The Ritual That Decided Fate

Douluo Continent.

Heaven Dou Empire.

Inside an estate somewhere.

A delicate, strikingly handsome little boy with black hair and black eyes stared blankly at the sky, murmuring to himself, "I'm going to awaken my Martial Soul soon. I wonder what my talent will be like. I hope I inherit a good Martial Soul."

His name was Li Chang'an. His parents had hoped he would live a long, peaceful life, so they had given him that name. At the same time, he had another identity: a Transmigrator. In his previous life, he had come from a blue planet.

In this life, he had been reborn on Douluo Continent into a declining minor noble family. The family was small, and in his generation, he was their only heir.

Yet fate seemed unwilling to favor this family.

His mother had damaged her vitality while giving birth to him, becoming frail and sickly. She passed away when he was three.

As for his father, he had died in battle against the Star Luo Empire last year, when Li Chang'an was five. As a result, Li Chang'an was now all alone.

This year, he was six years old and about to awaken his Martial Soul.

If he was lucky enough to awaken a good Martial Soul, he could preserve his noble title and family estate. If he was unlucky, those wolves and tigers eyeing his property would most likely carve him up and devour him! It would not be strange if he died in his own home someday for some inexplicable reason.

Those greedy people would do anything to seize wealth.

He was merely a declining minor noble, with no powerful backers. If his talent was poor as well... what right did he have to keep the family estate?

As for expecting the empire to uphold justice?

Don't be naive. Did anyone really think a decaying feudal empire was some kind of good thing?

So what if his father had died fighting for the country?

He was far from the only one to die in battle. Many nobles older than him had died as well.

Who would care whether a minor noble lived or died?

At most, such matters would sound bad if they got out. But when there was no profit to gain and speaking up might offend someone, there were not so many good people in the world willing to stand up for you.

"Everything depends on today!"

Li Chang'an clenched his fists. If he was lucky today and inherited his father's Sword Soul when awakening his Martial Soul, with Soul Power of around level four like his father—or at worst, level three—then he still had a chance of keeping the family estate.

But if he inherited his mother's Little Green Snake Spirit and, unfortunately, possessed no Innate Soul Power like her... then the best outcome awaiting him would be for others to seize his property under all kinds of pretexts and drive him out with nothing. The worst outcome would be for someone to secretly murder him, leaving him to die silently in his own estate.

Never doubt the darkness of this world. The ugliness of human nature in reality was often far more terrifying than anything portrayed in television dramas!

"Young Master, the carriage is ready." An old man approached. He was the household steward and had served the family for decades. His loyalty was beyond doubt.

"Good. Let's go."

Li Chang'an did not hesitate. He followed the Old Steward toward the carriage, preparing to head to the place where Martial Souls were awakened.

Naturally, the place where he would awaken his Martial Soul was not Spirit Hall.

As a member of the nobility, the empire naturally had designated places for nobles to awaken their Martial Souls. They did not need to go to Spirit Hall like commoners did.

After arriving at the designated place for Martial Soul awakenings.

Several children his age had already gathered there, boys and girls alike. Their parents and elders stood beside them. Only Li Chang'an was alone, accompanied by an Old Steward.

These people glanced at him, their expressions varied. Yet no one mocked him or stepped forward to strike up a friendship. Generally speaking, nobles were quite civilized when dealing with fellow nobles. That brainless behavior of mocking someone for no reason either meant the two sides had a grudge or someone had instructed it. Under normal circumstances, it would not happen.

After waiting for a while, more people gradually arrived.

Only after everyone had arrived.

Did the elderly man in charge of today's awakening ritual summon the children into the inner hall, while the adults remained outside to wait.

They entered the inner hall.

The arrangement here looked extremely solemn. At the center stood a massive Awakening Array, far more refined than the portable Awakening Arrays used by Spirit Hall.

"You are all children of nobility. I assume your parents explained the process of awakening Martial Souls before you came," the old man said, looking at the children.

Li Chang'an and the other children nodded, indicating that they had indeed been told.

"Good. In that case, this old man won't waste words." The old man nodded, then casually pointed at a child and had him stand in the center of the Awakening Array before beginning the awakening process.

A dazzling light flared.

A Knight's Spear appeared in the hands of the child within the Awakening Array. The old man nodded at the sight. The little boy's Knight's Spear had an excellent appearance. Even without testing his Soul Power, one could predict that his Innate Soul Power would not be low.

When the child pressed his hand against the crystal ball, a burst of light immediately lit up.

The old man took a look, then lowered his head to record it as he said, "Not bad. Innate Soul Power level three, Knight's Spear Martial Soul."

In this world, Soul Masters were the privilege of only a minority. Therefore, Innate Soul Power at level three was not low for the children of these minor nobles. If he cultivated diligently, he might have a chance of becoming a Soul King in this lifetime.

After recording the little boy's Martial Soul information, the old man pointed to the next person.

As the Awakening Array lit up again and again.

The Martial Souls awakened by these noble children were mostly weapons with killing power, such as spears, swords, and blades. Unlike in the countryside, where the awakened Martial Souls were usually farming tools such as hoes, sickles, and hammers. Though these Martial Souls possessed some offensive power, they belonged to the ranks of low-grade Martial Souls. As such, they basically had no Innate Soul Power. Even the rare ones who did possess Soul Power would only reach level one or two at most.

Of course, the most important point was that after obtaining Soul Rings, the Soul Skills granted by these Martial Souls were not particularly strong or practical. That was why sickles, hoes, and the like were called low-grade Martial Souls.

Even with the same level of Innate Soul Power, the same Soul Rings, and the same Soul Skills, a sickle and a sword could unleash entirely different levels of power.

With the same Soul Skill, a sword could easily cut through steel. A sickle might only be useful for chopping wood. That was the gap between them—the gap between Martial Souls!

Of course, this referred only to ordinary Sword Souls and sickle or Hammer Souls. Seven Kill Sword and Clear Sky Hammer naturally could not be mentioned in the same breath.

Soon, it was Li Chang'an's turn to awaken his Martial Soul.

He was nervous inside, but outwardly maintained a calm expression as he walked to the center of the Awakening Array and waited for his Martial Soul to awaken.

As the formations around him lit up.

Li Chang'an felt warmth surge into his heart. He could not help closing his eyes... In an instant, it was as if his consciousness had crossed countless mountains and rivers, arriving in the primitive wilderness of the Soul Beast Forest!

Inside a hidden stone cave.

There was a giant egg covered from top to bottom in exquisite patterns. Cracks suddenly appeared on its shell. With a bang, a triangular snake head broke through the eggshell and poked out, surveying the surroundings. Its snake eyes were filled with human-like confusion.

Did I... transmigrate again?

Where is this place?

No, I was clearly still awakening my Martial Soul. What is going on?

Elsewhere.

Li Chang'an suddenly opened his eyes. He discovered that he was still inside the Awakening Array, and at some point, a sword had appeared in his hand. It seemed his luck was not bad.

A new book set sail!

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