Spirit Awakening

After Yang Ming finished swearing his oath and kowtowing, he stepped back to Yang Wudi's side.

The other clan members also recovered from their shock and began offering incense one after another. Yet whenever they passed Yang Ming, they could not help stealing a few glances at him. Everyone thought to themselves, He's so handsome, and his heart is so righteous. No wonder he's the Clan Leader's grandson!

As the Breaking Clan members finished offering their incense one by one, the memorial ceremony gradually came to an end.

Once the ceremony was over, most of the clan members left to begin the day's work. Only Yang Wudi, several visibly excited elders, the three children including Yang Ming, and their parents remained.

Yang Ming stood still beside the other two children his age. What came next was the fixed procedure after every Memorial Day, an event held by the Yang Family once every three months and the most important ceremony across the entire Douluo Continent: the Spirit Awakening Ceremony.

From his grandfather Yang Wudi's teachings and the books he had read, Yang Ming knew that everyone on the Douluo Continent possessed a Martial Soul of their own.

At the age of six, people could awaken their Martial Souls through the awakening ceremony. Children generally awakened whichever of their parents' Martial Souls was stronger.

Martial Souls were divided into two main types: Weapon Spirits and Beast Spirits. As the names implied, those whose Martial Souls were tools possessed Weapon Spirits, while those whose Martial Souls were animals possessed Beast Spirits. Comparatively speaking, Weapon Spirits covered a broader range, and most people had them. The Breaking Clan's inherited Martial Soul, the Soul Breaking Spear, was a top-tier Weapon Spirit.

Yang Ming was not particularly curious about his own Martial Soul. Unless something unexpected happened, there was an eighty-percent chance it would still be the Yang Family's inherited Soul Breaking Spear. His father's Profound Nether Leopard Martial Soul was only considered a high-grade Martial Soul and was still far inferior to the Soul Breaking Spear.

More than his Martial Soul, Yang Ming was curious about the level of his Innate Soul Power, since Innate Soul Power was directly proportional to the speed of later cultivation. As for having none at all? So long as the child of two Soul Masters was not outrageously unlucky—like, "After a long drought comes sweet rain, a few drops; meeting an old friend in a foreign land, an enemy; wedding night by candlelight, next door; achieving success in the imperial exams, failing"—they would generally have Soul Power. The only question was how many levels they would have.

The classic negative example was the "continent-famous" Great Master, Yu Xiaogang. The son of a Titled Douluo, yet born with only half a level of Innate Soul Power—ordinary people could hardly imagine how those two phrases could be connected, but their Great Master had accomplished it with ease. Of course, this could not be blamed on Great Master. Although his character and abilities were both lacking, Innate Soul Power truly had nothing to do with him personally.

Seeing that all the other clan members had left and only the relevant people and a few elders remained in the Ancestral Hall, Yang Wudi began the Spirit Awakening Ceremony without further delay. Perhaps because he was facing children of his own clan, his attitude was somewhat gentler.

"Children, line up. Today's Spirit Awakening Ceremony begins now!"

The three children were all from the Breaking Clan and stood before Yang Wudi. Yang Ming stood at the far left and would be the last to awaken according to the order.

Once the three were in place, Yang Wudi took out two items from his Storage Soul Tool. One was six pitch-black round stones, while the other was a gleaming crystal ball.

The six pitch-black round stones were called Awakening Stones. On the Douluo Continent, Martial Soul awakening required the assistance of Awakening Stones. These stones were strictly controlled by the Two Great Empires and Spirit Hall; aside from Spirit Hall, only certain great nobles and major Soul Master families possessed them. The gleaming crystal ball was a Soul Power Test Crystal. The one Yang Wudi had brought out could only detect Soul Power up to level ten, but it could accurately determine a person's Innate Soul Power level.

Yang Wudi arranged the six Awakening Stones into a hexagon on the ground, then called the first boy on the right over and had him stand in the center of the hexagon.

"Yang Lin, you go first!"

The little boy named Yang Lin walked to the designated spot. Once he stood still, Yang Wudi rapidly struck out with both hands, sending six streams of black light into the six Awakening Stones on the ground. In an instant, a layer of Golden Radiance burst forth from the six stones, forming a Golden Shield that enveloped the boy in the center of the hexagon.

Golden Light Dots drifted out of the Awakening Stones one after another and continuously flowed into Yang Lin's body. As more and more light dots entered him, Yang Lin's body began to tremble slightly.

Seeing that it was about enough, Yang Wudi gave a direct command.

"Extend your right hand."

Yang Lin obeyed and stretched out his right hand. At once, all the light dots surged out. An entirely dark black Eight-Foot Spear formed in the boy's hand, gleaming with a cold, sinister sheen. Its shaft was eight feet long, its broad spearhead reached four feet in length, and its shaft was as thick as a Normal Arm. Sure enough, it was the Yang Family's inherited Martial Soul, the Soul Breaking Spear. Perhaps the spear was too heavy; the moment Yang Lin grabbed it, its weight bent him at the waist. Yang Wudi, who had initially felt somewhat gratified to see a clan member awaken the Soul Breaking Spear, immediately darkened his face and said in an unfriendly tone.

"Use your mind to retract your Martial Soul! Then come test your Soul Power!"

Hearing the slight dissatisfaction in the Clan Leader's voice, Yang Lin became a little frightened. It took him quite a while to retract his Martial Soul. Yang Wudi grew even more dissatisfied at the sight, but remembering that Yang Lin was still only a child, he did not say anything more. He held the Soul Power Test Crystal before Yang Lin and had him place his right hand on it.

Yang Lin followed the order. Very quickly, the Soul Power Test Crystal lit up with dazzling Blue Light, rising from a tiny point until roughly seventy percent of it was illuminated. Innate Soul Power, level seven. Yang Lin's parents were thrilled at the sight. His Innate Soul Power was quite good! Their son was a little genius.

Yang Ming had initially been happy for his Clan Brother upon seeing him awaken level-seven Innate Soul Power. However, when he saw the excitement on Yang Lin's parents' faces, Yang Ming's joy gradually cooled, replaced by envy.

Yang Wudi did not notice Yang Ming's feelings. He merely looked at Yang Lin and nodded inwardly. It was decent talent. Even though the Yang Family all possessed the top-tier Soul Breaking Spear Martial Soul, most clan members only had level five or six Innate Soul Power, with a few reaching level seven. As for levels eight and nine, those were extremely rare. Yang Wudi himself had only possessed level-eight Innate Soul Power.

"Yang Lin, Martial Soul: Soul Breaking Spear. Innate Soul Power: level seven!"

"Cultivate diligently from now on!"

After announcing Yang Lin's awakening result, Yang Wudi offered him encouragement.

Yang Lin's father hurried forward and said.

"Don't worry, Clan Leader! I'll train this brat properly from now on!"

As he spoke, he shot Yang Lin a fierce glare. Earlier, when he had seen his son fail to hold the spear, Yang Lin's father had felt utterly humiliated.

Yang Wudi replied blandly.

"He does need proper training. All right, the ceremony will continue."

Yang Lin's family stepped aside, and Yang Wudi continued with the next Spirit Awakening. The same scene played out again. This child also awakened the Soul Breaking Spear, with level-six Innate Soul Power, which could only be considered average within the Yang Family.

At last, it was Yang Ming's turn. The few elders still in the Ancestral Hall became excited when they saw that Yang Ming's Spirit Awakening Ceremony was about to begin.

As Yang Ming walked into the hexagonal awakening array, Yang Wudi's eyes were filled with tension. Perhaps to remind Yang Ming, or perhaps to calm his own heart, Yang Wudi asked him.

"Ming Er, are you ready?"

Hearing Yang Wudi's words, Yang Ming set aside the tension in his heart and answered seriously.

"I'm ready!"

Seeing this, Yang Wudi immediately activated the Spirit Awakening Ceremony. The Spirit Awakening officially began.

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