Rainbow Road I

Hu Haoran raised his head to look at the Martial Soul Awakening Hall. Outside, the grand hall gleamed with gold and jade, its seven-colored glaze reflecting brilliantly against itself. The building resembled European architecture somewhat, supported by several massive pillars. Above them stood round domes, and above those rose sharp spires.

The five tallest spires each bore an especially conspicuous emblem: a hammer, a giant, a pagoda, a tiger, and a phoenix. These five symbols represented the five most powerful sects on Douluo Continent: the Haotian Hammer of the Clear Sky Sect, the Body Martial Soul of the Body Sect, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Evil Eye White Tiger of the White Tiger Hall, and the Sky Crystal Phoenix of the Phoenix Pavilion. These three sects, one hall, and one pavilion were known as the Upper Five Powers.

Surrounding the five tallest spires were seven slightly shorter ones, each bearing a symbol as well: a sword, a flower, a bow, a shield, a saber, a leopard, and an eagle. These seven symbols represented the Lower Seven Powers of Douluo Continent, whose strength was second only to the Upper Five Powers. The sword was the Absolute Heaven Sword of the Myriad Sword Sect, the flower was the Plant System Martial Soul of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, the bow was the Meteor Sun Bow of the Sunset Palace, the shield was the Black Tortoise Divine Shield of the Imperial Sky Sect, the saber was the God Slaying Saber of the Overlord Saber Gate, the leopard was the Shadow Demon Leopard of the Shadow Leopard Gate, and the eagle was the Soaring Sky Eagle of the Sky Eagle Gate.

The headquarters of the Upper Five Powers and Lower Seven Powers were scattered across different nations and the Kingdom Alliance. Each supported the country it resided in, and the relationships between the various powers were far from harmonious, with conflicts between them.

Besides these twelve spires, the Martial Soul Awakening Hall had many others, each with its own emblem representing a relatively famous power.

Hu Haoran entered through the gates and arrived in an incredibly spacious hall. There were many Martial Soul Awakening stations inside, and at each station, numerous six-year-old children stood in orderly lines. This was the only place on Douluo Continent where everyone was equal, and also a place of near-absolute safety. No one was permitted to cause trouble here. Anyone who created disorder here would be hunted by nearly every power on Douluo Continent. Hu Haoran obediently went to one of the Martial Soul Awakening stations and joined the line.

"Zhou Heiniu. Come up and awaken your Martial Soul." A man in his forties wearing a yellow robe emblazoned on the back with the symbols of the Upper Five Powers shouted, "Line up properly! This is a sacred place. If anyone makes a racket, I'll destroy him."

All the children immediately fell silent, while the child who had been called quickly walked up to the man in the yellow robe.

"Stand up there. Don't just stare stupidly," the man shouted again.

As soon as Zhou Heiniu stepped up, a forty-year-old woman wearing a yellow robe emblazoned on the back with the symbols of the Upper Five Powers said, "Awaken your Martial Soul!"

The moment her words fell, a ring of light rose from Zhou Heiniu's feet to the top of his head. Zhou Heiniu felt nothing, and his face remained expressionless.

About half a minute later, a Soul Seal appeared on Zhou Heiniu's chest. It displayed a water buffalo.

"An ordinary Martial Soul, the Great Water Buffalo. Boy, come test your Innate Soul Power," the middle-aged woman said.

Zhou Heiniu immediately ran over to test his Innate Soul Power.

The middle-aged woman took out a crystal ball. This crystal ball was the Soul Power Testing Crystal Ball. "Place your hand on it, focus your mind, clear away all distracting thoughts, and sense your Martial Soul with your heart."

Zhou Heiniu did as the middle-aged woman instructed. A minute later, a faint glow appeared within the Soul Power Testing Crystal Ball. "Mm, Innate Soul Power Level One. In summary, your Martial Soul is a Waste Martial Soul. Next!"

The Martial Soul Awakening work proceeded in an orderly fashion throughout the hall.

After half an hour, it was finally Hu Haoran's turn.

"Next, Hu Haoran!" the middle-aged man called out Hu Haoran's name. "Hurry into that ring of light and receive your Martial Soul Awakening. There are plenty of people waiting behind you."

Hu Haoran had long been unable to wait. He eagerly anticipated what Martial Soul he possessed—whether he had inherited his father's Martial Soul or his mother's. He had always wanted to know. Hearing the middle-aged man urge him on, Hu Haoran immediately ran into the ring of light, ready to undergo the Martial Soul Awakening ritual.

"Awaken your Martial Soul!" the middle-aged woman said.

"..." Hu Haoran had no reaction at all.

A minute passed.

The middle-aged woman scratched her head. "That's strange. Everyone else is fine, so why is there no reaction from this boy? Could the soul array have been overloaded today and suffered some damage? Let's try again. Awaken your Martial Soul!"

"..." Hu Haoran still had no reaction at all.

Another minute passed.

"What are you doing? Hurry up! There are still so many people waiting behind you!" the middle-aged man said impatiently.

"I want to hurry too! Come check it. Could there be something wrong with the soul array? Why isn't there any reaction?" Perplexed by Hu Haoran's condition, the middle-aged woman asked.

Following the middle-aged woman's instructions, the middle-aged man carefully examined the Martial Soul Awakening soul array. "I can't find any problem. All the patterns on the soul array are normal, and there's enough Soul Power. Let's try one more time! If it still doesn't work, let the next person come up and try."

The middle-aged woman nodded and called out for the third time, "Awaken! Martial Soul!"

"..." Hu Haoran still had no reaction at all.

Another minute passed.

"Next," the middle-aged woman said, shaking her head.

Hu Haoran shook his head and helplessly walked to the side. A little girl stepped into the ring of light.

The middle-aged woman called out once more, "Awaken your Martial Soul!"

A ring of light rose from the little girl's feet to the top of her head, proving that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the Martial Soul Awakening soul array. A Soul Seal depicting a white crane appeared on the little girl's forehead, its image lifelike.

"It's actually a common speed-type Martial Soul, the Clear Wind White Crane. Hurry over and test your Soul Power!" the middle-aged woman said kindly. After testing people all morning, she had finally encountered a Martial Soul worthy of notice.

Upon learning that her Martial Soul was a speed-type battle Martial Soul, the little girl was overjoyed. From now on, her fate would surely change. She immediately ran over to the middle-aged woman and eagerly placed her hand on the Soul Power Testing Crystal Ball. The crystal ball shone brilliantly.

"Good! Your Innate Soul Power is actually as high as Level Eight. A genius!" the middle-aged woman said happily.

"A Clear Wind White Crane with Innate Soul Power Level Eight?! Little sister, are you interested in joining the Qianmeng Sect? Our sect can definitely provide you with every condition needed for cultivation, and we'll teach you how to cultivate your Martial Soul. In the future, you'll certainly become a powerhouse respected by all," the middle-aged man said, stopping his work to immediately persuade the little girl. He was a steward of the Qianmeng Sect stationed at the Martial Soul Awakening Hall, so naturally, he had to recruit talent for his own sect.

"Don't listen to his bullshit! Joining my Crane Sound Gate is the right choice. Most of our Martial Souls are crane-type Martial Souls, so our research in this field is definitely better than the Qianmeng Sect's. And we certainly won't fall short in anything they can provide. Think it over carefully! Don't treat your own future like a joke!" The middle-aged woman refuted the middle-aged man and tried to persuade the little girl.

"I... I... I'll join big sister's sect," the little girl answered cautiously.

"Good! I'll register you right away. Once everything is finished, I'll immediately take you to our sect's branch. After you say goodbye to your parents, we'll take you to the headquarters." Having recruited a future powerhouse for her sect, the middle-aged woman was in high spirits. "As for this one who failed to awaken a Martial Soul, go report him to the elders. Everyone else can come back this afternoon!"

Such dramatic scenes of someone suddenly soaring to the heavens like a phoenix rising from the branches occurred at every Martial Soul Awakening station in the hall, though not very often.

"Bad luck! Come with me. The rest of you, disperse. Come back this afternoon, or go to another Martial Soul Awakening station." The middle-aged man waved his hand, dismissing the children who had come to awaken their Martial Souls, then led Hu Haoran to the second floor to find an elder.