Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony: Awakening Stone

"Old Jack."

Su Yuntao arrived as scheduled. He gave Old Jack at the village entrance a slight nod, glanced at Zhou Qing and Tang San, said nothing else, and simply said, "Let's go. The sooner we start, the sooner we finish."

Watching Old Jack and Su Yuntao head toward the Spirit Hall at the center of the village—the small stone house—Tang San nudged Zhou Qing's shoulder and grinned. "It seems Spirit Hall Master Su Yuntao doesn't know you?"

Naturally, this was because Tang San had heard that Zhou Qing had sought Su Yuntao out during his previous visit, only for the man to ignore him completely.

Zhou Qing rolled his eyes at Tang San and studied Su Yuntao's slightly hunched back, as though seeing his former self.

A working stiff.

Who had so much time to entertain children they had no connection to?

As for faith in Spirit Hall...

Sure, he had some.

But asking him to risk his life for it?

No way!

"Come on, let's go take a look," Zhou Qing suggested. Without waiting for Tang San to respond, he headed toward the Spirit Hall in the center of the village.

"Wait."

Tang San hurried after Zhou Qing, saying worriedly, "Grandpa Jack won't allow children under six from the village to go there. Won't we get scolded?"

Holy Soul Village's Spirit Hall was merely a small stone house with no one guarding it, but it was the village's sacred ground. Old Jack and the villagers of Holy Soul Village would never allow their children to run around there and play.

Tang San had seen other children go there to play, get reported by the others, and then receive a proper bamboo-shoot-and-pork stir-fry from their parents.

"It's fine. No one cares about us. I have no parents, and your dad doesn't care about you either. We won't get beaten. At most, Old Jack will lecture us a little."

Zhou Qing spoke such an irrefutable truth that Tang San had nothing to say.

The two arrived outside the Spirit Hall and saw Old Jack waiting outside, along with the parents of the other children of the proper age.

"Looks like four children will awaken their Martial Souls this year." Seeing the four couples outside the stone house—some pacing back and forth, some holding their wives, some squatting nearby, and some holding meat pies—Zhou Qing said, "Their parents are all waiting outside... I'm really jealous. Two years from now, the only one waiting for me will probably be Village Chief Grandpa Jack. San'er, you're lucky. Uncle will still be waiting for you then."

"Yeah."

Tang San knew that on the day a child awakened their Martial Soul, their parents would wait outside. Even if the awakened Martial Soul had no Soul Power at all, they would still offer encouragement and comfort.

When it was time for him to awaken his Martial Soul, no matter how slovenly his father was, he should still come.

But Zhou Qing—

I'll keep him company then. With Dad's personality, he'll probably just see me come out, ask what my Martial Soul is, and then stop caring.

But!

Tang San did not know that Zhou Qing had said this to sour him on Tang Hao. Based on Zhou Qing's observations, Tang Hao's temperament was much like in the original story. He definitely would not come.

At least, not openly.

After all, Tang San had Tang Hao's bloodline. What if he awakened a hammer?

Spirit Hall absolutely could not be allowed to learn of something like that.

For that reason, when Tang San awakened his Martial Soul in the original story, Tang Hao must have been observing in secret. He might even have been prepared to kill Su Yuntao and take Tang San away from Holy Soul Village.

Tang Hao was absolutely capable of such a thing!

After all, a Soul Master who had emerged from the City of Slaughter could not possibly be judged by normal logic.

And making Tang San distance himself from Tang Hao was Zhou Qing's first step toward changing fate.

Just as Old Jack had said: Tang Hao was too fragile!

What exactly was the truth behind Ah Yin's death?

Zhou Qing did not know.

But after that, Tang Hao drank himself senseless every day, never took care of his body, and never thought about cultivating diligently so that he could grow stronger and seek revenge someday. That alone was enough to prove his cowardice.

Tang San, only by escaping the influence of your terrible family of origin can you truly live a life that belongs to you!

Zhou Qing said this to himself.

Afterward.

The two bypassed Old Jack and the others, went behind the stone house, climbed along the nearby vines to a small window, and peered inside.

Inside the house.

Su Yuntao had already arranged six Awakening Stones and called a little boy to the center.

"Martial Soul Possession!"

With a soft shout, Su Yuntao transformed into a wolfman.

This bizarre sight not only scared the children inside into crying, but nearly made Tang San lose his grip on the vines. "Is that a Martial Soul?"

Although he had seen descriptions of Martial Souls in the books at Zhou Qing's house, this was his first time seeing a Beast Martial Soul that possessed its user.

A person had turned into a wolf?

He almost suspected that a wolf had gained sentience and transformed into human form!

"That's right, that's a Martial Soul." Zhou Qing stared at Su Yuntao, whose head resembled that of an upright husky, his eyes shining. "There are Tool Martial Souls and Beast Martial Souls. The latter generally appear through possession—that is, merging with the human body, like a person growing the organs of a beast."

Tang San paused, then continued watching.

Under Su Yuntao's reassurance, the child stopped crying, and the Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony began.

Su Yuntao injected Soul Power into the six black stones, causing golden patterns to emerge across their surfaces. Soon, light filled them completely.

Then, golden specks of light appeared and burrowed into the child's body of their own accord, like a key entering a lock and opening some shackle within him.

Pop!

A sickle that looked fairly sharp appeared.

However, it did not appear in the right hand Su Yuntao had told him to extend. Instead, it appeared over his left hand, which rested at his waist.

"Are you left-handed?"

Su Yuntao asked.

"Ah?" The child was nervous and did not react at first, but he still gave an "Mm," saying that he always held his chopsticks in his left hand when eating.

"Got it. No need to say so much." Su Yuntao was somewhat impatient. After Holy Soul Village, he still had several more villages to visit, and he had no time to listen to a child's rambling. Still, he lowered his voice as much as possible, unwilling to appear stern before the child. "But a sickle can count as a weapon for attack. Let's test your Soul Power."

But when the child placed his hand on the crystal ball and nothing happened, Su Yuntao turned to the next child with slight disappointment. "Come here. Your turn."

Outside the window.

"So that's the ceremony for awakening a Martial Soul?" Tang San was astonished. This was far easier than cultivating inner force in his previous life.

"That's right."

Zhou Qing confirmed it, then thought of something and said to Tang San, "Your eyesight is better than mine. Did you see the structure of the patterns that lit up inside those black stones?"

"No. I'll watch again."

Tang San also realized that those black stones were most likely a type of Soul Tool. If he could record the Soul Guiding Inscriptions within them, perhaps he could try making similar Awakening Stones himself.

As the remaining three children completed their Martial Soul awakenings, Tang San used the powerful vision of the Purple Demon Eye to record the Soul Guiding Inscription patterns that lit up each time the Awakening Stones were infused with Soul Power.

"Good. Let's sneak away now."

Since they had gained something, there was naturally no need to stay any longer.

However.

Before Su Yuntao led the children out, he glanced back at the window.

Tang San moved lightly, so Su Yuntao naturally could not detect him. But Zhou Qing did not know any Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and the sounds he made were naturally heard by Su Yuntao's sharp wolf ears.

Still, Su Yuntao did not care. As long as they did not interfere with his Martial Soul awakenings, it was fine. After all, he wanted to clock out quickly so he could go fawn over the girlfriend who had not yet agreed to be his girlfriend: Sisi.

"Respected Battle Soul Master, did anyone have Soul Power this time?"

When Su Yuntao came out, Old Jack hurried forward, his face tense with anticipation.

"No."

Su Yuntao was already used to it. Nearly every village chief asked this question. "How could it be so easy for a child to awaken with Innate Soul Power? Besides, your Holy Soul Village only has four children of the proper age this year."

"Ah..." Old Jack sighed faintly.

Su Yuntao paid him no mind. He merely said, "I'm leaving," then slung the bag containing the Martial Soul Awakening Stones and the Soul Power Testing Crystal Ball onto his back, departed Holy Soul Village, and headed for another village...