Ten-Thousand-Year NPC

Holy Soul Village.

At this moment, Ye Buqun was incomparably excited. To keep Tang Hao from discovering him, he left the eastern end of the village after completing the copy and returned to the dilapidated wooden hut.

He checked his status panel again and found Tang Hao's name added under "Imprinted Characters and Items."

He could clearly feel his Soul Power rise dramatically.

This was the power of the Sixth Soul Skill: Divine Imprint. The copied character had no consciousness of its own. It could also be permanently stored in Mirror Space, where the Host could either possess it or summon it directly.

Copied characters were like cards. Possessing one was like placing a card into a card slot, instantly granting him all of that person's abilities.

As for Mirror Space, it could be understood as a mirror world reflecting the real world. Its space was infinite, meaning it could store an endless number of copied characters and items.

What surprised Ye Buqun even more was that not only had Tang Hao's Martial Soul, soul rings, and Soul Power been copied, but even his Divine Slaughter's Domain and soul bones had been replicated.

Tang Hao possessed a complete set of six soul bones: skull bone, left arm bone, right arm bone, left leg bone, right leg bone, and torso bone. All of them were over ten thousand years old. His torso bone seemed to have been dropped by a ten-thousand-year flying-type soul beast. This meant that after Ye Buqun possessed Tang Hao's soul, he would also gain the ability to fly.

"Mission: Attend tomorrow's Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony in Holy Soul Village."

"Upon completing the mission, either your own Soul Power Level or that of any copied character can be raised by one level."

As countless thoughts raced through Ye Buqun's mind, the system's mechanical voice sounded in his head again. Still immersed in indescribable excitement, he barely slept that night—

The next day, early morning.

Following the route indicated by the mission, Ye Buqun arrived at the Spirit Hall in the center of Holy Soul Village. Calling it a Spirit Hall was rather generous; it was merely a somewhat larger wooden house.

Spirit Halls could be seen in many places across the continent, but these were all branch halls, and their ranks varied.

When Ye Buqun arrived, he saw an old man leading eight children toward the place as well.

The old man was Village Chief Jack, and these children had come to awaken their Martial Souls today.

"Ha, I knew this trash would come again."

"Mom and Dad said he could never become a soul master."

"He's already ten. Doesn't he feel ashamed?"

"This guy really won't give up."

The children chattered over one another, their eyes and tones filled with contempt.

It turned out that Ye Buqun had transmigrated into this body. Its original owner had shared his exact name. Generally speaking, one awakened one's Martial Soul at the age of six. The original owner had been tested at six and found to have no Soul Power, yet he refused to give up. He trained his body desperately every day. At seven, eight, and nine, he shamelessly went for the Soul Power test every year, but every test result was zero Soul Power.

Without innate Soul Power, no amount of cultivation would allow someone to become a soul master. But with Soul Power, even if it was only level one, there was still hope.

Yet the former owner of Ye Buqun's body stubbornly refused to believe it, and as a result, he became the laughingstock of the entire village.

Another extremely familiar person was attending this test: six-year-old Tang San.

Tang San sympathized with what the original Ye Buqun had gone through. Many times, he had even taken the initiative to play with this disappointing older brother.

Ye Buqun, who had transmigrated here, still retained these memories.

His appearance made old Village Chief Jack shake his head.

"Child, you should go back. I've already told you that without innate Soul Power, you can never become a soul master. Why not work the fields properly and live peacefully as an ordinary person?" Old Jack spoke earnestly. He truly did not want to see a ten-year-old child suffer his fifth blow in life.

Just then, a handsome young man with refined features strolled over. He wore a black cloak, and a fist-sized "Soul" character was emblazoned in the center of his chest, making it clear that he was from Spirit Hall. On his left breast was an emblem of three crossed longswords, signifying his status as a Soul Grandmaster.

Needless to say, this was the NPC who had remained unchanged for ten thousand years, Su Yuntao.

"Hello, Deacon. May we begin now?" Old Jack stepped forward and asked respectfully.

Su Yuntao still carried himself with a certain airs and replied coolly, "I'm in a hurry. Let's begin quickly."

Then everyone entered the Spirit Hall of Holy Soul Village—the large wooden house.

Jack instructed, "Children, this is a Soul Grandmaster deacon from the Spirit Hall of Nuoding City. When your Martial Souls awaken shortly, you must cooperate fully. As village chief, I hope every one of you can become an outstanding soul master."

Su Yuntao seemed somewhat impatient. "All right, no more nonsense. Let me introduce myself. My name is Su Yuntao, a level twenty-six Soul Grandmaster. The Martial Soul Awakening will begin immediately. Don't be afraid no matter what happens in a moment."

As he spoke, he opened the package he carried and arranged six pitch-black stones into a regular hexagon on the floor. Then he took out a blue Crystal Ball.

He waved his hand, signaling for the first child to stand in the center of the hexagon.

Although they had been briefed beforehand, the child preparing to awaken his Martial Soul for the first time was clearly nervous. He slowly stepped forward and stood in the designated spot.

"Lone Wolf, possess!"

Su Yuntao then gave a low shout, and a pale golden beam of light shot out from between his brows all the way to the crown of his head.

At once, a layer of gray fur covered his body and began to grow longer. The muscles on his body swelled, making him visibly more burly than before. His eyes had turned a deep green, claws extended from his index fingers, and white and yellow soul rings rose beneath his feet.

"Whoa!"

Seeing Su Yuntao instantly transform into a werewolf, the first child was so frightened that he turned to run. But Su Yuntao grabbed him. "Don't be afraid, child. This is my Martial Soul. If any of you have Beast Martial Souls, you'll be like me in the future."

After hearing that, the child's fear lessened considerably. He obediently returned to his original position, though he was still trembling slightly. He could not tell whether Su Yuntao had truly turned into a wolf or merely gained a wolf's abilities.

Then Su Yuntao slapped both hands against the ground. The pale golden light swiftly flowed into the six black stones. The stones seemed to reflect and release the light, quickly forming a golden barrier that enveloped the child—