Martial Soul Awakening, No Taboos

"Huh? Grandpa?" Gan Lin sheepishly withdrew his hands.

"Yanyan, Lingling, I've told you not to mess around when Xiaolin dozes off. Don't do it again when Grandpa isn't around." Dugu Bo gave them a rare scolding.

"Got it, Grandpa." Dugu Yan stuck out her tongue. "We just wanted to try again."

"So it was Sister Yanzi and Lingling again." Gan Lin scratched his head. "I'll try to be more careful next time."

"You, be careful?" Dugu Bo glanced at Gan Lin and shook his head.

He hadn't said anything, but he'd said it all.

"All right, all right. Xiaolin, if you're sleepy, come over here and take a nap. I'll wake you when the Martial Soul Awakening starts," Ye Huixin said.

"Okay. Thank you, Auntie Ye."

Before they knew it, nearly everyone had arrived, and Xue Ye appeared on the throne with help from others.

Ye Huixin gently patted Gan Lin awake.

Gan Lin stretched and looked around.

Most groups consisted of several people accompanying one child. Unless something unexpected happened, the children present were most likely the future heirs of their sects or families.

It was an invitation from the imperial family, after all, and the families and sects in Heaven Dou City could hardly refuse.

But they wouldn't bring too many people and expose their sects' strength, either. The nobles all had some connections with one another, and if they casually brought just anyone, others might accuse them of disrespecting the imperial family. So most chose to bring an heir.

That way, even if the heir was highly gifted, other factions wouldn't actually move against them unless they openly fell out.

Gan Lin also saw quite a few familiar faces, the most conspicuous being the people from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

At the front walked a refined, scholarly middle-aged man. Half a step behind him was a man holding a child, whose presence was like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath. He was probably Sword Douluo.

Poison Douluo led the group forward. Along the way, he and Sword Douluo met each other's eyes and nodded without speaking.

After a spell of nonsense from Xue Ye, the Martial Soul Awakening finally began. Gan Lin was a little sleepy and moved a bit slowly, so he ended up last in line.

There wasn't much to say about the awakening process. They were all heirs of major families, so their Soul Power talent and Martial Souls weren't bad.

The families generally knew something about one another's children and their Martial Souls. After each child's awakening, they mostly exchanged a round of praise and compliments.

To be honest, that was what Gan Lin hated most.

Ye Lingling was ahead of Gan Lin. As expected, her awakened Martial Soul was Nine Heart Begonia, and her Innate Soul Power was good too.

As Ye Lingling left, she even winked at Gan Lin.

When they saw the last child, everyone in the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace became interested.

Gan Lin was fairly well known in Heaven Dou City: a child who could eat a lot and fall asleep anytime, anywhere.

If he hadn't been Poison Douluo's adopted child, something would probably have happened to him long ago.

Naturally, everyone was curious about Gan Lin's Martial Soul.

The Soul Master in charge of the awakening was a Soul Douluo who had reportedly only recently joined the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.

This Martial Soul Awakening was also a display of the imperial family's power.

A Soul Douluo could serve as an elder or family head in any of the families. Although the one before them was rather old, no one dared underestimate him.

"Child, come and stand in the middle of the Martial Soul Awakening stones."

Gan Lin nodded and took an extra look at the Soul Douluo.

Because he was awakening Martial Souls, the man had kept his own Martial Soul released the whole time. It was a Thunder Tiger.

As Soul Power flowed into him, Gan Lin closed his eyes.

The Thunder Tiger Soul Douluo discovered in surprise that the flow of his Soul Power had been interrupted!

The others noticed it too, but assumed the Martial Soul simply needed less Soul Power to awaken.

The next moment, a gigantic figure appeared behind Gan Lin, shocking everyone.

A divine robe patterned with gilded rock markings hung to the ground, its fabric resembling an interweaving of molten amber and deep stone. Dark-gold cloud patterns and angular rock designs flowed along the hem, its edges adorned with specks of light as fine as crystalline stone fragments. His heavy, square shoulder guards were shaped like forged gray rock, their surfaces bearing ancient, winding reliefs of hornless dragons. Dragon heads rested atop his shoulders, their scales gleaming with a cool metallic luster. A gilded stone crown ornament was set amid his high-bound black hair, and several rock-jade tassels hung beside his cheeks, swaying gently with his slightest movements.

The next moment, Morax's phantom opened his eyes, and a vast pressure instantly swept across the entire gathering.

"Rex Lapis?" Gan Lin opened his eyes, instantly wondering if he had somehow gone back. His eyes widened.

The corners of Morax's mouth rose slightly. He turned his hand, and a golden fragment slipped from his palm onto Gan Lin's hand. The next moment, it transformed into a distinctive Liyue Vision.

Unlike other Visions, this one was currently unlit.

[Diary reward delivered: unlit Vision.]

[Due to the enormous cost of crossing spacetime, the energy required was made up by the reward item. It has now been converted into a form compatible with Douluo Continent-a Martial Soul.]

Gan Lin glanced at the people around him and suppressed his second Martial Soul.

He could sense that the Vision Martial Soul had been granted by the Diary System. As for his original Martial Soul...

It was better not to reveal it.

After all, his first Martial Soul had already caused quite enough of a commotion.

But was the phantom before him really Rex Lapis...?

While everyone was still shocked by the commotion caused by Gan Lin's Martial Soul Awakening, the phantom of Morax before him moved again.

Morax held out a hand in a loose grasp, and countless rocks began flying in from all directions. For a moment, the sight was spectacular.

At the same time, the guards nearby began protecting their respective masters. If those huge rocks flying overhead fell, few people present would likely escape unscathed.

Fortunately, they weren't the phantom's target.

Morax's phantom waved his hand again, and all the stones began gathering together.

After a thunderous boom, a black warbow appeared in the sky. The next moment, it landed in front of Gan Lin, and at the same time, color returned to the extinguished Vision.

A golden light shone, and the symbol representing "Geo" appeared in the Vision.

Gan Lin looked at the bow before him and recognized it as the Blackcliff Warbow.

More importantly, it wasn't a Martial Soul!

Though the presence it gave off was a little weaker than the one he had seen before, it came from the hands of Liyue's finest craftsman, Morax, so its quality naturally went without saying.

Gan Lin reached out, grasped the Blackcliff Warbow, and looked at the phantom.

He didn't know if it was his imagination.

But on the phantom's face, Gan Lin saw a trace of... satisfaction?

"Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul Avatar!"

"Eighth Soul Skill, Fierce Tiger Rushing Thunder!"