Difficult Choice and Martial Soul Awakening

The system's cold prompt echoed in Lin Kun's mind like a final judgment, extinguishing his last shred of hope.

Failure meant his soul would scatter. System unbinding meant he would lose his only potential cheat, his golden finger, and head straight for ultimate death.

"This is a rip-off..." Lin Kun slumped onto the cold, muddy ground, muttering weakly, his voice dry and hoarse. Before transmigration, he was just an ordinary young man who occasionally complained about society, read novels, and whose biggest adventure was probably staying up late to play games. Now, he'd been suddenly thrown into a world where the strong preyed on the weak, and at the very beginning, he was being asked to provoke a future deity. The pressure was almost enough to crush him.

Despair surged like a tide, but the instinct for survival ultimately, painstakingly, took the upper hand.

"I have to live... no matter what, I have to live first!" He sat up abruptly, his eyes still holding fear, but now with a glint of desperate ferocity born from being pushed to the brink. "I can't rely on Tang San anymore; he might even become my mortal enemy. So, I can only count on this damn system!"

He re-examined the mission: [Reversed First Kiss].

"Nuoding Academy, work-study student dormitory, first meeting..." Lin Kun tried to recall the plot from the original novel. "Xiao Wu and Tang San's first kiss was an accident. It seemed Tang San used the Crane Catching Dragon technique, and Xiao Wu fell... yes, that's it!"

The details became clearer, giving him a sliver of faint hope. If it was just an accident, then there was room for manipulation. He didn't need to defeat Tang San head-on; he just needed to be the "beneficiary" of the accident at that crucial moment, rather than Tang San.

But the prerequisite for all of this was that he had to be able to go to Nuoding Academy, had to become a work-study student, and had to be in the same dormitory as Tang San and Xiao Wu!

"Martial Soul... Spirit Power..." Lin Kun clenched his fists, his fingernails digging into his palms. In the original body's memories, the Martial Soul awakening ceremony in Holy Soul Village was just a few days away. This was the first hurdle he faced. If he couldn't awaken any Spirit Power, everything else was just talk. He wouldn't even be able to leave the village and could directly await the system's erasure.

The next two days passed in extreme anxiety for Lin Kun. He subsisted on the pitifully meager provisions from the original body's memories – a few dry, hard cornbread lumps and some pickled vegetables. Most of his day was spent on exercising this emaciated body, hoping to gain a little more resilience, while frantically recalling every detail about Martial Soul awakening.

During this time, he saw Tang San from a distance in the village. The child wore patched clothes but was neatly kept, his eyes calm, completely unlike a six-year-old. He was carrying a water bucket towards the village entrance to fetch water. Lin Kun instinctively hid, his feelings complex. This was the person he had originally wanted to latch onto, but now he had become the biggest obstacle to his survival mission.

Finally, the day of Martial Soul awakening arrived.

Village Chief Old Jack, leaning on his cane, went from house to house, gathering the nine children, including Lin Kun and Tang San, to the Martial Soul Hall in the center of the village – which was essentially just a slightly larger wooden house.

Inside, a young man in white close-fitting attire, wearing a black cape with a fist-sized "Soul" character emblazoned on the center of his chest, was already waiting. He had sharp eyebrows, piercing eyes, and a slightly indifferent expression. He was Su Yuntao, a Battle Spirit Master from the Spirit Hall.

Su Yuntao gave a perfunctory speech and then began the awakening ceremony. One by one, children stepped forward, and accompanied by golden light, waste Martial Souls like sickles, hoes, and Blue Silver Grass appeared, all without Spirit Power.

Soon, it was Tang San's turn. As golden light flared, a small blue grass appeared in his palm.

"Blue Silver Grass again. A waste Martial Soul." Su Yuntao sighed, habitually taking out the crystal ball. "Let's try it, see if there's any Spirit Power."

The moment Tang San placed his hand on it, a dazzling light illuminated almost the entire room!

"Innate Full Spirit Power!" Su Yuntao was shocked, looking at Tang San with disbelief and pity. "What a shame, it's Blue Silver Grass. If it were a powerful Martial Soul, you would definitely become a great Spirit Master in the future..." He shook his head and recorded it.

Lin Kun, in the corner, felt his heart pounding. Witnessing this scene firsthand was far more impactful than reading it in a novel. He became even more nervous; it would soon be his turn.

The last few children finished their awakenings, all waste Martial Souls without Spirit Power. Finally, Su Yuntao's gaze fell upon Lin Kun, who was hiding at the back, trembling slightly.

"It's your turn, child, don't be afraid."

Lin Kun took a deep breath and walked step by step towards the six black stones. Life or death depended on this moment!

Warm golden light flared again, enveloping his body. Lin Kun felt as if something within him had been awakened, a faint but tangible warm current circulating through his body. At the same time, he felt a strange sensation in his right palm.

As the golden light dissipated, Su Yuntao and the children looked curiously at his right hand.

It wasn't any farming tool, nor was it Blue Silver Grass. What appeared in his palm was a book that looked very old, made of a material that was neither metal nor wood. The book's cover had a dark, muted background, with no patterns or text. In the center, a tiny, transparent crystal, seemingly composed of light, was embedded. If one didn't look closely, it would almost be overlooked.

"This is... a book?" Su Yuntao was taken aback. He had never seen such a Martial Soul before. Book-type Martial Souls were rare, mostly related to auxiliary or mental attributes. However, this book looked too ordinary; he couldn't even sense any energy fluctuations.

"Come, let's test your Spirit Power." Su Yuntao, upholding his professional duty, handed the blue crystal ball to Lin Kun. His tone was very calm, clearly not expecting much. For a village to produce one child with Innate Full Spirit Power was already a miracle.

Lin Kun trembled as he gently placed his right hand, the one that had just awakened the book Martial Soul, onto the crystal ball.

The moment they touched—

A faint, but clearly visible, light lit up from within the crystal ball!

Although it was far from the brilliance of Tang San's Innate Full Spirit Power, it was indeed light! Enough light to illuminate the center of the crystal ball!

"There's Spirit Power! Although it's Innate Spirit Power Level One, there is indeed Spirit Power!" Su Yuntao was surprised again. This seemingly impoverished little village had produced two children with Spirit Power this year, although one had a waste Martial Soul and the other had a strange Martial Soul with low Spirit Power.

"Innate Spirit Power Level One..." Lin Kun looked at the faint light, but his heart was ecstatic! Level One! Although it was the lowest level, it meant he had the qualification to become a Spirit Master! It meant he could go to Nuoding Academy! It meant he had a chance to complete that damn mission!

The hope of survival became a little more real at this moment!

"Child, what's your name?" Su Yuntao took out the registration book.

"Lin Kun."

"Martial Soul... register it as 'Unknown Book'. Innate Spirit Power Level One." Su Yuntao finished recording and patted Lin Kun's shoulder. "Although your Spirit Power level isn't high, and your Martial Soul is unknown, at least there's a chance. Work hard, child."

The ceremony concluded, and the children dispersed. Village Chief Old Jack excitedly held Tang San's hand, discussing the work-study student quota and the matter of going to Nuoding Academy. Tang San listened calmly, but his gaze occasionally flickered towards Lin Kun, who stood to the side, equally silent but with suppressed excitement in his eyes.

This child, who also possessed Spirit Power and whose Martial Soul was a strange book, left a vague impression on Tang San.

Lin Kun paid no mind to Tang San's gaze; his entire focus was immersed in his own world.

He had succeeded! He had obtained the stepping stone to Nuoding Academy!

However, after the excitement, greater pressure followed. Going to Nuoding Academy was just the first step. The real challenge was the first meeting with Tang San and Xiao Wu, and the incredibly reckless mission that had to be completed.

"Unknown Book Martial Soul... Innate Level One Spirit Power..." Lin Kun looked at his palm, the phantom image of the ancient book flashing and disappearing. "What exactly is this? System, does my Martial Soul have any special properties?"

The system in his mind was silent for a moment before giving a cold response:

[Host's Martial Soul information is insufficient; exploration is required. Completing system missions and obtaining points and rewards are the only ways for the host to become stronger and survive.]

[Please prepare actively to head to Nuoding Academy. Mission [Reversed First Kiss] countdown: twenty-seven days.]

Lin Kun took a deep breath and clenched his fist.

The path had been laid out. Whether it led to an abyss or a sea of blades, he could only walk forward.

To survive.