Martial Soul Awakening

After finishing his salute, Xue Tianxing straightened up and stood quietly in the hall, waiting.

Xue Zhe rose from the throne, his hands clasped behind his back. His ice-blue robe swayed lightly with his movements as he slowly approached him.

"Tianxing, today is the day your Martial Soul awakens. Are you nervous?"

Xue Tianxing nodded slightly.

How could I not be nervous?

Xue Tianxing knew perfectly well that he could not compare to Tang San—Tang San had the Mysterious Heaven Skill, a father who was the youngest Titled Douluo on the continent, the top-tier Clear Sky Hammer as his Martial Soul, and even a mother whose Martial Soul was the noble Blue Silver Emperor. That was a truly blessed start.

But it was not that Xue Tianxing disliked his own family. He simply knew that this was how the world of Douluo Continent worked—hard work was certainly important, but the inheritance one was born with and the strength of one's Martial Soul were what truly determined one's fate.

So Xue Tianxing could only clench his hands and hope that his luck would be a little better.

"No need to be nervous."

Xue Zhe raised a hand and rubbed his hair, saying to Xue Tianxing,

"This is a step everyone must take. It is merely an ordinary stage of life."

Yu Ningxin also gently echoed from the side,

"Relax, Tianxing."

As her words fell, Xue Zhe flicked his hand, and six jet-black round stones suddenly flew from his wide ice-blue sleeve.

The round stones traced six arcs through the air. A wisp of blue Soul Power condensed at Xue Zhe's fingertips, and with a gentle push, it slipped into the stones like threads of silk.

"Buzz—"

The round stones suddenly lit up with a faint glow, then flew to Xue Tianxing's side and began spinning rapidly around him.

As they spun faster, golden radiance gradually rippled across their surfaces. Rings of light spread outward until Xue Tianxing was completely enveloped.

The instant he was wrapped in that warm golden glow, Xue Tianxing's tense shoulders quietly relaxed.

His tightly clenched palms slowly opened. The restlessness in his heart was like tea leaves steeped in warm water, gradually dispersing and giving way to a rare calm. Even his breathing slowed.

Just then, an extreme chill surged out from Xue Tianxing's body without warning.

"Hiss—"

Xue Tianxing shivered instinctively. It felt as though his limbs and bones had been plunged into icy water. Even the surrounding air frosted over, and a thin layer of ice silently spread across the floor tiles of the hall.

Immediately afterward, a clear cry suddenly rang out, piercing the hall's silence and making everyone's ears tingle.

Everyone looked toward the sound and saw an ice-blue figure slowly solidifying behind Xue Tianxing. The phantom was covered in ice-blue feathers, each feather edged with fine ice crystals. The glow falling from its wingtips carried a hint of sacred majesty.

"This... this is..."

Xue Zhe's eyes widened abruptly. He unconsciously took half a step back, and even his voice trembled.

He had lived for most of his life and seen countless Martial Souls, yet he had never seen anything with such an imposing presence.

Yu Ningxin also frowned, her gaze fixed tightly on the ice-blue figure as she murmured,

"Could it be... a phoenix?"

Before her words had faded, the phantom spread its wings sharply. Its ice-blue wings occupied nearly half the hall, and wherever their tips swept, the chill in the air intensified.

It stood firmly behind Xue Tianxing, and another phoenix cry burst through the hall. The sound carried an unquestionable pressure that made Xue Zhe and the others bend at the waist instinctively, an inexplicable urge to submit rising within them.

The phoenix cry jolted Xue Zhe back to his senses. Feeling the oppressive weight descending from the level of the Martial Soul, the shock on his face gradually turned into wild joy—how could he not understand?

His son's Martial Soul had mutated!

And it was the rarest kind of beneficial mutation, directly transforming from an Ice Phoenix into an Ice Phoenix!

Suppressing the excitement in his chest, Xue Zhe hurriedly waved at Xue Tianxing.

"Tianxing! Quickly, come test how much Innate Soul Power you have!"

The urgency in his voice was impossible to hide, and even his fingertips trembled faintly with excitement.

Hearing this, Xue Tianxing gathered pale blue cold air around his body and withdrew the Ice Phoenix Spirit into himself.

Then, just as Xue Tianxing raised his hand and prepared to walk toward the Soul Power testing area, everyone present suddenly felt the surrounding air stagnate—the instant the Ice Phoenix vanished, a blazing golden light erupted behind Xue Tianxing. It was so bright that it dazzled the eyes, dyeing even the dust in the air a warm gold.

Immediately afterward, a majestic and sacred aura spread out from Xue Tianxing.

Before anyone could recover from that aura, they saw a figure slowly emerge behind Xue Tianxing. Three pairs of wings unfurled from its back, every feather gleaming with a lustrous light—it was a Six-winged Angel!

"This... this is..."

Xue Zhe clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white as disbelief filled his eyes.

Xue Tianqi and Xue Tianning opened their mouths wide, looking at each other. Only after a long while did they find their voices again.

"T-Twin Martial Souls? Tianxing actually has Twin Martial Souls?"

The siblings' shock nearly overflowed from their faces, and their gazes toward Xue Tianxing were mixed with surprise and bewilderment.

Xue Tianxing himself stood frozen in place. His gaze fell upon the Six-winged Angel before he abruptly turned to look at his mother beside him.

Yu Ningxin's face had gone pale. Her lips were pressed tightly together, and her fingers unconsciously twisted the sleeve of her robe. Seeing her flustered appearance, a thought suddenly flashed through Xue Tianxing's mind—his mother's surname was Yu, and recalling the surname of the Angel Spirit inheritors in Unrivaled Tang Sect, an idea struck him at once.

Only then did Xue Tianxing understand why his mother had never easily displayed her Martial Soul all these years. She was actually a collateral descendant of Spirit Hall's Angel Spirit lineage. Her Martial Soul might be an angel, just not a Six-winged Angel!

"Tianxing!"

Yu Ningxin suddenly came back to her senses. A faint, barely noticeable tremor colored her voice as she hurried forward, grabbed Xue Tianxing's wrist, and said urgently,

"Quickly withdraw this Martial Soul! Listen to me—unless you are at the brink of life and death, you must never let it show in the slightest, understand?"

Xue Zhe also recovered from his shock. The excitement on his face faded, replaced by grave seriousness.

He patted Xue Tianxing on the shoulder and spoke solemnly,

"Your mother is right. This Martial Soul has far too great an impact. Unless absolutely necessary, you must never use it lightly."

Xue Tianxing nodded. His Soul Power stirred once more, the golden glow gradually faded, and the phantom of the Six-winged Angel quietly vanished.

Of course, Xue Tianxing understood his parents' concerns—Spirit Hall's ambitions over the years had long been obvious to all. If others learned that he had awakened the Six-winged Angel Spirit, who knew how much turmoil it would bring.

His mother must have gone through many twists and turns to end up with his father back then, hiding far too many worries in her heart.

Seeing Xue Tianxing put away his Martial Soul, Xue Zhe turned to Xue Tianqi and Xue Tianning. His gaze sharpened as he spoke to them.

"You two listen as well. What happened today stays buried in your stomachs. Tell the outside world only that Tianxing awakened an Ice Phoenix Spirit. There cannot be even half a word of discrepancy, understand?"

"Understood! Don't worry, Father!"

Xue Tianqi and Xue Tianning nodded rapidly. At that moment, they no longer had the mind to be shocked. They only knew that this matter had to be kept tightly hidden.