Su Yuntao: "Innate Soul Power, level one!"
Huh? No way! Is that right? As a genuine transmigrator, even if I didn't start out as a Titled Douluo, I should at least get Innate Full Soul Power, right? What the hell is with only having level one Soul Power?
Xiang Yang struggled to keep his expression under control as he ranted inwardly.
"You're Xiang Yang, right? Your Innate Soul Power isn't high, but this Martial Soul looks decent enough. By the way, what is your Martial Soul? I need to record it."
"It looks like the chrysanthemum Martial Soul that's most common in Xiangjia Village, but chrysanthemums don't seem to get this big. It's probably a Plant-type Martial Soul I haven't seen before."
My Martial Soul? Judging by its appearance, it's definitely a sunflower. But I don't think I've heard of this world having that kind of plant all these years. I don't know if that's because this place is remote, or if there really aren't any.
Xiang Yang stretched out his hand and summoned his Martial Soul, recalling how it had felt just now. It was a golden flower-head-shaped Martial Soul, with a green stalk beneath the head. "Lord Soul Master, I'm not sure either, but it looks quite a bit like the sun. I think we could call it a Sunflower."
It would be a little strange to call it a sunflower outright. I'd better just come up with something.
"All right. Your Martial Soul looks like it mutated from a chrysanthemum. If you cultivate to the Soul Master level, remember to come to Spirit Hall to collect your Soul Master stipend. You can also ask me about joining Spirit Hall then."
"Okay, thank you, Grandmaster Su," Xiang Yang replied absentmindedly. His mood still hadn't settled down, but Su Yuntao thought nothing of it. Compared with other children his age, Xiang Yang was quite polite.
He thought the boy must be beside himself with excitement at being able to become a Soul Master. He himself had been much the same back then, taking several days to calm down after awakening level two Innate Soul Power.
With such a good start, Su Yuntao continued testing the remaining six-year-olds. "Martial Soul, chrysanthemum... no Soul Power. Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass..."
Xiangjia Village
As the name suggested, most of the people living there had the surname Xiang. With over five hundred residents, it was considered a large village in the surrounding area.
Neither of Xiang Yang's parents had Innate Soul Power. They had gone to work in the city a few years ago and came back every so often, bringing him food and toys and leaving him some money. As a result, Xiang Yang's life was fairly good. At the very least, he had food and clothes and didn't have to care for adults or anything like that at such a young age.
Moreover, thanks to the memories of his previous life, Xiang Yang often came up with "ingenious ideas" that helped the villagers, and his standing in their eyes shot straight up.
He had also ended up becoming the leader of the children. Even those much older than him listened to him. The adults all thought he was bound to make something of himself, and might even become a Soul Master.
Today was the day the Spirit Hall deacon came to conduct the awakening ceremony. Most of the villagers had gathered in front of Spirit Hall, discussing their children's Martial Souls, whether they had Soul Power, and so on. They kept their voices low, however, afraid of disturbing the awakening ceremony in the wooden building before them.
With a creak, the door to Spirit Hall opened, and the villagers hurried over. "Lord Soul Master, how did my little Tian do?" "Lord Soul Master, does little Ming have Soul Power?"
...Questions like these came one after another. The noise was so chaotic that an ordinary person would probably have found it irritating.
But Su Yuntao had spent the past few years carrying out assignments to awaken Martial Souls in rural villages and towns, and had grown somewhat accustomed to it.
After all, having Soul Power meant there was a good chance of becoming a Soul Master. A Soul Master could collect one Gold Soul Coin from Spirit Hall every month, while an ordinary person earned only about one silver coin a month, and that was only if they worked in the city.
"Quiet!" Su Yuntao used Martial Soul Possession, and two Soul Rings, one white and one yellow, hovered at his sides. In an instant, his booming voice silenced the villagers. This was a Soul Master! And he had two rings! How impressive!
"Your village was lucky this time. One Sunflower Martial Soul with level one Soul Power, and one Blue Silver Grass with half a level of Soul Power. Although Blue Silver Grass is a Trash Martial Soul, it has Soul Power, at least. If he can cultivate to become a Soul Master, he'll be much better off than an ordinary person."
Su Yuntao said this as a matter of course. In this world, Soul Masters were far, far nobler than those who weren't Soul Masters. As long as their level was high enough, they could even receive a noble title from the state and enjoy its support.
Speaking of Blue Silver Grass, he suddenly remembered a child with Innate Full Soul Power whom he had met more than two months ago. Alas, Innate Full Soul Power, but a Trash Martial Soul. What a pity.
Su Yuntao looked at the parents gathered around the children before him, asking questions, and felt somewhat reflective. He too had lived in a similar little village as a child, though he had long since brought his family to live in the city. He supposed he had brought honor to his ancestors.
As he was thinking this, an elderly man in his forties or fifties approached from the left side of the crowd. "Lord Deacon, thank you for your hard work. It's so hot in the middle of the day. Why don't you stay for a meal and let us show you some proper hospitality?"
"No need, Village Chief. There are still several villages where I need to conduct awakening ceremonies." Su Yuntao waved his hand, declining Village Chief Xiang Ming's kind offer. He heard similar words at almost every village, and he knew they were trying to get on friendly terms with him. They were ordinary people, after all, so wasn't it perfectly normal for them to want a closer relationship with a Soul Grandmaster like him?
When he had first taken the job, he had felt a little embarrassed to refuse, and had even wondered if he might encounter some hidden expert or the like. But after all this time, he had grown very familiar with it and no longer entertained such fantasies. Refusing outright saved time, and his Lone Wolf Martial Soul also let him travel at night, so he could finish his assignment and return sooner.
"All right, that's truly a shame. The next time you come, we'll be sure to prepare in advance. I wish you a smooth journey and flourishing martial fortune." Xiang Ming cupped his hands.
"Hahaha, good!" Su Yuntao hadn't expected the new village chief to have such a way with words. It seemed he had met quite a few Soul Masters. Then he saw a small figure standing beside the village chief: the polite child from earlier. That explained it.
After he left, Xiang Yang watched Su Yuntao's departing figure, then turned to the old man. "Grandpa, I awakened level one Soul Power."
Although Xiang Ming had ventured out into the big cities when he was young and had seen something of the world, he was still very excited. After all, this meant his family was going to have a Soul Master.
"Good, good, good! Well done, little Yang! Our village has finally produced another Soul Master." That was Third Granny.
"Little Yang has been clever since he was small. Sure enough, he's cut out to be a Soul Master," Fourth Aunt chimed in.
"Exactly, exactly. I think so too." That was her husband.
"Thank you, thank you..."
After all the excitement, everyone went home to get on with their work. This was a village, after all, and everyone had jobs to do. If it hadn't been for something as important as awakening Martial Souls, which affected their entire lives, how could they have gathered here for so long?
It was nearly noon now, and they still had to think about what to eat.
After lunch, Xiang Yang went alone to the open space in the backyard and began exploring his Martial Soul. He had more or less accepted reality. Getting to live another life and cultivate was already an unbelievable miracle. How could he keep complaining about this and that?
While calling out "System, Deep Blue, simulator, old grandpa" in his mind, he released his Martial Soul.
"Come out, shhwa!"
Xiang Yang supplied the sound effect himself, and his Sunflower Martial Soul appeared.
Alas, still no golden finger. He had tried before, including just now when he awakened his Martial Soul. What a pity.
Hmm? Wait, something's different. He noticed that, unlike when it had faced him directly during the awakening, the sunflower was now facing straight ahead. He looked up and saw the great sun in the sky before him. "The sunflower always faces the sun? Makes sense. Looks like it can even work as a compass. Hmm?"
Shortly after he said that, he felt his Martial Soul seemed to be... warming up? Xiang Yang had a powerful sense of déjà vu, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. The feeling was awful, like a turd breaking off halfway and refusing to come out.
He paced back and forth in irritation until he walked into the house. Looking at the golden light radiating from his Martial Soul, he blurted out, "Plants vs. Zombies?"
That was it. No wonder! Now it made sense. Remembering the game from his childhood, he hurried back into the yard to continue basking in the sun.
Half an hour later, Xiang Yang had roughly figured it out. First of all, just as he had thought, his Martial Soul could absorb the energy given off by the sun. He would call it Sunlight Energy for now.
The efficiency was affected by the surroundings. At first, when the midday sunlight was abundant, it was highly efficient, and he could feel it warming up within a few minutes.
But indoors, or when white clouds blocked the sun, the efficiency dropped somewhat.
Secondly, it wasn't only when his Martial Soul was manifested that he could absorb Sunlight Energy. But if he didn't do it through his Martial Soul, it was only about ten percent as effective under the same conditions. Moreover, the amount of Sunlight Energy he could absorb was equal to the amount of Soul Power he possessed. Once it reached its limit, any more would simply dissipate and couldn't be stored.
As for this Sunlight Energy, for now it seemed he could only use it to make his Martial Soul glow like a lantern, but that was obviously inefficient and conspicuous.
From what he knew of the original story, if his spiritual power were high enough, he should be able to forcibly control it. But with his current level one Soul Power, that was clearly impossible.
According to the original setting, one had to reach at least level fifty to begin touching the realm of spiritual power, and even then, one could only passively endure resentment. To control it freely, one had to be a Titled Douluo.
What if I get a Mental Attribute Soul Skill first? While strengthening my spiritual power, I might be able to apply what I learn and control it a little. No, no, no. Never mind how rare Mental Attribute Soul Beasts are. Even if I encountered one that met the requirements, with my abilities or the strength of the academy teachers, we'd most likely capsize.
Besides, his Martial Soul clearly had little connection to the Mental Attribute.
Ah, this is so annoying! If only I had a system, I'd just have to complete missions. Aren't transmigrators supposed to get a golden finger as a perk? Why don't I have one?
"Little Yang, what's wrong?" Xiang Ming had just woken from a short nap. Seeing his darling grandson, a future Soul Master, sitting in the yard shaking his head, he asked, puzzled, "It's very hot outside. Come in quickly."
"Okay, Grandpa."
Hot? Xiang Yang hadn't felt it. Come to think of it, his Martial Soul's effect on its surroundings and on him was clearly much stronger than that of other people's Martial Souls on the Douluo Continent.
At least, according to the setting he knew, a Martial Soul without any Soul Rings attached was merely a tool its holder could summon and dismiss at will. A flight-type Martial Soul, for example, wouldn't make a Soul Master grow wings and fly. They still had to absorb the corresponding Soul Skill before they could soar through the sky.
That went double for a Martial Soul like his, which absorbed and stored energy on its own and affected his body, allowing it to inherit the Martial Soul's characteristics.
Looked at that way, rounding it up, this counted as a moderately useful golden finger. It would be amazing if he could become physically stronger by basking in the sun like Superman. Hmm, I'll start keeping records tomorrow!
"Oh, right, Grandpa, your Martial Soul should be a chrysanthemum too, right? I'd like to see it." Xiang Yang had just been thinking about the origin of his own Martial Soul. This world had Martial Soul Mutation, which could make a Martial Soul better or worse. Chrysanthemums and sunflowers not only looked alike—or rather, they looked alike precisely because they belonged to the same plant family—so Su Yuntao was right. It was indeed quite possible.
When Xiang Ming heard this, he didn't ask why. His grandson had been very independent-minded since childhood and had always been known as a child prodigy in the village. "Mm, all right."
A burst of light faded, revealing a chrysanthemum about the size of an adult's palm, much smaller than his sunflower.
"Oh, right, Grandpa, Dad's Martial Soul should be the same as yours, right?" Xiang Yang had only seen it a few times when he was little, but once the novelty wore off, he hadn't thought to ask to see it again.
"Yes. Most of the Martial Souls in our village are chrysanthemums like this. At most, some are bigger and some are smaller, but they're all the same color." Xiang Ming spoke of things everyone in the village knew.
"Mom's Martial Soul is a Glowing Bug—uh, actually, that's just a firefly, right? Add that to a chrysanthemum, and you get my sunflower, which can absorb Sunlight Energy and give off light?" Well, it seemed fairly reasonable.
The old man was quite accustomed to seeing him stand motionless, caught up in another brainstorm. Everyone familiar with Xiang Yang knew that when he was in this state, he must be thinking about something complicated, and it was best not to disturb him.