of 'Archery 101'. Finishing the beginner level increased his focus and eyesight tremendously, as well as doubled as flexibility training for his wrists, and legs (don't ask. It was horrible. Meh, you may already have understood, but you'll find out in later chapters anyway). The archery training sessions with his dad helped a lot too, as this was the only time he could use bows and arrows outside of his mental realm. Although all of this helped him get used his weapon of choice, what really helped his body was of course, the body cultivation. He could now fight with 1000 year old spirit beasts (who were not using spirit power) easily. He could also keep up with the vicious Peregrine Falcons and run away without getting cut up like a body during post mortem. When he passed that part, he absorbed the golden shiny thingy on top of the tree, which filled him with a fresh, familiar energy, which in turn increased his overall regenerative ability and helped him survive the third part. His healing factor was now around 10 times the normal for an average human. After all of this and archery 101, part four was sort of like a cake walk, and he easily assisted Er Ming and Xiao Wu (Using this cause its easier to remember. Stressing again, they are not XW and EM).

During this time, his external awareness while in the mental realm had improved too, which in turn served as motivation for him to jump into the books so that he could ignore his mothers moans at midnight. Anyway, this increased awareness also let him let his parents into the realm for a longer time. So, he occasionally helped them, causing their cultivations to improve by leaps and bounds, leaving them confused with the same dreams. Luo Hua had broken through into Rank 97 a year ago and was at around 19% of it, while Shan broke through just a couple months after her and became a Rank 98 Super Douluo. Just 1 rank away from becoming a Limit Douluo, after which, he wouldn't have to fear anything in the world. His cultivation was now at 6% of the rank. After breaking through, he felt a lot more confident about fighting spirit hall if necessary, as only Golden Crocodile Douluo and Angel Douluo posed threat to him. He was sure neither will be present during Ryan's awakening, as Shan had only just become a Super Douluo when they left and wouldn't expect him to have had so many miraculous encounters and major increases in his spirit power. As for his wife, they wouldn't even dream of her becoming a Super Douluo, let alone reaching Rank 97, in six years. So, at best they would sent Falling Devil and Fifteen Ton Douluos, just to be "safe", who were both now like ants to him. Thus, he felt a bit relieved. Still, he didn't let Ryan slack off in his training (Although the latter didn't dare to, as he was literally fighting for his life against the beasts in the mental realm). As the intense training went on and his regenerative capabilities increased, Ryan stopped passing out after training and started taking the after-training bath himself (otherwise, he used to wake up smelling like fresh flowers, cause his father cleaned him up). This was a great thing, because, it was about damn time.

Although he was only six years old, he looked way older, like a 10 year-old. He was 153 cm tall. Although his father was a towering 1.95 metres tall, even he wasn't as tall as Ryan when he was six. And the muscles on his long limbs looked and felt like they were made of steel. It was the result of the hellish training regimen and the cultivation. His features had become much more enchanting and domineering. His blood red lips could make any woman want to kiss him immediately, while his dark purple eyes could take them to the highest levels of ecstasy just from one glance. His slightly tanned skin was very smooth too, like it was made of highest-quality silk. His pitch black hair were cut at shoulder length. He no longer looked like a kid who needed his parents' help to bath. Neither above nor below the waist (if you know what I mean). His mom definitely couldn't help him, baths with his sister were out of the question (though it wasn't just because of him) and for his father, it was just downright depressing (even though he hadn't hit puberty, he could still compare. Yeah, ever heard of 'similarity' in math?).

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It was evening and the sun went down, with the sky slowly darkening. The small wooden house on the outskirts of the forest had light coming from its centre, where the dining room was. There was a huge feast on the table, with four people sitting around it. It was undoubtedly Ryan and his family. They were thanking god for the food. But Ryan, who was still not used to it, kept ogling at the meat, and repeatedly swallowed his saliva, like a lion looking at a deer. As soon as the prayer finished, he started attacking his plate, leaving his parents speechless. After a few second, his father started laughing as his mother said, "Slowly you two! Noone's gonna steal from your plate!". 'Two? What is she talking about?', Ryan looked to his left. That was when he saw his sister eating as fast and wildly as him, like a beast. You see, when Ryan was ogling at the food, he hadn't noticed that Jin was also doing the same. "Haha, let them be. Ryan has been training very hard and tomorrow is his spirit awakening. And Jin... Well, she needs the energy too". Indeed he was right. Ryan wasnt the only one with monstrous growth. Jin was now 140 cm tall and had more mature features than her brother and had a royal aura around her. Her pink lips were lovely and grey eyes radiated happiness. Her blonde hair was as long as the tip of her spine, and was tied in a pony tail. The smooth fair skin was enticing too. But, most importantly, there were two little bumps on her chest area. That was pretty impressive for a 5 point something year old girl (This was the other reason he couldn't bath with her). However, all these features become useless when she sees food. Cause she'll devour it as soon as possible (only when she's around her family though). As if proving the point, she said to Ryan, with a mouth full of rice, "You should eat quickly ge," and nodded at the food on the table and continued, "or I'll finish it". Ryan, now genuinely frightened, started eating his food quickly, as both his parents laughed at the sight of his facial expression.

After dinner, his mom and Jin were busy washing dishes as Ryan went to his father, who was standing under a tree in front of the courtyard. As he heard Ryan approaching, Shan said, "beautiful night isn't it?". Ryan looked around. It was a day of full moon. So he could see everything surrounding him in the moonlight. The blue silver grass nearby, which reminded him of Tang San. At the same time, a sneeze was heard from the smithy in the Holy Spirit village. Ryan also saw the trees slowly swaying in the slow blowing wind. He looked up at the sky. He could see the white moon shining, which made him feel very calm as two faces came into his mind. The first was Xiao Jin, although he had no idea why he had thought of her, and the second was the Goddess of Life, Sen Ming. He said to his father, as the faces left him, "Yes, it is". "I sense a question from you my son. Feel free", Said Shan calmly. "Dad, you said you would tell me about your and mother's spirits when I'm old enough. I'm 6 years old now. Am I ready?", replied Ryan, in a serious tone. "Little Yan, you are indeed ready, but, just wait for one more day. I will tell you once your spirit awakens. Only then will your mindset be serious enough for this. Okay?", Shan said. Ryan replied with a smile, "Yes father". "Good boy, go sleep now. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow...", Shan said this and gave him a pat on the head. Ryan turned back and slowly left. Shan continued, "....and you'll definitely need the energy".

Ryan got back into the the house and went to sleep after some time, after playing with Jin for a bit. He hadn't entered the mental realm since couple of days ago, as archery 101 was almost done, with just 10 blank pages remaining, which he guessed, will only be useful once his spirits awaken. It was the same with TGP as well. So, he just slept.

The next day, Ryan woke up half an hour earlier and got ready, cause he was really anxious to find out what his spirits were. After all, even the space god was oblivious about it. However, he wasn't the only one who was anxious. His parents were too. They wanted to know how good their son's spirit was, as it would decide whether they live with him, or lose him to spirit hall. In fact, Luo Hua hadn't slept the entire night and had bags under her eyes. Although she knew her husband was strong, he still wasn't as strong as the grand priest and wouldn't be able to fight back against the entire spirit hall. Yet, he had told her to stay here to protect Jin. It was like he didn't want them to know about Jin. Well it wasn't entirely unnecessary, as they might take her away from them too. So, she had reluctantly agreed to it. But, she still couldn't shake off the fear. She woke up from the thoughts as Shan kept his hands on her shoulder and said, "Hua'er, it will be alright. Our son will be safe with me". She instantly turned around and tightly hugged him, crying and said, " I believe in you Shan ge, please bring our son back to us". He soon got up and got ready. He came to the hall and saw Ryan sitting there, all ready, and said, "Mom and Jin are not coming with us, and we will have breakfast on the way. Now, let's leave". Ryan replied, with his stomach grumbling, "Yes father".

They left to the nearby Spirit Hall branch, which was in a nearby city. They ate breakfast once they reached the city and arrived at the branch by the time it opened. The staff there were surprised to see the duo so early in the morning. They welcomed them in and asked them for their details. Shan gave him everything he asked for, like age and DOB, but changed Ryan's name to Xiao Shun. Ryan understood why he did that. Whatever happens, he didn't want Spirit Hall to tail me. Shan had also suppressed his power to near the peak of Rank 95, to avoid any suspicion if any spies were nearby. He had also, with his spirit power, made slight changes to Ryan, like, his hair colour, eye colour, and the overall shape of his face and body. Ryan didn't know he had such an illusion ability. He had also used this ability to mask the true ages of his spirit rings to make the last 5 all black (which was clearly a lie. Dont you think he'd have at least 1 red ring?), which still made the spirit masters there pee in their pants. When Ryan asked him about this ability, he said it was not a spirit ring ability, but something else, and will tell him about it later, after he obtains his first spirit ring.

"Long time no see Shan ge", a delicate, but, dignified voice came from behind them. As Shan heard the voice, he turned back to look at the person behind them; Bibi Dong. "S..S..S...Supreme Pontiff?", the spirit masters at the branch stared at the person behind them, as if they had seen a ghost. Shan turned his head around. As soon as he looked back, he felt something and his eyes widened, as he said, "Rank 96?". It was frightening. She hadn't even become a Titled Douluo when they had parted. She was about to breakthrough to Rank 89. This sort of improvement really was scary. Not as scary as him or his wife, but scary, nevertheless. "Having twin spirits is nothing to sneeze at", he whispered to himself. But, Ryan heard him, and understood what he meant, as he knew all of her secrets (thanks to TJSS, lol). She scoffed at him. "Still stuck at 95, hmph, that's what you get for leaving me alone". And then she looked at Ryan. What she saw was a slightly plump boy with blue eyes and white hair, with fat nose and a height of around 110 cm. She continued, with a disappointed expression, "Is this your son? he looks nothing like you at all! I definitely wouldn't want him to join spirit hall cause of his looks, and he's even a bit short for his age!". Ryan didn't know what to feel; angry or pity. She really missed both of his parents. She was saying all of this just to get back at them. And also, she'd fallen for Shan's illusions. "Where is Hua Jie?", she asked with curiosity masked by pride, but of course the duo had seen through it. "She's not coming. She said she didn't wanna see you cause you said you'd take our son away". Bibi Dong's expression became sad, but then, it was replaced by a cold glare, "I know what I said, and I will do it, as long as your.... Er, son...", She took a look at Ryan and he could see some disgust in her eyes, as if looking at a slug, "... has a strong spirit and enough spirit power". At that moment, Ryan decided in his mind, 'Yup, I'm gonna fuck your daughter in this form, just to get back at ya. Just you wait bitch!'. "You can try, but I will resist to the end, Supreme pontiff", Shan said as released his peak Rank 95 aura. "Anyway,", she said, waving her hand dismissively, although Ryan could see a bit of sadness in those eyes because of his father calling her that. "Let's proceed with the ceremony", she finished. "Y..Y..Y..Yes ma'am", said the spirit master in front of them and started the ceremony. As it went on, a golden circle appeared in front of Ryan and he was asked to step into it. Shan started praying to all the gods he knew, not to make his child trash, but to help them turn this around. Bibi Dong looked at the ugly boy with the same disgust as 10 minutes ago in her eyes, hoping he was strong so that she could use him as bait to reel his parents back into spirit hall. Soon, the spirit master started sweating, which was unusual, and something started materialising in his right hand....