It's Over, I'm Socially Dead (Please Vote to Recommend)

At the entrance to Maple Leaf Village.

Ke Lan and the two burly men, Zheng Long and Zheng Hu, respectfully saw Shen Tianlei off together.

Only after the carriage vanished and the crisp sound of hooves grew fainter and fainter did they return to the village.

By then, Maple Leaf Village was brightly lit, and a joyful atmosphere had spread through the entire village.

Especially the parents of those seven children—they were beyond excited. Their children could become soul masters. Without a doubt, this was one of life's great joys. Everyone knew how important soul masters were on Douluo Continent.

Ke Lan walked along the road, bathed in the light cast by the Soul Tools hanging from the trees by the roadside. He raised his head to look at the sky and said, "Come to think of it, Baihe Junior Soul Master Academy starts recruiting in a month, right?"

"Yes," Zheng Long said with a nod.

"I wonder if those old fellows from the neighboring villages will be jealous to death." Ke Lan stroked his whitening beard and could not help laughing.

The two burly men exchanged a look and smiled at each other. "Of course they will. After all, our village produced seven children who can become soul masters all at once."

Ke Lan smiled without speaking, his gaze turning toward Maple Leaf Village's square. Over there, the bustle had almost reached its peak. One could imagine how lively it was.

"Let's go. This old man will join in the fun too," Ke Lan said, stroking his beard. Today, at long last, they could have a proper celebration.

In the Heaven Dou Empire, any family that produced a soul master would receive a reward from the empire. Though families in the city might look down on that bonus, the people in villages and towns needed it. A single bonus was almost equal to several years of their labor.

Inside the house, Zhu Xiyan walked to the window in puzzlement and looked toward the village square. She had originally been watching over little Qin Ze as he slept, but the sudden clamor outside had startled her.

"What happened?"

She looked out. Almost the entire village outside was fiery red. Strings of lights had lit up on the trees, driving away the darkness. It was like that maple forest—blazing and passionate. Those were Soul Guiding Lamps the village only turned on for major joyous occasions. Usually, they were only turned on during the New Year. Why had they been turned on early today?

"Could it be that one of those children can become a soul master?" Zhu Xiyan suddenly remembered that today was the day of Martial Soul Awakening. If they were this happy, that might very well be the reason.

With a smile at the corners of her mouth, Zhu Xiyan turned and looked at little Qin Ze, who was sleeping soundly. She murmured kindly, "What a treasure!"

The next day.

At Maple Leaf Village's square, at least several dozen people had gathered.

These people were all elders over the age of sixty. Usually, minor matters in the village were decided directly by the village chief, but major matters required everyone to discuss them together.

And today, the matter that required everyone's discussion was sending the seven children who had awakened their martial souls yesterday to a soul master academy in one month.

Although among the people present only Ke Lan was a soul master, everyone had lived for decades, and they still knew the importance of an academy.

Ke Lan sat in the seat of honor. His expression was calm, and his originally somewhat cloudy eyes had cleared a little. He said:

"There happens to be one month left before Baihe Junior Soul Master Academy in Baihe City begins recruiting. I'm sure everyone knows why I called this meeting today, so I won't say too much. As for the tuition fees of these seven children, I plan to pay them with the money in the village storehouse. What do you all think?"

"Naturally, I agree."

As soon as Ke Lan finished speaking, an elder who looked about the same age as him immediately replied.

Hearing this, the other elders also nodded in agreement. In fact, there was no need to discuss this matter at all. Maple Leaf Village had always been united since the day it was founded. There was no way a situation would arise where one family produced a soul master and the other families grew jealous of them.

"Very well. Then this matter is settled. Next, let these children rest and get ready. One month from now, I'll take them to Baihe Junior Soul Master Academy to report in," Ke Lan said with a nod.

Originally, the academy could have work-study students, but unfortunately, because no soul master had appeared here for several decades, their work-study student quota had long since been taken by other villages. So they could only spend their own money to register and attend school.

However, if children continued to become soul masters in the future, the work-study student quota would be assigned to them again.

After the matter was discussed, the women in the village became busy. Today was a special day. To celebrate the village giving birth to soul masters again after thirty years, Ke Lan decided that the village would hold a running banquet today.

Killing chickens, killing pigs, killing sheep.

As long as one was a person, one could hear the miserable cries of those three at any moment.

Meanwhile, in Zhu Xiyan's house.

Qin Ze slowly opened his eyes. Since his body was still that of an infant, he spent most of his time groggy and half-asleep, but he also knew that he had transmigrated.

After drinking the goat milk Zhu Xiyan had brought over, Qin Ze closed his eyes again in satisfaction. But very quickly, his little face was filled with speechlessness.

This transmigration is so damn cliché!

Knock, knock, knock!

Suddenly, a gentle knock sounded at the door, interrupting Qin Ze's thoughts.

Zhu Xiyan, who was sitting beside Qin Ze, immediately got up and went to the door to open it.

"Village chief!"

Zhu Xiyan's voice came over.

Curious, Qin Ze turned his head sideways to look at the doorway of the room. Unfortunately, those people were still in the living room, so he could not see them.

But very soon, Zhu Xiyan returned to the room. Not only that, five other people also walked in.

There was an elder who looked hale and full of energy, as well as two other pairs of men and women who looked like married couples.

As soon as the elder entered the room, he immediately looked at Qin Ze. Seeing the little fellow's adorable, jade-carved appearance, he also smiled kindly. Then he said to Zhu Xiyan, "I heard you picked up a baby, so I thought I'd come over and take a look."

Zhu Xiyan said, "I found this little fellow by the Zeshui River last night. I don't know where his parents went."

"So cute!" While Zhu Xiyan was talking with the elder, the other two women, who looked only around thirty, walked to Qin Ze's bed. Their faces were filled with gentle smiles, full of maternal warmth.

Qin Ze stared at the two of them with his big eyes. He was wondering whether he should cry a little.

But the two women only looked at him and did nothing else.

Qin Ze then heard the elder say, "The village is holding a celebratory banquet today. You should come too when the time comes. Everyone feels terrible about A Lin, but you still have to look ahead."

Zhu Xiyan's eyes dimmed. She shifted her gaze to Qin Ze, and Qin Ze seemed to sense something. A pure, innocent smile immediately appeared on his little face.

Of course it was pure and innocent. He was only a baby, after all.

Seeing Qin Ze's smile, Zhu Xiyan's aged face froze slightly, and an indescribable feeling arose in her heart. Then she nodded gently. "All right."

"Aunt Zhu, has this little fellow been given a name?" one of the women asked.

Hearing this, Zhu Xiyan smiled and said, "He has. He's called Qin Ze!"

"Pfft!"

Suddenly, a loud sound rang out from the bed.

Hearing it, everyone looked over.

Qin Ze's expression instantly froze. Just now, he had failed to hold back and fired a cannon!

It's over. I'm socially dead!