A Strange Incident! (Please Vote)

In his sleep, the tiny infant's lips seemed to curl into a faint smile.

Outside the Wooden House.

The people of Maple Leaf Village were all anxiously waiting for the result to be announced.

After Village Chief Ke Lan withdrew his cloudy gaze from Zhu Xiyan, he kept staring at the Wooden House without looking away.

If anyone in the village was the most nervous, it was probably him. Over seventy years, only two Soul Masters had emerged from Maple Leaf Village. The odds were frighteningly low.

While the villagers waited, Shen Tianlei inside the Wooden House was staring at the crystal used to test Soul Power Levels with a strange expression.

For quite a while, he failed to come back to his senses.

Once he did, he looked at the final little boy being tested for Innate Soul Power Level with utter confusion.

Just seven minutes earlier, he had finished testing the other six children. Among their Martial Souls, three had Blue Silver Grass, two had sickles, and one had a soybean.

The one thing they had in common was that none possessed Innate Soul Power.

Just as he was feeling disappointed, he tested the last little boy. The result was the same: the boy's Martial Soul was a rooster, and he had no Innate Soul Power Level. But then something bizarre happened. After finishing the test, as Shen Tianlei was about to withdraw the crystal, he happened to glance at the boy and sensed a faint trace of Soul Power Fluctuation from within his body.

He hurriedly had the little boy, who had nearly burst into tears, take the test again. The result was that the boy's Innate Soul Power had somehow become level two!

Could the crystal be malfunctioning? Shen Tianlei thought as he touched it.

As he considered this, a thread of Soul Power flowed from the hand touching the crystal and entered it. The result was clear: level twenty-nine. That meant there was nothing wrong with the crystal.

That was strange!

"You six, come over and test your Soul Power Levels again!" Shen Tianlei suddenly said, having thought of something.

The children, who had been trying hard not to cry, were all stunned. But seeing how urgent Lord Soul Master seemed, they did not dare delay. They wiped away their tears and lined up again in an orderly queue.

Then, the six children tested their Soul Power Levels one by one.

As light repeatedly burst from within the crystal, Shen Tianlei was thrown into disarray.

Strange, strange. This was completely absurd.

These six children, who originally had no Innate Soul Power Levels, now possessed them as well. Even more bizarrely, all of their Soul Power Levels were level two.

Gulp!

Shen Tianlei's throat bobbed. At that moment, his mind could barely process what was happening.

He had always been meticulous with this task. Every child was given three chances to test, precisely in case of an accident.

Whoosh!

Shen Tianlei tested himself once again, and the result showed no problems whatsoever.

By now, he was certain that all seven children possessed Innate Soul Power Levels.

"No!" Shen Tianlei's pupils suddenly contracted.

He hurriedly closed his eyes and sensed his own body. The next second, he abruptly opened them, his eyes filled with shock.

He had only broken through to level twenty-nine Soul Power last month, yet now he had reached the threshold and was about to reach level thirty.

"Lord Soul Master!"

Just as Shen Tianlei stood there dumbfounded, a timid voice called out.

That snapped him awake.

Turning around, Shen Tianlei saw the little girl speaking to him. Only then did he realize something was wrong with his behavior. He rubbed her little head, then looked at the other children and said,

"Let's go. We're heading outside!"

Soon, everyone walked out of the Wooden House.

Creak!

The door of the Wooden House opened with a creaking sound.

The sound instantly drew the attention of the villagers waiting outside.

Everyone immediately tensed up, their hearts pounding wildly.

Even the usually steady Ke Lan's hand trembled slightly.

He looked toward Shen Tianlei, only to see the man's expressionless face. Ke Lan's body instantly stiffened, and his face turned pale.

So it happened again. Ke Lan muttered bitterly to himself.

Just as Ke Lan lamented inwardly, the corner of Shen Tianlei's lips curled up. Soul Power gathered in his throat as he announced, "Congratulations, Maple Leaf Village. All seven children participating in this Martial Soul Awakening possess Innate Soul Power. They can become Soul Masters!"

Although the seven children's Martial Souls were all ordinary, with even useless Martial Souls like Blue Silver Grass among them, being able to rise to the rank of Soul Master in this lifetime was already enough. Once they obtained Soul Rings, their lives would become much easier.

"Sigh, another failure..."

"What?"

Just as everyone sighed and their faces darkened, they suddenly realized something. The gazes of hundreds of people instantly focused on Shen Tianlei.

Ke Lan, standing at the front, was even more stunned. Had he misheard? It seemed he truly was getting old; his hearing had become this bad.

Seeing their reaction, Shen Tianlei wore an expression of "just as expected" and said, "You did not hear wrong. Every child from Maple Leaf Village who participated in this Martial Soul Awakening possesses Innate Soul Power. They can all become Soul Masters in the future."

Gasp!

Countless people sucked in a breath. This time, they had heard his words loud and clear.

"It's getting late, Village Chief Ke Lan. Let's talk over there."

Ignoring everyone's shock, Shen Tianlei spoke softly to Ke Lan.

"Uh... all right!" Ke Lan nodded subconsciously.

The two then returned to the Wooden House.

"Master Shen, do all seven children really have Innate Soul Power?" The moment they entered, Ke Lan asked anxiously. He paid no attention to the excited cheers outside, still unable to quite believe it.

Shen Tianlei smiled and nodded. "It's true. You needn't worry that I'm deceiving you."

"That isn't what I meant." Ke Lan was startled by those words and hurriedly explained.

Shen Tianlei waved his hand, his expression turning serious. "But this Martial Soul Awakening was rather strange."

Ke Lan froze slightly upon hearing that. He did not interrupt, merely listening with curiosity.

Shen Tianlei said, "These seven children originally had no Innate Soul Power. But for some reason, their Soul Power Levels appeared out of nowhere. I tested each of them three times before, and all three tests failed. Then I happened to sense Soul Power Fluctuation coming from the last child who failed the test, so I had them take it again. This time, they all succeeded."

Ke Lan was stunned. Though he had lived for decades, this was the first time he had heard of something so strange. He knew how carefully Shen Tianlei handled Martial Soul Awakening ceremonies; there was no way he could have made a mistake.

Shen Tianlei smiled. "Perhaps Maple Leaf Village's accumulation over the decades erupted today. Let me congratulate you as well. However, I have a suggestion. The people of the village could pool their money to send these children to the Junior Soul Master Academy. There, if they break through to level ten in the future, teachers can lead them to obtain Soul Rings. As for how important Soul Rings are to us Soul Masters, you know that better than I do, senior."

"No problem. I'll gather everyone later and discuss it." Ke Lan nodded solemnly. Of course, he understood the role Soul Rings played for Soul Masters. His First Soul Skill was Recovery Cabbage, which had a decent healing effect on those with superficial injuries.

The people of Maple Leaf Village did not rely entirely on farming. Many of the men also formed teams and periodically went into the forest to hunt wild beasts. Injuries were inevitable during those hunts, and that was when his Recovery Cabbage came into play, sparing everyone the expense of seeing a doctor.

"All right, then. It's late, and I should return to report in. I'll be leaving now," Shen Tianlei said.

"Master, thank you for your trouble today," Ke Lan said.

Shen Tianlei shook his head with a smile. This time, he had gained quite a lot as well. After all, Soul Grandmaster and Soul Elder were worlds apart. Once he broke through to Soul Elder, he would have three Soul Rings, and his status would rise somewhat as well.