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"Ah Zhen! What are you dawdling for? Master Su is almost here! If you're late and delay your awakening, you'll regret it!"
A rough shout came from outside the mud-brick courtyard wall, startling a few sparrows from the locust tree in the corner of the yard. Jiang Zhen paused in his hand holding the wooden spoon, poured the last mouthful of wild vegetable porridge into the rough porcelain bowl, and carefully covered the earthenware jar by the stove—this was the mixed grain that Village Chief Liu had brought yesterday; if eaten sparingly, it could last for three days.
He is six years old this year, slightly taller than the other children in the village, with a healthy tan from long-term sun exposure, but his eyes are exceptionally bright, hiding a calmness that is inconsistent with his age.
Six years old is a special age in the Douluo Continent, signifying the day when one's martial soul awakens. For Jiang Zhen, this was a day he had been waiting for for six whole years.
Six years ago, he traveled from another world and became a baby in Xinan Village, which is next to Holy Soul Village. He was taken care of and raised by the village chief, Grandpa Liu, and the villagers in turns.
When he was three years old, a cold, mechanical voice rang in his mind.
[Ding! The host's soul has been detected to be stable. System binding successful.] Immediately afterward, past life memories and a minimalist system panel were unlocked.
Three years have passed, and Jiang Zhen has long since figured out the "temperament" of this system—without tasks or guidance, it's like a quiet tool.
The panel only shows:
[Host: Jiang Zhen]
Age: 6
[Martial Soul: Unawakened]
[Soul Power: Not Awakened]
The few lines of text, the backpack is empty, only the email system occasionally sends some "perks": when I was three years old, I was given a "Douluo Continent Basic Common Sense Handbook", when I was four years old, I was given a bag of "Body Tempering Elixir" that can improve physical fitness, and last winter I was given a "warm fleece lining" to resist the cold.
It wasn't exactly a superhuman ability, but for Jiang Zhen, who was struggling to survive in an impoverished village, it was a godsend.
"Coming! Uncle Liu!" Jiang Zhen responded, put the bowls and plates into the wooden basin, grabbed the faded coarse cloth coat from the corner of the wall, and ran outside.
At the entrance of the courtyard, Liu, the village chief with gray hair, was waiting for him with his hands behind his back. Behind him were four or five children of similar age, each with a look of nervousness and anticipation on their faces.
"Stay close, don't fall behind." Village Chief Liu patted Jiang Zhen on the shoulder, his tone somewhat solemn.
"Our Xinan Village is poor; none of our ancestors have ever produced a Soul Master. If your generation can produce one, even if it's just a first-ring Soul Master, it will make things a little better for the village."
Jiang Zhen nodded, his gaze falling on the east side of the village.
There, separated by a wheat field, lies Holy Soul Village—the place that gave birth to the "Sea God" Tang San.
Judging by the time, today should also be the day Tang San awakens his martial soul. I wonder if I will run into that "chosen one"?
But now was not the time to think about these things. He clenched his fist, suppressing the turmoil in his heart. More than relying on the "plot foresight," he was concerned about what kind of martial soul he could awaken.
The group walked along the field ridges for about ten minutes and finally arrived at the Martial Soul Hall in Xinan Village.
Despite being called a "hall," it was actually just a stone house slightly larger than an ordinary dwelling, with a faded wooden plaque hanging at the entrance bearing the three characters "Hall of Martial Spirits."
At the entrance of the stone house stood a man dressed in white, with a black token hanging from his waist, engraved with the words "Great Soul Master".
It was Su Yuntao, who was in charge of awakening the martial spirits in the surrounding villages.
"Is everyone here?" Su Yuntao glanced at the children behind Village Chief Liu, his tone impatient, clearly tired from visiting several villages.
He took out six black stones and a blue crystal ball from his pocket, walked into the stone house, and said, "Come in, all of you, and stand in line."
The children followed them into the stone house, which was empty except for a hexagonal magic circle carved on the ground in the center.
Su Yuntao placed the six black stones at the six corners of the magic circle, then turned to the children and said, "My name is Su Yuntao, a level 26 Great Soul Master, with the Martial Soul Lone Wolf. Today, I will awaken your Martial Souls. Remember, no matter what you see, don't be afraid."
With that, he took a deep breath and uttered a low shout: "Martial Soul Possession!"
Pale blue soul power surged from his body, and a half-human-sized black wolf phantom appeared behind him, its head ferocious, fangs bared, and a fierce aura spreading out.
Several timid children burst into tears on the spot and took several steps back, while only Jiang Zhen and a sturdy boy remained standing in place.
Jiang Zhen had seen countless powerful martial spirits in books in his previous life, so this "Lone Wolf" martial spirit in front of him naturally wouldn't scare him.
He even noticed the barely perceptible perfunctory look in Su Yuntao's eyes—this "Blind Douluo" had always been like this, never paying much attention to children from ordinary villages, thinking that they were unlikely to have soul power.
Su Yuntao ignored the crying children, waved for Village Chief Liu to pull them back, and pointed to the little girl on the far left, saying, "First one, stand inside the magic circle and stretch out your right hand."
The little girl timidly stepped into the hexagonal array. Su Yuntao channeled his soul power into the black stone, and the array instantly lit up with a soft golden light, enveloping the little girl within it.
"Open your right hand."
As Su Yuntao spoke, a tender green blade of grass slowly appeared on the little girl's right hand, with dewdrops still clinging to its leaves.
"Martial Soul, Foxtail Grass." Su Yuntao glanced at it, his tone indifferent, then picked up the blue crystal ball. "Come on, put your hand on it and test your soul power."
The little girl's hand just touched the crystal ball, but the ball didn't react at all.
"No soul power, next."
The next few children awakened martial souls that were mostly farm tools or ordinary plants—trees, long swords, dandelions… without exception, none of them had soul power.
Su Yuntao's expression grew increasingly grim, and he was almost losing his patience for even the perfunctory replies, until it was the turn of the burly boy.
The boy stepped into the magic circle, and amidst the flashes of golden light, a rusty iron sword appeared in his right hand.
"Martial Soul, Iron Sword." Su Yuntao raised an eyebrow, a rare hint of anticipation in his expression. "Test Soul Power."
The boy placed his hand on the crystal ball, and the ball lit up slightly, but only with a dim glow.
"Innate Level 1 Soul Power." Su Yuntao curled his lip, his tone still indifferent. "He's barely a potential Soul Master, but his Martial Soul is a mortal iron sword, so there's not much of a future for him. If he's willing, he can try his luck at a branch of the Spirit Hall."
The boy stood to the side, his face a mixture of joy and worry, unsure of what to do. Village Chief Liu, however, was already rubbing his hands together excitedly—a level-one innate soul power was an enormous surprise for Xinan Village.
In the end, only Jiang Zhen remained.
"It's your turn, child." Su Yuntao pointed to the magic circle, his tone devoid of expectation, only wanting it to end quickly.
Jiang Zhen took a deep breath and stepped into the hexagonal array. A warm golden light instantly enveloped him. Unlike what the other children had felt, he could clearly feel a gentle energy flowing into his body through the array, as if awakening something dormant.
"Open your right hand." Su Yuntao's voice came.
Jiang Zhen raised his hand as instructed, his palm slightly warm. The next second, specks of pale blue light emerged from his palm, condensing in the air into a water sphere the size of a fist.
The water sphere was crystal clear, without a single impurity, its surface rippling with fine waves, looking just like a pure sapphire. But apart from that, there were no other unusual features—no sharp shape, no special luster, just an ordinary little water sphere.
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